Thursday, May 31, 2012

Whoopie Pies


Every once in a while it's my turn to provide snack for our small group Bible study. For me, this is always a fun opportunity to do a little baking, since I'm rarely willing to venture time-consuming baking projects. That, and with only two adults in the house, a little sugar goes a long way. 

This time, I thought Whoopie Pies were in order. I still remember when my family moved to Pennsylvania, when I was about seven years old. One of the ladies in our church gave us a basket filled with individually plastic-wrapped Whoopie Pies. I had never tried one before, but one bite and I was hooked. 





Fast forward sixteen years, and Whoopie Pies still make my favorite desserts list. Granted, it's a long list! *wink* Apparently they're becoming more mainstream, as I recently saw a whole cookbook of Whoopie Pie recipes at Barnes and Noble a few months back.

At any rate, I was quite satisfied with the results of my recent attempt. For the cakes I used the Real Maine Whoopie Pies recipe from Katy Elliott's blog, which I ended up tripling. However, I opted for the Food Network Whoopie Pie recipe for the filling, and I'm glad I did. Mostly because the Food Network recipe uses a whole jar of Marshmallow fluff, rather than the 2 TBSP called for in the first recipe. And more marshmallow fluff is a good thing. A really good thing. I did add extra confectioner's sugar, milk, and vanilla, since I was making a rather large batch. I just eyed the consistency, and it turned out perfect. Oh, that filling! I've officially decided to add Marshmallow fluff to any buttercream icing I make from now on.

Apparently, there's a huge argument over whether Whoopie Pies originated in Maine or in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. But as far as I'm concerned, the origin is insignificant. All I'm concerned with is the chocolate marshmallowy goodness.


Monday, May 28, 2012

Maternity Tunic, Take 2

Well, the trials are complete. My 2nd version of my maternity tunic worked splendidly, and I'm ready to call the pattern finished. It's been traced and uploaded, and is now awaiting the finishing touches. And the instructions are done, minus the illustrations (I dread writing instructions, since I tend to try too hard to explain *exactly* what I mean). 


Look, Yvonne is expecting, too! *wink* This is my attempt at a "pregnant" dressform. Ahem.


I've been wearing this tunic all day, and it's so comfortable! I did take it off to add some belt guides (which I was too lazy to do when I made it), as the belt was having a tendency to sag. You can see a bit of the "sag" in the picture below.




A bit of braided embroidery floss has solved that issue, and the belt now sits a few inches higher with no finagling required. I love that this style flatters the figure, without being too tight, too revealing, etc. And while the armholes are a little "cut in," so far I've no problems with rogue straps making an unwanted appearance! Plus, the neckline doesn't gap, which is a huge plus when you're wrangling a toddler.





I've had this fabric for probably ten years. It's actually from a Talbot's skirt that I bought as a teenager -- even a decade ago it was outdated, and far too old a style for me to wear. I don't have any clue what I was thinking! But I loved the fabric, and the skirt had plenty of it. This is seriously the first time I've ever worn it. *wink* The contrasting white is a scrap of linen-look I had in my stash (just enough!), lined with white cotton muslin.




I have a few more fabrics to try this in, and I want to do a photo tutorial on constructing the garment, to go along with the pattern. Since I foresee making a bevy of these, taking a few pictures along the way should be easy. Seriously, this top goes together in under two hours. I'm also going to lengthen it and try making a dress. The lower hem is already wide enough to accommodate hips and a baby belly, so I think a little extra material will be all that's needed for a dress conversion. If it looks wonky, I'll just shorten it back to tunic length!





So hopefully I can finish this pattern up in the next little while, and get it all ready to download!

 


Thursday, May 24, 2012

A Strap Solution


Remember the Gap maternity top from this post? As I mentioned in the post, the shoulder are a bit narrow for my taste. However, the top still seems modest when I'm wearing it -- perhaps because of the high yoke and the non-gaping armholes. However, those narrow shoulders don't really work if you prefer to keep your undergarment straps out of the public view. Which is something I definitely prefer!




Simple solution? I added my own strap guard to the inside shoulder seams (the shirt is inside-out in the picture above). I've used ribbon in the past, but this time I tried clear elastic from my cloth diaper making stash. I much prefer it to ribbon! It doesn't fray, and it's also stiff enough to avoid twisting or flopping while I'm trying to snap it in place.

If you're looking to do the same, here's how I did mine. I sewed one half of the snap (the bulkier side, not that it matters) to the side of the shoulder closer to my neck. The other side of the snap is sewn to the elastic.  Then I snap the two halves together and measure the elastic, leaving about 1/4" to turn under. That's probably not necessary, but it seems more secure to me. With the elastic end folded under (which is very hard to see in the picture, since it's clear), I made a few tiny but not-very-tidy stitches along the folded edge. And there you have it!