Burda 7775 View B - Blouse

Almost completely love this View B blouse from Burda 7775 -- I added 2 inches in length and it still feels too short by about an inch! I hate to think if I hadn't lengthened it; I would be really po'd. Burda rated 3 dots/Average, it took a lot of time but the detailed results were worth it. I'll definitely make it again times two - longer for another blouse and in the View A dress.

What I did love --

The collar -- In over 35+ years of sewing, I have never made a collar the way Burda had you do here. It's on the bias and it is seamed together in such a way you get perfectly turned-out notches. And I like how it rolls away from the neck when you wear it. No forced pressing to flatten in place

The seaming -- I liked the front and back princess seams. The center back is not cut on the fold, but seamed, with subtle shaping also found on the side seams.

The pockets - Cool pleating, which helps with the fit as they are over the front princess seam. And the placement is flattering, too.

The sleeves -- Not a "Princess Puffy Sleeve" but slightly wider than your arms to make them look thinner. I liked the detail of the small area of gathers in the center of the arm band.

So if you are petite, out of the envelope it's for you. Otherwise, plan to add a few inches to the length and yardage.

Burda has snuck in a great sleeper blouse pattern in 7775!

Almost Golden Girl

Just got word today that L's proposed Girl Scout Gold Award project received approval by the Gold Award Committee! She put in over 130 hours in less than 18 months working on the preparatory 4 B's. And she'll get a "credit" of 7 1/2 hours applied towards the 65 separate hours for her project.

Netflix Stars - No Country For Old Men

1/5 -- only because Tommy Lee Jones was in it. How violent and disturbing!

Meerkat Manor - The Next Generation

Season 4 begins June 6 on Animal Planet! Teasers say the next generation continues with Rocket Dog as the new Whiskers leader and sister Maybelline forming and leading her own clan, the Aztecs. Talk about sibling rivalry! Also new to note, Stockard Channing replaces narrator, Sean Astin. You go girls!

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

The Brian Setzer Orchestra, "Jump, Jive an' Wail" 2:53
The Dirty Boogie

Put a lid on it!

Remember my post last week about the missing lid from my 5 quart crockpot? I found a great website to order replacement parts for crockpots and other appliances, too -- MarBeck.com

Reasonably priced - $9.99 - and fast shipping for only $6. All crockpots have met their match.

Slow Cooking Thursday and Crockpot Challenge - Red Beans and Rice

Modified from Mable Hoffman's "Crockery Cookery" page 157

RED BEANS AND RICE

1 package lean turkey sausage, cut into 1/4" slices

2 cans red beans, rinsed and drained

1 can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup uncooked rice

Combine sausage, red beans and tomatoes in crockpot. Cover and cook on Low 4 hours. Before serving cook rice - I use Minute Rice. Spoon cooked rice into individual soup bowls, top with bean mixture. I also have a hard time finding canned red beans, I use the Kroger brand.

What I'm working on now

The View B blouse of 7775 as a trial run before I make the dress. It's such a cute blouse, yet I don't remember it in the blouse section. I guess the go-to lesson from this is if you are looking for trendy blouses, check the dresses for blouses in the View B!

Cancer Diva is Back!

For all my readers who click on the Cancer Diva blog link, and since December have been wondering how she is, click here for the latest from her!

Memorial Day Pattern Sales - updated

May 24/26 Simplicity patterns at Jo-Ann's, 5 for $5

May 23/26 Hancock's will have 88 cent McCalls, 88 cent Butterick and $3.88 Vogue

Turnera bloomed!

"White Buttercup" is taking off. The flowers only last a day, but there's lots of new buds setting. Per the poker stick, it will bloom all summer, tolerating the heat, up to 18" - 24" tall and wide. Get growing!

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Berlin, "No More Words" 3:53

Burda 7789 Young Fashion Teen View D - Skirt

L loved this Burda 7789 skirt so much, that after I took the picture, she wore it for the rest of the day! And that's high praise considering she has to wear a uniform skirt five days a week. The only adjustment I made was to add 2" to the length. When wearing it is actually at the same length pictured on the model, it just appears slightly longer on L because of the camera angle. The fit seems to run slightly bigger/looser than the size compared to the other Burdas I've made in the same size, but not that much. Perhaps that extra ease is to allow the skirt to adjust where it is most comfortable to wear. Needing only a frugal 1 1/2 yards, this skirt clocked in at under $3.50! A+ - We'll be making this again!
Next up -- 7775 (dress/blouse) or 7936 (blouse)

Story Hours

Hours and hours -- first over an hour waiting in line to buy "The Host" and get the wristband, then an hour and a half in rush hour traffic, then one hour in line just to get into the venue, then an hour wait for Stephenie Meyer to talk for 30 minutes, then about an hour and a half to get the books signed...and we were in Row 5! We got outta there by 9:30 PM, and would bet Stephenie would still be there at least until 11 PM, easy.

