How to Sew: Picnic Reusable Towels

                                                           

                                               
This is for anyone who wants to make something that not everyone else has in their baskets.

Ever gone to the store and noticed - and wanted! - all the colors of towels that they have to offer? If so let's pop out some colors, and make everyone in your home their own custom towels in their favorite colors!!

The options are endless. For this set of towels I wanted to make some picnic towels that can be reused and in my favorite color!

Decorative Picnic Reusable Towels

Level of sewing: Beginner

Machine used: Brother Serger Lock 1034D

(Can use sewing machine instead if needed)

Time: 10-15 Mins

Items Needed:

1/2 Yard of terry cloth

1/2 Yard of  flannel fabric

Priority mail envelope or paper
Ruler

Cutter Mat

Paper Scissors

Fabric Scissors

Marker

Basting Spray (Can use pins instead)

Washing Machine

Dryer
Optional...snaps

First get to one of your local fabric stores or even Walmart. Pick out your color fabric! (I found more variety in color terry cloth at Joann's.)

Cut your fabric into 1/2 yard lengths.  Once you have your 1/2 yard cuts it time to pre-shrink the fabric:

For those people that want to go the extra step to make sure it doesn't unravel the raw edges during the wash, you can serger or zig zag around your flannel fabric.

Wash the items on any setting (I have successfully done them all) but do not mix with other clothes. I normally cold and shortest time setting.

While you wait for your fabric to wash and dry, this would be a great time to gather all material listed above and to decide if you want to add snaps or if you want to use basting spray or pins.

In this example I will not be adding snaps -  instead just a simple fold for the picnic basket.

You also can start preparing your pattern.

For this pattern I am using what I have around the house. The standard priority mail envelope is 12.5 inches by 9.5 inches. I want to cut it to 10 by 9.5.

I also fold down the back to get the standard size.  Using your ruler and marker, mark your measurements then cut out.
                       
Once that is done and your fabric is out of the drier, take your flannel fabric and press it with an iron.....(I know hair pulling madness but it needs to be done for the best cut outs) - no need to do this to your terry cloth as it sure be fine once out the dryer.

Now comes the time to cut all fabric out. To make sure the fabric did not move you can use weights (a soup can, etc) or use basting spray. For faster time I used my rotary cutter rather then using fabric scissors but if you do not have a rotary cutter and mat pin your pattern to your fabric and cut around.

Once this is done to all pieces then match up wrong size of the pattern to each other. When using terry cloth there are two different sides - decide on the one you like.

Spray the basting spray or pin.

At this time if any mistakes were made during cutting you should be able to see them now and cut the excess off.

Serger away!

Whether you are using a serger or sewing machine, make sure they are threading correctly.

For serger use these are my settings:

Yellow: 5

Pink:     5

Green:  5

Blue:    5

Instead of measuring for seam allowance I decided to use the end of my serger table to guide me.

Once one side is finished do not cut excess thread, pull it to the left making sure it's not underneath the fabric and keep going. This is closing your thread at the corners and repeat.

Move excess thread to the left

Once done, cut all four excess thread lines and you're done!!!

I finish by washing and drying to get all basting spray out and fold.

Now you have your very own picnic towel. Repeat until you make as many as needed.

Thanks for reading and there will be more to come. Sew on my friends!

Review/Giveaway: Virginia Chutney Co. (and Recipe)

“Ooooh!! What’s this??”

Steve (my boyfriend) plucks the jar of Virginia Chutney Co.’s ‘Major Grey’s Mango Chutney’ out of my hand and turns it over to read the label. No nonsense—just mangoes, sugar, apple cider vinegar, ginger, salt, raisins, garlic, lime juice, cinnamon.

Steve’s a bit…particular when it comes to food. He’s pretty open-minded regarding flavors or culinary traditions, but label scanning and ingredient analysis is a different story. (e.g., I was recently sent to the grocery store to return a package of ravioli because the label didn’t specifically state where the shrimp in the filling was caught, or whether it was farmed or wild.)

I’m a pretty avid label-reader myself (and abide by the philosophy of “pronounceable is preferable to unpronounceable” and “less is more” regarding the ingredient list), but I can’t really hold a candle to Steve.

So far, so good.

We get two spoons, pop open the jar, and dig in. It is absolutely delicious--fruity, spicy, with a hint of garlic.

It has a nice, substantial, chunky consistency, without any cornstarch or thickening agents.

Some of the dialog exchanged included the words “mouthgasm” and “food-boner”.

We gobbled down half the jar before I remembered that I should probably save some to, you know, try with things. Virginia Chutney Co.’s website suggests serving their chutneys with cheese. Thankfully, they had packed two jars in the box, so we could go full Chutney Smeagol with reckless abandon. (Or, relish. Ha!)

We tried it paired with cheese as suggested, and while tasty, I like it best on pork chops. It also works well with shrimp, and makes a wonderfully simple sauce for stir-fry.

Easy Shrimp and Broccoli Stir-Fry

(1) medium head of broccoli, washed and cut into manageably-sized pieces
(1) 1-lb bag of frozen raw peeled and deveined large (21-25 ct) shrimp, thawed and rinsed
3-4 tbsp of Virginia Chutney Co.’s ‘Major Grey’s Mango Chutney’
fresh chopped cilantro
lime wedges
(1) box of stir-fry rice noodles
oil for frying

1) Prepare rice noodles according to package directions and set aside.

