Taihei Quilt Completed !!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!
I've finished Taihei quilt!



Thanks so much for all of you who gave me advice on
the binding tape color. It seems the polka dots border
looked like black/white in the last post, but it's
actually dark brown/white. I ended up with brown/white
plaid fabric to make binding out of.



I really wanted to do machine-quilting for this,
but I was way too intimidated with the thought that I
could ruin the patchwork pattern by stretching all over.
I attempted at "stitch in the ditch" along the seams
at first, but even that did warp the top layer, so
I decided to do hand-quilting along the polka dots borders.



I am very happy about how this backing turned out.
If you feel like there should be pockets to put
colored pencils, I feel the same way ;)
I see the colored pencil rolls everywhere in the
blogsphere. I believe they are all made based on the
tutorial in Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.
I snatched this great idea from the book too.
It was so much fun to pick out the fabric to create this layer.



I tried double-binding for the first time and I loved it.
It is such an easy way to make binding tapes and to attach
to the quilt edges. Even working on the corners was easy.
Some of the links that helped me learn this way of binding are
Amandajean's binding tutorial as well as this YouTube video.
Thanks so much for the great tutorials!!
I know I'll choose double-binding for any binding from now on.



Smile;)
I made this fabric label using printable fabric.
Nice to see my own name on my own creations...;)


Now that I am comfortable with binding and I have lots
of time to sew, I am confident that my next posting is
going to be about my penguin quilt completed.


I am leaving for a trip to L.A. tomorrow and will be
back on New Year eve, so I won't see you until the next
year here. Have a happy New Year, happy sewing + quilting!

Thanks for reading!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas, everyone!
I hope you are all having great holidays!



Some of the gifts that have arrived ;)
I miss spending time with Joe's families on Christmas.
And I miss my family on New Year's day.
This Christmas is going to be quite slow.
I guess I'll make some nice dinner and Joe and I
will probably play some UNO. We'll have some fun ;)






Last night I finally succeeded in having Joe sew!
Joe got me this sewing machine as my birthday gift in 2006.
He was never ever interested in sewing, but we decided
to sew together and made coasters for his friend - last minute sewing!



The only "manly" fabric I have is traditional Japanese fabric,
so if you are a guy and are to receive any handmade gift
from me at any point in the future, I can almost guarantee that
your gift will be made with Japanese fabric.



A set of two coasters. I'm looking forward to giving.




Lastly for today, I want to show you my progress on the quilt.





The boy's name is Taihei. The name comes from a Japanese word
for the Pacific ocean that connects Japan and America.
His mom is Japanese and dad is American. What a cool name, huh?

Individual blocks...



If you could give me suggestions on what kind of
fabric I should use to make binding for this quilt,
I would be really appreciative!!


Happy Holidays!

Warm Wishes,

Ayumi

The Warmest Gift

Hi all! How's it going? Are you getting ready for Christmas? Busy with
Last minute shopping just like those huge crowds in the mall?
I'm happy that I got done with the Fall semester and
Christmas shopping, and all the Christmas gifts have been sent. yes!
Now it's time for me to get back to the blogging world.
Blogging blogging blogging.. Gosh I just love blogging!!!
I love spending time on my computer with a cup of pomegranate
tea that I've been liking a lot with no worry whatsoever about
school stuff. So relaxing. I love this moment.



Oh so let me brag about something....!
This quilt arrived in mail in Christmas wrapping about 5
days ago. It was from Kim, my American mom. I can't even describe
how much it pleased me, seriously! I love EVERYTHING about this
quilt. The pattern, the colors, the fabric she used..literally
everything about this quilt are so cheerful and I think it is
sooooo beautiful!!



But what I'm the most appreciative for is Kim's sweetest thought
to work on such a big quilt for me. She was the first person who
helped me get into quilting. I started loving the hobby but
I never owned any quilt. I've seen millions of quilts in the blogsphere
and some in person but I never had one that I can call "mine!"
When I opened up the gift from Kim and found out that it was
a quilt, my heart was penetratingly filled with warmth.



I know what it takes to sew something for somebody else.
You need to think what kinds of colors/patterns the receiver of
the gift likes. You need to spend lots and lots of energy and
time working on the project. Well, I can't sound like I know
for sure, because I've ever made such a big quilt before.
Kim knows a lot about me. She knows I like textile fabric and
bold colors. I was a little teary when I held the quilt, feeling
the warmth of Kim. Is this what "a quilt" can do? Making
people so happy like this? Oh my.. now I am really in love
with quilts. Quilts rock!!!!!!!!!! Thanks so much, Kim!!





Let me now share with you a few pictures from last Thanksgiving
which we spent in Yakima/Seattle.



Our first time to meet Sarah, Joe's niece.
"hmmm... who's this guy.. some what like Daddy
but not really..." Sarah often gazed at Joe as if
she had something to ask him. She is incredibly cute.



Here comes Mattie, Joe's nephew.
We missed him so much. I can't believe he is soon turning
seven. The first time I met him was when he was a
little toddler - 2 year old. His growth is a great indicator
of how long Joe and I've been together. Almost 5 years!!



This is another creation by Kim. She's made this for her mom,
Barbara. I had a big smile when I discovered it ;)



Kim made these birds mobile too, out of Japanese fabric
I'd got for her from Japan. By now they must be hanging on
a Christmas tree there. Aren't these cute ornaments?







I know this posting is getting long, but let me just quickly
talk a little about my crafting plans. I think I can finally
finish up this penguin quilt now that I have time to sew.
At first I thought dark pink binding would work great for this,
but now I am leaning towards dark blue, meaning that I have to
re-make the binding..!



I can't wait to see it done though. It will be my first quilt!



This is another quilt I started a while ago. There is this cutest
little boy I babysit. His name in a mini quilt. I thought it would
be a great gift for his 1 year old B-day, but I couldn't make it.
Then I was hoping that it could be a Christmas gift. Nope, not enough
time. I guess it will be a new year gift or something.
I hope it will turn nice...Wish me luck!!!

So.. my crafting plans for this vacation include lots of projects.
First of all, I really have to make soap! I was once into soapmaking
and many of my friends who saw how much soap I had suggested that I
would never run out of soap in my life. And I believed them, but
I am out of it. I don't like using store-bought soap that much.

Besides the two quilts, I also want to make a camera strap,
a tote bag, a plastic bag dispenser with vintage fabric,
and ... and... and..... you name it. I have lots I want to make. as usual.



Let me apologize in advance if I happen not to include
a link to your posting where you have updated photos of
your creations based on my tutorials. I was really busy
studying for finals and I became disorganized :(

Check out...

Fabric Baskets by A Quilting We Will Sew, Sue, Molly, Cheryl,
Quilts and Pieces, Lorelai, Joy, Angela, Vicki, Julia, Marit,
Robine, Shelly, tabick, birdy's original, sparklygreenknickers,
amazedtostumble, klosti2, and sewtobed!

Patchwork Bags by Rebecca, Обо мне, zayasa, Nix Sidhe,
La Lee Lee, and peppermint sky!

Camera Case by tanyBUG!


Thanks for using my tutes, guys!!


Thanks for reading!