Japanese Pattern : Hat

I love Japanese sewing patterns and sure wish I could read them. They are printed on wonderful white paper instead of that flimsy tissue. More like the kwik sew patterns. I find that with the pictures and some trial and error I can usually figure them out despite my lack of kanji reading skills.

I fell in love with this super cute hat pattern for toddlers/kids and it had to come home with me. The patterns are reasonably priced here but they actually have very few of them. It is usually just a small wall display. Nothing like the cabinets full of American ones you find in the United States.

This was the front picture on the pattern. I show a closeup of letter "C" which is the one I chose to make.

This is what the instructions look like. You follow the numbers for the steps and try to figure it out using the pictures.

Finished hat! Wish I had a cute kid to model it for me. Next time I will have to get my friends to help.

Up close with the fabric.

Chestnut Sparrow Painting

I decided to paint a canvas that I had been envisioning for my craft room

I can't decide if I should do another coat of the brown or if I like the textured look. What do you think?

A post for Lilly

I realized Lilly has not made it onto the blog yet. This is especially for Matt. He thinks it is funny when her hair is blowing in the wind.

Isn't she cute? Naughty, but cute.

Toothbrush + Labrador = destruction

Barnsley was getting very nasty breath and then he ate something disgusting. Out came the pet dental! This is a bi-annual event usually. Since he was in for it Lilly had her teeth brushed as well. She was being a lady and I was able to use a little brush I put on my finger.

He loves the pet toothpaste and loves the toothbrush, actually a little too much.

I can' t use the finger toothbrush for pets for obvious reasons, CRUNCH!

I do think they are cleaner than when we started!

Basket

Now I can add "Basket Weaver" to my list of skills. I took a class with my friends (the 2 Christa's) on Saturday and made this basket. I wasn't too keen on the idea that it is heart shaped.

If you turn it to the side it really doesn't look much like a heart!

The inside view where you can see the heart shape.

Up close of my weave job, not bad for the first time!

My fingers were sore and cold after weaving all of that wet reed but the end result was worth it.

Ratatouille!

I've been trying to eat healthier and found this recipe for RATATOUILLE over at Cook Sister! Blog http://www.cooksister.com/2008/10/ratatouille-bake.html

It turned out really well and I would make it again. Of course I will have to save up my pennies to buy another zucchini. I had to pay $7.98/lb. My little 6" zucchini came to $3.39! Yeouch!

It's finished!

I finished up the ball last night. I don't think I will do another one anytime soon. It was a lot of handstitching. Just a few pictures so you can see how it turned out!

Collar Pouch

Barnsley, the 3 year old lab hand selected for this project!

To the right he is giving the over the shoulder faraway look that seems to say "Don't I look handsome?"

I felt it was time to put Barnsley to work. I currently stuff his potty bags into my pants or jacket pockets. Recently I bought some exercise clothes that don't have pockets......what to do??? You could buy one of those dispensers that clips on the leash.....You could stuff them in your shoes (I've done this, not very comfortable)....or you could solve the problem with your sewing machine!
As you can see I chose the later. Barnsley can now help carry things for both dogs. (not pictured is Lilly the naughty terrier mix)

Part II of Pentagon Ball

The picture on the right is a little deceiving because it looks finished. I just cut off the open side in the photo.
As you can see I don't have too many more seams to sew.
Because this is all done by hand I am working on it when I find myself in front of the TV. Lately that hasn't been too often though. I think one more good movie or a couple TV shows and I should be ready to stuff the ball.

You can see here, the paper pieces get left in the pentagons until you have sewed all the seams around the shape. I have taken out most of the paper in the bottom and that is why it looks wrinkled.

What I'm up to now...

I have decided to do something cute with some scraps. I stumbled upon a cute pentagon pieced baby ball pattern over at http://blog.burdafashion.com/bumo_en/blog/MarysWeblog/Tutorials/. I am making mine a little larger in scale though. You can see I already have my pieces basted and ready to go.

The green floral fabric is much more vibrant in my house. My camera does not photograph it very well.

Yellow Goodness! One of my favorite fabrics....hmmmmm.

Up close shot of the basting with contrasting thread (or what was on the needle at the time)

I labeled the pieces once I worked out the placement. I figured out you could use 4 different fabrics and not have any of the same colors touch. Now I need to get busy in front of the tele and hand stitch all these seams. I think it will be a while until you see a finished product. If you're lucky I'll update you. If only I had a few more hours in my day like my friend Christa http://usagiquilts.blogspot.com/. Apparently she is working with more than 24 hours! Just kidding. I don't think she wastes as much time as I do.