2) Heat oil in a wok or large stir-fry pan.

3) Saute shrimp in oil 1-2 minutes, then add broccoli pieces and continue to stir-fry until shrimp turn pink.

4) Stir in noodles briefly, adding more oil if necessary.

5) Add chutney to taste and stir to heat through and thoroughly coat noodles. Serve with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.


This recipe took all of about 10 minutes to prepare and is a healthier, better-tasting alternative (and more effectively appeals to one’s sense of instant gratification) than ordering pizza, which, after factoring in time spent arguing over which toppings to get, requires roughly the same amount of effort.

It’s also beautifully well within the capabilities of your average 10-year old, so you could consider this a delicious opportunity to introduce the wonders of preparing family meals to your children.

We will definitely be trying Virginia Chutney Co.’s other flavors, such as “Spicy Plum’ and ‘Balsamic Fig’. The ‘Major Grey’s Mango Chutney’ will certainly become a staple in our home.

Virginia Chutney Co. is generously offering a gift box that includes (1) 10 oz. jar and (1) 4.4 oz jar of Major Grey’s Mango Chutney as well as a mystery chutney as a Giveaway for you, Dear Readers.

If you don’t win and/or want MOAR CHUTNEY (and you will), you can purchase it online from their website at Virginia Chutney Co., where they also have recipes, information, and a store locator so you can also get your chutney in person from real humans if you so choose.

You can also call them at (540) 675-1984. (YES, this is a thing. Remember when people did that?) 

Virginia Chutney Co. blog
Virginia Chutney on Facebook
Virginia Chutney on Instagram
Virginia Chutney on Pinterest

 

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Rafflecopter, then leave the name you commented under and your email in the box in the Rafflecopter entry. (This allows us to contact you if you win!)  This will open up additional optional entries to increase your odds of winning.

This giveaway is open to US RESIDENTS ONLY
and will end just before midnight ET on 5-4-15. 

The winner will be notified by email within 24 hours after the end of the giveaway.  In order to claim the giveaway prize, the winner will need to respond within 24 hours of notification, or an alternate winner will be selected.

Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

How To Travel and Not Gain Weight

Walking is a wonderful way to see the local sights and get in some healthy activity.

Let me begin by telling you I know it is possible because I experienced it myself. I lived in a hotel for over 100 days while traveling from Hawaii, Arizona, Texas, Colorado and landing in California. I moved hotel room to hotel room with a toddler by my side and was working on completing a holistic nutrition program.

3 Tips:

• Exercise first thing in the morning
• Search for healthy food and prepare
• Get out and explore

Exercise first thing in the morning:
When you begin your day with exercise you are setting the tone for your day. By starting your day off with one healthy habit you are more likely to continue to make more healthy choices throughout your day. Exercise is also an outlet for releasing stress. Traveling can become a stressful time and we probably already know stress and eating healthy don’t always add up well. Begin your day by letting go of anything that is filling your body with tension, anxiety, or worry.

Vegetarian sushi that was much more than just an avocado roll.

Search for healthy food and be prepared:
This one should be emphasized times three since you eat three meals a day. This is also the toughest area for most. So how do you find a healthy spot to eat? Research! yelp.com is my go to.  The key words I rotate through the search bar are:

I found a place that served wellness tonics.

• Healthy
• Healthy food
• Healthy restaurant
• Organic restaurant
• Organic grocery store
• Natural food store
• Juice bar
• Vegetarian

Once your search results come up and you choose one that catches your eye it doesn't stop there. Visit their website, especially their menu.

Before moving to the middle of the desert (Fort Irwin, CA), I did some research on our food options. When I was searching guess what came up as healthy? Fast food restaurants!

Healthy and fast food just don’t go together. Some of the results that come up for healthy aren’t really healthy when you go a little further into them. I do enough research on a restaurant that I know exactly what I am going to order when we get there. 


While living in a hotel for 100 plus days I packed our Blendtec blender in my suit case. We were able to have fresh juice or smoothies every morning from produce I would purchase at Whole Foods, a natural food store or a farmers market.

When you visit one of these stores to purchase your morning produce you also can stock up on kids snacks if needed and ask other health minded people for their suggestions on where to eat.

Food can affect your mood and the way your clothes fit, so do your research - it's important.

Farmers markets are a great opportunity to learn about the local community.

Get out and explore:
There’s a lot to see and do when you are in a new place. Get out there! Look for a type of fitness activity you haven't tried before or one you love and do not get to do regularly. Go on walks, hikes, look up the highlights of that area and go see them all. When you get out and explore you are engaging your mind as you experience something new, are keeping active and there’s a good chance you will have some fun which are all great for your health. 


Hiking may be the perfect way to stay active and get a different view of your surroundings.

While traveling for this long I was able to maintain my healthy lifestyle and add some new inspiration in from what I found. We continue to travel regularly, just shorter trips now. But I still put these three tips into practice every time. Try it out your next trip and maybe you’ll find something life changing.

In good health,

Vanessa Hartmann


 

 and 

Saturday Sharefest
Best of the Blogosphere
Simply Inspired Wednesday
Wednesday Roundup