Sew & Tell - Eva's Dresses

What does a husband do when his wife is shopping at Peapod? Comfortable or not, some find a chair to sit in. Some others just stand there. Some say "nice..." unemotionally. Some others just nod when asked for an opinion. Oh, I almost forgot. Many men even don't come in. But, Eva is lucky. Her husband, Matt enjoys choosing fabric with her. They both were pretty excited to show me these dresses Eva made for their little girls. If you sew, you know how exciting it is to see the result in the way you exactly picutered it before you started to sew. These dresses turned out exactly how Eva pictured when she chose the fabric. They are just so pretty! I wanted to see them on the girls, but too bad...they were asleep. Maybe next time... Oh, Matt was a happy man when he saw the guitar print. Yup, Eva's next projects are a shirt for dad and dresses for daughters. You might expect see the father and daughter matching outfits next time :-) Thanks Eva and Matt !


one with a tie and another with a fabric flower pin.
pink and grey are so elegant together...

the orange one is more on a modern side with a black stripe strap.
love this simple bold statement...

New Home Decor Prints

All heavy cotton canvas...perfect for home decorating.
Happy home, sweet home :-)

Lucy

This is Lucy, born late late Wednesday night after four hours of intense labor. She is my first girl. Well, she is a doll, but I feel like she is my girl. Okay, after all, I ditched my doll pattern and went to search for a better looking one. And here is what I found. Once I started, I couldn't stop. I was having so much fun making her. She was just incredibly cute even before assembled in one piece. I kept gasping and laughing to myself in the process. But, just about anything that requires tiny pieces, I tell you doll making is not easy. I dug up my scraps large enough for each body piece. She almost had unmatching hair colors and a two tone complexion, and anorexic arms and legs when I messed up with cutting pieces. This is what happens when you use scraps and not having enough amounts of certain fabrics in hand. You will never find out you are supposed to cut the arm and leg pieces slightly larger than the pattern until you watch the tutoring video. So this is how she looks. caramel brown hair, almond skin, brown pindot stockings, a pink rick rack scarf, a red button barrette, and turquoise brown dress, a left over from my tunic. Now we have a mother and daughter matching outfit :-) We went to bed separately last night, and I showed her around the house this morning...

My sweet Lucy on my cake stand...

Lucy in my second doll quilt...(I saved it to share with you just for her arrival)

Lucy doesn't have a real bed yet, so she sleeps in the basket...

Lucy on the pink pillow...I am no longer alone in the house enjoying pink...

Lucy with a pear pillow...

Lucy meets Charlie the goldfish...

Ahem, I meant Charlie the goldfish, not the Oscar-the-grouchy-fishbowl...

(the picture from...um...three months ago?)

Lucy meets Teddy the bear...

Lucy meets Russian doll sisters and a cloth pin soldier on my treasure shelf...

Lucy with my boy's first Converse...

Lucy wants to read The Three Bears...

Lucy enjoys cherry blossoms in our neighbors yard...

And Lucy in the sky...

I wasn't sure what to name her with, but after a little time together in the morning, she was totally Lucy. What a lovely, friendly name! So she needs friends. If you want to make her friends, please do. It will be tax free on your purchase when you bring Lucy's friend to share with everyone.

Sew & Tell - Yumi's Jimbei Rompers

Yumi's friend has two little girls, and they are the lucky ones to receive these cute little rompers. They are a combination of jimbei, a short kimono front robe with shorts worn during the muggy summer in Japan, and rompers for babies. They look so lovely! Yumi used these lovely prints from the MOMO collection and did such a fantastic job. She also has lots of projects to inspire you to sew more. Whenever I see a matching outfit worn by sisters it makes me smile. Why is that? Anyways, the two little sisters will be looking more precious in these rompers for sure. Thank you, Yumi!

Retro !

If you like mushrooms and birdies and a retro kitchen, you go nuts with these...

A Post Card

Writing with a pen, not with a keyboard... When was the last time I did this?

Sew & Tell - Lindsay's Blanket

A busy mama, Lindsay was new to sewing just a couple months ago if I remember correctly. She was trying to get into it and she did it! She brought this blanket to share with us. She used orange and aqua prints, and the color combo is so refreshing! The blanket has a very nice feeling as she put cotton batting in between. (People, please use cotton or any natural fiber batting when you are making a blanket. No polyester period).The area in the orange pindot actually serves as a pocket to hold the blanket when it's folded for easy transportation. How clever! And it could be a perfect hiding spot for kid's favorite silliest toy when it's unwrapped. Now she has to make more. She has nieces and more babies in the family on the way. This orange aqua blanket is not for her boy. But do not worry, Calman! Your mommy will be making a lot of things you want her to make for you and your baby brother. Just ask. And ask her to go back to Peapod :-) Thank you Lindsay and thank you Calman for helping mommy hold the blanket.


