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Philips Pasta Maker Review

August 22, 2019 By: SewIstacomment

Philips Pasta Maker Review

I bought my Philips Pasta Maker during Takalot‘s big sale in July. Because I ordered it with items that had a delayed shipping time, it took a while to arrive.

I was home sick on the morning when my Philips Pasta Maker was delivered. I really wasn’t feeling great but went to the kitchen to supervise. The Pasta Maker came securely packaged in a colourful branded box.

What’s in the box?

We immediately unpacked the box and checked all the parts. The Pasta Maker came with 4 dies. One each for Spaghetti, Macaroni, Fettucini and pasta sheets. It also came with with two measuring jugs. One for dry ingredients and one for wet ingredients. Both jugs are marked, but the manual suggests that one actually weigh the ingredients to ensure accurate measurements. Apparently using the correct ratios on dry vs wet ingredients are very important to get good results. Last but not least is the scraper/cleaner as well as a cleaning brush.

Taking apart and reassembling your Pasta Maker

We took it apart as per the included instructions and the kids washed all the parts ready for their maiden voyage. While they were busy I studied the manuals that came with the pasta maker. I’m a “read the manual” type of person 🙂 My trusty helpers quickly dried all the parts and we assembled the Pasta Maker again.

Assembling the Pasta Maker the 1st time was a bit tricky. You have to hold onto the mixer inside the “mixing bowl” while inserting the bar through it and into the “rotator”.

What did we make?

Our first choice to experiment with was Spaghetti. We used the wheat pasta recipe from the Philips recipe book. Depending on the type of flour, you have a choice of using just flour and water, or using flower, egg & water. Substituting the liquid in the recipe for some vegetable juice adds a fun twist in terms of colour and flavour.

About 7 minutes after we started up the Pasta maker the first spaghetti started forming. My kids were extremely excited to take turns cutting the spaghetti from the die.

The spaghetti we made with the Philips Pasta Maker tasted very similar to store bought dry spaghetti. In fact, hubby said if he didn’t know we made it, he would have thought it was the normal pasta we eat.

Home made pasta with chicken pesto meatballs

Would I recommend buying the Philips Pasta Maker?

If your family likes having pasta, then YES definitely! Obviously if you don’t like pasta, there are better things to spend your money on.

For my family this was definitely a worth while purchase.

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored in any way. I dont earn any income from this post and all opinions herein are my own.

Why a Maternity & Breastfeeding Clothing Range?

May 21, 2019 By: SewIstacomment

I started making Pregnancy and Breastfeeding clothing when I was pregnant and breastfeeding baby nr 3 & 4. It was impossible to find anything stylish to wear.

I felt frustrated with what was available in the stores. Most of the maternity clothing was baggy, plain and really not well made. Breastfeeding clothing was basically impossible to find.

I wanted stylish, pretty clothing that would fit well and make me feel good. I wanted modest breastfeeding friendly clothing that was fit to wear to work. And since I could sew I decided to make my own.

Now during my last pregnancy, I realised it wasn’t just me struggling with these issues. So I decided to share my talent so all the other pregnant and nursing mom can also look fabulous and feel great every day during their pregnancy or breastfeeding journey.

Our range of Maternity & Breastfeeding friendly Clothes is individually handmade by moms for moms.

Browse our collection below and let us know what you think via the reviews pages or the contact us page.

10 Breastfeeding Tips to make your life easier

March 11, 2019 By: SewIstacomment

Congratulations on your pregnancy / new baby. Are you planning on breastfeeding? Well that’s awesome! Breastfeeding is really amazing and one of the best gifts you can give your new baby. With these breastfeeding tips I hope to help you make life a little easier for yourself.

I have been breastfeeding since 2008 when my eldest was born, and I am currently still breastfeeding my last baby who was born on 2 November 2018. I breastfed each of my babies until I fell pregnant with their next sibling. I guess I have been pregnant or breastfeeding for the past 11 years, WOW 😊

I need to mention that I will be forever grateful for the antenatal classes we did before our 1^st was born, the breastfeeding tips we received sure helped me a lot. It is a sad fact that many of the nursing staff in maternity wards are unfortunately not well informed about breastfeeding. If I had to rely on their help, I probably would have given up in hospital already.

