How'm I doing? Project update . . .

A few weeks ago I wrote about all the sewing projects I had planned for Christmas gifts. Now it's Truth Time - how'm I doing on all those projects? It's less than a week before Christmas, and tomorrow I must start wrapping and getting things ready to carry off for the Big Day!!

First, you know I already finished the pillowcases, which I showed you in my previous post.


Then, there was the 1906 costume for my friend who docents at a vintage farm/state park and must dress authentically. It turned out great! Here it is on the right. I gave my friend Mary the dress already, because she had a Christmas party to go to at the farm and she needed it! She just loved it and got many compliments. Yay!!









Next, I worked on the tablecloth for un-named recipients' 10-foot picnic table. I finished that plus 12 napkins, and have already wrapped it. It's sitting under the tree waiting to be delivered! Here's the tablecloth and about 6 of the napkins before I finished it. The tablecloth is a vinyl covered fabric that you can wipe clean (ketchup, red wine, you know, picnic stuff). I think they're going to love it!



After that there were cushions for sweet turquoise patio chairs. Just finished those two days ago and here they are! They're going to go really well with the one cushion she already has, which is turquoise and green striped. Doesn't it make you want to sip a MaiTai?? Or at least jump into a hammock?







And finally, the little purse for a birthday that falls right after Christmas. Such bad luck, it seems. However, it's good luck to be born into a good family, and so close to the same birthday as an Important Person, so there's that. Anyway, I always try to do a special birthday thing for this beloved family member so her birthday doesn't get lost in Christmas. Here's the little purse - isn't it cute?




I worked really hard on all these projects, and it was so much fun! Part of what made it fun was I started early - in October - so I had plenty of time to finish. Hope I remember this next year!

Have a very happy holiday and a fabulous, happy, prosperous, peaceful New Year! 2015 Woo Hoo!!

Runup to Christmas: Holiday sewing projects!

I'm so excited that I got an early start on Christmas projects this year! Don't you love hand-made gifts? After years of buying and gifting things I'm never sure my loved ones want, I've finally determined the things they want most are gifts I make myself. So fun, but best if you plan ahead. Let me tell you, staying up till after midnight sewing and crafting for the entire week before the Big Day takes some of the sparkle out of the accomplishment. I know; I've done it. Whew!

So this year I got started in October. I can hardly believe it. Here's what I'm making, with enough mystery that the recipients might not immediately recognize their gift in advance, should they read this post :-)

• One set of all cotton king-size pillowcases (COMPLETED and boxed for gifting)
• A winter dress in the style and fabric of the period for a loved one who volunteers at an early-20th century home (cut out, marked, and ready to sew)
• A tablecloth for a 10-foot picnic table (just try finding a narrow 10+-foot tablecloth in the store!)
• Cushions for some very sweet patio chairs
• If there is time, two, maybe three, adorable small purses from this Martha article

King pillowcases

I've got my work cut out for me, no?! I'll keep you posted on my progress. Here's a photo of the already-finished (yay!!!) pillowcases:

And another of the 5 yards of cotton corduroy (these 1900-ish ladies used A LOT of fabric in their skirts!) for the winter dress, which I now have all cut out and marked - ready to start sewing today. Speaking of history, did you know corduroy has been around in one form or another as a clothing fabric since the time of the ancient Egyptians? It was called "fustian" for most of its history until the 18th century when it was re-named "cord du roi" or "cloth of the king", probably a marketing ploy. And corduroy hasn't changed much since then, except today we sometimes add a little stretch to it.

Sage green cotton corduroy

Making progress! Let the Holiday season begin!

Catching up on promises

Hey, I promised to tell you how the bartending class went (see Imagine ME as your Christmas present!) It was SO much fun! First of all, Jess and Brian have a sweet house on a winding street up a hill overlooking all of San Francisco, so you can imagine the setting was to die for. We organized the bar in the kitchen, which had a clear view out the living room window to beauty, and went to work.

There were eleven vodka cocktails on the class outline, and we motored through all of them. I made them, explaining each one and talking about variations. Then we passed the drink around to everyone who was drinking (all except Wayne, who has a bad reaction to alcohol, and Jess, who's pregnant!). There was a lot of sippin' goin' on, believe me, plus a few people with their own straws doin' a little more than sippin'. You know who you are! Meanwhile there were snacks - artichokes and dip, veggies, crackers - to keep us upright.

Finally, after all eleven drinks had been constructed and sampled, everyone decided what their favorite drink was and Brian and I made that for them to have with Lee's wonderful salmon dinner.

What do you think the drink with the most  "favorites" was? I was pretty blown away that it was the Bloody Mary. I mean, it wasn't even morning! Nevertheless, several people wanted their very own.