This was just a partial shot of the crowd. Again, well behaved, but certainly diverse.
Each book tour/signing I've attended has been different, realizing the events are controlled by the publishers and the contracts, not by the author. Still interesting to note:

With Stephenie:

• You had to have The Host book on top if you had any other of her books (up to 2), with a Post-it and your name.
• She would only personalize The Host, but would sign her name on your other two books
• I asked if she would sign The New York Times ad for our library to display when I gave them the book. "Please?" - "No Exceptions!," said the Winged Guard Monkeys. Swear I felt I was in a scene from "The Wizard of Oz" Even the stage had emerald green curtains.
• No photos during the book signing - either of you and her (I could see that, it would take forever), but no photos of her signing the books. They announced they would confiscate cell phones and cameras if you did. And as backup there were two police officers on either side of her and four handlers...and people posted on the way out in case you thought you could turn around and snap a photo.
• But you could take a photo of her during the Q & A, hence the sorely-lacking zoom feature on my camera result. (insert grainy blurry photo here)

With Joel Osteen at Costco for "Your Best Life Now":

• No photos
• No personalization
• However his wife Victoria hanging out in the Food Court did sign and personalize my mother's copy. She's even more beautiful in person, too.
• And he did say, "God Bless You!" Works for me.

David Cassidy, "C'mon Get Happy":

• Would only sign this book ("No albums or lunchboxes!" said the signs outside.).
• But would personalize it
• No photos with David, but this was 1994 and my reflexes and knees were younger so I quickly tossed my camera to another in line and knelt down near David. Close enough. Note the yellow Caution/Crime Scene tape and the sheriff behind us! (And in important matters of sibling rivalry, "Ha, ha Sue! I got David's picture and autograph!" I did buy and get him to sign a copy for her, too. But I still have the photo!)
  
  

Garth Nix on the other hand, was more than accommodating for L, earning and keeping a fan for life:

• Signing all of her books
• Personalizing
• Posing for photos
• Actually talking to her about favorite books and authors
  

Again, kudos to Barnes and Noble and the school district for a well-coordinated event. It certainly wasn't Stephenie's fault her popularity and Little-Brown prevented her from enjoying the fans and vice versa.

Netflix Stars - Juno

3.9 (almost 4!) stars -- T and I enjoyed it, L hated it. It was original, funny and touching, and definitely worthy of the Oscar nods. But Jason Bateman's character was a bit unexpected and disturbing.

Slow Cooker Thursday and Crockpot Challenge - Cornbread

This is from Mable Hoffman's Crockery Cookery, Revised edition, 1995 (ISBN: 1-55788-217-7) - Page 209 I liked the addition of 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and only needing 2 tablespoons sugar. I also used skim milk instead of just "milk." When I flipped through the book trying to find a recipe for today, I thought this would be a great opportunity to use the Rival Bread Baker container, hiding in the back of my pantry. It goes perfectly in the Model 3355 (5 quart?) crockpot, but alas, I never got around to replacing the cracked plastic lid which Rival was using at the time. Time for Plan B -- the 6 cup Corning Ware baking dish, which just fit in "Big Bubba." Mabel says to put 2-3 paper towels on top of the baking dish, but I figured I'd use the matching lid, just skewed slightly. I'm also a little leery of cooking on High 4 1/2-5 hours. I'll do a check at 3 hours. The newer crockpots get and cook hot faster, even on the Low setting. I'll soon find out and report back if I should have used the Low setting instead. . .

It was done at 1 hour, 45 minutes on HIGH. The edges were slightly darker, as if baked in the oven and very yummy. Success, but watch your time and your crockpot! Start checking at 1 1/2 hours, at least the first time you make this to be on the safe side.

CORNBREAD

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 egg
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup milk

Grease a 6-7 cup baking dish. In a bowl, stir all dry ingredients together. In a small bowl, beat together egg, oil and milk. Pour liquid ingredients into cornmeal mixture and stir to combine. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Place dish in bottom of slow cooker. Cover with 2-3 pieces of paper towel. Cover and Cook on High 4 1/2-5 hours or until firm. Serve warm. Update: Mine was done to perfection on High at 1 hour, 45 minutes.

The chili powder makes it look pretty...

Get off the computer and get sewing - or "What am I working on today?"

Another Burda, a trial run of the skirt View D of Burda 7789 for L, which is also featured on the back cover of the May 2008 Burda World of Fashion issue. (Maybe even me, too, if it doesn't make me look like a horse's patootie. I figure if my size is included, Burda is betting it will be OK.) A trial because she's in school right now and I quickly measured her waist to knee and will hope I hit the right length. If not, no biggie, this was a cheapy cheapy Jo-Ann's Red Tag fabric investment of only $2. Is this not the cutest Summer skirt ever?

