New Etsy Store listing

I have been hard at work in the sewing room.  A client wants baby Sasha doll outfits. 

https://www.etsy.com/ca/your/shops/SashasSeamstress/tools/SashasSeamstress/ca/listings/262090464

Here is the first offering.  

The baby dolls are a pain. The child dolls are 1/4 scale and stand up.  The baby's are not normal from a pattern design point of view.  It took some tweaking but the designs are coming along. 

Christmas Day Breakfast

A marvelous breakfast Christmas morning is one of our cherished traditions. Huevos Rancharos is a favorite. This year I made eggs Benedict and French toast sausage rolls to dip in syrup. 

Of course there is also Mimosas and Irish coffee. It's wonderful to have traditions that everyone values and guests can enjoy. 

Pegboard thread storage

Not quite finished but coming along. I have been cutting the dowels into 3" lengths with my handy dremel and smoothing and shaping one end with a sanding barrel for the dremel. 

Homemade bread

6 cups flour plus extra as needed 

1 Tbs sea salt 

2 Tbs honey

1 pkg yeast

2.5 cups warm (37C) water

2Tbs butter, margarine or Crisco gold

This is not a 1 hour from start to finish loaf. I like 2 rises so the yeast can start digesting the flour. The kneading activates the gluten which makes the texture of the bread fine. 

Dissolve the honey in the warm water. Take about one half cup and mix in the yeast. Allow this mixture to rest for several minutes. The dry yeast will hydrate, rising to the surface forming a thick layer. 

In a mixer with a bread hook add flour, salt, and the shortening of choice. Add the water and yeast mixture slowly.  Mix/knead until all the flour is incorporated. If the mixture is too wet gradually add more flour, 1 Tbs at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. 

Remove the hook.  Put bowl in s warm place and cover with plastic wrap. Leave until doubled in size. In my kitchen this is about 2 hours. 

Remove plastic wrap. Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. I use a pastry cloth. Divide the dough into 2 or 4 pieces. Knead each piece for several minutes. Flouring the surface as necessary. Shape into long loaves if you are using 2 pieces or rounds for four pieces. Place on baking sheets lined with cooking parchment. Make several slices in the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Let the loaves rise for 30 - 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 450F. Cook loaves on middle shelf for 12-15 minutes. Loaves should be a rich brown. Let them cool for 30 minutes before serving. 

This is not a crunchy crust that lacerated the roof of your mouth. It is soft and slightly sweet with a fine texture. Great for breakfast or with soup. 

This loaf was frozen . Just as yummy ! 

Embroidery thread storage

Recently I won a bunch of embroidery thread on eBay. Score! 

My current system of keeping the thread in a small box was going to lead to disaster. Time to step up my game. Home Depot was great. 4'x8'x1/4" pegboard was in stock. They cut it for me into manageable sizes. 4'x3' for the new shed and 4'x 30" for thread storage. I painted it to match the wall, cut 1/4 " dowel into 3" lengths and glued them into the holes. 

The dowel needed to be smoothed do I used a sheet of 100 grit sand paper to smooth them and shape the end that was to go into the home. I used wood glue as it expands as it dries to secure the fit. 

Refinished hall tree-finished!

At least 3 coats of Fat Paint Barchetta Red then clear wax followed by several coats of dark wax. The wax is worked into the surface with some serious elbow wax. 

I picked up 6 black hooks from Homedepot to finish it off. 

Keeping busy with Christmas creations

Making a yoga mat bag.  I don't like the cylinder style so I create something else. With cute embroidery, of course. 

There is an outside pocket with Velcro closure.  Embroidered Namaste. 

I squared off the bottom with a 4 inch seam. I left one side seam open and stitched all the way around the top opening. 

Then just stitch up the opening. 

Inde missing

Worrisome news. Inde is missing. I haven't seen him since Friday morning, December 11. A neighbor saw him on her step Saturday morning. Nothing since. Keeping our fingers crossed.

Van Dusen Garden Christmas Light display

My two favorite nutcrackers!

Transforming the hall tree

Well sanded with rough and fine grit sandpaper. Wiped all over then rolled on the first coat of Fat Paint. 

Here the lid had three coats of Fat Paint

A well deserved lunch of leftover beef stew (from scratch, of course).

Beautiful orchid bloom. First one of the season.

Chest of drawers and matching bedside table.

Here is the original color. Not unattractive but the tops are pretty beaten up. So.....

Here is the first drawer painted,waxed then patina wax worked in. 

I used Fat Paint Parchment, clear wax then patina wax. I used a brush to put on the patina then worked it back off with a clean brush and a rag. 

Finished. The lighting is poor (sorry) but you can see the variations in the dark wax to give a bit of the French provincial  style color variation. The drawer pulls are so much prettier now they aren't lost against a dark finish. It took a lot of elbow grease to get the patina wax blended but it was worth the hard work.

Hall Tree Makeover: Major sanding done and holes patched.

The finish that was used on this was very hard in many spots.  I decided to take off as much color as I could go give the Barchetta Red the best chance to look opaque. Removing the shine from the finish didn't seem to be enough with the lid. 

I have to sand the edges by hand then go over it with a fine grade to smooth it all out. 

Tackling the hall tree. Time for a New look

I removed the lid to the storage area and took off all the hooks. A nimbler of the pegs had been replaced with hooks. I will take of the rest of the pegs and fill the holes. I think a set of 6 new hooks will dress it up nicely. 

I sanded the lid and did two coats of Barchetta Red Fat Paint.  It is looking too transparent right now.  

Saw these hooks and fell in love. They are only available at Home Depot in the states. Good thing I have a mailbox pickup coming up.