Diaper clutch

This past weekend, I had a baby shower to attend.  Since the mom was pregnant with a little boy, I decided to work on a project I'd had in the back of my mind for a while.

I've mentioned before that I've received fabric stashes from different relative.  Some of the fabric I got from Grandma Boling has been floating around in the back of my brain as a great combination of color (yellow and gray), and I've been wanting to use them with the chevron design that has been popping up.  And last summer, when we visited Amy, she was working on a baby shower gift--a diaper clutch.  Such a great idea.  I thought about making one for myself, but ended up using plastic bags instead to corral all my diapers and related items.  But a nice clutch looks so much better.

Before I started cutting, I planned out how big to make everything, using a re-usable travel wipes container as my guide.  I'd seen Amy working on hers, so I already had a rough idea of what to do.  I made mine so all the seams would be enclosed, and added a zipper pocket and piping.  And, of course, decorative chevrons to the front.

Here's how I did it:

1. Cut rectangles out of cotton cloth, or other similar woven, washable fabric, in the following sizes:

11" x 15" (2, mine were two different colors, the outside color and the lining color)
11" x 7" (3, out of the inside color)
11" x 5.25" (1, inside color)
11" x 2" (1, inside color)
3" x 1" (2, inside color)
4" x 7" (2, outside color)
4" x 1" (1, outside color)
11" x 2" (2, lining color; these will need to be cut into chevron stripes)

Also, you will need to make at least 52" of pipping from the lining color.  You can buy piping at the store, and you can use it as-is.  Or you can cover that piping in fabric, or make your own (which is what I did).  To make your own, you will need to cut out 1.25" strips, on the bias.  Sew all the strips together into one long strip.  I then folded it in half around a piece of yarn, and sewed it, keeping my foot by the yarn.  You can check out this tutorial here, if you want step by step picture instructions.  To cover pipping, you would follow the same steps, only I am not sure how wide your strips would need to be.  I read a tutorial somewhere on how to cover piping, which is how I came up with making my own, but I am not sure where it was.  But it was good.

You will also need a 9" zipper, a 2.5" piece of velcro, and some batting.  And thread to match your fabric. You may also want wonder-under; wonder-under holds your fabric down when you are appliqueing it, but it is not absolutely necessary.  It just makes it easier.

I planned this diaper clutch to have half inch seams.  Unless noted otherwise, sew half inch seams.

2. Make the flap: Place the two 4" x 7" rectangles right sides together, with a piece of batting on the outside of one piece.  Beginning part way down one long side, sew around the outside, about a quarter inch from the edge, ending a couple inches from where you started.  It is a good idea to back stitch both ends, so they don't pull out.  Trim the batting back to your seam and clip your corners, and then turn the rectangle so the right sides are out (like a mini pillow).  Make sure your corners are square (stick your finger or a pen into them to help).  Iron the sucker flat.  Pin the opening closed so that the edges line up, and top stitch around the edge.  At one end, attach the scratch side of your velcro.  Sew the other side of your velcro to the right side of the 11" x 15" outside piece, about 2.5 inches from the edge, making sure it is centered.

sorry about the fuzzy pictures.

3. Chevrons: if you have not already, cut your strips into chevrons.  (Apply your wonder under before cutting.)  I suggest using a ruler to draw your cutting line, and then cutting with scissors; I used my rotary cutter, and ended up not paying enough attention and slicing into my nail.  So be safe, cut with your scissors.  I used the 45 degree lines on my cutting mat to make my cuts; each chevron notch was 2" wide.

After cutting out your chevrons, lay them out on your 11" x 15" outside piece (which already has velcro on it).  I folded mine in half, with the velcro facing up, and placed my chevrons in the space between the velcro and the fold.  Try to make the chevrons straight, by measuring your distance from the top on each side.  If you used wonder-under, iron the chevrons down.  If you didn't, pin them in place.  Using a satin stitch (or tight zig-zag stitch), sew along the outside of the chevrons.  I used the gray to sew them down, mostly because I didn't want to switch my thread color.  Using the same color as your chevron helps hide any problems you have sewing the chevrons.