Over the years, I have learnt a few tricks of my own to make breastfeeding easier and more comfortable for myself. In today’s post I will be sharing my favourite breastfeeding tips from the past 10 years with you.

1. Nursing Bras

A proper well fitting nursing bra definitely makes a big difference. I generally have small breasts, but during the last part of my pregnancy and early months of breastfeeding, they usually go up at least 2 cup sizes. 10 years ago the selection available was not very big, actually, even 3 years ago when I had my 3^rd baby, I still had trouble finding nice looking, comfortable nursing bras. But things seem to be changing for the better. During my most recent pregnancy I discovered Milk Bra . I bought from their S1 range which looks very much like sports bra’s. They come with extender pieces for when your body unavoidably get bigger during pregnancy. These are honestly the most comfortable nursing bra’s I’ve ever owned.

2. Breast pads

With my 1^st baby I literally went through boxes of Pigeon nursing pads. I decided to try some reusable breast pads, but the selection available back then wasn’t WOW. The ones I managed to get was stiff little round pads, which honestly wasn’t very absorbent and didn’t fit well. So I abandoned the idea and went back to disposables. With nr2 & 3, I had slightly less leaking and continued using disposable nursing pads. This time round however I didn’t want to go the disposable route again and ended up making my own breast pads. They turned out great and are very absorbent.

3. Latch

Getting a proper and deep latch will be your saving grace. If you can’t get baby to latch properly it WILL hurt. You need to get baby to open their mouth as wide as possible. They need to latch onto your whole nipple and as much as possible of your areola. Keep in mind, that latch can also be influenced by things like a lip or tongue tie. My 3^rd baby was probably my most difficult start to breastfeeding, even with a proper latch and all my other tricks, my nipples really hurt for the 1^st 14days. I used Lasinoh and breastmilk to help ease the discomfort.

4. Nipple care

Never ever scrub your nipples, this will just make them unnecessarily sensitive. If they hurt from feeding you can use a nipple cream or just rub some breastmilk on them and let them dry before closing your bra. You can also try “sunning” them by sitting in the sun that’s coming in through a window.

5. Feeding on demand

One of the most valuable breastfeeding tips, throw away the clock! In the 1^st days & weeks this is the best thing you can do. New babies have incredibly tiny tummies and breastmilk digests quickly. They also don’t just feed because of hunger, but also for comfort, and security. Remember, you were all they knew for 9 whole months and your breastmilk is the closest smell to what is familiar to them.

Also, demand feeding is the best way to regulate your milk supply and make sure you make enough milk for that precious little one.

6. Feeding positions

In the first weeks I always liked to hold my babies tummy to tummy. I have a very fast let down, and feeding them this way while lying back on some pillows, helped with that. When they get bigger I still like the tummy to tummy position, but I tend to tilt their little bodys so they lie across my tummy, with their feet to my side. At night I find it easiest to feed lying down, that way they can drink and we can both drift off to get some much needed sleep. I did try the getting up and sitting up breastfeeding at night with my 1^st, but after I fell asleep doing this and nearly let her fall out of my arms, I realised that it wasn’t safe for me personally to try doing it that way.

For more info on feeding positions and latch please visit the La Leche League website

7. Hydrate

Just like through pregnancy, water is your friend. Keep hydrated, your body needs fluids to produce milk for your baby. Get a reusable water bottle and always keep it with you. In the early days of feeding a new baby, I easily drink up to 500ml fluids during a nursing session. I also liked to drink Rooibos tea.

You get a lot of different recipes for hydration during breastfeeding and yes, I used to drink a lot of Jungle Juice with my first two babies. But then I researched and realised, that it actually contained a great deal of sugar which can increase your chances of getting a candida infection. That’s not something you want to deal with as a new breastfeeding mom!! With the last two, I managed to keep my supply up by just drinking water, tea and the occasional energy drink and fruit juice.

