Sewing Stuff

Righty. So here we see an Actual Skirt Being Cut Out Properly. It turns out there is a Method to Cutting Out. Oh, how do I love my Vogue Book. That and my new scissors. I've always done my cutting out on carpet. Vogue says no, use a hard surface. Pin all of the corners (so guilty...no wonder my pieces are never the same size...) and move the scissors not the fabric. Before I cut the skirt out, however, I performed a burn test. What is a burn test you ask? Well, when you have Fabric of Unknown Fiber Content you can burn a small test patch and determine what fiber you have by how the test patch burns, smokes and smells. So yes, I was outside lighting things on fire and sniffing them the other night.

Turns out the fabric I thought was cotton is actually wool and I probably shouldn't have washed it first. Oops. (So if you have unknown fabric, burn test it before you launder/dry clean it) The lining is some kind of nylon. See the melting? Burn test info here.

Oh, and here we have more pictures of my red skirt. I just had to take some because you know..this skirt...it's just so red and so very very...

twirly. Twirly twirly twirly. Yes, that's it.

For once I made something I really really love. Twirly...twirly....twirly.....

Guest Blogger...Meet Beulah

Why yes hello there. Let me introduce myself. I'm Beulah. Natalie's snow blower/craft project/fashion model. Mmmhmm. You see, Natalie and I haven't always gotten along well. I'm a hand-me-down snow blower. Yup. I used to belong to Natalie's dad, and he was so good to me. He always gave me the right amount of oil and gas. Always drained me at the end of the season. He NEVER accidentally ran over any Christmas lights. So I always started right up for him. Well, Natalie on the other hand...well....she's kind of bad about taking care of me. That's why I don't start for her. That's why I spit oil out on her pants. Heh heh. But this year it's different. Know why? Well, let's see. I've got my own gas cans. Two of them.

I've got my own special motor oil. Natalie's dad bought her the RIGHT kind this year. Natalie doesn't know much about motor oil and bought the wrong kind last year. I coughed and wheezed all winter. Bad Natalie

Look, he even typed this cool label for my measuring cup so Natalie will mix in the right amount of oil. Neat huh?

But the best thing ever..LOOK! I have eyes and a stylish hair do! I'm Cute!

Oh yes. We Cute Snow Blowers get to have our own fashion shoot! Me and all of my buddies! Here I am with Fire Hazard Barbecue. Don't I look nice?

Here I am with my buddy Mr. Rake. We talk leaves.

Can't forget Garden Accident Shovel. Don't we look nice together?

And finally, here I am with Snow Shovel Bob. I'm going to be good this year and put Bob out of a job.

But only if Natalie remembers to drain me in April...

Fatty Snax Caramels

I've been making this caramel recipe for ages and it is the recipe that always works, provided that you are patient. The original recipe for Caramel Turtles comes from the book Christmas Recipes from the Lion House by Gloria W. Rytting. It's long out of print and I've made enough modifications to the recipe that I can post it without fear of the copyright police.


Natalie's Fatty Snax Caramels

2 cups of sugar

2 cups of light corn syrup

2 cups of HEAVY whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup warmed evaporated milk

6 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature

(Note: If you use unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1/2 tsp)

Butter or Pam an 8 by 8 glass pan. Take a paper towel and spread the oil all over the bottom and sides of the pan. Set this aside.

In a large sauce pan , mix the sugar, corn syrup, cream and salt. Clip on a candy thermometer. With a wooden spoon, stir frequently but not constantly.

(Don't use anything but a wooden spoon, I once melted a spatula in my caramel and had to throw the caramel and the spatula out)

Bring to a boil and cook to 224 degrees on medium heat. At 224 degrees, slowly add the evaporated milk and the butter. This will drop the temperature. Let the temperature come up slowly on medium heat. (This is the patience part. It will take some time. If you turn the heat up, the caramel will burn and you'll have burned bits in your caramel. So resist the temptation.) Stirring frequently but not constantly, let the temperature come up to 235 degrees. At 235 pour the caramel into the prepared pan. Place the pan on a rack and let it cool for several hours.

