Pullover Sweater Converted to a Cardigan

Posted by, Paulette

I found this cute pullover sweater at Goodwill for $4. On half price day it was $2. Love that! I loved the color and the cable knit, but the pullover style just wasn't doing it for me. So I decided to make it into a cardigan.

Here's what it looked like before I cut into it.

And this is what it looked like after I slit it from top to bottom.

 

Fortunately, I've done this kind of surgery before. My friend received a cowl neck sweater for Christmas. She liked the color, but not the style. My friend is 16 years old, and very fashion conscience, and luckily with the help of some grosgrain ribbon and an exposed zipper, I was able to make it wearable for her. She loves it now.

So, with ribbon and scissors in hand, I got to work on this one. After cutting it up the center, I pinned, then sewed the ribbon of the same color to the right side of the fabric. This stabilizes the knit and keeps it from unraveling.

 Then it tuned the ribbon to the wrong side of the fabric and pinned and sewed it down. A little note here. I also singed the ends of the ribbon on a flame to prohibit unraveling. You could also use fray check, but then I would have had to wait for it to dry.

Then you're ready to add your button holes and buttons, or zipper. I chose mother of pearl buttons. They're my favorite for just about anything.

I Want Candy!

Posted by:  Paulette

 

This is not a broken glass casserole dish. This is raspberry candy!


Sometimes I just get a thought into my head out of the blue. Today it was while cleaning the boys' room. They had some candy from Christmas stuck to their desk. And I was thinking how good all that peanut brittle was. And how much I love raspberry. And then I remembered that we had some raspberry extract in the pantry from our hot cocoa bar. 
If you are a man reading this. This is how women think. One thought leads to another in lightening speed, and before we know it, we're on a totally different errand than we intended. 
I did finish cleaning the boy's room. And THEN I made candy!

Raspberry Hard Candy
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lite corn syrup
1/4 cup water
4 drops pink food coloring
2 drops purple food coloring
1 teaspoon raspberry extract

In a medium size pot, on medium heat, combine sugar. corn syrup and water. Cook until the syrup mixture starts to turn yellow. This is your cue to get it off the stove. Quickly add food coloring and extract. Pour into a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Wait until cool, and then break into pieces.

 I had so much fun playing with Katie. We played "I see you!" as we looked through our rose colored glass. 
And the candy was yummy too. It only lasted about 2 hours in our house. Good thing it was so easy to make.

The Right Song For The Job

Posted by: Paulette

How did I spend my Christmas Vacation? Well, I reupholstered a loveseat, made copious amounts of peanut brittle and other sweets. Sewed myself a new dress, painted a bathroom, changed out the innards of a toilet (glamorous. I know), changed out 3 faucets;1 kitchen and two bathrooms, baked bread a few times, and then the usual Chrismasy stuff.

And to tell you the truth, the thing that I'm most proud of is changing out the faucets. On the surface it looks really easy, right? Just remove the old faucet and hook up a new one. But, as in all home improvement projects, there's probably going to be something that you didn't plan for.

 So, I am going to share with you some of the things that helped me when getting off the old faucets. 

Turn off the water at the shut offs. Remember that there's probably going to be some corrosion.

This is not a picture of the corroded supply lines that I had to deal with, But don't let that pretty aqua color fool you. It acts like glue. Superglue. and you can't get the supply line off. This is where I had to turn on some powerful music. You know, the kind that vents all of the frustration that I was feeling. In this case Metallica's "Master of Puppets" came to mind. And Techie brother-in-law was there with his I-Phone to produce it. But first I had some other help at hand. This stuff, Liquid Wrench. I was advised to get this stuff when I was trying to get the nuts and bolts off of the porch swing frame. I'm so glad I still had some. Just spray on and then wait about 10 minutes. Then bang the nut with your wrench a few times. You'll actually see some of the corrosion disappear. The you'll need your next tool.

A pair of vise grips was the main tool that I used for this project. See those lovely jaws with teeth? They bit into that nut and wouldn't let go!

Once you've removed the old faucet and the supply lines, you're ready for the next step. Hooking up the new faucet. Make sure that you measure your supply lines before you buy them. It will save you lots of grief, and extra visits to the hardware store later. 

My bathroom sinks took 16", and the kitchen sink needed a longer one. I ended up not changing them out because the ones I bought weren't long enough. I'm sure I'll be changing them soon. Make sure you pick up some Teflon tape too. You'll need that for the faucet connectors.

