Handworks Crochet and then Some!

My Bald Man and I took a little trip on the holiday weekend to Tellico Plains.. now growing up in Athens, TN I have been to the falls and river up there often.. but Bald Man, after living in TN for over 20 yrs had never been!!! Ofcourse we had to take Pac, he loves a good road trip! This is at the overlook going up to Indian Boundary Lake ... Down by Tellico river... Bald Man just had to 'test' the water and see how cold it was... yeah.. its pretty cold,,, mountain rivers typically are. Bald River Falls.... I am the first to admit we do not take advantage of living so close to such a beautiful area... many beautiful natural areas are so close to us ! I mean, in K town... we are so close to the Smokies,,, not far from lots of North Carolina mountain lakes.... we really should get out more and explore close to home. I used to enjoy hiking a bit... but after almost stepping right on a huge copper head up in Coker Creek I stopped... that was 16 yrs ago. I think it may be time to...

We planned carefully this year... not wanting to crowd any of our plants... but we still have an jungle instead of a garden!! haha!! Its just a tiny garden space... but do we ever get the most out of it! Just check my Bald Man out with his sweet corn he loves so much! Yellow squash and zucchini are abundant! My pepper plants are doing well... and Bald Man's roma tomato plant is loaded... and I have quite a few heirlooms waiting to ripen ... which I'm excited about! We also have snow peas ready to eat! And in the works... eggplant, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, cantaloupe and so much more! I'm gonna need to hit the vegan and vegetarian web sites for some veggies recipes! As for the sewing I've been doing... all basic stuff.... like these shorts below... I'm working on re doing my favorite shorts patterns because my booty is higher (and firmer) than it was and my pattern no longer works! The bottom pair was the first wearable muslin I did... not perfect yet... st...

With the ABUNDANCE of squash and zucchini in our garden right now I have been coming up with some creative ways of eating them.... I've made baked zucchini fries (yum!) and a zucchini crisp several times so I decided today I needed to make something different... The thing is it still has to fit into my healthy eating menu so I re did my Zucchini Brownie recipe from last year... which had alot more carbs and a bit more fat! Healthy fats,.. but still! Double Chocolate Mocha Zucchini Brownie Cups 2oz. unsweetened dark chocolate or cacao 1 egg 1/2 cup agave nectar (i use the dark raw kind) 1/4 fresh brewed espresso 2 cups of oat flour 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 2 cups shredded zucchini 1/3 cup walnuts Pre heat oven at 350F. Mix all ingredients. I used my cupcake pans with liners for these. makes for easier clean up and I know exactly what I'm getting! I use an ice cream scoop and only 1 scoop per cup. Bake for about 15 min. This recipe mak...

Well, last weekend we had so much fun! So let me tell ya about it! It started off with Friday night. We went to the Golden Shisha ... The Bald Man proudly wearing the much needed new shirt I made him! The Fabric was from Gail K's in Atl. (and I have enough left over for a handbag!) I used the Islander pattern I always use for him... only took me like a day and a half to make it this time! Added a bible verse patch to the sleeve.. and check out the back... you see a good pic of the cheetah on it! Fitness and healthy eating plan... going very well. The pic on the right is me Friday June the 11th 2010! The pic on the right was me last summer June 6th 2009. 12 pounds heavier and a whole lot flabbier! And not near as healthy looking!!! The Bald Man even took last years pic from a down angle or else I would look bigger I'm sure! This was one of the tops in the mighty 'to be altered' pile! Which I am still working on! Below is a picture of the lovely Mia, the bellydancer at t...

I made these a few weeks ago... but forgot to take pics and post... 2 more interchangeable handbags from the Ellen Medlock pattern.... this first one is made from some really soft leather that used to be the Bald Man's jacket. Its cuter as my purse! The polka dot fabric is from my mom. The second bag is made from some table cloth/straw like fabric... for some reason it was in my fabric stash... which worked out perfect because Chanel did alot of handbags this spring with a basket straw look that I wanted to add to my handbag collection. I embroidered the flower appliques with my Pfaff, added a hot fix pearl to the center... the lace is from an old dressy skirt outfit my mom had. Love the lace!! I'm glad I could find something to do with it! I think it gives the purse a slight vintage look. I have lots of lace left over for future projects too! This is a pair of dress pants I bought from Burlington Coat factory for $10. The waist band of the pants actually already had sashiko ...

I love clothes.... they are so much fun to make and even more fun to wear! This is a long post! Lots of 'me' pics... since the clothes are for me! The first outfit is one I actually made in April and I'm just now showing!!! It took MUCH planning!!! I wanted an outfit that would really go from day to night! I spent at lest a week playing with a color palette, the fabric textures... then the details... and how to simply re-work the patterns so they would work for my outfit ideals. First I made the reversible bolero made with S2659, leaving the collar off... I used some fabric that was a gift from my mothers best friend Gloria, a pinstripe navy... I designed this on the back of the casual side of the jacket and used my Sashiko Machine to sew out the design and top stitched with it all around. The dress is S6242. I had to made major adjustments to the top so it wouldn't be to low and I used the Sashiko machine to make criss cross designs all over the bodice. I only used th...