Then a couple weeks ago I went to a small farmer’s market in South Jordan.  It’s right outside Material Girls so, of course, I had to drop in to see what they had.  To my surprise they had this bright, fun fabric on sale.  I already knew Peanut loved it because she chose the pink colorway for her flower blankie so I grabbed it up.  I found a smaller, coordinating print for an accent and a fuzzy, coordinating flannel for the lining so it would be a little warmer.  There was another flannel I was considering and may go back to buy because I have some corduroy that would match it perfectly.  Maybe later.

Anyway, it’s been sitting, washed and folded, on the ironing board in my sewing room for the last couple of weeks because I haven’t had time, and also because I wanted to save it for my September sewing project.  Yesterday I couldn’t wait any longer, though, and got started on it.  I finished it this morning, so even though I did most of it yesterday, it still counts.

This also might be a good time to introduce my newest tool.  The Peanut Dress Form!  I’ve wanted one for quite a while, like since the first season of Project Runway when I saw how useful they could be.  They’re so expensive, though, and I could never afford one.  I’d heard about making dress forms out of duct tape but never knew how until a friend on twitter sent me a link to a tutorial.  So one afternoon I turned on a movie so Peanut would stay with me, wrapped her in plastic wrap, then wrapped her in duct tape.  She thought it was kind of funny but didn’t really pay much attention to me.  After three layers I cut it off her and taped it back together.  I put off stuffing it because I needed to collect some newspaper and stuff but ODD suggested using foam insulating filler stuff.  I sprayed it all over the inside but it took ages to dry and the expanding was hindered by the plastic wrap so I think next time I’ll use newspaper and stuffing like it originally suggests.  It’s mounted on a small lamp base from IKEA.  Voila!  A dress form for $10-15!  It’s not the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen, I’m sure, but it works for me.

Her little belly sticking out is so cute.  It makes me laugh.

Anyway, back to the jacket.  The pattern didn’t call for accent fabric but after making Wingnut’s I decided to just go for it because I thought it was so cute and made it just a little different.

With the top toggle unbuttoned.  Again, the sleeves are long so I roll them up and let the lining peek out.

The pattern is well written and has the option of a quilted lining insert for more warmth.  I think I’m going to make it when I get some more time.  It isn’t too cold yet, though, and the jacket is fully lined with the flannel so it will be fine for quite a while still.

Even the cute pockets are lined with the flannel.

I think it will be perfect for chilly mornings when I take Peanut to preschool.

And look!  A smile!  It’s been quite some time since I made something she doesn’t pout and whine about wearing.  That must mean it’s extra cute.

I’ve always bought it frozen because I’ve never seen it in the produce department but I’d occasionally wondered if I could hunt some fresh edamame down and see if there’s much of a difference.  Last week I went to a local farm stand and to my surprise they had fresh soybeans!  I was so excited I picked some right up.  They weren’t really any different from the kind I buy in the freezer section but it was still kind of fun to find it locally grown.

It’s such a yummy snack.  For those who have never tried it you can find it in any grocery store.  You can put the beans in salads and other things but I like them alone as a snack.  I heat the pods up in some boiling water, drain them, and sprinkle them with salt.  Eating them is kind of fun.  Hold one end of a pod and put the rest of it in your mouth.  Use your teeth to scoot the beans out of the pod and into your mouth.  They break out of the pod without much effort.  The salt stuck to the pod gets in your mouth as you pop out the soybean so it ends up perfectly seasoned.  Discard the pod when it’s empty.  Yum!  I usually eat a whole bowl by myself.

The first time we went Wingnut got a little club, too, but he didn’t really know what to do with it and kept leaving it places.  It took him a couple of holes but eventually he figured out the goal is to get the ball in the hole.  So he would walk over, drop his ball in the hole with one hand, then pull it out with the other.  He did it again and again until the rest of us finished the hole.

Peanut had fun hitting her ball around, especially when it went through things like the the lighthouse and the castle.  She’s getting better and better at hitting the ball.

This is our scorecard from the first time.  The second time we didn’t keep track because it’s a waste of time.  ODD always wins without much competition because I suck at mini golf.  After each hole I’d ask Peanut what number she got and she’d make something up.  That’s why her numbers are all over the place and for hole #7 she told me she got “flower” so there you go.  For the first few holes I just filled in a random number for Wingnut because I didn’t want to leave the space blank but once he figured out  how the ball went in the hole I started counting how many times he did it at each hole and that’s the number he got.

The second time we went Wingnut got bored just carrying his ball around and started looking for places to throw it.  His favorite place was the water.  We had to fish his ball out three or four times during our game.

Our card is good for a year so I think we’ll definitely be going again.  It’s a nice way to spend a summer evening.