8. Diet

Your appetite will probably drastically increase while breastfeeding. One of my biggest surprises after the birth of my 1^st was the amount of food I could eat. Where I was probably having half of what hubby was having during pregnancy, all of a sudden I ate the same amount of food and sometimes more than him. It was a huge shock to me! But taking into account that my body was now literally feeding 2 people it made sense.

I didn’t avoid or limit any foods in particular, although I did try to eat as healthy as possible.

9. Comfortable purpose made clothing

Comfortable clothing with easy access for feeding will go a long way to making your breastfeeding journey easier and more enjoyable. This time round I have indulged in getting enough, well fitting, purpose made tops, and they truly are amazing. Its so much easier to feed while out & about. I also got proper breastfeeding pajamas for the 1^st time, and it’s a real game changer.

10. A supportive partner

Finally we’ve come to the last but probably most important of my breastfeeding tips, A Supportive Partner.

I really have to thank my husband, without his support and encouragement my breastfeeding journey would have been so much more difficult or maybe non-existent. He was always there to bring me something to drink or eat, take baby to burp or hold baby while I rest a bit.

I hope my list of breastfeeding tips will help you. But remember, if you struggle, take a breather and try again. This is a new skill both you and your baby have to learn together and that will take some time.

I wish you all the best on your journey and you are always welcome to ask me questions. If I know the answer I will definitely share it with you, or help you look for someone that can help.

Keeping Record – a Sewing Project Diary

February 5, 2019 By: SewIstacomment

I decided I needed to start keeping a Sewing Project Diary. But why? you ask….

The Problem

Have you ever made something, then a few months later you want to make it again and you cannot remember what size you made or what fitting adjustments. Or even which pattern you used? No? Well, that’s me, I’ve done it countless times.

So, I decided to start keeping track of the items I’ve sewn. On Facebook I saw a post by someone with a cool looking project sheet where you can make a drawing of the item you are sewing and attach samples of the fabric used. I didn’t save it, and then couldn’t find it again, so off to Pinterest I went.

I only managed to find 3 “sewing journals/planners”, this one by diydanielle.com, this one by sewmamasew.com and this one by simplesimonandco.com. All of them were nice, but had things I didn’t need/want or were lacking things that I’d like to keep track of. I’m sure if I kept on searching I would’ve eventually found one I liked better. I just didn’t want to go to all that effort.

The Solution – my own sewing project diary

I decided to go to even more effort and make my own…. Yes that’s right, I went on and created my own sewing project diary sheet to keep a record on, with all the info I want on there.

It has space for info from 2 different patterns because I like to make sets of things. And they don’t necessarily form part of the same pattern. Then, my favourite part. It has a space for a line drawing of the patterns and a sample piece of the fabrics I used below that. There is a space for a list of the items required to make the pattern/s and they can be ticked off if I have them. Below that I can make notes about any changes I’ve made to the pattern as well as any changes I’d maybe want to make if I make the same pattern again. There is tick list to track my progress while making the item. And last but not least a space to note for who the item was made, when it was made and if it was for a special occasion.

Because this was for my personal use, I’ve made it in Afrikaans. But I like it so much and have subsequently decided to create an English version and offer it to my newsletter subscribers. As a freebie ofcourse!

When you sign up for my newsletter below, you will receive a link to download my Sewing Project Diary, FOR FREE! All I ask is that you not share the link directly with anyone, but rather send them to my website to sign up & download their own copy.

Already a newsletter subscriber? Don’t worry, you will receive a link for the download in today’s newsletter.

Are you keeping track of what you are sewing? If so how? Or do you feel it’s a waste of time? Why? Please share your thoughts with me in the comments….

A new year – AGAIN

January 9, 2019 By: SewIstacomment

Well “Hello There!” 😊

Its a new year again! I started 2018 full of excitement and with lots of plans. But then I fell pregnant and as a result everything else was pushed aside a bit, including writing blog posts. Sorry about that, but with this being my last pregnancy, I am made sure to “enjoy” every moment of it, even the all day sickness….

Little C was born at home on the 2^nd of November after a super quick 30minute labour. I have been (and still am) enjoying all the newborn cuddles I can get. He is now just over 2 months old and I am starting to be able to steal a moment or two here & there to spend on here.

