Thursday, January 29, 2009

Ginger Ale part 3 (Family History)

Thanks to Father dearest, I now know that apparently my love of Ginger Ale may be genetic!! How you may ask? Here is what my father told me:

Your Great Grand mother used to make Ginger Ale by the dozens of bottles.
In those days (the fifties I remember well) there were no plastic bottles so they used old 750oz beer bottles and bought the caps and stamped them on. They would make 2 dozen at a time and would have batches on the go right through summer so they never ran out. As far as calories are concerned, just count the sugar and cause its so good don't worry too much. Just ration yourself to a couple of bottles a week. The recipe sounds about right and how it was made all those years ago. The skills and the will to make all this evaporated as more fizzy drinks came on the market and it was cheaper and quicker to just buy them already done.

Just to add to the history, one of the other reasons why they made a number of bottles of ginger ale is that several would explode as the yeast did its work and expanded the mix. A ginger plant was permanently growing adjacent to the production line in another bottle and the fresh ginger used to make the next batch.

What a great story! Dad also told me he used to be able to hear the bottles exploding in the night. That would be quite an experience.

BFN

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Ginger Ale part 2

I took an early taste of the Ginger Ale about 8 hours before it was supposed to be ready (48 hours) and I LOVED it. Really.. it was quite amazing. Since I felt it was pretty much ready, I could stand waiting another 4 hours, then I popped it in the fridge.

I read another review of it on the food network that said it didn't have a "gingerey" flavor, and it smelled like yeast! That's not what mine is like at all. I don't know if I did something different.. used something different? Mine has that hint of spicy that I love so much in ginger, without being overpowering. It's sweet but not sugary, and I would never have guessed the carbonation came from the yeast.

My main problem with it is that I only made one bottle... Lou and I are polishing it off super fast, but it's going to be hard to wait _another_ 48 hours for the new one to ferment. Perhaps I need two bottles? One to drink and one to brew?

Finally, does anyone have any idea how I should count these calories? It's not the commercial stuff which I assume would have different calories, so I just don't know how to count it.

BFN!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Homemade Ginger Ale

I saw Good Eats last week (with Alton Brown, love it!) and the show was about ginger. Alton Brown has taught me to make Ginger Ale, one of my favorite things. I don't often drink it because of all the nasties in it, unless I can get some Bundaberg Ginger Beer from BevMo.

It's really easy, I'll go over how I made it, here is Alton's Recipe.

Here are most of the things that go in it (I forgot the lemon oops!)

Sorry for the awful pictures, I had to use my phone.

I grated the ginger (1.5oz) with my lil grater (as I don't have one for ginger) but I chucked in most of the pulp that didn't go through anyhow. I added this to the saucepan and added the sugar (6oz), and water (1/2 cup).
I was surprised at how little ginger that was, I'd bought a few hands thinking it would need more.

I brought that to a boil, then turned it off and went to cut out some new patterns (more on that later).

I then used my wire mesh strainer to separate the solids, and put it into a pouring jug. I squeezed the ginger and a ton of liquid came out of it, I kept squeezing until it was just a few drops coming out.



I poured the syrup into my empty 2 liter soda bottle. Added 1/8 teaspoon of active dry yeast (actually had to eyeball it.. smallest measure I had was 1/2 tsp), 2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice, and 7 1/2 cups water (I don't know why, the recipe says 7, but I misread it).
I put the top on then shook it vigorously, then re-read the part where it said to do it gently, and promptly stopped shaking it. I left it on the counter, and so tomorrow I'm going to crack it open and see if it's done!


BFN

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Possible patterns for Showcase

I've been researching patterns that conform to some basic needs for my Showcase long dress.
Must have:
  • Floor length (or ability to make that long)
  • Cinch at or above waist
  • Covers my back and front enough to wear supportive undergarments
  • Very large full skirt so my legs can move freely
Would like:
  • Sleeves (not fond of my arms)
  • Easy enough for me to sew without hurting myself
Must not:
  • Be a sheath (doesn't look good on a large chest/hips)
  • Turtle neck, or anything with a high neck (large chest!)
What I have found so far has been mostly through research on sewing.patternreview.com. I found some reviews from a fellow ballroom dancer (although she's very svelte) and got some ideas of things I can make that will require some switching around to work for me.

First is a McCall pattern 5136

The one I'm looking at is the long version. The skirt is what I love in this dress. This is the review that inspired me to use at least the bottom/skirt idea.

Next up is the Butterick 4919. Sadly the top of this dress doesn't appeal too much, although it's better than the first one. While it covers the most important areas, it doesn't cover my arms, and I'm worried I'll be too self conscious about it.
Of course the drawing is wonderful, such a tiny waist, and legs that go up to her ears! Another review from the same person that made the other dress is here.


