SBAdventures

Wow - what a busy month! I am moving to a new apartment (hopefully I will be done by the end of this weekend) and my fiance is moving to Richmond for grad school. We have spent the month packing, and cleaning, and saying good-bye to friends and family. In the mean time, I have been trying to spend at least a little time on my Colette Hawthorn blouse. I really really wanted to finish it by the end of the month, to enter their contest... but it just isn't going to happen. I'm going to take my time and finish it when I can  :)  However, I did finish the small bust adjustment with success! The SBA is explained on the colette pattern blog at: http://www.coletterie.com/sewalongs/hawthorn-sew-along-full-and-small-bust-adjustments.

This is my first Hawthorn muslin - before doing the SBA.

I have always been too intimidated to try making pattern adjustments. Too intimidated and just too lazy :) Surprisingly the SBA wasn't overly time consuming and really wasn't too tricky. I read over the instructions on Coletterie several times before starting.

The back looked fine on the first muslin - so I decided to keep it the same.

I kept my computer close at all times to look up instructions and hints.

You start out by creating a muslin and seeing how much extra fabric is gapping at your bust. I had about 1/2" of loose fabric. In order to resize, you need to cut the pattern piece and overlap the sections. The Coletterie blog explains where to cut. I overlapped the fabric by 1/4" in the front dart and in the side seam. My front side seam will be shorter now, so I will need to take that same amount off my back pattern piece.

I taped my pattern piece back together and redrew my dart.

The joys of sewing!

I feel so empowered - now that I have done my first pattern adjustment. It's like I'm reaching a new stage in my sewing. Yay!

Blueberry Dumplings

Yummy blueberry dumplings!

Recently I heard a yummy story on NPR. Valerie Erwin, chef and owner of Geechee Girl Rice Cafe in Philadelphia, shared her recipe for blueberry dumplings. I was already hungry and this story just put me over the edge. The dumplings just sounded so yummy - I had to try the recipe! The blueberry dumplings were even more delicious than I imagined.

Here's the recipe Erwin shared with NPR:

Dumplings

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

6-8 tablespoons milk

Mix together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gently mix in milk until it becomes a very soft dough

Stewed Blueberries

2 cups blueberries

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

Bring the blueberries, water and sugar to a boil in a wide pan.

Divide the dough into about five dumplings and drop on top of the blueberries. Lower heat to a simmer and cover the pan tightly. Steam for 12 minutes. Serve warm.

Blueberries and dumplings - a match made in heaven!

Add the dumplings to the gently boiling blueberry sauce and cover with a lid for about 12 minutes.

The dumplings soak up some of the blueberry sauce - yum!

Yum yum yum!

If you like blueberries, give it a try. It is fast and easy to make!