Brian, the giftee, opted for the Vodka Collins, which I'll admit was good and refreshing. Lee, the giftor, went for the Cosmo. These drinks are already on this blog (look to the right under The Best Cocktails)...well, the Vodka Collins is there under Tom Collins, which is gin. Just substitute vodka, of course, if that's your preference.

A good time was had by all, especially by ME! I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

No, silly, that's not us in the photo!! We looked similar though. You know, happy.

Imagine ME as your Christmas present!

Well, ha-ha, not exactly. But my friend Lee has given my skills as a bartender to her son-in-law as a Christmas gift. Here's how it happened.

Brian asked for a good bar book for Christmas, so he could learn to make his favorite vodka cocktails. Lee thought it would be a better idea to have a bona-fide bartender (me) teach him how to make the drinks, and then she'd make dinner and we'd all have a party. What a great idea!

It's going to happen later this month. Here's the "lesson plan": •

Classic Vodka Cocktails 

                                                                                      

•          Vodka Martini 

•          Cosmopolitan

•          Lemon Drop 

•          Vodka Gimlet 

•          Madras 

•          Cape Cod 

•          Greyhound and Salty Dog 

•          Bloody Mary 

•          Kamakazi 

•          Vodka Sour 

•          Vodka Collins

 

How fun is that?! As I envision it, we'll all gather round while Brian and I make drinks. Of course, there are so many drinks we'd have to check in at ER if we drank them all. Instead we'll use drink straws to take "bartender sips" of each drink, and then decide what we want to drink more of. At the end, I'll give him a hand-made book of recipes for these drinks, and we'll eat Lee's delicious dinner (she's a great cook, as well as an inspired mother-in-law).

I'll let you know how it goes, and even pass along some of the drink recipes that aren't already here on my blog under The Best Cocktails over on the right-hand side.

Cheers!

Another easy gift to make: Spice envelopes

Here's another easy gift you can make yourself. I've brought these as house gifts, and also plan to give some for Christmas. They're really pretty and useful for other things too - when you give them filled with little packets of spice mixes, they're two gifts in one!

This is a lined cloth envelope, filled with small baggies of spices and spice mixes purchased at a spice shop, in my case at Oaktown Spice Shop in Oakland.

To make the envelope, you'll need:
- 1/3 yard of a fabric for the outside
- 1/3 yard of a different fabric that complements the first fabric for the lining.
- a sewing machine

Cut a piece of each fabric 6" wide and 16" long. If you wish, you can cut across the corners of the top of each piece. This will result in a rounded flap, like the one you see in the photo.

With right sides together, sew the two pieces together with a 1/2" seam, leaving 2 inches open at the bottom for turning. Turn the piece right side out, taking care to pull out the corners. Press on both sides. Stitch the opening closed by hand, hiding your stitches as much as possible.

Turn the bottom up 5-1/2" to make the bottom of the envelope. Stitch along both sides of the turned up portion. Press well.

Turn down the top portion to make the flap of the envelope, leaving a little extra room at the top to account for the bulk of your spice packets. Press well.

Fill with spice packets and give proudly! Here's another photo of the envelope above, giving a peek at the lining...

All the measurements given above can be altered, making your envelope longer, wider, bigger, or smaller depending on what you're putting in it.

Santa's coming! Easy gifts to make: Wine stoppers

Isn't it cool when you get a gift someone made with their own hands? I just love that kind of creativity, and I think it's so, well, personal when someone I love makes a special gift just for me. Turning it around, I've made at least some of the gifts I've given over the last few years. Most of them don't take much time, and on top of it the expense is so much less - all good. Here's a gorgeous and very easy stocking stuffer for the wine lovers on your list! (P.S. can also be used for olive oil and other kinds of bottles)

Wine Stoppers
You'll need:
1. A used wine cork (not plastic) that's not cracked or broken and that is narrow enough on one end to fit back into a wine bottle. Test it on a bottle!
2. A pretty drawer pull with screw. I got some good ones at Cost Plus for around $5. Look for a design that reminds you of the person you're making it for - exotic, dramatic, colorful, cheerful...
3. An electric drill with a drill bit slightly smaller than or the same size as the screw on the drawer pull.
4. A good polyurethane glue, like Gorilla Glue.

With your drill, make a hole in the end of your cork (the end that doesn't fit back into the bottle) that is almost as deep as the drawer pull screw is long.

Carefully put a little glue on the drawer pull screw plus a little into the hole in the cork. Be careful not to get it on your fingers, and don't put so much in the hole that it will ooze out when you insert the screw.

Insert the drawer pull screw into the cork, turning and turning it until the cork is right up against the knob of the pull.

Let dry for 24 hours. Here's a finished photo of a couple of the wine stoppers I made! Pretty cute, huh?