Cute Hedgehogs

The patterns for these cuties came from my Japanese craft book collection. The background fabrics are Japanese also.

Three Way Bag

Yes it really is just one bag. One bag, three different looks. How fun is that, one bag for every mood. This is a pattern from a Japanese book. It was one of those you had to draft your own pattern from a diagram. Of course, this makes it easier for design changes. I prefer a shoulder bag, so I made the handles longer. I also wanted a completely reversible bag. The list of possibilities goes on and on. There are a few more changes I'd like to try. Hope I get around to it soon.

Eco-friendly Lunch Bag

After shopping for quite some time for the perfect lunch bag/box, my daughter found a picture of one she really liked in a Japanese magazine. Unfortunately the directions were almost undecipherable. So we found a bag of the size and shape she wanted and I drafted a pattern using the design elements from the magazine picture. It worked perfectly as you can see. And has the added bonus of being machine washable. By-the-way sushi is one of her favorite lunches.

Monkey, monkey, monkey

I've spent the last week making monkeys and other fun stuffed animals. The monkeys were designed for a swap. I also went to the bay area for a few days. Got to shop in Los Gatos. Located there are three of my favorite cookware stores: Williams-Sonoma, Sur la table and Domus. Also checked out a fabric/bead store called Natural Expressions. They had a great selection of fabric and beads. How good does it get? For a light snack we got cookies from the bakery, Icing on the Cake. Before I left I managed to go to Kinokuniya, the Japanese bookstore. I love Japanese craft books. I was lucky enough to get the current issue of Cotton Time. They have some very fun projects in that magazine.