What do I think of the pie?

Goodness gracious it's delicious that's what I think of the pie!

I thought I had everything I needed to make a cherry pie except pie crust.

Aaron was getting pie crust on the way home from work: pie crust - check. There was a bag of frozen cherries in the freezer that were intended for Aaron's chocolate cherry stout: cherries - check. The rest of the ingredients are staples right? Sugar and cornstarch: we have to have those. Except I discovered a bit too late that we don't have cornstarch.

Here is a brief listing of some the baking ingredients I found in the cupboard:

- Unbleached flour (plus one extra unopened bag)
- Granulated sugar, extra fine granulated sugar, AND powdered sugar
- Corn syrup
- Cornmeal
- Glutenous rice flour AND non-glutenous rice flour
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Table salt, kosher salt, sea salt, pink Himalayan sea salt, AND salt smoked in chardonnay oak barrels

But no cornstarch. So instead of cornstarch I used arrowroot. I also used Amaretto instead of almond extract.

Six mini-pies for Pi Day! Happy Pi Day!

Clementine?

Overall this shirt turned out better than the previous shirt, but I think I like the other one better.

I made Simplicity 4077, blouse E without the ruffle on the button placket. The pattern directions for the button placket were so insanely confusing that I originally just tried making it up. I finally realized that in the pattern's convoluted language and the diagram that magically goes from not sewn, to sewn with the buttons attached was instructing me to sew on the placket and then turn it inside out. (Why not just say this, why show the button facing sewn on two of its four sides and not just say: "turn inside out"?) The pattern calls for five buttons, but I used eight buttons in four groups of two. I hate how blouses puff open at the chest, so I tried to avoid that by adding an extra button in that area. It seems to have worked so far.

The fabric is brown with white dots from JoAnn. It was super cheap and says, "do not use for children's sleepwear". I assume this means that it isn't sprayed with anti-flammable chemicals rather than doused in lighter fluid...

Do you remember how Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, didn't know what to do with his hands during his first post-race interview? I feel like that when taking pictures of shirts. I've taking some pictures without something in my hands but my arms just hang there and look out of place. Hence, this time: would you like a clementine? They're delicious.

Also, two shirts means I can get a serger now, right?

That person's trash is my treasure

Hooray for blue snowflake pyrex casserole dishes!

My views on used/vintage items are quite simple: disgusting. But there is one exception to the rule: kitchenware. This mostly because a lot of baking and dish items I like are no longer being manufactured, including blue snowflake pyrex casserole dishes and oddly large pretzel containers.

There is a flea/antique market that has had the same pretzel jars for $42.50. So when I saw this one for $13.00 I grabbed and hugged. Note to self: you lose all bargaining power when you're caught hugging things.

The pretzel jar will likely hold thread. I'm not too excited about having to reach in and dig around for the desired color, but I just did a strength test on my current thread box, and no, it does not support my own weight. 

Haute Couture

What?! This isn't haute couture?! It's hand sewn, made to order, and I altered it to fit me!

Huh?! "Hand sewn" doesn't mean on my cheap sewing machine?! But I did all the ruffles and gathering by hand and put on five buttons! (Although, the buttons were a mistake. When I was finishing the last one I remembered that I could have set the sewing machine stitch width to match the button holes and saved myself some swearing.)

Fine. It's Simplicity 2854 made out of charcoal gray Kona quilting cotton. 

The shirt comes with a four inch ease, which I tested with the measuring tape and it was crazy big, so I went down a size and gave myself a two inch ease. Have you spotted the problem yet?

Crappers. There is a four inch ease because the shirt has to be pulled on over my head and big ol' shoulders. Let's just say I won't be wearing this shirt to the gym or anywhere where changing in public is called for. But it looks good on, and it's the FIRST non-skirt garment that I've successfully made that fits onto my body. Now if I can only get the sleeve ruffles to head downward instead of straight out...

But otherwise, SUCCESS! I can now cross off, "make a shirt that fits" from my goals for 2008 list.