handmade by Carole Carr

New and Improved! With cheesecake!

Published on January 4, 2015January 4, 2015 by car2ole7 Comments

WARNING: NO RESOLUTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR.

I feel like starting out with guilty pleasures. Edible treasures. Yumminess in boundless measures. I’m going to brag about the cheesecake I made for New Year’s eve.

This gem turned out so pretty I could almost cry. And it is possibly even tastier than it looks. It was well worth the 23 hours of preparation. Just kidding. It didn’t take nearly that long. I searched all over the interwebs for the perfect recipe, and here it is:

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_cheesecake/

I love that it is even named “Perfect Cheesecake Recipe.” Didn’t change a thing. Except for the raspberry topping, a complicated concoction of frozen raspberries and sugar. I am still enjoying it three days later.

For the nine of you that follow my blog, I hope you noticed my new title and address. Changed it so it would match my Facebook page and my labels. Thought about deleting all the previous posts and starting over. Couldn’t really figure out how to do that, so I’ll just pretend they’re gone.

OK bye, I gotta go make some cool stuff.

Attitude adjustments, brought to you by Christmas!

Published on December 14, 2014December 14, 2014 by car2oleLeave a comment

Woo hoo, somebody’s been out of sorts lately. And that would be me.

Figured I gots to get my mojo back. And what better excuse for mojo rejuvenation than Christmas! Shiny lights! Bright, clashing colors! Elves! A snowstorm of glitter! These are a few of my favorite things.

Nothing like an overabundance of ornaments to make me feel jolly again. This is the first time in three years we’ve had our decorations. As I unwrapped them and put them on the tree, my demeanor instantly changed for the better. Remember the Jetsons cartoon? I have a talking Rosie the robot maid. How the heck could I not be happy now?

I’ve been doing a major overhaul on my sewing room. (Hmmm…cleaning could have something to do with general grumpiness…) But that’s a good thing! I have new equipment. Major new equipment. Equipment that does really good tricks.

My new sewing machine made this stocking. And I helped! I got some fun holiday fabrics at my local crack house (okay, it’s a sewing machine dealer/fabric store. But I spend all my money there. It’s an addiction.) Used the colors from the fabrics to make the stocking. This puts the fun in funky! Awesome and weird Christmas color palette.

I like the background for these photos. It’s a bunch of santa hats, a santa tiara, elf ears and a talking elf. The elf actually hums, he doesn’t talk. Hums along to 3 Christmas songs. And it still makes me laugh every time.

This is my ninjabread man. He’s got a throwing star with frosting. And a bandolier of ornaments. He and I look badass in this shirt. If you’re gonna wear an embroidered shirt, it should have something sassy on it. That’s my theory.

Stay crafty, my friends.

Evolution of the spa turkey

Published on November 29, 2014 by car2ole1 Comment

I am gonna start out by bragging about my Thanksgiving turkey. Best ever! EVER! And I never exaggerate.

It’s been 3 long years since I have cooked a Thanksgiving turkey. How sad is that? Here are my excuses, in chronological order. Three years ago, my boy Bubba was in college and working at Target. He couldn’t make the trip home for turkey day because he had to work at the ass-crack of dawn on black Friday. So we went to scenic Fargo to celebrate.

Off on a tangent alert! I don’t know what the heck I ate before we left home. Over halfway through the drive my tummy rumbled and I got some major gastric distress. You know that feeling, sudden bloating, and you just shamelessly pray for a gentle fart to release the pressure? It didn’t work out so well for me that day. More than just air in that fart. I admit it – I sharted. In the car. With That Man and Miss O. No choice but to pull off at the next rest stop, where I had to dig through my bag and head into the sketchy bathroom to change. They may have been my favorite underwear, but courtesy demands at this point that they be thrown directly into the trash can. Back on the road, I knew I had a good hour-and-a-half of relentless teasing and shaming to endure.

Anyhoo…we had Thanksgiving dinner at a hotel buffet. Meh.

The second and third years we ate at the Grand Hyatt here on Kauai. I have a really good excuse. (All of our worldly belongings were in storage, as we waded through the horrid process of remodeling our old, termite and roach infested house.) They have a pretty good spread, especially if you are the type that likes sushi with your turkey.

What were we talking about? Oh yes, my delicious turkey. I have been brining my turkey every year for twenty years or so. It really does seem to make the turkey moist and yummy. I even have a dedicated turkey brining bucket! Brining a turkey in Minnesota is pretty darn easy. You get the turkey in the brine, then in the bucket, and set the bucket on the deck or in the garage. The weather is predictably cold enough to keep it properly chilled.

