Mar 1 2013

Fried Fish Recipe

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Rachel

My husband went ice fishing and brought back some fresh fish. The only problem was that it was already cleaned so I had no idea what kind of fish it was or how to prepare it. So I decided to make fried fish sandwiches. By now no one should be surprised I decided to fry it.

The amounts for everything are for 1 fish fillet. Do equal parts of flour and corn starch for more batter.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
~ 3/4 cup water
tabasco sauce (optional)
celery salt
red pepper
cumin
oil for frying

Directions:

1. Heat a couple of inches of oil, I used canola, in a small sauce pan.

2. In a small bowl, combine flour and cornstarch, season to taste and mix.

3. Add water and a couple shakes of tabasco (to taste, can omit), to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth

4. Coat the fish in the batter, and place in the oil to fry.

5. Fry for about 3 minutes on each side, until a nice golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon. As you can see I didn’t put enough oil in the pan to where the fillet was completely submerged so I flip it.

6. Enjoy!

I like to make a sandwich out of it by placing it on a toasted bun, placing cheese on it right after it comes out of the oil so it melts and a little bit of tartar sauce.

Feb 24 2013

Easy Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Rachel

Pin It

Bacon makes vegetables taste better. It’s just a fact. For dinner I decided to make bacon wrapped asparagus. I use my toaster oven when I make it. It’s the perfect size.

Need:

2 slices of bacon
~ 12 stalks of asparagus
olive oil
pepper

How to:

Preheat oven to 375°
snap the ends off of the stalks of asparagus
coat the asparagus in olive oil, I use my Misto so I don’t put too much on them
take the bacon and wrap the asparagus with it in two different spots
place on broiler pan, you want something with holes because the bacon fat will be dripping down as it cooks
sprinkle pepper on it to taste
place it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until bacon is cooked
Enjoy!

Feb 2 2013

Knit Belt, How to Slip Stitch

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Rachel

Pin It

I decided to make the Artisan Belt in the Chick with Sticks knitting book. I’ve never had a knit belt before. It was my first time slipping stitches. I was a little nervous about it because although there was a picture of it I wasn’t sure how it would work. But it gave it a nice almost braided looking border, using Crystal Palace Yarn. I used attach 1” D rings as my belt closure.

– To slip stitch all you do it put the needle through the loop, in either knit or purl stitch fashion whatever the directions say, without wrapping yarn around the needle first. So you’re literally slipping the stitch onto the needle.

Start by pulling the thread to the front of the project

Then take the needle through the front of the stitch like you’re going to do a purl stitch.

Push stitch on to needle WITHOUT actually doing the purl stitch

– To attach the D rings, simply fold fabric over the straight part of the D ring and stitch closed. The package the rings come in should also have instructions on it.

Overall I’m really happy with my knit belt. It’s really just an accessory, not for actually holding up pants. But that is just fine with me. I think it’s a nice addition to my wardrobe and it was a fun, easy and quick project to complete.

Jan 31 2013

Cross Stitch Heart Pattern

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Rachel

Pin It

I was thinking about Valentine’s Day and realized I didn’t have a cross stitch heart pattern. I wanted it to be like something I use to draw in junior high, you know, the heart with my love’s and I’s initials in it. Then I thought about Rusty and how he is part of this family, so I put half a paw peeking out over the top of the heart.

Pattern

The pattern didn’t turn out the greatest when I scanned it because I pretty much beat it to death while I was completing the stitching, taking it everywhere with me. Next time I’ll scan it before I start the stitching. Lesson learned.

Stitching the paw print was a pain in my rear. Even though I had my pattern the squares are so tiny that it would have benefited me and the pattern to make it a bit bigger if I want to stitch this heart again.

I really need graph paper with smaller squares so I can make bigger patterns. This tiny heart reminds me of a Pound Puppy patch! I don’t know what I’ll do with it now that the stitching is complete, maybe I will put it on a stuffed animal and then watch the Pound Puppies.

Jan 21 2013

How to Make a Tie for a Dog

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Rachel

Pin It

I made a tie for a dog, my dog! Rusty has been going to work with me and I decided he needed an update to his office attire. I went with a tie. Now this is a very simple design. I could have gone one step farther and made it wider and then folded the sides in and tacked them down like a typical tie but the way I did it worked for me. Besides, it’s a tie for a dog, perfection is not required because any dog wearing any type of tie is going to be adorable.

1. I used one of my husband’s old ties as a basic pattern and just shortened the length. The length of my tie is 40 inches mainly because that is the length of the leftover flannel fabric I had. Also, I used an old tie just in case I accidentally clipped it with my scissors. If you don’t have a tie to use, there are many free patterns online for ties from newborn sizes to men’s.

I pressed the fabric and then folded it in half before I laid the tie on it so I could cut two equal pieces.

2. Next I pinned the tie onto the fabric, folding the tie to adjust the length.

3. I cut the fabric with my pinking shears because I just bought them and couldn’t wait to use them. I cut just outside the fabric. The area where the tie is folded, I just angled the scissors inward to reach the skinny part of the tie. Then I unpinned and removed the tie and adjusted the angle to make sure there was smooth line for the length of the tie.

