Easter Prep

Heather says:

Today is Good Friday, a very holy day for many Christians.  Sunday is the celebration of Easter which includes both holy and secular celebrations.

This post is simply a reminder list.  Not everyone celebrates this holiday with the same traditions and I am not opening the floor for debate about the proper way to celebrate.  Please pick and choose what applies to you, your beliefs, and your traditions.

• Check for all the necessary ingredients for Easter brunch or dinner.
• Eggs
• Dye and decorations
• Baskets and goodies
• Are your clothes clean and pressed? Shoes polished?
• If you participate in a sunrise service, have you considered what time you need to leave the house?

Happy Easter!

Quick Tip: Easter Eggs

Heather says:

While the stores have been ready since February 15th, Easter will soon be here.  This year instead of hard boiling two dozen eggs the day before, I’m blowing out the eggs and saving the shells as I use them.  I have not had a lot of practice with the technique, so mine aren’t perfect, but I have a few years before my kids are old enough to care.  I have the feeling most will be crushed and broken before the season has past, but that’s the nature of preschoolers.
To blow out eggs use a large, clean needle or tack to pierce each end of the egg.  I find it easier to hold the egg rather than resting it on the counter where the pressure may crack the shell.  Use the needle to pierce the membrane surrounding the yolk.  The hole in the bottom of the egg will need to be wider than the top, unless you have a syringe to draw out the white and yolk. Give the egg a good shake over a clean bowl.   Cup the egg in your hand, use your finger and thumb to form a seal around the top and blow into your hand.  Please do not put your mouth all over the egg shell, that’s a good way to get salmonella.  Some people use a bulb syringe (the nose sucky thing for babies) to force the contents out.  Rinse the eggs until the water runs clear and allow to dry.

The hole can be covered with tissue paper, ribbon, or positioned out of sight.  By starting early I can deal with the inevitable failures without stressing out.   What are you doing to prepare for Easter?

Quick gifts you can crochet this weekend.

Ivy says:

Short on time and money? If you can crochet and have a few bucks for yarn, you can quickly and inexpensively crochet something. Most people really appreciate the handmade, and they never have to know the secret that these items are done very quickly. Let people imagine that you slaved away for weeks on these things.

First let me say I’m on the slow side of average when it comes to crocheting speed. So all times are based on my own crocheting speed. If you’re a fast crocheter, you may be able to finish more quickly. If you’re a slow crocheter, it may take you more time.

Got 4-6 hours?

How about a zombie Elvis for the Zombie and Elvis fans on your shopping list?

Zombie Elvis comes with his own brains for his dining pleasure, and dripping blood from his head and mouth. His hair is embroidered on. Orignally I made him a hair cap, but it looked too nice. I wanted his hair to be ratty and spotty, just like a “real” zombie’s. The picture doesn’t show it very well, but he’s wearing a cape. Zombie Elvis lost his shirt somewhere along the way.

Braaaaaains. This project is very heavy on embroidering. If you’re a slow embroiderer, this project may take longer.

Is Zombie Elvis too gruesome? I bought an adorable pattern from Etsy seller Owlishly last night. Her pattern is very easy to follow and although I have not started on the pattern I bought last night, I estimate it would take about 4-6 hours to make.  Her patterns are A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E.

Got 2 hours?

If your friends and family’s tastes run less to the macabre and more toward the cute, this tiny bear/mouse/whatever you want to call it is your project.

Or, for the jokester on your list, buy this pattern for “Nut Sacks”. (Link is safe for work. It’s a little crocheted bag with acorns in it- super cute!) No pictures of this because I am still working on making my own. Pictures will come later.

If your friends and/or relatives are too mature for “nut sacks” or Zombie Elvis or a mouse/bear thingie, how about a scarf?

Use a chunky yarn and a large hook, like a K hook and can crochet a simple scarf very quickly. I like to make a chain as long as I’d like the scarf to be, then double crochet in the back loop only for a ribbed look.

Only have an hour?

Make these fabulous fortune cookies. Simply make a flat circle (I will post a pattern for a flat circle if anyone needs one) in single crochet and then use this video to fold the circle into a fortune cookie. Embroider nearly closed and then make the “fortune”- Chain 13, DC in 3rd chain from the hook, DC in each chain across, finish off.

I can make about 4 of these in an hour. Buy a chinese food box from a craft store and put the fortune cookies in there. Easy peasy!

Or how about a hat? Hats usually crochet up really quickly. Here’s a great big selection of free patterns.

A note about patterns: I have not included patterns  for the items I have pictured. They are, except the fortune cookies, original patterns I have come up with myself. As I have never written patterns before for public use, I would like them tested before I put them up on Home-Ec 101. If you would like a pattern for either Zombie Elvis or the Tiny Mouse/Bear, please email me at badbadivy at gmail dot com and I will send you my pattern. Please, if I email you my pattern, once you’re finished with the item, please let me know if my pattern worked out accurately and if it was easy to follow, and any helpful criticism you might have. Once I’ve had the patterns tested, I will put them up in separate posts and will link them to this post.

How To Iron A Great Big Ol’ Tablecloth

Dear Home Ec 101,

How do you iron a really big (rectangular) table cloth without wrinkling the part you just ironed when it hits the floor? Can one person do it alone or do you need two people: one to iron, one to hold the tablecloth straight?

~Wrinkled in Wrights Beach

Ivy says:

Ironing is my least favorite chore. I figure, life is too short for ironing, so I just always toss wrinkly items into the dryer with a damp towel and go on with my day. However, if you want something to look nice and crisp, sometimes ironing is the way you have to do.

Ironing large items like tablecloths is a pain. If you have a freestanding ironing board, move it next to your table and move the cloth to the table as you iron it. If you are a freak like Heather (kidding, y’all!) and your ironing board is built in, fold the tablecloth loosely into a size that will fit your ironing board and carefully iron it folded. Then make sure you get any creases out - go ahead and let the tablecloth fall to the floor for this, it shouldn’t crease badly once ironed.

If you have embroidery on your tablecloth, make sure you are ironing the wrong side of the cloth- it will make your embroidery stand out nicely. You can use a towel underneath to help the embroidery stand out.

Submit your question by sending an email to helpme@home-ec101.com

Here’s an inexpensive Christmas gift idea

Ivy says:

The recipe I used for the candy cane cookies came from my mom’s recipe box. Normally, I would have called her and asked her for the recipe, but things have been unusually busy this week- even for this time of the year. So I went to Mom’s house while she was at work to get the recipe. When I opened her recipe box, I was surprised. The box itself is in terrible disrepair and the recipes are fairly disorganized with little newspaper cutouts and big mimeographed papers and everything.

My mom’s hard to shop for. If she wants something, she goes out and buys it. She has enough disposable income and time to do this, so come Christmas time, shopping for her can be hard. I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she told me she wanted some kitchen dishrags. Gee, Mom, could you pick anything more exciting?!

So I know now what I am going to get her for Christmas. The dishrags she asked for, but I’m going to buy her a new recipe box and recopy all her recipes, especially the weird clippings and stuff so she has a nice, neat recipe box. This will be inexpensive, but a great surprise for my mom.Perhaps your own mom or grandma is hard to shop for- if so, check out their recipe box, they just might need a new one.

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