Liberty of London Fabrics

I received a surprise package from my mom this week. It was filled with Japanese candies and treats for the kids. As you can easily guess from the title, I received more Liberty of London fabrics.

The reason why I didn't put "!!!" after the last sentence is, I have mixed feeling about this. L of L fabrics are not cheap; I would rather that she spend that money on extra food, drinking water and other supplies for them to prepare for the earthquake, since they are saying that a big one might be coming. I told her that several times on the phone, but she always tells me that she loves going to the fabric store and looking at the beautiful flower prints and it is very therapeutic for her. (By the way, she is not a sewer...). Then, she can't help herself from buying some for me.

After I thanked her and hung up the phone I kept looking at these beautiful fabrics...

My mom thought that this would make a beautiful summer dress for me. So, she sent 3 meters of this one.


They are all so pretty, but my favorite is the top one.


Then, this last one... When I opened it, it literally took my breath away. It contains 17cm X 18cm of 96 different prints! It has been a couple days but I can't stop staring at it and admiring each of the prints. I am so tempted to pull them out and open each fabric, but then I don't think I can put them back in to the case like before. I am contemplating to either use the whole fabric to make one quilt, or use them little by little over time. There are some big decisions to make. :)


I am grateful that my mom cares about me so much that she wants to do something to make me smile even from far away.

Psst... I am designing a special quilt for her birthday this year, and she has no clue. I will write a post about it when I am done making the quilt, just thinking about her reaction makes me giggle.

Ready for More Eye Candy?

I know, I know, I have been posting jewelries a lot lately, but once I started working with pretty cabochons and other parts I couldn't stop! I LOVE fabrics, whether I am making a quilt or doing a refashion, but it is equally fun, exciting, and refreshing to make jewelries. Do you like the necklaces above?

I also made some rings. How about pink and pepper mint green?


Or maybe gray speaks to you better?


These are one of my favorite rings. So springy. :)


I totally agree with the statement "money (or things) can't buy happiness", but cheerful pieces of jewelry certainly makes our day a bit brighter don't you agree?

I also wanted to say thank you for kind comments about the necklace I shared in my last post. There are many people interested in purchasing the necklace, but I don't have the exact parts to create the same necklace. As of right now, I don't think I am going to make them for sale, but you know, I never say never. I am thinking about listing some of my jewelries on my Etsy shop, but it depends on how busy I am with other obligations and such...but really, thank you SO, So, much for your interest, I appreciate it!!

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One more thing... The giveaway for Olive Garden is ending soon; make sure to enter for a chance to win the $100 gift certificate here

She Wears Flowers~ Necklace~

I usually prefer simple jewelry, but I came up with this necklace with lots going on, with a bunch of colors... why not, it's spring.



It took me a couple days to really decide on which parts to combine, how, and the balance for the whole thing. I just LOVE the designing and the thinking process when I make jewelry.
I wore it twice already since I finished making it. Yea! to warm weather. :)



I know I will have lots of fun with this necklace during the upcoming season. Even though there is so much going on with this piece, it will go with so many different outfits. I was celebrating the early arrival of spring with the necklace.

One Year Later

March 11th is not just any other day passing through anymore. One year ago, the date held heavy and special meaning to me forever as it does to hundreds and thousands of people.

I am originally from Sendai, which was affected deeply by the 9.0 earth quake, and tsunami. Thank goodness, everyone in my family was ok, but they still live in the same area and it is less than 80km (almost 50 miles) away from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Also, they are getting minor earthquakes daily. If you are new to my blog, you can read my posts from last year after the earthquake here, here, andhere.

I just want to say thank you to those of you who ask me about my family in Japan. Right now, there is not much to say except what I wrote above. My husband and I have been trying to convince them to move out here, but they have all the reasons not to, and I don't think it is happening.

Most of the survivors are still struggling to rebuild their lives, and their grant money from the government is ending. Because of the one year anniversary, there are special programs on the Japanese television and I have been thinking about what I can do to help lately...

I posted the picture on top, because that picture spoke to me so strongly among so many disaster images. That picture was taken when she was looking at the direction of her son’s kindergarten, and didn't know if he was alive or not at the time. I saw her interview a few days ago, and I am happy to tell you that she was reunited with her husband and son a few days after the photo was taken, and now they are trying to move forward. As a mother of three, I cannot imagine being in her shoes for those several days.

I am going to keep praying for the people of Japan, and hold my family a little tighter today.

Bracelet. Made.

Ever since I bought flower cabochons, there are so many ideas for jewelries swarming around in my head.


I have made some simple necklaces and currently am working on a necklace with lots going on, and I LOVE how it is coming along. I am so excited about it, and I can't wait to share the picture when I am finished... in the meantime can you check out the bracelet I made?


Ahh... I am longing for warm weather, so my wrists are not hiding underneath a sweater or coat.

Vintage Pillow Case Quilt Finished

Several posts ago, I shared my vintage pillow cases quilt project in process. I don't know about you, but it is such a big deal for me to decide what to do next each step whenever I create something. Especially in quilt making, a quilt top can look totally different than what I first intended depending on what kind of quilting I do on the quilt. It is not unusual for me to complete a quilt top and not be able to finish it for several months (sometimes years!) because I have a hard time deciding how I want to finish it.

I already shared the process of cutting and piecing...




Are you ready to see how I finished this one? Ta da!




I thought about applying my newly developing (I can't say "developed" yet, it is in progress though) machine quilting skills on this quilt, but I couldn't help going back to the idea of doing hand quilting with large stitches.

I actually made another quilt top using the same blocks that I used for this quilt with some other fabric, but those two quilts look different so far. I can't wait to share the finished quilt with you...well, someday. :)

Pinwheel Necklace

While attempting to learn machine quilting, and doing some hand quilting on a quilt, I am also trying squeeze some "jewelry making time". It is taking me such a long time to make up my mind how I would use flower cabochons I just bought. Since I don't wanna mess it up!

Meanwhile, I finished this pinwheel necklace today, and wanted to share the picture...



Just call me silly, but the color of red on the pinwheel is so fun and lively, I feel like I can be cheerful and busy creating!

I think I just created my new favorite necklace. I can't wait for spring to arrive. :)