Save your used coffee grounds!

We are a household of coffee drinkers. With 2 incredibly active kids under 4 who don't want to sleep/nap, I need all the help I can get. I always save the used coffee grounds for the compost. The grounds are relatively rich in nitrogen, providing bacteria the energy they need to turn organic matter into compost. We have a small fruit garden in the back yard and I don't really have time to take care of it. So good compost really helps it grow.

Yesterday, I read somewhere on the web that you can use old coffee grounds as an exfoliant for the skin. Well, I had to try it! My skin on my hands are very rough from childcare and house chores. I just scoop a small amount of used coffee grounds and rubbed them vigorously between my hands for a few seconds and rinse. My hands felt incredibly soft! Wow! I actually saved the grounds that I used for exfoliating and now that are in the compost heap. I didn't know coffee grounds could be used 3 ways - Awesome!!

ECing a 18 month old toddler

I don`t know if I should still call it Elimination Communication anymore. I think most people would call it Potty Training at her age. Anyways, I`m still taking her to the big toilet (with reducer) after every meal, or when we come home after an outing. About 90% of the time she would poo/pee or both. I think I got her schedule down now. She usually poos 2 a day after a main meal. But if she had corn on the cob she would poo more. She pees about 5-10 min after drinking a large quantity of liquids, and then about 30 min after that. She still wouldn't tell me if she needed to go to the toilet. It's all down to me to check the time and take her. She would only tell me 'pee pee' if she had pooed after her nap in her diaper.

I'm catching almost all her poos and a lot of her pees. But I want to know how do I train her to tell me she has to pee/poo? I had put underwear on her and she would pee in it and not be bothered by the wet pants/legs. I guess I need to do some research on that one.

Pattern Review: The 90's strike back! McCalls 5273 pants

Everything goes around - nothing is ever new. That's so true for fashion! The current fashion trends seem to point back to the early 90's. And the current craze for the red jeans? Well, I had a pair of red jeans in 1991! The difference is that my 1991 jeans were high rise and loose-fitting, whereas the current red jeans are low rise and skin tight.

Since red is my favourite colour, I thought I would make a pair of red skinny pants too. I chose McCalls 5273 from my pattern stash and a stretch red cotton twill in my fabric stash. I chose a pant pattern instead of a jeans pattern because I thought it would be faster to sew, easier to alter the muslin and that pants may be more versatile than jeans.

First I measured the crotch length on the pattern and found that the back crotch was too short. I added 8cm to the back crotch - first adding about 3cm to the side of the front piece, then add the rest of the 5cm to the back piece. I have a short front waist and a high back hip so I always have to do this for any pants sewing patterns.

I then cut and sewed the pants as it was. I tried them on and found that the butt and legs were way too baggy to be skinny pants. I put the pants on inside out and pinned out the excess and then resewed the pants. Now the pants are truly skinny pants!

I also added 2 back pockets to the pants since any mom with 2 young kids would want lots of pockets in their clothing!

When I compared the fabric that I had to pin out back to the sewing pattern, I found that now the width of the pants resembled the leggings pieces in the same pattern envelope. Perhaps next time I want a pair of skinny pants, I'll just use the leggings pattern pieces instead.

All in all a very easy to sew pattern - but beware that they are not actually very close fitting pants as the envelope claims. My legs are average size and not super skinny. I cut a size 12 which is my usual size for the mainstream sewing patterns. So I have to conclude that the legs part of the pattern is just cut larger.

I'm quite happy with my wearable muslin. I love red and the pants are actually very versatile. They go with what I already have in my wardrobe - black, brown, camel, grey, white. Bring on the 90's again!

Losing the excess baggage: the baby weight

I have finally dropped down to my pre-kids weight and I have been able to keep it off for the last couple of months. The last 4 years I had been either pregnant or trying to get pregnant. After having 2 kids, the excess baby weight was really difficult to lose. I'm still nursing so I don't want to cut my food intake drastically. I am so busy with the kids that I hardly have time to exercise. When they are finally in bed, I'm exhausted mentally and physically that I don't feel like exercising at all! I thought I just had to accept the excess weight as part of being a mom.

The only thing that seems to have worked for me was to listen to my body: eat when hungry. I know it sounds simple but because I had been ignoring my hunger signals for so long that I really couldn't tell when I was really hungry or just thirsty or restless. So I pause to think and feel my hunger before I put any food in my mouth. For example, I have always heard that one should eat a big breakfast to be healthy. I followed that advice for a long time until I realized that I wasn't actually hungry when I woke up. My hunger only kicks in about 3 hours later. So I would eat a decent breakfast then instead of having 2 breakfasts (one when I wake up and one 3 hours later).

