Assassins Creed

 We love making costumes and over the years we have made a lot of them. But this year Jonathan wanted to make his own.

He plan was to create his own Assassin's Creed costume.

Jonathan did all the sewing with just me guiding him.

 He was very particular about how each piece had to be made.

And I have learned my son is a perfectionist!

All his hard work really paid off.

Pumpkin Harvest

My two pumpkin plant, that I grew in the flower bed, produced 5-pie pumpkins.

 Each one turned out perfect, full of seeds and healthy flesh.

 Again this year I used my pressure cooker when it was time to cook them.

 I really love how the skin just peels off.

Here is my pumpkin puree.

 And the chickens benefited as well.

 All together I ended up with 5 1/2 bags;

Which will be used for pumpkin bread.

Dorothy

  Earlier this year Elizabeth read the book The Wizard of Oz; which was the largest chapter book she has ever read on her own.

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So after reading the book Elizabeth decided to be Dorothy for Halloween.

 

 She already had a Toto dog; thanks to Jonathan bringing her home one after a business trip to Kansas.

We were lucky to find some red shoes at a consignment store.

I'm very happy with the complete set. The fabric for the dress was around $7; the shoes were $3.50 and the basket was $1.50...all in all a nice price for a costume.

To See...To Ponder...To Buy

 I always look at the dishes when I visit the thrift store, but seldom do I buy any of them. However, this week I caved and bought some lovely dessert bowls.

I couldn't resist, they are so pretty. I paid $6 for 8 dessert cups. This was a bit more than I like to pay but it has been years since I have seen any dessert cups like these.

Elizabeth wanted to make some jello to try them out.

And I must say, the jello tasted better being served in such a pretty little dish.

Always Learning

 Until earlier this year I always thought you had to add water to a crock pot when cooking. How did I go so long without knowing water isn't always needed?

My mom is the one who told me about cooking in a crock pot without water; she also suggested adding paprika to your meat so it has color when it's finished cooking.

 I slow cooked a chicken all night without water and then removed all the meat from the bones.

Next I added to the broth already in the crock some celery, onions and garlic; plus the bones, skin and fat. 

Covered it all in water and slow cooked it all day. 

By evening I had some of the best broth which was then used for barley chicken soup.

A Refashioned Blouse

After making Elizabeth's tiered skirt I realized she didn't have a blouse to go with it. I searched Target and Wal-Mart for a plain brown t-shirt but had no luck. So when I spotted a woman's brown blouse at a garage sale for 1-dollar I promptly purchased it.

 The neckline was way too low so I took a piece of the leftover skirt fabric and stitched it into the neck opening.

 Next I cut about 4-inches from the sleeve and 2-inches from the bottom and then proceeded to sew a zig zag stitch over the edge while slightly pulling the fabric which gives you a cute curled hem. I learned this trick from my mom.

 Now Elizabeth has a nice blouse for her skirt.

 She is pretty happy with what I was able to do with the blouse.

I just love how everything turned out; a true one of a kind skirt set.

Some Skirts for Elizabeth

Over the summer I began to notice Elizabeth's skirts and dresses were getting too short.

 I like for her to dress modest and prefer her skirts and dresses to hang below the knee.

So I made her two new skirts and have already picked out enough fabric for a third skirt. She of course is thrilled to be getting some new clothes. 

It's fun sewing for my kids just like my mom sewed for all of us kids when we were growing up.