Quick Bag Refashion

In the middle of July, our family took a week long Vacation... We had a lot of fun, but the SUPER long driving exhausted us. After we came back, we have been taking it easy and today, I finally transferred the pictures to my desktop. I will share the pictures soon, but I have a small makeover project to share.

When we went to Kinokuni-ya (Japanese book store) in Seattle I bought a few Japanese magazines. This small tote bag came with one of them.

I decided to add a big bow in front to hide the words and added the same fabric on the handles. It was a fun and quick project.

I am so glad that I didn't give it away to DI. Rachel loves the big bow and the colors. This will be a perfect scripture bag for her!

Skirting the Issue/ My two tutorials

What is Skirting the issue? My dear friend Liz and Elizabeth of Simple Simon & Co started this month long event a few years ago. Basically you are invited to sew along with them and other bloggers who are sharing their tutorials and making skirts to donate to local Foster Care centers. If you want to find out more details, you can find the answers on their blog.

I look at my own life, we are not rich by any means, but my kids have a stable home, the basic necessities and more, above all, Mr. TRH and I love them very much. Wouldn't it be nice if we could do something to put a smile on a girl's faces who needs more love, encouragement, and support?

Here are the tutorials that I am sharing. When you click the link or the pictures, it will take your right to the tutorials.


Instapocket skirt --- This is one of the most favorite skirt tutorials I have created. You get to use different fabrics and create a unique boutique look. You can totally make this skirt without the pom-poms and it will still look pretty.

Geometric Two Layered Skirt I created this for Joann fabrics craft month. You may not have the desire nor the time to do customized fabric, but you can see how you can create a two layered skirt with this tutorial. It is not complicated at all!

So, what do you say? Do you have a fabric stash you don't know what to use for? Please head over to Simple Simon & Co and find out more about it.

Happy sewing! :)

New Obsession ~ Aurifil Thread

I knew about Aurifil thread for a while, but I felt like it was a bit expensive and didn't dare buy them. Several months ago, I was going to do more machine quilting and my thread kept breaking and giving me grief... sigh. After reading up on stuff on the web and also talking to some people at quilt shop; I decided to try it to see if it is really as great as everyone says.

OH, boy.

It really is amazing! I quilted an entire quilt without any thread breaking, and I felt like my skill got better! (shh... who is saying that it's because I used better thread?)

Then, I received this in the mail...

Wow, what perfect timing! Riley Blake came out with this Aurifil's basic color collection. It was like my birthday and Christmas came at the same time!

I was so excited that I showed it off to my kiddos and Mr.TRH. Their reaction? They were like "Oh, that's nice mom", or "good for you hun" to be nice. but I know they didn't quit understand why I was that excited over some threads. I bet I acted like a kindergartener who owned their very own first crayon box. :)

I am looking forward to using them on my other quilting projects to come. What is your favorite sewing notions you have to have? If you have any please do share in the comment section. I would love to know!

Leisure Bag Pattern

I blogged about this bag and a class I was going to teach at a local shop a while ago...

I am excited to tell you that the PDF pattern is available at my Etsy shop! Please head over and check it out if you are interested in making this fun and easy bag for this summer.

I made several; for my mom, sisters and nieces. It is kind of fun to see in different fabrics and even combine two different fabrics to create a bag.

Now, if you are making one, what kind of fabric are you going to use?

Down Memory Lane and Now

It was years (and years!) ago that I made my first patch work pincushion. I was hooked. I made patchwork pouches, bags then moved on to quilts. I didn't have a sewing machine nor any fancy cutting tools, so every thing was done by hand, the old fashioned way.

At the time I was also interested in the history of quilt making and antique quilts, so I read some books related to those topics. When I first started out, I was fascinated by traditional quilt designs; such as the Baltimore album quilt, double wedding ring and grandma's flower garden and so on so forth. Soon I had strong desire to make one... I know, I know, it was a crazy idea being a beginner and attempting to make quilts like that. Also, I didn't know any quilt makers in the area I lived in. Everything I know I learned from books.

My first big quilt was this one: Irish chain.

After the Irish chain quilt, I worked on smaller projects then, when I got engaged to Mr.TRH, I decided to make a double wedding ring quilt. It took FOREVER. Seriously ... I quickly realized what I got myself into, but it was too late. I already bought all the fabrics, and this was going to be a special quilt for me. I was committed.

I love all the process of quilt making, but what I love the most is when I am sitting down and doing hand quilting. About a year later, I finished making the quilt. Stitch by stitch, imagining what our life together would be like...

The next big quilt I made was this grandma's flower garden quilt. We were newly married, and we didn't have a whole lot of money to spend on anything. I decided to use an old college ruled note books we didn't need to make templates for paper piecing. This quilt was also done all by hand. At the time Mr. TRH worked the night shift at work and came home and slept for a few hours and went to school during the day. There was quite a drive to school, so often times I drove him to school so he wouldn't sleep at the wheel. To save gas, I stayed at school for hours until he was done with classes. Due to my visa status and health issues, I couldn't really hold a job, but this made me feel that I was contributing to our life in some way. I didn't mind the wait at all and this hand piecing project kept me busy. While I was working on my project in the hall way, sometimes people would stop and ask me what I am working on and sit down to chat with me.

It took me about 2 years start to finish to complete this quilt. When I cut the last thread, I was thinking to myself, "I will never do this again!". Now, years have passed, I am working on a hexagon quilt again.

After having toddlers and a baby at home, I found it was very difficult to do what I had been doing. I started to do easier and simpler projects; things I could whip out in a few weeks. My love for hand quilting is still there, but there is a new found appreciation for machine quilting. My taste in colors has slightly changed as well. Here is my recent project I created for Riley Blake. You see what I mean?;

Traditional or modern, Hand pieced or machine pieced, hand quilted or machine quilted whatever it is, I admire the quilts because they represent people's thoughts, stories and personalities. Over all, I don't think what I like changed much. I took in some modern aspects to what I already had in me and evolved to my personal style. I guess when you are into anything creative it is a journey to find your own style somehow. I kind of enjoy getting lost in the process; experimenting with different color palettes and patterns every now and then.

Have you figure out what you like the best?

I got a Stash ~ T-shirt Makeover Tutorial ~

I am at Brassy Apple today and sharing my new t-shirt refashion tutorial! Please hop over there and say hi to lovely Megan. :)

I will be back after the 4th of July with a new post, in the meanwhile I hope you all will have a wonderful week!