Link Love No. 65!

Hmm... I have several projects I started working on, but there were so many other things that I had to take care of first and they are not quit done enough yet to share with you. I know it will be like this the rest of the week! So I am just going to share a sneak peek of what is to come in the (hopefully near) future...


It took me over three years to collect all these vintage pillowcases/sheets from thrift stores. Sometimes if I am lucky I would find several really pretty pillowcases in good conditions, but that is very rare.

I asked you all what I should do with them and many of you said dress for my daughter or a quilt. I thought about it hard... (Remember, once I cut them, that is it! I can't buy them at the fabric stores or order on-line... they are so precious).

Drum roll... I decided to make a quilt! If took me another several days to come up with the design for the quilt, but I am happy to say that I already cut all the pieces I need. I am in the middle of piecing. :) I can't wait to share the finished quilt!

Go ahead and link up and have fun!

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


<center><a href="http://tearosehome.blogspot.com"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462799092490427250" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 160px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc9CFJR6Te5CpNgHYGsz2oQcSPEa7ev57prQmm-wO7bU5-IXOUTAJV08BvA-pbdpS2QCr864re5ljtzEGNU20emgmsiG0eSXBf9nArpxdnE1SRy7EGrrnSSMYTt3mS2C3S9d6A8bRk7E/s200/GrabButtonLinkParty.jpg" /></a></center>

Down Memory Lane ~Double Wedding Quilt~

I have more quilts that I made in the past and I haven't shared with you. Today I will talk about this Double wedding ring quilt a little bit. I started working on this quilt shortly after I got engaged to my husband about 17 years ago...

I was visiting the United States from Japan, and after a short while we were engaged. I wasn't expecting that to happen, so I extended the stay but after three months I had to go home (the visa only allowed me to stay for three month). Our original plan was that I would get a visa and come back to the US but I had a hard time getting it. We were separated for 6 month until he came to Japan to marry me (I still couldn't get a visa, and he had to go back for school, so we were separated for another 4 month after that...).

Long story short, it was a hard time for both of us. You can probably guess how I coped with the sadness and frustration... I made quilts. Before I left Japan, I made quilts for my mom, a bag for my sister, and this double wedding ring quilt.





It is done ALL by hand. I didn't know any fancy methods (paper piecing and such), so I traced, cut them by hand, pieced them one by one and quilted. I love hand quilting. While I was sitting and working on my wedding quilt, I forgot all my worries and loneliness... so I just kept on quilting. Not only that, I had happy thoughts about what our married life would be like, how I wanted to decorate our bed with this quilt... seriously, quilt making is so therapeutic. If you are not a quilter, you should try it!

When we were finally reunited and started our life together, I did, I covered our bed with this quilt. I was so happy to see one of my visions for our life together came true...until one day, my husband came out the shower and sat on the bed... on the quilt!

I was thinking; Wait a minute! That wasn't in my plan. It took me so many months to make this quilt... I took the quilt off the bed and decided to make a different quilt to warm my beloved right away. :)

Link Love No.64!

I went to a wedding reception tonight (actually, it was Mr. TRH's cousin's). It was an outside reception, and I think all the decorations and such were done by the bride’s mom, and sisters, and they were done so beautifully. After the sky grew darker, many white Christmas lights came on. With the night breeze, candle lights, and people’s laughter, it all made the atmosphere so pleasant… it was such a magical place to be.

I do a link party every week, and seeing all your entries made me realize that lots of times we create things for our loved ones. Using our creativity to make someone happy or to bring people together is the greatest part of being creative, don’t you think?

I thought that a lot at tonight’s reception... great job girls!

Ok, here are the link loves for this week...

Do you have a long hair (I do!) you don't know how to style sometimes? Raisisng 4 Princesses invited her sister to share a great tutorial for a braided up do style. I love how this looks so feminine and romantic. Don't you think it is perfect for summer? I might need some practice; I want to give it a try!


I just finished school supply shopping last week, but I might have to buy a few more things. Then, I thought about going back to the routine of making school lunches... mmm don't they get boring sometimes? My kids ask me to buy lunchables all the time (or bring kids meal from fast food places) NO WAY! Well, Mommy Minded shared some lunch ideas with us. Homemade lunchables? How fun!


Another great idea for back to school is the Apple Oreo Pops by Parders. She shows a step by step on her blog, and it is a very fun process. The results? They look so sweet that I’m salivating!


It is in the air... sometimes I can feel it. Fall is getting closer, it is just around the corner. I don't like seeing Halloween and Christmas stuff at the stores now, but I just fell in LOVE with this owl hat! Paper Dandelionshares a pattern on her blog, you can start making some now! So cute!


At Second Street created this maxi dress (she drafted a pattern too!). Because of the simplicity, it is versatile; you can coordinate with many things. Go check out her great tutorial to see how she did it. I am already thinking about maxi dresses for fall!!


Thank you all for making this link party possible! Happy creating ;)

Lily Bird Design Giveaway Winner!

I posted the winner for the Lily Bird Studio giveaway on my sponsor's page, headover and check to see if you are the lucky one!

Dare to Design ~ Design for Shabby Apple~

Where have I been? I just noticed that Shabby Apple has had a design contest since June! I had no idea that was going on and since it is due on the 10th, there is no way that I can come up with something new right now... but, I really want to enter this dress I created for a while ago... the Ivory Sunlight Dress.


Well, the dress totally matches what they are looking for... it is a modest design, has sleeves, no cleavage showing, and it is longer than knee length. And, I made it for the Spring/Summer season.

My design inspiration came from JCrew, but the dress was showing a lot more skin than I prefer, so I changed and tweaked the idea and created a different dress. Do you think this dress fits with other Shabby Apple Dresses? I think it does!

If my dress is one of the top 15 entries, it will be posted on the Shabby Apple blog by August 17th. IF, IF that happens, would you, could you my blogger friends be there to vote and support me? It is a little scary, but I think I am gonna try it.



I used 100% cotton; it is textured, very light weight almost like gauze fabric. I found it at Joann's for 6.99/yd. I used my 40% off coupon for three yards of fabric, so my version of the dress cost me about $13.00! Because I wanted to make it for every day wear, cotton is a better choice than chiffon for me.


Well my friends wish me luck! :)

Link Party No.64 / Thou Shalt Not Stay Up Too Late

Don't forget about the giveaway on my Sponsors' page by Lily Bird Studio.

Most of the times, the only time I can work on things (sewing and such) are at night after the kids are in bed. I try to do things during the day, but there is always something that needs my attention and I end up getting frustrated, so it's not worth it to even try.

Tonight, I came home from a church function around 8:50, tucked the kids in bed, straightened up the downstairs then I finally started working on my project. I was trying to design a quilt, and I was thinking about what to do and how many pieces to cut...

Then, this thought kept coming to me... I NEED CHOCOLATE... and the thought did not go away.

I scavenged through my pantry and decided to make chocolate muffins, but it didn't end there. When they came out of the oven, I heard another really seductive voice inside of my head..."Wouldn't it be taste better with freshly whipped cream and some drizzled chocolate and sliced strawberries?..."

So, I ended up with this in the end.


It was good, but what's bad is that I had two of them. Ahhhh...!
I must confess, because I stay up late all the time to work on things, I eat fourth meal at night. I know if I stop doing that I would probably lose the last 10 lbs. of my pregnancy weight (which I’ve carried around for so many years).

But, it was so yummy...

Ok, what have you been working on? Please share with everybody!

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


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Sponsor Giveaway---Lily Bird Studio

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