Hello Kitty Sewing Stickers

25 puffy Hello Kitty sewing stickers from Sanrio for only $2.50! They go with my Hello Kitty sewing pencil. My favorite is the one in the upper right corner -- HK has a needle in one paw, fabric in the other and is winking. I think all sewists should adopt a winking acknowledgement of our sewing skills, don't you?

Where's my check?!

Wondering where your Economic Stimulus check is? Tired of shaking out the advertising circulars with the horror of tossing it in the garbage by mistake? The IRS has a table which will give you a better idea when to expect your check. Thank goodness I not only married up the alphabet but also up the SSN.

Garden Update!

Here's two of the newest additions:

Nicotiana "Merlin Mix" -- I love this warm seashell pink, it reminds me of my grandparents' house bathroom, tiles in this shade of pink accented with black. Martha used this pink in her Christmas collection a few years ago, too.

And Euphorbia "Diamond Frost" This was the last of the bigger pots and for just a few dollars more than the smaller ones, a better deal and impact. Even Mike himself said, "you'll really enjoy this one!"

Not pictured: Cleome "Sparkler White" and Turnera "White Buttercup" They are still blog boring green leaves.

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Van Morrison, "Bright Side of the Road" 3:47

Literally - I was about 30 minutes into treading, thinking (whining) "gosh, 10 moooorrrrreee minutes...!" and boom-o, the power went out! Then came back on with error code messages on the tready. A sign this was good enough for government work today. Little did I know the transformer blew up across the street, knocking off the power again a few minutes later and only coming back online an hour ago, per update from T who worked nearby. Who also said, "did you know the A/C was off, too?!" Sorry!

It pays to do the Biz Rate survey!

No, I didn't win the $25 giveaway (yet, still waiting to hear), but the comments you post on the Biz Rate site actually do get read by the businesses, at least by Bobbi Brown. I recently ordered the Hydrating Eye Cream online to save gas and traffic time. I know, $40 - but it's a small price to pay to avoid my eyes swelling shut and to maintain my youthful (cough) appearance by going cheaper. I commented that I felt badly I just missed their free shipping promotion by a few days but liked the fact they included free samples you can choose...so the relatively low shipping compared to other merchants - $6 - was pretty well offset. Today I get an email from Bobbi Brown saying they read my Biz Rate comment and were going to credit my card the $6 shipping charge. Wow! Unexpected and thereby endearing themselves to me now and in the future. Now if I could just get $14 back for the pineapples. . .

The Perils of Peggy the Punky Pineapple Picker

I've either had an incredible run of luck which is now catching up to me, or the pineapples right now are punk. Four in a row, four different stores (2 Costco's, 1 HEB, 1 Super Target), I've managed to pick and buy four rotten pineapples! At an average of $3.50 a pop, that's four gallons of gasoline I could have bought instead. And trying to return them? I'd burn the refund money in gas and tolls. For now I'll stick with blueberries and raspberries in my smoothies instead.

Burda 7795 View A - Top

7795 is finished! I love it! The sleeves run long, I only had to add 1". I did lengthen the back and front 3" total at the two adjustment lines. Just like 7804, you may also want to re-aim the bust darts more upwards. Since I didn't want to rely on "a hook and a prayer" to keep it closed, I added another set of ties to the left side to actually tie the front closed, and I'll wear it with a camisole tank. Burda's directions have you sew the tie on the right side and knot, then sew hook and eyes underneath for the actual closure. When I wore this today (the photo is from last night), I knotted the tie ends so they didn't look like rigatoni noodles, and I folded the top corners down-making more of a V neckline as in the model photo. The cotton striped fabric is from Jo-Ann's red tag section, they also had it in navy. I plan to make it again out of a cream cotton dobby sheer with silver metallic striping, but I'll leave off the sleeve trim. (I fear it will look too poodle-y.) The pants pattern the model is wearing is 7966 - I bought that pattern at the same time, I loved the combo idea and the separate pieces for Summer 2008 outfits.

No. 416!

As I walked almost completely around the Barnes and Noble store this morning to get in line to buy Stephenie Meyer's new book, "The Host" and get the apparently very coveted green wristbands for admittance to a discussion and book signing with her. Some people had been camped out since 5 AM! But I must give kudos to Barnes and Noble for handling the crowd so well (how misbehaved can readers get?), assuring us with a clicker that yes, we would be getting the wristbands and books, so everyone was calm and actually having a good time waiting. And smart thinking on their part, they let us into the store early, snaking us around the aisles with even more books eyes center. That's how I came home also with "Pretty Little Potholders" and "Pretty Little Patchwork." They are a continuation of a Lark Books series, which began with "Pretty Little Pincushions."