4. I decided to apply fusible interfacing to both points of the tie because I wasn’t doing the traditional tie where, on the back of the tie, both sides fold in towards the middle, and wanted to create a little bit of heft to the fabric.

– For interfacing, cut it just on the inside of the seam line so you don’t have to sew through the extra bulk. Next, lay the fabric wrong side up on the ironing board. Then place the interfacing on the desired part of the fabric shiny side down. Place a pressing cloth over the fabric and interfacing. With a steam setting, use the spray button on the iron and wet down area of interfacing and iron over it, constantly moving for about 30 seconds. Allow the fabric to cool and then check to see if it is fused. If not, repeat the ironing.

5. Pin both layers together, right sides facing each other.

6. Press, just in case wrinkles have formed.

7. Sew around the edges with a 1/2 inch seam, start in the middle of the tie, in order to machine stitch each point, and leave an inch wide opening. Backstitch at the start and finish.

8. Press.

9. Pull fabric through so the right side of the fabric is now on the outside and press.

10. Slip stitch the hole closed, pressing it in the step before should have folded the fabric giving a nice area to stitch the hole closed.

I used this Youtube video to learn how to actually tie it.

Now Rusty is ready for work!

Jan 19 2013

Stuffed Shells Recipe

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Rachel

Pin It

Here is my stuffed shells recipe. I sometimes make it was ground Italian sausage and sometimes I omit it. It just depends on what sort of mood I am in.

This amount should serve around 4 people. The measurements are only guidelines and things should be adjusted to your own taste. I’ve made this so many times that I usually don’t measure anymore and just throw it all in and stir.

Ingredients:

16 Jumbo Shells
3/4 cup Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
2 cups uncooked Spinach, fresh or frozen,
1 Egg
4 shredded Fresh leaves or Dried Basil to taste
Italian Seasoning to taste
2 small Garlic cloves
Pasta Sauce
1/2 lbs ground Italian Sausage (optional)

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350°
Cook shells according to packaging directions
In a medium size bowl, put all cheeses, egg and seasonings including garlic in it.
Saute spinach, in a medium skillet, until wilted, then remove it, chop it and place in bowl with the cheese.
If adding sausage, brown the sausage in a skillet until cooked through, and put into bowl with the cheese.
Mix everything until well combined.
In a oven safe dish big enough to hold the shells in one layer, spread some pasta sauce covering the entire bottom and place the shells in the pan opening side up.
Fill each shell with a scoop, large spoonful, of the cheese mixture.
Cover the shells with a thin layer of pasta sauce and then cover them with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Cover the dish with foil and cook for 15 minutes.
Then remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes.
Serve with a side salad and biscuits!

Jan 7 2013

Altered Men’s Suit Jacket

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Rachel

Pin It

My husband bought a $30 suit jacket from Target that was too big for him, mainly in the waist. We decided it would be a good project for me to work on since I’ve never done any tailoring or altering of men’s clothing except for the hem of pants. So I attempted at creating a great altered men’s suit jacket.

1. First thing I did was have him put it on and I pinched the fabric to fit and then pinned it. Then I unpinned it because I got his undershirt :/ and re-pinned it.

2. Then I marked the place where the pins went into and out of the fabric just in case a pin fell out with a chalk pencil. I did this on the lining of the jacket as well.

pinch and pin

3. I measured in between the dots and marked the measurements on the jacket, with a fabric chalk pencil, and on a piece of paper. These measurements are what I needed to take the jacket in by. I did this on the lining of the jacket as well.

my measurements

4. I then got out my handy seam ripper and separated the lining from the back of the jacket. I just did the bottom of the jacket and up the closest seam line on the side of the jacket.

lining pulled back

5. With the lining up and out of the way, I ironed the seam so it was no longer open. Then from the seam I measured and marked half the distance that I wrote down and because the measurements were slightly different in some locations I did this at each site of where a pin was and connected the dots. This starts with no measurements at the top because the shoulders fit so the line in a diagonal down the back of the jacket increasing as it goes to the bottom because the waist of the jacket is what was too big. I pinned the layers together and sewed down the chalk line, cut off the extra fabric and ironed the seam open. The first time I did this, I had a notch of extra fabric at the collar and had to redo it.

mark and sew

6. Repeat step 5 for the lining.

The last couple of steps is figuring out the tail and reattaching the lining to the jacket.

7. For the matching the lining to the tail I just kept folding and pinning until I had what I thought looked acceptable.

all sewn up

8. To reattach the lining to the jacket, I am sure there is a machine stitch way, like a blind hem stitch possibly, but I decided to hand stitch it with a slip stitch, I own a book called Teach Yourself Visually Sewing and does a great job illustrating how to do it. The stitch mimicked the rest of the lining to the jacket pretty well which is another reason why I picked it. I then ironed the lining and now the jacket is a great fit!

finished!

