Knit Pouch

The second knitting kit were the pouches. It came with these two colors of yarn.


I did make a "practice" one with blue, but I didn't really care for the color too much...
Coincidentally, the zippers in the kit were again, pink and green! So, I decided to make with my own yarns using these zippers.

This time I learned how to increase and decrease the stitches addition to adding a design like from the last kit.

And of course, how to apply a zipper...
As you can tell, it was time-consuming and a struggle! I almost got attempted to use sewing machine instead of hand stitching it, but it probably would be still difficult to do anyway...!
My yarn was a bit thicker than the one came with the kit, so I had to adjust a little to fit a zipper in, maybe that made it even more difficult! Argh... but pink was irresistible!
Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with how it came out even though it is a bit crooked.. lol
Green one to come... soon, hopefully...

Sewing Machine Cozy

My sewing machine didn't have a cover, so it naturally became my project :)

I chose "Sewing Machine Cozy" from Sew Everything Workshop book by Diana Rupp.
You are supposed to use Oilcloth, but since I didn't have it I used regular cotton fabric...


I've been also curious about bias tapes as I was with a blind hemming foot. I like how it gives a complete look to the item! As I kinda guessed how to apply it, I struggled. Especially the inside corner, the handle hole part! The end part is too ugly to show X(

The sizing was a challenge too... I thought the measurement in the book was little bigger than my machine, so I first cut the depth 1" shorter, but then I thought "Oh no, the seam allowance!" so I cut it again with suggested measurement. As a result, it came out too big... :( Oops, I should've used the first cut-out...! I think it would've been perfect if I used oilcloth instead of cotton as it would've hold itself up though. Oh well. As long as it keeps the dust off of my baby, it's okay! Plus, it's cute!


This is the slit part for the power cord. :)

It gives me a smile every time I look at it! That's all it matters!! :D
Now I'm thinking what to make next...
Oh, I'd better finish another knitting kit first...

See you soon!

My first project?

So, to get my sewing machine running, I first wanted to get the manual. I started to search on the web for a FREE manual of this specific model, but no luck... :( The best I could come up with was an $8 one posted by an individual. When I almost gave up and decided to pay, I thought to call the brand manufacturer number on the machine.

I gave the guy all the information about the machine and at the end he told me "that would be $12.40." Oh... it costs and it's even more... I thought out loud... "Oh, I thought I could get it for free from you guys, that's okay..." and I almost hang up when he continued, "Well, if you go to managemylife.com and type in your model number, you can get it for free." ?!?!? What did he just say? I was confused for a second, but he repeated again, and told him I would try that and thanked him for his help. Wow. Now that's the way to do marketing. It reminded me of the marketing class at college lol. I'm more likely to go back to them for some other products just for what he did right there :)

So, as soon as I got off the phone with an angel, I looked it up on the site and sure enough, it came right up!!! Yay!! Oh, that was Sears I called, by the way :) I think I owe them to put their name up here. See how their marketing is working already? ;)

So, I went through some basic stuff and was ready to start my adventure!!

I was dreaming all over about what to create with my baby.

That's when I noticed my husband standing in front of me holding his pants in his hands and said "Can you hem these for me?"

There it was, my first project lol.

I guess I forget about a pink avocado creation...

Those pants he had in his hands were the dress pants which needed blind hemming.

I actually have been very curious about blind-hem after I kept reading the sewing books.

Luckily, the machine came with blind hemming foot and the manual I just got had a direction of how to do it! I gave it a try and Wa Lah! The hem was blind! How exciting!

It was not as hard as I though it would be. I think the person who invented this thing is so genius!

Now both my husband and I are happy and I'm ready to go on to my pink avocado projects!

Hand-stitching Felt Pouch

This is another kit I ordered from Japan.
Felt Pouches with Silhouette Appliques.

(Little deer is only for display purpose lol. It's cute though, isn't it? I fell in love with it at Gap, had to take her home. She's been sitting in the closet for more than 2 years and thought she could be my blog assistant! :) she looks proud, doesn't she?)




This kit comes with pre-cut silhouette.
I just had to cut the tips of the shape to apart from the frame.
I kept the negative of it, so I can trace the shape when I want to use it again.


This perfectly fits my GPS! I love it! This felt is thicker than usual one, so it protects what's inside with the cushion-ness.

Because it's all hand stitcing, you can tell, where I applied a zipper (backstitcing), how my stitching got wider and wider towards the end lol. Oh well, it's the good part of hand crafting, right? lol
Looking at the finished product, I'm thinking maybe I should've done blanket stitch instead of running stitch around the pouch... maybe next one I will.

