Year of the Snake

Happy Chinese New Year to those of you who celebrate this wonderful occasion around the world. This is the biggest holiday in Asia, and people are usually off work for ten days (paid!). I miss collecting red envelops full of money and staying up all night on New Years Eve as a kid. So glad for those wonderful memories with family.

Year of the Snake: 
"Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means your family will not starve. This could be taken metaphorically to mean that a Snake could never have a problem with his family starving because he is such a great mediator, making him good at business. Or it could mean that a Snake would be willing to sacrifice his possessions, something the Snake has a lot of, in order to pay for his family’s food. Any way it is interpreted is representative of the Snake’s character and is a measure of the value he puts on his material wealth. The Snake is keen and cunning, quite intelligent and wise."

Crocheting!

I can't believe I am crocheting! I am not sure why, but I have this sudden urge to crochet. I met up with a great friend today, and we spent hours crocheting away. I stopped by the store the other day and picked up five beautiful colors that I like. I just thought they go so well together. Can I tell you that crocheting is addicting. I don't know why I waited all these years to master this!

Isn't this ripple blanket darling? I took this photo as my husband was busy washing my car. Thanks, honey!

This goes so fast; I started on Friday and look how much I have already. The weather here in California has been so beautiful so I took my crocheting bag out for a photo shoot. Maybe this will end up being a baby blanket or just something for me to throw around the sofa. 

Hope you had a great weekend!

Tiny Little Hexagons

I have been in the mood for small projects that are portable. I decided to cut up my one inch strip of 80's reproduction fabric so I can turn them into little hexagons. I got a cute little paper box from a local Japanese dollar store called "Daiso." Do you have one in your area? I can spend hours in that store.

Tiny little hexagons. 

These hexagons are no bigger than a penny! They are so tiny to work with, but I love them. Pay attention to my needle holder on the right of the image. I hate pin cushions with a passion. I find them bulky and impractical. I know, I am weird. So I found this little magnet and taped it onto the side of my hexagon box. When I am not using the needle, I just place it onto the magnet. That's it! I have a magnet on each side of the box. 

I have also been super into amigurumi. Have you heard of them? They are basically crocheted little animals that originated in Japan. If you have been a reader of my blog, then you would know I don't usually crochet. However, I have been learning since I find these amigurumi so cute! I finished crocheting all the body parts of this tiny bear. I will be cursing while I assemble them into this cute little creature over the weekend. I simply dislike seaming! If you have a trick, then please let me know. 

Sewing iPad Cover

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope your new year is off to a great start. I had an outstanding and very relaxing holiday break. I am ready for 2013!

So my first project of the year....

I made another iPad cover this afternoon for my mom following the same instructions I used about a year ago. The dimension listed is 9.5"x11.5", but I remember it was a bit bigger than I would have liked, so I adjusted the dimension this time to 9"x11", and it fits the new iPad perfectly!

 Love the matching orange. I think the lining is adorable! 

The beauty of this cover is that it's washable. I pre-washed all the fabrics used. 

This is still my favorite iPad cover pattern. I recommend this instruction to anyone who is interested in making one. It only took me about two to three hours. FYI, I only used one layer of batting to avoid having to sew too many bulky layers.

Sewing for the Kitchen

If you have been a reader of my blog, then you may have noticed that I love making things for the kitchen. I guess it's because I spend so much time there! I recently visited a beautiful house and noticed the recipient could use a little mug rug for his kitchen.

 I fuzzy cut the mouse print in the center and used the anti-slip backing again for this. It's the same material as the one I used for the olive oil apron. 

They are using this tiny mug rug with the olive oil bottle. Isn't it adorable!?