Tool Belt 2 - Tutorial

A few people have emailed asking for a pattern or tutorial for the tool belt, so I whipped up another one today and tried to keep track.

For this one I skipped the bias tape and added a backing, you can of course do whatever you would like. Again I used home decor fabric - I like that it is stronger and will put up with more abuse than regular cotton fabric.

MATERIALS:

.6 yd Fabric A
.7 yd Fabric B (unless you don't mind making the backing out of separate pieces which is what I did, then you only need .5 yd)
thread
belt

If you want to add bias tape or anything else to fancy it up, have that ready as well.

Step 1 - Cut the following pieces:

Fabric A: 14.5" x 24" (main piece)
              6.0" x 24" (lower pocket)

Fabric B: 14.5" x 24" (backing, optional; piece together if necessary)
            10.5" x 24" (middle pocket)

Note: 24" width was ideal for me; you should measure yourself to see where you would like it to fall on your waist/hips, wherever you plan to wear it.

Step 2 - Hem one long edge of both pocket pieces. I chose to use a zigzag stitch.

Step 3 - Align non-hemmed edges of both pockets with one edge of main piece, and pin.

Step 4 - I decided to add writing utensil pockets to this one. Figure out where you would like to carry your pens, etc, and mark them with pins.

Step 5 - Sew a three sided rectangle around the outer edges, then divide down the middle (sorry for the terrible lighting). I've photographed the back for the next few steps because the black thread on black fabric does not show well.

Step 6 - Mark where you would like the pockets to be divided, then sew lines to divide. If you would like a different number/size pockets between the two layers, sew down the middle layer first. I divided both into equal thirds, so I was able to do this in one step.

If you are not going to add a backing, this is the time to finish your edges with bias tape. Or good ol' fashioned hemming, or whatever you would like.

Step 7 - Pin front and back right sides together, and pin.

Step 8 - Sew around outer edge, leaving a gap to turn the tool belt right side out. The top is the best place, as it will be folded over for the belt casing. Remember to switch to a straight stitch if you were using something more decorative.

Step 9 - Clip your corners and trim.

Step 10 - Turn right side out, press edges flat, then stitch all around the outside with your stitch of choice.

Step 11 - Fold top of tool belt over to the back, allowing enough room for the belt of your choice to slip through; pin and stitch.

Step 12 - Add belt, take photos, admire. Then put it on, fill it, and get to work on another project!

I have received several compliments from coworkers since I've started wearing my tool belt, both on the cuteness of it and the usefulness of the concept. A few have even asked if I'll take orders - can't even think about that until summer, but hmmmm, a little pocket money never hurts, eh?

Enjoy!

Customer Appreciation

As someone who worked in the pizza delivery industry for over five years, I find the card we received in the mail today to be very odd...

Really, Aurelio's? It's pizza. I understand when I get a card like this from, say, the guy who sold us our living room carpeting - you want to make sure that if we eventually need more carpet we feel warm and fuzzy enough about you to come back. But pizza? Unless you intentionally run over my cat or eat part of my pizza I am going to be a repeat customer, card unnecessary. Especially if you're not going to include any coupons. But okay, thanks for the thought. Bizarre.

File Cabinet Upgrade

Got any hideous file cabinets? I sure do! Fixing this issue has been on my agenda all year, but naturally there were plenty of other things that took precedence. This week I just couldn't take it anymore! So with some gift wrap, contact paper, shipping tape, a screwdriver, and Dawn dish soap, I finally did a quickie upgrade of the worst one. There are about 79 more sophisticated ways to do this you could find on Pinterest, but for my mental health I needed to get this ugliness covered and covered fast. My apologies for the lack of a decent "Before" photo; I forgot to snap one before beginning, the one below I found from the photos I took last May during my initial viewing of my new classroom.

  

Ahhh, that's better! Now I just need to paint the outside and the handles, and it'll be quite the looker!

And you better believe that those ridiculous stencils will be dealt with this summer!

Tool Belt!

This past weekend's project: a tool belt to wear during my sewing classes!

Those who know me well know that I LOVE to make aprons. This guy's a little different, as it has six pockets, is made from a sturdier home decor fabric, and (my favorite part) instead of making straps I'm simply inserting a real belt through the casing so that the "tool belt" doesn't start slipping down with the weight of six pockets full of sewing notions. This will free me from constantly having my hands full of supplies, running back and forth, or (worst of all) allowing seventh and eighth graders to get out of their seats constantly. Can't wait to try it out tomorrow!

Tutorial added here.

Caudill Update

As I've previously mentioned, I'm reading my way through the 2014 Rebecca Caudill list in preparation to be a "Book Champ" next school year. Here are my latest reads:

These were all excellent and I would recommend any one of them. "Breaking Stalin's Nose" is a very quick read about a boy growing up in Stalinist Russia - if you read no other book for this age group, read this one! Such an interesting look into a critical time period in Russia often overlooked by US history classes due to the overlap with the Great Depression and entrance into WWII.

I must say I've really enjoyed reading all of the Caudill books so far - such a departure from my usual fare, but incredibly informative in addition to entertaining. These books introduce 4th-8th graders to a wide range of different cultures and problems faced by kids their age around the globe - quite the perspective-changer! I encourage you to check 'em out - if you have doubts, start with the shortie "Stalin's Nose" - you'll be hooked!

Currently April

Time to join up with Farley again!

"Oh Canada" - hubby is watching the Blue Jays game downstairs. Don't get me wrong, we are White Sox fans, but all baseball rules this time of year.

Sunshine - finally, the sun is out again! Hopefully the temperature catches up soon - it's so disappointing to look outside at what appears to be a beautiful day, then step out into the cold : (.

Lesson plans - always thinking about what happens next, what needs to be put in place, what the backup plans are, etc.

