Puerto Vallarta

Thought I would share some pictures with you guys from my trip to Mexico. We went to Puerto Vallarta with our Church for the Feast Of Tabernacles for 11 days. The weather was constantly in the 90’s and extremely HUMID! But we pushed through the humidity and had fun just the same 🙂

Here is some pics from our zip lining and swimming with the dolphins adventure!!

A Vintage Look

I thought I would share with you guys what I am working on right now. This is Laura Nash’s pattern from SewChic. The Tia dress: vintage, flirty and fun!

I have completed the bodice and will be working on the skirt portion of the dress today.

I will be making bias trim and using bias on the armholes instead of sleeves. This top portion is fully lined and will have a zip on the left side that extends down into the skirt portion.

Happy Sewing 🙂

Orange Marmalade

I had 9 oranges that were sitting around and over the weekend I thought why not marmalade.

So simple but a bit time-consuming as I canned them as well. I like my jam a bit on the runnier side like a sauce I can use on toast or dollop on ice-cream or make sticky buns out of….endless possibilities! Sliced oranges and sugar-water AKA simple syrup is all that is in this preserve.

Huge pot= crap load of orange marmalade.

up close peak at the very brilliant orange, oranges 🙂

The hardest part is the waiting for it to boil down….then waiting for the jars to sterilize….then waiting while you boil the jars. I love that “pop” sound you hear at the end when you take them out of the boiling water, it’s the snap of finality.

Best pay off is the next morning at breakfast.

Here is one last pic of this yummy gooeyness 🙂

Marmalade

Servings: 12
Time: 4 hours
Difficulty: medium
Print

Marmalade Recipe

Ingredients:

6 oranges sliced very thin peel included.
8 cups of water
7 cups of sugar

Directions:

Add all ingredients together and heat till the sugar dissolves. Let sit overnight. The next day, bring the mixture to a boil for 2 hours. It will start to turn more amber and thicken. When it starts to read 220 degrees on a candy thermometer then you are ready to jar them up.

TIP: To check the consistency before you jar it you can drop a bit of the marmalade on a plate and chill it for 15 min or so, then tilt your plate and check the consistency of it. If it is still too runny for you then boil it away a bit more.

Pour the marmalade in piping hot jars, lids should be hot as well. Place your jars in boiling water for 10 minutes to preserve them. You will hear an audible “pop” noise once taken out of the water and allowed to rest on counter till it comes to room temperature. Do not tilt jars while they are sealing.

Enjoy

Airy knitting with Cotton Gima

I started this A-line tank with a sweet cowl neck AGES AGO!! It is sad to say but the whole thing has been finished 2 years ago minus sewing the shoulder seams and blocking it! So here is the pattern:

I love knitting things that have an airy, ethereal quality too them. This yarn is from Habu Textiles and it is 100% cotton gima.

I put this on my dress form so you can get the idea of what it will look like. I am determined to sew up these shoulder seams and block it today, ~~I hope~~.

This a near seamless pattern it is knitted in the round till you get to the arm holes then you finish each side with stockinette st. It worked up fast and is a simple enjoyable pattern.