This one is for YOU - Allison!

You know the old saying that the cobbler"s (shoemaker) children never have new shoes?  Or something like that...anyway, my four beautiful, sucessful daughters did not learn any sewing skills from me.  Sigh.  Now was that my fault you may ask, or theirs?  I honestly am not sure.  They all took FACS in middles school just like everyone was required to do, but none ever expressed a desire to learn more.  I guess you could say I also never pushed the issue with any of them either.  They all have been busy good students who always had lots going on and little time to sew with Mom.It is only now as married adults I am being asked to teach them a basic skill of how to sew on a button.  My button sewing should be legendary.  You see the peacock picture at the top of this blog?  It has 696 hand sew buttons on it.  Each one was sewn on the right way.  How is that, you ask?  Read on.....

 

How To Sew On A Button

1.  Buy a needle and thread.  (I have to say this as I am pretty sure Allison does not own either one) ;o)
2. Cut a piece of thread that is about you shoulder width or a little longer..  Thread your needle.  If you have trouble with this, cut the thread end off at an angle (so it is pointed) and then do not touch the tip of the thread or else it will begin to fray.
3. Bring both thread ends together and tie a knot (tying both ends together in that knot).  If there is a tail of thread below the knot, cut it off.
4. Starting on the underside (wrong side) of the garment put the needle into the fabric.  Pull the thread tight untill the knot is snug at the fabric.  Slide the button onto the needle.  Holding the button in place, put the needle in the fabric back onto the wrong side.  If you have a 2 hole button just repeat this process 4-5 times.  If you have a 4 hole button repeat the process 4-5 times in two holes and then repeat the process in the other two holes.  If you have a shank button (one that does not have holes through the button, but rather has a thing to sew through on the back of the button) repeat the process 4-5 times also but be careful not to take such large stitches that you will be able to see them on either side of the button.
5. Bring needle up from the back to the front between the button and the garment.  Hold onto the thread and tightly wrap the thread around the button (underneath the button in between the button and the garment) 4-5 times.  This is your secret weapon to prevent your button from coming off any time soon.
6. Bring needle back through the garment to the wrong side and you are ready to tie your knot and cut off the thread.  Try one of these ways to do that:  Take a very small stitch in place and before you pull it tight, take your needle through the loop.  This makes 1/2 of the knot.  Do it again and you are finished and can cut off the thread.  The other choice is to cut off the thread leaving about 2-3 inches hanging onto your garment and then tie a knot by hand and then cut off the threads.  Both are easy and both work for me!

I sure hope these instructions are clear.  As soon as I get a little more blog savvy I will add pictures to these instructions.  Now on to the next item of my blog - food!

 

Most of my friends know that I have been trying to lose weight since April.  I am a life time member of Weight Watchers who fell of the wagon and gained 65 pounds.  Through hard work, weight watchers, a daughter doing it with me and keeping me on track, and 3 days a week of bootcamp exercise I had lost 63 pounds and was soooo close to my goal.  The bummer is Christmas break happened and I ate more than I should have.  We all do that - don't we?  But the bad thing is that I had a hard time stopping eating all the junk left in my house after Christmas and 5 days at home last week due to snow days.  Therefore I had a gain this week.  Grrrrrr!  But the thing I have learned through WW is all I have to do is start fresh this week and never give up.  So here is the recipe I made for lunch today and it was yummy!!

 

Vegetable Pasta Soup
6 cups reduced salt V-8 Healthy Request Vegetable Juice
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
1 package California Blend Frozen Veggies (has carrots, cauliflower and broccoli)
1 package Tuscan Blend Frozen Veggies (has carrots, broccoli, zucchini, italian beans and lima beans)
1 package Birds Eye Steamfresh Lightly Sauced Frozen Rigatoni and Vegetables with Tomato Parmesan Sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups of water
1/3 head of cabbage, sliced in to 1 1/2 inch strips
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over soup in the boiwls

 

Combine the V-8, water, garlic powder, raw cabbage and canned tomatoes in a large pot.  Bring to a boil.  Add all the frozen packages of goodies and stir.  Return to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes (20 if you are using the cabbage).  Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

 

If you only eat about 1 cup each this will serve 8.  If you eat 1 1/2 to 2 cups each it will serve 4.  We forgot to sprinkle on the parmesan and we still LOVED it!!

 

Well that is all for today, but to get you to come back I will give you a teaser for tomorrow:  I will tell you about the first 5 projects I have finished either from the calander or from the internet.  Also, I will show you what I bought last night to make pin cushions out of.  Can't wait!