A Few of My Sewing Projects

I have been on a sewing/crafting kick lately.  And when I say kick, I really mean obsession.  When I was little I can remember sitting in the living room floor with my Nanny helping her piece a quilt, crochet a rag rug, watching her sew clothes for me or my dolls. She was always doing something crafty. I watched her a lot but don't remember really getting many "lessons" from her.  How I wish I had paid more attention. 

Mom and dad gave me a sewing machine several years ago for Christmas per my request.  After I received it I made a few pillows, some curtains and a few other things here and there. Last year I made my families Christmas stockings, which I wasn't really all that happy with but they worked.

 

I didn't know much about sewing/cutting around corners (our stockings have no toes!) and I didn't really know anything about how to do the hanging ribbons nor the top hems.  I want to make new ones this year since I halfway know what I'm doing. These were from some fabric I had on hand but this year I want to do some a little more season appropriate.  We'll see.
I've been working hard to teach myself how to use the machine and how to do different techniques.  Last week I made my daughter a slouchy tote bag from one of her old hoodies.

 

There are a few things (like the top hem) that I'm not pleased with but I should have done that before I sewed the hems up the side on this one to make it a little easier.  Sweatshirt material isn't really the easiest to work with.  Oh, well.  I'll get better the more I practice.  Today I made a couple things.  I attempted my first applique`, which wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but I will definitely need a LOT more practice!!!! This shirt looks neon green but it's actually about the same color yellow as the dots in the applique` fabric.  Darn crappy cell phone pictures ;)

 

Then I made a cute little pincushion to strap to my sewing machine, because I'm always afraid my tiny little pin case is going to spill when I'm pulling pins out of whatever it is I'm sewing and they are going to spill all over the floor!

 

This was just a little scrap of fabric I had left over from the stockings last year, and is tied on with a ribbon. I'm already loving it!!! So convenient. And then I made a grocery bag holder.  We always have them strung everywhere and I'm so tired of having them all over the place, stuffed here and there and usually getting in my way when I need something.  So, I finally made one! We had one at our house when I was younger and it was nice to just be able to go over grab one and go.  I think it turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself! I'm going to be making a few more of these, so I might make a quick tutorial for you all.  It's so easy, it's ridiculous!

 

I've got a few more projects planned that I won't be able to post until after Christmas, just in case any of my family reads my ramblings, but there will be a few Christmas decorating projects that I'll be posting here and there! So watch out for those :)  Happy sewing!!!

Recipe: Creamy Burrito Casserole

I love Mexican food.  I don’t necessarily love the spice, but the great thing about me making it myself is I can control that part.  Charlie likes his super spicy and it took me a good year after we were married to convince him that not everyone in the world liked their food as spicy as he does his.  He usually doesn’t like mine as well because to him it is bland but for me and the kids it has just the perfect amount of spice.  He can add hot sauce, jalapenos, salsa afterwards if he is so inclined and then everyone is happy.

So, last week as I was preparing our weekly menu, I came across this pin.  It’s a creamy burrito casserole.  Now might be a good time to let you in on the fact that 1) I love creamy foods and 2) I am very fond of casseroles.  Especially when I am cooking.  I can throw everything in one dish, stick it in the oven and be done with it.  And a lot of the times we don’t even have any side dishes with casseroles. 

I saw this recipe and thought it sounded delicious so added it to our menu.  I really even didn’t have to pick up a lot of things from the store because we already had several of the items we needed.  Now when it comes to cooking, I generally use the recipes as guidelines and not an absolute.  That’s why I like it.  I can take something that someone else has done and make it my own.  I generally don’t have to follow the rules. J

And that’s just what I did with this one.  It layers a lot and frankly I don’t like to layer most of the time.  I know I’m lazy.  There I said it.  Now let’s move on.  It’s a great comfort food, and perfect for a chili fall evening.  Anyway, here’s what you’re reading for….the recipe.

  *Note* I doubled this because my kids like to eat but the recipe below is not doubled.

 **Also, the directions I give below are for how I made this but you can see the original directions at the link above.

1lb ground hamburger

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

Shredded cheese *I used cheddar, you can use whatever you like.

½ onion

Cumin

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Flour tortillas

1 can refried beans

4 oz sour cream

 

**Cook onions and hamburger add seasonings.  In a separate bowl, mix sour cream and soup.  Put ¾ of this mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.  Layer tortillas on top of this mixture.  I took the refried beans, and the rest of the sour cream/soup mixture and mixed with the cooked hamburger at this point.  Now pour your meat mixture over the tortillas. 

 

Layer with cheese, add another layer of tortillas and cover that with cheese. Also, I added a little bit of salsa on top of the picture here just to make it pretty ;)  (We like a lot of cheese in our house) Put it in the oven on 350 for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is really good and melted. 

 

Enjoy! Let me tell you, this is a very filling dish.  None of us could eat all we had even put on our plates and it really wasn't much.  So there was some for lunch the next day as well. 

 

Happy November

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween and are gearing up for a great Holiday season with your loved ones!