That just ain’t so in Hawaii! Can’t put the turkey in a bucket and leave it out unless you want to invite Salmonella to your dinner. Light bulb! I used a turkey size oven bag! Mixed my brine, and into the spa goes the turkey!

That birdie floated, breast-side down, overnight. When it came out of the oven the next day, the anticipation was palpable.

You can see some of the sage leaves I jammed under his skin. The only less-than-perfect thing about a brined turkey is purely cosmetic – uneven browning. No way around it.

This was, by far, the BEST turkey I have EVER cooked! Today is Saturday, I just ate a turkey sandwich, and the breast meat is STILL moist! Not exaggerating! The moistest, most flavorful, Butterball of wonderfulness ever created.

So…I think this is extreme crafting and a life tip all roasted in one pan. And the pan is disposable.

Stay crafty, my friends.

Long distance sewing and a Ghastlie bag

Published on October 30, 2014October 31, 2014 by car2oleLeave a comment

One of my outlaws, who shall remain nameless, crossed over to the dark side recently. I’m tickled to say that I inspired her to make her very first quilt!

I’m so proud of myself. Oh yeah, I’m proud of her too. The tricky part of this project was teaching her how to do the binding on the quilt. While separated by AN ENTIRE OCEAN!

I hereby declare that I have invented a new job for myself…long-distance sewing tutor! Maybe I should offer one-on-one lessons via FaceTime. Do you think that would be a legitimate market niche? I was surprised at how much fun it was and how well it went. I’m sure it helps that she’s a quick study, but come on! It’s all about me! I’m going in the other room to admire myself in the mirror now.

Okay, I’m back.

You know I’ve been on this purse-making kick. I’m having lots of fun with it, not sure why. One supposition is that it allows me to buy little chunks of a whole lot of fabrics. I can buy a half yard, and don’t feel like I’ve made a lifelong commitment. I ran across some of the funniest fabrics, the characters are called the Ghastlies. Crackin’ me up. So I made a purse. And it turned out cute. (The pattern is by Charlie’s Aunt, High Tea Clutch Bag.)

Any time you can pull out some ric-rac, it makes it a special day. Don’t you just think happy childhood memories when you think of ric-rac? Oh, that’s only me? Well I have a collection of ric-rac. It is nestled amongst my collections of seam binding and bias tape. I’ve lost you now, haven’t I? So here are more pictures.

DSCN4153 — If you try to get your money out, this one glares at you.

DSCN4164 — I’m pretty sure this guy works with Bob Cratchit.

Happy Halloween.

Stay crafty, my friends.

The Silence of the Fabrics

Published on October 27, 2014January 14, 2015 by car2ole2 Comments

You still wake up sometimes, don’t you? You wake up in the dark and hear the screaming of the fabrics. (To paraphrase Dr. Lecter.)

There was some fabric screaming at me the other day. So I sewed that fabric. I sewed that fabric with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

Okay. I’m done.

This little yee-haw-cowgirl-themed pursey-thing is in the mail to an unsuspecting outlaw.

Note: the pattern is the Necessary Clutch Wallet (NCW) by Emmaline Bags.

Theme of the day = Goldfish!

Published on October 22, 2014October 24, 2014 by car2ole4 Comments

Hide your disappointment if you were looking for small orange snacks.😞 ◁ That’s your disappointed face. Admit it.

Don’t know what’s up with me and purse sewing these days. I’m still at it, and it shocks the shit out of me. I’ve been making tons of those Necessary Clutch Wallets by Emmaline Bags. My stock “excuse” is that I have been trying out different combinations of interfacing. I think I’ve just about achieved my perfect combo. My fickle crafter’s mind keeps seeking out new opportunities to try out my new stiff interfacing knowledge. By the way, in that last sentence, “stiff” and “interfacing” go together. Not “interfacing” and “knowledge.”

I bought a new pdf purse pattern, the Integral Bow Clutch by Constructivism. Dang, what a cute little bag. Did you guess that it has a bow on it?

Who knew you could find goldfish in a palm tree?

This little gem is not a project for the timid. The construction techniques are unconventional. And the result? Also unconventional, mainly because nobody will ever figure out how you made it. Next time I leave the house, I’m gonna take it for a whirl.

DSCN4134 — My little vanity tags are Tiffany blue! And I’m off to my craft room to trim that little thread…

I added card slots in the interior. There’s no room for a wallet in this little bugger, and I don’t like my cards flopping all over. And flop they will, if you don’t corral them. I also added a detachable wrist strap so I can sling it around. It turned out so cute, I’m going to enter it in the Purse Palooza contest over on the Sew Sweetness Blog. Wish me luck!

