Tissue Box Covers!

Was busy last month stitching up a few of these quick and cute tissue box covers! These are for Japanese tissue boxes, and just as soon as I get in the mood to make another, I will attempt a tutorial on how to DIY! On a roll, it takes me about 1.5 hours (along with answering questions, checking FB, watching TV and getting a drink) to finish one off. Not too bad!

Bitty Tea Time Mat

Using this Tea-Time Mat pattern from thesplitstitch that I found on Pinterest.com, I made a little tea-mat for a friend's birthday. I just love it, the cute tea-bag applique, the nice use of scraps, and the size is perfect for a cup of tea and small dish of cookies!

closer up of the applique...first done with double-sided fusible web and ironed on, then hand stitched around the edges...notice my 'handmade' tag on the side

simple patterned cloth for the back

finished product...notice the piece of lace dividing the pattern, I rarely work with lace, but loved the way it turned out

The Bitty Bag! Applique carry-tote for Mother's Birthday!

The bag!

After one test run at making The Bag, I came up with a version I was quite proud of! Tadah!

4 pockets along the outside (a little pincushion on a string)

2 large pockets and 2 smaller pockets on the inside

Big enough I hope to hold an applique iron along with tools and your project

I chose a really pretty blue mushroom lineny cloth, and neutral polka-dots to compliment it. And I sewed a ladybug trimming on the edge of the pockets

And of course a little handmade tag...

I kept version one of the bag for myself, it doesn't have a closure at the top or reinforced pockets on the inside, and is harder to use, but the size is perfect for holding small projects and tools.

Happy Birthday Mom!! Love you!

Bitty Bread Baskets

Ever since I saw the pattern in one of my Japanese books to these baskets, I wanted to make them! And the next birthday that came along, I stitched up a few. They were quick sewing, and turned out really nice. Once I have a bit more time, I intend to make some for myself, great for serving snacks at a party!

Lots of little bits!

Some smaller projects I've worked on in over the past couple of months!

Scrap Coasters, based on Japanese fabric, with a touch of hand embroidery.

Japanese fabric flower. It's a good size, would work as a table center, or cushion cover when done.

More scrap coasters. I love this windmill design, one of my favorites right now.

Little sock owls my granddaughter and I made while she was visiting from Kanto.

Bunnies in the garden, felt bunny mobile, so cute!

100-yen shop find of the day! Cracked glass jar and pebbles (candle was mine). It's really pretty on the table at night.

Bitty Shopping Bag

I needed a smallish type quick-grab bag to throw my wallet, cell-phone and ipod into when dashing to the store for milk and eggs. Following AllPeopleQuilt.com's pattern, I came up with this little bag, a perfect size for 2 or 3 necessities and a quick run to the store! I used all Japanese-themed fabrics for the outside, and a more westernish fabric for the lining. I think it took just over an hour from start to finish to make this bag, any future replicas will probably be quicker. It's a great use of scraps!!

Whenever possible, I send Yoshi to the store for me, he usually manages to bring home the eggs!

Triangles Lap Quilt: pattern from The Temecula Quilt Company

The Temecula Quilt Company is a lovely little quilt store in Temecula, California. It focuses on Civil War reproduction fabric, and being near my mother's place, she often visits there. This year's birthday present was a year's subscription to their monthly kit program! I love their fabric, it's so soft, warm, soothing, and can't wait to dig into my most recent kit!

This lap quilt was used with their pattern, but not their fabric, I bought them locally. It took me less than a year to finish this off! Accomplishment for me! And I gave it to my step-daughter for her birthday this year. As you can see, the triangle lines are not the straightest, slightly crooked, but I still think it turned out cozy. I hadn't chosen the orange border fabric when I purchased all the others, but at the end I felt it needed something for color, and the orange was in my stash and seemed just the right amount of richness to set off the rest of the colors. I did the binding with scraps from the quilt itself, one of my favorite types of binding.

What excited me about this quilt, besides cutting out over a hundred triangles, LOL!!... was I tried out my new Quilter's Darning Foot to do free-style quilting at the end. I LOVED it! I can't wait to do more!! I didn't choose a good thread, I wanted to use some beautiful variegated thread I had picked up, but the machine didn't take too kindly to the thread and I had a lot of problems with it snapping, snagging, breaking, and so gave it up and settled on a less pretty thread. Overall though, I had a lot of fun making this quilt!

Some of the quilting with my new foot...

I decided to do a different quilting pattern on every other triangle row.

And a close-up of my mitered corner, they turned out really well!

My step-daughter said she loves it and hopes she can keep her kids from trying to cuddle up under it, since it's really only big enough for one!