Pot Roast in Crock Pot

I needed to make a pot roast that would be good for my husband, Q, while he is currently dieting and wants no added sugar or carbs.  This is what I came up with for the package of chuck roast I bought from Costco.  It is so delicious.  I will say that the wine smell turned off my kids from wanting to try it, but they still liked it.

 5 lb (ish) chuck roast 

1 cup red wine

1 1/2 cup water

3 Tbsp Better than Broth Vegetable base

2 small onions chopped

2 pounds of chopped carrots or baby carrots

Fresh green beans

1 small can tomato paste

2-3 Tbsp Worcestshire sauce

1 Tbsp (ish) Balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons various spices (I went Italian)

1 tsp or so of pepper

Barely brown the chuck roast (I had two pieces in one package from Costco) on all sides in olive oil and cook onions briefly to pick up.  Place onions and carrots on bottom of crock pot.  Place chuck roast on top of the onions and carrots. Place as many green beans as fit in crock pot.  Mix next 7 ingredients and pour on top.  Cook on high for 4 hours.  Turn to low and stir so the green beans are immersed in the liquid and cook another 2-3 hours.

Ottobre 1-2021-30

 The nerdlet attends a school with a uniform policy.  The policy reads, "Khaki Beige cotton or polyester twill slacks/ walking shorts, skirt or jumper, skorts, capri, and pedal pusher pants."  My nerdlet unfortunately is much thinner than even the adjustable waistband allows for.  She is now 13 and she has been wearing size 7/8 purchased uniform pants.  Even with it drawn to the last button on the elastic, it is loose around the waist.  This also means that there are a number of inches showing her ankles.  This wouldn't matter if they just looked like pedal pushers as listed above, but they look more like Steve Urkel pants.  Hence the need for me to make them.

I used Ottobre-2021-30 size 140 with no alterations.  They are meant to be leggings, but they are actually looser than most of the pants I see on the other students.  

I considered adding a side seam and pockets, but this particular child would use them and not empty them and I would have interesting loads of wash, so I opted for the less interesting-making pants.  I've actually made four other pairs for my bear cub and one of my nieces.  I didn't take pictures, but I probably will, at least for my bear cub, the next time they are worn.

The fabric is khaki techno knit from Cali Fabrics (I think).

She is happy with them.

Panda Pillowcases

It's been a while since I posted something I have sewed.  I actually feel the lack, especially when I'm looking for what pattern I used for a particular project or what size of something I made for my girls.  I don't know if I will keep it up but I figured I would at least post these pillowcases.

I made these two panda pillowcases for my panda loving niece.  Her birthday is this month and I don't think I've made anything for her yet.  I used my French seamed pillowcase method that I always use.  You can find it here.  I've made so many of these pillowcases and they last forever.  

This main fabric and the flange fabric is from fabric.com and it is surprisingly soft.  The trim fabric is from a local quilting shop and has gold flecks.  I used a 5 inch trim, which is bigger than I normally use, but I wanted the busyness of the two fabrics separated more.  

I almost always really like these pillowcases.  For something so simple to sew, it gives a lot of satisfaction.