'Spare' Time Fun

Oh, I had nothing much to do today...okay, that is not entirely true, there are many things I could be doing, laundry, washing dishes, cleaning out spare bedrooms, but instead I decided to fool around with my scanner. So I did! I made some line drawings, scanned them into my computer paint program and voila', I figured out how to color them in! I am so proud. Here are two of my learning projects. I guess I like the color of butter today. Now I need to find projects in which to use this wonderful new (to me) creative outlet. This is just delicious.

Name That Veg!

My summer garden is growing strong. I have Japanese cucumbers, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, butternut squash, tomatoes, basil and beets. But in amongst this bounty of summer lurked a last vestige of my winter garden....behold the Monster Vegetable! Left to grow to unencumbered by my watchful eye and hungry family it became a creature unto itself.
Now, if you can guess what vegetable it is, and are the first person to leave a comment with the correct answer ..... You Will Win A Prize! (a little taste from the buffet of my etsy shop, blackgingham.etsy.com)
So send in your guesses today and you could be the next big winner of.... "Name That Veg!"
eat that up...

Bags

Well I am already planning my holiday (yes December/Yule) gifts. I have decided to provide everyone on my list with a environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bags. I am hoping that if I get a jump on it now that by December I will be done and free of that last minute rush I so hate. I bought lots of fat quarters in patterns that I like (makes sewing more fun) and coordinating solids for the bottom half of the bag. I am hoping to add a little felt addition to the plain bottom to jazz it up a little. The book 'simple sewing' by Lotta Jansdotter (see photo) is beautiful. The bags (see photo) are the ones I plan to make. Now I have simple poly/cotton material, not the wonderful canvas and wools that she uses, as my pocket book is not that deep. I am hoping that the fabric will win the design over. I love this book! She has included many things for the kitchen, three totes, a sun/bucket style hat, a backpack and even a check book cover. So when I get some of my totes done I will show them to you. Oh, if you are on my Yule gift list...don't peek, and forget you read this post. Sewing! fun and delicious.

Bento Break!

It is becoming summer here in Southern California so I looked to Japan for summer lunch ideas. Here we have....somen. Wonderful noodles, thin, light, easy, served cold and fast to cook (really, two minutes in boiling water!) I sprinkled them with some black sesame, sliced radish, a cherry blossom cucumber and chopped scallions. The little bottle holds ponzu, a soy type sauce with citrus flavors, just right for the somen. There is a tea dyed egg, little tomatoes, tangerine slices, snow peas, baby carrots, blueberries and more cucumber. This bento is not very big but it really holds a lot of food, all fresh, all delicious! eat it up!