Another Day with Julie

Art, Crafts, Cooking, Sewing, Gardening, Reading, Travel, DIY

Recent Posts

  • Turning Tools for Sewing

    I highly recommend the Quick Turn turning tools by Dritz. If I had only known about these lovely gadgets years ago, I would have saved myself endless frustration and tantrums. So how do they work and why do I like them so much?

    First off, the Quick Turn turning tools are used to turn tubes of material from wrong side to right side of fabric. Often a pattern will instruct one to cut a narrow strip of fabric, fold it in half lengthwise, stitch, and turn. Yah right! My reaction is always, “how am I supposed to turn this narrow little thing?” Well it usually can be done with a few tantrums and curse words, but this is now a thing of the past.

    Once the tubes are sewn, one slides a tube (kinda like a very stiff straw) into the fabric tube. Then, the metal rod or wooden rod is used to gently push the material inside the tube. When it gets a little bit under way, one just gives it a pull and voila, it comes out the other end right side out. All this just takes seconds to do. That is why I love these gadgets. They even come in different sizes so even the teeny tiniest of tubes can be turned. (We’re talking 1/4″ here!- see photo)

    So, if the project on hand calls for turning tubes of fabric, I highly recommend investing in some turning tools before getting started. They will save time and frustration. Turning tools are an inexpensive and useful addition to any sewing box.

    As always, Happy Sewing!

  • Making Single Fold Bias Tape

    I decided to make Simplicity’s pattern 4177, a simple Boho style blouse. The neckline called for 1/2″ single fold bias tape. Since I wanted to have my bias tape match my fabric, I set off to make my own bias tape. Good thing I had extra fabric.

    To make bias tape, the fabric needs to be cut on the bias, a 45 degree angle from the selvage edge. This gives the fabric more stretch and can form to curves easier. By folding over the cut edge of the fabric to the selvage edge and then cutting along the fold line, the bias cut is made. From there, all cuts can be made parrallel to the bias cut in long strips. My bias was cut into one inch strips. Strips can be sewn together to reach the desired length.

    fold side down to selvage edge- cut along angle

    Once the strips are cut out, they are folded in half and pressed. For single fold bias tape, the sides are then brought in to meet the center fold and pressed. The tape is then pressed flat to erase the first center fold pressing.

    A bit more work than picking up a package of the pre-made stuff but ever so worth it. For prints, such as I was using, a plain color would have looked “home made” and even though my top is home made I do not need to advertise the fact. If the pattern calls for bias tape that will show, be sure to purchase a bit more material to account for it if wishing to do it yourself.

    As always, Happy Sewing!

  • Underlining a Garment

    What is underlining and why bother with it? Underlining is refered to as pieces of lining fabric that are cut to the exact dimensions of the pattern pieces and sewn together as one piece. These underlining pieces are placed on the wrong side or back of the material pieces and are stitiched in place to form one piece. The pattern is then sewed as normal and the garment is fully lined.

    I disovered underlining recently when wanting to line a dress I was working on. The fabric for the dress was on the thinner side and I would either need to line the dress or wear a slip. I decided to line the dress. However, lining involves making a seperate lining of the dress pattern and attaching it to the inside of the dress. This is like making two dresses. This seemed a lot of work and frankly, a bit intimidating to tell the truth. That is when I ran across the term underlining. Easy! This was for me!

    So with underlining, as I stated earlier, one cuts out the pattern in the chosen material and then cuts out the pattern in a lining fabric. The lining fabric is sewn to the wrong side of the material pieces using long running stitches just outside the seam allowance so they will not be seen when the garment is sewn together. This can be done on the machine or by hand. I read that one gets a flatter, smoother outcome doing this process by hand, as bubbles can sometimes form when feeding two fabrics into the machine at the same time. Doing this by hand, one works flat on a table. This keeps the bubbles out. I have tried this both ways. I can say that it does work better by hand. “By hand!” one might whine. “That will take forever!” Oh contrar. The hand method actually does go by quite fast and does indeed give smoother results. If the piece is a garment, I would highly recommend doing this process by hand. I made bags, and sewed the underlining by machine and they were not as flat, but for these bags it did not matter.

    So, if wanting a lined, professional looking garment, without the hassle of sewing and attaching a separate lining, why not give underlining a try. As always, Happy Sewing!

  • Raspberry-Nectarine Bostock Recipe Review

    I picked-up a copy of the May/June 2021 issue of Victoria Magazine – Special French Issue the other day. This issue being devoted to all things French, including the recipes, I was sure to be in for a treat. Oh yummy!