I kinda like the sleeves from the "Decades of Style: 1930's Button Dress" so I was thinking I could pretty easily attach these to the McCall pattern, and with a bit more work, to the Butterick.

Please ladies (and gents) give me some feedback and help me choose before I waste oodles of muslin!

BFN

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Diamond Star Ball Waltz Solo

How do I get talked into these things? I know how.. my dance instructor (Sam) is extremely persuasive.. he manages to work through all my arguments and finishes it up with the sweetest puppy dog eyes (ask Loui.. it really works on me!).
At March's Diamond Ball I'll be doing 9 dances.. yes.. you read that right 9!! My feet hurt just thinking about it. 2 Tango's, 2 East Coast Swing, 2 Waltz (one of them being a solo), 2 Merengue and a Salsa. The Salsa is just cos.. and as a newcomer, because it's not in my program, and except for a special Christmas bonus lesson I've not taken any classes in it. Gosh it makes me dizzy!

So far we've worked out our Merengue routine, now I need to get a "cuban motion" thing going in front of a mirror. I just can't seem to do it. The instructors all make it look so easy, but I assure you, it's not. That's the main reason why my only real rhythm dance is Swing!! They may have made some crazy mistake over awarding me first in the Merengue at match comp.. but I'm sure they will see the error of their judging ways come the Showcase.

I need a new short dress, and long dress. I was thinking of doing a skirt/shirt combo for the short, as I'm making a gorgeous 6 gored skirt at home (while learning to make it in class with an easier fabric) that is teal. Just have to find either a simple plain (black) top, or a simple patterns for the top.

This is the pattern for the 6 gore skirt, it's the Butterick #4136:



Any ideas for the long smooth dress? Needs to be at least ankle length, and have great motion!

BFN

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Pretty sunset, and pretty fabrics

On Monday evening, Jessica and Loui joined me at the office to see the movie Valkyrie.
To ensure that traffic or other circumstances would not make them late, they showed up an hour early. We went up to the 11th floor, and watched the sunset. Sadly I only had my phone with me, so the picture is .. well.. you get the picture.



Below are (also phone camera) pictures of the awesome fabrics at my sewing school (sew-la).








BFN

Monday, January 12, 2009

A month has passed...

I fell off the face of the planet over the holidays, many apologies for my extended absence. I have been busy though!

Just this past weekend I finished up my "Beginning Alterations" class at Sew-LA. I learned a lot of fabulous new things. Some great hand stitches to use (blind hem stitch is my new favorite) and great ways to use the machine to finish off hems.

On our second lesson (this past Saturday) I took in two things that I needed to fix. One project was a lovely pencil skirt, that upon my first wearing.. split all the way up to my unmentionables in the back. Really wasn't work appropriate, but I made it through the day with a lot of safety pins and the help of my co-worker (Nancy). It appeared as though the stitching tore, but there was only a small tear in the fabric. I added two small pieces of black interfacing (1cm square) to fix the hole, plus add stability to the bottom of the seam. I sewed it back together using a straight stitch on the machine, with a triple reinforced end of the seam, also stitched across ways.
If it doesn't hold now I'll be shocked!
My other project was a pair of pants I bought from Old Navy. I loved the fit of the pants, but the cuffs at the bottom were a disaster. After washing them the first time, the cuffs never sat straight again. They were stitched in such a way that even with pressing them after each wash, they were never straight! I decided to unstitch the cuffs completely, measure against me wearing heels, and do a regular hem. I ended up doing a blind stitch on the machine, and they look fabulous! (and straight). I'm half done on removing the back pockets on these pants, and am starting to wonder if they were worth all this extra work!

I bought this darling pattern at Sew-LA a couple weeks ago, and this weekend made a muslin of it.
I love almost all of the decades of style patterns, and most of them I can get in my size.
After trying on this dress, I was able to take in the side seams a little and it fits great. The only part I really don't like is the neckline. In the drawing it appears to be much lower than it is when it's worn. I have a large chest, so it just ends up looking like a long shelf from my neck to my ... you know. I think I'd like to make it a small V neck instead (more flattering to my chest size) but I have absolutely no idea how to actually do that. I was thinking perhaps I'll just cut/fold the muslin til it looks how I want, then unstitch the top part to create a new pattern? I'm just guessing. This Saturday I start my "Fitted Skirts" class at Sew-LA, so perhaps I'll take the muslin in and ask my teacher, Shaerie (who is fabulous BTW, as well as Alicia).

I would post pictures, but it sort of looks like nothing as a muslin, and I used matching thread (seriously it just happened to be in the machine) so cream on cream doesn't come out well in photos. Anyhow.. projects galore!

BFN
 

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