We gave Sullivan a camera. It’s a vTech Kidzoom brand digital camera. Normally I’m opposed to giant plastic colorful toys that make noises, but Sul has been obsessed with taking photos with my camera — which is definitely not a toy. The picture quality on the vTech is terrible and it’s really not very good at all, but Sul can drop it over and over again and it still works and that’s what really counts!

Aaron set up a flickr page for Sullivan — which I think is really cool. It’s marked private, but if you want to see his photos, leave me a comment with your flickr name and I’ll add you to his friends.

He’s taking photos of this:

Which isn’t his. I made it for a swap, but Sullivan loves it so much I will have to make him one just like it.

The pattern is from this book which I got from mwendas.etsy.com (when I ordered my fancy hooks). I really like the book — though I hesitate to call it that. It’s more like a glorified brochure. There are 48 pages and it’s 6″ x 8″. Fridah discloses all of this in her shop — which I really like and respect. Some times I am disappointed by how small Japanese craft books are when sellers don’t post this info. But smallness aside, there are actually a lot of really super cute patterns in this book. And they’re all pretty easy.

It must be that I’m a visual person, because I much prefer to crochet from charts rather than read out the abbreviations. I think this book is really good for someone who is new to either amigurumi or reading a chart. The patterns all increase and decrease evenly — which is another feature of the Japanese patterns that I really love. Most patterns work in multiples of 6 I’ve noticed.

One thing that is really helpful when you’re reading an amigurumi pattern in a Japanese book is to have a little cheat sheet of body parts commonly used — like head, ear, eye, etc. My Little Mochi has such an aid available here. It also helps if you have a husband who can read some Japanese!

Amigurumi are so inexpensive to make! I have already made three toys of the two balls of yarn (the brown and white) and I have enough left still for another toy or two. The beagle pattern was fun but I was surprised how small it is. The legs were harder for me because I had to use such a small hook.

I’m sad that I have to send him off to a new home and so is Pippi bunny. Sul too. When I showed him the dog he said, “COOL!!!! Dog!” and ran to grab his camera. Ah, my kinda kid. I hope my swap partner loves him!

I recently got a bunch of little 4.5″ zippers and I became obsessed with figuring out how to make a little pouch with a zipper running down the middle. I knew I wanted to do something that would use up some scraps, so I wanted two patches on one side and the rest of the pouch made from linen. So now that I’ve got it figured out (and I’ve got four of these under my belt to get this far!), I figured I’d share it with you.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 pieces of coordinating fabrics for the patches – 2.5″ x 3.25″ each
1 piece of linen (or another fabric for the body) – 6″ x 6.5″
2 pieces of muslin or lining fabric – 6″ x 4.5″
1 – 4.5″ zipper (the zipper part is 4.5 inches, the total length of the fabric around the zip should be about 6″)
Approximately 14″ of bias tape

I recommend you starch and iron your fabrics before you cut them — and if possible, use a rotary cutter to cut your fabrics. Of course you will need scissors and a sewing machine (see my sewing machine review here). Also, a fabric glue stick will make your life much, much easier!

You will sew with a .25″ seam allowance for the whole project. Good luck!

The first step is to put the two patches together and sew along one of the short ends (sew along the edges that are 2.5″ long).

Iron the patches open and put it right-side down against one of the lining pieces so they line up on the 6″ side. If your lining piece has a right/wrong side, put the right side together with the right side of the top fabric. Do the same with the linen piece.

Sew the patches to the lining and the linen to the other lining piece with a .25″ seam allowance. Turn and press.

Now you’re going to sew your zipper on. For this pouch, the zipper is not enclosed between the top fabric and lining, but rather sits neatly under them both. I have found this was the neatest way I could sew them. If I were sewing a pouch that had the zipper on top, I would have enclosed it, but for this pouch, this way just made the most sense.

Position the zipper underneath the 2-patch piece and muslin and sew down the top. Do the same with the linen.

Next open the zipper (this is IMPORTANT!). Put the right sides of the patches and linen together (pull them away from the lining fabric) and sew together with a .25″ seam allowance. You’ll have something that looks like this:

Take a picture of the little gremlin who is pestering you because he thinks the six-hundred dollar camera you’re holding is a toy and desperately wants to “Push but-ton?” and take “Pick-ture?”

