Monday, May 25, 2009

Coconut Cake!


Yesterday was A's birthday! I asked him what kind of cake was his favorite and instead of the usual Chocolate or Vanilla or Carrot Cake, all cake's I've made before, I got Coconut Cake! Now let me preface by saying birthdays are a big deal in my family, probably because we all have a really big sweet tooth and will come up with any excuse to invite people over for cake and birthdays are a more natural excuse than say President's day cake or random Sunday cake. So I searched through recipes and cookbooks looking for an easy and delicious looking Coconut cake and decided on one by Paula Dean, Jaimie's Coconut Cake. It was pretty simple, your basic 1-2-3-4 Cake as she calls them but with coconut milk in the batter and then a sour cream and coconut filling and of course coconut sprinkled on top. Coconut inside and out! It came out beautifully, although my icing skills leave much to be desired... A loved it and that's what counts the most, that and the fact that the coconut sprinkled on top hides all sort of problem spots! I asked him later last evening the last time he had coconut cake and what it was like, just for comparison and what did he say? It was plain white cake and white frosting and coconut sprinkled on top! Much simpler than what I came up with, but I suspect not quite as exciting :)

Checkbook Cover



Here's a little glance at another project that I made from the Heather Ross Weekend Sewing book, the Checkbook Cover. This was a very easy pattern to follow, not so much of a pattern as a tutorial or instructions since it did not require a physical pattern as such. I was excited to use this black and white fabric scrap left over from my recent bag project and I thought it was fun to pair it with something bright like this teal floral print. I'm not using it as a checkbook cover however, I'm storing my coupons in it and keeping it in my purse, it makes a great little organizer!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Gracie's Dress


I'm in love with this little dress that I made for my friend's daughter Gracie! It came out really really cute. I posted about it a few posts back. The pattern came out of Heather Ross' new book Weekend Sewing, which I am totally in love with! I've also made the CheckBook Cover from the book (which I am using as a coupon holder) and am just hems away from finishing the Kimono Dress for myself! Wait til you see the Dress! Love it! But one post at a time!

Monday, May 18, 2009

New Earrings!



After several cloudy days I finally had enough sun today to take some pictures of the new earrings that I made last week! Both pairs have metal links as their base and dangling glass bead accents. I liked the teal and brown ones so much I kept the first pair for myself and made a second pair to put on Etsy!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Not Quite A Dress


I mentioned in my last post that I had purchased some adorable fabric that called out to me for a dress for a good friend's daughter who will be 1 this month. Here's the fabric, isn't it cute?! It's called "Sweet Tweets" by Janet Gossard for Fabric by Spectrix and I picked it up at Joann's. I was double-y inspired by Heather Ross' new book Weekend Sewing, which had the cutest little dress in it with smocking at the top (aptly named the Smocked Sundress) and an easy summer feel to it, perfect for a growing girl and for the weather here in the south.


Well, yesterday was my last day of classes for the spring semester and as I finished up class around 1:30, I had all afternoon to play with my sewing machine and get this little project started. I was especially excited to learn how to make smocking, I can think of many opportunities where it would be helpful to have a little extra give or to avoid structuring a garment (not that I have any experience with structuring, but this seems like a great way to avoid anything too difficult for a while!). So I wound my bobbin with elastic cord and off I went! It was incredibly easy to make the smocking and I think it looks pretty good. In fact I was thinking that this pattern and shape would make a really cute maternity top, when else would a woman be able to wear bubblegum sweet birdies without looking silly? Alas, I don't know anyone in that state at the moment, but maybe I'll pick up a little more yardage anyways for future present making :)

New Metal Links


I picked up these cute new metal links the other day and love the possibilities! I made a fun and eclectic necklace for my friend Diane's birthday this past weekend but alas I forgot to take a pic! Here are two sets of earrings that I made with similar links, the Raspberry Drops which have a great dangle to them, and the Blue Circles that are just gorgeous pale blue colors.


On another note I've been working on a dress for little girl I know who is turning 1 this month! I wasn't planning on making a little girl's dress but I saw the fabric in Joann's the other day and couldn't help but buy a yard and then I picked up Heather Ross' new Weekend Sewing book and low and behold there was the perfect pattern! I'll post pics of the dress next time when it's a little further along!