These are the glamor shots I took, my little bag out and about in the garden, next to the pond, in the lemon tree…

If you like my new creation, leave me a comment. I feel like I’m talking to myself in a wind tunnel. Wondering if I should actually tell people I’m writing a blog.

Stay crafty, my friends.

I love this bag, and I’m sure glad it’s done!

Published on October 16, 2014October 24, 2014 by car2ole7 Comments

I sure wish I had kept that jeans purse I made in junior high. I think it would receive icon status, just for the “what the hell were you thinking?” reactions it would surely elicit. I know I wasn’t the only one who made one of those bags. Cut the legs off a pair of jeans. Sew across the bottom. Use one of the legs to cut a shoulder strap. Line it with horrific floral fabric. Take it to school and pretend that it makes you look cool.

Let’s just say that I like this bag way better than that any of my 1970’s creations. I got all inspired to make a cute bag by reading all the posts on blogs about Purse Palooza 2014. It’s all about sewing and it includes the word palooza. What more could a gal want?

My challenge was finding a bag that was more structured than slouchy. Although my posture may be slouchy, I prefer my bags to stand on their own. Upright and proud. I found it on Sew Mama Sew, the Blossom Handbag by Amy Butler. http://www.sewmamasew.com/2010/09/free-amy-butler-pattern-blossom-handbagshoulder-bag/

I found some really cute home dec fabric, and scoured my local (limited) resources for coordinates. I love the fabrics I used! I don’t think anyone here is looking for a pattern review, so the one thing I will say is that it is well written. My challenge came from a much different source: bulk. Bulky fabric, layers of interfacing, and then layers of that all folded up! My Viking is just a regular home sewing machine. If I were to take up serious bag-making, I would need a heavy-duty workhorse machine for the thick parts.

When those uncooperative bits came along, I just turned off my machine and walked away for a while. Like a day or so. Then I would get all excited again and force-feed the pieces through my machine. More than once I had to remind myself that finished is better than perfect. Mainly because I knew that with this machine, certain parts of this bag could never be perfect.

My trusty sewing machine balked at many of the thick parts of this bag.

Now I’m going to show this puppy off! On Facebook, here on my unknown blog, out around town. Woo hoo, look what I made!

Stay crafty, my friends.

Finished is better than perfect

Published on October 14, 2014October 24, 2014 by car2ole3 Comments

Usually.

I really like to remind myself that nobody will notice the little oopsies in my projects. Nobody but me. Especially if I keep my mouth shut and don’t point it out. And then something like this happens.

The bottom of a purse I am making. All the little feet all neatly aligned. Except they’re NOT! I have no idea how I did this. You can see the little x I made to show where that lower left foot is supposed to be. So I hid it for an hour or so, then looked at it again. The foot was still in the wrong place.

I pondered on it. And then I pried off all the little feet, cut out another purse bottom, and re-did it. Now I’m happy.

I think I just disproved my own theory.

So…today’s life tip is that finished is better than perfect. Except when it’s not. I guess it depends on the situation.

My brain hurts.

Stay crafty, my friends.

I Heart Hula: part one, in which we are introduced.

Published on October 12, 2014October 24, 2014 by car2oleLeave a comment

Last night we had our hula ho’ike. Our recital. Oh my gawsh, I felt like an honest-to-goodness hula dancer.

I was really awkward when I joined my hula class. Seriously awkward. The midwest is not exactly the hub of the hula world. Missouri? No hula champs in my recollection. Minnesota? Ditto. And Lutherans are not exactly known for their hip-shaking, joyous chanting antics.

Hula is active. Precise. And it’s hard. Like pat-your-head and rub-your-belly at the same time hard. Well, harder than that.

I don’t exactly have a dance background. The only dance classes I have ever taken were when I was in my late ’30s. We were living in Singapore. I took tap dance lessons at the American Club. Hit me up if you want to see a rather stiff “shave and a haircut, two bits!” I can also crack off a shuffle-ball-change.

Miss O was a cheerleader in high school. I went to every game. Football (which I like,) basketball (which I hate…it’s too squeaky.) A couple of soccer games. That was downright excruciating. Soccer players don’t want cheerleaders. Anyway, the point is that I watched a disproportionate number of cheerleaders, doing cheery things. Trust me, this will come into play shortly.

I couldn’t even decide where to look during my first few lessons. Feet are going. Hands are going somewhere else. Things are turning in opposite directions. AT THE SAME TIME! And then there’s the whole chanting thing. In Hawaiian. Often while doing all of the above. I am entranced.