8 1/2 weeks - now that Spring Break is finished, the kids are too! Ugh! Hopefully the time flies by!

Bedtime - I always want to go to bed early, but always wind up immersed in some school-related project.

"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" - this one I stole from Gretchen Rubin, author of "The Happiness Project." This piece of advice really stuck with me, as I tend to get hung up on making everything just so when good enough should be good enough.

My Spring Break

School resumes tomorrow, which means Spring Break is *sniff!* over. A look back at the good times...

Obviously I did a lot of reading, and some cooking with my new mini-skillet. I developed a love for grilled banana nut bread, mmmm.

We replaced the carpeting in the living room and the two smaller side rooms, eliminating the dog stains from the previous owners as well as some unpleasant odors.

 I visited with my friend Erin up in the city! One of our many adventures was painting pottery!

Lucky me, I got to take the cat to the vet to have his heart murmur checked. Sheesh. Pippin does not like the vet.

Went to Indiana to have a Good Friday dinner with parents, sister, and sister's entourage. Good eats!

Spent some serious time pulling out junk from storage in my classroom. Mr. Principal gave the okay to dispose of all of the nonsense that does not belong anymore. I've set everything out on tables to give the staff a chance to take anything they want (believe it or not, several people requested this). By the end of next week, this will all be out of my life - and my cabinets - forever!

Discovered under a bunch of thirty-year old tablecloths:

Other random highlights:
*A new Italian grocery store opened up 20 minutes from our house. Love!
*Exploring said grocery store led us to the discovery of an AMAZING Italian market and deli a few blocks down, so also 20 minutes from our house. Happy happy times!
*Ran bunches of errands that were just not achievable during school weeks.
*Reorganized several closets (having to move everything out for new carpet prompted this one).
*Spent unrushed fun times with the hubby!

And, of course, completely avoided the little bit of grading I brought home, which I must do now. All good things come to an end. : (

Reading Challenge #2 - Rebecca Caudill 2014

In addition to the US Presidential Reading Challenge Plus, I've also given myself a second reading challenge - read all twenty books on the 2014 Rebecca Caudill list. The Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award is a book award chosen by Illinois children in grades 4-8. Each year there are twenty nominations, and kids in grades 4-8 are eligible to vote for their favorite. At our school we have a program called "Book Champs;" once a kid finishes reading one of the R.C. books, they have a discussion with a teacher who has read the same book as their "proof." We weren't able to run the program this year because the 2013 books didn't come in until almost the end of the first semester (oh school library funding, how finicky thou art), but the 2014s are all in. Our school librarian recruited teacher-readers throughout parent/teacher conferences before spring break so I took one home. And then checked out three more from my public library, because they were fun books and fairly quick reads. So I'm thinking, what the heck, with four down already I can finish all twenty by August, right?

All four were enjoyable, but I would be hard-pressed to choose my favorite between "The Lions of Little Rock" and "The Running Dream." "The Running Dream" is about a high school track star who lost her right leg below the knee in a school bus accident on the way home from a meet. It details her recovery, adapting to a prosthetic, and her changed outlook on life - very thought-provoking. "The Lions of Little Rock" takes place in Little Rock in 1958, the year after the "Little Rock Nine" enrolled in Little Rock Central High School. In order to circumvent the order to integrate, the governor of Arkansas led a series of steps which led to all four public high schools in Little Rock closing their doors for the entire 1958-1959 school year. The book chronicles the friendship of a white junior high school girl and a light-skinned "colored" junior high school girl who attempted to "pass" as a white child in order to attend a white school. Excellent, excellent story showing the different perspectives of various members of that community. While I of course knew the story of the Little Rock Nine and the National Guard, etc, I didn't know anything about what happened the next year. Highly recommended read!

Experiments #3 & #4

The only thing better than a cute little cast iron pan is TWO cute little cast iron pans...

I came to realize that there are several individual dishes I am going to want to make using these, so a companion was in order. Thank you Amazon!

I have continued to break in my little guys. Last night's dinner: angel hair frittata. Sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and fresh spinach, mix in tomatoes, mozzarella, and pasta, add two eggs, set and bake - yum!

For breakfast I repeated my grilled banana nut bread deliciousness:

And finally to accompany dinner, onion/garlic/rosemary focaccia!

So obvious I am on Spring Break, isn't it? Not only do I have time to mess around with a new pan, but I'm posting about it too. Have no worries, radio darkness will descend again in a few more days...

US Presidential Reading Challenge Plus

In my quest to accomplish random nerdy things, I have begun a new reading challenge inspired by "The Hall of Presidents" at Disney World. While enjoying that attraction, I decided that I know too little about the Presidents and thus should read a biography of each of them, in order. A quick Google search will show that this is not a unique undertaking, thereby making me somewhat less of a dork. Or I suppose more of one, depending on how you look at it. Of course, school began immediately after our vacation so while still in the back of my mind I did nothing about the idea.

Then a few weeks ago I was out to brunch with a couple of friends, one of whom was extolling the virtues of the book "Mrs. Kennedy and Me," a memoir written by the head of the First Lady's Secret Service detail. At which point I decided to add the "Plus" to my reading challenge - I decided I should also read a biography of each First Lady. And perhaps actually begin reading.

And after my initial title-surfing for bios on this subject I of course discovered many other interesting reads available, so I will most likely add a third related book for each President. As we all know all good things are packaged in trilogy.

All this to say I have completed my first set of reads!

I am now 1/43rd of the way there! (Serving non-consecutive terms is not reason enough for me to read two Grover Cleveland biographies) Of course, this challenge will probably last well into the future and additional Commanders-In-Chief, so that's probably a faulty fraction. I'm okay with that.

And yes, the clip above is from an Excel chart that I created for this purpose. Don't judge.