Patriotic Applique Shirts

We've been watching a lot of voetbal around here lately...that's soccer to those of us not born in Europe or Africa or South America...or pretty much anywhere outside of the USA. The World Cup is going strong and with both the USA and the Netherlands in the round of 16, I decided to whip up a few shirts for our son to show his dual nationality pride. 

Fortunately for me, both the American and Dutch flags are pretty easy to replicate--no ornate crests or designs. I've been wanting to practice applique to build my confidence for a quilt I have in the works. 

I used a 4"x6" index card as a template for the flag. I found the red and stripe fabric as a fat quarter at Joann Fabrics awhile ago. I knew I could use it for some patriotic project in the future, so I snatched up a few of them. I found the blue star fabric, which is 2"x 2.5", at Walmart. 

 I used Pellon Wonder-Under to make the fabric sticky so it would adhere to the tee shirt. 

This is the way to use the transfer web if you want to make a mess of your iron! Learn from my mistake and cut out the Wonder Under to the same size as your fabric so that the bordering transfer web does not melt onto the iron.

This really should have been done before ironing the Wonder Under.

After a minute, you can peel off the backing. Check the wrong side of the fabric and you should feel the shiny webbing.

I started with the stripes. I ironed the piece again, this time right side up, to adhere the fabric to the tee shirt.

I stitched around the striped piece as close to the edge as I could. I then repeated the process with the blue star piece. I didn't take photos because on of my best friends from Michigan surprised me with a visit! I only remembered to take a photo of the finished applique!

My happy American boy models his shirt.

Of course, I had to make a Dutch shirt too. I flipped the notecard over to make sure that my lines were even. The red piece is 4"x 6".  The white piece is 2-2/3" x 6" and the blue stripe is 1-1/3" x 6".

I followed the same process to make the applique. 

Two happy Dutch boys...especially after yesterday's win over Mexico in the round of 16!

Our next door neighbors are Italian, so I also whipped up some Italian shirts. For these, I made the white piece 4"x6" and the green and red strips 2"x 4".

Updated: July 1, 2014

I may have a new addiction. I made a Canada tee today in honor of our friends to the North.

Linked to:

Artsy Fartsy Mama * Creative Collection link party * Creative Muster *  Creativity Unleashed  * DIY Dreamer * The New Nostalgia*  Moonlight & Mason Jars link party * Practically Functional * Show & Share Saturday Link Up*  Show Stopper Saturday link party * Twinkly Tuesday * Wonderfully Creative Wednesday link party

Homemade Mama Chia

Up until a few years ago, the only thing that came to mind when I heard the word chia was the popular cha-cha-chia pets of my youth. (By the way, you can still buy them!)

When I started making food from scratch, I learned that chia is not only a fun decorative plant, but it's also a superfood with lots of health benefits. I notice a definite increase in energy and decrease in appetite and cravings when I eat them so I've been adding chia to my granola, yogurt, and tea for years. But recently I've become a big fan of Mama Chia drinks.

They are fruit drinks infused with chia seeds and they.are.delicious! They are also really pricey ($4 for a small bottle!) so they are definitely a rare splurge. Fortunately, I discovered that it is super easy to make at home. As you can see from the photo above, there are many variations on this recipe, so you can adapt the recipe depending on what you have on hand or whatever you are currently craving.

Ingredients:

(this makes a 32 oz. jar of Mama Chia)

• 3 T. chia seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• Juice 
• lime juice (optional)
• seltzer water (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add 3 Tablespoons chia to your glass jar. I like to make this in a jar because it makes it easy to shake up the drink when the chia seeds settle, and makes my drink portable. I'll often throw in a couple ice cubes and take it with me when I'm out and about.

2. Add 1/2 cup hot water to the jar. Every time I make this I am grateful for our Instahot dispenser. 

3. Give the chia seeds and water a little swirl or shake to make sure that all the seeds are wet. If needed, add more water. Then let the chia seeds sit for at least 10 minutes. They will expand and create a gelatinous texture. The longer you let the seeds sit, the thicker the liquid will become. If you want a thicker drink, you can make the chia/water mix before you go to bed and add the juice in the morning. Please note that the longer you let the seeds sit, the more water you will want to add. I would suggest at least a cup of water if you let the seeds sit overnight.

