End of summer

The weather has finally dipped below the 90's here, and I couldn't be happier. Neither could a certain little girl who has been patiently waiting to swim in her kiddie pool ALL STINKIN' SUMMER.

Call me crazy, but I have no desire to set foot outside when it feels like my skin is melting off. Maybe that's just me though. I'm a big fan of keeping my skin thanks.

We've brought out the kiddie pool a whopping 2 times this year. TWO. Isn't summer supposed to be all about being outside and enjoying the summer sun? Not when the temperature is in the nineties and low hundreds. And let me tell you, it's been that way for a couple months in a row. There's no point to summer if you can't even go outside and enjoy it. Even the vegetables in my garden lost their will to live in the sweltering Tennessee heat.

Even more reason for me to look forward to fall. I just love the cool, crisp air, the way the leaves change, and of course it doesn't hurt that October means Halloween candy. That's one of the perks to having small children; they're too young to know that "checking the Halloween candy for safety reasons" is synonymous with "Mom and Dad get all the chocolate."


But for now, we're enjoying the last days of summer as the heat slowly dies down and nights become more pleasant. There are lots of bare feet and cups of lemonade at the McCaffrey house. But I'll gladly trade my cup of lemonade for a piece of pumpkin pie. Or some Halloween candy. I'm not picky :)

Homemade pasta

Sorry I've been a little MIA lately. I've been going through some changes at work with a new position and all the challenges that learning a new job entails (mini freak out!) It's been good but stressful. I'm being stretched and learning a lot of new things, so when I come home I want nothing more than to flop down on the couch and eat a creamsicle. Which is exactly what I have been doing for the last few nights.

However, since it's probably not the healthiest thing to eat creamsicles every night for dinner, I did manage to drag myself off the couch long enough to try making my own pasta one night. And let me tell you, it's WAY easier than I thought it'd be!

I thought it would be some kind of long, complicated process that involved special tools and ingredients, but when I opened my favorite Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (which is my go-to cooking bible) to find an idea for dinner one night, I saw a recipe for homemade noodles. And with a whole 3 ingredients total, I felt like it would be pretty hard for me to completely screw this one up, so I gave it a go.

Do you like my homemade drying rack? That's totally a clothes hanger dangling above my sink. I may have taken one giant step into ghettoville with this method, but you can't argue with results. Sometimes it's the simplest method works the best. Who needs expensive equipment when you have a plastic hanger that works just as well, right?

I just combined all the ingredients, rolled out the dough, cut it into strips, then let it dry on my ghetto pasta rack overnight. In the morning, I woke to find some lovely dried pasta, minus a few jumpers that broke off and fell into the sink.

I prepared them simply by sauteing some crushed garlic and tomatoes in olive oil, then tossing it with basil, oregano, and parmesan cheese. So tasty! My only problem was that I didn't cut the noodles thin enough so they didn't cook as evenly as I liked.

Oh well, that's what you get when you use a rolling pin and clothes hanger instead of a pasta machine, right?




I also made a second batch of noodles that I chose not to dry, and instead modified THIS recipe for chicken noodle soup from Allrecipes.com and substituted my homemade noodles in place of the egg noodles. It was nothing short of amazing. One of those meals perfect for a cold winter night or a rainy day, you know?

Too bad it's in the 90's here still...which didn't stop me from making a giant pot of soup anyway :) I see many more batches of homemade noodles in my future!

Sail Away Dress Sew-Along: Day 5

Today is the last day of the Sail Away Dress Sew-Along! I hope you've had fun sewing with me :) After yesterday's post, your dress should be finished. Today's post is all about making the sash to go with it.

For the sash, you need some fabric from one of your button down shirts - I used one of the sleeves - and a couple lengths of knit fabric, which I cut from an old t-shirt.


Step 1: Make your main piece.

