Hooded Scarf

I'm going up to the mountains with my older Girl Scout troop this weekend and it's going to be cold!
Living in Southern California, I don't have weather for freezing weather and for that trip to see the snow maybe twice a year, I just manage to put together something. This weekend we'll be outside doing stuff all weekend and it'll be possibly snowing all day Saturday. I had to develop something.

A hooded scarf was what I wanted. So, I started to knit one up. I hit a point last night when I realized that I would not be completing this project in the next 24 hours and had to come up with plan B.

So, this morning I made one from fleece that I had bought many years ago. I love it.

How to make one (sorry no pictures of the process):
1. fold fleece in half. Find a hooded shirt/sweatshirt that fits well and trace the hood onto the fabric, leaving about 3/4 inch  of fabric between the edge of the hood and your cutting line (seam allowance). I actually didn't trace mine, just cut it.
This will give you 2 halves of a hood. If you want it lined, make 2 more halves.

2. Sew the two halves together, along the curved side only. If you have a second set, do this to this one too. Then trim the curves and put the 2 hoods together, right sides together. Sew along the front edge (the part that will be by your face). Flip right side out and topstitch.

3. Cut another long piece of fleece as long as you want the scarf by double the width (you'll be folding it in half longwise). Open it up so you have a flat rectangle. Place the hood's raw edge along the edge of the scarf, centered. Roll the hood a little and fold the scarf in half longwise, encasing the hood. Sew along the long edge of the scarf, catching the hood edge.

4. reach into the tube and reverse the scarf, so it's right side out. Tuck in the ends and sew. top stitch if you wish.

Some lovely pre-shower pictures.

Over the top Tunic

Back to reviewing patterns and getting my crafting self busy again.

While I love wearing skirts and a t-shirt much of the time, I've found I want to wear jeans some days. That said, I'm not crazy about the look of t-shirts with jeans on me. Add to this, my shape isn't easy to find clothing for, so I've been on the search for a variety of tunics and longer tops that cover the waist area well, without making me look six month pregnant. This seems to be a big challenge.

Indygo Junction's "Over the Top" tunic is one I do really like. I have made it three times and haven't been disappointed.

The first one I made was out of crinkle gauze and sleeveless. LOVE it! I didn't like how the ties looked on this and ended up sewing this with a little bit of a curve at the waist, cutting out the ties, and it gave it a better fit. This version, my first, I made by cutting the back piece as two and sewing together. In more recent ones, I just cut on the fold and adjusted the facing.

The next one was also sleeveless but out of a nice cotton batik. I put the ties on this version and like it too.

The sleeveless versions have been great basics for me. Worn with a tank in the summer or a long sleeve shirt in the winter.

I decided to give the sleeves a try recently. I didn't like the longer bell looking sleeves, so I cut them short. This one also has the ties, but I'm thinking of cutting them out and resewing with a slight curve at the waist. As with the others, I had to take in the front shoulders a little to fit me better. I have broad shoulders and a smaller chest, so often tops don't fit me correctly.

Planning dinner

I used to be so good at planning out our meals, but, I admit, I've kind of slipped.

Time to get organized and start again.

With the weather being a little warmer, I don't want to use the oven if possible. Here in San Diego our hot "summer" weather is just starting. It'll be really warm in August and September.  Time to get out the crock pot.

I'd love for people to share with me any meals they love to make - especially the quick and easy and healthy ones.

This week's plan (so far):

Wed (today): Slow cooker Chicken and veggies - but I'm using 2 chicken breasts (mainly b/c I didn't defrost the whole chicken I have in the freezer and really these 2 breasts will be more than enough meat for us b/c we don't really eat that much meat).

Thursday: Fish with cous-cous and veggie (working out the finer details)

Friday: Slow-cooker Lasagna (let's hope it works)

Sat:  Grilled steak w/ potatoes and corn

Almost Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

Ok, they really aren't healthy, but they are a lot more healthy that most recipes and tons better than store-bought cookies. This is a mandatory apron recipe for me because I always seem to end up with either flour or batter on me.

This recipe is a work in progress. I keep decreasing the sugar and adding the healthy stuff. Here's my most recent version.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon (I put in more than this)
1/2 tsp ground cloves
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup ground wheat germ (or oat)
1/4 cup ground flax
1 cup all purpose flour
2.5 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups rolled oats

In large bowl, beat softened butter. Add sugars, baking powder & soda, and spices. Beat until mixed well.
Beat in Eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Beat in flours and wheat germ and flax. This is easier if you add them gradually.
Add the oats. I like to add half and mix with a wooden spoon and then add the rest and mix again.
*if you want chocolate, carob, or PB chips - add 1.5 cups now and mix well with wooden spoon.

Drop dough using a spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12 mins, depending on your oven. Cool before sampling. These don't spread much, so spacing isn't as important as in some recipes.

Jean conversion skirt

I've seen these for years and really wanted to make one, but was just being lazy.

A few months ago, I bought some jeans at a local thrift store to make myself a skirt or two. Time when by and they sat in my sewing room. Finally, the day came to make my skirt!

This was my first attempt. I checked out a few tutorials online and got the idea of how to do it. Next time I'll make it a little shorter. I do love this super long skirt, but it's hard to walk in at times, especially steps and it was hard to get into our van wearing it.

My next one will also be all denim instead of this version with the blue fabric in the back. It turns out it matches this one shirt and sweater I have quite well, so I'll leave it on this skirt.