Needlecase

I made this little needlecase for a friend so long ago that I completely forgot about it. It was resting on my coffee table for a few months.

Thankfully, I remembered it just as I was about to seal up the package in which it belonged. Close call.

It's just a bit of felt stitched together with what Amy Sedaris refers to as "crazy stitch." A nice mug of tea on the front and plenty of space to store needles inside.

Banner in Action

Julia was kind enough to send me a photo of her banner hanging up so cheerfully in her office. Not only is it fun to see the banner in action... it's fun to get a glimpse of where she makes her design magic happen! Look at that computer set up!

Herb-Fantastic Ciabatta Bread

It's really hard for me to make homemade soup without making homemade bread. The two go so nicely together. Thankfully, an old friend from Sarah J Anderson days shared a recipe for ciabatta bread that requires only one minute of prep time. It's amazing how easy and how delicious it is.

Yesterday morning, since I hoped to make soup in the evening, I prepared the dough and headed to school. Eight hours later the bread baked while the soup simmered, and I shared it all with a special out of town dinner guest who happened upon my doorstep.

[Oh, and it's vegan. The topping is nutritional yeast, garlic powder, sage, thyme, and oregano. The soup was split pea.]

Spring Pouch

I have such a backlog of bits to post that I overlooked this little pouch.

I sewed it up to include with my package to Julia. I mean, I couldn't send it off without sneaking in a little something to celebrate her birthday! I used two of the fabrics from the spring banner and slipped in some Arabic candies.

Happy Birthday Julia... you know, back in April!

Broaches

When I sewed up my spring top back in April, the accent broach was my favorite part. It's so simple, but really pretty (in my opinion!). All it takes is cutting out a few circles, making a few folds, and stitching it all together. Total time commitment: 20 minutes.

I wore the broach everywhere for the next few weeks. I even made a new friend when it fell off my sweater on my way to dinner. The chap that found it put it in a safe place until my return. After that, I decided he's my new best man-who-sits-on-the-corner-in-a-comfy-chair friend, but I haven't told him that.

Thinking that my students might like a broach of their own, I decided to make 19 mini versions as an end of the school year gift. I didn't know how well received a handmade gift would be in this culture... but they liked them!

Unfortunately, I couldn't capture any photos of the broaches on the girls because they left in a chaotic swirl of Arabic screaming the last day of school.

Spring Banner

Way back when, I said there would be more banners. That was the truth.

I set about making a version of this lovely little banner from the Purl Bee as part of a swap with Julia. I sent her this sunny string full of oranges and pinks. I liked it so much I kept it up in my apartment for a week. Cheerful.

In return, she designed me the perfect notecards to use while I correspond from the desert. I'll scan them soon so you can see You can view them here... or maybe you'll receive one in the mail?