Jan 3 2013

How to Make a Lion Mane Dog Costume Version 2

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Rachel

Pin It

I made another version of my lion mane dog costume for Rusty because I had bought way too much fake fur and I didn’t know what to do with it. I decided to be a little more adventurous with it this time. I actually used my sewing machine on the fake fur and I sewed fleece. Two things I have never done before. I basically made a doggy ski mask and then sewed layers of pleated fake fur onto it.

I lost all of my pictures of each step :/ But I took some other pictures that will hopefully help out.

Things I used:

~ 1/2 yard fake fur, from Mendel’s website.
thread to match
a small amount of tan lycra
tiny amount of tan anti-pill fleece
fabric fusion velcro

How I did it:

1. Take a LOT of measurements the dog’s head and neck. If all else fails drape the fabric around the dog and mark the fabric.

2. Cut a ski mask out of a base material, I choose lycra. I did this in two pieces one to go around the head and one to go around the neck. I then sewed the neck piece to the head piece using a tight zig-zag stitch, since lycra is a bit stretchy. If your fabric snags, try adding tissue paper under the fabric and then tear it away after the seam is created. Also, I didn’t finish the edges of the lycra, mainly because I can be lazy.

inside of the mane

3. Fuse the velcro into the correct positions. Hopefully you can see what I did in the picture.

4. Next, cut 1 inch to 2 inch wide strips of fur (it depends on the amount of volume and work you want to do, my strips were 2 inches wide) that are about 4 inches longer than the mask.

To cut the fur mark on the back where you want to cut and then use a straight blade like a box cutter or a razor blade to prevent trimming the fur and creating a huge mess. I, unfortunately, didn’t have either one of those and used scissors. BIG MISTAKE fur everywhere! and because the scissors trimmed the fur and created a weird raw edge I needed to fold over the edge and sew it down. Something I wouldn’t have had to do if I had just went out and bought a box cutter.

5. Next step is to pleat and pin the fur to fit the mask. If you don’t know how to pleat, here is a drawing I did that might help. Pleat whichever way is most comfortable to you, I find the knife pleat to be the easiest.

Drawing of different pleats for sewing

pleats

Sew the layers, fur side down on the machine, onto the lycra mask, starting with the bottom layer first working your way up so the layers don’t get in the way. I did the layer that goes around Rusty’s face going in the opposite direction to create more volume around his face.

6. Repeat for around the neck, I only did 2 layers for that part.

7. Fold fleece into fours, to where there are 4 layers of fleece and draw out an open bottom oval and then cut along your lines.

lion ears

8. Next, combine two of the pieces and sew as close to the edge as possible, turn inside out and repeat for other ear. Pin onto mask for placement and hand stitch the ears to the mask.

Finally you have a lion mane dog costume!

Manne modeling it

Manne model shot

Dec 29 2012

Simple Knit Men’s Fingerless Gloves Pattern

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Rachel

Pin It

Homemade presents are the best presents in my opinion because you know the person really thought about the gift and put some time into it. Also, I enjoy making gifts for people too so it’s a win win.

I needed to get a gift for a friend and decided on fingerless gloves. I have a pair and love them. I have also decided to make a pair of fingerless gloves for my dad because he uses a cane and these will allow him to keep his hands warm and still have the ability to grip the cane. For my friend’s gloves, I decided on a 100% baby alpaca chunky yarn in gray because it’s so soft and warm. It’s also just my favorite yarn to knit and gray goes with everything.

easy pattern/ how I did it:

cast on 32
k2 p2
continue pattern until it reaches desired length I made mine about 8 inches because I wanted the glove to go all the way under the coat sleeve so no skin was exposed
cast off in the k2 p2 pattern
fold in half lengthwise and whip stitch up the side leaving an opening for your thumb about an inch down from the top

Then you have great fingerless gloves for the late fall and winter!

This pattern can easily be adjusted for men and women. Just reduce or increase the stitches by the pattern of 4 stitches (k2p2)

action shot

Dec 20 2012

Simple Cross Stitch Patterns made from an App

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Rachel

Pin It

I mentioned previously that I found an app for iPhone and iPad. It’s basically pixel art transferred to cross stitch patterns. I did make some simple cross stitch patterns. But, the app doesn’t allow for half stitch, back stitch or knots. It is fun to play with and see just how difficult it is to create a pattern. I’m posting pictures of the ones I made. They are very basic and the graph space doesn’t expand to be a very large canvas. For some reason, some of the patterns I could save with the graph behind it, as a .pdf. Other patterns, the program had issues with and had me save as an image file resulting in no chart. All in all the program is fun to play with and to get a basic idea of pattern making but it’s not for serious pattern makers. Now I know what I’ll be doing to pass the time when I ride the T.

Key

background in Mario Brothers

Needles and Know How

Putting my Needles to Work

Tag Archives: create

Fried Fish Recipe

Easy Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Knit Belt, How to Slip Stitch

Cross Stitch Heart Pattern

How to Make a Tie for a Dog

Stuffed Shells Recipe

Altered Men’s Suit Jacket

How to Make a Lion Mane Dog Costume Version 2

Simple Knit Men’s Fingerless Gloves Pattern

Simple Cross Stitch Patterns made from an App

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: