Garden this morning

r since I picked up quilting, I started to appreciate mother nature more closely. The morning sunshine, the ever-changing sky, vegetation, and all. It seems that all quilters' got a garden or something.
This is what it looks like in my home:

See that green pepper above? It grows really fast.

I just love these pinky flowers. They're pretty common; I see them all the time.

And some lotuses. It's a pity I can't upload their scent.

3D white flower bag

A few weddings of my cousins are around the corner.
I made this bag for Mom to make her the most graceful aunt at the banquets. I call it 3D because I used four layers of white fabric and interfacing for petal applique to override the black tone underneath. The petals were thick enough to stand out before I quilted around them.

Pictures at different angles:

Did you get it right? My hexagons are used for the side of this bag.

The bottom. It's pretty wide and will hold a good many items.

Two pockets inside the bag. One is zippered. (By the way, I'm thinking about posting a zipper pocket tutorial on here.)

It took me eight whole days to finish it. My sister-in-law said whenever she sees my work, she rejoices. Guess what? Me too!

Hexagons First Attempt

I am so tired from sewing hexies which I've started 3 days ago.

Now that the top is finished and I'm tired of any more stitches, it's perfect time to show them up here.

There aren't many of them, about 60. I used paper piecing and had much fun through the process. I especially loved the crispy feeling as I sewed through the paper and fabric. But later it took me much time to rip off the threads on the front. It's part of the reasons I'm so tired now. (Yawn~~) Here is a new and detailed tutorial on hexie paper piecing from Sew Many Ways.

It's quite scrappy because I managed to use up remnants from quilt kits I bought last year, and I did use them up! Most of the fabrics came from Japan. Somehow we idolize Japanese quilting in Taiwan. From the photo, you can instantly detect the cultural difference: Japanese fabrics are darker in tone, and so are the finished projects.

I'll quilt them tomorrow. It's not a quilt apparently.

I'll leave you wondering for some time before I finish the whole thing. ^^

Tinkering: bag handle

A week or two ago, a friend of mine brought her bag to me and asked if I could help her fix the handle. Her bag came here like this:

The fabric at the middle of the handle was broken due to constant use and the batting was showing.
I ripped off one of the handle and checked how it was folded and attached to the bag.
As I had a clear idea, I started "tinkering".
I cut two strips of fabric, each measured 6*47 cm
(The finished handle should be 2*45 cm)
I also cut out batting and ironed it to the wrong side of the fabric.

Folded each end 1 cm inward.Pressed two sides of fabric toward the batting. Made a French seam on the wider side and have it cover the other side.
Then, went to the sewing machine to close the seam.

I hand sewed the straps onto the bag, following the original placement.

I used pins to mark the places. It's crucial to make sure the placement is correct, otherwise you might end up with uneven length.


Voila, a tote with new handles!

Inspiration from children

Starting from mid July, my family started a children's classics reciting class in the morning.

My nephew and niece are 3 to 4 years old, and we believe it's high time that they started reciting classical literature such as Analects of Confucius, the Book of Changes, the Holy Bible, to name just a few. The notion of "classics education" has been getting wider recognition over the years in Taiwan and China. Numerous parents reported children's amazing retention and avidity to reading as a result of reciting classics. Excellent school performance in all subjects and development of positive personality are its additional value that parents and teachers can't be more satisfied with.

How could I, both an aunt and English teacher in the class, let go of this golden opportunity to get creative?

This month, I made a chair runner, a tissue paper holder, 6 sets of colorful alphabet flash cards, and tiny bears serving as gifts if the children pass the reciting quiz tomorrow.



We put a water jar and small cups on this wooden chair. I thought it crude and made it a runner, which is my very first original design. I love the bows at the bottom. They are a pure accident because I attached the strips to tie onto the chair’s feet, to avoid any pulls from children. They turned out too short for tying but just right for making a bow tie. The back fabric is an orange gingham, making the runner reversible.

I also made a Cleenex holder. Doesn’t it look neat? There’s a draw string on the top so I can tie and hang it wherever there’s a hook. Finally, some teeny tiny bears, or cubs, I should say. ^^
The smaller they are, the harder it is to turn right sides out.
The chubby orange one looks funny. I added 0.5 cm around the pattern, in hope of being able to fill the stuffing more easily. Later I decided to just stick to the original pattern. ^^ I should have brought the pattern to the copy machine and enlarge it as a whole. But I was too lazy. Haha~


This is a wonderful start for me. Look forward to any further inspirations to make something new!