burdastyle book -shipped- & sewing wishlist

I just went to a FedEx office, and dropped off my coat for the BurdaStyle book project.

it's finally done and over!  yay :)!!

it got really hot here a few days right before the deadline, 

and I was so not feeling sewing a winter coat in the heat!

also I decided to give bounded button wholes a try in a last minute,

so I had to take a couple seams a part.

well, I had to do it, and I DID it!!

I find it still hard having a deadline and keeping my motivation up for it.

all the same as when I was a student.

anyhow, now fun time for sewing starts!

here is a list of the few things I want to make.

1) scalloped/or not shorts 

(image via Vivat Veritas)

maybe use Tonia or the shorts pattern from BurdaStyle Magazine as a base.

these shorts Natty made look awesome too!

2) tie skirt

from BurdaStyle Magazine

3) airy blouses

I LOVE this peasant blouse!

and oh look!

this version of Alexander blouse posted today on BurdaStyle.

woooo  LOVE!

Alden looks fabulous in it too :)

well actually before I give it a go on another project,

I probably should organize my sewing room(aka closet) first.

since I started on the coat as soon as we moved in to the house,

my sewing space is still such a mess!!

bed -my husband's work-

I wanted to show you readers this bed my husband made for a customer recently.

it is made out of all recycled materials!

a couple of doors are used, I think, for this bed frame.

he got all the material from the Rebuilding Center, located on N Mississippi ave in Portland.

it is such a cool store where they sell all the recyclable/reusable building materials, which is all donated from the previous owners.  you can find not only lumbers, but also lots of used old doors, windows, sinks, drawers,,, etc...  most of the things there is reasonably priced, and sometimes you get lucky to find a really nice stuff for very cheap!!

the company which my husband works for also uses a lot of recycled materials from the store,

and builds/remodels houses, restaurants, and shops like below!!


for more photos visit their flickr :)


interested?  you have a building project/inquiry??
you know who to contact ;)

two way garden top

I know I should be focusing on the project.

the dead line for shipping is in less than 10 days!

oh, but you know....

I got distracted(as usual), and started another project.

well, I get to have fun,

and make some summer clothes for the season!

it's been a while since the last time I made something for myself.

this fabric has been waiting for its use for a whole year!

it's from naniIRO fabric, and I LOVE all of their fabric.

this one is double gauze, light and breezy. it's perfect for the summer!

the pattern is 1 Piece Kimono Tee from Burdastyle.

it is not 1 piece anymore because I had to use the fabric crosswise(I liked how the print was that way),

and it wasn't long enough.

the sleeves were shortened a bit,

and the neckline is different- one side is shallower than the original, other is V-shape.

this way, I can wear it both ways, front or back.

I kind of like wearing the V on the back better :)

I have a tiny bit leftover of the fabric, and am planning on making a little tunic/top for my daughter.

matching clothes are kinda nerdy, I know.

but I enjoy wearing them with my daughter ;P

it's hard to see, but these are the earrings I am wearing in the pics above.

I made these parrot earrings a few years ago.

oh, how much I love birdies!

okay, that was enough sidetracking,

and now it's time for me to get back to the main project...

burdastyle book -work in progress-

a little sneak preview of what I am working on for the Burdastyle book project.

these are the fabric I am using for the coat.

I did not get what I was imagining for my variation,

which was really disappointing and frustrating...

but it seems like a lot of the people who are participating in the project didn't get what they wanted to use for their projects either...

and I'm sure those kinds of compromises are expected and needed for a project like this.

now, I'm over it, and feel better about what I got.

I worked on the pattern modification and muslin a little bit.

even though I probably should work with muslin first before starting with any kind of project,

I never have.

but for this project, I was a little too scared to just give it a go and start cutting/sewing the fabric,

and I am little more careful...

although this hot weather is not really helping my motivation to be up for the winter clothes sewing,

I will be starting on the actual fabric soon as there is only half of the time left!

work, work, work!!

recent exciting activities

last Sunday was a pretty exciting day.

we went to Bakery Bar to watch the world cup final game.

it was jam packed with people, and it was a great game as well.

we didn't know about this place till a few days before the semi/final games,

it won't take us too long to become a regular there!

they have good food, good drinks, and good people :)

and so convenient that it's just a couple streets down from us!

after the game was over, we went home.

and look what we saw!!

goat babies!!

CC(not sure how her name is spelled?), one of the three female goats, had her babies while everyone else was screaming and cheering at the world cup.

she had her own game going.

it was probably so nice for her to have her own quiet space to labor these cuties, though.

oh, they are just too cute :)!

you are next, Zlateh!!

she looks so ready to poop the babies out!

nothing says summer like...

strawberry shortcake!!

here is the recipe I tried a few days ago.

it was the first time for me to try out a gluten free recipe.

I made it gluten free because one of the housemates has a little trouble with wheat.

I looked up for wheat free strawberry short cake recipe and tried this one.

I will write my version down below.

[[WHEAT FREE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE]]

Sugar -2 TBS

Rice flour -generous 3/4 C

Millet flour -2/3 C

Bking powder -1 TBS

Salt -1/4 TSP

Butter -1/4 C

Water -3 TSP

Yogurt -5 TBS

3 large eggs

①mix all dry ingredients together, then cut butter in and mix until it becomes crumbly

②mix the wet ingredients together in a cepalate bowl, then mix in with the dry ingredients

③preheat the oven 400F, bake it for about 20 min or until it's browned

④serve with strawberries and vanilla ice cream.

Von ape tit :)

I didn't use margarine(it's BAD for you!) or any other dairy/gluten-free products as the original recipe called for.

nor did I use rosewater because I couldn't find it in a store.. :(

it sounds good with rosewater though!

and actually didn't use sugar either(well, just forgot!)

it wasn't that dry and crumbly as most of gluten free bakings tend to be.

I'd love to try it with rosewater next time, for sure :)

so, we went to a u-pick organic farm on Sauvie Island last weekend.

with six of us, picked 46pounds of strawberries in a couple hours!!

(this is what she did most of the time while the others were busy picking!)

we finally finished processing(washing, drying, bagging, freezing, and making jam!) two nights ago.

we'll have plenty of strawberry supply for the year :) :) :)