Wednesday, August 8, 2012

A Parade of Squares and Circles


A couple of years back, I found myself on a westbound streetcar making friendly conversation with a rather drunk young lady.  It was difficult to make out most of what she was saying, but I gathered that she worked at a local cafe/restaurant called Gilead Cafe.  She spoke very highly of their coconut squares, and described it in such exquisite and repetitive detail that I became intensely curious to try this sweet that made inebriated girls swoon.

Since that fateful night, I have been a regular customer of the Gilead coconut square, of those perfectly chewy, glorious treats.  It was the icing-on-the-cake to a lazy Sunday afternoon.  But due to their early closing hours, all too often I would be standing outside their locked doors, peering in through the glass and trying to spy the stack of squares that were out of my reach, whilst cursing and cussing under my breath.


Last weekend came the turning point.  I arrived at the cafe, my square-receptors firing at full tilt, only to find it was closed for a private event. I snuck in and bought a square anyway, and walked away feeling like a great achievement had been made.  Then I realized the square was smaller than usual, cost almost $4, and was gone in a few quick bites.  I couldn't take these unpredictable highs and lows any longer.


It turns out, my beloved squares aren't a unique creation of the cafe, but in fact a modified version of a Hello Dolly bar (thank you, internet!).  I used a simple 6-ingredient recipe (without nuts), and cut it down by a third to avoid the inevitable overdose when you bake a whole sheet of dessert for noone but yourself.  These homemade squares definitely did the trick, and I ended up feeling empowered over my addiction.

In related news, I've gained over 10 pounds in the last couple of months.  A good excuse to buy clothes, no?  Just a couple of basic, comfortable items, including a soft grey cotton top.  I really liked the stretchy, light fabric, but it was a tad bit plain for my liking. Good thing I had a crafty plan in my pocket.


I had been checking out Etsy guest pinner I'm Revolting's board not too long ago.  Two pins stuck out in my mind: a black-and-white polka-dot top and a potato block printing tutorial.  I wanted to try block printing for a while now, but haven't bought the supplies yet.  Story of my life.  But I did have potatoes in my fridge, a small selection of fabric paints, and now, a plain shirt that needed some jazz.


None of my potatoes were round, so I had to cut the slice into a circle shape.  The first few circles were applied very cautiously, but I soon became a circle-printing machine.  In hindsight, stretch fabric isn't the best medium for paint, because the painted spots will harden and prevent stretch or crack.  But stamping out all those big yellow circles was still good fun, and I now have a new, not-so-plain shirt to wear and feel comfortable in.

1 comment:

  1. This is such a lovely post, I'm really glad my tutorial inspired you :)

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