My first amigurumi

Hello my dear blog friends and crafters :) 

Today, I'd like to introduce to you this little amigurumi guy!

As you may already know, ami-gu-ru-mi (編みぐるみ）is a Japanese term for a crocheted or knitted stuffed toy.   This one is a crocheted version made by me.

 To make amigurumi, I had to begin by first crocheting these small body parts... a pair of hands, feet, and ears, as well as the large head, body, and an oval shaped mouth area. 

I then stuffed each body part with a poly stuffing.

The body parts are joined...  But he has no face yet (scary, huh?)

BTW, to make this amigurumi, I basically followed this Japanese book to make this bear guy.

Title: Cute Animal Amigurumi

ISBN-10: 4834729443

ISBN-13: 978-4834729443

Images from the book.  Teddy bears and friends...

Cute pigs and meerkats...



A cat relaxing with his friend...

Finally, creating his face was the fun part :)  I got his eyes from our local Joann store, and I carefully handstitched his nose and mouth.  

With his new face, now he came to life!!  Doesn't he look happy??

And here's a message from my little guy...

Happy crocheting and happy amigurumi making!

 Hope you have a relaxing weekend filled with crafty moments...

***Love, amy***

Patchwork mini zipper pouches in my shop

I just listed eight different designs of these zakka style mini zipper pouches in my etsy shop.  I patchworked pieces of small fabrics to make one of a kind pouches.  I enjoyed mixing and matching fabric bits to make my original creations :)

The width of the pouch at the opening is approximately 5 inches or 12.5 cm.  

The length is 4.5 inches or 11.5 cm.

It has a flat bottom.  The depth is approximately 1.5 inches (3.8 cm).

The pouch is safe enough to carry gadgets such as digital camera, as it is fully padded with fleece batting.





  Matryoshka, linen, and gingham check combination.

The wood bead is attached to the zipper pull with cotton cord.  These attachments to the zipper pull not only adds that special touch to the pouch, but it also makes it easier to open/close the zipper.

These mini pouches are perfect to be used as coin purse, credit card holders, cosmetics pouch, etc..

This one is a combination of Kaffe Fassett "floating flowers" fabric and polka dots cotton in a light blue tone.

Echino bird in yellow and 100% linen patchworked together here. 



Which one is your favorite?

Crocheting a small bag

I crocheted a small bag, using a gold sparkly yarn, which is one of my favorites.

Would you like to know how small the bag is?

Well, as you can see, it's so small that it can sit on my palm like this!

Here, I attached a chain to the *tiny* bag to make it into a necklace...

Or I can shorten the chain and hang it to my handbag like this.

This morning, I noticed that tomorrow is the last day of September, and I overheard our girls talking about what they want to be for this year's Halloween (October 31).   And I'm thinking... it's Halloween already?  Then comes Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year... OMG I'm feeling old again (lol)...

Well, I am going to enjoy my autumn days with more crafty moments (hopefully) before we hit that  holiday rush again this year.  Good bye September, and hello October.  Hope you treat me kindly ;)

Handmade kitchen scrubbie with a ribbon

For a quick project, I crocheted a square shaped kitchen scrubbie using 100% acrylic yarn from my yarn stock.   I've made a couple of these scrubbies in the past , in different shapes and colors, and I find them very useful, eco-friendly, and gentle on my hands, when I do the dishes.  BTW it's machine washable and dryer safe.

Of course I still use the ordinary detergents and a kitchen sponge when I clean greasy dishes or after I cut meat, poultry, fish, etc., but for non-greasy dishes, cups, and utensils, these kitchen scrubbies do the job just fine.  These acrylic scrubbies work just like microfibers so in most cases, they make the dishes and glasses even shinier.

The size of this scrubbie is approximately 5 " x 5 ", or 12.5 cm x 12.5 cm.   I did not follow any pattern to make this, I simply double crocheted several rows and then added a simple edging all around and a loop at the end.   Yes, I know that white ribbon at the corner of the scrubbie wasn't really necessary, but I just wanted to add a little cuteness to our kitchen sink... ;)



I will hang this scrubbie like this at our sink.

Happy crocheting and happy dish washing!  ...Well, hopefully ;)

Handmade room slippers

I made a new pair of room slippers for myself.  

I have cold feet (and hands), and I wear socks and/or room slippers throughout the year when I'm home.

To prevent from slipping, the back sides of the slipper soles are made of synthetic leather, which are machine washable.



The slipper exterior is made of 100% linen (navy blue).  For the lining,  I used 100% cotton double gauze fabric (roses on pale blue) which makes it very comfy to slip my feet inside!

Inside out of the slippers looks like this.     You really can't tell from the image, but for the sole part, there are two layers of fleece batting sandwiched between the double gauze lining and the synthetic leather sole  (which makes it a total of four layers).



