Surprise!

Did you guess it from the sneak peek? It's, drum roll please, a formal dress!  Now, for my teacher-friends out there, this post is about to sound like I took a page out of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It was certainly a roller coaster! :)

Back in October, my sister approached me about sewing her prom dress for her this year. (Her senior year) I eagerly agreed and began picturing the gorgeous dress I was going to make...

...about two weeks after she asked I had a miniature panic attack when I realized that I COULD NOT screw this up....oh boy.

Little did I know, this would be one of many panic attacks as the next few months ensued.

Sure, everything started out okay. She decided on what she wanted, I did my research, we picked a pattern, etc.

But then came the fabric shopping...and suddenly everything became even more real...my second panic attack came when I realized I'd have to use chiffon, lamé, satin, beading, and FEATHERS all on the same dress, and, oh yeah, it's probably the most important article of clothing in high school ever...

I made a toile (more on that later) and, well, everything seemed fine...until it came time to make the one shoulder part of the dress. My timing was very poor as I asked my sister to try it on the same day she was having her wisdom teeth taken out and emotions were already running a bit high. Next thing I knew, I was smack dab in the middle of a very strange hysterical breakdown about how she didn't want armholes!

What? Whaaat? Can someone please explain to me how I make a dress without ARMHOLES??? I can't just sew your arms into the dress, they have to poke out somewhere!!!

Needless to say, she did eventually come to terms with the fact that we would HAVE to add armholes, but of course that decision wasn't reached until after the bodice had been completed, and yes, I ripped it out and redid it...changing the midriff fabric as well.

After that, everything was smooth sailing until I realized that I was going to have to insert an invisible zipper into the side of the dress on a lining, chiffon, and lamé...craaap!

After additional research, this did happen, and...I didn't have to rip it out! yaaay! :)

And again, we were flying high until....my serger broke. Oh. My. Goodness. All I can say is thank God for great friends and their generosity, my friend's serger got quite a bit of use that night! :)

And then came those dreaded feathers...how did I let her talk me into this. Those darn feathers just sat on our dinning room table taunting me, torturing me, for MONTHS. Who sews with feathers????

Apparently, I do. This actually turned out to be considerably easier than I anticipated and I quickly add the feathers and beading.

Needless to say, we came out on the other side and I think the dress looks pretty darn good if I do say so myself! :)

Tutorials, will, of course, follow. I'm still debating on whether or not I'm going to do a tutorial on how I did her hair, let me know if this is something you'd be interested in! :)

Hope you enjoyed!

(And if you didn't, keep it to yourself! lol)

~Farm Girl Teacher

Cool Off!

I know, I promised a different post yesterday, but I'm not quite done writing the post and getting all the pictures so I'm going to ask you to be patient one more day. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this post that's been simmering in my draft folder about a month now. :)

Now that the summer heat is truly upon us here in Florida, I thought I'd share a few ways I keep my rabbits cool in the heat. Because they are fiber-producing rabbits, they are more likely to overheat, especially here in Florida's sun. Many people simply have an air conditioned area for their bunnies, however that wasn't an option for me so I have found a few techniques to keep them cool.

Tip #1: Hydration!

Fiona enjoying a cool sip of pineapple juice.

Keeping the rabbits hydrated will go a long ways towards preventing heat stroke. Make sure they have fresh, clean water available. I like to add a few ice cubes to their water. I also give them a few tablespoons of refrigerated pineapple juice which hydrates them, cools them, and prevents wool block! You can also hydrate them with watery fruits such as mango, pineapple, celery, watermelon, and cucumber. I freeze mine to make it an even cooler snack for them. (Plus, it makes storage easier.)

DO NOT add this to the water bottles, they don't drink it fast enough and it ROTS in the water. Lesson learned!

Tip #2: Shade

I know this isn't the best picture, I was trying to show that it's see-through but still provides plenty of shade. Similar to a screened-in porch but shadier.

The rabbit hutch has a roof that keeps the sun off the rabbits, plus it's under a tree, but I also add a bit of shade cloth on the sunnier side of the pen in order to keep the direct sun off of them. The shade cloth is especially nice because it still allows a breeze to pass through, plus you can wet it a bit in the afternoon and the water combined with the wind gives the area a nice, cool breeze. We use this stuff everywhere!

Tip #3: Environment

I know the ground looks a little rough here, we recently moved the fence back a few feet.