4. Pockets.  First, attach the zipper pull to your zipper.  Fold under the long edges of the 1" x 4" piece, so that the edges meet the opposite folds (it will be about a third as wide).  It is a good idea to iron the piece at this point.

I basted down the middle of each side, about an inch.  (This will probably not show, and is just to help in getting the zipper pull into the zipper.)  Next, fold your zipper pull inside again, to fit it through the opening on the metal zipper pull.  Fold your pull in half, folding in the edges, and top stitch around the edge, stopping about a quarter inch from the metal zipper pull.

Next, attach your zipper.  Fold the small 3" x 1" pieces in half, so they are 1.5" x 1".  Line them and your zipper up along the edge of your 11" x 2" piece, and pin in place.  The edge of the small pieces should just cover the metal ends of the zipper (my pieces are a bigger than yours should be).

Using a zipper foot, sew as close to the zipper as you can (I was about .25 inches away).  My zipper foot has a groove in the middle for the zipper, and I placed that over the zipper as I sewed.  After sewing, iron the seam open.  Repeat with the 11" x 5.25" piece.  The final pocket front should be the same size as the 11" x 7" pieces.

Baste your piping to the edge of two of the 11" x 7" rectangles, lining up the edges.  Then, place the other 11" x 7" inch piece and the pocket front right side down on top, and sew along the piped edge.  For the zipper pocket, I zig-zag stitched near the edge, to keep it from fraying inside the pocket.  Iron the pocket pieces so that the wrong sides are together.  Top stitch the piped seam, about a quarter inch in.  Place the pocket pieces on the right side of the 11" x 15" piece you have not used yet, which should be in your lining color.  The zipper pocket should face out.  Baste around the outside edges of the pocket.

5. Baste piping to the edge of the 11" x 15" outside piece, which has velcro and your chevrons already sewn to it.

Sew the flap down, 2 inches from the edge, making sure it is centered.  Also, make sure that the velcro is facing DOWN, so that it will close when it is all folded up.  You do not want to un-pick it and do it over.  Which I ended up doing.

6.  Lay your main pieces right sides together, on top of some batting.  Pin everything together, also making sure to pin the flap back so that it won't get sewn down when you sew the edges.

lay your first piece on top of the batting

add your second piece on top- that flap will need to get folded under

 Beginning near the middle of a long side (near the edge of the pockets) sew around the edge, ending several inches from where you started (also near the edge of the pockets).  Clip your batting back to the seam, and clip your corners.  Turn the clutch right side out, making sure the corners are square.  You will likely need to stick your whole hand inside, which is why it is good to leave a couple inch opening.

7. Iron your edges flat, and pin the opening closed, so the edges match up.  Top stitch the opening closed, sewing under the pocket (lift the pocket flap out of the way).  I also sewed some lines in the space between the pockets, to hold the middle together.

Stuff full of diapers, wipes, and anything else you might need.

What I worked on last week

Last week I decided I would make myself a new apron.  And, naturally, Emily needed a matching one.  I dug out some material that I got from Vickie last year, when I thought I might sell aprons on Etsy (no, I do not currently sell anything there, but maybe someday).  Since the pattern I was going to use (See & Sew B4838) called for rick-rack, I hunted through my notions.  I do not currently own rick-rack, but I did have some lace that matched my fabric exactly.  Awesome sauce.


The lace I got from my mother-in-law, who brought it back from her parent's house after her mother died.  Having Grandma Homer's lace is very special.  She was a spunky, determined woman.  I only met her a handful of times, but she was easy to be around, like another Grandma for me while mine were both far away, and I didn't have family of my own around.  I've used Grandma Homer's lace before, on something I sewed for my sister-in-law.  And I figured Grandma would approve of it going onto my brightly colored apron.


I cut out my pieces and then Emily's, but I sewed up her apron first.  Maybe because I was making up her pattern, and the idea was in my head, or maybe because I enjoy making things for her more than for myself.  Although, I do enjoy my new apron.

I am going to do dishes right after this picture, I promise

Emily's apron has a gathered pocket, and a ruffle around the apron.  (I had an elaborate plan for the ruffle, which didn't work out, and I ended up trimming and hemming it after it was sewn to the apron.  Don't do that.  Hem it first.)  The ties are one strip of fabric, sewn across the top of the apron. After taking lots of pictures of me in my apron, she consented to wear hers.