I managed to make all the maternity wear I needed for this pregnancy as well as 2 sets of breastfeeding pajamas. With my previous babies I just used normal pajamas, but let me tell you, these are a game changer. Little C got quite a few mommy-made outfits and has been rocking them on his cute cloth bum. I hope to do a roundup post of all the items I made in 2018 soon.

I have managed to clean up my office/sewing room and look forward to start sewing up some awesome new items soon.

For the year ahead, I have big plans. Including some new fabric bases, new colours in our hand dyed range and a whole new range of products which will hopefully be added to the website soon.

I know I have been slow in replying to some of your queries, and I apologise but who can say no when this cutie pie wants you to hold him the whole time?

So here’s to 2019!

May your pins always be sharp and your bobbin thread never run out!

My 2018 Hobby-X Jhb experience

March 2, 2018 By: SewIstacomment

This year was the 6th time I visited the Hobby-X Jhb and it was by far the best experience I’ve had.

I pre-booked 4 workshops for me and my 9 year old and scheduled them all for yesterday (Thursday the 1st of March). We were literally booked from 10:30 for our 1st class with our last ending at 18:00.

The Workshops

Tarn Plug Rug

Tarn SA Workshop 1st up was the Tarn Plug Rug at the Tarn Yarn stall. We each received a bag filled with enough tarn to make our rug as well as a pattern sheet. It was an enjoyable and very relaxing experience. We completed about 1/8th of our rug in the allotted time for the workshop. And now it is something that we work on together in the evenings after dinner. Living in a house with all slate floors I can see us making many more of these.

Glass & Metal Pendant & Earrings

Metal & Glass Jewellery 2nd was the Glass & Metal Pendant workshop at Heart of Glass. What an awesome experience and so much fun to make your own pendants. We each made a 14mm & 25mm glass pendant with the picture of our choice.

Our 3rd class was Glass & Metal earrings, also at Heart of Glass. We had a choice between 10mm, 12mm or 14mm earrings as well as stud or drop earrings. Little madam chose drop earrings and I made studs, both in 10mm. We each ended up with 2 sets matching our pendants, and then 3 other random sets. I also got us some supplies to make more at home. I might start wearing more jewellery now.

Bird Tray & House Keyring Hook

Bird Tray

The 4th and last workshop I booked for the day was decorating a Tray at Melinda Kuns. The picture of this tray on the workshop listing is what drew me to book this class. Melinda gave us a choice of designs to use but I chose to make mine just like the example. We felt right at home at Melinda’s workshop. I was impressed at how patient she was when little miss messed up or didn’t quite get how to do something. Our trays turned out great and has already been put to good use.

Mosaic We enjoyed my class with Melinda so much that I ended up booking a beginners mosaic class for myself for this afternoon. I’ve never done mosaic before, but with Melinda’s help & guidance I think my project turned out beautifully. Its not quite done as I only had time to finish laying down my tiles at the workshop. But Melinda explained exactly how I need to apply the grout and I am confident that it will be easy enough to finish tomorrow morning. Doing a workshop with Melinda was like crafting with your best friend that know exactly what she’s doing.

Taking A Break and Browsing the Exhibits

After our 2nd class we had a 45 minute break in which we browsed some of the exhibits and went looking for something to drink.

Wearing our new jewellery we went browsing again during our two hour break between workshop 3 & 4. We found the most amazing stencils and also got some fabric paint. We will be using these for some exciting projects over the next few months.

At the PNA stand we got sun catchers and fridge magnets which the kids painted with the glass paint that came with.

The model train exhibition was an out of this world experience for my little one. She was amazed by the little trains moving and the awesome miniature world before her.

For me seeing how the ladies from the Wits Lace Guild makes the prettiest lace by hand was definitely a highlight.

Other exhibits that also drew my attention was Just Love Stitch & Craft House. Just Love Stitch has the most amazing kits for cross stitching on wooden blanks and Craft House sells kits for just about every imaginable craft.

Observations about the show itself

In 2017 most of the stalls seemed to sell the same or very similar items and for me it was a total waste of R80 for the entrance fee. That made me very reluctant to fork out the R100 entrance fee this year. In hindsight (even though I do feel the 25% year on year increase in ticket price is exhorbant) I do feel I got much more worth for my money than last year.