Read the ending of the Stephenie story here

New shoes!

Nike Air Alaris --->

I thought I couldn't wear Nike, they never seemed to fit right or feel very comfortable during try-ons. But L found these at Academy yesterday and they were perfect! Until I looked at the box - SIZE 11!! She told me she heard you sometimes need to go up a size in Nike. No wonder. It certainly made the difference, wow! Although not vanity sized (trying not to recall the bowling party horrors announcing your shoe size for all to see), they felt great and went the distance.

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Duffy, "Mercy" 3:42

Kindness is contagious!

I saw that on a bumper sticker of a car who blocked the driveway and would not let me out of the school parking lot this morning!

What I'm working on today - Burda 7795

Burda 7795, View A Yet another (See 7797 and 8517) pattern in their 2008 Spring/Summer catalog and my 2008 Spring/Summer Burda sewing marathon with same fabric, bias or straight grain, trim! I didn't realize it also had bias strips until I looked at the pattern pieces and directions. I just saw the ties in the photo and thought they were incorporated as part of the closure, not sewn on top of a separate bias strip to boot!

Netflix Stars - 27 Dresses

3.5/5 Wow, this came to DVD pretty fast, and I can see why. While entertaining for a DVD rental, I'd be a little hacked if I paid the theater ticket price to see it. Cute, sweet, fluff - there were some good scenes. I loved the clothes she wore (not the bridesmaid dresses!), I enjoyed seeing Judy Greer also cast in the movie, she plays the second banana roles so well. I thought she had some of the best lines. And the "Bennie and the Jets" song sure helped to try and erase the memory of Brother Bob's English class ("Only Jesus could get a 100 in my class") at Cardinal Mooney with him singing (hissing?) -- "buh, buh, buh, - Bennie and the Jetsssssssssssss" I swear he didn't know the rest of the right words either...penance!

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

May 8/10 - Simplicity $1.99
May 15/17 - McCall's and Butterick $1.99
Hmmm, are 99c pattern sales a thing of the past now?

Burda 7782 View C - Top

Now here's a Burda if you are petite-r, 7782 seemed to run a little short in length. I added 2" at the adjustment line and another 1" at the hemline and I still ended up not hemming it. (it is cut on the bias) Update 5-3: I did finish it with a serged rolled edge this morning before wearing. And definitely not "bubbling" it with an elastic casing - er, "internal elastic band."

I liked the front and back pleat detail at the shoulders and the whole bias thing. But I thought it scooped a little low so I pleated the front up 1/2" at the shoulder seam and sewed through it with a vintage 60's button.

The Asian dragon poly is stashed $1/yard Wally-World fabric, aged about three years - a $2 top!

7782 is a pattern to span the fashion ages...while I think the blouson dresses are cute, I sewed and wore something eerily similar back in the 80's -- but I think the top is still fun for same person 25 years later!

Sarah Jessica Parker for $8.98!

I thought their clearance sale was still going on when I would see the $8.98 on their website, but no -- NEW clothes are $8.98; including Sarah Jessica Parker's Bitten Line at Steve and Barry's!

Per the article in the New York Times' Thursday Styles section yesterday; all their merchandise is $8.98 or less. (Somehow I don't think next season's Project Runway will have another challenge with $8.98 as the price point, remember how they sneered at $19.98?) I liked how the article stated, "...the clothes appear well made, several of the Bitten dresses were lined, and the strapless dress is constructed with an internal elastic band to hold it up...." I believe I will now start calling my elastic casings "internal elastic bands" (I always thought casings sound too much like sausage. . .)

And they are going to carry official SATC movie merchandise - what in the name of Manolo, will that be for $8.98?!

Slow Cooking Thursday and Crockpot Challenge - Chocolate Chili

You can't reside in the State of Texas and not have a chili recipe! And the debate goes on between beans and no beans. L and I like the beans, T does not. We are a Kent House divided. This is the combination and subtraction of many different recipes, but mostly inspired by Betty Crocker and Crockpot Goddess, Mabel Hoffman. And the secret ingredient is: Chocolate!

CHOCOLATE CHILI

1 pound ground round - browned, drained, rinsed

1 14.5 ounce can whole tomatoes, undrained

1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

2 teaspoons chili powder (I use 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons Penzeys Chili Con Carne to keep the flavor but turn down the heat)

1/2 teaspoon cumin (Adams is best!)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce

1 teaspoon A1 Steak Sauce

1 teaspoon Hershey's Unsweetened Baking Cocoa

Dashes of garlic powder, onion powder and celery seed/salt

Add ingredients and stir. Cook on HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW 4-6. I usually start at HIGH 1 hour and then switch to LOW for 3 hours.

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

The Hollies, "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" 3:17