Boys pants - a refashion

Lately, my son (I think I'll call him Charlie from now on) gets sadly neglected when it comes to handmade items.  When he was a baby, I made him a good number of hand-knit hats, mittens and sweaters.  It seems harder, as he gets older, to make him something other than pyjamas.

It was about time Charlie received something hand-made.  I was given a pair of adult wool plaid pants which screamed for a refashion (mostly because they were several sizes too small. Shh, don't tell anyone but I'm no longer a size 2.  I don't know if I was ever a size 2. And yes, I refashioned women's pants into pants for my son.  My husband will now be dying of embarrassment as he reads this since he just assumed they were men's pants. And my son has worn them. In public. A lot. :)

I love the retro look with the wide cuff at the bottom. 

Isn't he handsome?  Doesn't he look just like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever?

OK, maybe not. But if Travolta was wearing grey plaid, they would be like twins!

I'm partying over here:

Thanks for reading!

Word of the day: Thrifting

Thrifting : (verb) To thrift. Bargain hunting at thrift store, consignment shops and garage sales. Benefits include finding unique and vintage items at fabulously low prices. 

If you want to learn more about thrifting, this article on Wikipedia had some good facts.

I've gone thrifting twice in the last week.  It's a bit of an obsession.  My favorite items to hunt for are vintage sheets. Here are the ones I found a few days ago:

Most will go into my shop (if I can ever figure out shipping and do some ironing).  The butterflies sheet isn't vintage but it goes well with my daughter's room.  I especially love the pink and orange floral since it's so different from the other ones I've found.


See... I still haven't ironed.

*Update: I have finally done it. My shop is open. Click here to see it or click on the link in the side bar. I'm starting with some fat quarter listings as I keep working on various bundles.  If there's a fabric you want me to hurry up and list, please let me know!

What goodies have you found lately?
Thanks for reading!

Easter Wrap-Up

A few pictures to sum up our Easter celebrations.

We decorated eggs, thanks to my aunt Roberte.





 

 I painted myself.

It would not come off for days!

We hunted for eggs, thanks to the Easter Bunny. (Thanks mom!)

We dressed in our Sunday best.

And we all ate way too much chocolate.  :)





This doesn't taste right.



Now it looks like chocolate.

mmm...success!



Happy Birthday Marc!

It was my hubby's birthday last week.  Here he is, getting some help from our oldest.  Funny how kids always want to help when there's cake or chocolate involved :)

Marc's only request was some home-made cilantro burgers for supper.  Even though I do cook a lot, I had never made my own hamburger patties before.  I couldn't find a recipe with all of the ingredients I wanted so I made up my own.  I posted the recipe last week... please look back a few posts if you're interested.  They were yummy!

Bonne fete Marc! I hope you had a memorable day!

Chocolate Nests

Mmm... chocolate.

I can't really call this a recipe, they are just chocolate covered chow mein noodles.  So good. So easy.  Here's what you need to make them:

Seriously. Two ingredients.  That's it.

I used 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips for about 2 1/2 cups chow mein noodles.  I melted the chocolate chips in the microwave, stirred in the noodles, then dropped them in nest-like mounds on parchment paper.

I made 16 small nests then placed them in the refrigerator to firm up for a few minutes.  Both kids insisted on helping, justifying the mess of chow mein noodles on the floor and the chocolate fingerprints everywhere.  I hope one day I won't need to sweep my floors five times a day.

Do you know how hard it is for a one year old not to lick the spoon?

Thanks for reading!

Easter Dress

Since Easter is so late this year, and it was so beautiful last year, I forgot I lived in Canada for a moment and made my daughter a sundress.  Brilliant.  We have had the odd snowflake today.  I guess she'll need to wear it with tights and a sweater.

It's an A-line dress, similar to a pillowcase dress but slimmer. My daughter is tiny so too much material is overwhelming on her. I drafted my own pattern for it (!!!) based on my her measurements and a few of her dresses. It's about a size 2.  I love the pop of colour the red bias tape adds to the dress.


I love this fabric's bold pattern!


