Double Hemmed Corners

This is the technique I've worked out for doing flat double hems on corners. It's perfect for making napkins and placemats.

Just look how flat they are.


Cut the piece square (90 degree corners) if you care about it being even at the corners. This really is pretty square, despite the camera angle making it look off.


With the right side facing down, iron down a 1/4 inch seam.


Fold seam down another 1/4 inch and iron. (Using fabric weights- these were my moms- to hold fabric til cool really helps the seams stay. If you don't have these type of weights, things like flattened glass marbles will work.)


Do the opposite side.
(Note- I did not pin these. Sometimes, depending on the fabric and how well it holds a seam, I do.)


Sew both seams very close to the inside edge.


Two sides sewn.


Fold all corners in like shown, creating 4 right triangles (only the 2 left ones have been done here so far).


Close up of one triangle. The sides should each be 1/2 inch.


Fold and iron one unsewn edge in like shown (1/4 inch) so that the edge is even with the top of the triangle.


Now fold same edge in another 1/4 inch. The diagonal edge should line up like this.


Fold the opposite side the same way.


Sew these seams the same as the first set, starting at the edge of the diagonal fold.


Finished backside


Finished front


Note- Obviously, using a matching thread will look better. I used white to make it more visible for the tutorial.

Mash Ups

I just received a nice email from the people at Bootie Mashups letting me know that everything is now A-OK. They just had too many hits on their site and it crashed.

These songs are some of the best things I've heard in a long time. I am easily amused, though. You'll have to decide for yourself.



My suggestion is that you go to Best of Bootie 2006 and listen to
#3, DJ M.I.F's Tricky Sandman (Run DMC and Metallica) and
#20, The Kleptones' Careless or Dead 2006 (Bon Jovi and George Michael).

And I'm really impressed with
#20, Divide and Kreate's Illiterate City on Best of Bootie 2007.

And they've got a blog. I've already added them to my Google reader. It looks like they release a top 10 list every month, in addition to yearly Best Of albums. And you can download all the tracks for free from their site. Go there and do it.

They've got dance clubs in Paris and New York and San Francisco. I WILL go to one at some point.

Jeff's been laughing at me because of how much I love these. They've taken old songs and made them new again. And that makes me smile.


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Related Posts-
More Mash Ups and Happy Birthday
Double Hems and Mash Ups

Double Hems and Mash Ups

So yesterday, I started to write up a post about Bootie Mash Ups. Unfortunately, most of the links that worked last night don't work this morning. If they get their account up and running, I'll go ahead and post it. I've considered doing it now anyway, but it seemed a little mean, teasing you with something you may or may not be able to get to. I've got many of the songs downloaded, but am not sure how to get them to you.

Just so I don't leave you with nothing, I've put up a little (OK, fairly detailed, but easy to follow) pictorial tutorial about how to do double hems on a corner without it getting all fat and bunched up.

This will be extra relevant tomorrow for a post about fabric grocery and produce bags, but also helpful if you want to make a bunch of fabric napkins. This is geared to people with minimal sewing skills. When I started sewing, I had a hard time finding stuff for real beginners.


Added Note- I took this picture from a better angle to show how really flat the corner seam is. Ooooooh, flat.

So, there you go.

OK, I am going to add a video explanation of Mash Ups because it makes me laugh.


I don't know who this lady is (and I'm sure it's a joke), but I hope to be like this as I age.

Added Note- Just found this, more of Sue's stuff. She is awesome!




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Related Posts-
More Mash Ups and Happy Birthday
Mash Ups

Good Thoughts

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.


Lao-Tzu
(Translated by Stephen Mitchell)

A Few Random Things About Me- 16 thru 20

So, this is officially my 100th post. When I paged back through all my posts, I was shocked at how much I've written since starting this blog. (Though, I'm sure anyone who knows me is not at all surprised.)

Today, I'm going to add to the 8452 things about me with a theme... why I talk the way I do.

20- I over-explain most concepts to our kids (and I guess to adults, too). I am constantly asking, "Does that make sense?" and, "Do you have any questions?" This is because, as a child myself, I formed some strange opinions of the world when left to my own devices (see 19 thru 16). There is so much room for misinterpretation when one person communicates with another.

19- I used to think that trolls (you know, the fuzzy-haired, toy kind) lived in my Grandma's toilet. I thought this because she always brought them out when we took baths over there, but never at any other time. When I looked, I couldn't find where she kept them. She also had a very strict rule that you needed to keep the toilet lid closed. I assumed it was to keep them from escaping. I pictured their home to be some sort of vast, plumbing, tunnel system through which they could visit various bathrooms. I was terrified of using her toilet.  Obviously.

18- I used to think that you needed to go to the doctor to get pregnant. My mom had explained that babies were made when sperm from a man got together with an egg from a woman, but she left out the mechanics of the transfer. I assumed that the doctor always needed to help.

