good-ness

i love sewing for a purpose. for others. it motivates me. and it makes me happy.

 

my little friend turned two this week. and she loves potato heads. so i got her a new one and thought she could use a little bag to put the little pieces in. so i made one this morning before her party. fast. simple.

 and the mermaids add to the cuteness. in my opinion. 
 

as soon as i saw that she was selling patterns for her amazing poppy doll. i had to jump on board. and give it a go. i had never made a doll before. luckily our friends in japan had a baby girl. sumire. and that was all the motivation i needed.

 

or so i thought. fiona did such a great job of writing instructions. and drawing diagrams. and pattern pieces. but she forgot to mention that she is the queen of patience. it took me quite a few weeks to finish the doll.

but i'm happy i did. and next time i think i will blow up the pattern pieces. and make her twice as big. which seems much easier than me trying to gain more patience.

go and buy the pattern now .and make your own. i dare you.
 
 

quilt 07.

the third baby quilt has been finished for awhile. but was just waiting to be photographed. i really like the fabrics i chose. and the colours. and i like that the blocks all lines up nicely. but i am not too happy with the quilting part. some of those lines are not so curvy. or are a little wonky. but i had to let it go. otherwise i would be unpicking stitches forever. oh, well. next time i will try to figure something else out. 

  

i like the back of the quilt. mostly that pink fabric with little cars all over it. and i love the binding. i just used up the leftover fabric from the front. and i love the white linen and cotton blend. it was perfect for this project. 

this was the second quilt that i didn't hand sew the binding on. and it turned out okay. my first attempt at it was much better. it definitely takes a bit of practice to get it perfect. 

leslie (not me). the gal who helped me out with encouraging me to use the machine to bind the quilt. wrote a bit about using a machine to sew on the binding. check it out here. 

 

quilt 05 is finished. a simple one. and a quick one. because my friend is moving away tomorrow. boo hoo. she's getting married in april so this was a pre-wedding gift. her favorite colour is yellow. and her fella's favorite colour is white. i wasn't super happy with my fabric selection. but once the binding was on everything came together. and now i am pleased with how it turned out. 

 

the back of the quilt is a flannel. and i love the print. and the softness of it. and the main fabric on the front is a cotton/linen blend. something that i can't get enough of.  

and the binding. oh, the binding. i am new to this whole quilting thing. as you know. i am not a very fast hand sewer. i hand sewed the one side on. but since i was working against the clock i needed a faster method. i had seen leslie's quilts. and i noticed that she used a machine to sew on the binding. and it looked good. so i sent her an email and she helped me out. and look at that binding. it worked. such a pleasant surprise. 

i am still hand sewing the binding on quilt 04. and the fabric for quilt 06 is bought. and washed. and ready to be cut.  and quilt 07 needs to be planned. and then i think i will take a little break. if i can. but i think it might be too late. i might already be addicted. 

so. 02. and 03 are finished. and in boxes ready to be mailed tomorrow. phew. i am still new to this whole quilting thing. but i am loving it. well, most of it. i am definitely discovering and learning lots of new things. applying them to the next set of quilts that i am working on. 04. and 05.

      

this is quilt 02. and is being sent to yuzuki-chan. a little baby in osaka. i love the purple. which is a bit odd because that is probably my least favorite colour. i love the binding on this quilt. i don't love the front of it so much. the layout was not the greatest. but i love some of the fabric i chose. 

 

this is quilt 03. and is off to my nephew. judah. i hope he hasn't outgrown it by the time he gets it. dang it. i love this quilt. the colours. and the fabrics. (the grey background is a linen/cotton blend. the others are made up of some japanese ones, a little lotta jansdotter and that lovely lara cameron yellow birch design.)

i don't love that the third column doesn't line up with the others properly. and it annoys me that i didn't fix it. i've learned my lesson.

     

i love the curved random lines.(inspired by this gal and this one, too.) they were quite fun to sew. and helped me step out of my linear comfort zone. i am now officially addicted to this quilting method.

i love the concrete walls in our apartment. it makes it so easy to photograph things. i just get out the packing tape. and tape away.

     

i love the binding. and that i chose to use the solid grey fabric. but the darker side. and i love that i added a little bit of lotta to the bottom left hand corner.

 

and i really, really, really love the back of the quilt. my gosh. this fabric is the perfect weight. and colours. and the lines show up so well on this side. i hope judah (with the help of his mom or dad) flips it over sometimes. and uses the front as the back. and the back as the front.

 

today was my last day at the kindergarten. now i get a month break. which is always nice. the new school year starts in april. the university i teach part-time at owns the kindergarten. and honestly. i would rather teach the little ones. any day.

 

i always have a japanese teacher with me. helping me out. with translation. and big class kid control. but in the two afternoon classes i have two teachers in each class. one who has taught with me for the last four years. they are both extra special. and super helpful. and make my job much easier. i wanted to give them a little something. to say thank you. so i made them each a little pinch pouch last night. i was so happy with how they turned out. i think i need to make some more.

so. i have been wanting to make something. for my little nephew. from before he was born. i was planning on making a quilt. but then realized that others were making quilts. so i've been struggling. well, after seeing another leslie's post. and a few emails back and forth. i am feeling encouraged. that a baby can never have too many quilts. and that little quilts for using in the stroller or bassinette are perfect. so. i am back on the quilting path. 

  

fabric drying outside. for judah's quilt. 

fabric all washed and dried. ready to go. for a quilt for my sister's little girl. who is expected to arrive in april. whoohoo.

and a quilt top. finished last night. for h-kun's friend's new little girl. 

look at this little container. basket. whatever you want to call it. i finished this present on christmas morning. after h-kun went to work. while waiting for a friend to come over. and she liked it. a lot. and so did i. i think i might make it bigger next time. and skip the handles. just to switch things up a bit. you can make one, too. if you would like. i found the easy-to-follow instructions here. 

so. it's that time of year again. the holiday season. the giving of gifts. last year's pledge was to mostly make or buy handmade gifts. and it worked. i was so busy that i bought most of them off etsy. oh, i love etsy. well. this year i have been making. and making. like these two eco bags. perfect for grocery shopping. our city has just started charging for bags at the grocery store. so i thought these would be perfect. they are made out of my favorite echino print. and finished off with a cute hair elastic. with fabric from mikodesign. just as lovely. 

 

yes, i am busy this year, too. but somehow have found time to do a bit of sewing. here and there. the top bag was made late last night. late. late. and the bottom one was made after work this afternoon. before my dinner with friends. with the friends who were receiving the bags. this is in typical leslie fashion. sewing right until the last minute. still checking for loose threads on the way out the door. and wrapping in the car. or on the train. i guess my watch must in sync with the handmade gift gods' time. because it always seems to work out. perfectly. and i am thankful for that.

 

i feel like i have been sewing. a lot. in the last few weeks. and this makes me happy. so happy. but more on that later.

 

a gift for a little friend. who will be turning one soon. my first piece of children's clothing. and i am in love.

        

and something for her mother. who will be turning thirty-one. soon. a bag. with more of that bias tape from before.  

 

and a simple apron. for a friend who cooked up an italian feast last night. h-kun and i seem to be regulars at their house. and this was my small way of saying thank you.