    I saw the photo for the Raspberry-Nectarine Bostock and my mouth was watering. While this recipe is suggested as a breakfast item (and I would agree), I decided to make it for a dessert last night. It worked quite well in that department as well. The pairings of the apricots (which I substituted for the nectarines), raspberries, and almond was quite delicious.

    The Raspberry-Nectarine Bostock is made up of fruit on top of an almond-paste creme spread over raspberry preserves on a slice of brioche. This is baked in the oven, cooled, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. The only substitutes I made to this recipe where (as stated above) using canned apricots instead of nectarines (not in season), frozen raspberries instead of fresh, almonds instead of pistachios, and instead of the vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract. The recipe itself is very easy to make and takes very little time to put together an impressive looking pastry.

    The other recipes from the ‘French Breadbasket’ article also look delicious and will soon be put to the test in my kitchen. These recipes include: Chaussons Aux Pommes, Ginger-Cardamom Kouign-Amann, and Escargot Au Chocolat. This issue of Victoria also has recipes for Macarons. Included are: Blackberry-Thyme, Earl Grey, White Chocolate-Mint, Strawberries and Cream, and Raspberry Lemonade. Looks like I will not be coming out of the kitchen for a while.

    I highly recommend the recipe for Raspberry-Nectarine Bostock from Victoria Magazine. I am quite sure I will be making this recipe again. As always, Happy Baking!

  • Storing Potatoes in Warm Climates

    It is said that one should not store potatoes in the refrigerator. Oh no! Hadn’t heard that before. Why on earth not?

    According to GoodHousekeeping.com:

    “According to the New Scientist, we shouldn’t be storing raw potatoes in the fridge because it can lead to the formation of acrylamide during cooking.

    At low temperatures, an enzyme breaks down the sugar sucrose into glucose and fructose, which can form acrylamide during cooking.

    Acrylamide has hit the headlines thanks to the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has launched a warning of the possible cancer risk associated with this chemical.”

    Well, after reading such articles as that, I looked into the best ways to store potatoes. The best place to store potatoes is in a cool, dry place such as a cellar or basement. This, however, poses a problem for me. I live in California. This is not the midwest. No one has cellars or basements in California. Now what?

    I started to leave the spuds out on the counter. Of course this is a big no-no. Potatoes do not like light and we have plenty of that in California. If left on the counter, they will start to sprout and turn slightly green inside.

    So, I read where putting the spuds in a basket or well ventillated bag in a pantry would do. Ok, so I had found room in the pantry, put them in a brown bag, poked holes in it for ventillation, and closed the top. Again, this did not work. The spuds did not last long. I think I suffocated them…

    The next method, I am proud to say, is working like a charm and so simple to do. I take a small brown paper lunch bag and roll down the sides, then I gently place the potatoes inside the bag. Keeping the bag open at top, I then place it inside my pantry. Voila! The potatoes seem to be happy enough and have plenty of airflow and are kept in the dark as to what is going on in the light of day. They have not sprouted and seem to be doing well. Of course, it is only spring here in California and the really hot days of summer are not upon us yet. We shall see how they like the pantry in a few months time but for now all is well.

    Another thought I had….the grocery stores seem to like to store the single potatoes in the refrigerated shelves that then spray water on them every so many minutes. This is probably (in my oppinion) a bad thing. Only the 3 or 5 pound bags are stored dry and out of refrigeration. Although a few stores do carry singles stored witout refrigeration, most do not. So it is probably important to purchase potatoes that are stored properly before getting to one’s house.

    As always, Happy Harvesting!

  • Planting Peanuts

    It was a beautiful So Cal spring weekend so my husband and I payed a visit to the nursery. We soon had our hands full of plants. Tomatoes, beans, peppers, and what was this…peanuts!

    Yes, the nursery had peanuts. Having never grown peanuts before, I wanted to give this a go. So, peanuts in hand, we set about to get some seeds. I went inside while my husband got a cart, our hands becoming quite full. We picked-up some carrot and zucchini seeds and decided this would be enough to get started.

    At home, we planted the garden. My husband had already prepared most of the raised beds for planting. We added some more seeds that we had on hand at home, lettuce and cilantro. This was a good start to the garden. There is plenty of space left in the beds, however, we still have plenty of time to plant. Spring has only begun after all.

    I did some research on the peanut plants. Our pack had three. Apparently, the plant will grow yellow flowers which will turn back down and poke into the soil. The peanuts will grow from these flowers. So, it is recommended to keep the soil loose so the flowers will be able to penetrate the soil. Well, I am hoping for at least half a dozen peanuts so that we can all try one. If anyone has had success (or failure for that matter) with peanuts, I would love any advice.

    I will keep posting peanut updates as they come in.

    As always, Happy Gardening!

