Ivy says: Dangit all, have a few days of confusion, sickness, meetings, and general disarray, and you wake up to what I woke up to this morning: a house that would undoubtedly earn the Home Ec 101 Seal Of Disapproval. Yes, my darling Home Eccers, while I do generally keep my home in some semblance …
Ivy says: My mom always said there’s something very spiritual about washing your windows. Her theory on this is that the windows are the eyes of your home and by washing the windows, you’re opening up those eyes to let the sun shine in. It’s a newish year, and if you’re an American, we have …
Ivy says: Our fabulous commenter Laura wanted to know: What is C.O.R.N? I’m new to the website and have seen this a couple of times. Just wondering. I’m also a newly wed so if anyone has so tips I’d appreciate them! Thanks!!! Well, Laura, I can easily answer the first part of the question, but …
Ivy says: Everyone in my family- myself included- has a bad habit of leaving a bottle of body wash, shampoo, conditioner, etc, etc, etc. about a quarter full and moving on to the next bottle. This is entirely my fault because I constantly buy that stuff when I see it on sale, so we constantly …
Ivy says: Yesterday, between blowing my nose 83,000 times and walking around like a zombie because of the Sudafed and Benadryl combo that works for my comfort, but not for my nerves, I also cleaned up 50 piles of dog poo. Okay, perhaps not 50. More like 5. Still, that’s too much dog poo to …
Ivy says: It’s interesting how many people I know that had problems with their house getting piley over the holidays and now they’re scrambling to catch up on their household chores and routines. I’m included in that group- I’ve been doing a ton of laundry since this weekend and I still have laundry to do. …
Dear Home Ec 101, Help oh great home ec goddesses! I was making breakfast for the kids, and didn’t have my tried and true apron on. As I am sure you guessed, I got grease on my favorite go to khakis. HELP!!!!!!! I need guidance! Thanks for all of your great tips. Signed, Greasy in …
Awhile back, the people from Mr. Clean sent me a box that told me to take the Mr. Clean challenge. “Interesting,” I thought, and I put the box aside to deal with a bit later. I was cleaning house recently and came back across the box and decided to open it up. It was an interesting challenge- they provided a bottle of the “leading cleanser”- I can’t tell you the brand, but I can tell you it’s one of those “with bleach” kinda deals- and a package of 2 Mr. Clean Magic Erasers with foaming action and the fresh scent of Febreze, haha. Nifty.
My kids constantly tease me about how many purses I own. Yes, I own a few. Okay, a few too many. And now that I know how to make a lined bag, I probably will own more than a few too many. But, I’ll make them for other people and give some away as well, so I figure it all works out, somehow.
This is the most basic lined bag. It has no pockets, and is extremely easy and fast to make. You can customize the pattern to whatever size you would like, from tiny to huge. My daughter wanted a tote bag to carry to school, so I made her this:
Nifty, eh?
This project is good for the beginning sewer. It could even serve as a first sewing project.
Time needed to complete project:
As an intermediate sewer, this project took about 2 and a half hours to complete.
Skills Emphasized:
These are the skills you will use when making this project. It will help you learn:
Basic pattern making
Machine sewing
Sewing straight lines
Sewing corners
Topstitching
Materials Needed:
This project is rated inexpensive-medium expensive. Depending on what sort of material you use, you could spend very little, or a fairly decent chunk of money. My cost of materials for the project as shown was $6. I bought remnants on sale to save money.
1/2 yard of outer fabric (because you need a half yard or less of material, you can check the remnant bins to save big)
1/2 yard of lining fabric
Thread (I used white)
Large piece of paper to make pattern (newspaper end rolls are perfect for this)
Ivy says: They say, “it’s going around” and it’s “going around and around” in my house, for sure. Winter is prime time for viruses to come on in the house and take up residence. It’s up to you to clean them away as best you can. Of course, you’re not going to be able to …
Ivy says:
