birthday bathing suits

for millies birthday i asked her if she would like to do a sewing project together and she jumped at the opportunity  she picked out a pattern and we made it together. ! she was looking for a vintage style bathing suit but vintage patterns for her size are not cheap so she found a cute little 80's number and we just made a few adjustments.

the red one

so she picked the red one and then decided to change the straps and make the skirt longer and she found this really cute polka dot lycra swim suit material online. well church camp was getting near and by the time we got everything together we only had a few days. so we were able to get it sewn in 2 days and for never using thay type of material before or using a swim suit pattern or elastic and it only being the 3rd pattern ive ever used i think we did awesome.   there we a few bumps along the way. for some reason lining had slipped out mind but we were able to use other fabrics we had laying around. when we bought the pattern on line it said it was up to a size 10 well it was a size 7-8 so we had to draft the pattern and make it larger. there was some frustration because of the deadline approaching but she is thrilled with the way it came out so that makes me happy.

skirted bottom

it looks small in these pictures but for obvious reasons we did not want to take pictures with it on even though its really cute on. i must say i think its pretty awesome that she wanted to make one because she couldnt find one that was modest enough for her. i probably wont be making another swim suit for awhile =] millie did a wonderful job for not really sewing before besides a pillow and pillow case she did awesome and we will have to do more projects in the future but with no deadline!!!
gosh i love that girl

bread & jam

sooo many berries. we made 2 batches of jam 19 - 1/2 pint jars of jam then still had berries! but thankfully not enough for another batch so leah just raw packed them with a light blackberry syrup we made and ended up with 2 pint & 2 1/2 pint jars of whole berries. one of the batches of jam was extremely sweet so the 2nd batch i cut the sugar in half but sadly i think that had some affect on the pectin since i hadnt picked up the "low/no sugar pectin" because my recipe called for the regular pectin and it doesnt seem to be setting as well but the 1st batch is nice and firm so that is something i need to research before making any more jams/jellies/preserves pesky pectin  i even added some cinnamon to the 1st batch. so many berries and most of them arent even ripe yet.  i guess i should learn to like them!    and then 2 loaves of sweet amish white bread. ended up leaving my bread pans behind so one of them is a ball of bread but as yummy as last time.    having a good productive day always makes one feel nice and relaxed. ah the simple things

mashing whole berries
 

i have decided that freezing blackberries changes the color,they were all black when picked!

ball-o-bread

the other day to my horror i walked into this scene.

my precious cheese had been cut into cubes, tossed in flour and sauteed.

i had half of the batch left.

the entire half. all of it! =[

now it tastes like a potato crouton or something.

R.I.P Squeaky cheese

i will see you when i have enough milk for another batch you will never be replaced because you were my first batch. i will always love you.

on another note my sweet blessing goat is well sweet. aww i need a goat post. i have come to love that silly goat. i think its mutual.

YAY for lazy sundays

Squeaky Cheese

This blog is for family members we dont see enough and for myself so i can remember ways ive made things and if i liked them or not, a recipe box of sorts.

i do not use punctuation you'll get use to it

Millie and I made some cheese last night I remember this being some of my favorite cheese It holds its shape and squeaks! yummy and salty like provolone so amazing. This was our first batch using rennet I've been making cheese by heating the milk and using an acid -lemon juice or vinegar-  to separate the curds from whey. I was pretty excited when i got my little package from new england cheese supply and I must say that for not having a proper press its pretty wonderful. tomato soup and squeaky cheese =] . there will be much more cheese to come with cultures but mastering this process is first  

we warmed the milk,added rennet let set. then time to cut the curds!

my favorite part                                    

re-warmed the curds for that squeaky texture

millie getting her squish on

strain and press overnight

it taste much better than it looks. now to find a proper plate so we have a nice flat surface for pressing
but cheese shaped like a bowl ... i can dig it

all in all this was a success although millie and i are the only was that have eaten any yet. we have decided our opinion is right. and we are pretty sure everyone will love it.