Puffy Pouch & Penguin Gifts

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.
I went on a little trip to Santa Cruz with Joe,
and had lots of fun walking by the beach, listening
to sea lions and sea gulls, and being in some place different.

Thank you so much for those of you
who helped me find out what those frames are called.
I updated the previous post with the links to the
online shops you guys had recommended for me, so if
you happen to be looking for shops that carry the frames,
scroll down a little to get to the previous post!
I've already ordered a set of 5 of 5" flex frames from
ArtFire. I can't wait to get those
now that I love making these pouches!!



This one is for my friend's friend's B-day gift.
I think it turned out pretty lovely.
I was thinking that it might make an interesting pattern
if the opening part does not involve any gathering
but the shell part of the pouch has some
fun fabric hiding, which kinda pops up when the pouch
is opened or is filled with lots of stuff inside.
And I am in LOVE with this pattern that I came up with!!




Now I have lots of ideas for those flex frames and
I am dying to try out a bunch of things with different fabrics!







On a separate note, I want to thank some folks who were
extremely nice to have given me *penguin* gifts!
This is a handmade stamp from ako of BeachField.
She was so nice to custom-make this cutest stamp for me.
You can't see this in this picture, but a piece of
hand-curved eraser is attached to this wooden block on the back.
Isn't it indescribably adorable?! I've been using this stamp
to create my original linen coasters. During the winter
break, I might make a whole bunch of PinkPenguin coasters
for future gift ideas. By the way, ako is a really popular
stamp maker in Japan. Her first book came out pretty recently
and I was so happy to see her book in Kinokuniya in San Francisco.
Thank you so much again, ako!
akoさん、本当にありがと～～♪♪




What's been much loved here is this knitted pink penguin
that was in a surprise mail from AJ in Scotland.
I can't believe how thoughtful of her to knit such a
cute pink penguin for me and how professionally this is made.
The hat and the scarf are removable. You have no idea
how many times I've taken off the hat and put it back on.
This fits so perfectly that it gives me some therapeutic
feel to do this. I am really in love with this plush.
It sleeps next to me every night.
Thank you so much, AJ!!



Here comes another lovely penguin gift,
a bundle of penguin fat quarters from Carolyn in Arizona!
Penguin print fabric is so hard to find, and
finding a bundle of matching penguin print fabric
is like almost impossible! Those penguins on fabric
are so cute! I think it will make a nice boyish baby
quilt, but I can hardly ever think about cutting
any of these fabric. Carolyn is just so sweet.
The letter from her was so warm and touching.
Thank you so much, Carolyn!!



The last one is this very rare penguin rayon
fabric from Leslie of 36OldsGal
This is like everything I love combined-
Penguin + Navy + Pink + Dots/Circles.
Leslie has the best fabric selection and
I can't believe how generous she was to share
her precious fabric with me. Again, I don't
want to use it for my crafts yet.
Let me adore it for a while before putting it into use..
Thank you so much, Leslie!!



I've been thinking a lot these days about what is
important in my life and what is not.
I've realized that trying everything at once
doesn't work at all. At some points in life, I need to
give up on things and focus on what I can do now
to specialize in what I really enjoy. And what I know for sure
that I truly enjoy, besides friends and families is
crafting and blogging. I especially enjoy meeting
people like you guys who have the same interests
and who can mutually inspire each other.

I'm so grateful I've met such nice people who
have spent some time reading my blog, trying
out my tutorials, and letting me know that
they enjoy coming here. I feel like if I know
there were nobody to share my projects online,
my desire to get crafty might have been a lot less..
so if you are one of those who've been wondering
about starting a craft blog, please go for it!
How much the simple first step can influence
your life is like... amazing! Trust me!

I am so appreciative of the opportunities this blog
has brought for me. Thank you again for all the
beautiful and thoughtful penguin gifts!


Thanks for coming and reading!!
Have a wonderful week!


Note: The pattern for the knitted penguin is by
Jean Greenhowe

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