#BLOGLIKECRAZY 11 - MY NEW LOVE: 1940'S FASHION...

...this rainy, chilly Saturday afternoon was spent falling head over heals in love with 1940 fashion while binging on Netflix's Bomb Girls. Oh the dresses, suits, hats, jackets and coats.  I gathered lots of sewing inspiration.

I made the necessary pattern adjustments to Vogue 9036 - mainly the back rise and slant pocket area.

 

and this was the perfect Saturday afternoon to spend with a big cup of Mangosteen Peach Green Tea, and my wonderful Kai Shears while finally getting around to cutting out my new pants.  Hopefully construction will begin tomorrow.

#BLOGLIKECRAZY 10 - HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY...

...to all who serve and have served

#BLOGLIKECRAZY 9 - THE SEWING GOURMET DOES EARLY THANKSGIVING DAY MEAL PREP...

... preparation for one of the biggest meals of the year can really take a toll on you.  To avoid this I took the advice of one of my former clients to get a jump start by making dishes that are really time consuming ahead of time.  So I've made it a tradition to make 3 of my dishes weeks ahead of time - and freeze them. Almost anything freezes, and most dishes taste better after they have had a chance to marinate.  My cornbread dressing is the first thing that I attack, and I try my best to get it made by Halloween each year.  So while others are celebrating Halloween, I'm making Dressing for my big day.  My recipe involves loads of vegetable chopping that I would rather not have to do on Thanksgiving Day.

There are as many different recipes for this Southern Classic as there are Southern families.  (Here we have dressing; Northerners have stuffing. Used the same but they are two different dishes).  However, the most important part of  ANY dressing recipe is the CORNBREAD. I've played with my cornbread recipe over the years and I think that it's darn near perfect!  So if you don't have a recipe of your own, I'd like to share mine here.  I call it:

EGG/ONION/BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD

2 1/2 Cup of White Lilly (or another brand) Buttermilk Cornbread Mix

1 Large Onion, Chopped

3 Large Eggs, Well Beaten

1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

1 1/2 Cup Buttermilk

Mix Cornbread Mix and chopped onion in a medium mixing bowl.   Mix in well beaten eggs.  Add  vegetable oil and buttermilk.  Stir to blend all ingredients thoroughly.  Pour mixture into two greased cast iron skillets.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. 

This cornbread is soooo good, and of course can be used for purposes other than dressing.

To put the dressing together cooks use a variety of different ingredients:  chicken/turkey stock, sauted in butter onion, celery, mushrooms, scallions, cream of chicken/celery/mushroom soup, oysters or sausage and a variety of spices: it all depends on personal likes and dislikes.

Sealed tight after mixing (before baking) and freezer ready.  Enough for Thanksgiving Dinner and several nice Sunday Dinners months away. I freeze the excess up to 4 months.

Bet you've never seen an entire post on Cornbread...

#BLOGLIKECRAZY 8 - I WANT IT ALL (PANTS FITTING)...

...yesterday I received 3 really great responses to my Instagram question; What is your favorite pants pattern?  The patterns suggested were:

• Vogue 1411
• BurdaStyle 9/2010 #115,
• Vogue 9032 and 
• Simplicity 2700 

all great suggestions that I plan to give a try.  I decided Vogue 9032 would a good starting point since I'd made a muslin of it back in July.

This muslin had been folded and stored since that time and I actually had to press it before trying it on today.

 I am not totally dissatisfied with the overall fit of this muslin.  I can't remember why I side stepped this one back in July except for the fact that my water weight fluctuates back and forth and affects fit. I've had them on for about an hour now, sitting, standing and bending.  I want to really get a feel for them before I cut my fabric (I don't play with my fabric (lol).  However, I do know that my fabric will act/fit differently than this muslin and actually dictate the final project - I think I'm on the right track with these.

There are adjustments that need to be made:

1.  Bagginess in the pocket area that I don't understand, but have pinned out in this picture.  I will need to make an adjustment in the front pattern piece and the pocket facing to eliminate this problem.

2.  I cut the side back and back to inserted an extra strip of fabric to make the necessary adjustment needed to increase the back rise.

Tomorrow I'll work on transferring these changes to my actual pattern pieces, and decide on fabric to use for the project...

#BLOGLIKECRAZY 2017 - I STILL WANT IT ALL - PART 5...

...regular readers of my blog already know that every now and then I embark on a pants fitting frenzy.  I think the last time I mentioned "pants" in a post was back in July. Though it's been a while,   I still want it all when it comes to pant styles), so it's time to start with fitting efforts again.

Earlier today I posted this question on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter:  Help me out.  What's your favorite pants pattern?  I've received several responses so far:

Samina from Sew Everything Blog highly recommended - Vogue 1411

Clio from Five Muses loves BurdaStyle 9/2010 #115, and suggested that I read her blog post of today because it's all about variations of her favorite pants pattern.

and 

KS from Dressmaking Debacles added Vogue 9032 that she has made numerous times, and Simplicity 2700

• I added Vogue 1411 to my collection a while ago but backed off of it because of all the pieces.  After reading Samina's review of the pattern, I will definitely reconsider this pattern.

• I have played around with Vogue 9032 as a muslin but wasn't quite satisfied because I need to increase the back rise.  Other than that, as I remember, the fit of the muslin was not that bad so maybe I need to revisit that pattern.