The fabric was thrifted, 100% cotton.  I wish I knew more about it.  My husband and I have been discussing the consequences of posting pictures of our kids on this blog.  I think we have agreed I will also start posting pictures of people instead of just objects, so there may be an action shot of the dress on my daughter later on this weekend.  Do you post pictures of your children on your blog?

I'll leave you with a few shots of my Easter Lily.  It is gorgeous right now and more flowers are opening daily.

Happy Easter!
Thanks for reading.

Cilantro Lime Burgers

mmm I love cilantro!

For my husband's birthday supper, he requested cilantro burgers.  I couldn't find a recipe with the ingredients I wanted so I made my own.  I think they were a hit with all.  Well, at least until my son saw the green bits in his burger.  Luckily I can still trick a four year old.  I convinced him there would be no green bits in his burger as long as he ate it with his eyes closed.  :)

Cilantro Lime Burgers

Recipe made 14 patties

3 lbs ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 egg
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup cilantro, chopped
juice and zest of 1 lime
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well.  Shape patties.  I made a thumbprint in the middle of each patty to help keep them flat. Best on the barbecue.

I served them with guacamole and cheddar cheese. I followed this recipe for the guacamole and it was really good.  It complemented the hamburger perfectly.  Sorry for the lack of pictures of the finished burger.  We ate them all!

Thanks for reading!

Third time's a charm

Finally, a batch of yummy home-made granola bars!

I followed the recipe here :

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Granola-Bars/Detail.aspx

I just can't follow as recipe as is.  For my add-ins, I used coconut, pumpkin seeds (to make them nut-free), mini M&M's, dried papaya, raisins and a bit of ground flax seeds. I just made sure I had 3 1/2 cups of mix. 


Too bad it took me three tries to get it right!  I ruined two batches last week. The first batch I made with sunflower seeds that has gone rancid.  I should have tasted my ingredients before using them. Nuts and seeds tend to go rancid quickly as they contain natural oils. The second batch I tried to make healthier by using unsweetened condensed milk. Fail.

I'm also trying to improve my photography skills :)

So much better than store-bought granola bars.  I hope they freeze well.  The best tip I read for working with sweetened condensed milk (Eaglebran) is to place the can in hot water for a few minutes before using.  It makes it much easier to work with.

Thanks for reading!

Word of the day: Startitis

I seem to have a bit of an illness when it comes to projects. Some call it project ADD, some call it being diversified. Luckily, it doesn't seem to be fatal.

Startitis: (noun) the overwhelming urge to keep starting new projects before finishing current ones. 

I always seem to have to start something new, even though I have a gazillion projects on the go.  In the last few days, there were a few projects I just had to start right away.

A new peasant style dress for my baby girl. Thrifted gingham fabric.

Preparing vintage fabric fat quarters for my new (soon to open) ETSY shop.

Selecting fabric to make bias tape. As you can see, the overwhelming urge to iron has not yet struck me.

Another dress. Don't ask.


Oh my, it looks even worse when I make a list. You would think I have lots to keep me busy, at least for today. Instead, this is what I caught myself doing a few moments ago:

It's to make a quilted picnic blanket, using a vinyl tablecloth for the back to make it waterproof. Have I mentioned I live in Ottawa, Canada? And the last of the snow melted from my backyard only yesterday? And we won't be having picnics outside for a month or two?

Sigh. Darn startitis.

I'm new here

Welcome to le petit cardinal rouge, where I plan to share my love of vintage linens and sewing with you.  I taught myself to sew after I had a baby girl and I'm completely obsessed! I love to hunt for vintage sheets, design and sew dresses, blankets, bibs... whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.

I've been reading knitting blogs for several years. Now, that list has grown to include sewing and decorating blogs. I'm hooked. And I can do it during nap time! Fabulous!

Thanks for joining me on my little adventure. I have a lot to learn about blogging and technology, but there's only one way to figure it out.  I want this blog to become a snapshot of the beauty that surrounds me. Gorgeous babies, yummy fabrics, squishy yarns and chocolate chip cookies, hot from the oven. What more could a mom want? 

What are you finding beautiful today?
Thanks for reading.