Have you guys seen Amy Karol’s (of Angry Chicken) new book? I preordered it on Amazon awhile back, and it just arrived this week:

I love love love this sewing book. It has a ton of fun projects, and here are just a few to wet your palate (click on thumbnail for a close-up):

Of course, these are just some of the pictures of the projects I really liked. There are also pillow patterns, an easy quilt, table runners, placemats, teapot cozy, dog collars, you name it. Lots of fun stuff. And not only does it have fun and easy patterns, a good third of this book has tutorials for beginning sewers - from basic tools to fabric know-how to basic hand sewing techniques. The way she writes is very organized, detailed, and practical. LOVE it.

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And on a totally different note, I’ve made my very first few pieces of jewelry (with real pearls and swarovski crystals). I proudly showed my hubby my creations, and he launched into a whole discussion on how I can totally make money from this and he proceeded to give me a very detailed business plan and approach. I took a step back and said, WHOA there fella, this is just my first couple of bracelets/earrings! Who knows what will happen? But I’m flattered that he supports my crafts/creativity 110%, and thinks I have alot of talent.

Of course, I have to practice learning how to photography jewelry properly. It’s so much harder than photographing a simple knit or sewing project! No handheld snapshots, this definately needs a tripod, as my hand isn’t steady enough.

Don’t you just love friends? Especially when they come bearing gifts.

Thanks to the lovely and generous Rain… THANK YOU! I have projects in queue with those yarns in mind, and I especially love the food items! I’ve already used one packet already. And the mango gummies…. I think I found my favorite gummy candy now. If only I can find this in the States…

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And of course, beyond receiving gifts, it’s always nice to give as well. I was recently in a secret pal exchange with my local SnB group, and boy was that fun! I got so many great goodies (thanks Marin!)! Sorry to say, I don’t have pictures of my received gifts and alot of my own gifting, but the only thing I have was something I whipped up super fast last week. May I present, Amy Butler’s Swing Bag! With zippered pockets!! (The zippered pockets on a reversible bag was a big deal for me, being a newbie with my zipper foot)

The recipient, a good friend (hi Lacy!), is a collector of all things parrots:

A zipper pocket (yea!):

The interior (see the other zipper pocket in there?):

This pattern was by far the easiest bag I’ve ever done (did I mention that this was a reversible bag??). =) I’m in the midst of making one for myself - I couldn’t resist. I’m usually a small bag kinda gal, but this bag is sturdy, roomy, practical, and I just love it. Next week, watch out the completion of another one! Yippee! =)

Yes, Little Miss Squirrel has a friend!

I haven’t decided whether this little dark bear is a boy or a girl. Hubby votes for girl because the little blue outfit looks too much like a dress. And my triple french knots for the eyes weren’t big enough - resulting in really shocked looking eyes. =P

A bit on the thin side, so I tried to see if this little Bear could make a good bookmarker. It didn’t look so good (especially with the bugged out looking eyes):

(P.S. The Lonely Guide Kenya book we just purchased - yes, we’ll be going there soon! Details to come later) These little stuffed felt animals are fast, cute, and addicting to make. Definately great if you need an instant gratification project (which is what I need now!). =)

Lastly, I made one of my favorite potato dishes - scalloped potatoes!

I love it creamy and cheesy, even though it is so NOT healthy. In this recipe, however, I thinned out the cream with nonfat milk, and it made a big difference in how it tasted -lighter, not so heavy - but still really yummy! I also parboiled the potato slices in the cream/milk beforehand, so it would cook faster/more evenly in the oven. Yummy! (The pan, on the other hand, was a sucker to scrub afterwards.)

P.S. Comments Update - Alot of you may notice that there has been an error message when commenting on my posts. Happy to say, I think I finally fixed it. Do let me know if it pops up again or not! Thanks! =)