Here goes nothing...

Good morning to you all!  So far, so good...my computer is behaving for the moment, so I'm trying to do this little post as quick as humanly possible in case anything happens.

I've been doing quite a lot around here lately, but you'll have to see it in installments, thanks to my ancient technology.  Bear with me!

Ok.  First up - I fixed the binding on my nook cover.  I got a lil' tip from my mom (thanks, mom!), and it was WAY easier this time around.

Holy guacamole, does this look a million times better or what?!?!  I also think I like the blue I chose this time around better than the yellow I'd originally put on there.

Yep.  This is eleventy billion times better than my first stab at binding.  Pretty sweet, if I do say so myself.

Next up - my Cricket Collection "16 Men on a Dead Man's Ship".  I got this a few years ago, and just didn't have the opportunity to work on it.  I don't particularly care for the fabric used in the model (it's a hideous pea green color.  blech.), and was on the hunt last year for the perfect fabric to do this on.  In my mind, this is a ghost ship.  It needs to be SPOOKY, which pea green is not.  That color just makes me ill.

So, I searched and searched and found THIS.  I hope the link works, but if it doesn't, it's called Haunted by Picture this Plus.  It.  Is.  AWESOME.

Now, I had the fabric, but had other projects going on at the same time, and couldn't fit in a giant project since I was already doing "Sabrina" (stay tuned for her story...she's still waiting for a spot on my living room walls...), and couldn't find time to do another big project.  Not to mention the fact that I was not thrilled with some of the floss color choices, but again, had no time to figure out alternatives.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I found that time about a week ago, when I decided it was high time I got the ball rolling on this one.  I headed down to The Strawberry Sampler and picked out some faboo WDW and Crescent Colors as alternatives to some of the DMC that is called for in this graph.

In this section, I've only changed one of the colors.  I'll give all the details when I show you the finished piece, but I had to give you a glimpse of this so far, since it's just SO cool --

To really get the full effect of this fabric, you need to see it close up, but it's really dark grey with PURPLE in it.  Absolutely perfect for your Halloween projects!!!

On a separate note:  this past weekend was my birthday, and to save myself from having to eat an entire gluten free birthday cake, I made these coconut muffins instead.  They are to. die. for.  If you like coconut, then these muffins are for you.  Amy Green over at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free is amazing.  If you haven't tried her recipes, you must.  She's extremely talented, and I'm so happy I found her site!

I hope to keep you updated as my computer allows!  I've been keeping the craft room busy lately, and I'm eager to share with you all...it's just that my computer hasn't been friendly.  Thank you all for understanding my plight and being patient!

Do something creative today!  It's supposed to be a gorgeous day!

I put down my needle and thread, and picked up...needle and thread...

No, I haven't been drinking.  That was at the work picnic on Thursday...and Saturday night at the bar.

This weekend, I put down that cross stitch needle of mine, and picked up (ok, figuratively picked up) my sewing machine needle.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I finally procured a sewing machine.  I got it a few weeks ago, right before I got really sick, and haven't had the chance to do anything with it.  Well, this weekend I decided to get to it.  I had to break it in sometime, and there's no time like the present.  I figured I'd do a little project I'd been dying to try before finishing Katie's baby gift into a pillow.  Kinda warm up the sewing machine, if you will.

Moda fabrics has some fibbity faboo patterns in their Bake Shop, and that's where I found this little ditty.  It's called the "Bookkeeper", and is a cover for your B&N nook or your Amazon Kindle.  It could also fit a journal or a paperback book for those trips to the beach, or anywhere for that matter!

I already have a leather cover for my nook, but it's boring black.  Bleh.  When I saw this "recipe", I knew I had to try it!

Here's the finished product --

It looks like a lil' clutch, doesn't it??  Now, if any of you are quilters, I am profusely sorry that I cannot, at this time, do proper binding.  This project was VERY easy, especially for someone like me, who is not nearly as proficient with a sewing machine as I am with a cross stitch needle.  The only thing that was difficult for me was the binding.  If any of you are quilters, and have some pointers for me as to how to do that part of this quicker and EASIER, I'm all ears.  I wanted to stab someone with my straight pins by the end of the night.

There are some things that I know I'll do different the next time around, if it's another one for me, or if I do it as a gift, but I think it turned out pretty darn good for a first time pattern-follower!  If I do say so myself!  Ha!

Here's a peek inside --

You can kinda see the leather of my nook cover peeking out overtop the pouch.

