sewmona – Page 42

Teaching Kids to Sew, Part 1

As I mentioned previously, I learned to sew making Barbie doll and Cabbage Patch Kid clothes. My first sewing machine was one for kids. It was plastic and apparently not very good although I don’t recall having too many problems with it. Eventually my parents decided to get me a “real” sewing machine. My mom and I went to a local store where they sold used sewing machines. I got this Singer. I did a lot of sewing on it! I taught my brother and neighbor to sew too (my neighbor was forever calling the bobbin a bobber – her family did a lot of fishing).

When my eight-year-old daughter wanted to learn how to sew, I had just the machine for her. Even though I had gotten a slightly more complicated machine, I still had my old Singer. I had to figure out how to make my old Singer machine go slower. I definitely didn’t want her running over her finger (I did as a kid…not fun!). My dad had put a screw in the pedal to keep me from being able to push it down all the way. As I had gotten older and better at sewing, they took it out. We fashioned a similar solution – a screw into a small piece of dowel.

I needed something simple for her to start sewing. She wasn’t into Barbie dolls at that point so I went with really basic – her first project was to make pillows. Pretty simple – cut two squares of material, pin them together, and sew three sides. She quickly mastered that and was ready to make something else. So, my husband suggested lightweight sleeping bags made of sheets. We took an old flat double sheet, folded it in half right sides together and sewed two sides. It was a super easy project! She then wanted to make another one, so she made one for each of her younger brothers. About this time, my six-year-old son decided he wanted to learn to sew too. I tried putting him off – that he wasn’t old enough, that it would be too hard for him….he wasn’t having any of it. When he gets something in his head, he doesn’t let go!

Come back next Wednesday for more about teaching kids to sew.

Downsizing or Less is More

We recently moved from Pennsylvania to Florida. Our house in PA was about 3900 square feet on about an acre of land. It was the last house on a dead-end street and had a nice fenced in yard. Our house in FL has just over 1200 square feet under air and an additional 700 square feet of lanai/porch space. We have about 1/4 acre of land. It was obviously a major downsizing! We knew that our house in PA was really a little too big for us. We had a full finished basement that didn’t get used nearly as much as we thought it would when we bought the house (it was actually a major selling point for us!). We knew living in a smaller space would take some getting used to, but we also knew it would be worth it! Living twenty minutes from the beach would be awesome!

We had two yard sales, gave away some stuff, and took tons of stuff to Goodwill (we even stopped at Goodwill the morning we left to drop off more stuff!) and yet we still managed to fill 26 feet in a U-Pack truck (if you’re looking to move and don’t want to drive a moving truck, I highly recommend ABF!). As we unpacked, we got rid of more stuff! It was amazing the amount of stuff, that was just, well, stuff. It wasn’t important – some of it made us wonder why we had brought it with us. We had given it space on the truck – it cost us money to move it and then we just tossed it. We’ve also come up with enough stuff that we’re having a yard sale this weekend. Absolutely crazy!

I’ve been reading a lot lately about living simpler. There’s something to be said for it! More of my thoughts later…. What are your thoughts? Is less more?

Camping – You Need A Regulator

Please Note: Images and links in this post are affiliate links

One morning, as I was walking back from taking my daughter to the bus stop, I happened to notice water dripping under the camper. It seemed to be coming out under the door. Very strange! I went in the house, grabbed the keys, came back out and opened up the pop-up. There was water running across the floor! It seemed to be coming from under the one bench. I moved the cushions back and sure enough – all our towels & bedding that I store in there were soaked. I mean dripping, sopping, soaking wet! A closer inspection showed that the water seemed to be coming from the water pump. I thought that seemed odd since we were hooked up to our house water and weren’t using the pump. I turned off the hose, ran all the water out of the sink, and the problem seemed to resolve itself. I decided that must be the water pressure was too much. I normally don’t turn the hose on very far, ever – which frustrates my husband to no end! However, he had turned the water on this time and it was all the way on. So, my pressure theory made sense to me. After mentioning it to my parents, I found out that I was right. (It happens once in a while!) Campers are generally made to handle 40-50 psi. My city water hook up was probably closer to 60 psi. Enter water pressure regulators. They reduce the pressure to a manageable 40-50 psi. I had never heard of them before, but the last time we were camping I did notice that almost every hookup had something between the spigot and the hose. We ordered one and hopefully we’ll never have that problem again.

Please Note: The links in this post are my affiliate links.

Sewing

One thing I love to do is sew. My mom taught me to sew as a little girl making Barbie doll clothes and then later Cabbage Patch Kid clothes. Eventually I was good enough to make my own clothes. In high school, I made my senior prom dress and then four years later, I made my wedding gown! I don’t normally make such elaborate clothes but I do enjoy making clothes for myself and my family.

Side Note – In 1999, I started to make my husband a suit. In 2012, we were packing to move (for the 3rd time since I started the suit) and I finally threw it away! It was just too much. Do you know how many pockets there are in men’s suits?? There are pockets that have pockets and they aren’t simple patch pockets or side seam pockets. They’re complicated buggers!

Now that I have three kids, I make clothes for them. My daughter benefits the most from my sewing, but my boys do get mom-made clothes once in a while.

A few years ago, I decided to try sewing for other people. It was brand new territory for me and I was a little (maybe a lot!) nervous. I decided on footie pants – something that I really like for my kids but couldn’t find in bigger sizes. I made a few pairs and put them up for sale on etsy. Before they sold, someone asked me if I would make a pair for them in a different size. I turned down the request – it was just too far out of my comfort zone at that point. I don’t remember exactly how long it took for them to sell, but I do remember being so excited and scared! Now, I regularly do custom orders and don’t think twice about it.

Check out my Sewing page for more sewing ideas and resources.

Chinese Cabbage Salad

Every now and then, my husband will come home from work raving about some food he’s tried at the office party. It was good enough that he asked for the recipe and of course he expected me to make it. I’m always skeptical, but I should know better – he’s gotten some winners!! This salad is delicious and perfect for hot summer days. I can’t vouch for how healthy it is (or isn’t), but it is tasty and at least cabbage is good for you.

2 packs Ramen noodles, crushed (in my opinion, this is the best part!)
1 head cabbage, washed and chopped into pieces (My sister-in-law uses the bags of cabbage for coleslaw to save herself some time.)

1 stick butter
1/2 c sliced almonds (or more, I like lots of almonds)
Brown together

1 c vegetable oil
1 c white sugar
1/2 c white vinegar
1-2T soy sauce
Heat together to melt

Toss everything together in a large bowl. Cool for several hours. Enjoy!

I think it tastes even better on the second and third day…by the fourth day, it’s usually a little wilty, but normally it doesn’t last that long!