new year

Hello 2008!


I usually look forward to a new year, new changes, new everything. But it seems with the passing of my grandfather late November, everything has been plain, simple and somber at home. Which is understandable, in keeping with tradition and as part of the mourning process. No celebrations. No visits to relatives or friends. The adults (meaning, the parental unit) follow it more strictly than the children (meaning, me, the unmarried "adult").

And I usually make all of these resolutions and set goals and plans and do all sorts of things like that. But, I think, for this year, I'm just going to focus on doing well in my classes and moving forward with my art and craft and see where it takes me. Manageable. Practical. Simple.

Meanwhile, I've been neglecting you my dear friends. And I have loads of photos to share! (of things I made from my last post until now).

My proudest creation is this bear. I found a pattern online after deciding not to purchase a bear and just make my own! Isn't he the cutest? I've just been calling him Bear-bear. :)



I think Bear-bear looks hot in every direction. Watch him strike a pose! Haha. He is made with all natural Lara Cameron fabric.

I made a few other things with her fabric as well. After seeing Lara's post of the cute little baby shoes, I thought I'd have to give it a try. Especially since there are a couple of friends with babies. For the blue felt shoes I used the pattern by Heather Bailey. For the other shoe (yes, I only made one shoe), since I can't sell things produced from a copyrighted pattern, I decided to create my own after analyzing several different patterns.I'm still working out the kinks, figuring out how thick it needs to be and what materials to mix together (in this case, felt and linen does not go too well together - see the bumps along the edge?). heehee. Plus, I don't have a baby to test out my shoes for fit! haha. oh well...




For my friends, this year I've decided to make a few things that I hadn't do yet. Below is a wallet, a potholder for the mom of a friend I stayed with for a few days, and a pouch that holds a notebook I made (shown in an earlier post). Then, of course, a pillow! (I used Amy Butler and Joel Dewberry fabric - still have a stash I wanna use up).









Here's my favorite item other than Bear-bear! I finally attempted at a quilt using mainly Lara Cameron fabric, as well as some Etsuko Furuya and Joel Dewberry. Really pretty though. But if you saw it up close and personal... you'd see the flaws. For the back I used a clearance flat sheet bought from Urban Outfitters (I know... I know...). And for the battting I purchased some bamboo batting - it is so SOFT and totally worth the extra cost. I consider this a present to myself. :)


I have other things to show but I'll save that for next time.

And I almost forgot. Here's a glimpse at my new haircut. It's cute but so hard to maintain its shape. I wake up with hair ends curling every which way. Bobs just don't work for straight hair. sigh.


Happy new year and keep it simple!