Hello

We're still here, just taking summer a bit slow. (and having the nap fight every day. So far it's me 0 and Ansley 5.) We had company and visited family and friends in Utah for a day. Here are a few favorite pictures:















Anyway, the sewing machine is back on the kitchen/dining room table. I sewed up a few more circle skirts, this time with a knit foldover waist band. If it's not too windy (which it rarely is here!), I'll have to get a picture of the pink one on me. I also made a black one for someone else. . . (it's a surprise!).

Please Vote for Me!

if you want. :) I'm number 8 here. Thanks!!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Honey Whole Wheat Bread from the Gold Medal Whole Wheat bag

2 pkgs regular active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105-115F)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups very warm water (120-130F)
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 3/4- 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1. In small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; set aside. In large bowl, mix honey, butter, salt, and very warm water; cool 5 min.
2. To cooled honey mixture, beat in 3 cups of the whole wheat flour with electric mixer on low speed, scraping bowl frequently, until moistened. Beat on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Beat in remaining 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and dissolved yeast. With spoon, stir in 2 1/4- 2 3/4 cups of the all purpose flour until dough pulls cleanly away from side of bowl.
3. Place dough on floured work surface. Knead in remaining 1/2-1 cup all purpose flour; continue kneading 5 to 10 minutes until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening or cooking spray; place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80-85F) 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
4. Generously grease 2 (8x4 or 9x5 in) loaf pans with shortening or cooking spray. Gently push fist into dough to deflate; divide in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough with rolling pin into 18x8 in rectangle. Starting with one 8 in side, roll up dough tightly, pressing with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal; pinch each end to seal. Fold ends under loaf; place seam side down in pan. Cover; let rise in warm place 30-45 min or until doubled in size.
5. Heat oven to 375F. Uncover dough; bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350F; bake 10-15 min longer or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

I halved this recipe b/c I didn't think my mixer would handle it and b/c we only have on bread pan. It is SO yummy!

Of Course, I Had to Make Her One Too

I loved this dress so much, Ansley needed one too. I changed the sleeves/strap by adding elastic at the edge on both sides of the strap. Next time I'll make the strap a little bit wider.















Hilarious Outtakes:





Jessica, I hope you don't mind that I keep using your button:

My New Favorite Skirt

Last week I helped my friend, Katie, sew a beautiful blue circle skirt. I had to make one for myself with the most gorgeous fabric! It's the prettiest Amy Butler sheet set that I bought on clearance at Bed Bath and Beyond (plus I used a 20% off coupon, which don't actually expire btw).





Note the less awkward pictures once Ansley is around. :)





I'm planning to make Ansley a matching dress, but we won't have to wear them at the same time, all the time. ;) Maybe I'll make a second one, since it's just that awesome. Then I can wear one while the other is being washed. (Does anyone else buy multiples of clothes they like that fit well?)

Even though I have enough skirts, I might need to make more. . . .

Presents for Ansley's Friends

A baby blanket for Ansley's friend's new brother (same method as these ones):





And an Ice Cream Social Dress (awesome tutorial by Jess on her pretty blog here) for Ansley's friend's first birthday:

Those Clothes Look Better on Her

I wanted to make Ansley a dress like my new favorite dress. Unfortunately I don't have a little cap sleeve shirt to trace for her. Fortunately I have a few shirts that aren't super flattering on me and that Tyrone doesn't wear.

Here's the first version. I traced a shirt with proper sleeves and tried to mimic one of my cap sleeved shirts. The shape was alright but it was a little big.



More pictures of the dress, b/c she's cute.







Here's the second version. I used the blue dress as a guide, taking in the sleeves at the armhole and the edge a bit. I like how it looks in some of these pictures but it looks tank toppy in other pictures (which is probably partially due to having never washed the brown shirt). Maybe it's b/c there isn't a defined cuff at the edge and/or the fit is a little off? I don't want to make them too much smaller b/c I don't want the dress to be difficult to get into.











Here are some sketches of how I made these:







Tips:
Prewash your shirts! The sleeves on the brown dress were cuter before I shrank them. I'm not too sad b/c it was a practice run anyway.

Stay stitch around your sleeves, if necessary. I definitely had to one the brown one. I sewed a medium long stitch near the edge of the sleeve. The stitch gave it more stability so I could fold it under twice to finish the edge.

You might have to adjust the neckline a bit if you want to keep the original finished neck edge (like on the blue one).

Try not to cut your knits too soon before you can sew them. Some knits curl in a lot.