Hard Water Stains Begone!

Well after 6 years of living in Austin, my glasses are really starting to show the stains from our hard water.

So it’s time I introduced them to my friend vinegar: 

Oh yeah, Pickle Perfect.

So let’s go for a quick 30 minute soak in a bath of vinegar.  Now you just get to go about your business while that works away.

Then come back and give them a little bit of a scrub – you want to make sure those stains know that you are the boss.

And voilà!  Brilliant, sparkling clean glasses again 🙂 See the before and after below.–Martta

Emergency Evacuation Checklist

Update: The terrible fires and evacuations this week in Colorado had my friend remind me how handy this evacuation checklist can be. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!  Spend some time thinking about what you would take if you had to evacuate. It’s much easier to make decisions when you’re calm than panicked.

September 2011:

We’ve been suffering through the hottest Summer on record in Texas and to make life more miserable, we’ve been fighting a record breaking drought as well.  Tropical storm Lee kicked up high winds this weekend and the tinder box that is Central Texas has gone up in flames.  There are multiple fires that were ignited on Sunday afternoon.  The winds, combined with the abundant fuel, have created fast moving fires that are rapidly forcing people from their homes.  My friend was given 5 minutes to evacuate his home.  What would you do in five minutes?  What would you take?

As I pondered that question, I realized if I only had 5 minutes to think about what to take, I would forget a lot of stuff!  It took me about a half hour to come up with the list of things I’d absolutely take with me and even then, when I rattled it off to my friend, she pointed out that I forgot my medications.  Doh!

As I thought about it, I realized I need to write this down.  And tape it to my fridge.  So if I ever get a knock on the door, I can just grab my checklist and run through the house and get the hell out.  Maybe you want to consider making your own checklist too so I made a template which you can find here: Emergency Evacuation Checklist.

I included phone numbers on my checklist because let’s be honest, if I’m ever parted from my cell phone, you can just assume I don’t know your phone number.  Does anyone know phone numbers any more?

So what’s on my checklist you ask?  Here’s what I came up with:

• My pets (children) on their leashes:  I suppose I could just grab them and run, but that wouldn’t be very practical later when I needed to walk them around.
• My computer external hard drive:  My whole computer is backed up to that drive.  So if I don’t have time to take the computer, I can just grab the external drive and power supply and run – with all my pictures and important documents.
• ID and documents: Speaking of documents, I’m grabbing my passport and social security card as well as my purse with driver’s license and insurance information.
• Medications: Yes, I could get these again, but let’s make life easier and take them with me….and any medications my dogs are taking too.
• Cell phone: Did I mention I don’t know your phone number if I don’t have that thing?  And I’ll need the charger too.
• Clothing: I would probably just grab the dirty clothes hamper and run out the door.  Why the dirty hamper you ask?  1. I can use it throw things into like that hard drive I’m lugging around.  2. That dirty hamper probably has at least one of all the clothes in it that I’d need for a few days.  3. It’s way easier to get to than my suit case.  4. I can throw some clean clothes in on top of the other stuff.
• Toiletries: I could get these at the store, but I have to walk past my pre-packed toiletries travel kit when I’m getting the hamper so it just makes sense to throw them in there.
• Keys: I need to be able to pull out in my get-away car.  A spare set of key to the house and the car wouldn’t hurt either….you know, in case my first set falls out of the hamper.
• Sentimental items: There are a few pieces of jewelry and photos I’d take with me.
• My car: As I said before, I’m getting the hell out.

This is my list, but you might also want to consider a few others:

• Food and water for you and your pets – especially if you’re on a special diet
• Bedding or sleeping bags
• Flashlights and batteries
• Radio
• Money
• Cameras and batteries
• First aid kit
• Glasses
• Things to keep you or the kids busy – books, toys, etc.

So what’s on your checklist?

–Martta

Linking up here:

Mini Frilly Apron for Little Girls

I am the Oprah of frilly aprons (“And you get a frilly apron!  And you get a frilly apron!”).  The sewing table has been consumed with making frilly aprons for Heather and Marilyn for Mother’s day and this little cutie for Caroline – a mini frilly apron: 

I based my pattern for the mini frilly apron largely on the adult sized version which I wrote up earlier.  I did a bit of shopping and found that most children’s aprons are 23″ in height.  So I got to work with my trusty calculator and began figuring out how to shrink down my pattern to this new dimension.  I realized quickly that children’s noggins are a lot larger proportionally than the adult version so rather than a single strap that loops over the head, I created strap ties in the kid’s version.  After a bit of trial and error and working with another apron that fits Caroline well, I had my plan.

