Happy Birthday Cheesecake to me!

In an early celebration of my birthday on March 29th, Tom and I created a New York Cheesecake to lure friends over to our house. With 5 slabs of cream cheese, sugar, lemon and orange zest and a buttery crust, it measured in at 3.5 inches thick and 96% fat.  On top of that, we made some fresh whipped cream with lime zest, and to top it, candied lemon swirls handcut and sugar-fried by tom mosher The recipe (my new favourite cheesecake recipe) is here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/New-York-Cheesecake-102592.

A wee cocktail party accompanied the cheesecake...sidecars, old-fashioneds, whiskey sours, manhattans, board games, then a late-night winter game of bocce in the park across the street! A great gathering with my boy tom and our good friends! 

It aint so bad to be older. You just find more people to love!

Welcome to my record of making and doing!

This is the start to my new record of things in my life. Things made, things grown and things done. It is also my way of creating a better record of everything i do, and to allow those who are far away from me to view contribute to my design and making. Please comment or contact me if you have something to share or teach me! 

The title of the blog: Elven Maker. Elves are the cutest of creatures, their attire and tools are beautiful and utilitarian at the same time. They live in trees, play tricks on eachother, and wear shoes that curl up at the toe. I suppose that summarises my design aesthetic.

First up: A green leather bag for my little sister's birthday present. She's pretty elven herself. As a nurse, she totes around clean clothes, devices, meals and snacks to her 12-hour shifts. She needs a good bag. This one boasts a soft purple upholstery interior with green leather pockets inside, and an extra layer of padding to allow the bag to stand up on its own and protect the body from hard or sharp objects inside. I will definitely be making one of these for myself as soon as time permits. Coming soon....an introduction to my Consew industrial sewing machine named Connie.