long time no see

Hi, I'm still here, just been busy and a little drained. Here's what I've been up to lately.

my first attempt at coconut cake

My friends and I are cupcake enthusiasts, and lately we have been discussing frosting: buttercream vs. cream cheese. I think cream cheese is my new favorite because of possibilities of flavor combinations. Before last week, I had never thought of coconut and cream cheese together, now I'm wondering what else can I do with it?!

This cake was inspired by this version. I used a box cake (the horror!) and used coconut oil in place of butter, it came out quite light and fluffy, then made the cream cheese frosting, I like less sugar and more tang from the cream cheese and bought the coconut flakes and tada! Fancy and delicous....I forgot how much I love to bake.

I also went to a quilt show, and I was really inspired by this garden themed quilt that combined applique and embroidered panels. I am excited to experiment more with embroidery soon.

I have been thinking about the little things that make me happy about sewing and baking.
This is what I've got so far.....still playing with colors of course. I want to do a series of these and I plan to start the next one very soon.....in between my other ideas.

 The most difficult and fin part was coming up with the patterns for the fabric for "happy"
The H and Y might still change not sure I'm completely satisfied with them as they are.

What makes your heart happy?