Protect Yo Kindle Befo it Wrecks Itself

So my dad turned a big 8-0 last month.  A few of us pitched in and got him a Kindle Fire.  My dad loves to read and he was so excited to get this!

I wanted to make a case for him, that was like no other.

 

A pocket for notes, a stylus pocket, leather and elastic holders on the edges.  It closes with a braided elastic cord, that can be replaced as it gets stretched out with use.  The cord also connects to the tab on the left side, acting as a brace.

This is a design that I made up, with inspiration from a few different cases I saw on the internet.

Leather scraps were used for the outer, and a beautiful bird print lines it.  The stiff-ness comes from a book cover, trashed by my son over the past few months.

It ain't easy, working with leather.  Kind of a one-shot-deal.  Once you punch holes in that sucker with your needle, it's there forever.
 



 

Rolling out the Greens

Over the weekend, I made some Canneloni.  I used up the rest of a bag of fresh baby spinach for the fresh pasta, and filled it with a roasted butternut squash, carrot & cheese filling.

I guess the green color just made it too weird, because I was the only one enjoying this dish.

I had a great little sous chef, though!

DIY Pattern Weights

Pattern weights are awesome.  I never knew how they were made until recently.  I had originally thought people painstakingly wrapped fabric around the edges of the washer, thru the inside, like wrapping a hula hoop w/ tape.  What the hell are they?  Well, they're small weighted pieces you can place on top of your pattern paper when cutting.  They are really useful for rotary cut items and are so much faster than pins.

Here's how I made mine.

I went to Home Depot and looked for the largest washers I could find.  It might take a while to find these, so ask someone if you can't find the big ones.

Cut out circles of fabric.  I'm not really quite sure how big these circles are.  I used flannel to give light padding and to make it a little more non-skid.  Just trace around your washers, giving enough seam for the width of the radius.  This gives enough room for the fabric to wrap around the edges and meet in the middle.  Doesn't make much sense, me trying to explain it, so hopefully the pics will help.

Hand-sew a running stitch all the way around the edges.  Place the washer in the center and pull the thread tightly.  

 I ended up stitching thru close to the original stitching line, reinforcing it before I knotted.

You can use more than one washer, or mix 2 washers of different sizes.

Clutch Bums

Reduce

 Reuse

 Recycle

I have some old t-shirts tucked away in one of my sewing drawers, just waiting to become something else one day in life.  These have an inner and snap-in liner made of fluffy Bamboo Fleece.  A snap plier set easily makes these adjustable, but you could use a snappi or sew on Velcro, which the babes LOOOOOVE to rip off.

There are lots of free patterns for cloth diapers  on the internet.  If you have a sewing machine, VERY basic sewing skills, and some absorbent fabric, you can make your own stash of diapers for so much less than buying them.  You can customize your child's fit, use your own fabrics and feel so warm and hippy-like.  Then your kid shits in them, and the thrill is kinda gone.  At least they look cute from behind!

Cheesy Vegetable Beer Soup

Nothing like a good ol cuppa soup to warm your buns for these chilly nights, huh?  This vegetable soup went creamy, as part of my soft foods diet after getting my wisdom teeth ripped out a couple of weeks ago.  I had a hankering for broccoli cheese soup, but didn't quite have enough broccoli.  I decided to clean out the veggie drawer and whip this up.

The veggies are cooked in a normal fashion to make soup.  But the magic happens when beer and cheese combine.  I used a hoppy ale, but use whatever you'd like.  Not into beer?  Then the soup will not be what it is supposed to be. . .BEER cheese soup.  Go find another recipe or replace with stock & milk.

Pair it up with homemade bread, and you'll be a TRUE hippie.

Cheesy Vegetable Beer Soup

• 1 1/2 Tbs Butter
• 2 Cups Broccoli florets and stems, chopped
• 1 large zucchini, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, scrubbed and chopped
• 1 1/2 lbs mixed sweet and white baby potatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tsp ea: dried thyme & salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 6 cups water
• 1 1/2 Tbs Better than Bouillon Vegetarian Vegetable Flavor
• 2 C baby spinach
•  2 Tbs Butter
• 1/4 C flour (white or whole wheat is fine)
• 1 Beer
• 1-2 Tbs mustard, to your liking
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used a mixture of what I had on hand.  Important thing is to include plenty of sharp cheese)
• 1/3 C Heavy cream (*optional)

1. Saute vegetables (except spinach) in 1 1/2 Tbs butter for 5-10 minutes, or until slightly softened.  Add water, seasoning, & bouillon, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until veggies are tender.  Add the spinach and cover the pot.  Take off the heat and allow to cool while you prepare the cheese sauce.
2. In a separate pot, melt 2 Tbs butter.  Stir in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the mustard, then slowly add the beer, whisking it in.  Allow to cook for about 4-5 minutes over medium heat, until thick and bubbly.  Take off the heat, and fold in the cheese and stir until smooth.  Set aside.
3. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth.  You can also do this in a blender in batches, but I think that just leaves more dishes to do and is a pain in the ass.  Go get a fricken immersion blender!  You'll get this cute little chopper cup that is PERFECT for garlic and herbs with it, too!
4. Using a whisk, slowly incorporate the cheese sauce mixture into the soup.  Add cream and serve.