Thursday 30 June 2011

Requested fortune bag

Just finished with this requested bag.
The friend who requested this bag wanted me to use Yellow colour.
Yellow will bring monetary fortune to you, she said.
Hope it's true!
I've also stitched half round sashiko to the lid, and round sashiko to the bottom.
Round shape also is a good shape to have.

\



It has 16 card pockets and a zipper pocket at the centre.

Wednesday 29 June 2011

New bag "Kominka"

This is my new bag I just finished making.
The title of this patchwork is "kominka" (old Japanese house).

I've used some antique silk kimono "meisen".



There are 24 card pockets inside.

There is this centre pocket for small things.

It's on auction Japan from today.

Saturday 25 June 2011

Useful summer room shoes!

This is the summer room shoes I made for my friend.
I sent it today by airmail, and it cost $34!! Ouch!!
Well, it had two of this room shoes and a top and 2 pouches.

The heel part is like this, and you just step on it.
You normally stitch it on to the sole, but I left it un-stitched on purpose.

It's because I wanted to remove the insole I made.
Since it's a humid summer in Japan, you like to wash your room shoes frequently to keep it clean.
Instead of washing the whole shoes, you just take the insole out and wash it.
The insole is hand woven using PP cord and cotton fabric strips.
Hand woven fabric ZOURI
クリエーター情報なし
河出書房新社

Friday 24 June 2011

lady's babouche

Just finished it last night.
It was requested by the lady who bought the men's babouche.

The insole has 100% cotton fabrics inside and is covered by the linen fabric.
It will be comfortable in humid Japanese summer!


We had Ulala meeting on Wednesday!
Please visit Ulala blog for details ; )



*** Say NO to nuc power ***

One of my client in Japan has sent me this link .http://nanjinggenpatsu.com/fukushima3.html

Scroll down to read the English version.
Japanese government are still trying to cling onto an easy way out, which is to continue using the nuc power stations.
On an island with lots of earthquakes!
If the accident happens again, everyone in the world will suffer from it.
When you think about the ashes from Chile affecting Australian flights, you can guess how far the raioactive particles travel by the wind.
Everywhere!!
It's not a small issue only for Japanese people.  It's a big issue for everyone in the world.
Please pass on this link to people who are concerned about the welfare of their children and their children.
Say NO to the nuc power!
Back up people like the president of Softbank who are trying to come up with a safer natural source of energy.

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Useful bag for the rainy day

The white cloth is the eco friendly super absorbent kitchen cloth you get at woolworths.
It's abour AU$3.99 for 2 pcs in a bag.
The red-dish cloth at the back is the water-proof fabric.

I put elastic band through at the bottom, and sew the sides together like this.

Then make a handle with the same fabric, and sew it to the body.
I've used D ring and a swivel lobster clasp so you can hang it to your bag handle.

Now, how do you use it?

well, it's a small bag to hold your umbrella!
When you take a bus for work and is raining, and you get into the bus with a wet umbrella, it is quite uncomfortable for everyone.

But with this bag, you can insert your wet umbrella easily as it has a wide opening

 

You don't need to fold it neetly.  Just put it in like this!
Because the lining is water absorbent, the umbrella gets dried once it's inside the bag.


and with the handle, your hands can be dry, and you don't need to hold onto it.

You can just attach the bag to your shoulder bag


like this!


The reason why I made the bottom like this with the elastic band is...


that you can use it with a long style umbrella as well!
When you put it through the bag, the umbrella gets dried so you don't need to worry about wet umbrella.  You can hang its handle to the opening of the bag.

The great thing about this is that

you can


put the 500ml water bottle in!


It fits perfectly!
It doesn't keep it cool, but will dry the surface for you if you don't like the wet water bottle.

I will send this to my friend in Japan as it's getting quite wet over there.

Sunday 19 June 2011

men's room shoes

Just finished this men's room shoe.
It's 28cm and is huge in Japanese standard.
It was requested on auction Japan.


The insole is cotton fabrics in layers and is covered by the linen fabric.


The sole is pig suede.
I've put on auction Japan at a fixed price this time.

Friday 17 June 2011

kitchen wipe


I bought this eco friendly type of kitchen wipe.


It's quite cute.

I will use this to re-make the umbrella wipe.

I'm thinking, maybe I'll change it's shape abit....

Thursday 16 June 2011

Man's room shoes


I've bee asked to make a summer room shoes for man.
The requested size was 28cm!
It's quite huge for a Japanese man!

ルームシューズ―毎日いつも
クリエーター情報なし
主婦の友社

This time I'm using the pattern from this book.
The book provides a very detailed instructions with a picture.

I'll be stitching sashiko onto the white bit. ; )

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Summer top with double cotton gauze

I've made this very roomy summer top for my friend.
I wanted to make something different, so I added "meisen" patches on it.
Hope she likes it!

Since the parcel is going to Japan, I wanted to send something else with it.
Then I saw something on the popular Japanese handmade blog, and decided to make one myself.
The basic idea is from her blog, but my version is a bit different.
Her creation is much more elegant!

First you buy one of these sponges.
I bought this cheap one long time ago, and haven't been using it.

I used one and half of this sponge, and wrapped it with a waterproof fabric like this.

Then I sew on the soft side velcroe onto the sponge like this, and the other side of velcroe on a tab.
It's better to have the soft side velcroe long.

When it's done, you just wrap it around your umbrella, and
twist it in this wrap to dry it.

You can keep it wrapped like this.

It's really handy when you go to work by public transport.
It will get quite packed inside the bus or train, and having a wet umbrella with you is quite annoying for everyone.
If you have this wrap, you can dry it as well as keep it out of people's way.

A very good idea from "Shufu no mishin" blog!

Tuesday 14 June 2011

my new patch and stitch work bag

I've just finished this new bag with a funny patchwork and stitches.




There are total of 24 card pockets inside.