Fabric scrap pillow

So, I didn't think I'd have another sewing project finished so soon, but I had leftover fabric from Bennett's drawstring bag (below) so I decided to attempt making her a little pillow to match it. The only new thing I bought for it was the crown applique, which I got at Jo-Ann's (I know it's just Jo-Ann, but I can't help saying Jo-Ann's) for about $1.75 with coupon. Here's a pic:

I made a beginner's mistake by leaving the open part at the corner when I turned the pillow inside out to stuff it. I started stitching it by hand and knew I would have to come up with another solution because my hand stitching is terrible. So I decided to close it up with fabric glue- I figured that I had been glued together instead of stitched after a couple of my surgeries, so why not this pillow too? It turned out great. Fabri-Tac is awesome! I'm excited for my next project, though I don't know yet what it will be!

Bennett's got a brand new bag

So, if you read my little "about me," you'll see that I call myself a novice seamstress. That might be an overstatement. The extent of what I've sewn is a curtain (under the strict supervision of my cousin, who is also my sewing inspiration), a pillowcase (under the supervision of the teacher at Jo-Ann Fabrics), and a very sad and lopsided-looking pin cushion.

I've really wanted to learn how to sew for a long time now. It always seemed like fun to me and I've always hated buying things that I could make cuter and cheaper myself- if I only knew how. So I asked for a sewing machine this past Christmas, and my in-laws got it for me. I set up a small sewing area for myself in our loft and invested in a few nice tools, like Gingher scissors and a rotary cutter and mat. I went to the library and got a couple books with ideas, then went and bought some fabric and materials. And that is basically as far as I've gotten...until this week.

I just don't have time for sewing; at least, I don't make time. But I know I'm never going to get any better if I don't practice. Right now, I'm still in that "I'm terrible at this and I can't measure anything right or cut anything straight and I think I just sewed this together wrong and I hate this" phase. But completing something, even if it's imperfect, is such a good feeling. I don't really miss going to school, but I miss learning new things and getting better at them. Teaching myself to sew is a challenge, and I need more challenges like that in my life.

To be honest, the only reason I worked on sewing this week was because I had the material to make a project out of a book from the library, and I renewed it so many times I can't renew it anymore, and I'm racking up fines and I didn't want to return it without making the dumb project. I've had this book for months, and when I finally sat down to do it, it took me less than an hour to complete and I actually had fun. And, it helps me with another item on my 30 in my 30s list, which is to complete at least 100 sewing projects. 1 down, 99 to go. Here are a few pics of Bennett's new fleece bag (and yes, this was a project out of a book called Kids Can Do It). You have to start somewhere, right?

New recipes

I have tried a couple new recipes lately. One of them was totally against my will. A few weeks ago, we were out in Iowa looking after my mother-in-law after she had a lengthy hospital stay. We spent a lot of the time cooking and filling up their freezer with food for the coming months- lasagna, chicken noodle casserole, mac & cheese, split pea & ham soup, beef vegetable soup, chicken & rice soup, minestrone, etc. During the first several days we were there, I barely saw my mother-in-law take more than a few bites of dry toast or applesauce. But one day, she decided that Jell-O salad sounded great to her. I have to admit, I have never made Jell-O salad before. So, with her direction, I mixed the cottage cheese, orange Jell-O mix, crushed pineapples and Cool Whip together. Totally.gross. I couldn't even bring myself to taste it. I actually like cottage cheese, but there was just something about the mixture of those ingredients that did not seem like responsible cooking to me. However, she loved it and that's all that matters. And, now I know how to make a Jell-O salad should the need ever arise again.

A couple weeks ago, I also tried a new recipe that let me use one of the million zucchinis from my garden. I saw this recipe for Zucchini-Wrapped Pork in Better Homes & Gardens earlier this summer, and it can be found online here. I love recipes that are simple and have only a few ingredients, especially during warm weather. I can never seem to make things turn out the way they look in a magazine, though. For the life of me, I could not get my zucchini to slice in ribbon-thin slices with a vegetable peeler. It was pretty pathetic:

So instead of zucchini wrapped pork, I wound up with more of a zucchini topped pork. It was delicious. Can't wait to make it again!

Day after night

My goal was to write a new book review on the first each of month- but since the first of this month fell on a Sunday during which I spent most of my waking hours helping my parents clean their garage and then fell into bed exhausted, I guess the second will have to do this time!

Day After Night by Anita Diamant was another book I read while we were on vacation in Cabo. Like Beatrice and Virgil, it was a book I wanted to read because I had read another of the author's works and absolutely loved it. In this case, I had read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and found it to be a fascinating portrayal of what life was like for Jewish women in Biblical times. It was one of those books you enjoy so much that you remember exactly when and where you were when you read it- it was the summer of 2003, Ben & I had just gotten engaged and were in Iowa visiting his family. His parents were planning to move to a new house soon and were having a garage sale. I read The Red Tent in their driveway over the course of a few hot days selling old golf clubs and forgotten toys. Good book, good memory.

This book was as satisfying as Beatrice and Virgil was disappointing. And, strangely, it also related to the Holocaust, something I didn't realize as I was choosing books to take on the trip. It chronicles the lives of several young girls living in a detention camp in Palestine around the end of World War II. Though the story is fictional, the camp was real. I didn't know that after war when so many displaced Jewish people were pouring into Palestine hoping for a new home, many were being detained (read: imprisoned) by the British government. This story takes place at a camp called Atlit just before the detainees were liberated by the underground Jewish army. It's absorbing not so much for the plot as for the characters. Diamant has created very well-rounded, realistic young women whose stories will break your heart and give you a new understanding and appreciation for what our grandparents' generation endured. It's a great read, and I definitely recommend it!

Side note: One of the things I don't like about book reviews is that they often give too much of the plot away (in my opinion). That is why I avoid reading them before I read a book. The downside of that is that I could avoid reading some terrible books. Try finding a good review for Beatrice and Virgil, for instance. But, I'd rather form an opinion of my own. So, I hope that when I review a book for you, I give you enough info to know if you're interested without saying too much!