Mouth: Chocolate + Bacon = Pure Heaven

At this very second, delicious, creamy milk chocolate is melting on my tongue, studded with tantalizing gems of alderwood smoked salt and real applewood smoked bacon.

Holy mother of good confections.

I resisted Mo's Bacon Bar for months, partially for the hefty price tag (I'm sorry, $7 is definitely in the realm of silly for a candy bar) and because it sounded so...so...odd. Odd in that trendy, "flavor of the month" way, when bacon has been popping up in everything from ice cream to scarf patterns.

This, however...this is sheer perfection.

It's like toffee. But saltier and richer.

Thank you hormones, for making me cave in today. It's made my final Friday stretch almost joyful.

The only thing that could make this chocolate bar better was if it were shaped like a flying pig. I so hope there's one in my Easter basket this year.

Hand: Swapety Swaps (Image Heavy)

As I mentioned before, I've been crafting like crazy the past few weeks, but haven't been able to share my projects since they were all part of one swap or another. Well, swaps are finally concluded, and now I can share both my creations and the lovely stuff I received in kind!

First, my most recent (and I think favorite) swap with my old friend Dana, The Geek Girl Friday. I stitched her a Black Apple Bunny (from the Sublime Stitching pattern):





And she custom made me a gorgeous set of mosaic cupcake coasters!





Here's a detail of my favorite one:





Personally, I think I got the better end of this deal. Mosaic is still a mystery to me as a craft, and to see such a cute design in glass is just amazing!

The other swap I was a part of was the Ultimate Whedonverse Swap on Craftster.org. It was a lot of fun, but I admit I find the whole "point system" a little stressful.

I made many crafty little things for my partner, all inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which was her favorite of the Whedon canons).





The big thing was a cross stitch I designed with a quote from Anya, the former vengeance demon who found herself winning in the "Game of Life" boardgame.





But, I have to say my favorite was my Spike-inspired pincushion with Slayer-stake quilting pins:





The quote is from the musical "Once More with Feeling" episode: "If my heart could beat, it would break my chest, but I can see you're unimpressed." What I really love is that it's in glow-in-the-dark thread, which I thought was very appropriate for a vampire's heart (which was based off Sublime Stitching's "Vital Organs" pattern set).

In return, my partner (craftster KCFirecracker) made me the most spiffy Firefly-inspired spats:





She also made me the most lovely pillow case I will ever own:





It's a beautiful applique based off my favorite cover of BtVS season 8. Check out the source image:



I love the texture so much:





It's been a swap-happy couple months, but I think it's time for a little break. My fingers have been itching for some bigger, more involved projects, and I have something in mind that may just fit the bill.

Hand: Of Xocolates and Sewing Machines

Despite all the crap that's been going on, I know I am a very lucky lady. Sometimes it takes something as silly as a greeting-card-industry-holiday to remind me that yep, things aren't always as bad as they seem.

My V-day was lovely this year, and for all the right reasons. Woke up to make Strawberry Empanadas and coffee, and wrap the husband's present (a copy of Rumors, my second attempt to give him that CD since the copy I gave him for Xmas was destroyed in the car crash). Had a relaxed breakfast together, and went out to run a couple errands and pick out some amazing chocolates from The Xocolate Bar on Solano Avenue. Came home, watched Across the Universe, then did some co-op gaming until pizza arrived. Mellow and sweet. That's the ticket for all my holidays in '09.

Mmmm...Dulce de Leche, White Chocolate with Passionfruit, and "Aztec Amor" (with cinnamon, orange zest, and chili).

I've actually been doing quite a bit of crafting lately, though not sharing it all since a lot of it has been gifts and stuff for swaps -- including a Joss Whedon swap I just dropped a package in the mail for.

I can share, however, my very first non-supervised machine sewing project:

A sewing machine cover for my Singer Featherweight!

This machine was given to me by my mother-in-law about a year ago. It belonged to her mother, and hemmed clothes for six growing children for decades before it was passed on to her. I feel really honored she chose to trust this precious machine, this family heirloom, into my care. I was actually too afraid to touch it, until my own Mama talked me into taking it out of the box this past Thanksgiving.

My Mama has continued to fuel my enthusiasm for my this little machine with history books and pointers, plus lore about the Singer Featherweight she picks up at Quilting Shows and the like.

I felt this little machine deserved a special cover now that it's out of the box, and though the cover isn't perfect, it still looks a lot better than a dusty old case I was hiding it in. Besides, how can I not get excited about sewing when I see that on my desk?

I'm planning on making a similar one for my Kitchen Aid mixer (and I even have some adorable fabric all set). Who knows? This may be the start of a cozy craze in my apartment! Especially when I have a tutorial as easy as this one to work off of.

More things to post soon, once swaps have been swapped and gifts received. I can't wait to share!

Hand: Sublime Stitching Up a Storm

When I promise embroidery goodness, I deliver!

I've been a busy little stitching bee since my last crafty post, mainly due to that pesky Christmas thing, and then to that mandatory down time called "healing."

The bunny above is from Sublime Stitching's Black Apple pattern, which I fell in love with. I wanted to make a little something for myself amidst all the gift stitching, and this is what I came up with.



This is a tea towel I stitched for a good girlfriend of mine. I was going for a sort of Edward Gorey-esque look with the colors and stripes.


Close-up on the little bee and banner.


This is a "Nacho Libre" towel I stitched up for another good friend. She loves that movie like crazy, and I thought the Sublime Stitching lucha libre masks in the "Craft Pad" would make a great gift for her.


Close up of Nacho. I tried to keep Nacho looking as true to the movie character as possible (even had to run out and buy the right shade of blue floss for the mask).


Aaaand, what "Nacho Libre" towel would be complete without toast! I designed this little bit myself, actually drew it freehand onto the towel with a pencil and stitched over it.


This, actually, is a towel I stitched about a year ago, a gift for a good friend. I forgot to take pics of it before I gave it, and she was nice enough to snap a few pictures of it for me recently.

The quote is from a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode, and the monkeys are from (I think my favorite) Sublime Stitching pattern. I did add the monkey pants myself, though.

There's still a few more finished projects I have to post, one being one of the works I'm most proud of ever. But this is a good start.

In real-life news, tomorrow I go back to work. I'm a bit nervous...it's been about a month since I've been back in the city, and I'm still moving a little slowly. It should be okay though, once I get into the swing of things. Rejoining the world and all that stuff. Today, we're going to look at a new car. Wish us luck!