Second Look Sunday 1 February 2015

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Sarah

I’ve been really in vloggers lately. I love to know what people eat for breakfast and how they decide what to wear and what they do with their days. But it makes me feel like my life is really boring. I mean my week of furious writing, a gazillion emails and not being able to tell if I’m getting sick or if allergies are behind my runny nose and headaches really pales in comparison. It’s not like I went to France for lunch, or went to a club where Kylie Jenna and Kanye West were hanging out or had fancy hotel breakfast. Ah well, it’s probably for the best. I’m not sure I want an exciting life lol! I did however spend some time rummaging around the internet….

Strange fashion trends are nothing new, check out these weird fashion trends from history. I can’t imagine fake eyebrows made of mouse skin making a comeback.
Behold the nostalgia of this house for sale. The 96 year old owner is selling her home of 72 years and it is like a 1950′s time capsule! I would happily move in….
If you wear glasses and makeup, you need this helpful video from Sharon Farrel. It’s full of tips and tricks.
I was fascinated by these pics of a jeweler repairing a ring that had gone through a garbage disposal. It doesn’t even seem possible…
The highlight of my week was my lamington cupcakes. These need to be made again!
Are you into Bob’s Burgers? I love that show, I mean the names of the burgers alone… Anyway, I never thought of it as feminist until I saw this vid.
Boobs. The bane of my sewing life. If you are busty, you’ll recognize these situations and if you are smaller, you’ll recognize some of these. Either way, embrace what you have.
Are you into podcasts? I’m just getting into them. I love the QI podcast, ‘There’s no such thing as a fish’, which Mr Ask put me on to. I also found ‘The Allusionist‘, where Helen Zaltzman talks about language and etymology, which fascinates me. Strangely, I found this podcast because it linked to my brief history of women’s underwear post! Pretty cool really. Which podcasts do you listen to?

I’m kind of not sure about what today will bring. What I know for sure, is clean clothes will be folded, I must sit down with my planner and get the week sorted (it’s looking very, very busy right now). In a rather hopeful way, I have my sewing kit out with some fabric and a pattern. Maybe there will a nice quiet time this afternoon where I can get a little something sewn. My little list graphic is exactly what I have planned and yes, I do doodle hearts and stars on my lists. Now you know! What are you up to today? Something fun? Tell me all about it….

Sew: DIY Portable Sewing Kit/Caddy/Organizer {Sort of a Tutorial Plus Link To Free Base Pattern}

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Sarah

I’ve been looking for the perfect thing to keep my sewing stuff tidy for a while now. I do have a dedicated sewing space but as you’ve seen it’s tiny! Which means cutting out, pinning, hand sewing and pressing happen in my lounge room and sewing stuff ends up everywhere. Plus I sew at Mummy Asks and my ASG sewing meetings. I’ve spent hours checking out fancy sewing organizers but I never found the perfect thing until I saw this makeup bag and knew I could adapt it to be perfect! If you fancy making one, you’ll need the the original pattern, which you can find here. I started with the original pattern but made the following changes:

I extended the main flap pattern piece (B) from 30cm to 37cm. I needed a little more space since I wanted the brush holder piece (D) to lay flat and still have room for the needle felt.
I replaced the brush holder flap with an extra brush holder piece (D) because I wanted the flap to be longer so I could close it with a button.
I cut one 30cm x 15cm piece to form the flat pocket inside the pouch.
To create the scissor pocket, I folded the top of pattern piece (A) over 5cm. I cut one lining and one outer fabric.
A small piece of felt for the needle holder.
I used a magnetic snap instead of the lock & a button to close the cover over the brush holder bit.

The pattern has a video tutorial but since I made changes, I’ll run through how I put everything together. Once everything was cut out, I interfaced the pouch and main flap lining.

To make the flat inner pouch pocket, I folded the fabric right side together, hot dog style and stitched along the raw edge. I turned the tube right sides out and pressed it so the seam was centered on on side. I pinned it to one of the pouch lining pieces and stitched along the bottom edge and sides. I also stitched down the centre of the pocket to divide it in two. I trimmed any pocket overhang to meet the pouch lining.

I made up both brush holder pieces (I used one instead the flap, remember?) by folding right sides together and stitching down the sides. I turned them right side out, poked out the corners and pressed. I topstitched along the top of the one that would be a pocket, pinned it to the lining and then top stitched down the sides and in several places to create the pockets. With the flap piece, I topstitched around the sides and top of the flap. I then made a button hole to secure the flap but you could use velcro or a snap. I then pinned it above the brush holder pocket, lining up the raw edges with the lining.

