Dyeing Jeans

Ever dyed anything?  This was the third time I have dyed these jeans.  They are my all time favorites.  Loft skinny curvy. With little side zippers on the legs.  I wore and washed them so much, the color had really faded.  Dyed them.  Worked pretty good but the color seemed to fade out pretty fast.  I don't think I let them sit long enough in the dye.  Dyed them again and made the mistake of not constantly stirring for 20-30 minutes and some places didn't take while others were dark.  Just too weird looking.

So, I decided to try one more time.  Dyeing clothes in a bucket isn't for the faint of heart.  This time, I stood for 30 minutes stirring, then it took another 30 minutes of rinsing. I kept telling myself, one hour of my time would be worth it to have my favorite jeans back and wearable.

 I think it worked better this time than the previous two.  Nice and dark. even though still wet in this picture. I know other people dye on the stove or in the washer.  I was way too afraid to try the washer, and my laundry sink is more suited with very hot tap water than the stove top for me.

In other hobby news, I ran my longest training run yesterday.  In two weeks I'll do the first of two fall half marathons.

Sometimes I get discouraged that I am not any faster and I seem to be getting slower each year. I do some heavy self-talk....

- you are out there trying

- it's good for your heart

- it's good for your mood/stress

- it helps keep your weight down

- you are doing something not many your age can do

- be thankful you are able to run no matter the pace

- remember the fabulous endorphins!

Thanks for stopping by!

Rachel

Apple Butter

Ever made apple butter?  It's been years since I experimented and made some.  Probably after tasting the Apple Barn's apple butter in Pigeon Forge.  It is so very yummy.   I attempted on Friday night, cooking the apples on low in the crock pot all night.  I used a recipe found online.  It was pretty good but not nearly as good as the Apple Barn's.

So, I just had to try again. I had wanted to can it, but I didn't have the lids so I froze the first batch.  On the next recipe I remembered that the Apple Barn's didn't have much taste of the other spices (nutmeg, cloves, allspice, etc) but seemed to just have a wonderful taste of cinnamon and apples. This time I increased the cinnamon and used only a pinch of cloves, then added 1 T of vanilla, which I'd seen in another recipe.  I also cooked it down more.  First batch I had seven half pints, this one, only five, :(  It is much better than the first and more like the Apple Barn's recipe.

I wish now, that I had kept adding apples as they cooked down to make a bigger batch.  Now I know I have a good recipe, and can always make more. I think it would make a great gift along with a loaf of homemade bread.

My recipe:
~ 12 apples of various kinds
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 - 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Peel, core, and chop apples. Mix with sugars and cook on low 8-10 hours or overnight.  Then remove the lid,  add cinnamon, salt, cloves, vanilla.  Puree with an immersion blender.  Let cook without lid until it gets thick and will stay on a spoon, a little thicker than applesauce.  Can be frozen or canned in a water bath canner.

The apples and cinnamon cooking in your home gives off a wonderful fall aroma.

Rachel

Fall is in the air!

Fall is in the air, and on the tables!

I pulled out the remaining nice looking hexagons from my Corona quilt and made another table runner.

Nice, pretty fall colors, right?

Problem is, I already have a beautiful fall table runner. My dilemma is what to do with it.  Gift it or donate it to charity/auction?  

I wanted to gift it to a friend, but I'm not sure she would like it.  I'm very particular about my home decor and I always worry when gifting someone with decor.  I see a quilt as different since it can be used purely for the function/warmth even if the recipient isn't fond of the colors or pattern.  A quilted table runner is a bit different, don't you think?  

I do think it would be great for halloween and Thanksgiving holidays.

UPDATE:  I did give it to my friend, and she loved it.  Or at least she said she did and acted like it.

Fall

Don't you just love fall?

I made the little topper years ago using a discharging method of spraying a mixture of Clorox and water on black fabric, over some real leaves.  Then removed the leaves and copied them to make some appliqué leaves. They were laid out a little to the side so it looks like they are floating.  This little topper has always been a favorite of mine.

In case you aren't a regular reader of my website (www.rachelmhayes.com) here is a pic of a little baby quilt I made recently.

I used three of Elizabeth Hartman's patterns.  The little creatures aren't very difficult to make and it works pretty well as a quick baby quilt.

And just because it's fall......

My current favorite quilt, "Corona."  On our bed.

Thanks for stopping by!

Rachel