happy bday, michelle!

disclaimer: michelle's bday was really sept 6.

but we all know i take forever to make gifts...  i used this sheer blue cotton

and made the "take manhattan tunic" from the twinkle sews line of patterns (the same pattern as for my october garment from last year).  here we are, ready to go out to the "dumbo arts festival," michelle donning my apparel of course!

happy bday, michelle!  a belated happy bday i mean!

muffins

bittersweet chocolate chip and butternut squash muffins.  39 of them, since i had no school yesterday due to yom kippur.  yippee!

carrot cake!!!

i love carrot cake!  and not because i have a bunny, ehhehehe.  yesterday i made one while emma practiced psychological testing on me, for 6.5 hrs!!  according to her, if i was dumber, it would have taken less time.  =)

they're absolutely fool-proof because the carrots keep the cake moist.  of course i topped it with cream cheese frosting... my fav.  i didn't do such a bad job frosting it... thanks to my large icing spatula.

bunks overheard us talking of carrots, and perked up his ears...  "carrots?  did i hear carrots?"  hehe jk, this picture was from 2 nights ago, when i fed him pellets while i was sewing and listening to rap.  i think bunks finds my rap music too abrasive.  his ears stay perked the whole time:  "bunny thugs n harmony''

mom in her cocktail dress!

here's a pic of mom in the cocktail dress i made her for her bday, while at my cousin's wedding with jimmy! she looks awesome, if i do say so myself!

balinese textiles!

i went to bali, indonesia with my friends michelle and melissa at the end of august. my 30th bday happened to fall on our last night there. yippee! the trip was so fun and bali is incredibly beautiful and TOURISTY. sheesh. anyway, bali is known for handwoven ikat, such as the blue fabric on the left, and batik, such as the floral fabric on the right.
i plan on using the blue ikat on a skirt (it has a pretty hefty weight) and the floral fabric for a dress! i'm so excited to use both!! if only i had more time!

bunks' new doormat

gmommy and gdaddy got bunks a new doormat to his little birdie cage. without it, bunks has quite a bit of difficulty jumping into his cage to conduct business, as the hardwood floor is too slippery for his little bunny paws. thanks gmommy and gdaddy!

mom's bday cocktail dress

i made mom a superfly cocktail dress for her bday, to wear to my cousin's wedding. i used the butterick5353 pattern,

along with this pretty upholstery-weight fabric i snagged from gaffney's in philly, from back when i worked across the street!

the back of the fabric was pretty cool, and i really wanted to use it as contrasting fabric for the waistband and collar. however, the sticky coating on it, made this completely not an option.

therefore, i oriented the fabric so that the diamonds where vertical for the bodice and skirt and horizontal for the collar and waistband.

the contrast was subtle, yet classy. i love the bodice. it's very form-fitting.

here i am, trying on the dress. i made it for mom's build. it's a bit loose on me on top, and obviously way too long (although this was from before i hemmed up the bottom). hehehe.

stay tuned for a pic of mom in it at the wedding. jimmy was in charge of snapping one for me and he said they're on his camera. whoohoo!!