Yoga Mat Bag Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!!!!

This is a super simple bag to make and I've been asked a few times at my Yoga class to do a tutorial for the bag so without further delay, here it is!
3/4 yard of medium to heavy weight fabric
3/4 yard of cord to coordinate your fabric
ruler
fabric marker
scissors or rotary cutter
straight pins
I like to wash/dry fabric before using it so any shrinkage happens before I construct the bag, not after, which could result in a wonky looking product!!

All seams are 1/2" unless otherwise noted and is considered in the measurements.
Measure and mark the dimensions below directly on the WRONG side of the fabric, using a yard stick or ruler and a marking pencil or chalk. Then cut out each piece along the marked lines.

 Cut 1 piece for body of bag: 17" wide x 32" long
Cut 1 piece for strap: 11" wide x 40" long
Cut 1 piece for outside pocket: 7" wide x 15" long

Make the pocket: with Right sides together, fold the pocket in half widthwise so you have a piece that measuring 7 x 7. Stitch the sides, leaving the top open for turning. Press the seams open, turn, press again. Stitch along the open end just to keep it in place. Edge stitch along the top of the folded edge. This will be the top of the pocket and will help the pocket look neat and tidy.

Pin the bottom edge of the pocket to the bottom edge of the body piece and 2" in from the longer edge. Make sure the edge stitched end it up. This is the top and opening end of the pocket.

Stitch just the sides of the pocket, backstitching a few times at the top of the pocket for some added durability. You don't want your pocket to begin to come off when you are trying to shove a water bottle in the pocket!!

Make the strap:

Fold the strap in half, press just enough for a visual guidance. 

Unfold, using the pressed mark down the center, fold one edge over to meet the middle pressed mark. Press.

Repeat with the other side. You will then have both edges folded towards the center. 

Now, fold in half. Carefully line up the edges. Press really good. 

Edge stitch down each side. It doesn't matter if you stitch the ends or not, they will be sandwiched and sewn into the body of the bag. 

Next, position the handle in the center of the half without the pocket. If you folded the body of the bag in half long ways, the handle would be centered on that half. Pin it down even with the bottom edge, then secure it part way up so it won't get in the way.

Fold the body of the bag in half long ways, matching all the edges. Secure with pins. 

From the top corner with raw edges, measure down 1 1/2" and mark. Measure down 2 1/2" and mark. 

Stitch all edges EXCEPT the top edges. Stitch down from top to the first mark (1 1/2") and back stitch.

Then begin sewing at the next mark (2 1/2") and back stitch, then continue sewing the side and bottom. This will leave a one inch opening for your cord to go through. 

Press the one inch opening open with the iron. Stitch it with a zigzag stitch. Mine kinda looks like poo, so do better then that!! 

Next you will need to turn the bag inside out if it's not already. 

Using a ruler, fold the edge down 1/2" and press. 

Then, using a ruler again, fold it over 1" and press. This is making the casing for your cord to go in.

Edge stitch around the top of the fold, then stitch around the bottom of the fold. I know I say edge this and that, but I believe it, along with pressing as you go, is what makes a product look great. Don't skimp on the quality of your own product. It's worth the time and effort. 

Now to complete the handle. Finish the end of the handle with a close zigzag stitch. Find your center (long ways) and fold the end of the handle in about an inch. Pin it in place, with the fold lined up with the bottom stitching of the casing. See pic below if that didn't make sense. 

The handle kinda folds in. 

Now for the cording. Just feed it into the casing with a safety pin, decide what your fav length is, hold the two ends together, tie a knot and you are done!! 

Slide a yoga mat in and try it out. Don't forget to add a bottle of water to your pocket. The pocket could use elastic if you feel so inclined. I truly have been thinking about it and maybe a Velcro loop for my keys. The possibilites are so endless and I'd really like to see what you come up with. Don't be shy. Send pics!! Also please let me know if you have questions. It's 2 am and I could have skipped something. 

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!!!

I will be drawing names to give this very yoga mat bag!! Entries will be accepted until Saturday, February 05, 2011 at 9 p.m. my time. I will draw the winner on Sunday and announce it here AND I will email you. 

*All entries MUST have complete email address to qualify. 

*Anyone can enter, except my household members.

*To qualify to enter, you must Follow me here AND post on *Facebook or Twitter about this giveaway at    wildhorseranchdesign.blogspot.com 

***Post a comment letting me know what you did to enter and if you are already following me, let me know that you want to enter. 

Chicken and Dumplings!

My mom always made such delicious chicken and dumplings, the fluffy dumplings. Below is the recipe I use to make mine. And it yields about 8 servings. I'll give the ingredients first, then some instructions and pics.


For the Chicken:

3 pounds of chicken pieces (leg quarters are fine)
2 quarts of tap water (8 cups)
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon or 6 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 teaspoon pepper or a good shaking of Adam's Beef Fajitas Season (my all purpose)

For the Dumplings:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
2-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon each salt & sugar

I used a pressure cooker for cooking my chicken, which is about 20 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure for a whole chicken, less time for cut up. But you can boil it and it works out just fine.

