Sew Half Crazy

10/08/2016

Perfection at Last?

Dana 10/08/2016 0 Comments

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And now, food! I can't remember if I've mentioned it before or not, but I love stuffed pasta. Ravioli, shells, tortellini, I love it all! You will not catch me making it, though. I've tried, and it's such a faff. So much work! You know what's a great cheat, though? Lasagna. That's right! I said it! Lasagna is overgrown stuffed pasta! And I'm here to review a great recipe for it. Whoops, I suppose I should have given a spoiler alert before I said it was great. Sorry to give away the ending like that.

Let's talk chefs for a moment. If you know me at all, you know I'm a massive Alton Brown fan. But what about those other Food Network peeps? Yeah, not so much. Most of them, in my personal opinion, are a little too fancy. They're cheffy chefs that want to chef up every dish and make it cheffing cheffy. You know what I mean. Ingredients you can only buy at gourmet grocery stores, fussing over every little thing, taking hours to do just one step...guh! No. Get outta here with that noise. There is an exception here, however: Ina Garten. I have never watched one of her shows, but this lady knows how to keep it simple. If I'm Googling a recipe, I'll often look for one by her because she's pretty reliable. In this case, I used her Turkey Lasagna recipe.

The first thing I liked about this recipe (and quite possibly my most favorite part besides how yummy it is) is the fact that you don't have to cook the noodles! What a faff cooking lasagna noodles is! You have to get the water boiling and and then cook the noodles and hope you don't over do it and then get them out without tearing them and burning yourself in the process. That is why I never really made lasagna before. Those days are over, my friends! Just plonk your lasagna noodles into some water and leave them be. I also appreciate that the recipe told us exactly how many layers to do, exactly how to divide up the filling, etc. I don't want to have to do math while layering pasta. And then you just bake it.

I did not do this recipe exactly the way it was written (shocker, right). Instead, I went a more traditional route and just used ground beef and ricotta. It was so stinkin' tasty! And it works great with GF pasta noodles - if you've ever had to deal with GF pasta, you know how finicky it can be. Sadly, I have no pictures because I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. The hubs told our guests that night they weren't allowed to take any home and that they also shouldn't have any leftovers. Said guests ignored him and went back for seconds anyway. :-) Even if you just use this as a method, it's fantastic! You could use store bought sauces to get really creative. I best you could do a veggie version with squash and zucchini and alfredo sauce. Or chicken with vodka sauce. The possibilities are endless! Try this recipe. You will be very happy you did.

Cheers!

Dana

10/06/2016

Pattern Review - McCall's 3830

Heather 10/06/2016 0 Comments

Some patterns are just classics, and you don't need a current pattern for them.

This pattern is one of those. I bought this pattern around 2002 and didn't do anything with it, but after I made my boho blouse, and it didn't work with the pencil skirt I had, I needed a new plan.

Luckily, I have a crapton of fabric, and patterns, so after digging into my stash of skirt patterns, I found the answer to my problem. A simple, yet classic pencil skirt pattern in 5 lengths.

The fabric was another easy problem to solve, because I think I bought the twill I ended up using for the skirt as the coordinating fabric with the sheer I used on the blouse. I love it when a plan comes together.

The pattern is as straightforward as straightforward can be. 4 pattern pieces and voila! You have yourself a pencil skirt. There are darts in the front and back, along with a kick pleat on the longer lengths.

This pattern would be an ideal first clothing pattern. There's nothing funny or tricky about it's construction. I finished this pattern in about 3 hours, and altering the pattern took the most time, because my hips are two sizes bigger than my waist. Then after I got the side seams sewn up, I needed to alter the curve of the hips, because I gave myself way too much room.

At least there was too much and not enough. After I got the side seams to flatter my form, and not look like some reincarnate version of parachute pants in skirt form, we were good to go.

Of course, being true to me, I forgot to snap a picture of me all dolled up for the wedding in said outfit. I did snap this picture of myself, while talking to my mom on the phone, and texting my sister so they could weigh in on the outfit.

I wish I had snapped a picture of the whole ensemble, because I paired the skirt and blouse with a fun pair of suede strappy, lace up grecian stacked heel sandals, and I looked pretty fabulous. If I do say so myself.

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

10/05/2016

What to Eat Wednesday - Mason Jar Latte

Heather 10/05/2016 1 Comments

If you know me, or follow Sew Half Crazy on Facebook or Instagram then you know I have a love affair with coffee. It's not just a drink, it's more of a comforting ritual. Kind of like slipping into your favorite sweats and kicking back with your favorite book or movie. It's calming, which I know is weird, because caffeine and what not, but caffeine doesn't make me antsy the way it does some people. I could fall asleep just as easily with a cup of coffee at 9 pm as I do without. Like I said, coffee is my version of comfy sweats. Not that I'm giving up my comfy sweats. Those yoga pants are the very best thing to lounge in after a tough day. I digress.

So back to my coffee affair. I love coffee, but I get bored with the same old, same old. Upping my visits to starbucks or other local coffee shop is expensive though, and I am not made of money. So what's a chick to do? DIY it! Just like I do most everything else that I don't want to pay retail for.

Now there are a plethora of sites and recipes and how-to's on the web, and this is just what I do. I talked to a lot of friends, and did a lot searches on the best way to accomplish the milk steaming part of the latte process, and I'm going to share what works for me. Dana and I will also be bringing you tried and tested recipes using the basic latte recipe.

