Recycled crocheted mat... finished!!

This week, I finally finished working on my recycled crocheted mat, which has been sitting underneath my craft table for a long time...

For how long this *unfinished project* was sitting around... I wasn't exactly sure.  But after going through a list of my previous blog posts, I realized that I began this making this item in June of 2010... which means it took me more than a year to complete this simple mat!!  I don't even know why it took me so long to finish this, but I'm so glad that I was finally able to finish it after all these months... :P

This recycled crocheted mat is made of old sheets, our kids' used clothing, and various fabric scraps I had in my hand.   To crochet this mat, first I simply made several of these fabric yarn balls by hand stripping recycled fabrics.  It's really an  eco-friendly way to recycle unused fabrics and clothing around our house (which we happen to have so much!)

Work in progress...

Here's a close up of the crocheted mat.  I tried to make this mat using pinks and blues, but I guess I ended up using some navy, greens, and even yellows...

It's really comfy to put your bare feet on this recycled crocheted mat, especially during the hot summer days.  I decided to use this one as our kitchen mat.

But I need more than one mat in our kitchen, so I shall start making another one like this soon... and

this time, I wish I can finish it sooner... We'll see :D

Ruffled wristlet pouch

I've been itching to make something with ruffles... and I finally did :)

This is a ruffled wristlet pouch made with natural linen and black embroidered cotton lace with scalloped edging.  The size of the wristlet pouch is approximately 9.25 inches x 5.5 inches, not including the handles.

Each row of embroidered ribbon are carefully sewn on to the face of the wristlet pouch.  To avoid fraying, I finished the top seam of the lace ribbon with rolled hem function using my serger.

  

The wristlet pouch is fully lined with fleece batting, and the interior fabric is black x white polka dots cotton.

The back side of the pouch is simple linen only...

Here is the side view. 

I just listed this ruffled wristlet pouch in my online shop. 

I think I really love the ruffles!!  Now, I'm in the "ruffles" mood and feel like making more of these :)

Thank you so much for reading!!  I'll be back soon :)



Linen cutlery (and chopsticks) organizer

Hello all :)  Hope you're enjoying your summer days.

 Well, for our family, it's been five weeks into our kids' summer break, and I'm having a challenging time of the year...  I mean, it's so hard to keep a schedule and do my work, keep kids busy and keep myself sane, all at the same time when kids are free in summer!!  

 Anyways... I haven't really had enough chance to sit in front of my sewing machine lately due to the above reasons, but I managed to make these linen cutlery organizers with handles recently :)

These fabric organizers are fully reversible.  As you can see, I used linen on one side, and home decor fabrics (pink and navy dots) on another.

I lined them with interfacing, and with a combination of home decor fabric, they are sturdy enough to stand on its own.

 Side view.  The approximate height is 2.75 inches (7 cm), not including the handles.

Bottom view.  Depth is approximately 3.25 inches (8.25 cm).

I made these linen organizers to store our cutlerys and chopsticks to place them on our kitchen table...

But it can also be used to store stationery around the desk, or to store sewing supplies at your sewing area.

We've been using these at our kitchen table lately, and these are very convenient to use.

I realy like the combination of polka dots and simple linen :)

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and I hope you're enjoying your crafty moments, no matter how busy your schedule may  be... ;)

***Love, Amy***



Drawstring mini tote bags

Hello!  How have you been?

It's been a while since my last post (three weeks?) but I'm so glad to be back with my latest creations to show you today...

I just added these mini drawstring tote bags in my shop.  





The bag exterior is made of a combination of Japanese imported cotton print and home decor fabrics.  Home decor fabrics are used for the bag handles and the bottom, for added sturdiness.

The bags are fully lined with 100% cotton and fleece batting.  It's perfect to be used as everyday tote, or as a lunch bag (or a "bento bag" as we call it in Japan) or snack bag.

As you can see, the tote has a drawstring opening, but you can easily fold the drawstring part inward to use the bag as ordinary mini tote (without the drawstring).

And BTW... do you remember from my last post how my kitchen looked like during the remodeling, after everything had been removed?  It was totally empty like this...

After few weeks, the remodeling is finally over (phew!), and here is a snap shot of a our kitchen now...

I am so happy (and relieved) that now I'm able to cook and eat in our kitchen.  Living without a kitchen (especially with kids) was tougher than I had imagined...!!

  I literally had to "cook" in our living room with my rice cooker, microwave, refrigerator, and a Japanese portable gas cartridge stove, and I washed those plastic dishes and utensils in our shower!! (Well, I could of disposed them, but I didn't want to throw away everything during our construction, which lasted over several weeks...)

Thanks so much for visiting my blog, and happy cooking and crafting to you all :-D