A parliament of owls

These guys are about to fly off to become baby gifts for T, A and L.  I don't think any of the recipients read this blog, so I'm safe to show them now.  Two of the ladies are having surprises, and one is having a boy.  The purple owl is for A's daughter S, who is going to be a big sister!  The pattern is here.  I left out the strip of fabric that should separate the front and the back pieces, making it deeper.  I prefer this shape.

Step into my craft room

Actually, don't.  It's such a mess that Irina is itching to get in there and clean it, but I have a bunch of gifts yet to finish before the craft room becomes the guest room for our visitors next month!  Here is what I finished this week.

First, a birthday present for M, who is turning one year.  I made some play food out of fleece and a little drawstring bag to keep it in.  I guess people usually use felt, but fleece is what I had on hand.  This was really fun and easy, which is good because I'm planning to make a whole grocery store full of food for the girls for Christmas this year.

 

This is another fitted cloth diaper.  This time I used a bought pattern, and it was definitely worth the money.  It fits the girls much better than my previous attempts.

And finally, a skirted wool soaker.  I don't know that is was worth the effort.   It's super-cute, but takes twice as much yarn as a plain soaker.  Also, we spend a lot of time outdoors these days and hand-wash-only-wool is not practical for outdoor play.

Happy Father's Day!

This morning I let Jeremy sleep in, and when he made his way downstairs (after a leisurely shower), there was cinnamon French toast with sliced peaches and a Magic Bullet frappe waiting for him.  We had planned to go out to eat after church, but Natasha has been sick and was getting kind of cranky.  So instead, we made burgers and fries after the kids went down for a nap.  That way we could eat all the ketchup we wanted (N is allergic to tomatoes - boo).  For dessert, we had devil's food cupcakes (recipe in Rose's Heavenly Cakes) with peanut butter frosting.  This is not really my cup of tea, but Jeremy loves peanut butter and chocolate together.

I was trying to take one of those mouth-watering photos you see on baking blogs, but I'm pretty sure I failed.  Do these look tasty to you?  I am not sure they do.  I don't have much in the way of fancy photography skills. 

Also, I know a lot of people like to pipe frosting onto their cupcakes, but I prefer to just pile it on.  It's supposed to look decadent, not frilly.  I am not stingy with the frosting, either.  I like my cupcakes to be about half cake and half frosting.  Though this frosting recipe was not my favorite, it's a good one for those who don't like overpoweringly sweet icings.  The peanut butter gives it more body than your standard butter/shortening frosting, so you don't need as much powdered sugar.

Happy Father's Day!

Why is sewing poop catchers so much fun?

I wonder what kind of weirdo hits I'm going to get on this post title.

Anyway, the last week has been very busy.  I have been sewing a few things, but wanted to wait until I was finished to post a group shot.  We spent Saturday prepping for a barbecue we threw on Sunday, and then used Monday (a local holiday) to recover.  On Tuesday, Jeremy began his year-long stint in the political section.  I admit, I have been spoiled by the predictable hours he worked in the consular section.  On Tuesday he didn't get home until close to midnight, and on Wednesday it was 7 p.m.  Tonight it will be later.  I know I will have to get used to it.

This week we have also had two sick kids - one still down for the count, actually.  So I haven't finished all the sewing I had planned to.  But I did sew these four fitted diapers.  I used a pattern I made myself, which is predictably lacking.  They fit the girls (who both wear mediums) adequately and do the job for which they were intended, but I know I can do better.  So last night I actually bought a pattern and will try that one out for future diapers.

I've now used up all of my absorbent diaper fabric.  I had snagged some hemp jersey and bamboo fleece very cheaply from a WAHM (work-at-home-mom for you not in the know) diaper maker who was going out of business.  So I've ordered more and am anxiously awaiting its arrival.  Sadly, it was not near as cheap, but still better than buying disposables for the next two year.

Fun with Frappes

So, if you keep up with the all the mundane happenings here at Where to Next?, you'll know that Jeremy and I had a difference of opinion about the Magic Bullet on garage sale day.  I won, and we kept it.  I think Jeremy was pretty happy about that this morning when I sent him off to work with a mocha frappe in a lidded plastic cup.

Gotta say, this thing is so convenient.  I have been making frappes every morning this week, something I would never do if all we had was a plain old blender (I've since given that thing away).  With the Magic Bullet, the part that contains the blade is easily removable, and you can even put it in the dishwasher.  I usually just wash by hand because it's so easy to clean.  You can screw on individual plastic mugs, so there's no pouring and just one container to clean.  I'm not a shill for the company, but for making morning frappes or smoothies, this is a great product.

I start by putting sugar (or Splenda) in the mug.  About 1.5 tsps.  If I'm doing a mocha, I'll add cocoa powder here.  You can also just use chocolate syrup and skip the sugar, but this works too.

Then I add very strong coffee.  I broke the French press the other day so this is blech-y instant (though it's not as evident when I frappify it).

Then some ice and milk.

I screw the blade on.

Fit it into the Bullet.

Press down to activate the motor.

And about 20 seconds later, I have frothy, milky, caffeinated goodness.  What a way to start a morning!