 As I said before, try and position the hutch in the coolest area possible. For me, that meant avoiding direct sun and keeping them away from the laundry room vent/air conditioning unit, both of which give off heat. Purchasing a cage-style hutch also allows the breeze to get to them as opposed to a solid-wall hutch. I also purchased box fans to place over the pens to create a breeze during the day, so far I think they've been one of the best things to help them. Each of them also have a floor tile in the pen with them. With a cage-style floor, it's important that the rabbits have something they can stand on anyway, (the cage can be hard on their legs/feet) and a tile is preferred to the traditional piece of plywood because it stays cooler, is easier to clean, and the rabbits don't chew on it (possibly ingesting dangerous chemicals).

I seriously recommend investing in these fans! Mine came from Dollar General.

I really don't do much more than this on a day-to-day basis and I've never had a heat problem. Let me know if you have any other great tips to keep your pets cool!

~Farm Girl Teacher

Sneak Peek

I'm so excited to be beginning a new tutorial series that's been in the making almost five months now! I will be posting tomorrow but until then here's a sneak peek...any guesses? :)

Reverse Single Crochet Tutorial

I'm back with my second video tutorial, a guide to the reverse single crochet stitch! It's really not as difficult as it may sound, if you can do a regular single crochet, you'll only need a bit of practice to do it in reverse!

I discovered this stitch fairly recently and instantly fell in love! It's an awesome way to edge almost any item, and I really feel it adds strength and durability to the final product. For this reason, I used it as a border on the Granny's Baby Blanket pattern, as children can definitely be hard on, well, just about everything! :) It would also work well on items that will get lots of use such as dishrags or even the necklines of sweaters you're worried may stretch.

Original Pattern: Ravelry Post, Craftsy Post, Original Blog Post

Need help with the granny square itself? Check out this video tutorial.

Enjoy!

~ Farm Girl Teacher

Granny Square Tutorial

Several people have contacted me asking for assistance with my Granny's Baby Blanket pattern. (Ravelry, Craftsy, original post) The blanket is essentially a large Granny square, which is an awesome skill to learn as there is so much you can do with it. This is my first video so, be kind. :) The video explains how to do the square and walks you through three rounds in the granny square stitch. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, I will do the best I can to answer you!

And without further ado,

Once you've mastered the Granny square, there's so much more you can do with it in order to take it a step further. Feel free to check out these resources, I own the book I recommend and regularly stop in on the blog I linked to. :)

This book is an awesome guide to all things Granny! It has some wonderful patterns for individual squares, as well as patterns for ways you can use the squares. I downloaded it onto my Nook, but in hindsight I think I'd have preferred a hard copy version as the layout gets a bit funny after it's been digitized.

I also love this blog. The author completed a Granny Square a Day challenge, that's right, 365 different granny squares (for free!) as well as colorway suggestions and more. (Seriously, I could spend HOURS on this blog! :) Hope you enjoyed!

~Farm Girl Teacher

I'm Back! (For Real This Time, and with a Surprise!)

I know, I know, I've said this before, but my break really is over, I promise! I got a bit overwhelmed, however I plan on returning to blogging now that I've knocked several custom orders off my list for awhile.

I'd like to begin with my surprise for y'all to celebrate my return... :) I will be making my patterns on Craftsy and Ravelry free! I began selling my patterns to supplement my meager, fast food income, but now that I have a real life, honest-to-goodness job, I don't need the extra money and good ideas really should be shared freely. :) I mean, I think they're good ideas...you may not... lol I plan on switching everything over as soon as possible so be sure and check in. I encourage you to share what you've made with me! (Actually, I'd love to do a post sharing your projects!) Additionally, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have regarding any of the patterns. You may ask through the comment section, through the Ravelry and Craftsy sites, or through my email, thatfarmgirlteacher@gmail.com.

Hopefully, I will also be able to share a few of the projects I'm currently working on with you. I am finishing a bit of personal sewing for myself, knitting a scarf, and (can you believe it?) sewing my sister's prom dress! Happy dance! I also hope to share a few things from the elementary sewing club I run as well, they've been doing a ton of awesome work!

I have found that, especially with crafting, I am always learning new techniques, or occasionally creating new techniques myself. I am considering sharing a few of these through tutorials (either video or photo, I haven't decided yet). If this is something you'd be interested in, please let me know, I love to hear feedback from y'all!

~Farm Girl Teacher