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!

Groudhog Day

I just watched this fantastic movie called "Goundhog Day". It's by no means a new film, but I enjoyed it very much. While it's frenetic to live the same day over and over again, the movie didn't bore me at all. It was super hilarious how Phil tried to do crazy things because nothing mattered as he woke up the next morning. It was inspiring how he finally learned to be amiable and helpful and started to make a difference in people's lives, otherwise he was a conceited and egocentric person.

As I finished the movie, I thought about what I'd do if I were Phil. I would do the same as he did in the later part of the movie. I especially love the idea that I could learn to play the piano by paying just once to the teacher! It's wonderful in the way that you have lots and lots of time to make yourself a better person and lots of chances to help others. The bizarre arrangement of time also alludes that until we start to live differently, every day is just a copy of its yesterday.

Quite a tremor

This morning I woke up to an earthquake which lasted about 20 seconds. At first it was a slight tremor, after five seconds, everything started shaking violently. "It must be at least 6 on the scale." I thought. My conjecture was based on a series of devastating earthquakes in Taiwan 10 years ago.

I didn't jump out of bed and duck under a table or anything, because I could still abide it. After it stopped, I overheard my dad said,"It's 6.3 on the scale." I knew he was watching TV news downstairs. So that was it. A 6.3 earthquake.

Though it wasn't serious, it became the subject of conversation whereever I go this morning. I went to the post office, a bank, a fabric shop, and a coffee supply store after breakfast. In the post office, a lady next to me said she never got up early, she was awoke by the earthquake. In the fabric shop, the shopkeeper was discussing the tremor with her old customers. One of them said it seemed God is going to deracinate human beings, thinking of the calamities in Haiti and Chile.

I went to the coffee supply store to buy some dried flowers, for making liquid soaps. (By the way, it's my first attempt at liquid soaps, I'll post about it as I proceed.) As I entered the store, it appeared awkward to me that the shopkeepers were still arranging things at almost 11 o'clock a.m. As I was at the cash register paying for the dried lavender, it became clear to me that they were actually cleaning up bottles and liquids that fell during the earthquake! I talked to the clerk behind the counter and she admitted they were cleaning things up, and that it was pretty much work.

I am glad my house and neighborhood were fine. I hope earthquakes will never come visit us, or any other part of the world again.

Happy Chinese New Year

It's Chinese New Year again! Everyone is spending the holiday with their family. I'm no exception! On New Year's Eve, we sat around a round table and had a hearty meal together. In recent years, we usually had hot pot. And by the way, my family is vegetarian. There is no specific menu like Thanksgiving. Each family's New Year's Eve meal is different. The pivotal matter is to eat together, which we call "Wei Lu" in Chinese. Family reunion is an important Chinese New Year tradition. Being able to eat with the whole family makes meal all the more delicious. Below are pictures of the meal and my family. (I'm the one in white.^^*)



On the second day of the New Year, I visited my old friend Tina, who gave birth to her first baby girl last month. I made the baby girl a pink teddy bear which has a selvage bib tied around its neck.











I also gave Mandy, who went to visit Tina with me, a bag you could see from my last post. She received the bag with alacrity because she said that's what exactly she needed. She planned to buy one such bag at a store.
So far it's been a wonderful Chinese New Year. This year is the year of tiger. The word "tiger" sounds similar to "benediction" or "blessing" in Chinese. As we see friends,neighbors or relatives during the Chinese New Year, we'd say some goods words pertaining to "tiger" to express our best wishes.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!祝大家虎年有福氣!(台)

First bag in 2010

Can you believe it? We are at the end of the first decade of the 21st century.
Recently I'm busy making my second quilt.
I'm going slower than I expected.
I actually hand pieced the pinwheel blocks. Here's one:


As I finally finished one block and press the seams,
I found a little pinwheel at the center on the back side.
It's cute:


I learned from other quilters that when doing one big project, it's beneficial to get some easier projects going, to avoid that too-much-time-devoted-and-so-little-finished fatigue.

Because of this, I am making some bags for two of my friends who are going to have their first babies. I found this bag's tutorial on the following website:
http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/kikimama168/article?mid=17262&prev=17279&next=17171&page=1&sc=1#yartcmt
It's a Chinese blog with lots of useful information for bag makers.
There are no patterns involved. Just cut out several rectangles, and you're ready to sew. The author claims that you can finish this bag within half a day.
I think she is right. It's really easy and gorgeous.

Take a look at my work:
The front:

Inside:


I sewed on two flower-shaped buttons on the sides. They match the background fabric's motif. I didn't realize they go together until I sew the buttons on. What a perfect match!

I made a solid base for the bag, so the bottom won't sag when carrying things.


I am absolutely satisfied. I spent some time choosing fabrics that match in color and value. This time it's successful. ^^
I'd call this a happy new year bag, or a happy motherhood bag.