Raspberry ricotta Dutch baby

I tried this recipe from Half-Baked Harvest. I don't have the right kind of pan for Dutch baby, but it usually works fine in my casserole dish. But this time it didn't rise - maybe b/c of the raspberries or ricotta. I also made some of the cream. However, it turns out that I really dislike the texture of ricotta. So that was no good. I did eat the crusty edges, tasted like popovers.

Window boxes

Of course, I'd like to have REAL window boxes, but most of those involve screwing things to the facade of the building. I think my landlord would object. So I figured out that if I found something narrow enough (my windowsills are about 4 1/2 inches wide) then put a trellis right against it to hold it in place, I could try it. Of course, the squirrels will go digging through them and jump on them, but at least I'm trying! I looked at a lot of different things and ended up with two wooden crates from Jo-Ann, which I painted with acrylic paint. I'm going to put coconut matting in them, fill them with dirt, and plant pansies. We'll see how it goes. I'm putting the boxes on here because I painted them.

Tiered skirt for Sara the Librarian

This was McCall's pattern 7604. I took out the waistband and just made a hem for a drawstring/elastic on the first tier. I did actually baste the gathers! The hem is sewn with a simple looping stitch on my machine. 

First attempt at a shirt

This was Simplicity pattern 8052. Well, that was an epic fail. I suspect this might work better with a knit, rather than cotton, but there were many factors involved. It's basically a front and back and you sew them together in sections. I found the facing around the collar very tricky (and also, I suspect, unnecessary, even though I left out the interfacing). The sleeves crimped and that part was several inches too small anyways.

When I did the bottom half, I found that it didn't match the top - I'm not sure if I cut it wrong or what, but there's supposed to be a dart in front and gathers behind. Basically it didn't match! I didn't bother to hem the bottom - I was able to get it on, but the sleeves and back were so tight I couldn't lift my arms (and had trouble getting it off!) while the lower "skirt" part was way too big, making it look like I was wearing a badly fitted scrubs top. Back to the drawing board! Skirts are a LOT easier!