I used slippers pattern from this Japanese craft magazine and made some minor adjustments.  The slipper size is approximately size 5-6 in U.S. women's sizes, or 23 cm - 24 cm in metric size, which fit me perfectly :)

Magazine Title: Cotton Friend  2011 Spring edition (vol. 38)

Publisher: Boutique-sha




Image from the magazine.

It was my first attempt to sew handmade slippers on my own, and boy, how it was challenging!!

I almost gave up during the process... but after several trial and errors, I was glad to be able to complete it. Phew...

 

Above, my slippers are worn by my older daughter, whose height and shoe sizes are almost identical as mine (and she's only eleven years old!)

Stitching for (another) baby

Hello my fellow crafty friends :)

  Our girls' schools started last week and we are back to our full swing schedule.  I haven't had much time to sew lately, but I managed to stitch a special gift set for that special person...  Yes, another baby gift set created for our friend's baby boy.

As you may recall, I've already made two of the similar baby gift sets in the recent weeks, one for the baby Kaito (boy) and another for the baby Reina (girl).

This time, it's for baby William...  I handstitched his name using the chain stitch technique.

 I selected the fun goat prints on aqua blue as main fabric, and combined it with linen and polka dots flannel.

The drawstring bag and the bib are fully reversible.   Reversible side is super soft flannel in powder blue polka dots.

Once again, the reversible drawstring bag is made based on the awesome tutorial by Pink Penguin. 

Well, this handmade gift set for William is the last baby gift item on my list (for now)... I really enjoyed making stuff for babies, and I can't wait to make another one! 

Anyone expecting (lol)???



Handmade gift for a baby girl

Hello there!

It's hard to believe that September is approaching, and I'm sure that many of the kids are going back to school by now... Although our girls' school year does not begin until later next week, and I can't wait! 

(Confession by a tired mom from California... lol)

Anyways, today, I wanted to share with you another baby gift set that I finished recently.

This time, the gift is made for a sweet baby girl.

I used this lovely strawberry fabric for the bib front.  The fabric is double gauze from Japan, which is super soft and smooth.

I did not patchwork the gingham check and the strawberry print... I'm not sure if you can tell from this image, but this is a *fake* patchwork fabric ;)

The opposite side of the bib is waffle cotton, which is super absorbent.



To match with the strawberry bib, I made a drawstring bag using linen and the strawberry print from my stash.   As with my other drawstring bags, I made this bag by following my dear blog friend, Ayumi's wonderful tutorial here.

 

Close up of the hand stitched name of the baby... Although it takes time, I really enjoy stitching baby names by hand.  While I stitch the name of the baby, I always wish that the baby's future will be filled with lots of happiness, love, and prosperity...

The reversible side of the drawstring bag.  More berries on this side!

 



I just wish that this gift set will be used by the sweet baby girl and her proud mommy and daddy!


Thanks for reading and I hope to be back soon ;)

***With love, Amy***

My patchwork bib was featured in Sew, Mama, Sew! (plus more handmade items)

Ms. Melanie of A Sewing Journal writes a monthly column for Sew, Mama, Sew! and she kindly featured my patchwork bib in today's column at Sew, Mama, Sew! - Sewing Trends and Free Fabric Friday.

Ever since I joined the Internet sewing community a few years back, I've been a big fan of Sew, Mama, Sew! online fabric shop and their fun blog, so I am so happy that my handmade item is featured in their blog! Yay!

Thank you so much, Melanie, for picking my patchwork linen bib from all of other handmade beauties out there ;)

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Today, I'd like to show you few pics of my recent handmade items that I haven't had a chance to post here yet.

First one up is a reversible grocery tote that I made using this beautiful floral print in purple/blue tone.  The floral print is from our local Joann store.

Reversible side is blue chambray fabric in home decor weight.   I like the combination of this light denim color and the bright floral print used for the tie ribbons in the center.  The bag will be a gift  to our family friend who lives in Hawaii.



Second handmade item is a small zipper pouch that I made using leftover fabric scraps.  The brown x pink polka dots used here is a sturdy home decor weight fabric.

I wanted to make a small zipper pouch to carry various cards in my wallet.

After I made the polka dots zipper pouch, I made three more zipper pouches in same size and shape, but using the red goat fabric selected by my friend.

These pouches were made as custom order from my friend.

I also made these matching pocket tissue holders using the same fabric.   According to my friend, these matching pouches and tissue holders will be gifts to young girls.

The last item I'd like to show is this flex frame pouch.  The size of the flex frame is 12 cm (4.7 inches) wide.

This pouch is reinforced with fleece batting, which makes it safe enough to carry small gadgets, such as digital cameras and cell phones inside.

I'm not sure if you can tell from the above photo, but I attached a small matryoshka ribbon tape in the side of the pouch. 

Can you see the small matryoshka?

Well... that's it for today's post!   Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with lots of crafty moments ;)

***Love, Amy***