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?

Vegan Rice Krispie Treats

I love being a vegetarian. Not only do I feel healthy and happy... but you get to be silly excited about the simple things. Like marshmallows.

I love marshmallows. Most of the foods I miss (there are only a few!) from my pre-veg life include marshmallows. (Rocky road ice cream and the Rocky Road candy bar are the most prominent.) As you can imagine, the gelatin free marshmallow making process is a bit of an ordeal. Several manufacturers have attempted to produce a yummy veg-mallow with varying degrees of success. There was even a scandal, people! Having sampled a few different brands, my absolute favorite are Dandies. Like, whoa. So good. (So expensive). But so good.

Having sent out a plea to my lovely friends and family, I received two packages of Dandies in the mail just in time for camping season. Delicious s'mores ensued. Now that it's far too hot to camp (or even be outside during daylight hours), I decided to use up the Dandies in a batch of rice krispie treats. The best part is that you can follow the recipe on the box (ok my box had a weird recipe for cereal fruit cake but I'm pretty sure that's regional, yours should be normal) without any of the adjusting often required to veganize.

I totally made a half batch a few days later to use up the remaining marshmallows. They are definitely on my list of specialties to collect while stateside this summer.