I kinda narrowed it down to the feet as a starting point. Maybe if I wasn’t actually crashing into the other dancers I would have a chance. The same general direction, you know. Logic was on my side. But we all know that the arms will have to follow at some point.

The arms. Ahhh. In cheerleading the coach claps and the hands snap into place on each count. Pretty much the opposite of lovely hula hands. Lovely hula hands look like they are dancing. They tell a story. They are graceful and smooth. They are elegant. Somehow my hands and arms tried to mesh the two, cheer and hula. Chula. Think about that for a while.

Everything in it’s place: a pocket for your glasses

Published on October 5, 2014October 24, 2014 by car2ole1 Comment

I wish I could carry a cute little bag with me when I go out. Lipstick, license, card, phone. And then there’s the elephant in the room (because I can’t get it in my little bag.) It’s my glasses. They don’t fit in little bags. I’ve considered going the Mr. Monopoly route and trying a monocle. But until I can find one with bling, I’m going to add little pouches for my glasses onto little bags.

I’ve been making versions of the Necessary Clutch Wallet by Emmaline Bags. The orange plumeria wallet in my last post got a lot of comments and requests for instructions. Somewhere else. Not here on my blog, because I have not yet told anyone I am writing a blog. But I might lure a few people over with my new and improved tutorial:

How to make a glasses pocket for your NCW, or your other wallet, or your little pursey thing, or just about anything that needs to hold your glasses

you will need: 7-1/2″w x 9″h fabric, 8-1/4″ x 6-3/4″ interfacing (I use shape-flex,) a magnetic snap, all the usual suspects in sewing supplies

Fuse the interfacing on the back of your fabric. Why is the interfacing so much smaller than the fabric? To keep it out of the seam allowances, eliminating unnecessary bulk.

Bet your glad I put in a picture of that. Fold this in half (wrong sides together) with 7-1/2″ sides meeting so you can decide which side of your fabric you want to show. Now mark the position of your snap. The center of the snap should be 1-1/4″ from the left raw edge, 2-3/8″ from the lower raw edge. If you want your fabric to appear in such a way that the raw edge is on the top, measure 2-3/8″ down from the top. Don’t argue with me, remember there is a quarter inch seam coming along, so it will be centered. Attach the female side of the magnetic snap on the marking, using a small piece of peltex or batting on the back for stability.

Isn’t that just spiffy?

Fold this bad mamma-jamma in half, short sides together. Stitch a 1/4″ seam leaving about 3″ open on the long side.

Trim, turn, press, admire.

Flip that baby over. On the short side without the snap, mark the center. I do all my marking with a Frixion pen. A little shot of steam or a touch with the iron and the marks disappear. It’s like magic happening right there in your sewing room! Also mark 1-1/4″ on each side of the center mark. The center of mine was just a hair past the 2″ mark. Doesn’t matter, just find your center. I should teach meditation. Look how crappy my one corner looks! Don’t care. Gonna hide it.

Origami time! Choose one of those corners to start. Fold the piece like you’re making a paper airplane – from the corner with the right sides together. This is the corner on the right from the picture above. Well, it would be except I marked the incorrect side first and took a picture of it. My bad. Anyway, you can see the center and two side marks below.

Stitch this little folded end like below. Then do the other one.

Here’s the inside. And when you flip it, tah dah! Starting to look pouchy.

Mark the center of each of the long sides. After stitching the corners, mine measured 6″ on the long sides. So I marked each side at 3″. Look at my pens pointing at my little marks!

Now it’s time to mark the placement on your wallet. The specifics here are for the NCW, adjust placement as appropriate if you’re making something else. Mark the center of the back of the wallet. Draw a line 3/4″ from the top of the wallet, another line 2-1/2″ down from that. Draw a line 3″ to the right of the center line (adjust this line if necessary to equal half the length of the long sides of the pouchy thingie.) Remember, in my photos I am using a Frixion pen which will disappear with heat. If you’re not using one of those, you might not want to draw all over the back of your bag.

With the snap on the left, match the centers of the top edge of the pouch and the wallet. Pin carefully, stitch close to the edge, backstitching at each end.

Now go do the other side. I’ll wait. Repeat for the end, tucking in the little points so they’re not in the way.

Now you seriously need to spend some time admiring your amazing work!

Let’s move on to the tab. This part is super easy after what you just accomplished! Cut a piece of fabric 7″ x 2″, and interfacing 6-3/4″ x 1-3/4″. Trim the corners off the interfacing and fuse it to the wrong side.

Attach the male end of the snap on one end, 1″ from the end and centered. Seems to me it is easier to turn if you spread the little tabs lengthwise instead of crosswise. Remember to add a piece of Peltex or batting behind the snap for stability.