Ruffled Sleeve Top

Easy to make, no zippers or buttons to fuss with- A keyhole in the back gets it over the head.

Spicy Ginger Zucchini Loaf

My mom made this at least a few times every summer while I was growing up. My grandfather grew zucchini in his garden and gave us loads of it in exchange for a loaf or two of sweet zucchini bread. I honestly don't remember my parents making any other use of the zucchini, so I didn't even think of it as a vegetable for a long time.

I've made a few adjustments to my mom's original recipe to add some whole wheat flour and exchange the sugar for agave. Also adding way more spice to suit my tastes.

Spicy Ginger Zucchini Loaf

1 1/2 C unbleached white flour
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 TB cinnamon
1 TB garam masala
3/4 C canola oil
1/2 C sour cream
3 eggs
3 C grated zucchini
3/4 C agave nectar
2 TB molasses
1 TB vanilla extract
3/4 C chopped candied ginger
1 1/4 C walnuts

Set oven to 375, grease 2 loaf pans (I also line the bottom with wax paper)
Stir together dry ingredients in large bowl and set aside. Stir together wet ingredients in another bowl (this includes zucchini). Add to dry ingredients, folding lightly until just blended. Stir in ginger and walnuts.
The batter will be fairly thick. Evenly distribute into 2 pans, bake for an hour, keep baking until toothpick comes out clean.

Skillet Corn Bread

I'll admit, this is a far leap from traditional southern cornbread. It should really be classified as a cake, due to all the sugar and vanilla I've added. But I am a big fan of both corn and cake, so this is the type of cornbread I like to eat, er... make.

Cornbread

1 1/2 C coarse yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 C masa harina (finely ground cornmeal)
1 C unbleached white flour
2/3 C sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 TB salt
1 C frozen corn kernels
1 1/2 C yogurt
1 1/4 C milk
1 TB vanilla
12 TB melted butter
2 eggs

Heat oven to 425. Place seasoned cast iron pan in oven to heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together first 6 ingredients. Set aside.
In food processor, puree corn kernels and yogurt. ad butter, milk and vanilla. Blend a few seconds to combine. Pour wet ingredients into dry, stir until combined. The batter will be quite thick, Carefully remove pan from oven, and add 1/2 of the mix. Bake 20 mins, or until top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

vintage fabrics

I have loads of vintage fabrics at home and have troubles bringing myself to cut into them. So when I find a way to incorporate a tiny bit of it with a new fabric, somehow it makes me a little less uptight. behold my compromise:

If you've never covered a button before, you should really try it. It's one of the few instant gratifications (read: easiest) things that can be done. And it looks perfect every time.
Bias trim, though, is another beast entirely. no fun at all. I am currently investigating a little bit of hardware called a 'bias maker'. I'm very skeptical anything can make all the measuring, cutting, ironing, pinning and careful sewing seem easy.

i sew for boys, too

Here is a chambray half-placket short sleeve shirt I made for my friend. I saw a similar one I really wanted to buy for him, but it was well over $100, and I just can't bring myself to pay so much for something I can make at home. So here's my verson. I added coconut buttons to try to make it a little interesting.

button trick

not much of a trick, really, but it took me a long time to think of doing this before tossing any extra buttons into my abyss, uh- button drawer...

Just thread a needle and string the like buttons together


Tie it into a knot to keep them happily together!

bits...

These buttons also came from Tokyo. It is completely amazing to me how serious the japanese take handmade goods. I have an idea of how I want to use these for a top. hopefully you will see them it soon.


I also recently stumbled upon some polka-dot fabric and really cute trims at an estate sale of sorts in a neighborhood nearby. There was a lot more there, I think the lady had been some sort of costume designer. But thankfully my limited space makes me choose carefully...

japanese fabric

I have quite a bit of fabric I bought last fall in Tokyo at Tomato Fabrics (which was amazing.... i wish i could have carried more) and have been stressing out over what to do with them.. I finally cut into it a few weeks ago and made up a nice springy dress for myself:




I hand stitched the top and used self fabric for the belt, but lined it in an-off white, with a few inches of hem showing.

Denim Skirt

Here's a button down skirt I finished last weekend! I've worn it once already (you can see it's a little wrinkled in the photos) but it's not too bad of a fit! I think though I'll need to put some sort of zipper or other closure in the front. The buttons look nice, but the functionality is a little lacking- it gaps quite a bit between the buttons, and on the front of a skirt not really a great thing.

Carrot Raisin Bran Muffins

I love bran muffins. I am lucky to live within walking distange to Blue Sky Bakery, which is a bakery that specializes in muffins. They do a really great bran muffin and change the fruit additions daily. Though they've never done carrot-raisin ro my knowledge, I thought I'd give it a try. When cooking at home I prefer to avoid white sugar, as well as white flour- replacing them with whole grains and agave nectar.

2 C wheat bran
1 C oat bran
1 C whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 C raisins
2 eggs
2/3 C milk
2/3 C yogurt
1/3 C canola oil
1/3 C agave nectar
2 Tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C grated carrot

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease standard size muffin pan (for 12 muffins).

Combine first 10 dry ingredients and raisins in a large bowl. stir to mix and set aside. Combine eggs, milk, agave, molasses, vanilla, and carrot in a med bowl and stir until combined. Pour wet ingredients into bowl with dry ingredients, stir until just combined. Evenly distribute batter into muffin pan. It will fill high, which is ok as they don't rise too much.
Bake about 20-25 mins or until set and toothpick stuck in the middle comes clean. Let cool for 10 mins in pan, then carefully remove from pan and transfer to a wire rack.

Another Spring-y Top!

This blouse has been 80% finished for a few months now. I really just needed to add the buttons and the hook & eye above the zipper. It's a new pattern I'm working on. I think it's a little too big, but getting somewhere.

Projects!

Thanks for visiting. I hope this blog will inspire other sewers and I will include bits on tricks and trials as I go. Ok, so here are 2 of my most recent completed projects:






This top was fairly simple I made a pattern based on another shirt I already have. The only problem I found is in the neckline, I didn't clip enough (or maybe at all..) so the trim tends to flip up a little.

Here's another top I made out of an old pillowcase:




I kinda made this one up as I went. It wasn't originally supposed to cross in the back, but it ended up really big in the top, so I just had to overlap it. Unfortunately this threw off the sideseams towards the back, but I guess it ended up alright.

Hello!

Good things are coming, I promise. Come back and see!