Baby Clothes Madness

If you skim through this post just to see the pictures, you'll probably guess that I've found that I am expecting a boy! The truth is, I still haven't found out the gender. At my 21st week checkup, the doctor was still unable to tell. He mentioned it looks like a girl though. So we now stick with "she/her" when we talk about Mikan (temporary nickname for our baby.), but there is still a chance Mikan is actually a boy. I am DYING to know, but I respect the nature of not knowing if that's what the future holds for us.

I have been so into making this set lately. (The pattern is in this Japanese book - love this book!) I have two real life friends who are preggers now, one in my hometown and one in Tokyo. They are both expecting a boy. This set above was made for a friend in my hometown I've known since high school. The baby is due early June. It was absolutely fun to make it for her. You will need only a half yard of two prints (plus some scraps to make binding tapes.) Very quick and fun! The adorable fabric is of course Summersville by Lu Summers!


This set was for a friend in Tokyo who is due in just one month! I've met her in Seattle and have known her for several years. Her marriage brought her to Japan. It is real exciting that her baby will be learning both English and Japanese at the same time as my baby. I hope she will like it! The fabric is Put a Lid on It by Michael Miller.


This is a stamp I hand-carved to make the tag on the bibs. I have so many friends who have boys it's nice to have a stamp or two that I can quickly make a cute tag with.


This is for my baby. It was pretty unisex until I added the red plaid binding. If I find that Mikan is a girl, I will make a girl version stamp or some girly motif stamp to make a tag for the shirt. I was fully aware that by the time the baby is old enough to wear this set, it will be winter. By summer of next year, she/he will be probably too big for it. I am just too in love with this lobster fabric I just couldn't resist!


And this is my latest project, trousers for my friend's boy. He will start walking soon, so it will be really exciting to see him wearing them while walking. I can't wait to see!


The pattern is in Anna Maria Hornor's book. This book is fabulous in every way. There are so many projects I want to make in it, and the instructions are so well written with lots of diagrams to help you understand each process. These trousers came together so quick 90% of the time was spent on tracing patterns and cutting fabric.

Thanks for letting me share! Hope you have a lovely weekend :)

Patchwork Please Book Preview and Zakka-Along 2.0

Thank you for your lots of love, encouragement, and pregnancy advice! I feel so much more relaxed about weight gain now. I'm on my 6th month and have gained 18 pounds total. Now I have some shooting back pain to deal with several times a day, but I am discovering some solutions to relief (stretch, hot bath etc), so I am good. I don't feel nausea anymore and my sewing mojo has returned!! I am very much enjoying my second trimester (except for the back pain.) I still haven't figured out the sex of the baby, but hopefully I will this Saturday when I have my next visit to the doctor. It's been so amazing to feel the baby move for both of us. We are so attached to the baby already!

It's the time I gave you some previews of my book, Patchwork Please :)


I got my very first copy of my book last week in the mail. That was the moment I finally felt it was all real! The entire time I was working on my book, I was so nervous about my projects being good enough. I'd always considered a possibility of hearing from my publisher one day saying "hey, never mind!" Dealing with confidence has been always difficult for me, and this worrying personality didn't help much when I was working on my book. Now that some time has passed and I have an actual copy of my book, I know it was all real. I've finally come to the point I actually feel proud of all the projects in the book. (Meeting my extremely encouraging editorial director, Susanne Woods in Tokyo and having a great talk with her was the huge help too!)


This book has 19 projects total - 5 projects for the kitchen, 3 projects for kids, 4 projects for the home, 5 projects for going places, and 2 projects for crafting. Most of the projects are patchwork zakka items. There are several beginner-friendly paper-piecing projects. If you have not dipped your toe in paper-piecing world yet, don't fret about it. All my paper-piecing patterns in it are very simple and easily constructed! The book includes great illustrated instructions for paper-piecing as well :)







I really hope this book will inspire you to make something for yourself and for your friends and family!


You may have already heard about this already, but there will be Zakka-Along 2.0!!!!
Remember Zakka Style Sew-Along? Basically this is round two, but this time, it is through my book! I can't tell you how excited I am about it!!

Lindsey of LRstitched, who did an amazing job organizing Zakka Style Sew-Along will be organizing this Zakka-Along 2.0 with Debbie of A Quilter's Table, who made all the projects in Zakka Style book! They have been working very hard to prepare for the event to kick off in this June!

They've already set up a Flickr page, a Facebook page, and a ThreadBias page! I hope you'll join them if you are interested in the Sew-Along through my book or even just to make us smile :)

The book is available for pre-order through Interweave's Sew Daily shop here.(It will probably be the fastest way to get your copy - March 18th book arrival). You can also find it on Amazon USA here, Amazon UK here, FishPond (Australia) here, and Amazon Japan here(アマゾン　日本） for pre-order! (Pre-order guarantees a great price and free shipping!) I will also give away some copies and sell signed copies once more copies come in the mail. (I have never signed anything for this kind of purpose, so I will have to think of a cool sign and also some little thank you gift to go along with each signed copy.)


Have a great rest of the week :) Thanks for letting me share!