Next, I hand stitched the felt to the flap lining with embroidery floss. I wanted it to look kind of rustic. I also added one half of a magnetic clap. Make sure it’s not too close to the edge, as you’ll need to sew on the the bias tape later. If you haven’t used magnetic snaps before, this is a good guide.

I wanted the scissor pocket to have bias tape (it’s so pretty!) so I placed the pocket pieces wrong sides together, pinned on the bias tape and stitched it on. If you need help with bias, this post has it all. I then aligned it on the pouch piece and pinned. While I had the bias out, I finished the flap by placing the flap lining and outer wrong sides together and attaching bias tape to the edges. I also attached the other half of the magnetic snap to the exterior of the pouch.

I wanted to use a metal zipper I had on hand but it was a little short. So stitched a little bias to the ends of the zipper before assembling the pouch. I put everything together as per the pattern and stitched the lining closed.

And that’s it! How cute and functional? Of course I had to kit it out with all my sewing stuff and I took the opportunity to use a vintage pin tin I had lying around. Then I found this super cute Guttermann tin on ebay. It came with four 100m spools of thread in black, white, red and navy. The only thing missing was a collapsible thread catcher. I have a mini bin on my sewing table but if I am unpicking on the couch, there is always thread everywhere, despite my efforts to make a neat pile. I found this great tutorial and made a matching thread catcher, complete with a mini buttons to match my sewing kit!

I am so very, very happy with this project! I’ve been using this for a couple of months now and it has been super helpful. There’s less clutter around, it was fabulous to have all things I needed at my ASG meeting and it has encouraged me to take my sewing with me. I really do use it and it does help that I like how it looks. I find that I’m more inclined to use organizational things that are visually appealing. The thread catcher has been particularly handy. At last I’ve found something that works for me! How do you store your sewing stuff? How do you keep things portable?

Recipe: Lamington Cupcakes with Jam & Cream {Happy Australia Day to my fellow Aussies!}

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Sarah

Summary: Ah, the pinnacle of Australian bake sales everywhere, the Lamington! Of course, I just had to make lamingtons for Australia Day. Did you know there is a lamington preservation society? There is and they have an article on the history of the humble lamington. I decided to make lamington cupcakes for two reasons – portability and so I could stuff them with jam and cream. And oh my, they are goooood! Like, sit down and eat one after another good. I will be making these again, for sure! Don’t be put off by the list of things to do, these are really easy, just a few steps. There is nothing hard to do but I’ve really broken down the steps. You could easily make the cake part the day before if you wanted to. This makes a perfect dozen.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes
115g salted butter, at room temperature
200g castor sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
180g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
120 ml milk, at room temperature
For the chocolate coconut coating
500g icing sugar, sifted
35g unsweetened cocoa powder
45g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
120ml milk, at room temperature
2-3 cups desiccated coconut
For the decorating – optional
200g raspberry jam
300ml cream
3 tblsp icing sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line a 12 muffin cups tin with paper patty pans.
In the bowl of your electric mixer,(or with electric beaters), beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until
light and fluffy (3-5 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl sift the flour with the baking powder.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture (in three additions) and milk (in two additions), beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Evenly fill the patty pan cups with the batter and bake for about 18 – 20 minutes or just until set and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, remove paper party pans carefully before the next step.
Place the icing sugar, cocoa powder in a microwave safe bowl. Heat the butter and milk in a small microwave safe bowl until the butter is melted and pour into the icing sugar mix. Stir the mixture until it becomes smooth and of pouring consistency. Microwave the icing for a few seconds if needed but not so hot it would hurt if you stuck your fingers in it!
Place the coconut on a large plate. One at a time, dip the cupcakes into the chocolate coating and then roll the cakes in the coconut.Gently transfer the lamingtons to a clean wire rack to set.
Once the Lamingtons have set, use a small paring knife to cut out a teaspoon sized hole in the top of the cake. Go on eat the bits you cut out… Now fill the hole with raspberry jam.
Using electric beaters or a stand mixer with a whisk, beat the cream to soft peaks and sprinkle in the icing sugar. Pipe cream over the top of the lamingtons (or just make a move mound with a spatula). Store lamingtons in an airtight container in the fridge. If they last that long……