I should mention that the texture of this drink will likely cause people to love it or pass on it. It's not a typical liquid, but it's not thick like a shake or smoothie either. If you like bubble tea or similar drinks, you'll likely enjoy mama chia. 

4. After (at least) ten minutes, you can add the rest of your liquid. This is where the recipe gets loosey goosey. Basically all you need to do is fill up the rest of your jar with liquid. For a stronger taste, you could fill up the jar with any choice of your choice. For a more diluted drink, you could add half water and half juice. I like to add lemon or lime juice for a citrusy punch. 

5. And if you want a little bit of carbonation to your drink, you can add mineral water, club soda, or seltzer to the mix. Again, totally optional. Part of the fun of this drink is its versatility.

6. Finally, add your favorite juice. I'm been a little under the weather lately, so I've been guzzling cranberry juice. We just picked up some strawberries from our CSA, so I'm going to blend them up and make a strawberry version next. I also have some coconut water that I may use instead of water on a future batch. I think apple cider in the fall would be delicious!

7. Finally, give the jar a good shake and you are ready to enjoy!

Linked to:

Creative Collection link party * Creativity Unleashed  * Moonlight & Mason Jars link party * The New Nostalgia *  Show Stopper Saturday link party * Wonderfully Creative Wednesdays link party

Quilt #7: Luke's Baby Quilt

My year of rotten health continues. I have been diagnosed with Valley Fever, a not-so-nice souvenir from our recent trip to Arizona. I haven't been spending a lot of time on any projects other than resting, but tonight I'm finally going to tell you about a baby quilt I made last...September. 

My  neighbors had a little boy named Luke, so I liked the idea of making a quilt of little L's. I drew it up on PowerPoint. 

I used my then-new towel bars from Ikea to audition fabrics. 

I made up an instruction sheet to visualize what I needed to do. 

My main background fabric was a colorful ABC print. I cut a 2.5" strips of the ABC print as well as each of the four tone-on-tone prints and sewed them together along the long side.

Once sewn and pressed, I cut each strip into 4.5" squares. 

 I made two types of blocks: one with blue and green squares, the other with yellow and orange squares.

I sewed the L's together first.

 

 I found this red and blue polka dot print for the border.

Pinned and ready to quilt.

I went with easy straight line quilting.

Ready for binding.

I used iron on embroidery to add the baby's name.

I also made a matching tag blanket. 

I don't make quilts for hire and I don't usually tell the recipient I'm making a quilt before it's done. I'm no expert, but I love that I have found a way to give to others when my TBI has made me a taker in so many ways. I don't expect my quilts will be heirlooms, and once they are given away, it is up to the recipient to decide what to do (or not do) with them. But, nothing makes me happier than to receive a picture like this. 

Linked to:
Creative Collection link party * Creativity Unleashed * Moonlight & Mason Jars link party

Shameless Plug! I've been published again!

It's been a rough year and I'm still under the weather, so today's post will be a short shameless plug. I've been published again! 

Living with traumatic brain injury means living with loss. One of the losses I've learned to live with is that my career as a professional writer ended just as it was getting started. (I've published two books, Generation Ex and But I Don't Want To Go To Bed). So imagine my joy when a few days ago, I 

received this nice little package in the mail. 

Almost a year ago, a writer friend sent me an email alerting me to the fact that a new Chicken Soup for the Soul book was in the works. Because the theme was traumatic brain injury, and I was a writer before I sustained my TBI, she thought I might try to come up with a submission. 

My brain doesn't work on command the way it used it, but I did manage to come up with a story just in the nick of time. I was optimistic, but have worked in publishing (on both sides of the book), so I knew better to get my hopes up.

At the beginning of the year, I learned that my story was still in the running. It wasn't until just a few weeks ago that I learned that my book did in fact make the final cut!

 The big surprise was learning that my submission is the first story in the book!

Here's a sneak peek!

My story.

A little shout out to the blog.

If you are interested in learning more about what it's like to recover from and live with a traumatic brain injury, the book is available for sale on Amazon now. The book official releases on June 24.

Linked to:
Creative Collection Link Party * Creativity Unleashed * Fluster's Creative Muster link party * Good Tips Tuesday Link Party * Moonlight & Mason Jars link party