Cut the caramel into squares and wrap in waxed paper. Enjoy! Keeps for a couple of weeks, longer in the freezer.

Note: The temperatures are modified for Salt Lake City's altitude-around 5,000 feet. You may need to modify the temperatures if you are at a higher or lower altitude. The pouring temperatures make a nice soft caramel. If you want a harder caramel for chocolate dipping, you may want to cook the caramel to the softball stage-238 degrees at 5,000 feet or 247 degrees at sea level.

Happy Munchings!

We Interrupt This Blog...

For a little post about Gorgeous Fabrics and the proprietress, Ann. For those of you who read my blog regularly you know I buy fabric from Ann. Ann makes beautiful fabrics possible for those of us who live in the Fine Fabrics Dead Zone. I'm currently working on a dress made from a lovely knit from Gorgeous.

Ann has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. We here at Crafty Goodness (well, it's just me so I guess I should say I) wish her a speedy recovery and good health.

For the ladies who read this blog, make sure you do a self check each month and schedule your mammograms.

Have trouble making those difficult appointments with the doc? Avoid it like I do? Would you rather clean a toilet with a toothbrush than make that phone call? Then what you need is Natalie's Rule of Three. It works every time.

Natalie's Rule of Three

1. One new pair of shoes to wear while you are making the appointment. That way you can admire them while you are on hold.

2. One new pair of shoes to wear while you are sitting in the exam room freezing in the paper gown. That way you can focus on the shoes and not on freezing.

3. One new pair to stash in the trunk of your car. Retrieve these after your appointment and put them on the passenger seat so you can admire them on the drive home. Very important.

Sending lots of love and good wishes to Ann!

Odds and Ends...

You'll never guess what this is for...it's a very...interesting sort of craft project. Watch for a guest post later in the week... Time for some adventures in pants. See my new scissors? Aren't they nice?

Fabric on the graining board...this will be a skirt. I just have to light some on fire first....

It's caramel time again. Need a tute? I did one here...

Big Duh on Me

Many many years ago I purchased a set of Gingher sewing scissors. Our Home Ec class received a very special discount on very expensive scissors. I remember my sewing teacher telling us,

"NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER CUT PAPER WITH YOUR GINGHER SCISSORS".

And I never did. Not once. In 20 years. I never had my scissors sharpened either. Which is why my scissors are now chewing on my fabric. I thought about having them sharpened here, but it takes many weeks. I can't be without my sewing shears for weeks! I can't afford to buy a new pair of very expensive scissors. What to do? What to do?

So yesterday I went to Joann's. I thought I would just peep at the Ginghers and see how expensive they were. $100? $200? Oh big double duh on me. They were $36.99 and I had a half off coupon. I paid $18.79 for those scissors. In 20 years It never occurred to me to look at the price for a new pair. I just assumed they were still prohibitively expensive.

So now I can send the old pair in to be sharpened and use the new pair while I wait. And the new ones cut fabric like a dream.

So if you are still using your high school Home Ec scissors, do yourself a favor and get a new pair, just don't ever cut paper with them.

My Sewing Teacher Has The Plague

Which means...poor Sloper #7 will have to wait until she gets better. Because who wants to see a ghastly sloper when you aren't feeling well? It might just finish her off.

In the meantime, I'm having a great time making boo boos on this dress. I found some lovely fabric from here in my stash. I carefully cut the dress out and promptly ruined the top. What to do? What to do? The original fabric has long since sold out. So I went to a new little fabric shop in town and they had just the thing...(see the purple knit with the picture attached to it? I bought that fabric). So the dress will be purple on top and forest green on the bottom. Why aren't there any pictures for you to see? Because I have to take things outside to get good pictures. It is 8 degrees outside. 'Nuff said.