First, measure your child around their waist where the sash will sit (no need to add any extra to the measurement.) Cut a strip of fabric this length by 4 inches wide (and hopefully your fabric won't be as wrinkled as mine because you'll iron yours like I should have :)

Fold your rectangle in half with the right sides together and press.

Sew down the long side to make a tube.

Next, press your seam to the middle. Do this by moving the long side you just sewed so that it's in the center of your tube, then iron down. Turn your tube right side out.

Next, tuck your open ends inside of your tube and press.

Step 2: Attach your ties.

 Cut 2 pieces of knit fabric each approximately 20 inches long and 1 inch wide. I cut my pieces from an old t-shirt. There's no need to hem any of the ends because knits don't fray - love that!

Tuck one end inside of your tube and topstitch 1/4 inch from the edge...

And that's it!

A great little dress for the last warm days of summer. You could even pair it with a long sleeve shirt and some leggings for when the weather gets cooler.

But let's not think about cold weather yet.

Let's savor the warm weather while we have it. Which, for Tennessee, is until about October so I guess my little cutie will be getting a lot of wear out of this dress!

Thanks for sewing along with me! 

If you make a Sail Away Dress I'd love to see it! Please email me at myownroad(at)yahoo(dot)com!

Sail Away Dress Sew-Along: Day 4

The end is near! And I don't mean in a creepy "end of the world" sort of way. More of a "your dress is almost finished!" kind of a way. After today, all we have left to do is to make the sash, which is totally optional (but oh so cute :)

Now on to strap making!

Step 1: Create your straps.

To make your straps, first measure your child over the shoulder from the point on her chest where you want the top of the dress to hit to her shoulder blade where you want the back of the dress to hit and add 2 inches. Cut out 4 rectangles from your shirt this length and 1 1/2 inches wide.

Place 2 pieces on top of each other right sides together, and fold in half with the folded part at the top, pinched between your thumb and forefinger. Cut at an angle starting from the bottom and meeting the end of the fold. Unfold your pieces, and you should have 2 angled sides, almost like an arrow.

Pin and sew around the perimeter of your straps, leaving the one short end that isn't angled open.

Clip the pointed parts of your strap close to your thread (but make sure you don't cut your thread), and use a pointed object to turn your straps inside out.

Tuck the open end of each strap inside and press closed. Topstitch around the entire perimeter of each strap about 1/4 inch from the edge.

Step 2: Sew button holes on your straps.

Sew button holes 1/4 inch from the pointed ends of each strap. Make sure your button holes are big enough to accommodate your buttons.

Step 3: Attach your straps.

Flip your dress inside out. Line up your straps with the inside edge of your dress. Pin your strap so that the bottom overlaps the bottom of the bias tape slightly. Sew on top of the line you previously sewed when you attached your bias tape.

If you want to make sure the straps are really secure, you can sew a second line above that one like I did. This is what the strap should look like when looking at your dress right side out.

Step 4: Add buttons to the front.

Now, just hand sew a couple of buttons to the front of your dress on each end, and that will do it for the dress itself!

Aside from the sash, your dress is done!

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Tomorrow, I'll show you how to make the sash to go with your dress.

Thanks for sticking with me, see you tomorrow for the last day of the Sail Away Dress Sew-Along!

Sail Away Dress Sew-Along: Day 3

Today will be the most detailed day because I'm going to cover the steps to bind your dress either with store-bought bias tape, or by making your own. If you want to make your own bias tape like I did, Prudent Baby has a great tutorial for how to make your own from scratch HERE.

Step 1: Add bias tape to the arm holes and keyhole closure.

Now, you need to enclose the raw edges of your dress. To do this, use store-bought double fold bias tape or make your own like I did. If you're making your own, you want to cut 2-inch wide strips on the bias from your button down shirt so that your final bias tape will be 1 inch wide after folding and cutting. Again, go HERE for more detailed instructions for making your own bias tape if you've never done this before.