Now let the chicken simmer like that for a full two hours. Longer if the chicken was partially frozen when you put it in. You want the meat to fall off the bone. When the chicken is good and tender, remove it from the broth. Try to make sure there are no sneaky bones which have worked there way to the bottom of the broth. If you find any, just fish them out. I do this with a slotted spoon, and a fork. The chicken is hot, so be very careful not to burn yourself. Collect your chicken in a dish or bowl and let it cool down.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones. Discard the skin and bones. If you used a pressure cooker, you will need to add about 3 cups of water, but not if you boiled the chicken. Start the broth simmering and add the de-boned chicken.

Mix up the dumplings. Add the milk and oil in a mixing bowl, then add the dry ingredients and mix well. The batter will be stiff. Using two spoons, drop the dough onto the chicken/broth. Try to keep them uniform in size for uniform cooking.

Cover pot with a lid and let simmer for 20 minutes. NO PEEKING EITHER! The dumplings cook from both the simmering broth and steaming in the pot.

Above is at the end of the 20 minutes. Nice and fluffy!! Gravy just creates naturally from the dumplings. Yummy!! 

ENJOY!!

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

Here is a reason never to buy pancake mix again!!

3 1/2 - cups old-fashioned or rolled oats
5 - cups all purpose flour
3 - Tablespoons sugar
3 - Tablespoons baking powder
1 - Tablespoon salt
1 - Tablespoon baking soda
1 - cup oil

 Grind the oats in a food processor until they are chopped fine but not a powder. Put the oats, flour, and all other dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Using a mixer, mix on slow speed, drizzling the oil into the bowl while the mixer is running. 

 
 When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. if it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct. 

 Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature, or indefinitely in refrigerator or freezer. 








 Batter:

whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup of milk and 1 egg.  Don't worry if it seems thin at first: the oats will soak up the milk and the mix will thicken a bit as it stands. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before cooking. 

Heat a griddle, lightly greased and drop the batter onto it by heaping tablespoons to make a 3 inch diameter pancake. 

Note: 

A batch using 1 cup of the mix will make twelve 3-inch pancakes.   

Randy Rogers Band and Lone Star Park

First...us. We went for a fun evening at Lone Star Park (horse racing) and Cary was there too, he took this picture!!

We had a press pass from getting a subscription to the Arlington newspaper and it gives us discounts and stuff and tons of places. So, we used it along with an ad from the paper and we all got in FREE!! it just so happened to be the same night that the RANDY ROGERS BAND was in concert!! The boys were way excited! We have extreme limited going out and doing things experience, but man did we handle that concert well!!

Here's the band. The boys went for autographs and pics. Zachary got a pic of Alexander with the band on his DSI, but he has yet to email it to me, so I am creating this with out and you will just have to believe me that Alexander stood next to them and was photographed.

There were soooo many people. Tons of high school aged people that honestly need parents or guidance or hey-how bout both?? Even the boys thought they were lacking brains or discipline. Now that's bad. Regardless.... there really were waaaaaay more people then this, behind me, to the sides!! We are not big crowd people, but hey, for a free RRB concert, we sucked it up!

On this particular night, they were filming a video for a new single called Interstate, so if you happen to see that video in the future, be sure to look for Alexander. He wiggled and squirmed his way up to the front and he is positive that he got in the video and hopefully it will be some footage that isn't cut and he will be in it!! He went thru soooo much to get there-he deserves it!!

They were awesome!! Cary and I were on a hill a ways back but super crowded with people, but we danced and sang. It was fun and I'm sooo glad we went!

Sloppy Joe's with homemade buns, fries and onion rings!!

YUMMMMY!

These were so delicious!! The buns are so super easy to make. Recipe will be at the bottom.

Alexander was the main onion ring maker; I just assisted! He dunked them in beer (Dos Equis) and then seasoned flour-TWICE! then fried them AND he only burned himself like four times on numerous items, not just hot grease!!

I peeled and cut the fries myself and we only dipped them into the beer and flour once before frying.

They were crisp, but the center was soft and just right. They are the best fries I have ever had.

I was fighting with the ice cream maker while the boys ate and came back for seconds, leaving me only two teeny rings and four fries. :( oh well...I didn't need those anyways! but oh man, that sloppy joe was amazing!!

bun recipe

1 cup water

2 Tbls butter

1 large egg

3 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 Tbls instant yeast

Combine all and mix and knead together using a mixer until it's a soft, smooth dough.

Grease a large bowl and place dough in it, cover with a towel, let rise for an hour. I put mine in my electric oven with the light on. Any draft free place will do.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape into flattened balls. Place the balls on a greased baking sheet, cover, let rise 30-40 minutes until they are quite puffy.

Preheat over to 375. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from oven and place to cool on a rack.

Fleece Pants

I made these fleece pants a few weeks ago. They have an elastic waist and I just used an old pj pants pattern. I think my model adores these cause I have seen him wearing them quite a bit!!

Yoga Mat Bag with pocket

I recently joined the YMCA with the boys and there are alot of yoga classes available and I really like yoga. So, I made a cute bag to carry my mat in. I'm thinking it might make me feel more excited about going. Turns out, the bag isn't causing my desire to go at all. However, the next blog about composting with several pics of me is causing me the desire to go and take every fitness class available. OMG!!!