Emily's apron was quick and easy (well, it would be if you didn't mess up the ruffle like I did).  To make your own you will need:

Main fabric:
1 semi-circle, about 21 x 12.5 inches (I actually used 2, sewn as one, since the fabric was so thin).

Contrast fabric:
1 semi-circle, about 7 x 5.5 inches
1 rectangle, about 6.75 x 2.75 inches
1 strip, 4 x 40 inches (for the ties)
1 strip, 2.5 x 80 inches (cut two strips from selvage to selvage, and sew them together; this is for the ruffle)

Gather the smaller semi-circles along its flat edge.  Sew the pocket semi-circle to the pocket top.  Press the seam flat.  I then sew a seam, half an inch in along the outside of the pocket, to use as a guide when I press the outside edge in.

Press the outside edge, the top edge of the pocket, and with the pocket folded over to the seam.  Sew the top of the pocket down, over where the ruffles are, so you have a nice finished edge on the inside of the pocket.  Then pin the pocket in place, and sew about 1/4 inch in from the edge to secure it.  (Make sure your ends are back stitched so your pocket does not end up falling off.)

Press under the hem for the ruffle (I usually press under about 1/4 inch, and then press under about the same again, so the raw edge is hidden), and sew.  Then gather the raw ruffle edge, and sew it to the main apron piece.  It is a good idea to press your ruffle seam.

Gather the top edge of your apron; I gathered it so the main apron piece was about 10 inches across.  Press all the edges of your tie strip under 1/4 inch, then pin the main apron to your strip, centering it along one side.  Press open your seam, and then fold over the tie piece, and sew along all the edges about 1/4 inch in.

Slipper Boots

So, I've been pretty good about getting posts done before hand, and having them publish on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  And right now, I have a bunch of ideas for posts, but I need to write them or add pictures.  Or probably both for most of them.  I was looking at all my drafts, and I found this one from last year.  I knitted up some slipper boots for Emily, and was going to share how I made them.

Umm, yeah, so, the boots I knitted up didn't turn out quite big enough (you can see in the picture that one of them is falling off; also wasn't she a cute little stinker?).  I think this may be one of the last things I knitted; perhaps because it didn't fit?

Here's the post from last year:
Just before Christmas I got a box of yarn from my Granny, who was cleaning out her yarn collection.  One of the partial skeins I got was an awesome red boucle.  At first I was going to use it for a baby sweater, but after winding it into a ball, I realized there was a lot less than I first thought.  So, then I started on leg warmers for Emily, but decided to add feet for slipper boots.

I don't know if you've noticed the slouchy slipper boots for girls and women?  These slipper boots are meant to be like those, only with a loose leg and a snug foot, since I read somewhere that babies need socks that hug their feet.

My inspirations for the boots were a couple different knitting patterns I've seen online recently--different references to and patterns for knitting leg warmers and a pattern for knitted robeez.  Also, I downloaded a pattern for baby socks awhile ago, which I used as a guide for the feet.  (Find free patterns here).

Baby Slipper Boots

These will fit a baby with size 4 feet (9-12 months) [since the slippers were too small, these will probably fit size 3 feet; or you could add a couple more rows to the foot].  Babies feet are not necessarily the same as their age or the size clothing they wear, so if you are making these for someone else's child, you might want to check what size their feet are. 

Materials:
I used a thick boucle.  Since I got it from my Granny, I don't know the specifics.  Any thick, soft yarn would work.  (I used a regular acrylic yarn to finish the pom-poms because I ran out of the boucle.)

One set size 6 double pointed needles
One set size 10 double pointed needles
A crochet hook
Scrap yarn (in a contrasting color)

Gauge: 4 stitches per inch on the size 6 needles.

