let the holiday crafting begin!

Tote for KATE, from Simple Sewing With a French Twist

Origami bag for MANDY, from this tutorial, via Maggie Makes.

My go-to clutch bag, from Bend The Rules Sewing.

Olive Oil Cake from Good to the Grain

When I read about this cake a few weeks ago on The Wednesday Chef I knew I had to make it. Olive oil, rosemary, dark chocolate and CAKE? Yes please. I finally got around to it this weekend and was not disappointed! Next time I might cook it a tad longer, but I like my baked goods moist. When I first tasted it-- straight of the oven because I couldn't wait-- I thought I should use a less robust (read: expensive) olive oil (I used this one). But this morning it has mellowed out a lot. I will be making it again, even though R is not a huge fan and that means I will be eating the whole thing. Oh well.

face wash and other treasures

On this fine Memorial Day I'm forgoing all the barbecues and swimming pool parties and getting some stuff done around the house-- and feeling very satisfied with myself. I made a batch of deodorant for a friend, and a batch of my favorite face wash-- the Miracle Grains in Rosemary Gladstar's book, which I do not own. It must be out of print. Luckily, my library has it. This is such a great face wash! It is the closest I've found to my favorite Dr. Hauschka face wash, and so much more affordable.

While cleaning out boxes of stuff in my sewing room, I've come across lots of little treasures. For example, a thrifted dish, a cross-stitch dollhouse pillow my mom made, and a tag for a dog named FANCY.

weekend projects

Fabric bucket pattern here. For an artist friend. I have one that I keep my paint tubes in.
Baby kimono pattern from Weekend Sewing. It was a bright windy weekend here and I loved spending time at my sewing desk with the windows open. This little kimono is for a sweet girl who's due to arrive in June. It was fun to sew, but I was confused a bit by the tie placement and ended up not following the pattern exactly. Also, the underarms are kind of wonky. Oh well. I have some of this beautiful Lecien fabric in the blue colorway too, so I'm starting on a boy version of this tonight. Three cheers for getting my sewing mood back!

This is one of my favorite fungi.

Cyanthus striatus

I remember finding these as a kid and believing in fairies. This is really a terrible photo-- they are so much more charming in person. You can find them growing on wood chips or bark mulch. I just read that the little "eggs" contain the spores for the mushroom, and that when rain drops hit the nest-like shape, the little eggs are splashed out, and this is one way for the mycelium to spread.

Speaking of mycelium, have you read Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets? His platform is that mycelium can save the world! Even if you don't share his complete enthusiasm for fungi, this book is a wonderful resource and an interesting read too.

book love and a trip to north carolina

I just finished reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and totally loved it. I wasn't sure about it until about the 5th page, but after that it was heaven. I'm so sad that it's over! I should have read slower. More please!

I'm packing my camping stuff for a weekend trip to North Carolina for a conference. I bought a new pair of hiking boots and aired out my sleeping bag. Cool weather, here I come...

extra sleep

Indian food, yum. Spontaneous date, yum.

This weekend was busy with cooking, eating, visiting a brand-new baby, lots of rain, girl time, knitting, weeding, walking, picking chanterelles in the park, and some extra sleep. Reading too. Picked up copies of Weekend Sewing and Handmade Home, and am fully immersed. Tonight: dreaming of sewing projects.

Gnomes.

I found this wonderful book about gnomes at the library.

Too bad there aren't any gnomes in Florida.

Lines & Shapes

A few weeks ago I won (!!!) a giveaway from this fantastic blog. The first 6 editions of Lines & Shapes. Sweet! What an enormous gift. I've wanted to look at these books ever since I first heard about them, and they have been such a treat to pour over, and were a big hit with the birthday party crowd. Also shown above-- our first ripe tomato! A Stupice (pronounced stoo-peach-ka).

just your everyday garden romance

My dad got this book the other day, and I've been oogling the romantic photos ever since. It's a great compilation of antique gardening traditions and implements.  Witness these:

This is a fruit loft! What? A special room just for storing fruit for the estate. Doesn't it look like an amazing place to sit and think?

And, this is possibly my favorite thing from the book--this is how they stored grapes! They used these special glass bottles, filled with water and tilted at a certain angle-- each with a small piece of charcoal in the bottom. This way, they could have grapes at Christmas. Genius! I so want to try it.



Ahhhh. I could stare at these pictures for hours, dreaming of living in a different time-- a time when a whole lot of care went into growing and storing food.  I especially love those terra cotta pots. I have a real thing for pots...

good read

I want to add my voice to the internet roar over this fantastic book. I'm a huge fan of Orangette. Come to think of it, Orangette was the first blog I really got into, and I've been a loyal reader ever since I stumbled across it. Thank you, thank you, Molly Wizenberg, for so many great reicpes that have made me popular at potlucks and parties of all sorts. This recipe in particular is much requested by the crowd I run with, and this one and this one too are perennial favorites. As a matter of fact, I made these cookies this weekend. YUM.

I made myself wait a bit before I started this book, because I just knew it was going to be over too soon. I was right. I completely devoured this book in a weekend, and have plans to try most of the recipes. It is just such a lovely book, illustrated by Camilla Engman, and packed full of fantastic anecdotes that made me laugh and cry-- sometimes together. I highly recommend that you check this one out!

Also, check out this adorable child's rolling pin and bread board my mom found for my nephew! I squealed when she showed it to me.