End of Year Projects

These are things that I made in December 2012. Some zippered pouches in different sizes, an eye pillow filled with flax seeds and a long bag for baguettes.

And this one is for my girl... A top in cotton, the same pattern as one previous dress I made (Japanese seing book). She looked happy!

Three others are not in the photo: a waterproof zippered bag made from shower curtains, a zippered boxy pouch and another long bag for baguettes in cuter prints.

Happy holidays!

Meat Balls

With 500 grams of minced beef, I made meat balls that were enough for 6 person-meal. At the beginning I planned to make meat balls with spaghetti. But then... I changed my mind. Tomatoes, green peas, onion, garlic, salt, pepper... This simple meat balls were served together with buttered fussili + a bit paisley herb (not on the pic).

Bon appétit!

PS. Meat balls: 500 gr minced beef, cilantro, garlic, onion, 1 sandwich bread, 3 tbsp tapioca, salt, pepper, ... I don't remember the rest :( Ah, oui... 2 ice cubes :D Put all in a food processor. Make it into little balls. Boil some water. Put the meat balls into the boiling water. Wait until the meat balls are going up (to the water surface). Dry and put them all in a bowl.

Decorating Cupcakes

I am not an expert of decorating cupcakes. But I always want to try. And tonight, this is the best shape that I got...

*We found a great recipe for the buttercream. It's in French.

Talking About: French Sewing Patterns

As promised, let's talk about some french sewing patterns... for children.


C'est Dimanche

Their designs are classic but they have some unique accents that make them different especially in the collars or near the collars.

I love these patterns:

• Sydney
• Cincinnati
• Chelsea
• And many more!

*Sydney coat. Photo belongs to C'est Dimanche

Not only Oliver + S and Japanese Sewing fans that have special blogs, C'est Dimanche is the same! See here: http://cestdimanchefans.canalblog.com/

At this moment, I am waiting for Sydney pattern from someone that sells it at La Fibre Creative. Seven euros plus fdp. Not bad. I have been considering to have one coat pattern for my girl and I think Sydney is so cute. Classic, but cute.


Coupé Couzu

For me, Coupe Couzu's design is also classic. But simpler than C'est Dimanche. Caperon Pas Rouge is interesting. But I have one similar cape from Oliver+S's book that I haven't tried.

* Petit Caperon Pas Rouge - the back part. Photo belongs to Coupe Couzu

Citronille

The design is, again, classic but sweet. I love to see the website of Citronille. It looks original. The pattern that I like very much is Albertine. I don't know why. I just like it since a long time ago. But I never have it :( I have one Citronille pattern, Hortense, in the category of Nuit. I bought it last year. And yes, I have never tried it yet. I was a little bit scared with the instructions... in french >_<

* Hortense. Picture belongs to Citronille

Fans of Citronille, see this blog: http://fancitronille.canalblog.com/


Her Little World

The first time I saw this pattern packaging in an expo, I was impressed. Lovely and sweet, full of imagination and fantasy. Perhaps that was because I saw their patterns for dresses :D But one that I love is the Médieval dress pattern. Simple and down to earth.

* Médieval dress. Photo belongs to Her Little World

***

Ok, that's all... I think other brands are not too interesting for me. Those four are my fantastic four for children french sewing patterns :)

See other french sewing patterns in here: Couture Stuff

Ciao!

First Potatoes

Only 3 little potatoes that I harvested :D But I am happy because the planting itself was just an experiment (I planted one little part of old potato that I had).

I want to plant some more on the next spring. Semangat!


Btw, I love to see pictures in this blog, about growing potatoes.

A Lazy Day Skirt for Winter

This time, I used fine corduroy cotton and put one big button as an accent.

Une Surprise

Yesterday I was so excited because of the official announcement from d'Aucy about me winning the contest. Did I mention it before that I joined a contest? It's about balcony gardening. The details can be seen in www.daucyculture.fr.

My intention to join that contest was more about sharing my joy & happiness of knowing & learning a new knowledge. Yes, balcony gardening of course. I was happy to find that contest (in Facebook). I think the idea of making "Concours Potager de Balcon" was very good. Somehow it could motivate more people to try planting edible plants & making mini bio/organic garden at home, even if they live in the apartments. Some people will notice that it's possible. Totally possible. There are many benefits of having our own garden.

So, I won. The juries picked my photos. They picked me. Me! *still too excited*

I won a cooking class worth 240€. It's a cooking class for 4 persons. I will take my husband, that's for sure. He's a good chef in our home. And he always wants to improve his cooking/baking skill. In addition, my husband has been supporting me a lot in my gardening activities. He always listened to me everytime I shared good things or bad things related to my plants. He gave me some advices. He also learned together with me. Thank you, dear husband...!

So, two others will be... *thinking*

Mini VPP Wallet

Last Saturday, I spent hours organizing my sewing papers (patterns, tutorials) and putting them all into binder folders. Then I found the wallet tutorial of Very Purple Person between those papers (I printed it long time ago then forgot where I put it). I had planned to make one wallet for my daughter as her birthday gift and that tutorial was in my mind. So, I made it!

I changed the length of the wallet from 23 cm into 13 cm (original length, before being sewed).

Tutorial link: here