The Dopp Kit

This project was in my sights all summer. It's a dopp kit. Or I suppose you could call it a toiletries kit, but that's not as much fun.

I followed a tutorial at Purl Bee and then went off in my own direction. The tutorial creates a bag that's not lined or waterproof. A toiletries kit that won't survive a spill didn't seem like a very good idea. To fix that problem I created a liner for the inside. I used iron-on vinyl to make the liner waterproof and hand stitched it in. Now, if something spills inside I can just wipe it out.

I think it worked pretty well. The liner made the shape a bit funky but that will change when it's filled with soaps and shampoos.

I'll be testing it out on my travels this summer.

Vegebration Thank You

Ok, this is my last Vegebration related post. But I had to say thank you to this year's hosts, Jenny and Kevin.

We took these photos late after everyone had left. It could have been a 2am thing but playing them back on the camera kept making us laugh. Prime opportunity for another stop motion.



Thank you, Jenny and Kevin!

Vegebration Video

Since 5 years of vegebrating is kind of a big deal, we made a little video to commemorate the occasion. Let me just say, setting up a stop-motion shoot in the middle of a party... slightly challenging.



One thing I love/hate about projects like this is that you always think of better/different ways to do it after you finish. Like maybe including some of the guests in the video? I swear, it wasn't just Jenny and me there. We weren't the only ones eating cupcakes and pie.

Thanks to Kevin for doing all the photography and taking my direction like a pro. And grr to vimeo. The synchronization keeps getting messed up during the upload.

Vegebration #5

This year's Vegebration (Vegetarian + Celebration) was full of good food and good friends.

This year's soup was a mild black bean and the salad was spinach, mango, and avocado. Kind of incredible. Everything on the table was delicious and well prepared. Unfortunately, I didn't get photos of every dish.

Jenny and I made little flags for people to fill out so that every dish could be proudly labeled.

Custom soda labels were also essential.

I was happy to catch up with old friends and make new ones too. Scheduling was a bit tricky this year and the festivity ended up being on a weeknight. That meant a few friends couldn't make it from out of town, but they were in my heart nonetheless.

5 years later and being meat-free is still one of the best life decisions I've ever made. That feels pretty good.

Nectarine Pizza

Jenny and I made this pizza last night. It was pretty good but with a few more tweaks I think it could be really really good. I'm looking forward to making it a few more times and getting it just right.

Fruit on pizza is definitely something I've warmed up to over the past few years. I don't usually like my sweet and savory mixing, but pizza is a pretty good exception.

We paired the pizza with homemade raspberry Italian sodas and Bob Dylan on the record player.

A good night.

Circle Skirt Take Two

I loved my first circle skirt so much, I figured I better make another one while my sister and her serger were still close by.

This time I chose a Denise Schmidt fabric that I like quite a lot. I wish I had a close up shot.

Sewing up this version was a lot faster. The only change I made was to reduce the waist measurement by a few inches so it would hit at my natural waist. We didn't use the tutorial this time but if you're interested, it's here.

My sister did the parts I didn't really want to do. Like fixing my mistakes and sewing the elastic on. It turned out to be a pretty good deal for me. I thanked her by letting her win at rummy.

Thanks for the photos, Jenny!

Circle Skirt

I bought fabric back in April with the intention of making a circle skirt. Didn't happen.

I brought the fabric home hoping to use my sister's serger to get the job done. I was smart enough to rope her into the project as well.

We followed this tutorial loosely but mostly I just did what my sister told me to do. She knew the way. She knew the way so well that I let her finish the job.

I kind of love my new skirt. Nice and breezy but an appropriate Abu Dhabi length.

And don't worry, I thanked my sister with a homemade Italian soda.

Raspberry Italian Sodas

Lemonade and iced tea are usually my favorite summer drinks, but today I was in the mood for something different: Italian Sodas!

They are so simple to make, I never realized.

I made a simple syrup of 1 part sugar and 1 part water, added raspberries, and strained the seeds. Pour about 1/4 cup in a glass, fill it up with soda water, and top off with whipped cream.

Pretty sweet!