Eddie had about a day & a half off this week and was hard at work trying to finish the main structure of the kitchen island we are building from an old dresser. You can read more about that here.
The good news: It’s built!!!
The bad news: Now it’s my job to find time to prime & paint & seal this massive thing.
I can’t wait to get it in the kitchen!!!!
Today I wanted to add buttons to the reversible coat I made for Nicholas. Small problem: I have no idea how to create a button hole. Usually I go to YouTube or Google for this kind of problem, but all of the tutorials I found were for much fancier machines than mine or involved attachments that I don’t have. I was really nervous about messing this up because it was going to have to look good on both sides since the coat is reversible. Ugh. My brain hurt.
To save you the brain cramp I had from trying to figure this out myself (of course maybe you are smarter than I am and you already know a better way to do this, if so this post is not for you.) here’s the method I wound up using.
To create a button hole on a basic sewing machine:
1. Rest your button over the area where you would like to create the hole. With a pen mark the top & the bottom of the button to get an accurate size for the hole.
2. Draw a straight line between the points you just made.
3. See those those two knobs and a switch marked LMR? (L=Left M=Middle R=Right)
a) Set the switch to “M”
b) Turn the middle knob up to 4 or 5 (large stitch size)
c) Turn the right knob down to F or where ever your zig-zag setting is.
4. Place the needle on the fabric where you marked the top of the hole and stitch back and fourth a few times staying in the same spot.
5. Now set the switch on the right to “R” and the middle switch to a lower number like 1 or 2. Leave the left knob alone. Slowly stitch a straight line down the right side of the line you drew.
6. Once you get to the bottom of your line repeat step 3.
7. Set the switch on the right to “L” and the middle switch back to 1 0r 2. Here comes the tricky part. Hold down the reverse lever at the same time that you sew a straight line backwards on the left side of the line you drew up until you meet the first stitch you made.
8. Take a seam ripper and rip the fabric in the middle of the rectangle you’ve just made being careful not to break and of your stitches.
I strongly suggest practicing on a piece of scrap fabric first. Once I did a practice run it was much easier and all of the holes on the coat came out just fine. Yay! 🙂
This recipe is inspired by a festival bake my aunt makes, but I took several time-saving short cuts to make it easy on myself. Everyone I have ever served this to has asked for the recipe. It’s definitely one of our favorite go-to dinners because the left-overs heat well and it will serve an army. Plus, it is much faster & easier to prepare than a lasagna and it’s cheaper than a lasagna too. Plus, it only has 4 ingredients, bonus. (Note: It can be a little spicy. You could substitute half a pound of mild sausage to tone down the heat)
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Bake time: 1 hour
You need:
1 lb spicy Italian sausage
1 large jar of pasta sauce, store bought or homemade (I use Prego)
1 box of pasta (I usually use ziti, but any kind of short noodle will work)
1 package of shredded mozzarella cheese
*Sometimes I also add half of a package of frozen spinach that has been cooked and drained very well.
Step 1: Brown the sausage in a skillet, breaking it into small pieces just like you would brown ground beef.
Step 2: While the sausage is browning also cook & drain the noodles. Cook them 2 or 3 minutes less than the package directions, since they will continue cooking in the oven.
Step 3: Mix cooked noodles, browned sausage & pasta sauce in a large, deep baking dish and top with shredded cheese
Step 4: Cover with aluminum foil and bake 45 minutes at 350.
Step 5: After 45 minutes remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Serve with a salad & garlic bread.
Enjoy!
I’m linking this up to the SAMM Monday recipe exchange.
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