First, use a tape measure to measure the length of your arm holes. Cut this length of bias tape out and tuck the raw edges of your dress, as well as the edges of your ruffle, into the tape. Pin and sew the entire length of your arm hole. Repeat to finish the other arm hole.

To enclose the raw edge of your keyhole closure, you'll need to measure the keyhole and line it with bias tape. Pin and sew to finish.

*Optional: If you find that your keyhole closure is poking out too much, you can fold both sides of your keyhole closure with the right sides together, pinch the bottom of your keyhole, and sew a straight line 1/2 inch or so from the bottom. This will help your keyhole closure stay flat and give the back of your dress a cute pleat (ignore the button and bias tape on the top of the dress, we're about to get there :).

Step 2: Finish the back of your dress. 

To finish the back of your dress you'll need to measure 2 pieces of bias tape, 1 for each side of your keyhole closure. Measure each side and add 1/2 inch to both measurements. Cut your 2 pieces of bias tape.

The sides of your bias tape will need to be sewed closed because they are exposed. You could just sew the ends closed, but that leaves messy ends and I like to make them pretty.

All you have to do is take your bias tape, which has already been folded and ironed, and fold it down the middle against the crease so your flaps are to the outside and the end looks like an "M". Sew a line down the short ends 1/4 inch from the edge and clip the extra fabric, then turn inside out using a pointed object to push your corners out, and voila! Now you have your tape for the right side where you'll be sewing your button.

The bias tape lining the left side will need some elastic sewed on one side to keep your dress closed in the back. Using the same method above, fold your fabric against the crease making an "M" and sew one end closed. Before sewing the other end, insert a loop elastic thread 2 inches long (or how ever big you need it to be to accommodate your button) into the crease with the loop facing away from the end of the fabric and the tails sticking out some (see picture below.)

Sew this end closed, clip the extra fabric and any additional elastic thread tails sticking out, and turn inside out.

Now, pin your bias tape with the loop to the left of your keyhole, and the other piece on the right side. Sew to finish.

Hand sew a button opposite of your elastic string to complete your keyhole closure.


Step 3: Finish the front of your dress.

To finish the front, measure the top of your front piece and add 1/2 inch. cut out this length of bias tape. I used the same fabric I used for the ruffles. Since both ends of your bias tape will be exposed on the front as well, use the method above to enclose both edges of your bias tape.

Pin and sew to enclose the top of your dress and armhole.. Your dress should look like the picture to the right so far. Still with me?

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Whew! Today was pretty detailed, but it's smooth sailing from here.

Smooth sailing, get it? Ok, bad nautical joke ;)

Tomorrow, we make straps. Try to contain yourselves! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Sail Away Dress Sew-Along: Day 2

Welcome back to day 2 of the Sail Away Dress Sew-Along!

If you missed day 1 where I show you how to make your pattern and the ruffles, go HERE.

Yesterday we covered the beginning basics of making your dress. Now, we'll dig a little deeper into the details.

Step 1: Cut your keyhole closure.

Now to make the keyhole for your button closure on the back of your dress.

First, measure the top of your back piece to find the center and draw a line 3 inches long with a disappearing ink marker.

Next, measure 1/2 inch on either side of this line, and draw 2 lines 1/2 inch shorter than the first.

Cut out your keyhole following the lines you drew, making sure the top and bottom of the keyhole are  curved as you cut.

Step 2: Sew your front and back pieces together.

Place your front piece on top of your back piece with the right sides together. Pin from the arm holes to the bottom of the dress. Sew from the bottom of the arm holes down (don't sew the arm holes closed!) with a straight stitch and finish the edges by serging or zig-zagging the edges.

Turn your dress inside out and press. It should look like this so far:

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Thanks for coming back for day 2. Tomorrow will be pretty detailed. We'll be covering bias tape and how to make your own (or, if you want to make things REALLY easy, you could always buy a couple of packages of double fold bias tape from the store.) 

See you back here tomorrow!