Thursday, April 22, 2010

Indian Food

I was very lucky in my younger years to take a trip to India. What I came away with from that trip was a incessant craving for Indian Food and a huge appreciation for the culture and traditions of the Indian people. So, how cool is it that I live about 15 minutes away from Little India in Artesia, CA? My Indian spices/supplies have been getting low so I took a trip to Little India on Pioneer Avenue yesterday and bought a bag full of goodies that I cannot wait to use. Have to wait until the weekend though as Chicken Picatta was requested for tonight's dinner and tomorrow I have the night off as I'm going out with the girls! More on great Indian Food later. Ciao!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Fabric Love

Falling in love with fabric is new to me. I have been a casual sewer with the yearly Halloween costume making responsibility combined with the hemming/mending clothes task for most of my adult life. Last year I made myself a dress which could have opened my world and yet it did not because my dress ended up looking exactly like the dress on the front of the pattern.

What made this fabric fascination emerge? A small paragraph in Martha Stewart Living Magazine last June regarding a bag pattern (Tanya Whelan for Grand Revival - Practical Bag) that you could sew. The link sent me to http://www.fatquartershop.com/ and there I became hooked.

I bought the pattern from FQS but went to my local Joann store to purchase fabric. Ok, that was a stretch to pick out two fabrics in which I thought coordinated! I love the bag and have made a few more for friends and relatives. (photo is of my current bag - this bag is truly yellow but you wouldn't know it with the gray tone to it.)



So now I am starting to grow my own fabric stash full of colors I never thought I would ever be interested in. 1930's Retro fabrics, the gorgeous warm palate of Anna Maria Horner's collections, etc., I could go on. What am I going to do with these fabrics? I have NO idea!











I am looking forward to many more years of creating wonderful clothes, quilts, totes, etc., for myself, friends and family!

Ciao!



P.S. The fabric to the right is for a bag I will make for my sister-in-law who turns the big 40 in a few weeks.

Always like to try something new...


I am not a creature of habit. I like trying new things of everything, especially food. After seeing the recipe for Nutella Swirl Pound Cake in the Cake Keeper Cakes cookbook by Lauren Chattman in a recent cooking magazine, I knew I had to get the book. So I made the Nutella Swirl Pound Cake last night at it was great. Ok, so it does not look like the photo in the book as I obviously did not cook it long enough. Who cares? It tastes great! I am currently working my way through this cookbook and will post more with future results.

If you are interested in the book you can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/Cake-Keeper-Cakes-Good-Last-Crumb/dp/1600851207/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271870074&sr=8-1

First Post

Hello to all. Why did I decide at around 10pm last night to finally create my first blog? Well after thinking about it for months, I came up with a name yesterday while washing dishes. While not prone to making a spectacle out of myself, putting my thoughts out into the world doesn't phase me as I wish for this to be a place for me to connect with my anyone who cares to read what I have to say. As this is a blog about sewing, gardening and cooking, the majority of what you read will be about those items but I do plan to mix in whatever I may be doing in my life. I am an avid reader of many types of blogs and really like those whom post more than once a week so my plan is to do the same. Hope you enjoy what you read. Ciao!