Now to pick up the fabric!  In all honesty, I didn’t actually have to pick up much because I had leftovers from Heather’s apron (which of course I made to match the mini version!).  But if you are picking up fabrics for yourself, here’s what I’d call for:

• Fabric 1 and 2: 1/2 yard each
• Fabric 3, 4, and 5: 1/3 yard each

I’ve used 1/4″ seams for this project unless otherwise noted.  But you should have plenty of fabric if you would prefer 1/2″ or 5/8″seams.  Just adjust your cuts accordingly.

From Fabric 1 Cut:

• Cut two trapezoid bibs.  Top length 7.5″ and bottom length 11″, 10.25″ tall.
• Cut two straps 18″ by 4″
• Cut one frill 34.5″ by 5.25″

From Fabric 2 Cut:

• Cut one apron skirt 19.5″ by 7.5″
• Cut one waist 19″ by 4.75″
• Cut one frill 34.5″ by 5.25″
• Cut two ties 22″ by 4.5″

From Fabric 3 and 4 Cut:

• Cut one frill 34.5″ by 5.25″

From Fabric 5 Cut:

• Cut one frill 34.5″ by 7″

So now you should have a pile of goodies that looks somewhat similar to this: Just pretend I haven’t already sewn one of the straps in the upper left hand corner, I was testing out final cut dimensions.

OK, now on to the longest part of this project: Frill prep.  If you have a serger, you can save a bit of time by serging the top and bottom of all the frills.  If you’re like me, then you’ll just need your good ole friend zig zag on the top of each frill.  For the bottoms, I used a rolled hem.  To create, press the bottom of the frill up 1/2″ Open the press you just made.  Fold your raw edge to the press line and press again.Finally, fold fabric to original press line and press once more.  See, I told you this is the part of the project that takes the longest!  Edge stitch your rolled hem in place.

Repeat the rolled hem on the bottom and sides of each of the frills as well as the sides of the apron skirt.

Sew a gathering stitch across the top of the frill.  OK, now all your frills should look like this:

You’ve got rolled hems on the bottom and sides, zig zag or serge across the top and a gathering stitch on the top.

Now it’s time to start making things happen!  Gather all your ruffles.  Pin ruffle number four (in my case, the brown fabric) right sides together to the bottom of the apron skirt.Directly on top of that, pin ruffle number five (in my case the blue fabric) with the right side facing the wrong side of ruffle four.Sew in place and press seam up toward the top of the skirt.

Next mark the ruffle placement on your skirt.  Mark a line 2.5 inches down from the top of the apron skirt and mark a second line 5 inches from the top of the skirt.  You can barely make out the light purple marking lines on this dark fabric I’ve chosen!Pin ruffle number three right sides together on the 5″ marking line.  (In all honesty, you could simply place the ruffle wrong side to right side, but I like the finished look of a folded seam even if it’s hidden by the ruffle above it!).  Sew and press down.Repeat for ruffle two.  For ruffle one, simply match the raw edge by placing the wrong side of the fabric to the right side of the skirt.  You should now have an adorable mini skirt. Now is the time I like to hold it up and dance around the house Can-Can style, but this step is optional.

Once you’ve stopped dancing, take your waist band and fold one edge up 1/4″ and press.  Match the centers of the unpressed edge of the waistband and skirt and pin right sides together.  You should have a 1/4″extra length (Your seam allowance) on each side of your waistband – see how it sticks out past the side of the skirt?  That’s good, you’ll need that later.Sew and press seam down toward the skirt.  Be sure you don’t have any zig zag or gathering stitches peaking out on the front of the skirt at the waistband.

Next prepare your waist ties.  Fold the tie in half on the long side, press and stitch one short side and length of long side.  Turn the tie, press again and top stitch.

Match raw edges of the tie to raw edges of the waistband.  Fold waistband over the tie so it is sandwiched into place.Sew, open waistband and press.

Now we’re ready to move on to the strap ties.  Create a rolled hem as before on one short edge.  I hate turning tiny things and since the finished width of this tie is only one inch, I decided there was no way I was going to turn that.  So I folded the tie in half and pressed.  Then folded raw edges into the center press mark and pressed again.

Finally I folded along original press lines and pressed a third time.  Top stitch around the strap and repeat the whole process on the second strap.

Pin straps to top of one apron bib, raw edges together, 1/4″ from the sides of the apron bib.  Place apron bibs right sides together with straps sandwiched between.  Sew sides and top of apron.  Clip corners, turn press and top stitch the bib.

We’re almost done! Place skirt front side down.  Place bib front side down.  Match centers of bib and waistband and align raw edges. Fold raw edges under along the waist band pressed fold.  Pin in place.  Top stitch waistband.  One more press and we’re ready for our model!   Look at Caroline work that frilly skirt over her party dress!  So cute.  I hope we can get up to some cooking in this apron!

–Martta