Now put the right sides of the lining together (make sure your zipper is down!) and sew them together. Now turn the whole thing and you’ll come up with something like this:

You’ll notice that the top of the pouch seams along the side of the patches (which will be the side of the pouch) while the lining seams along the middle back of the pouch. This is because when I tried to seam both lining and top fabrics at the same place, it was too bulky in that spot when I attached the bias tape and turned. This method makes for much nicer corners on the finished pouch.

(You can also turn it so it’s right-side out at this point if you want to see how it’s going to look.)

Now, see that little metal piece at the end of each zipper? Using that as a guide, even up each side of the pouch so that there’s .5″ of material beyond that little metal piece. Use a rotary cutter if you have one.

Now snip off about 7″ of bias tape and baste it to each side of the pouch. Bias tape has an uneven fold so that there is more fabric on the back side of the tape. This is to make sure you catch the backside when you’re sewing. So make sure you put it on right!

I like to use a fabric glue stick when I apply bias tape. It makes it much easier to turn under the edges. To hide the end of the bias tape, fold it under from front to back and tuck it underneath on each side.

Now stitch the bias tape on. The closer you stitch to the edge of the bias tape, the neater the corners of your pouch will be. Turn your pouch and poke out your corners.

You’ll have to pull on your pouch and iron it a bit to get the shape right. The linen tends to pull funny. I bet it would work better with a lighter-weight fabric, actually.

Add a tassle with some linen scraps and tiny rick rack. Sit back and marvel at your ingenuity!

This is my first sewing tutorial, so let me know what you think! I’ll do my best to answer any questions you might have! I have some more photos of the finished pouch at my flickr page.

Since today is Sunday, you also get to see my Sunday Stash!

These are all fabrics I’ve gotten in swaps from the Craft Room Destash group on flickr. I love love them all. I think I’m going to make Freyja a little hat with the umbrellas and I see the Panda’s and the flowers becoming change purses.The flower fabric is actually my favorite fat quarter in my whole stash right now… so it just might be too painful to cut into it right now!

Enjoy the tutorial and let me know if you’d like me to post other tutorials in the future!

I remember I wanted to learn how to crochet because I kept seeing all these granny squares tutorials pop up (mostly on whip-up) and I thought they were pretty darling. It was the day before my birthday and I had got some mad money in the mail from my inlaws, so I went to Hobby Lobby and bought five balls of yarn and one crochet hook. It was a Clover Soft Touch hook size H. Once I learned my basic stitches on that, it was impossible for me to pick up those cheap-o aluminum hooks and use them. I was completely spoiled.

I’ve done quite a few projects since then (which I unfortunately can’t show you till next month because they’re surprises for swaps) and once I realized that I was totally obsessed with crochet, it became necessary to get more hooks. Well Hobby Lobby only sells them in two sizes, G and H. So I ordered a full-set of 8 (C-J) on eBay for around $20. GOOD DEAL.

Well then I won a give-away on the whip-up blog — a $50 gift certificate to mwendas.etsy.com. I have to say, I really love this shop. Fridah, the owner, is very helpful and friendly. I have ordered from her previously and she even helped me track down some Japanese patterns I had been searching all over the internet for! I had been intrigued by the Hamanaka double-ended crochet hooks she sold. So I figured I’d try them out since I wouldn’t be losing anything.

I got them a few days ago and I’ve been using them exclusively ever since! They are super comfortable to hold — I would say better than the Soft Touch. They’re pretty smooth too, although they have a shiny finish and are slicker than the Soft Touch, so it took me awhile to get used it it. I really like how the hooks are pointier than the Soft Touch too.

Now I wouldn’t say that they will completely replace my Clover Hooks. The Hamanaka set is five hooks with two different sizes on each one — so I have ten sizes to my eight Clover sizes. The Hamanaka set was also expensive. I don’t remember how much exactly she had them listed for, but it was right around or at $50 and you’ll find that pretty even across the board if you do an etsy search for the hooks. Now I guess $5/hook isn’t too bad, but these aren’t something I would have bought for myself — especially since I already have a Clover set. I’m scared to lose one of the Hamanaka hooks too because it’ll be expensive and inconvenient to replace.

But they are really nice and the more I crochet with them, the more I like them — so maybe if I did lose them, I would replace them! Or at least cry a lot.