If you are doing workshops over multiple days you only have to pay the entrance fee once and can visit the organisers office for complimentary tickets for the other days.

One thing that was really off putting about the whole show was the loud noise from the cars at the car exhibition starting up and revving. It really distracted from whatever you were busy with and was particularly disruptive during our workshops. I get that cars are a hobby too (hubby is a classic Merc fanatic) but it is definitely one that is best practiced outside in a well ventilated area where the gasses & noise are not forced onto unsuspecting visitors.

A really big disappointment was that NOT ONE of the beverage kiosks had straws available. Yet they ONLY sold cold drinks in tins. This is something that I really would encourage the organisers to take their vendors to book about.

Overall I still feel that this was one of the best Hobby-X Jhb events I’ve attended.

Will you be visiting the Hobby-X Jhb this year? Or have you visited already? How did you experience it?

DISCLAIMER: All the opinions & views contained in this blog post are my own and based upon my personal experience at the 2018 Hobby-X Jhb exhibition.

The Sewing Thread Mistery

February 23, 2018 By: SewIstacomment

Sewing Thread, the backbone (literally) of all your sewn projects. Its what keeps your creations together, but what do we actually know about it?

What is sewing thread made of?

Thread can be made from a variety of fibers but the most common is probably cotton or polyester.

Cotton sewing thread is a natural thread that is derived from the boll of the cotton plant. Cotton thread is great for sewing plant based fabrics like cotton & rayon. Be sure to use a mercerised cotton to prevent it from shrinking like your cotton fabric. Beware that it will still shrink if exposed to very high heat. Because its highly absorbent, it dyes wonderfully, but cotton sewing thread has no “give” and breaks under high tension. This makes it undesirable for use with stretch fabric.

Polyester sewing thread is synthetic and entirely man-made. Its relatively inexpensive, low maintenance, durable & long lasting. These qualities makes it a great General Sewing Thread. It is able to withstand moderate heat and doesn’t absorb moisture well. Polyester sewing thread can be engineered to resemble cotton, silk or even nylon. It can accommodate a small amount of give with good recovery and doesn’t shrink. It is however a bit more abrasive than cotton & silk so you wouldn’t want to use it on your expensive silk chiffon.

What are different threads used for?

General sewing thread:-

Your does it all thread. You will use this the majority of the time. You can use it for both hand and machine sewing. Our Seralon General Sewing Thread is made of Polyester. While it’s not as heavy/thick as “heavy duty thread, its not as thin/light as embroidery thread either. Its perfect for constructing seams, edgestitching and quilting. It really does it all although you wouldn’t want to use it with very fine, sheer fabric or very heavy denim or canvas. In projects that will be exposed to constant direct sunlight or very high heat, please use it with discression.

Overlocker thread:–

Overlockers use 3 or 4 spools of thread to construct the seam and finish the raw edge in one step. Overlocker theads are generally a bit finer than normal sewing thread to help prevent bulk. Even though the thread may be finer the seam is still strong, durable & flexible because multiple threads are used to create it. Because an overlocker uses so much thread, this thread usually comes on cones of 5000m or bigger. Because lint builds up much quicker on your overlocker than your normal sewing machine its essential to buy high-quality overlocker thread.

Seralon Bobbin Fill A lot of people use the 5000m cones of Seralon General Sewing Thread on their overlockers as it comes in all the same colours as the 1000m Spools. Thus your sewing machine thread & overlocker thread can be a perfect match. Then there are those that prefer to use the Seralon Bobbinfill on their overlockers as it’s a thinner thread producing less bulky seams, but it comes in fewer colours.

Ultimately, if you do a lot of sewing with your overlocker and don’t want to keep on changing threads, you might want to consider Seralon Finestitch thread. This much finer thread is only available in Natural & Black. But the Natural blends in with most colours, and even looks good on black.

