Cool Kids Sleep-over Bag

I have been looking for ideas to make quick bags for kids to use. I think this one from Clotilde might just do the trick.

My Creative 'Spaces'

I am having a bit of a problem paying attention to one project at a time and even a bigger one in organizing my supplies for the habits. The other night I was tired of sitting in my usual 'creative space' This space often involves television, a laptop or a knitting project. Instead I moved myself to my sewing room and had a bit of a sort out and some sewing.



My machine came back from the 'spa' last week for its annual rejuvenation treatment. Honestly she rarely gets her spa treatment annually even though she is supposed to and the cost was dear enough to pay for several spa treatments for me!!



I discovered in my clean out that I have several unfinished projects (don't we all?) that need my attention. I have a tree skirt to update for a friend. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Each year I sew on another handprint for each of her children. Eventually they will be full grown and the skirt will be full.


In this stash of yarn (I think that is all I have squirreled away) There is a Christmas stocking that I need to start over on and then there is Grace's sweater that needs sleeves and a neckband.





There are also a variety of loose knitting needles and knitting stuff to find a home for. Perhaps I need to make a needle bag or two? or perhaps a pink ponytail holder and a gallon sized zip-lock bag (reused) will do?







I finished my little tidy and started something new with old-I found an old scrap from a practice monogram for my daughter Meghan in my drawer of laces and trims. I embroidered this when she was 18 (she is now 23). Adding some additional scraps from my stash I am fashioning her a make-up bag...if I finish it before I go off chasing another project.



It ain't pretty but it is MY Sewing Room..other pics of the room with captions.



Built in cupboards. They are a mess but store a lot of stashed fabric bits and books.


An open closet with three heirloom baby dresses from my grandmother and the lining from one of her dresses in the 40's. I am planning to hang them on the wall.


The sewing machine cabinet closes up into a wardrobe sized cupboard. I love it but never close it.


A messy corner. The hatboxes hold yarn, magazines and bits of fabric. The pile of clothes are old linens and silks earmarked for bag-making. The gray jacket is the jacket my husband wore at our wedding. I am having difficulty cutting it up. Does anyone have any good ideas to make use of it wisely?

I love having a room where my ironing board can stay up all of the time.


My cutting/work table was a library table from the public library in Pasco, Washington, USA. It is a beautiful piece of Oak furniture that they likely replaced with melamine. My grandmother had it as her cutting table and then my mother and now I have it. My daughter would like it for a desk (and I have promised it to her) but I just found a good place for it and I am having trouble letting go. At the end is my serger. It came unthreaded and I cannot figure out how to rethread it. My mother-in-law in far away Wales is the only person who ever manages to figure it out. I really need lessons I think.

These Creative Spaces are brought to you because of Kootoyoo the queen of creativity.

Vegetable Beef Yorkshire Puddings.

In a fit of creativity I made my first batch of Yorkshire puddings in order to produce dinner tonight. I figured I wold document the recipe for future reference here.

Stew-8 oz leftover roast beef
one green pepper
one small onion
3 tomatoes
3/4 cup leftover gravy
1 small leftover potato
salt and pepper to taste.
Chop all of this up and put it into a cast iron stew pot. Bake at 350 degrees f for an hour.



Yorkshire puddings-4 oz all purpose flour, pinch salt, 1 egg, 7oz milk.
Mix the flour, salt and egg together. gradually add milk until you have a smooth batter. refrigerate this while you prep the muffin tins.

Muffin tin prep-pour vegetable oil into each tin just until the bottom of each tin is coated. take out the stew and put the tin into the oven and increase the temp to 425 degrees f. Set the timer for 10 minutes.

In 10 minutes pull out the pan and the batter from the refrigerator (give it a quick stir before pouring). Pour the better into each muffin space (this recipe made 8 large ones). immediately put tin back into the oven for about 20 minutes. The Yorkshire puddings should poof up quite nicely.



Assemble dinner-place one or two Yorkshire puddings into a bowl. ladle on the vegetable beef sauce.

Lots of Action No Blogging

There has been lots going on here in the Johnston house-most of it has even involved 'doing'. The garden is growing beautifully and David has been cooking up a storm. He got a new barbecue for father's day and has been carefully devising meals on it. I have finished a pair of socks that actually fit my grandson and started on a cardigan for Grace. I also started the moccasins but am not satisfied with the way the leather is behaving and have put them aside while I think on it some more. My sewing went into the shop for servicing before I put it to work preparing for the August craft fair in our neighborhood. Below is a sample of pictures from the last month in no particular order.

Launching of a neighborhood newspaper that I am participating in. It has been fun to write articles and take pictures. We went online a couple of weeks ago with the inaugural issue.

Grace at riding lessons

Knitting at horse back riding lessons. I sit near the door so there is light and on a stool. I constantly drop my needles and markers in the dirt and have to find them.

I love chickens. They run around the horse barn freely. I cannot have them in my yard so I get to pretend these ones are mine once a week.



Grace did some water color painting today. Independence day is next Sunday.

Oh The Things I Have Been Doing!

1. Gardening-worms gone, problem spot sorted.
2. Cooking up a storm. Turkey Burger Stew was yummy, Cream of Mushroom soup and lemon scones not so much.
3. One moccasin-not happy with it
4. One grandson sock. It finally fits and I wrote down the number of stitches right before I found a source with a table that helps me do all of the math.
5. Grace's friendship pin pants-finished and looking lovely.

I'm off to work in the morning but will post pics of all of the doings tomorrow afternoon.

Cabbage Worms!!!!

During my last farm report I mentioned some difficulty with my poor holy (and not the divine kind) Broccoli plants. Well we had a crack of sunshine today and both David and I popped out for a stroll around the beds. The herbs..good. The peas are now loaded with budding pea pods. The tomatoes..still be droopy but I saw blossoms as did I on the pepper plants. The brussel sprout plant is huge but the broccoli...


HAS WORMS!!! vast quantities of little green wiggly things. In all of my 5 years of gardening vegetables in the backyard I have never had bug problems. Sure I have seen the odd tomato worm but never ever something to this extent. My guess is the little suckers came with the little plant and have now put the entire garden section into jeopardy.

Now the difficulty-I was not raised organic. My garden has largely been organic because nothing has ever tried to invade it. My first instinct was to go dig in my shed and see what hardcore bug killing chemicals I could find (stuff is in there from years ago). I paused...I breathed...I don't want to go off half-crazy and not think this through. I could give up on broccoli this year...I could find some more natural way.

I searched the web. They said neem spray...a light bulb went off in my brain. I have neem oil in my house. I was told last year when we were invaded with the big lice infestation that it would help keep them from moving in again. I pulled out the bottle that has sat in the cupboard since and took it out to have a trial on the plants. neem oil, peppermint oil and water. T sprayed two test plants and am going to wait and see if 1. the worms die and 2. the plants die. If I gain victory over the evil beasts I will spray some more. If not..I need advice!!

helppppp!

Bejewled Jeans for Girls With Short Legs

Grace my 8 year old is afflicted with short legs. I am always rolling up her pants (It would just be wasteful to cut them off as she will grow right?). This morning we had an epiphany-instead of cuffing her jeans we rolled them up once and then pinned them with friendship safety pins. Grace makes these pins like crazy and sells them for 25 cents to her friends at school. Although the regular kind can be used we prefer the all brass safety pins as they don't have the loop at the end to deal with and can be unbent and rebent much more easily.

I think I will baste around the top of the cuff for more stability and then commission Grace to make more pins for fun.





Another My Creative Space brought to you by Kootoyoo