This pattern is worked in the round

Cast on 30 stitches onto the size 6 needles

Work in a 1x1 rib for 5 rows
Knit onto the larger needles, knitting only
Continue until the whole piece is 7 1/2 inches
Knit onto the smaller needles following this pattern: *K2tog, k2* (you should end up with 22 stitches)
Knit one row
Knit 11 stitches onto your scrap yarn (this will be your heel) and then continue in the regular yarn
Continue until the foot is 3 inches from the heel yarn
Start the toe (it helps to separate your work onto two needles instead of 3 at this point):
k2tog, k7, ssk, k2tog, k7, ssk
Continue in this fashion (decreasing the number of knitted stitches between the decreases) until you have 10 total stitches

I use a crochet hook to weave the end of the yarn through the last stitches, alternating stitches from my two needles.

Unpick the scrap yarn that held the place of the heel.  Pick up five stitches on the needle you will knit onto first, 11 on the next, and 6 on the last.  Knit until the last stitch on the third needle.  Slip this last stitch onto your next needle.  Continue to use the same needle to knit onto (so that the number of needles holding stitches decreases, and you will have only 2 segments to work with, as in with the heel--except that the stitches are split differently).

Decrease the next stitch, and then knit until the end of the needle.  For your next needle, knit 5, decrease, and knit until the end.  For the next round *knit 4, decrease, knit 4* twice.  Continue in this fashion, keeping the decreases in the middle of your needles, until you have 6 stitches on each needle.  Knit 2, decrease, and then introduce a new needle (increasing the number of needles back to the original 4).  Knit 2,  knit 2 from the next needle, decrease.  Using the last needle, knit the last 2 stitches.  I slipped these last two onto the needle with the first stitches.  Finish as you did with the toe.

I attached two pom-poms to the outside top edge of each boot, and then puff-painted dots on the soles (as recommended here).

Play oven mitts

Another present I meant to make for Emily's birthday were oven mitts to go with her play kitchen.  But when I finally finished the quiet book early Saturday afternoon, the day before her birthday, I decided to spend the rest of the day with Emily instead of doing more sewing.

Then a couple days later, one of the blogs I read posted about making oven mitts for her kid.  And I did make Emily's oven mitts after reading that post, but the other blogger didn't go into great detail about how to make her oven mitts, other than that she traced a pair she already had.  So what follows is all me.

To make the oven mitts, I used some cotton fabric I had gotten as a remnant (love looking through remnant bins at JoAnn's) and some left over quilted batting from when I altered our mattress pad from king to queen size.  Regular batting would also work; you would just need to cut twice as many of the cotton pieces so that the batting is sandwiched between cotton fabric.

I used one of Emily's mittens as a basis; I cut out the pieces about an inch away from the sides and top, so that I would have space to sew the mitts, and also so that they were a little bigger than the mittens, as I wanted the mitts to fit like oven mitts, not mittens.

Next I quilted the cotton to the batting.  I made a diamond pattern across the mitts, with about 1 1/2 inch diamonds.  I didn't pay too much attention to spacing or the slant of the diamonds, just tried to do them similar.

Next I trimmed the batting down to the size of the cotton pieces, and then pinned the mitts together so that the cotton was on the inside.

I sewed the sides and top of the mits at 5/8 inches, and then trimmed about a 1/4 inch from the seam.  I also clipped the corner between the thumb and the fingers of the mitt; if you forget to do this, the mitt pulls funny.

After that I made some bias tape out of left over fabric, and pinned it to the bottom, using the tail end as a loop (this idea I did get from seeing the mitts on Homemade by Jill).  I sewed on the bias tape, and the mitts were done.

Emily loved them.  She refused to stand still for a picture unless she was standing next to me, though.

Mommy Made part 2

So, the title of my last post was also a reference to the blog MADE, which is a fun craft blog I like to read.  Because the bottom sheet I made for Emily was based on her tutorial for crib and toddler bed sheets.  I tweaked it a little--instead of having the elastic go all the way around the bottom edge, it is only in the corners.  Dan expressed his great dislike of sheets that have elastic all the way around, and I concurred.  So I only sewed elastic into the corners.  Also, it only used half the elastic, and really, I'm all about not having to buy more sewing supplies as soon.  Now I still have enough for another bottom sheet.

Both the top and bottom sheets used the entire width of the material, so I just had to cut the length (and also cut out corners for the bottom sheet, so it would be fitted).