  • Hoppy Easter!

    Easter seems a bit earlier this year. It is this coming Sunday. I am a bit late at getting my Easter decorations and baskets out. However, we are ready for the Easter bunny. After all, one is never too old for a few Easter treats.

    Speaking of decorations, I am re-posting my Easter Diorama directions. This is one of my all time favorite decorations. One that is fun to make as an adult or along with children. Each one is unique and special.

    https://anotherdaywithjuliehome.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=3114&action=edit&calypsoify=1&block-editor=1&frame-nonce=67f3f80b61&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.com&environment-id=production&support_user&_support_token

    Happy Easter!

  • Using a Serger

    My daughter wanted a serger for Christmas. Santa came through with a Juki model. She was very happy to get her first serger and wanted me to try it. So, like the good student I am, I sat down for my lesson on the Juki.

    The serger was easy enough to use on a straight seam. Just put the material under the presser foot, step on the pedal and off you go. But what about on curves? I actually did not try curves until my daughter had gone off to college again. First, I decided to watch a you-tube video. A very helpful lady showed me how to maneuver the material under the presser foot. I gave it a go myself and thanks to my you-tube tutor, all went well. It is a bit like a sewing machine, the difference being if I messed up the little blade would slice my material off. That is why I watched the video first. Take it slow and easy on curves and it is not a problem.

    I have been using the serger a lot since my daughter went back to college. I think that I will eventually have to ask Santa for my own, as she will some day take the Juki with her, and I will be left without. One might ask, “Do you really need a serger?” After using one for a few months, my answer is “yes”.

    A serger has many benefits. It sews a beautiful finished edge to the piece so that the material looks finished. A serger allows a piece to be washed without the fear of unraveling seams. It brings the garment up a notch from “homemade” to “Where did you buy that?” status. I would recommend a serger to serious seamstresses and for people who sew a lot of clothing. Beginning sewers can use a zig-zag stitch on their sewing machine or cut the seams with pinking shears. This will do until they become more accomplished sewers and actually want to wear what they make. It is more important to have a good machine and then acquire a serger thereafter, as it is a monetary investment.

    The only drawback I find to the serger is that it is a pain to thread. Tweezers and tools have to be used to reach the threads here and there. The threads have to be threaded in a particular order for the machine to work. There are four spools of thread on my daughter’s serger. One spool seems to run out a lot faster than the other spools. This one is the one that needs to be threaded first. Although, there is a way around this, by sneaking threads around others. So the hardest part about serging is threading the machine. Once threaded it is a piece of cake.

    As always, Happy Sewing!

  • Raspberry and White Chocolate Cookies

    Raspberries and white chocolate sounded yummy so I decided to make them into cookies.

    Ingredients:

    1 c. All Purpose Flour

    1/2 c. Whole Wheat Flour

    1/2 tsp baking soda

    pinch of salt

    1/2 c. shortening + 1 Tbsp water (mixed)

    1/4 c. light brown sugar

    1/4 c. sugar

    1 egg

    1/2 tsp vanilla

    1/2 c. frozen raspberries (keep them frozen)

    1/4 c. white chocolate chips

    Method:

    In a large mixing bowl, mix with hand mixer the shortening, sugars, egg, and vanilla. To this add the flours, baking soda and salt; mix until dough is formed. With a spoon, mix in the chips. Very gently, fold in the raspberries.

    Scoop out dough into heaping tablespoons onto parchment lined baking sheet. (Makes 18 cookies)

    Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees F. for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

    As always, Happy Baking!

  • Horrid Little Staples!

    I decided our dining room chairs were looking passe and worn. It was time to reupholster the chairs. We had done this once before so we knew how to go about it.

    The first time we reupholstered, we replaced the foam and the backing fabrics as well. this time, we only needed to replace the main fabric. I ordered the fabric and cut it to size. Then it was time to remove the upholstery staples. I had the special upholstery staple remover tool from last time we did this. I remembered this step being a bit of work. I started to remove the staples but it was not going as smoothly as I had hoped. The staples were breaking! I did not remember the staples breaking last time I did this. This was now becoming an increasingly slow process as I had to use pliers to pull out the broken staples and hammer in the pieces that were too short to pull out. Horrid little staples!

    My husband stapled on the new fabric. He reassured me that he did not use as many staples this time plus he bought a different brand. We are hoping the new staples will come out in one piece. The funny thing is, we looked at reviews for staples and no one comments on the ease of removal. People only care about how they go in and stay in. Luckily, we will not need to find out how they come out for a while. We are both very pleased with our “new” chairs. They look so much better and really make the room look more up to date.

    As always, Good-luck with the DIY Projects!

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