The hooks came in a little plastic box, but it wasn’t very cute so today I made a felt case to slip them in. I appliqued and hand-embroidered the bee and machine-embroidered (my first attempt) the rest. I put some fabric yoyos on the front. I think it turned out pretty cute!

I’ve got three (yes three!) amigurumi in the works — but they’re all for swaps, so no pics till next month! Other than that, I’ve been working on some hand-sewing projects and cutting fabric for pouches and bags for an upcoming craft show. School starts a week from Monday, so I’ve got to get my butt in gear! I’ve got a cute little pouch tutorial that I’m going to post on Sunday!

Happy Friday!

What brand and model do you have?

I have a Janome Sewist 625E.

How long have you had it?

I’m pretty sure I got it about a year and a half ago? Right around 18 months I think.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?

I can’t remember exactly but I think I paid about $400 at the local dealer.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?

Well I sew clothing, bags, home-dec projects and cloth menstrual pads, of course! I’m just starting to get into quilting a little bit, but I much prefer to sew small things and clothes.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?

I probably use it every-other day. My serger actually gets more use — but that may change as I become more and more enamored with sewing hats and quilts!

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?

I suppose I think my machine does exactly what I need it to do. I’m not passionate about it, nor am I ambivalent.My machine is very sturdy and solid — which is why I bought it over some cheaper models with more fancy stitches! I love that it doesn’t wobble around when I’m sewing.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?

The features I most love are:

• ease of use (simplicity)
• up-down needle button
• drop-in bobbin
• adjustable foot pressure
• free arm
• one-step buttonhole
• automatic needle threader

If my needle threader broke or the up/down needle button stopped working, I’d have to get a new machine! That’s how much I love those features!

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?

I honestly haven’t had any problems with this machine since I’ve had it! It has a nice hardcover case too and it’s small enough to fit in one of those rolling bags if I want to take it somewhere. The only thing that drives me nuts is getting to the dealer before she closes when I need to buy bobbins! I do kind of wish I could use generic bobbins, but only because I’m lazy.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?

I would definitely recommend my sewing machine to others. Especially new sewers. When I started sewing a few years back, I had a cheapo machine from a department store and within a few months I started to feel very frustrated with the quality of the machine and all the problems I had with it. If sewing is going to be a serious hobby, a good entry level machine is important — otherwise you’ll end up just hating your machine as soon as you realize all it’s limitations. I think that the Janome Sewist 625E has just enough features for basic garment/home dec/quilting projects that anyone could use it with satisfactory results. There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles on this machine, but like I said, it’s sturdy, solid and super easy to use! (I totally sound like a commercial)!

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?

Knowing what you want to do is important. When I started sewing I had no idea what kinds of things I wanted to make — so having an all-purpose machine was important. I also think it’s pretty impossible to buy a sewing machine blind off the internet. If you’re going to invest the kind of money in a hobby that can be as expensive as sewing, it’s important to form a good relationship with a dealer that can help you when you have problems. I think it’s handy to go to a dealer that can do small repairs on-site too.

There is a Janome dealer and a Husqvarna/Viking dealer in the town I live in. I happened to get a Janome machine because on the day I went looking, I got better customer service from the Janome dealer — but I’ve since formed a great relationship with the Husqvarna/Viking shop too — and that’s where I ended up buying my serger. If I were going to upgrade my machine, I’m honestly not sure who I’d go through! I bought a Janome Serger to start out with too and it was sort of crappy compared to my new Huskylock. I’m not sure how the higher-end machines stack up. I just took a beginners quilt class at the Husqvarna/Viking shop and I go in there more often because they have better fabric. It would be a tough choice because I do love my Janome sewing machine.

Do you have a dream machine?

I don’t know if I have a dream machine. I did some sewing on the computerized Husqvarna quilting machines at the class on Saturday and I liked the thread intake thing and the bobbin winder a lot. I think it would be nice to have some more stitches (my machine has 24) — but I have no idea what I’d use them for! If I got a new machine I’d want it to be sturdy and hard-working and I would need it to specialize in garment construction or quilting. I’m not big into embroidery, so nothing like those crazy embroidery machines.

Maybe one of those adorable vintage/retro machines would be nice. Or a Hello Kitty sewing machine. Yeah. I’d like that!