For the top sheet, I cut the material about 60" long (the length her toddler quilt will be, and the length of "crib size" batting).  Then I cut another 7", ironed it in half, and ironed a 1/2 hem on both sides.  I sewed some bias tape along one side, so that it peeked past the edge of the hem.  I sewed the smaller piece at the top of the sheet to give it a "top of the sheet" sort of look and hemmed the bottom, and it was all done. 
The bottom sheet wasn't hard either.  I got the top sheet done before work and the bottom sheet done after, and then still had time to change Emily's crib into a toddler bed (okay, so that was pushing it).  What kept me up most the night was Emily upset about going to bed, and now having the option to get out instead of just going to sleep.

One of her new favorite games is making Mommy lie down in her bed and then putting the sheet over me and patting me.

Perfect Lasagna

When I was little, Mom made the best lasagna.  It was my favorite food.  AND, she let us kids help.  We would mix the bowls of ground beef, tomato sauce, cottage cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic powder together.  Yum.  It smelled so good, and then about an hour later, it would taste so good, too.

And then (about when I was in high school) I was introduced to store bought lasagna.  You know, the kind that comes in a red box.  The yummy layers of cheese and meat and lots of noodles.  Mmm-mm.  I was sold at first, but after awhile I started to miss Mom's lasagna.  Because it was Mom's, and home-cooked tastes better than over processed factory food.

So, in college, I started making lasagna Mom's way.  Mixing all the layers together, just like mom.  But being out in the big wide world, I also noticed that mom's recipe wasn't the way most people made lasagna.  So I started trying different recipes.  Cookbook recipes didn't taste right--too much filling, not enough yummy noodles, and they usually only had a couple layers, instead of 3, like my mom's, and trying to add another layer didn't work out as well as I hoped.

And then it hit me.  Why not put layers of noodles between the cheesy filling and the meat filling?  Then you get the yummy noodle taste & you don't have to add lots more ingredients.  Two birds, one stone.

Last night I made lasagna.  And it turned out divine.

Here's how to do it:

1. Cook 15 lasagna noodles
2. Brown breakfast sausage, add just over half a jar of 6 cheese spaghetti sauce
3. Mix one tub of cottage cheese, about 1 cup mozarella, 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, and 1/2 to 1 tablespoon garlic powder
4. Spray your lasagna pan with pam, and then coat the bottom with some of the left over spaghetti sauce
5. Lay down 3 noodles, and then cover with half your meat sauce mixture
6. Lay down 3 noodles, and then cover with half your cheese mixture
7. Repeat steps 5 & 6
8. Lay down 3 noodles, cover with the remaining sauce, and then cover with mozzarella cheese. 
9. Cook for 30 minutes (I cooked it about 25, since my noodles were hot).  Let it cool for a bit before eating.

Dan and I both had seconds (I had thirds, small thirds, but still) but the real test was Emily, who doesn't always like cheese.  She had seconds.

In the Kitchen

Yesterday was a good day for the kitchen.  Not because I was cooking--unless you count putting yogurt, carrots, and cheerios on Emily's plate as cooking.

I did paint Emily's desk dark gray, which she seemed happy with:

And we did Mommy-Daughter pedicures:

Emily was very intrigued with the cotton balls, which I used to take off my last coat of toenail polish (hers had disappeared long ago).  She was also very interested in the toenail polish when I put it on her toes.  Between those two, I had to paint one of her big toes a few times.  I tried to get her to blow on her toes, hoping she would do that instead of poking at them--no such luck.

I also altered one of Dan's old shirts so that it looked better on me (not actually in the kitchen, but I took my after shots there):

Men's shirts are great because they are so much longer in the body, and since my torso is so long, it's hard to  find shirts that don't ride up to high in the back, especially since pants now-a-days are cut so low.  But men's shirts are cut for men, and end up looking a lot like a sack.  Sometimes a sack with a really high neckline.  And too long, baggy sleeves.

So, instead of sacrificing style to wear something modest & comfy, I decided to alter the shirt.  And yesterday, about 12 hours after Dan had left, with him not expected home for a couple hours, seemed like a good time.  (Oh yes, for those who have not heard, Dan is again gainfully employed.  Or, at least, I hope gainfully employed, since he is going to be selling knives for cut-co.  He already made one sale his first day.  Go Dan!).