Textured Filament Thread:–

If you’ve ever heard of “floss” or “wooly nylon”, that’s what this sewing thread is. Its very elastic and soft and the texture component makes it appear thick and fluffy. Its commonly used in overlockers for rolled hems because it provides excellent coverage and hides the entire raw edge. It also gives a softer feel on the inside seams of underwear and works well in the looper of a coverstitch machine.

I’ve heard you talking about thread weight, how is that measured?

World wide thread is measured in different units, most commomly used ones I could find are TEX, DTEX, DENIER & METRIC

I will explain DTEX because thats the unit of measure used for the threads we supply.

Dtex is the abbreviation for decitex, which is the mass in grams per 10 000m of sewing thread. Higher numbers therefore equate to a thicker thread, while lower numbers means a thinner thread.

Herewith a weight comparison of our threads:

Seralon General Sewing thread has a dtex of 310, Seralon Bobbinfill thread has a dtex of 206 and Seralon Finestitch has a dtex of 123 while Seralon Floss has a dtex of 347.

Looking at these numbers its easy to see that the Seralon General Sewing thread is almost 3x the thickness/weight of Seralon Finestitch.

How strong is my sewing thread?

Thread strength refers to the amount of force (in grams or kilograms) needed to break the thread. The technical term for it is tensile strength. The higher the tensile strength number the stronger is the thread as more weight is needed to break it.

But the actual strength of your sewing thread is relative. Remember like anything else thread can age, so if you have thread that is really old, test it before you start your project because it can break more easily as it ages.

It is always advisable to buy the best quality thread you can afford. Sewing thread might make up the smallest part of your project, but its one of the most important parts. If your thread fails, so does your project. Sub-standard threads also damage your machines, pushing up the maintenance costs on them.

I hope this post has helped you understand your sewing thread a bit better, but if you’d like to learn more you can visit Wikipedia.org, Sewingpartsonline.com or Sailrite.com. Or ask me in the comments. If I don’t know the answer, I will do my best to find it for you.

January Sewing Round Up

February 4, 2018 By: SewIstacomment

The new year has kicked off with a bang and lots of sewing. For the first month of January I’ve already sewn 5 items and it’s been an awesome experience so far. January Sewing Round up

Week 1

In the first week of January I finished sewing up the last pillows for our new couches on the patio. Read the blogpost about those here. I still need to finish the covers for the seats, but I haven’t had time yet.

Week 2

[Read more…]

Sewing my first ever pair of Jeans

January 21, 2018 By: SewIsta5 Comments

I always struggle to find jeans that fit properly, usually its only the most expensive ones that look somewhat decent. This week I decided it was finally time to make myself some Jeans. The folks at Sew Altered is running a 2 month “workshop” on fitting casual pants. Katie had some good suggestions for Jeans patterns & choosing your size in this post, I was inspired. Project two for my #2018rtwfast, here we come.

Which Jeans Pattern to choose…

I chose the Jalie 2908 Jean pattern, it’s a bootleg jean pattern and is supposed to flatter my inverted triangle figure. Bonus as I like wearing bootleg jeans 😉 The Jalie 2908 comes in a regular waist & low waist version and I cut the latter.

I ran into my 1^st problem having to choose the size. According to Katie’s blogpost you should pick your size based upon your hip measurement. But mine was 1cm bigger than a 6 and 2cm smaller than a 7. After picking the brains of fellow members in the Sew Altered & Capsule wardrobe facebook groups, I decided to start with a size 6 and see how it goes.

Then I ran into my 2^nd problem, [Read more…]

Using the last fabric I purchased

January 14, 2018 By: SewIsta1 Comment

And so another week has come to an end. Our challenge for week 2 of the 52weekchallenge was to make something from the last fabric you purchased. My last fabric I purchased was on a local destash page. I bought it with the specific purpose of using it as part of my planned capsule wardrobe for the 2018RTWFast. Thus, this was an easy one for me.

What fabric did I use and what did I make?

Last Fabric Purchased I chose a double brushed poly with navy and white stripes and bright coral flowers. My biggest challenge was to decide what to pair it with. I had a plain navy and a plain coral Viscose Lycra in my stash already and my secondary goal here is to use as much as possible of what I already have. It was a tough choice but the navy won 🙂

My favourite top pattern, [Read more…]