Thanksgiving Day!

My tummy has expanded! It is FULL!!! And for the first time we didn't have any family visit, nor did we have to travel anywhere. This is my mom and dad's "year off" and they went to Florida for Thanksgiving. My MIL went to Florida as well. The day was very relaxing except for DS#2 having stomach "issues" today. His demeanor is absolutely fine, but his tummy is not cooperating today.


My son was sitting next to DH this morning as I was getting ready to go to the gym. Just as I walk by the couch, DS#2 runs to get up and vomits right on my shirt and the floor (okay--carpet :( !!!). Can you believe it??? I don't care if he gets sick on the kitchen floor, but not my carpet. My shirt? Oh well, that's easy to change. Anyway...other than that it was fine. He was so upset about it though. I put the turkey in the oven, went to the gym, then went to buy him some ginger ale. I raced home to set up the dessert table for our 11 a.m. dessert buffet.


And on the dessert table:

• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie
• Chocolate Cream Pie
• Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
• Blueberry Pie
• Pumpkin Roll

Three hours later...our menu for the day:

• Turkey, of course, with gravy and Stuffing
• Mashed potatoes and Sweet Potato Puff
• Corn and Green Bean Casserole
• Artichoke Spinach Dip with Bread Rolls
• Cranberry Sauce and Salad

Thanksgiving is a huge day for me with cooking and baking. I don't get much of a reprieve because of DS#1's food allergy. So all the desserts need to be homemade, as well as most of the main menu items. It's also my favorite holiday. The only holiday where we simply enjoy eating. No mention of presents, no rushing, nothing hectic, just enjoying each other.

Since we are home all day, I'm working on doing a review of the nightpants/sweatpants I've made over the past two months. They are all done and I'm putting the pattern away. Finally. I love the pattern, Simplicity , as it is so useful. It is really a nightpants/lounge pants pattern for wovens, but I used it for sweatpants too and narrowed the legs so they weren't as wide. Here's the pic of the pattern:


Bear in mind, DD#2 picked up the Junior-sized pattern by accident. But it actually worked out quite well for both of us.


Here are the nightpants I made for DD#2 which didn't fit her. They became mine :) .

Then I made another pair for myself and DD#2 out of the green, astroturf fleece. I showed her wearing her pair a few days ago, but here are mine:



Here's the back view. I really like that back. No baggy butt or major wrinkles. I used Joyce Murphy's Body Space method on the green pair and cut the crotch curve to match my flexible curve ruler after checking what my crotch curve should be. I have a pants draft that needs to be stitched up using the same method. It's ready to go, I just have too little time to get started on the pants right now.




Then I made three pairs of sweatpants for her. She is too busy to model them so I had to put them on. She likes her waistband low in the front so pardon my belly button. (I will admit photo surgery on my belly button LOL. It is simply not suitable in it's natural form and will provide NO viewing pleasure. A little smudging with the smudge tool and my belly button returns to it's pre-baby smoothness and shape.)



Here's the grey and red pairs:




Here's the black pair--no embroidery on those and she can't find them right now. But here they are on the couch:




Last but not least, here is a product I discovered at Pocono Sew and Vac. I was having some issues with fabric show-through on my embroidery letters on the pants. The ever-knowledgeable staff recommended this black vinyl which is placed on top of the fabric while it is stitching. It is then torn off, much like tearaway stabilizer. I also used it on the design that Mary digitized for me. It comes in different colors, but the ones available at the store are black and white. They offered to order me the right color, but I used the black because I was short on time with the Chinese Auction quilt. But the vinyl also came in very handy with the pants letters.

The other embroidery tip I learned while doing the pants was something I learned from Embroidery Library. I applied Washaway Wonder Tape to the sides of the upper hoop. I placed my fabric (with chalk-marked centering lines) underneath the upper hoop aligning the chalk lines with the centering guides on the upper hoop. I pressed down onto the fabric firmly so the Wonder Tape on the four sides of the upper hoop adhered to the fabric. When I pressed this down into the lower hoop, there was no shifting of the fabric. Best thing about this method? The Wonder Tape washes away. It is supposedly good for 5 or 6 hoopings, but I found it to be effective only two times with the fleece. That's okay. Stick the plastic hoop under the faucet and wash away the adhesive for the next time.

That's all for now. I'm working on finishing a post I started several days ago but it's not done yet. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy whatever your plans are for Black Friday.