Birthday

Being a parent on birthdays is so rewarding.  I can't believe how big and cute and sweet my kid is getting!

I decorated last night, so that it would be birthday time from the minute L got up.  I made a quick pink banner, laid out a table cloth, her birthday crown, and some nice flowers that John brought in.  I love these banners, and there are tutorials all over for them.  This is the second one I made, and I realized after my first banner sat on a shelf for 8 months, that it isn't really necessary to do all the fusing and hemming.  So this pink banner is just triangles of fabric with raw edges.  Hopefully I won't ever need to wash it, and it will be just as cute for the next pink occasion (ahem, in two weeks?).

I got the birthday crown idea from this sweet blog Skip to My Lou.  I just made mine up after seeing hers, but I love the shape of her crown!  After she put it on, L started waving her arms around saying, "Just like a princess!"  I'm not sure what these princesses are doing, but it was sure cute. 

We had a big breakfast followed by our little party.  We had birthday cookie instead of cake because I thought it would be more likely to get eaten.  The pink icing was a hit.  Who knew I could throw such a pink party?

The play food has been a huge hit, she's been playing with her kitchen and food all afternoon.  Along with John's super cute contribution of this sweet little wooden, rubber band, banjo.  It makes a neat, funny sound.  John thinks he might add some frets so you can make different chords, and just to make it even more banjo-y. Yeah, he's a cool dad. 
 

No Knead Bread

I know every time I post about bread, I say something like, "this is the best bread ever!"  So maybe I'm overdoing it?  But I recently tried this No Knead Dutch Oven Bread from Mother Earth News, and it is pretty awesome.   The inside is so moist, it's almost "eggy" - except there are no eggs in the recipe.  The outside is a gorgeous and crusty.  The only drawback I can think of is that you're limited to the round shape.  But I cut mine into fourths and then sliced the fourths, so it made nice triangular sandwiches. 

I've sort of ignored the no knead stuff for awhile, because I don't really have any problem with kneading.  It was interesting, and easy to do, so that was good.  But the dutch oven is the real cool factor. 

The recipe is basically a french bread recipe, and the dutch oven creates a similar steamy-heat environment of a bakers oven, so this made the best french bread that I've ever made, and perhaps the best bread altogether?

I'm planning on making all my bread in the dutch oven now.  You should too.  Here's a good video of Mark Bittman talking about no knead bread. 



you tube:

Hamburger Buns

After my recent experimentation with sandwich bread, I realized I needed a good hamburger bun.   So, I tried Julia Child's french bread recipe made into 12 small round loaves.   Her recipe is definitely different that white bread dough - much wetter, and a little different to knead.  But, whew.  It was awesome.  I mean, awesome. 

When I think of hamburgers, and I spend a plenty of time thinking about burgers, I rarely think about the bread.  But the truth is, I hate that soft white bread that most burgers are served on.  It gets stuck in your teeth, and has no flavor.  So, when we made these burgers, I realized that the bread part of the burger should not be forgotten. 

I have made this recipe several times since then, and it turns out it makes great sandwich bread too.  It's got such great flavor, and because they are buns instead of bread slices, you never have to worry about them falling apart.   My favorite sandwich of late is avacado.  Just mushed avacado on this bread.  Yep.  It's the new peanut butter.

This recipe only makes 12 buns, which we go through pretty fast.  I tried doubling the recipe and ended up with a sticky mess that (as Julia says) still made bread, but was too sticky to form into buns.  I'm playing around with the recipe now to try to figure out a way to make more at a time, and be able to knead it in my stand mixer.  I've been making all of our household bread the last couple of months, and it's been really exciting.  I'd love to get a recipe together that is easy enough to repeat on a weekly basis.  I'll let you know how it goes.   

Squirrel Fail

When I told John I wanted to make a squirrel for the Brooklyn General contest over the weekend, I could tell he was skeptical. He knows how much time it takes to make a new pattern, because he does plenty to help me by taking care of the girls and weighing in on my fabric and design choices. But I was confident I could throw together a patchwork squirrel on the first try.

Once again, my husband's cautious nature was right. The picture is a little blurry, but perhaps that actually helps make this squirrel look a little less like roadkill? Thought maybe you'd enjoy seeing this craft fail.

Squirrel Pattern

I just can't resist a contest - I don't know why.  So when I saw the plush squirrel contest at Brooklyn General, via angry chicken, I just had to make one.  It ends May 15th - so there's  still a little time left!

I put it together over the weekend, first intending it to be a patchwork squirrel. But, since it was last minute and everything, I didn't bother to make a prototype of the pattern. Needless to say, a pretty little patchwork block ended up in the junk pile. I had to make the squirrel three times before I got it right!

It reminded me that figuring out a pattern is kind of like a puzzle, and it's a bit of fun I kind of take for granted. I always enjoy sharing these little victories with you, and I thought this would be a good one to share. The instructions are short, and I didn't make process pictures as usual - but I've got a tidy little pdf pattern made up to share (updated April 2011 - just for prettiness :). No rush, it's not going anywhere - you can download it here.  And don't forget to share your squirrels in the wewilsons flickr pool!

Sprouting

John and I decided to give sprouting a try after he watched this you tube video:

We've been doing it about two months now, and it's super easy. I'm kind of amazed at how simply adding water to some very cheap lentils, you can triple their volume and their nutritional value, plus grow a fresh and tasty veggie - right on your counter!

Give it a try, but read a little first - sprouts from some beans (like kidney) can be toxic. Eek! All you need is a mason jar and a sprouting lid like the one here. They're pretty inexpensive, but if you don't have a health store around, the shipping is not really worth it. So you can make one following these directions (like we did).

They're great on salads, sandwiches, and - my favorite - burritos!

Teething

Here's another shout out for a recent handmade purchase. This amber teething necklace from Natural Inspirations was brilliant.  I am always hopeful, yet skeptical, about natural remedies.  And, while I don't have a lot of data to back me up here, I am convinced this made a huge difference while J was teething.  Over a 10 day period she got all four of her front teeth in.  She was crazy fussy and clingy, and within 20 minutes of putting on her necklace, she was more of her cheerful self.

I had worried about the safety of a baby wearing a necklace, but it worked out well.  We took it off while she slept, and kept it under her shirt most of the time.  It works by releasing some kind of super soothing amber oil on the skin, or something, so keeping it under the shirt actually helps it work.

We're in another round of teething, and since she's been biting furniture and fingers alike I've gotten it back out.  Here she is eating sweet potato pancakes while wearing the necklace.  Yeah, she's pretty cute.

Quiet Book

I made a short video to show you this quiet book I made for someone else.  It turned out so well, I'm making one for J's birthday.  I made a quiet book for L's first birthday, too -  but this one is much better. These are so fun to make because there are endless possibilities.  Watch the video below, and then read my list of ideas and tips. 

• I used a lot of felt, which is just easier and cleaner looking than a bunch of turned edges.  
• I tried to incorporate other textures too, though, with a few upholstery fabrics, a doily appliqued on, fuzzy letters, and plastic.
• I embroidered a few little designs to make some of the pages more interesting, nothing too complex though.
• I made the fuzzy letters using this fun and simple applique technique my friend Julie showed me. See simple instructions here.
• I tried to make each page incorporate a different action: buttoning, tying, pulling, sliding, poking, folding, zipping, hiding.  
• I tried not to make too many pieces that come off and could get lost, although there are a few.  I put a pocket in the back to easily collect any pieces that are dropped.  
• I stuffed a little poly fil under some of my appliques to make them a little raised and interesting.
• I saved a plastic bag - the kind blankets come in, not groceries, and used it to make a jar with a butterfly inside.  You can easily sew it on the machine.  Tuck something underneath and zig zag the edge.  Ooh, wouldn't a fish tank be fun?

Related:  here's a flickr group devoted to soft books, with lots of good ideas.

Fuzzy Applique Letters

I've been working on a soft book, which prompted me to try this fun technique for letters that my friend Julie taught me.  If you like this idea, do me a favor and check out Julie's blog about their adoption of a sweet Ethiopian girl, or better yet - buy some Ethiopian coffee to help support their adoption!

Words can be tedious to applique, but this technique is super simple, plus it makes neat textures that kids love so much. This is perfect for projects like soft books, bibs, or other play items that don't need to be too prim.

Simply cut block letters from your fabric, no seam allowance needed.  Then, stitch the letter onto your base fabric by machine, making the letter inside the letter. Afterwards, you can get it damp and throw it in the dryer to help it fray.


For my soft books, I made one with a sweat shirt fabric, soft side up (the white shown above). It doesn't fray much and is nice and fuzzy. For the second book, I used a quilting cotton that frays a bunch (the pink below).  Of course, it will fray more if you put it on something that will be washed a lot, like bibs, making a really curly and fuzzy letter.   I imagine we will spend a lot of time tracing over these letters with little fingers. 

Since you usually try to avoid fraying, it's fun to take advantage of it in such a fun way.  I was intrigued and wanted to try more types of fabric to see all the different effects it makes.  So, next, I made the bib at the top using diaper flannel for the letters, which I know from experience frays quite alot.  I think it's my favorite so far!  And, as Julie said, the bib will get better with every wash.

L is learning to spell her name, so I made her a placemat.  I used a knit for this one, and it turned out okay.  The fabric tends to roll only in the direction of the warp of the fabric instead of all around which would be nicer. 

I think terry cloth would be really fuzzy.  Ooh, what about several layers of tulle? Endless easy possibilities!

Patchwork Zebra Pattern

Whew. I finished designing this pattern over a month ago, but just didn't feel motivated to type it up and do all the pictures. I've been enjoying a slower pace this year, but I can't believe it took me 6 months to get this pattern up!

As usual, this is a limited time giveaway (which is now over).  The first 500 downloads are free and then it will be permanently moved to my shop.  Remember, with a free download comes responsibility though - feedback!  Please let me know if the pattern needs cleaning up or clarifying in anyway.  I always appreciate the encouragement and tips all of you share - isn't working together great?

I'm saving these dolls for my girls' birthdays, so they'll be tucked away a little longer. But I thought it was fitting that they are just in time for mother's day - not because they would make a great gift for your mom, but because it represents the legacy of both of my grandmothers. My Granny Dodgen made stuffed animals for me and my cousins throughout our childhood - it would be amazing to have a tally of how many bears, kangaroos, dogs, and koalas she made. And my Grandma Sanders taught me patchwork just a few years ago. In the last few years she has made a crazy quilt for each of her granddaughters, and then some, each one completely hand stitched. "Every stitch was made with love," she tells me.

This pattern shows you how to sew a patchwork block, and then cut your pattern pieces from it to make this sweet zebra. I tried a new hair technique this time using crochet, which I really liked - but if you don't crochet, there is also an alternative hair method described.

Update: when I went to bed Wednesday night my bandwidth had been exceeded for the day, so the downloads were frozen with 200 downloads left.  When I got up Thursday morning, there had been 644 downloads! The giveaway is now over - you can find the pattern in my shop.  Thanks, everyone!

And don't forget to share pictures of your zebras in the wewilsons flickr pool - that really makes my day!