17- I used to think that your heart moved around in your chest, sort of like the moon moving around the earth. I thought this because whenever the doctor listened to my chest, he listened in several different spots. And he would always tell me that he was listening to my heart. If a doctor didn't know where my heart was, it was most likely because it wasn't always in the same place.

16- Once when I was 3 or 4, I thought I was dying. Literally. I'd had regular stomachaches and the doctor told us that I had a very early ulcer. The thing is, our neighbor's husband had died of a bleeding ulcer. No one thought to tell me that what I had was very different. Needless to say, my stomachaches got much worse for awhile. I have no idea how long I believed this, but eventually (several months? Less than a year?) I realized that I wasn't going to die anytime soon. My mom felt horrible when I finally told her about it. This right here, is the main reason that it can take me an hour to answer the simplest of questions.

And, for clarifications sake (see, told you), I was less than 4 years old when I formulated all of these opinions.

And I no longer believe in any of them... except the trolls. :)

Headbands and Charity

Joey and I just completed a bunch of headbands. I found the pattern at Altered Cloth and, really, it was a very simple project, which is why I decided to make 9 of them. Also, there's a decent amount of stretch to them, so they fit both of our heads, which is handy.





The reason for the headbands is that Jenny, Aurora and I have signed up for St. Baldrick's, an event that raises money to fight childhood cancer. We have all been growing our hair out since last summer in preparation for this. And, personally, my hair is getting a little out of control and in need of something to keep it out of my face.

This is how it works, all three of us will shave our head on March 14th (though we're not sure we'd be willing to do it for less than $500 each in donations... Hint, Hint). So, if you want to support a great cause as well as see lovely pictures of me with no hair, CLICK HERE and make me do it! We'll also be donating the hair they cut off to Locks of Love.



As it gets closer to March, I'll be doing a drawing in conjunction with this. Probably something like guessing how much all that hair weighs or the total length or something.

And, for a little behind-the-scenes action, here is a 'Making Of' collage.



Cause, you know, a photo that great requires some extensive set up. ;)

Whole Lotta Readin Goin On

I read the following book meme over at Aimee's blog and thought I'd try it myself. My only problem was choosing one book. So I didn't. (I don't follow rules very well.)

If you're interested in doing it, consider yourself tagged.

1. Grab your nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag 5 different people.

I just grabbed a handful of the ones closest to my bed...

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
There is no troublesome action to contend with; the subject just has to close its eyes and think of England, to paraphrase Queen Victoria. I think unsure writers also feel the passive voice somehow lends their work authority, perhaps even a quality of majesty. If you find instruction manuals and lawyers' torts majestic, I guess it does.

The Intellectual Devotional by David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim
Einstein's second paper provided some of the first empirical evidence for the existence of atoms. Before 1905, the idea of an atom as the smallest unit of matter was regarded as a useful theoretical concept. Einstein described the movement of particles suspended in liquid, called Brownian motion, and proved that matter must have an underlying structure.

Keep Chickens! By Barbara Kilarski
Breed: Leghorn, Feather Colors: White or dark red, Eggshell Color: White, Hen Body Weirght: 5 lb (2.3 kg), Comments: Great layer. Friendly disposition.

Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman
Chemicals miss the elegance. They were conceived in an age of hubris by minds that ignored the marvelous balances of the natural system. They have persevered in an age of awareness through the aggressive marketing of large industrial concerns.

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
"There's a hundred ways to love someone," her voice tells Cash. "All that matters is that you stay here in the same room." He wakes with his chest so full it might burst. He wonders whether he has had a heart attack, or is simply dying of loneliness.

Solar Water Heating by Bob Ramlow
When selecting your system I caution you to always plan for the worst case scenario. Situations have a way of constantly changing, and what might be OK now, may not be in a couple of years. Remember that a properly installed solar water heater usually lasts decades.

Cheesemaking Made Easy by Ricki Carroll & Robert Carroll
Lactose- The sugar naturally present in milk. Lactose can constitute up to 5 percent of the total weight of milk. Mesophilic Cheese Starter Culture- A blend of lactic acid-producing bacteria which is used to produce cheeses when the cooking temperature is 102 degrees F or lower.

The Organic Home Garden by Patrick Lima
Strong and peppery, with a mustardy bite, arugula has become an acquired taste for many. A recent cookbook suggests getting acquainted with it by tossing "a little to start with in your next salad." The next recipe, which I mean to try once I get past the salad stage, starts with "4 cups fresh arugula leaves" as a base for a pesto sauce.

Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom by Christiane Northrup, M.D.
Therefore, a dietary approach that balances eicosanoids is the backbone for treatment of cramps and many other health problems. In order to steer the body away from excess production of prostaglandin F2 alpha (series 2 eicosanoids) and into the prostaglandin E series (series 1 eicosanoids, the ones that don't produce cramps), a woman must have enough of the right kinds of essential fatty acids.

As you can see, my reading list, like my blog, is all over the place.