my new tulip bag

This is the bag I was working on yesterday,

and it's now on Yahoo auction at a fixed price.

This is the back side of the bag.

I actually love this shape.

Quite complicated to make, but very interesting!

See there's a zipper right at the border from left to right?

Well, I don't need to tell you, but it's a zipper pocket!

And,

Side pocket as usual, deeper with this new style, and wider too!

Very handy for a person who drinks a lot of water when traveling.

The front and back flap is fastened with this small circle hock.

If you don't see it, that's OK!

It's not the main feature anyway.

This black leather handle is the off cuts I got from a leather belt shop in the Freo market.

I just love this chunky-ness of this belt!

The back side has this secret pocket, and

A tulip pocket for your transport pass!

And,

More pockets!!

The front flap opens to

an amazing 3 pockets!!

2 blue ones, and one on the flap.

Can't see it? 

Well, you will when you use it.

And, guess what,

More pockets!!

This is the inside of the back flap and it has one zipper pocket.

Now, who can guess what's coming next?

You've guessed it!

More pockets!!

There are total of 4 pockets in here.

Well,

that's all.

Hew...

Did you just ask me why I put so many pockets in one bag?

Well, I put lot of pockets, because...

well.....   I can, and

it's nice to get organised, and..

well, it will test your memory!

There!

Looks very nice on the shoulder,

and

looks casually nice like this too,

and...

when you insert a strap through this leather tag at the back,

you can use this bag as...

a back sack!!

Well, hope you enjoyed the introduction to my new bag!

I'll be making more bags tomorrow

and will try to update it on this blog too.

If I don't, then check out my Japanese blog!

You may not understand what I write

but you can see what I did on the picture!

my hand craft 2012

Sorry for not updating this English page for a while.

Not that I haven't been making anything, I just haven't made updating this blog as my habit yet.

I am still waiting for parts to come for the front bag of Brompton bicycle,

so I am making this new design bag now.

It will have my hand sewn Sashiko circles (above), and

Rakugaki! (scribble with fabrics)

Haven't been doing this Rakugaki for a while, but I just felt like doing it again.

This new bag has a very unique pockets!

This one will be a pocket for the inside, and

This is a curved zipper pocket for the outside!

I am working on it right now, and hopefully will finish it in a day or two.

This is an empty old pot we had stored in our storage room.

I think I'll seriously start planting veges this year.

(which I've been telling myself every year)

So, I've asked my hubby to move them to our back yard,

 and we've placed them here..

Right next to the garage where we'll be walking by everyday.

This will let me remember to water them!

A very good idea from my garden lover friend.

What I need now, is a good soil..... from compost?

Real voices from Japan Fukushima

I have just read a shocking blog written by the Japanese lady who lived around Fukushima area.

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/kmasa924/archive/2011/12/31

This head belongs to a 42 year old lady
who looks very young still on her twitter picture.
She was a very active and healthy middle aged lady before 311.
I could not believe my eyes.

Her hair started to fall out since October last year.
In just 3 months, she has lost this much hair.
She now wears a wig.

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/kmasa924/archive/2011/12/20

This is the blog with picture of how suddenly, her teeth cracked.
She just had a bite on a rice cracker.
She had her teeth checked and were all healthy before 311.

http://ameblo.jp/maimaikaimei/

This lady is the same lady who had lost her hair.
See how lovely her long hair is?
On this blog, she says that her toe nails became deformed.
When she touched her second toe of both feet,
nails came off....
She now wears bandage on them.

And, Japanese government are not very concerned.

Front bag for the Brompton bicycle

My husband bought Brompton bicycle recently

and asked me to make a front bag for it.

This is the e.g. of the Brompton front bag.

And this is the accessory which will hold the bag onto the bicycle.

I have made the slide in pouch at the back of the bag.

This is the pocket for knickknacks.

The slide in pouch is secured by the two velcro strips.

The size is about W 45, H 35, D 14cm

It has a bottle holder on both sides.

I'll make a flap with this red strap today.

Tweets in Japan

I am still new in Tweeting, and I only follow 49 people, mostly Japanese.

For a week or two, most of tweets are about radiation concerns from 311.

What shocked me most was the information about an abnormal growth of plants throughout Japan.

http://onodekita.sblo.jp/article/52315121.html

Once he tweeted about this blog, many people tweeted that they have seen huge cabbages, lettuce, etc, even in Tokyo.

There were once a lot of tweets about sudden death in places not very close to Fukushima.

At first I too thought it may be connected to the radiation, but sudden death may have been happening every year anywhere, and it's just came to people's attention because of the radiation concern, and this could only be coincidental.　Then again, it may be connected to the 311.

One thing I can tell from these tweets are that Japanese people are concerned, angry, frightened, but trying their best to do something for their family.

update of my latest crafts

This is the mobile phone pouch I made for Zelkova's daughter.

It has a zipper pocket for coins at the back.

You can detach the strap and carry it in your bag as well.

It has a pocket under the lid for smart rider card.

This is the new type of my original granny boston bag.

It has a gathered pockets on both sides with a flap.

You can use the flap to attach the long strap.

I have also made few wrap skirts and tunics using Japanese fabrics

and other cotton fabrics.

The brown fabric with turnip is the "tenugui" I got from Japan.

It's the traditional item which was used from Edo period.

Tenugui is used by the common people to wipe hands,

face, body, to wrap it around the head, neck, etc.

It comes in many different type of unique prints.