Cutting it just a little close

So, I made my new pj pants this week. Before I went to the fabric store, I got out my pattern and laid it out on the cutting board to see how much --er, how little fabric -- I would need/have to buy. I hate having all that leftover fabric, so I try to make as close a guess as I can. To make the best use of fabric, I would need to reverse the direction of either the front or the back of the pants. So, I looked for an all-over pattern whose direction could be reversed, no nap or one-direction design on the fabric.

I got to the cutting table, and debated over whether to get just an inch or two more. I went with my original measurements. I do think there is such a thing as being too cheap. And I think I was flirting with it that day that I bought the fabric.

On to cutting my fabric. I laid it all out, and wouldn't you know it, this was a very close call on the amount of fabric. The pattern just barely, barely fit on the fabric. I had to pin and re-pin a couple of times to get the pieces to fit. I should have gone with that extra inch. It would have made the cutting so much easier. In the end, I did get it all to fit, and got my fabric cut. But that was a squeaker!

I do like the way pattern instructions are written. Everything is broken down into steps. I could tell myself, "today, I'll cut the fabric and do Step 1." This makes the whole project feel much more doable, for me.


I have plenty of leftover scraps, just not at the ends. I am thinking, though, I've saved the scraps from several pairs of pj pants, all flannel, in varying colors. My kids are getting older. One of them could get married, start a family, hmmmm . . .  Not pushing, of course. But eventually, I'll be able to turn some of these nice, soft, flannel scraps into patchwork baby blankets. Like I said, not pushing or anything.

Here's how the pajama pants turned out.

I would love to say:

"It really, really helps to use the same pattern over and over. I've found that I can practically make these pants without the instructions. I have confidence in my ability to figure out this pattern, which is a big help in completing this project without a hitch!"

Not exactly how everything unfolded. But then, aren't hitches to be expected? But I persevered. An extra 30 minutes, unpicking a seam in the wrong place, and I was back on track. Not a bad project, though. Including cutting out the fabric and all sewing, this took me 2 afternoons. And I even had thread and elastic at home, so I was only out the cost of the flannel, which was on sale at Jo Ann's earlier this month.

And now all I have to say is,

Cold wintry nights? Bring it on!!!!

From my garden, August 2015

This has been a great month for garden produce for us. I haven't bought any fresh fruits or vegetables all month long. In fact, the only fruits and veggies I've bought this month were a little bit of dried fruit (for fruit and nut bars) and some canned and frozen veggies for fall and winter use.

But for our consumption in August, our garden and orchard (plus a few free bananas here and there) has provided all that we needed.

So, for the month of August, our garden provided:

• 2 heads of cabbage
• lots and lots of lettuce
• uncountable numbers of tomatoes
• over 50 pears
• about 30 quarts of blackberries (about half are frozen still)
• some summer squash and zucchini
• some Swiss chard
• some kale
• a few baby carrots
• lots of green, waxed and Romano beans
• many cucumbers, eaten as salads (I still need to make some pickles)
• just a couple of beets
• 2 meals of baby potatoes
• a second harvest of watercress (early spring is when the main harvest of watercress is ready)
• lots of herbs -- sage, oregano, thyme, basil and rosemary
• a few handfuls of blueberries at the beginning of the month
• about 10 red apples
• lots of rhubarb
• about 200 shallots

Our most prolific veggie has been tomatoes -- we've eaten fresh tomatoes just about every day of August, followed by pears  and blackberries (3 or 4 times per week, each).

I prefer to use the cabbage, fresh, in slaws, with our garden cabbage. It's very tender and delicious. I'll use market cabbage in fall in cooked dishes. In fact, while we have fresh produce from the garden, I prefer to use most of it, raw, in salads, as is, or lightly steamed. Fresh produce has enzymes, which are mostly destroyed by cooking. These enzymes help with digestion, in breaking down what's eaten. Plus, there's the vitamin C content in fresh, uncooked produce. This time of year, I don't buy traditional vitamin C foods, like oranges. But uncooked blackberries,  tomatoes,  cabbage and watercress are all good sources of vitamin C.

The peppers, eggplant and pumpkins/squash have still not produced anything pickable. One more month, so we'll see if I can get much of those veggies out of our garden.

I am making my plans for next spring's garden. Do you have any suggestions for other veggies I could plant, that have done especially well for you?