As for the rest of the day's meals, I would eat a generously portioned lunch and a good size dinner. Because the meals are of good portions, I don't need to snack in between except to drink some water or coffee (with milk and no sugar). After dinner and after I put the kids to bed, I would stay away from the kitchen in case I get tempted to snack as a relaxing activity. I would busy myself with chores, sewing, bills, doing stuff on the computer and then go straight to bed.

Just by cutting out the after dinner snacks and eating breakfast when hungry, I dropped about 7 lbs, which was a lot for me because I'm short. My clothes fit better and I feel less bloated. I'm still not exercising as much as I would like. I really should add weight training and aerobic activities back into my weekly routines, even if it's just for 15 minutes here and there. My birthday is in a month's time so I'm hoping that I would drop a few more pounds by then Wish me luck!

Refashion/Upcycling: when should one say stop?

I have been wearing these black leather driving mocs for a good 8 years. They served me well when I had to run to the train station from the office, when I feet were very bloated during the 2 pregnancies, and when I need to run after 2 active kids. In fact, I think the cost per wear must be about $0.06. So when this pair of well worn, well loved loafers fell apart, I tried to glue the split leather back together. Then I filled in the scuffed area with black marker and polished them with shoe polish.

My husband saw all the effort I put into restoring the shoes and he asked me why I did all that considering that they still looked pretty worn out and mishapened. He actually said, 'why don't you be a woman and buy a new pair of shoes?'

I don't know the answer to that question. But it got me thinking: when should one stop rescuing old well worn items that might have passed their due dates, when one is able to buy new ones that can serve a long time in the future? Can one go too far with this refashioning thing?

I look forward to your comments!

Pattern Review: Simplicity 4877 Dress

Simplicity 4877 has to be my all time favourite, tried and true special occasion dress pattern. It's a stretch knit pattern and includes different sleeves options, different hem options, different length options. It has a gentle A-line and a ruched front neckline. It fits my body and my body shape so well. I have made a few dresses with this pattern already and had worn them on different special occasions. I always got compliments on them (more so than any other special occasion dresses that I have made).

The pattern is extremely simple to sew and one can just whip up a special occasion dress in less than 2 hours! Gotta love that! I made the usual short waist adjustment. For 2 of the dresses, I gathered the ruched front with a rhinestone brooch instead of sewing it down. This way I could adjust how lowI wanted the front to be depending on the stretchiness of the knit.

This is a brown poly matte jersey knee length dress with flutter sleeves. I basically made view C but in a shorter length. I wore it for a family wedding in the summer and it was super comfortable (can eat a full meal easily) and I didn't sweat much.

This dress is made with a red crinkle poly knit with a slight shimmer. I got it in the cheapy bin so I'm not entirely sure of the content. I basically made view C but omitted the sleeves. I went to a couple of X'mas parties in it. Again, super comfortable and I ate a full meal in it. I wore stiletto boots with them and made the dress a bit more rock and roll! LOL!

This next one was also in view C without the sleeves. I actually sewed down the ruched front this time and added a tab to it. You may not be able to tell because of the print of the fabric. The dress is made with a slinky sparkle knit I got from the cheapy bin again. This knit is a lot more stretchy than the other 2. I wore this to a company X'mas party. This was also super comfortable and I ate a big meal with it too!

View B has long sleeves that has a slit from the elbow down. If made in a black velvet can really look like Elvira's dress! Wouldn't that be great for a Halloween dress?? LOL!

Pattern Review: Mccall's 4593 Long skirt

It's time for Fall/Winter clothing again! This time I chose a stash pattern and a stash wool mini houndstooth fabric. Long skirts aren't terribly practical for a mom with 2 young kids but I like the look of the skirt on the pattern envelope. I thought the asymmetric hem would be flattering for my inverted triangle body shape. I chose view A in a size 12.

The skirt was very easy to put together. I even added a lining to it by drafting my own A-line lining. I think it looks sufficiently like the one on the pattern envelope and it seems to look okay on me. I'm short so I will definitely need to wear heeled boots with this skirt.

As much as I like this pattern, it is a very distinct look so I'm not sure I would sew a 2nd skirt like this. All in all, no dislike. I would highly recommend this for someone who wants an easy to sew but slightly different looking skirt pattern.

Thank you shellybean for the Versatile Blogger Award!

Thank you Shellybean @ Follow me Home for passing on the Versatile Blogger award! This is my first Blogger award too! Thanks Thanks!

 Here are the Rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Add the award to your blog. 

2. Thank the person who presented it to you. 

3. List seven random facts about yourself. 

4. List the rules. 

5. Pass the award onto seven other bloggers. 

6. Inform each blogger they have won by posting a comment on their blog

Seven Random Facts about Myself:

1. Interior Decoration was my first love. I spent all my pocket money since age 6 to buy Interior Decorating Magazines and books. I was actually studying for an Interior Decorating certificate part time until the Programme Director told me that the graduates earn $8 an hour at the Sears Home Store (and those were the lucky ones apparently).

