The Winner!

Thank you for so many lovely comments for the giveaway entries.
I read each and every single comment and really enjoyed learning
what you guys are up to. Many of the comments inspired me to
make something different from what I'm used to. I was surprised at
how many of you told me that you've recently made fabric baskets
and drawstring bags using my tutorials. If you've made something
from my tutorials and have a flickr account, please consider adding
your photos of your projects to this flickr group. There are lots
of us who love to see what others are making based on the tutorials,
so your addition will be much appreciated.

I like doing a giveaway because this gives me the best chance to
let lurkers speak up;) I learn that there are actually many of you
who sheepishly lurk at my blog. There is no better motivation
than knowing the fact like this, really, so thank you for letting
me know that you come to read my ramblings here.







Among 357 comments (wow!), the Random Number Generator
picked 282th comment! And the particular one was by.........


Pink Stitches



Congratulations, Pink Stitches!
And Thank you for all of you who entered for the giveaway.
I promise I'll have more giveaways sometime in the near future,
so please don't get disappointed and try again ;)

Thanks for reading!

Glad to be back here! Giveaway now!

Yay! I'm back! I can't believe how boring of a blogger
I must have been for the past month. Sorry if you happen to
have visited here multiple times and got disappointed
by no new posts and Thank you for not forgetting about me.
I really missed you and writing in my blog.
Now that I am done with the spring semester,
I have been spending lots of time in my sewing space
and am excited to share what I've been making!
At the end of this post, you'll find a giveaway, so don't miss it!



This is a reversible tote bag that I completed this morning.
I just LOVE the bird fabric! I bought some of the fabric
in Japan last year and had barely any left until I found this
Etsy shop! They carry lots of fabric from the collection
(My Folklore by Lecien) at such reasonable prices. Interestingly,
the imported Japanese fabric is less expensive at the
Etsy shop
than buying from Japanese fabric online shops. What a deal!




I admit I like working with scraps the most.
I really enjoy grabbing some random scraps and
laying out to see what I can come up with.



So much fun. I think this is going to be a drawstring bag.
Is my scrappy stash getting smaller? Nope, not even a little
bit. It keeps multiplying so fast that I can barely catch up
with them. haha. One day though, I'll attempt to make them all
gone by putting ALL of them into use. I really will!!



Here comes another project with scraps.
What it is will be revealed soon. maybe with a tutorial.
Cool thing about this is...



It's reversible! I am really in love with this thing,
so I can't wait to show you guys..but not this time..






Finally, I'm glad to announce that giveaway gift is ready!
It will include this handmade drawstring which is about
9" x 9" in measurement. Pretty much most of the fabrics I
used for it is Japanese fabric. Pink Penguin's blogiversary:
there has to be something with penguins and something Japanese
because lots of my readers love Japanese fabrics.



The reversed side is Japanese linen that I really adore.



A winner will receive this penguin drawstring bag filled
with fabrics and other things including...



this iron-on patch!
I promise you'll receive lots of fun stuff.

To enter for this giveaway, simply leave a comment under
this post letting me know what you've made recently.
It could be really anything! Anything that involved some
creativity. I'd LOVE to hear this ;)

Please leave one comment by the midnight
of May 30, Saturday (Pacific time). I'll pick
a random winner and will announce the result
here on this Sunday.

Handmade gifts for Mother's day

Thanks a million for your thoughtful comments for my last post.
I'm really glad that there are people like you who enjoy reading
what I say and seeing what I make. Sorry for not posting for
so long. The final exams are coming up and I am just busy studying,
but I really wanted to catch up with you guys this weekend.

I haven't sewn as much as I'd like to but these are the handmade
gifts I made for my mom in Japan and my American mom ;)



This one is on its way to my mom in Japan.
I started piecing the squares feeling like making a tote bag
for her, but as I noticed how fancy-looking it was turning,
I knew a bag isn't the best idea: my mom likes things simple.
So I changed my mind and decided to make it into a mini quilt.
When I was about to close the opening after sewing together
the patchwork and linen, I immediately thought about filling
it up with poly-fil, so I did. And the result was a pillow. LOL.



If I had known that this was going to become a pillow, I'd
have resized it to make it just a pillow cover so that it
would fit the commercial pillow of her choice. But doesn't
it make more exciting when gifts are big? Coming up with
justifications like this is what I am good at. LOL.



This one is for Kim, and I was glad to know it's already in
her hands. I made this pillow in the exactly same way.
30 squares and zigzag stitches. I like incorporating what
the recipient likes every time I make gifts. Kim loves
the beach, so Joe and I knew we wanted to make the pillow
look like beach-color.

Ever since I started making handmade gifts for Mother's day
last year, I knew I would like to do the same every year.
Both my mom and my American mom really enjoyed the fabric
baskets I sent for them. They are always so nice to
care for us, and the best way to show the appreciation,
I thought, was special handmade gifts that are not found anywhere.

Thank you again for your lovely comments/e-mails.
I'll be back soon with a blogiversary giveaway!

You all have a great weekend!