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thing 12: purple flower head band

a simple thing. cut out some felt pieces, hand sewed them to give them some shape and sewed them to a ribbon. nothing fancy but it matches my outfit today!

thing 11: sewn flower card

feeling sick, so i decided to go with something fairly simple. i cut out some flowers and sewed the piece onto a thick folded paper. i didn’t change the bobbin thread to red, and i sort of wish i had as the black showing through makes the holes look bigger. but it’s a cute card that evokes my desire to see flowers again. someone special will probably get it soon.

thing 10: heart shirt

i have a problem. i get stains on my clothing. one of my little fixes is to sew things on to stained t-shirts to cover up the stains and add some cuteness. i generally add more than just where it’s stained to make a nice design. i’ve made a heart shirt before (and it has nothing to do with valentine’s day), but it got worn out, and i haven’t stopped getting stains, so why not make another?

thing 9: chocolate tart with coconut topping

i’m going to be teaching a vegan cooking class next month, so i was trying to work out some ideas. i am planning to make some kind of chocolate tart. i’ve made a simple chocolate tofu pie before, but i wanted to make it a little more interesting, so i was experimenting on the topping.

i made a standard pie crust. for the filling, i melted a bag of chocolate chips. then i blended a box of firm silken tofu in a food processor, and after it was well blended, added the chocolate and blended some more. then the experimental part.. i heated up a can of coconut milk with some powdered sugar and tapioca powder. i added a little too much tapioca and it got a bit gooey. so i thinned it with soy milk, and then it was too thin. more research will obviously need to be conducted. i suspect i will need tasters..

thing 8: black fleece hat

i guess it must be because it’s so cold here in minnesota that hats are an enticing thing to make. once upon a time, i saw a really nice hat. it had ridges. it was made of more of a knit.. but it was way too expensive. i didn’t have the exact fabric i’d like to make it out of, so i decided a fleece would do for now. it would at least test my theory of how to make it, and be warm.

i sewed a tube, then sewed in the ridges, then spent a while figuring out how to close the top. i wound up sewing in 4 panels. not exactly what i wanted but previous attempt of sewing a circle in the top wound up wonky. overall, i’m pretty happy with it, but i think future me will use this knowledge to make a better hat someday.

thing 7: fleece hat with star

much of today was spent doing ikea related activities (shopping, hauling, building).. and i really wasn’t in the mood to make things. yet, not making something is not an option for me. so i made a simple fleece hat. i’ve been using this pattern that i copied off a hat i bought many years ago. it’s easy and cute.. and it used up some more fabric i already have. my only complaint is that i wish the star was a little lower.

thing 6: vegan ravioli

i grew up in a town that had the most amazing ravioli. they were big and cheesy and the only kind of ravioli i ever knew. i probably haven’t had one since i was in high school. all of the vegan ravioli i’ve tried has paled in comparison. i’ve attempted it myself once before, but with only so-so results. so i decided to try again.

i used this vegan pasta recipe. the filling i made up, with a mixture of crumbled up tofu, vegan cream cheese, daiya mozzarella, margarine, salt and basil.

it turned out pretty delicious. not perfect, but tasty. the pasta could be a bit thinner, and i might add a bit more tofu to the filling (it just sort of melted away in my mouth). and maybe someday i’ll get a ravioli cutter to get the cute edges..

thing 5: minimal wallet

i got a request for a pretty minimal black wallet. making something small and precise is not always my thing, but this seemed simple enough that i figured i’d give it a try. one long pocket for bills, 2 small pockets for cards. as happens with many new projects, i discovered many things i would have done differently if i could start over. eventually i did. it’s still not entirely right, but i think it’s pretty good. i worry about some threads coming loose, but hopefully it will hold up for a little while. on the earlier version, i covered the edges in bias tape, but it got bulky and difficult to manage on the corners. so i went for serging, or faux serging on my regular sewing machine. hopefully the recipient approves. either way, i learned some things in the process.

thing 4: camera pouch

i’ve been needing a camera pouch for my new smaller camera. i wanted something that just fits it, gives a little padding without being too bulky. i didn’t plan it too far ahead while i was making it.. so already i want to start over and make it better. but, i decided i wanted to be done for today. it’s certainly functional and cute, if a little wonky in areas.

thing 3 : knitted neck warmer

i have a bunch of smaller balls of random yarn. i decided to make a simple neck warmer. to make it go faster and be fluffier, i used 3 different kinds of yarn, all brought together and knitted as one, with 10mm needles. larger needles and multiple yarns, meant it knitted at a reasonable speed, to finish it for a thing-a-day project. it’s just a short wide rectangle, with buttons added. i looked up how to make button holes in knitting, which seeems really easy, but i wound up not doing this. the knit is fairly loose and i wasn’t planning ahead enough, so i just put it through the knit where it works best. maybe in the future i’ll try button holes!