Another Hobby?

I, once again, have found yet another hobby to take on! First it was cooking and canning, then knitting, now sewing!
Now, I am not in any way new to sewing. I took it up as a hobby in high school, making a few things here and there, mostly just for fun. However, I have never used a sewing machine! So, my wonderful, handsome, sweet husband got me a sewing machine for Christmas! It was one of the Black Friday cyber deals. We got it in last week, and I got it out of the box. I have to admit that it was intimidating. Thankfully, my mother in law was visiting this weekend and showed me how to wind the bobbin and thread the machine. It was very easy, once I got the hang of it.  My first project? 5 minutes after I learned how to use the machine.....Hemming the blackout drapes in the nursery. It was so easy and quick! My next project? Hemming those cute Gap trousers.....!

True Baby Designs Diaper

Remember the post I had about the adorable Etsy handmade diapers from True Baby designs? Well, I won one of them! I just got it in the mail yesterday, and I have to say I am even more impressed now that I see it in person! I received the argyle diaper-- it was so cute! These diapers are flannel pockets, one size, and I was anxious to see if it would indeed fit my 2 year old, who is small for her size. And, it did fit! It is a small diaper, and I could see it fitting a newborn, so it fits a wide range of ages. Unfortunately it won't fit for much longer, but hopefully she'll be out of diapers *soon.* 
This diaper is extremely soft, and in the pocket there is a handmade, I do believe, prefold. Very absorbent, I might add. I had a diaper pin laying around, luckily, since we use mostly aio's (all in ones) and I pinned it on her. It fit well, and it was, like I said, sooo soft!  Since this is a fitted, I would need a cover to make it waterproof, so luckily I had just finished my knitted wool soaker I made specifically for this diaper! The diaper was so cute I hated to cover it up!
Caylen had this diaper on for a couple hours at least, and when her Daddy took it off to put her in the tub, it had retained plenty of liquid, believe me! So not only is this diaper cute, soft, and fits well, it is also very absorbent!
To anyone who is thinking about trying cloth diapers, I highly recommend it. It is so easy, and it is also fun! I also recommend you visit True Baby Designs at Etsy and look around!

Fitted Cloth Diapers!

I am a follower of True femininity, as well as a fan of cloth diapers, so I wanted to let everyone see her supercute site! It is an Etsy shop that sells fitted flannel diapers, with pockets for easy drying! I suggest you check it out, they are really cute. Perhaps it might ignite an inspiration, as it did with me, or perhaps give you an idea for a baby gift for a friend! Cloth diapers couldn't be easier, more cost effective, or cuter than this!

New Deodorant!

So I finally ran out of my Tom's deodorant. Needless to say, especially since my Tom's had not been working so well lately... Anyhow, I followed my earlier posted recipe, using only cornstarch and no arrowroot powder (just to see the cheapest version) and I love it! I scented it for the holidays with peppermint oil and cloves. It is scented very lightly, but just enough to catch that whiff of perky peppermint! And, no whiff of BO, definite plus!
The only downside to it, compared to the commercial brand is that it must be dabbed on instead of rubbed on because it is of a softer consistency. However, I did take the recipe and place it in the mold of my old deo container, and I can roll it up and down for use! I really don't mind at all having to dab it on, especially if it works, so this is a definite keeper for me!
After 12+ hours of wearing this, I had not even a hint of sweat smell! My underarms felt dry and powdery, from the cornstarch and baking soda, and were soft, from the coconut oil. Both the baking soda and coconut oil will help keep bacteria at bay as well, so I am very pleased with the product!
One more thing to add is this: my Tom's deo smelled great and had all natural ingredients, but it did make my underarms peel for some reason. I am definitely hoping that this doesn't turn out the same way, but if it does, I will definitely put that out there! I just have sensitive skin so sometimes things react when they really 'shouldn't!'

My New Obsession....

Once upon a time, about 3 years ago, I wanted to learn how to knit. I bought some bamboo needles, a book, and some cotton yarn. After about 3 hours and one large knot, I broke my needles and shredded my book (this was obviously before I had children, seeing how my patience was rarely tested, but when it was, I got mad, or as I like to refer to it, frustrated). Anyway, looking back, I see that I did 3 things wrong:

1.) I tried to learn knitting from a book. Have you ever learned how to swim from reading a book? Or maybe how to ride a bike? Yeah, you would be frustrated too.
2.) I bought bamboo needles, and small ones at that. The yarn doesn't slide so well on them, so in my opinion, they are not the best for a beginner, as the metal ones are.
3.) I bought cotton yarn. Cotton doesn't give, it doesn't stretch. Wool is best to learn on, I have found-- it stretches, it is forgiving, and it doesn't separate like cotton does.

So, I swore off knitting. I thought it was the worst hobby anyone could have. It was a time consuming, arduous task that was clearly impossible to learn!

Then..... I got a lesson from a person.  Brandon has been encouraging me to pick it back up ever since, and so he set me up with a lady from church. She came over and taught me how to cast on, the knit stitch, and how to cast off.  I caught on pretty quick, if I may say so myself.... haha... I guess I already 'knew' the basics! I could sit there and tell you all about knitting, like reading it from a book, but I didn't know how to actually do it.

Now, I do. And, I love it! I have already made a washcloth, a diaper insert, I am working on a pot holder and I have knitted almost a whole skein of yarn's worth in the shape of um, well, I don't know. It was just 'practice.' I have since unraveled all that I could and have 'recycled' it.

This has come at a really great time-- our life is just not going the way we had planned it, not bad, just not what we were planning. So, this helps keep my mind off of how I wanted things to be.

Next stop, sewing and serging!

My Dream Came True (Well, One of Them)!

Yep, a dream of mine came true this past weekend. It may not seem like a big deal, but it has always been something I wanted to do. I had a yoga class at my house! Ok, so it may have just been 3 lovely ladies, mom, Laura, and myself, but it was a start!  Hopefully more and more ladies can start to come.
The class, like I said, was a lot of fun, but if I could have got the TV to work, it would have been better... It was definitely fun though! And, it gave me a reason to make the sunroom sparkle! We also found out that our fireplace/gas heater works great in there, and it gets nice and toasty in 5 minutes flat! Back to yoga. The class was on Saturday at 4, and we did a Rodney Yee video-- I know, real yoga classes have live instructors... I instruct my own yoga, but I am not ready to lead a class-- yet. The video was a simple, 30 minute video and everyone enjoyed it, and we will work up to some more difficult poses and series, then perhaps I can lead on my own. :)

Speaking of which, I really need to do yoga tonight..... This class was the last time I exercised...!

Apple Sauce, Apple Jelly!

So while I am waiting on my jars to finish processing, I figured I would write a little post on what I am making. I mean, I am always making something, but this time I have a little down time to write. So. I took the cores and peels of 15 apples, cut them up, simmered them, strained them, processed in a blender. Oh, Vitamix, how I covet thee.... Anyway, I boiled the applesauce, and now I am boiling the jars. Sterilizing them, of course. And, the lids. I have about 4 more minutes so I will try to make this short. Next of course I will fill said sanitized jars with applesauce then process in my pressure canner.

It's definitely not like me to waste, so what I did with the cores and peels is this: I will boil them down, then strain, add sugar and pectin, boil again, then put in jelly jars. So, my end products are some applesauce and apple jelly! If you read this, you might expect to get a jar or two, along with some other homemade goodies for Christmas--If you're lucky-- haha!

Gotta go get those jars!