2. I have had my hair in the same style for almost a quarter of a century. I can't do anything with it and I'm too lazy to try to style it. So it remains the same natural way.

3.I once trained 8 hours a day for Kayaking competitions when I was young. Definitely no too healthy for my body.

4. I have been refashioning/upcycling/repurposing for years before I had heard those terms. My friends/family just thought I was being cheap.

5. I have loved Artistic Gymnastics since I was a wee child. I am glued to the TV/Computer during every Olympics Gymnastics competition. I would record it and watch it over and over again.

6. I love sewing now. But I detested it and did horribly during Home Economics classes in my teens.

7. I have way too many hobbies and interests than I have time to do them. Unfortunately I also need more sleep than an average adult. This is not a good combination! 

I follow many blogs and am constantly amazed and inspired by the creativity I find in the blogsphere. Here is just a small list of the ones I read often (in no particular order). Check them out!

1. Charity Shop Chic

2. The Vivienne Files

3. Miss P

4. So...Zo what do you know

5. Eric B's DIY style

6. A Femme d'un Certain Age

7. LittleCleo at Home

Pattern Review: New Look 6774 dress

This is the first time I use one of these 'design your look' patterns. I tried the combo E+J+L without the frills on the shoulder nor the pockets. I used fabrics I had in my stash: a blue lace pattern quilted cotton for the dress and poly cotton broadcloth for the straps and the waistband. I sewed a size 14 based on the bust measurements at the back of the envelope. The pattern instructions seemed straight forward enough. I read it once and didn't look at it again. It took me a while to fit the straps on properly. I guess I was too much in a hurry and made some errors. Otherwise, the dress came together without major issues.

The waistband is very tight at my ribcage and looks a bit stretched. Perhaps I have a larger than average ribcage? I don't know. I used a good weight quilting cotton so the gathers in the front also pooches out a little too much for me. I look a bit pregnant.  If I had used a lighter weight fabric with more drape may be that wouldn't be a problem. Also, there was a gape in the chest area so I improvised and added an additional tuck in the middle:

Overall, I think it was an okay pattern but I will need to tweak it to work for my body. I might wear this out once and see how comfortable it is. I have lots of other dress patterns in my stash  so I'm not going to 'play' with this pattern for a while
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The attempt in making a Wedding Dress....

I have been married for a LONG time. The first year I started to learn to sew as an adult, I made a wedding dress. I was engaged at the time and I was stupid/bold enough to try to make my own wedding dress. I went through the pattern books at the fabric store and chose this one:

I thought it looked elegant and sexy with the open back. I bought some cheap polyester white satin and made a muslin. Of course as a beginner sewer, I struggled with the cheap slippery satin and the open back was a bit wonky. I was very fit then so I managed to slip it on without it falling off. I wished I had taken some pictures then because now I don't actually know where that dress is and I'm sure I won't fit into after so many years and 2 kids. Sigh! All that beginner's effort......

But the dream of making a proper wedding dress still creeps into my head from time to time. I mentioned that to my hubby and the first thing he said was there was no way we would have another wedding again. He was scared that if I actually manage to make another wedding dress that I would demand to have another wedding ceremony! LOL!

I have been collecting wedding dress sewing patterns over the years and I'm still hoping one day I would have the time to sew a wedding dress. May be when the kids are in university? But right now they are only 3.5 years old and 16 months old! Perhaps I can use the patterns for my daughter's first prom dress (if she would let me make her prom dress)?

Grey cashmere sweater dress refashion

This is a super simple refashion! I thrifted this very long grey cashmere cable knit sweater dress for a few dollars a couple of years ago. The dress was in perfect condition. It was way too long for my short frame and the neckline was unflattering for my stumpy neck.

First a quick cut and hem at the knee. Then use the cut off material to make a circle and attach it to the neckline. Voila! A much better sweater dress for me. The cashmere is soft and warm and I can flip up the folded cowl neck for the bitter Canadian winter. I can't wait to wear it this Fall/Winter season! Let's just hope that my 2 active kids don't ruin a nice cashmere dress on the first outing.....:-)

ECing a 16 month old girl

The ECing has been on and off the last few months. Some days she would tell me in no uncertain terms that she needed to poop. Other days, she would just poop while standing up! It's worse when her brother is home because she loves following her brother around and is so distracted by him. I try to remember to keep an eye on her for about 20 min after each meal to see if she looks strained (trying to push the poop out). I also try to remember to put her on the potty right after we come home from an outing. If she had been eating/drinking a little, she would actually wait till she gets home to poop. She doesn't like sitting in her poop in the carseat.

School is starting soon so I hope that I will be able to keep her in underwear more often while her brother is at school. Hopefully that will put us back on track for the ECing. I really hope that I will get her fully trained while she is awake before next April, her 2nd birthday!