pillow of peace

I was about to leave my local fabric store when I spotted this really great fabric from Michael Miller.  I bought a yard of it and decided I was going to make a pillow out of it--so this is my next project.

The peace symbol reminds me of things from my childhood when my family and I lived near Berkeley and how I enjoyed looking at hippies with their peace signs and great clothing--and thought how great they were.

r stands for...

Rebeca.

The before picture.

The after picture.

Although, I've worked with cross stitch this is my first attempt at this type of embroidery.  I had fun, it didn't take very long and it was something different. The design came from the book
Embroidery Companion.

small mccoys

Small plants finally repotted in these McCoy planters I had stashed.

They seem pretty happy with the extra room they have.

summer

I decided to make this simple summer dessert from Dorie Greenspan's book Baking.  This book is fantastic-everything I've made out of it has come out better than I expected.  I used a dollop of Greek yogurt instead of whipping cream and it turned out fine.  I've been eating Greek yogurt quite a lot and I'm glad I have.

I enjoyed the dessert while watching Howard's End--Emma Thompson is fantastic as usual and I just saw her in Nanny McPhee Returns--I love Nanny McPhee.

best of both worlds

I make tea using both tea bags and loose tea leaves; however, every time I use loose tea leaves I always end up with some floating leaves-not a horrible amount-but enough that I wasn't always thrilled about using loose tea leaves.  So, I was very happy when I discovered these tea filters from finum and I've been making tea with all of my loose tea leaves I have around like crazy. You basically just stuff the little empty bags with your loose tea leaves and continue as usual.  These little bags really work and I get to use both a tea bag and loose tea leaves--all wrapped up in one. 

i love books

I wanted to share some vintage paperbacks I recently found.  I love books and have collected them for ages--basically hardbacks with a few paperbacks, but lately I've grown to appreciate paperbacks (wow was I a book snob ?).  I think paperbacks are wonderful--new editions as well as old.  The covers on these vintage paperbacks speak for themselves.  Later on I'll share other books I've found.

honey+lemon

After trying many different recipes for pound cake-each extolling the magic ingredient or technique to the "perfect" pound cake--finally success!  It's Ina Garten's recipe for honey lemon pound cake--it was moist and not difficult to make-super delicious with some raspberries.

its been awhile....

Since my last post, but during that time I received this wonderful magazine called FLOW. It came all the way from the Netherlands and the kind people from FLOW decided to send me a free issue since I can't subscribe to their magazine.

I also decided to indulge in my Stroopwafel cookie and tea, which Hiske sent me awhile back during a swap that the Dutch Sisters were having.

Its been rainy here and such a great time to  finally enjoy the magazine (with Dutch dictionary in hand) with a nice treat and tea.

sew liberated camera bag: mission accomplished

I now have something to store my cameras and I'm happy wtih how this project turned out. I did have some frustrating moments, such as my Bernina decided to stop working and was in the shop for a month, but lucky me I still had my old Singer that worked perfectly fine.  As for the project itself here are some tips below, which I hope prove helpful to you if you decide to make this project.

I'm not sure if all parachute buckles are all created equal because if so I did find one minor errata with the clasp tabs pattern.  I created the clasp pattern (3-1/2 x 3-1/2) and sewed it ( using a1/4 in. seam allowance as stated in step 9 "refer back to step 6") three different times following the instructions. The clasp tabs came out each time about half inch too large, which wouldn't go through the 1 inch buckle opening.  I purchased a larger parachute buckle, to accommodate the tabs, but when I received it by mail I looked at it and decided the larger size would overwhelm the front of the bag.  This meant creating a new square for the clasp tabs with different dimensions. The new square measured 3 by 3 with a half inch seam allowance built in--this worked perfectly with the 1 inch parachute buckle opening.



The corduroy fabric shifted quite a lot especially when attempting to sew the contrast band around the bottom of the bag.  Using pins to keep the fabrics from shifting and getting the alignment of the contrast fabric correct didn't help me very much. After attempting to sew the contrast band at the bottom several times without success I decided to use cotton basting thread to secure the band instead of pins.  Cotton basting thread is so wonderful! It always seems to solve tricky problems in sewing.  It may take some extra time , but the payoff is great!  Everything stayed put and I was able to sew the topstitch quickly and without any further problems.



The instructions in the book called for pressing a certain amount of seam allowance before proceeding to the next step.  Something that helps me out when any sewing instructions call for advance pressing is to run a basting seam for whatever amount of seam allowance they ask to be pressed.  For example,  If its 1/4 inch I will run a basting line this amount from the edge-- then use this as a guide to press in that amount. I find this easier than drawing a line with a ruler or using a ruler as I go along.



For this project one of several tools I used was a seam roll. I used the roll to help with the pressing of the corduroy fabric. I laid the fabric on top of the seam roll-- then used short bursts of steam on the seam allowance-- then finger pressed the seam allowance open.  I used this pressing method because corduroy is a nap fabric  that requires greater care than non-nap fabrics. 



Although, the instructions said to use the sewing machine to apply the binding to the top portion of the bag I went ahead and hand sewed it in.  I began with the machine, but it proved too awkward to sew--the bag was nearly complete--hardware and all attached and I began having problems.  I decided it would easier to hand sew it in and this would actually save me time in the long run.  Note: Before cutting out your fabric--double check that your pattern pieces are lined up correctly (i.e. wales paralel as stated in book )



One last tip-- I like keeping  my sewing book(s) at eye level while I sew and I utilize my clear cookbook stand to help me out with this.  I find this small but important technique so much better than having it lay flat on my table (there is a reason why music stands exist and this is my music stand). :)



Hopefully, these suggestions are helpful for all your sewing endeavours--happy sewing!

martha stewart's new encyclopedia

I received a box today from UPS!

Inside the new Martha Stewart book--Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts.

It was just released this week and it's a beautiful book--makes me so happy I'm into all this sewing and fabric crafts. And I have to admit I'm a little jealous of my husband who got to work with her once side by side for almost a whole day.  Oh well.....

You even get a cd with patterns and templates

Since I pre-ordered a copy I got a really great deal on it and it was definitely worth it.

A really great book--"it's a good thing". :)