•  I did make Simplicity 2700 way back when it was first released and the fit was pretty good.  On this pattern I wasn't use to working with the contoured waistband so I never made them again.  However, I may just reconsider this pattern as well.
• I am pretty sure that I have the September 2010 issue of Burda Style so I might just take a look at pattern #115.  I did read Clio's blog post and found that it offered a link to some great information on increasing the back rise that I am going to try out.

 A big thank you to Samina, Clio and KS for their suggestions.  This gives me much food for thought for pants pattern consideration...
  

#BLOGLIKECRAZY 2017 6 - THE SEWING GOURMET'S DAUGHTER...

...the apple didn't fall far from THE SEWING GOURMET tree.  I couldn't force my daughter,  Alondra Lewis to like sewing (even though I did try).  When she was in high school and wanted me to sew for her, I required that she lay out the pattern and cut it out.  That is the closest she ever got to sewing; she didn't even really like going into a fabric store with me.  But she did inherit my love of pretty gourmet food!  Here's her take on a tasty, Sunday afternoon Fall football season dinner entree...

SAUSAGE, RICOTTA, & SPINACH STUFFED PASTA SHELLS

• 1 package jumbo pasta shells (16oz)
• 4 cups ricotta or cottage cheese
• 12 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 Eggs lightly beaten
• 4 tsp garlic powder 
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3/4 cup Parmesan grated or shredded is fine
• 1 large jar Creamy Vodka Spaghetti Sauce
• 4 cups spinach rough chopped and stems removed
• 1 lb ground Italian Sausage
• dried parsley for garnish

In a skillet over medium heat, brown and crumble the sausage. Drain any excess fat and remove from heat. In the same saucepan, cook spinach until wilted or about 1-2 minutes. Cook the shells according to package directions  (cook them until they are pliable for filling and no more).  In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 8oz of mozzarella, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, eggs, oregano, and garlic powder. Stir in the spinach. 

Coat the bottom of a 9x13in pan with the entire jar of spaghetti sauce. Spoon the cheese mixture into the shells and place shells open side up, very close together in the dish. There will be more shells than will fit into this pan and you can either make a second smaller pan (5x8 is good) or freeze for future use. Sometimes the shells also break in the box so this is fine.

Sprinkle the sausage over the top of the shells. Then sprinkle with the remaining 4oz of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-35 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. If you like a cheesy crust, you may broil it uncovered for 3-5 minutes (watch closely). Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Add a crisp green salad and lots of crusty bread and this makes a perfect Fall dinner...

#BLOGLIKECRAZY 5 - FOR YOUR SUNDAY AFTERNOON VIEWING PLEASURE: EYE CANDY & SEWING INSPIRATION...

...Burda 2017 November Issue

I just love getting a sneaky peek at these new issues - fashion put to music is really to my liking.  Sit back and enjoy this month's Burda eye candy and sewing inspiration...

#BLOGLIKECRAZY 4: PATTERN/PROJECT DILEMMA...

...today I fought the battle of what to sew next - and lost.

It's a matter of too many pattern choices that make it so hard to make a decision on what to make next.  Do any of you suffer this type of dilemma?  If so, what helps you finally come to a conclusion???

#BLOGLIKECRAZY 3: WELCOME TO THE FAMILY...

...the sewing machine family that is.

This Brother VX11-20 was gifted to me this past weekend by a lovely group of my family members, the Hughes' (Anthony, Shena, Chuck, Kenny and Telly).  Truly this is one of the sweetest families I know - and not just because they are my cousins.  They lost their Mother about 3 years ago, and lost their Father this past September. My heart goes out to them! This machine belonged to their lovely, sweet  Mother who ALWAYS made me feel so welcome in her home.  My cousins decided that they wanted me to have it because they knew that I would put it to good use.  Thank you so much Cousins!

I have never owned a Brother machine.  It came to my home without a manual, but I know it won't be a problem finding one on the internet.  This was such a sweet gesture, one that I will cherish for a very long time. I think it speaks volumes to what they think of me...

#BLOGLIKECRAZY 2: #THE SEWING GOURMET...

... can you believe that I actually fell off the cooking wagon for several months.
I guess I had grown tired of all my regular recipes; couldn't come up with any meal plans ideas, couldn't even think of anything that might taste good. Not a good situation at all because eating out all the time is definitely the PITS! While trying to make some changes in this area a recipe for  NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN popped up during blog surfing.  I had never heard of it but became very interested after reading a bit about it's history (you can read about it here). 

I took the slider approach although I've never ever made them.  You can imagine that when I Googled for a recipe I found lots of similar  recipes.  I took the ingredients I liked and that I knew I had on hand to come up with my rendition.  This didn't take much time at all especially since I had a bag of chicken tenders on hand.  Now I have a new recipe for my collection that I will use from time to time.

How do you pull yourself out of meal plan doldrums???

#BLOG LIKE CRAZY 2017 - SHOULD I DARE...

...attempt trying this again?

Do you remember my Blog Like Crazy2015 and 2016 Challenges that were spearheaded by Javacia Harris Bowser of seejanewritebham.com?  Every year during the month of November Javacia encourages bloggers to practice consistency by taking this challenge. I have to tell you that I was not without reservation about finishing either year, but I did!!!

Well, here it is November again, and I've been asking myself "SHOULD I DARE, OR SHOULD I NOT"???  I've decided that I will!, and I hope that for the next 30 days all of you will tune in to read my lifestyle/sewing/food posts as I #BLOGLIKECRAZY once again.  I'll be looking forward to your input with great enthusiasm...