And then there was the kitchen sink! Oy vey! That job required a drill, a torch, and some music by Nine Inch Nails. It's funny that I always thought my sister was strange for listening to this music when we were growing up. It all sounded so angry. Sometimes you have to have the right song for the job!

I won't keep you any longer with my tale of the kitchen sink, but in case you're wondering. This is the faucet that I installed.

It's beautiful, but I'll never get a decent picture of it, because the kitchen sink is perpetually full of dirty dishes. I wonder what song I need to motivate the kids to wash the dishes. Any suggestions?

Getting Real

Posted by, Paulette

A couple of years ago I started working out at the gym 6 days a week, 1 1/2 to 2 hours a day. I lost 50 lbs. I was feeling great and strong. I went from a size 20 to a size 12. I had learned to eat well. Restricting breads, and starches, and eating lean meats and vegetables.

And then I discovered blogland. I began changing and improving and fixing things around the house. I was so motivated!

This is me today:

 

In this picture I am wearing a size 16. I'm too large for my frame, but I've still not put 30 of the pound I lost back on.
I am having a lot of fun making home improvements, and sewing dolls. And when I am able to eat vegetables again, (I have major food allergies), I am confident that I will fit into that size 12 again, and maybe even continue in the weight loss journey. I need to love myself for who I am today. And do the best I can in any situation. That's why I've named this post "Getting real."
Life is all about balance. I am still learning how to balance my own life. And while I can do a lot of things really well, I can't do them perfectly without letting something go. I got a ton of compliments on the day that I wore that red dress, that I made for myself. I need to own that, and not deny the beauty that is in me. I may have a muffin top, and more junk in the trunk than I'd like. But there are more important things to focus on right now.

Winter Mantle

Posted by Paulette
I've taken down all of the Christmas decorations and the house feels so bare. I love having all of the beautiful evergreens about, but having all of that and the Christmas tree up feels too crowded. 
A quick trip to Hobby Lobby for some of their clearance Christmas artificial foliage and blooms and we're  feeling pretty again.

 

The evergreens were 66% off and the rose bouquet was 50% off. I filled one of my white porcelain water pitchers with stones, and then just poked the greens and blooms in. So much neater than floral foam, and easier to disassemble when I'm tired of it. 

 

Sweet and simple.

Gluten Free Snickerdoodles

Posted by: Paulette
One of the saddest days in my life was when I discovered that I was allergic to wheat. I used to make all my own breads, including tortillas. And to tell you the truth, I'm a cookie addict! Five years ago gluten free products were not what they are now. The baked goods tasted like they were made with cornstarch, and left a strange taste in your mouth. Now, you can get all kinds of yummy stuff that tastes just like ones made with wheat flour. The problem is that they are still prepackaged, sitting on the shelf for months, getting stale. Homemade is always better, right? So while I should be swearing off the cookies for good, I'm not. Today I made snickerdoodles. you know, the yummy cinnamon sugar chewy goodness. And lucky you. I'm going to share the recipe!

 Gluten Free Snickerdoodles
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
 
 1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups gluten free flour*
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon water (optional)
Combine sugar, butter, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl and mix. Add remaining ingredients and mix until they form into a ball of dough. I use a teaspoon of water because I live in the Arizona desert. If you live in a humid climate, omit that ingredient. 
Mix together in a small bowl:
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon 

Roll dough into 2 inch balls, then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with the heel of your hand. Bake in 400 degree oven for 12 minutes.  
Remove to a cooling rack or aluminum foil.

*The gluten free bread flour I use is Pamela's. 
                       ENJOY!

 

I Got A New Camera!

Posted by: Paulette


I've been so unhappy with the pictures that my old camera was taking lately, and so decided to get a new one. I am no great photographer and am just starting to learn about lighting, and shutter speed, and such things. So a point and shoot is all that I can handle right now.

 Dave and I bought our old digital camera just as they were becoming popular. It would only handle a 2GB card it was so old. My new one:

 is sooo easy to use! I love it. It's tiny,  it's red (my favorite color) AND fits in my purse. I love that it takes beautiful clear pictures even in low light. And I think that I can use a manual mode when I start playing around with the aforementioned things. I don't know yet. It's still so new to me and I've not had much time to play with it. This one can handle an 8Gb memory card, (and higher) so, I have plenty of space to play around. Next on my list of things to learn, how to upload them to my computer! Ha!