For those who also resort to stealing their husbands shirts, or buying from the mens section, for the length, here is how to change your shirts into something more feminine.


Men's to Womans T-Shirt
The shirt was a Gap T-shirt with lots of stretch (purchased years ago for a family portrait, in which everyone wore pink).  I started by figuring out where to take it in--I found my natural waist, and pinched in the fabric in front of a mirror, noting how much to take in (about an inch from the existing seam) and how far down (about two hands widths).  I also checked how much shorter I wanted the sleeve ( I wanted them to be about a inch long under the arm).

Your measurements might differ, so try on your shirts for yourself.  It's important to use a shirt that gives your enough room around your bust--I find that shirts that are too tight just don't get worn.  If their too big, you can take them in there as well.  Mine fit well except it wasn't fitted around the waist, so I just took in the waist.

After trying it on, I turned it inside out and pinned where I wanted the seem to curve in the most, making sure the two sides matched.  Then I started about 6 inches above the pin, sewed to the pin, and then back down to the original seam.  I tried it on and had to make some adjustments, because the sides didn't come out the same.  Make sure that there aren't any weird bumps where your new seam mets the original--the probably means that the angle of the new seam is too steep, and you need to have it a little longer.

Now's a good time to dispense my wisdom about sewing on knit fabric (picked up from different places)--DON'T stretch one piece of knit fabric to fit another that isn't stretched.  This leads to bad things, and lots of time removing the seam.  DO stretch your fabric when you sew inside seams, using the regular stitch.  Your thread might seem a little loose, but they shouldn't break when you stretch your clothes.  I use a zig-zag stitch for hemming sometimes so that the thread isn't so loose, and it lets you stretch it out as well.

Next step: cutting the sleeves & neckline (make sure to leave enough length on the sleeves for hems):

I folded up the hems on the sleeves, pinning them in place, and sewed along the inside edge.  (Also, if your sleeves are too baggy, now is a good time to take them in--I took mine in about an inch from the seam, so 2 inches total, but I didn't do that until I'd been wearing it awhile.  But if you can, I suggest doing it before you hem).

To finish the neckline (since I cut off the exisiting binding), I used the leftovers from my sleeves.  First, I trimmed off the excess above the hem:

Then I sewed the two sides together at one edge, about 1/4" from the edge.  I pinned the new binding to the edge of the neck, matching the mid-point of one sleeve length to the back of the neck, so the seams joining the two sleeve hems would be near my shoulder seems:

Once it was pinned most of the way, I could see where to sew the other to ends together ends together (it ended up being exactly the right length, but the last time I did this, I had some left over).

I lined up my needle to the middle of the new binding, and sewed all the way around.  Then I flipped the shirt right-side-out and folded the shirt edge so that the binding lay flat, and zig-zag stitched around about 1/4" from the seam, to hold the excess binding down so it doesn't flip up after the shirt is washed.  (This happened with my last refashion).

And since I had been thinking that I wanted more than just a T-shirt that day, I also embellished my T-shirt, inspired by a blog tutorial I saw a while ago at Ruffles And Stuff, which is also a lot like a T-shirt Jeanie bought me from J Crew.

I used some shimmery ribbon to make the stems, and zig-zag'd it down.  I tucked a different pink ribbon underneath the stems where the crossed before I sewed them, and then tied a bow after they were sewn.

To make the flowers, I cut out some fabric:

And gathered the flat sides, so that they could curve around to make a flower:

The smaller petals went on the bigger ones to make a full flower, like a peony:

And then I hand sewed them on, with buttons in the center.

The grocery bag holder

I've posted my updated project list on the side of my blog, so you can all see my progress (or, so I can keep track of them).  After posting my list in the blog, I realized that it was getting really warm, even at night, so Emily needed warm weather pjs.  So, instead of starting one of the projects on my list, I started making Emily warm weather pjs. I've gotten some of them done, but I'm not finished yet.  I also started working on a maxi dress (the long dresses that are in right now).  Can you tell why I made a list in the first place?  Now I need to stick to it.  The maxi dress is almost done--I wanted to wear it to church today, but I was tired last night, so I'll finish it for next week.

