mask

I got this fabric in a trip to Japan. I sort of grab it without a close look. When I got a chance to look at it, I realized it is gauze. What am I going to do with gauze? Then I saw people using gauze to make masks. Sounds good but who is going to wear it?

When we took our usual evening walk last week, it was very windy and cold. My daughter seemed to have a stuffy nose after the walk. Ha, I found the person to use the mask! The air she breathes in would be warmer if she wears a mask. So here it is.

I found this fabric that spells xmas. I have made a set of coasters out of it for my friend Maritza, her husband Chris, son Lawrence, and daughter Isabel. I put down their initials. Hope they will like them.

book cover

This is a book cover that I made for my college classmate, Yun. She has always been very nice to me. She decided to ditch engineering and went back to school to get a Master degree in Chinese literature two years back. What a brave girl!! I have great admiration for her. She got two girls, a few years older than mine. So we got lots of hand-me-down from her. Her name is Yun, meaning Cloud in Chinese. So I made a "cloud" applic for her.

Jone-Hua shoes

Another pair of clothes shoes. I have made them for my brother's daughter. I use bias binding for this pair. Hand stitching the other side was killing me.

PS: When I got Jone-Hua to try on the shoes, they don't fit!! What a blow! The top piece is too small and her feet are thick. I had to take the whole thing apart, get new top pieces and do binding again.

mending my watch

Heard about clothes mending, but not watches mending. But I did mend my watch.
The little band on my watch that help to secure the watch has gone missing.
So I sew this little ribbon band. That works just fine.

Then the part of the band that supposed to be attached to the watch broke.

(My daughter found that little band later on the floor.)

Children's shoe

When I saw these fabulous baby shoes here, and also here, I wanted to make them real bad.
These looked kind of hard to me when I got the pattern a few months back. I got my first sewing machine only this Feb.
Recently I found a store that carries non-slid fabric, ideal for making sole.
I remember about those adorable shoes again. BUT, my daughter is almost 3 years old. These pattern are way too small for her. Ha, then it came to me. I can make my own pattern. So I trace her shoe on paper and take measurements of her foot. Ta-Da, here they are.

lunch bag

Lunch bag! I saw this type of thing before but didn't know how to make one.
Then I saw this. This sounds super easy. I have to do it!

doggie bag

My first serious attempt at bags. My sis designed this bag. She gave me the fabric and everything I need to make the bag. A lot of patch works. When I was doing it, I kept thinking to myself this is the last time I do patchwork of this magnitude. The little heart at the back was killing me. I was dying trying to get the ditch at the top of the heart. I started in June and finished it in July.

coaster

I got some gauze fabric in my trip to Hokkaido, Japan last month.
I don't know what to do about it. I admire those who know what to make when they buy fabrics, like my sis. I kept thinking what I am going to do with it. Then..... gauze frabic absorbs water ver well, doesn't it. Coaster it is. I have always wanted to try the binding techqnique from crazy mom quit. Here is the perfect chance!

At first I didn't add the lables on the gauze. I think the gauze fabric and the binding go along better after I add them. My daugher said the front is no good!? She likes the back better! Well, at least she likes one side of it.


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shoes for chairs

My daughter wouldn't move the chairs at the dining table herself. She said there would be a lot of noise, squeaking sounds. She can't lift it up like adults when she moves chairs. THEN, I have to so something about it. Another excuse for using my sewing machine. (Why do I need excuses using my sewing machine? Everytime I do handmade stuff, I can't help think about the zillion more urgent things I have to do first. So I need excuses. I do....) What is that fabric? mmm, that looks like....the bottom hem of my polo shirt.

hat

I got this flannel fabric (2 feet), thinking about making seat cushions for the two arm chairs in the study. I saw this easy fleece hat by Martha, from one pretty thing. I had to make this!!! A cold front is coming. I have made my daughter a sun hat. But I haven't made her a fall/winter hat. This sounds super easy. I don't have fleece, but two layers (one outer and one lining) should do it. The first version (without the blanket stitches and pompom) was not very well received. She was reluctant to try it on. The addition of pompoms seems to do the trick. The 3 pompom, according to her, are papa pompom, mama pompom and baby pompom. At frist I had only the two big ones on the top. But..... baby said baby has to on the hat too... so......

pencase for Cindy

Cindy is my sister's little daughter. She is going to take entrance exam for high school soon. I have made this pencase to wish her good luck. On the front it spells her name. On the back is Shamrock, which is her favorite if I remember correctly.

mom's shoulder bag

I made a bag for mom.

This is interesting news. She is very good at sewing. She made clothes for herself and sometimes for me too. Why would a novice sewer like me end up making a bag for her?

She has a shoulder bag that she uses very often. In fact that's the only bag that she has been carrying for the past 2 or even 3 years. It is beginning to show wear and tear. It is still quite sturdy though. It is a very simple bag. It looked like a handmade bag to me. I kindof suspect that she made it. I asked mom about the bag. She said a friend has made it for her. She admitted it doesn't look pretty but it is lightweight and just the right size for her, so she likes it a lot. I offerred to make one for her. She gladly accepted it. (Maybe she has seen what I have made and she thought my works are good?! Mmmm, I like this idea.) It occurred to me later that she has made lots of stuff but she has not tried bags.

So here it is. I used her old bag as a reference for the size matter. I have used simple blocks as the main design. (Is yellow block a bit too conspicuous? I am still wondering.) 'MOM' is first stitched on a piece of linen bias tape and then I applique the whole piece. If I do it again, I would do the zipper a bit differently I think.

chopstick case

A chopstick case I made for myself. I want the orange leaf to stand out, really stand out. I think it turns out not too bad. It can hold the chopsticks that we use at home.

My mom saw it. She thinks it is pretty. The chopstick case she is using can hold only short chopsticks but not the usual long chopsticks we have at home. I happily gave mine to her. This will give me an opportunity to make one more!

messenger bag for a little girl

This is the first messenger's bag that I attempted.
I made this for an 8 year
old, who played with my daughter often. She is moving to live with his uncle in Japan. The bag is a farewell gift.
She asked to have 3 hearts on the bag.
I made 4 hearts using applique and stitches.
I hope her will feel warm in her new home.