9/30/2016

The Long & Short of the Prince William Half Marathon

Heather 9/30/2016 1 Comments

I have been looking forward to this race since it was announced earlier this year. I knew it was going to be awesome. How could it not when it's path goes through the paved roads of the battlefield? Ok, so before I get ahead of myself, a little background - this is the inaugural year for the Prince William Half, and I really hope that it comes back next year. It was very well run, and just a terrific race. Some first year races, have hitches and glitches, and if there were any for this race, then I was not aware. The starting time did get pushed back by 15 minutes, but that ended up being beneficial to me. I think it was pushed back though, because so many racers were still arriving, but honestly there wasn't a traffic jam that I could see or heard about. So let's get onto the meat of the review.

9/20/2016

Pattern Review - McCall's 6469

Heather 9/20/2016 0 Comments

So if you've been reading this blog lately, then you know that I've been trying to use up my stash of fabric. Apparently, I'm also going through old patterns and finally making them. Nothing like wanting new clothes and not having to go out and find something. It's almost like free clothing. I mean I know I paid for all the stuff at one time, but that time is not right now, so it does feel like I'm able to update my wardrobe for free.

We have a wedding to go to soon, and this is as good a reason as any to whip up a cute new shirt. This shirt is going to be perfect for when I feel like a busted can of biscuits. Ladies, you know those days, and you know which ones I'm talking about. I really do like how feminine this shirt is, and I really like how the model on the pattern is wearing it with a pencil skirt. I have a pencil skirt that I think will work so off to work I go.

The first problem, came when I didn't have enough of my sheer fabric. Luckily, I did have some leftover lining fabric that matched my main fabric, so rather than self lining this top, I lined it with my new fabric and went along my merry way. I opted to make view "D". I'm over the handkerchief hem. View "D" also allowed me to hide the lining fabric to a degree, because the bottom isn't graduated like it is in some of the other views. Win, win!

The pattern is not simple, and I'd really only recommend it to confident, intermediate skilled sewers. Some of the directions are wonky and take experience to know how to accomplish what they want you to do. The elastic below the shoulders is one such example. How they tell you do the elastic, and the way you end up having to do it are two different things.

I maybe should've lengthened the top, but I didn't think about it and I don't think it's too short looking on me. I paired it with my skinny jeans for the photo, because the skirt I was going to pair it with - well I didn't like how it looked with the top, so I've already gotten another pattern in the works. A simple pencil skirt from a pattern that I may have bought in 2002......

Until next time, cheers!

9/13/2016

Pattern Review - Simplicity 1538

Heather 9/13/2016 0 Comments

It may have taken a month, but I got this button down done - finally. I couldn't find buttons for it, so that put the brakes on this top. I finally ended up just going with simple black buttons. I did have grander notions of jet black snaps, but when I finally found some I did like, I didn't like their price tag. The snaps would've cost three times what the shirt cost me!

This is another stash busting project, but I do remember purchasing this fabric at Walmart. It was on clearance, and a great chambray. I paired it with a fun cotton geometric print, and had plans to make the hubs a new shirt. The hubs will not get his shirt though. When I told him of my plans, after finding the fabric again, he told me that he didn't really want another bowling shirt. That's fine with me, just means I get another new shirt. Who doesn't need another button down?

9/12/2016

The Monday Report - 2 Weeks Away

Heather 9/12/2016 0 Comments

I love that school is back in. I hate that summer-like weather is still here. Doesn't Mother Nature know that it's September!? Cool down already. I am looking forward to winter training. In other news, my running is getting much more consistent, and I even joined an ab challenge. Abs after running might be the worst thing ever. Running is easier than working on your abs.

I will also say that I am forever grateful to the amazing women I've met through MRTT, because without them, I don't know that I'd be as dedicated with my running, now that I'm having to do a lot of it with Baby Girl in tow. Stroller running is not nearly as fun as regular running, but it is a better workout, right? There's always a silver lining.

Anyways, back to the post at hand - the review of the week. Let's get to it!

9/06/2016

Pattern Review - Simplicity 1372

Heather 9/06/2016 2 Comments

So I've totally had this post written for over a month, and forgot to publish it. Whoops! Well here is the next installment of the stash-busting clothing sewing.

Here's the third top I knocked out last week. The top is basically a version of a pillowcase dress. I opted for the variation with ruffles, because ruffles. I had this gauze lying around for ages. I got it several years ago from mom, and it's just been sitting. So as a part of the great fabric purge I decided that the gauze would be perfect for this pretty, feminine shift.

I did cheat a bit. I didn't feel like hemming the ruffle so I just ran the edge through the serger with a slightly darker shade of olive green thread.

The biggest conundrum with this fairly straightforward pattern was when it came to stitching down the back to the sash. It doesn't tell you exactly where to stitch so you kind of have to play around with the fit and drape of the top on the sash to get it right. The sash also seems especially bulky, but it does flatten out a bit. I may have stabbed myself several times while trying to get the tie just right. I call it sewing acupuncture.

The top is very comfortable and sews up very quickly. The ruffle version is a bit more difficult than the other variations of the top, but it's not overly difficult. The simpler version of this top would absolutely be a great top to start your sewing skills, but the ruffled variation should be done by someone who's maybe still beginning, but has gained some confidence.

Cheers!

9/05/2016

The Monday Report - The Home Stretch

Heather 9/05/2016 0 Comments

Welcome to another Monday Report. I've been terrible about posting, and my training has been going about as well as my posting. At least until school started. The start of school, began a magical week where I had time to get massive amounts of things done. It's been glorious. I even got 4 runs in. What?!! I know. It's crazy talk.

So let's go back a few weeks. Three weeks to be exact.

8/24/2016

The Most Perfect Food?

Dana 8/24/2016 0 Comments

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