Here's my nook outside the "bookkeeper" so you can see it in perspective --

I'm not sure if the iPad would fit in here -- but this pattern is definitely easy enough to alter it to make it wider if need be for a tablet.

The fun thing about this project (besides the fact that I was doing something new!) is that I got to try out the decorative stitches on my machine.  Here's a close-up of the top stitches on the cover --

Fun, huh?!?!  Again -- quilters, turn a blind eye to that binding.  Hooo boy does it need  a helping hand.....

Anyways, that was my creative fun this weekend!  Hope you all were able to get your creative juices flowing, too!!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day!  It got a little overcast and a smidge chilly by around 5p, but other than that, it was a gorgeous day!  The azaleas in my neighborhood are in full bloom and absolutely gorgeous.  I think spring may actually FINALLY be here!!

I had a Groupon for Cloth and Bobbin, a fabulous fabric shop over in Narberth, which is small town not far from where I live.  Turns out, my cousin had one, too, so we decided today was the day to head on over and pick out some fabrics!  We spent almost an hour perusing all the different patterns, and had to stop ourselves from buying fabric "just because"!  They had so many fun patterns and bright colors to choose from, we finally had to buckle down and decide what we should buy based on what we would be using it for.

I have two patterns which I'm eager to work on, which I will share with you along the way, but for now, here's a shot of the fun fabric I purchased today --

Aren't those colors just so fun?!?!  With the cut pieces, I'll be making something for my sister for her birthday (I hope she isn't reading this right now, or I guess I just spoiled the surprise!)  With the jellyroll (from Moda fabric collection Modern Workshop), I'll be making a cover for my nook.  I already have a case for my nook, but it's boring black leather. Blah.  I want something with a little more pizazz, and what better way to do that than to make it myself!!

After our Cloth and Bobbin fabric extravaganza was over, we headed out on the streets of downtown Narberth, which is about 2 blocks long, since they were having a sidewalk sale.  There wasn't much going on at the sale, which was a little disappointing, but we did find a vendor on one of the corners selling potted flowers and vegetables.

I've been wanting a hanging plant for my shepherd's hook since I moved into my new house, but haven't had the chance to get out and see what's out there this year.  So, this was the perfect opportunity to pick something that would be great in my new backyard!  I knew as soon as I saw it, I had to have this plant --

It's a fuchsia plant!!  HOW COOL IS THIS!!!  I am in love with this flower!!!  I saw one last year when I was looking for a hanging plant for outside my apartment, but learned that they need mostly shade to survive.  Sadly, the front of my apartment got nothing but sun all day long, so I had to go with something else. This year, however, since my backyard has a lot of shade (as evidenced by the moss covering the one side of my garden), I was able to get one of these fantastic plants and I can't wait to have it hanging outside in all its glory!  There was a sign at the vendor that said that the frost date is 15 May, so I'm not risking anything -- as you can tell, I currently have it hanging indoors in my spare bedroom.

I mean, look at these flowers!!!  I love how they're all kinda folded over and just bursting from the bud!!

And there are two different colors -- the purple, which you can see on the left pretty clearly, and the light purpley-pink, as you can see in the picture on the right.  I cannot wait for this to just take over the pot and explode with even more luscious color!!!

The last thing I will share with you all tonight is a quick and easy gluten-free vegetarian dish that I whipped up in my fantabulous kitchen last night.  Being gluten-free sometimes makes it difficult to whip up dinners when I'm somewhat short on time.  My go-to quick dinners usually involve eggs or tuna, since I almost always have both on hand.

Last night, I remembered that I'd gotten tofu at Trader Joe's, and decided to make something with it.  I'll admit, I was never one to go for tofu in the past, but I've come to enjoy it.  Tofu takes on whatever flavors you're cooking with, and is an excellent source of protein.  I also remembered that I'd gotten leeks the last time I was at the grocery store, but wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with them, since I'd intended to get kale (don't ask.).  I also had a red pepper which was looking particularly delicious sitting in the crisper drawer of my refrigerator, so I decided he needed to join in the fun on my pan, too.

I cut up the leeks and pepper and threw them onto the pan with some olive oil from DiBruno Brothers, while I was trying to squeeze out the last drops of water from the tofu.  I cut up the tofu into cubes, and added that to the pan.  Then, I took two cloves of garlic and threw that into the pan.  I sauteed it all up until the tofu was browned and the leeks were transparent.  I threw it all onto a small bed of rice and, taadaa!!!!

Doesn't this look yummy?!  It was quite tasty, so easy, and I highly recommend it. :-)