She used the following prints...

Happy Elmo and Happy Doll Quilt

My doll quilt is done! I hand quilted in diagonal and chose yellow Kona cotton for biding. I just love this happy color. I was going to show you how to bind with a double folded bias tape and do corners, but I just couldn't stop in the middle of it to take pictures. Sorry maybe next time... I looked around the house for a right figure for a photo shoot, and here he is. My son's Elmo! He still has his very first teddy bear from a baby shower, named Teddy. Shhhh, don't tell him that I revealed this.

Elmo looks pretty content, no?

After finishing the quilt, I knew I had to make a doll figure, not a furry monster to play with. I drafted a doll pattern millions of times, and this is what I came up with. Um, it doesn't look so promising...maybe I should go look for a well balanced body figured pattern.

Sew & Tell - Ivy's Doll Outfits

Guys, please meet Miss. Doll USA. No, there is no such a thing, but I had to make it up. This is my little customer Ivy's doll. I feel bad that I didn't ask what her name was. I'm sure she has a beautiful name. And very well loved. She made her these outfits. The buttery yellow rosy blouse and chocolate brown polka dot pants. Aren't they cute? For those who sew, you could imagine how hard it is to make xxxxxsmall size clothing. And for those who don't sew, I tell you it is impossible to do the job this well. I can't believe she used a sewing machine to hem the pants and sleeves. They are tiny to fit under the foot of the machine. When Ivy's mom brought her in, I just had to take a picture. I quickly set up a corner for a photo shoot and placed Miss Doll USA on my red baby chair and hexagon placemat. I think she looks stunning! Don't you agree? Thanks Robin and Ivy!

Sew & Tell - Yufu's Matching Dresses & Valentine Cupcakes

My sweet Valentine present was delivered by these two little sisters. Little Saho and Shino helped their mom make these cupcakes for the day of love. Well, baby Shino probably didn't help physically, but just sitting there with a smile was probably a big help :-) They thought about me when they made these...isn't this sweet? Look at these smiley cupcakes. And the packaging! It's just sooooo sweet. They were as yummy as they looked.
smiley face and rosy cheeks...

four hearts make a flower for you (me)...

Oh, don't forget Sew & Tell...the main thing here is what Yufu made for the sisters. Pink dresses for their joint birthday party in March. They just couldn't wait till the big day to wear, and I don't blame them. I like the simple style when the color already has so much statement.

Yufu also made this apron dress with a smokey retro blue floral print. This is the second dress she made from the same pattern, and Saho loves this style so much. She just can't stop acting goofy when dressed in this dress. Here is her first apron dress. Thank you Yufu, Saho, Shino for a cute sew & tell and cupcakes!

A Little Heart-Warming Day

An old friend of mine surprised me by showing up at the shop yesterday. It's been more than 10 years since the last time I saw him. I didn't recognize him at first. He looked like one of the guys who would come in and ask me a non-fabric related questions. Very strange questions most of the time. So I just thought he was one of them (sorry), but he had a smile on his face. You know that kinda smile...to see an old friend for the first time in years. Yeah, that's exactly what it was. Then I saw him! He was the nicest and sweetest person among my husband's friends. Many things happened in the past, and talking about old friends and times makes me a bit emotional, but it was soooo good to see him. He looked the same, but had a more matured look. One thing for sure is we both got older :-) Hi Chad! Hi Pam! Glad that you are sewing :-)

And, at night, I sold my vintage granny love chair to a girl and her husband. She liked it, but their car wasn't big enough to take it home. I had some other potential buyers in a line, but couldn't say "too bad, next!" She looked disappointed. I felt bad, so I offered a delivery with my small SUV. It was 9pm, and yes, I was tired. And more importantly, I would loose my second best parking spot. A huge deal around here. Oh well, she liked my loving chair. She will take good care of it. I could tell. She didn't have an extra $5 for delivery, but I didn't care. We crossed the city line and arrived at the young married couple's apartment. She and her husband came out of the car and gave me a bouquet of yellow gerbera (my second favorite flower after daisy). And she couldn't help but to give me a hug. They were happy. It was a wet night, but I felt warm on the way home.

my loving granny love chair a few years ago...loved it and will continue to be loved by the new owner.

Work in Progress

My very first doll quilt and very first quilt in 2010! I have made much larger quilts in the past, but never done a doll size. I've been thinking about making another solid only quilt, but just no time for it yet. So this size is perfect for my quilt bug itching me again these days. No, I don't own any doll to play with this quilt, but it's okay. I just wanted to make one.

Momo

Some of the prints from the Momo line are reprinted again by high demand. They are as pretty as ever.