Saturday, February 21, 2009

Plastic Bag Dispenser again

Plastic Bag Dispenser No.10

Thanks for your lovely comments on my last post.
I always love to hear from you!!

Here comes my latest creation: my 10th plastic bag dispenser!

Plastic Bag Dispenser No.10

I got to use lots of my favorite fabrics for this project.
The Japanese linen and the bold color fabrics are such a great match!

Plastic Bag Dispenser No.10

I'm really in love with this result!
Thanks for Hiromi who custom-ordered it and was so nice to
be totally up to me about the design for the dispenser.

Plastic Bag Dispenser No.10

The fabric you see here for the sides of the dispenser
is from the unused vintage pillowcase that I found at a thrift store.

thrift found

I grabbed a few things from there. This is another lucky found.
Joe's grandma Jean had a kitchen towel just like this and
I always thought it was one of the cutest kitchen towels.
What a lovely chicken.. I love chickens but not before penguins!

Thanks for coming & reading!




Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's day gift



*Happy Valentine's Day*

This is my 6th Valentine's day to celebrate this day with Joe.
The way Valentine's day is celebrated is quite different
from here in America and in Japan. Although in Japan it is the
day where a girl gives a gift to her boyfriend, I've been pretty
spoiled since Joe always has something for me this day.

happyvalentinesday

This was the present from him this year: an assortment of
handmade chocolate from Fleur de Cocoa.
I love this loveliest box, and the chocolate is delicious!!!

happyvalentinesday

I already ate half of it. I have to put it away from
me so that I won't finish it up by tonight - too yummy
of chocolate to be gone so quick!

happyvalentinesday

(A picture from the Japan trip last year)


Did I have any surprise for him for today? Sure I did!!

valentine's day gift - 9 reasons i love joe

A mini quilt with 9 reasons I love Joe ;)
(if you click the picture, you can see the enlarged version.)

reasons I love him..

I was really inspired by this Valentine's day gift
that Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio made for her
husband. It is so sweet and personal.
I wanted to make a gift that would communicate
with Joe in the way it reminds him of what makes
him such a lovable one to be around for me.

reasons I love him..

My initial plan was to make it much smaller
so that he could hang up on the wall in his cubicle,
but it ended up pretty big: about 26" x 23".
Too small to be a lap quilt.. a little too big
to be a wall hanging.... hmmmm..... but

reasons I love him..

He likes it anyways ;) That's all that matters!

quilt back

One of the things I really like about the quilt
is the fabric I chose for backing.
This is not exactly fish. It is "Taiyaki," fish-shaped
pancake filled with red bean paste, custard cream, etc.
(Click here to see what it looks like if you care.)
I love Taiyaki and this fabric too!

boxers

I also gave him a few boxers - no, not handmade
unfortunately. I've been wanting to make them though!

cake

Then I also baked a banana pound cake - yum!

Hope you're all having great Valentine's Day!


Thanks for coming & reading!




Saturday, February 7, 2009

Fabric from Japan

japanese fabric

The sweet package has arrived in mail from Eriko in Japan.
I've 'met' her through my Japanese blog and I have
been having lots of fun communicating with her on
the Internet. She was super kind to share some of
her favorite Japanese fabric with me.


My creation - fabric from japan

Drooling. There is not even a single piece of fabric
that I wouldn't buy if I found it at a fabric store.
It included some of my favorite designer, Suzuko Koseki's
fabric that I've really wanted as well as some cute
fabric that is not available anymore at stores.

Eriko also included several pictures of the sewing
projects she's worked on - they are FABULOUS!!!
Eriko and I like exactly the same kind of fabric-
the same styles, colors, and textures.
It's so exciting when you can meet someone like that!

Thanks soooo much for your generosity, Eriko!
I truly love all the fabric you picked for me!!





cute

Some sewing projects are lined up in my head.
To name a few...

- A "secret" project.
(hehe. you'll see.)


- A Plastic Bag Dispenser for a custom order
(Really excited about making it!!)


- Logcabin blocks for Project Improv
(I can't wait to start working on this.
Thanks so much for Jacquie and all others
who are contributing for this project.
It seriously sounds so much fun!)


-The Bento Box Quilt
(You know how slow I am when it comes to
big projects.. who knows how long it will take
but thanks for your nice comments on it on the last post!)




Good News - Bernie, the maker of the beautiful
kimono coaster on my last post, has created a
new blog here! I am really
excited to see more kimono coasters on her blog.



I hope you are all having great weekends!!

Thanks for coming & reading!


Sunday, February 1, 2009

Even more pincushions

Pincushion

Hi everyone. Thanks so much for wonderfully sweet
comments you guys always leave here for me.
I really love reading every one of them and appreciate
you taking time to visit my blog and leave comments/
e-mails. You always make my day!

Pincushion

I'm fully recovered now that it should be time
for me to get serious about studying. Having said that,
I've spent a lot of time in my crafting space this
weekend, just because I simply couldn't help it.

Pincushion

Balancing out the school work, my hobbies, and other things
isn't the easiest thing. But I know there are people much
busier than me but managing their time to have fun, so
I really want to learn to manage my time efficiently this semester.

Pincushion

My ideal week would include some sewing, relaxing,
studying (- not so much but unavoidable), and other
things -like households, babysitting, teaching
Japanese (Yes, I teach Japanese!) done efficiently.
Oh I have to start looking for internship too.

Pincushion

Phew! Busy Busy. But I like keeping myself busy.
I feel this great satisfaction when I know I can
get everything done.

Pincushion

Oops, too much blah blah blah. I have to talk about
pincushions don't I?! I've listed several more
pincushions in my etsy shop this morning.

Pincushion

This birdie one is already gone.
It was made for a custom order. Thanks ;) !!

Pincushion

This Japanese linen is another fabric I totally
forgot about. I think I bought it three years ago
in Japan. I liked it so much, but the piece of linen
became too small that it was hidden in between fabrics.

Pincushion

The greatest thing about making pincushions is that
I can make use of that kind of fabric - too small but too
cute to be unused. And it's such a pleasure
when you can find a use for it like that!

Pincushion

Lots of fun. Japanese linen fabric, American vintage fabric,
modern cotton fabric- they all get together make a harmony.

Pincushion

This is probably the simplest pincushion I've made.
I just love the different aqua colors together
and a little vintage flower fabric. Simply fun.

Pincushion

Pink x navy blue is another combo I love.
And of course, the addition of a little vintage and a
little English writing makes it perfect.

Pincushion

I seriously love this French newspaper looking fabric.
I think it's a blend of cotton and linen. I regret
not buying more when I found it in a small shop in Nippori.


*All pincushions are available in my shop*
Receive a small piece of Japanese fabric by
letting me know you came from here when you
purchase any items in my shop;)

Going to be my third quilt

Tired of looking at too many pincushions? How about this?
Bento box quilt is something I've wanted to make it for the
longest time. I am planning to make a quilt that measures
about 50" x 50", and it's going to be Joe's, so I am
restricting girlie pink fabric from the quilt.

Handmade gift from Bernie - Thanks!

Isn't it gorgeous? Bernie, who has been very supportive
of my craft business, was so nice to make me this kimono
coaster. What a nice surprise. I loooove it. I had to ask
her what kind of batting she used for it, because it is
made really nicely firm unlike my flimsy coasters I've made
a long time ago. She kindly told me that it is warm and
natural cotton batting. Thanks so much, Bernie.


Thanks for coming & reading!
Have a great week!