I went to visit my sister this weekend and went on a bit of a shopping spree! We hit the mall and our usual spots, and I also stopped in to her local Joanns. Even though most Joanns stores are pretty much the same, every once in a while I'll find one or two fabrics that either my store doesn't have or has sold out of. 
The fabric on the left is a retro floral knit that I haven't seen at my store. The owl fabric is one I've used a lot in knit, but my store sold out of the woven print a long time ago. The print on the right just jumped out at me and made me think of Spring.
We also spent 4 hours at IKEA! I absolutely, positively LOVE IKEA. Among some of my finds there was this white polka dotted laminated fabric, something I didn't realize they carried. This will probably become a little lunch tote for my mom's birthday next month.
The best part of my shopping trip was picking up a few things to reorganize my sewing space. Here's my messy space before....
And here's after. I got a new bookcase to store fabric and some magazine files for patterns.....
and did some cleaning.
I am totally in love with this little rail and container set I picked up for $5. It holds all my scissors and pens etc, and is at such a nice angle that it's easy to grab stuff and throw it back in. I almost wish I'd bought the longer rail and gotten more containers. Oh well, next time!
I also did a little lighting upgrade. I've been using this light that I bought from IKEA a while ago. Only problem is, it just plugs in, it doesn't have a switch. So I visited Home Depot today and bought a little switch you wire in yourself.
I contemplated waiting for my husband to come home, but that's not my style. I'm a jump in and do it (and maybe ruin it) kind of person. And I'm proud to say that I did it! Maybe not the best job....I think the wires aren't supposed to show on the ends, but hey, it works! I did tell my daughter to stand back the first time I plugged it in and tried to turn it on. I was fairly convinced it might blow up.
No more climbing under the desk to plug in my light!
Hope you had a good weekend!
The time change this weekend hit me unusually hard. I was pretty much in sweats and a ponytail all day. And, I baked.
These muffins are like all the yumminess of bowl of oatmeal, in a moist muffin. And pretty guilt-free as well!
The original recipe is for gluten-free muffins....mine are not.
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine oatmeal, yogurt and milk. Mix and let soak for 15 minutes
Mix flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl.
Add brown sugar, egg, bananas and oil to the soaked oatmeal and mix well. Add walnuts and mix well.
Add the oatmeal mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Fill large muffin cups about 2/3 full, sprinkle with walnuts and bake for 20 minutes.
The original recipe said it made 12 large muffins, but my batter only made 9 for some reason.
Enjoy!
Hope you got through the time change better than I did.
The other day I came home from work to the news that my two and half year old son had peed on the potty at school. I was so excited I ran out and bought a new potty seat, extra pants and thought about buying some pull-ups. But as I stood there with the package in my hand, I had my usual thought.....I bet I can make these.
I never used cloth diapers when my kids were babies. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't imagine all the extra laundry and work, and truthfully, I was never fully convinced that the extra water usage was better than the extra trash. But, since we're all better rested now, I figured I'd try out making some re-usable training pants.
I bought a great pattern for kids underwear from That Darn Kat. I first saw it here at Noodlehead.
I modified the pattern by adding a layer of PUL (which is a PAIN to work with) and 4 layers of cotton flannel to the front.
I sandwiched the layers and basted along the edges to hold it in place.
Then, I basically made 2 pairs of underwear, using the PUL panel for the outer and and just plain cotton for the inner. I put them together with wrong sides together and right sides facing out, and finished the waist and legs like the pattern describes.
This is far from my best handiwork, so don't look too close. The last pair I made I widened the waist band and finished the legs by putting the ribbing around the layers and stitching all at once, kind of like you would with bias tape.
The boy was surprisingly excited to put them on after not taking a nap yesterday, and the best part....they actually work. Which means they work as far as holding all the pee in. And, he felt wet, which was part of my desire to make these. I think actually feeling wet helps them learn when they've peed and helps them want to use the potty.
We'll see.....
Oh, and here are the girl, non pull-up version I made for my daughter. They are soooo cute and a great way to use up scraps.
I went to visit my sister this weekend and went on a bit of a shopping spree! We hit the mall and our usual spots, and I also stopped in to her local Joanns. Even though most Joanns stores are pretty much the same, every once in a while I'll find one or two fabrics that either my store doesn't have or has sold out of. 
The fabric on the left is a retro floral knit that I haven't seen at my store. The owl fabric is one I've used a lot in knit, but my store sold out of the woven print a long time ago. The print on the right just jumped out at me and made me think of Spring.
The best part of my shopping trip was picking up a few things to reorganize my sewing space. Here's my messy space before....
And here's after. I got a new bookcase to store fabric and some magazine files for patterns.....and did some cleaning.
I am totally in love with this little rail and container set I picked up for $5. It holds all my scissors and pens etc, and is at such a nice angle that it's easy to grab stuff and throw it back in. I almost wish I'd bought the longer rail and gotten more containers. Oh well, next time!
I contemplated waiting for my husband to come home, but that's not my style. I'm a jump in and do it (and maybe ruin it) kind of person. And I'm proud to say that I did it! Maybe not the best job....I think the wires aren't supposed to show on the ends, but hey, it works! I did tell my daughter to stand back the first time I plugged it in and tried to turn it on. I was fairly convinced it might blow up. 