My sewing machine story

I've been going to the sewing classes after I rediscovered the joy of sewing (or maybe the other way around).
They happen to have it nearby my home, so I started off with their requirement project, elastic pants. After that project, you are free to bring in anything you'd like to do.
So, I've finished two dresses which I don't have a good picture of them yet. I will post them in near future.

What I like about this class is that you can bring your own project in to work on. It's 3-hour class in the morning and sometimes it gets crowded (maybe about 5 students), so it gets harder to get instructions when you need it, but very helpful and fun.
Plus, one of the instructors is Japanese, so I can get detailed instructions in Japanese! lol That's a big plus!
I haven't been able to make it to the class recently though.

Only time I could sew was when I went to the class because I did not own a sewing machine!
I've been thinking about purchasing one and been looking into various ones to choose from, but fortunately, that plan was changed!
My husband and I took an annual trip to MI to visit the family a few weeks ago.
His grandmother who used to sew passed away 5 years ago and her sewing machine was passed down to my sister-in-law. When I was talking to her about my new hobby, she brought out that sewing machine and said I could take it since she hasn't been using it. At first, I was hesitant but I honorably accepted it! Thank you, sister!
My mother-in-law wiped it down for me to take it home and ta-da! My new machine was reborn waiting to be used! I almost wanted to run to the store to get some thread (I'd purchased enough fabric during the visit. lol) to just sew something!
I was afraid that TSA at the airport might not let me take it on board for whatever reason, but I made sure I took the needle out and luckily I had no problem carrying it on :)
Yes, it was heavy, weighing all my hope and joy within :D

We didn't have an extra table I could put the sewing machine on, so I took the computer desk to be my sewing table! :P We are hopefully moving into our own place soon, so I'll wait till then to get my whole crafting room equipment! hee hee

I've worked on a couple of things on my new sewing machine. Maybe that's why I haven't been desperate to go to the class to sew. It's NICE to have your own at home anytime available!
I'll probably keep working on mine with small projects and go back to the class when I need some tips and help for bigger projects :)

Thanks for reading my happy story :)

Coasters

To re-learn basic and new techniques of crochet and knitting, I've ordered the kits from Japan which arrive every month for 6 months from the items using basic skills to more advanced ones. Supposingly, I should know the major techniques to crochet/knit by the time I finish all the 6 projects. That's exciting!

After checking my mail box daily, the first kits arrived and they were both coasters.

Crochet kit came with blue/white (they called it pink though) yarns.















With very thorough instruction, I could make some circle coasters.
Starting with the loop, using single crochet all the way.

First with single color, and I tried out a couple of them with both colors making a design.



















Knitting kit came with pink and green (how could they know my favorite?!)



These were also with the basic knit and purl.
With combining them, you end up with a design, in this green one, the tree!
I thought to put an initial on the plain pink one with the blanket stitches around.
I think they came out very well considering I only made a plain scarf before!
More the tree design getting shaped row after row, the bigger my smile became!

My husband loved this tree coaster so much he uses everyday to put his precious beer bottle on it. lol



My co-workers also loved the idea of yarn coasters, so I made them their own.

I put a little dot in the middle for crochet one :), blanket stitch one with her inital on it, and the tree coaster for another.



Very basic but very fun project!

Intro

I've been wanting to set up my own blog for a while. With more and more inspiration, I finally got it up! Yay!

I'm from Japan and have lived in the States since 2001. I went to college in IA and during college, I met my husband who is from MI through the summer program in Japan!

After finishing college, we decided to move to HI to split the distance between JP and MI (well, that wasn't the only reason, but that's the basic idea!) :D

Crazy what life might bring you, huh?

I've always been crafty since I was a child, but I haven't really got into it as much as I am now!

I love photography and that led me to scrapbooking. Recently, I've been drawn to sewing. My mom also enjoys sewing, but I've never really thought about making what she makes on my own. That's until I started seeing what you can do with it on blogs of crafty people out there! Until I saw some blogs that mentioned Japanese crafts, I didn't know that we were well-known crafty nation. :D

I've also done some crocheting when I was little and maybe one knitting project during college. After I re-found the joy and the possibility of crafting, I remembered how much I liked crocheting and knitting, so I've got some kits to refresh my memory and learn new techniques and have been working on it.

What I love about crafting is that it makes me happy! I can't stop smiling when I'm working on my projects! Well, not even doing it actually, just looking at fabrics, yarns, stickers, papers, or sewing machine (lol) and thinking about what I can do with them makes me happy!!

Through this blog, I'd love to share this passion with all of you who inspire me.

Why Pink Avocado?

Simply because I love pink and green :)

Hope to show my pink-avocado projects through this blog.

Thank you for stopping by and Happy Mother's Day!

The picture is the sunset view from our balcony.