Amidst all my unplanned project-ness, I also finished one of my projects from the list, the grocery bag holder.  (I also started on Emily's rag rug, and the paint and wood-glue projects have been postponed until I buy supplies).

My mom had a grocery bag holder when I was a teenager, that my granny made for her.  Since we've been saving grocery bags, and they've been taking over the top of my refrigerator (and I have other stuff to store up there), I thought a grocery bag holder would be great.

It took me a couple hours to make, and that was mostly because I decided to do a "madras" grocery bag holder, and spent most of that time creating the madras fabric.

If you want to make one too, here are the steps (if you want madras fabric, you need to buy or create a piece of madras fabric the size of the larger piece of fabric required):
 

1. You'll need 8" of elastic (I used about 1/4" wide elastic), fabric (two pieces, one about 36"x20" and another 12" by 2 1/2")
2. Fold the bigger piece of fabric in half, so it makes a long, skinny pieces 10"x36"
3. Sew along the long edge
4. Fold the smaller piece in half so you have a piece 1 1/4" x 12"
5. Iron the smaller piece so that a crease is formed

6. Open up the smaller piece.  Fold one long edge of the smaller piece so it touches the middle crease.  Sew it down.  Repeat with the other side.
7. Fold the smaller piece in half again so that the folded edges are together, and sew closed.  This is the loop for the top of your grocery bag holder.
8. Fold over the hems for either end of the tube you made of the larger piece.  Pin the loop to the inside of one end, so that its ends are at least an inch past where you will be sewing.

9. Sew both hems, leaving a 2" gap in the hem without the loop so you can thread in the elastic.
10. Thread in the elastic through the hem.  Sew the ends together, overlapping about 1/2".
11. Sew the opening in the hem closed.
12. Stuff the grocery bags in one at a time from the top (the end with the loop).  The elastic at the bottom should keep them in, but allow you to pull them out as you need them.

Pumpkin and Sage Sausage Soup

So, I will admit to usually watching a certain amount of TV each day. Alright, I spend most of my time in front of the TV, but in my defense, I do knitting or other things while I'm watching it. And sometimes I have it on more so I know what time it is, and so I have some noise in the apartment.

Anyway, one of the shows I like to watch is Rachael Ray. Since we no longer get the food network (one of my favorite TV channels), the Rachael Ray Show is one of my only ties to it, even though the show is not actually from the food network. But Rachael Ray is. Anyway, there was this recipe, using pumpkin and sage, and Rachael mentioned her husband likes to have sausage as well when she does pumpkin and sage together. Dan and I had had pumpkin soup earlier this fall, which tasted good, even though I hadn't cooked that batch of pumpkin correctly. Now I have a whole new batch of pumpkin, which I've baked and pureed, and tastes good. So, I put together a pumpkin soup and sage sausage recipe (we had sage sausage already), using as reference a recipe from Emeril Lagasse for pumpkin, sage, and sausage (note the subtle difference) and another general pumpkin soup recipe that let me specify the number of servings I wanted, and which used pureed pumpkin instead of not yet cooked pumpkin, like Emeril's did.

So, after that long introduction, here is the recipe:

Pumpkin and Sage Sausage Soup
1/4 pound sage sausage
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 3/4 cup chicken broth, or one 14 oz. can
1 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin*
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp dried parsley**
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the sage sausage in a skillet, breaking into small pieces. Drain if necessary (I didn't).

Meanwhile, cook the onions in the butter until soft and tender. Add the rest of the ingredients. Add the sausage when it is finish, and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer. I let it simmer for about half an hour because I was also baking bread to go with the soup. You probably don't have to wait that long, but it does meld the flavors.

Serves 2

*I'm not sure exactly how much pumpkin I used, but this should be about right. You can try putting in a little less first, and tasting it. The soup should taste like pumpkin, and if it is too weak, you should add a little more.
**I think I used dried parsley. My mother-in-law gave me some dried basil from her garden, but I thought that maybe some of it was actually parsley (she also grew parsley).