Good books to recommend.

If you are looking for very simple projects or a pure beginners and wish to explore the world of bag makings,  please feel free to visit my Etsy shop for the handmade bag projects at the link below or just click on the photos below to link you to the site. ^u^

A winter story, Merry Christmas. A unique collectible handmade boston / shoulder bag

The bag has a little story to tell you. It's about winter, it is starting to snow. The surrounding is suddenly filled with wonderful and peaceful atmosphere. Yes, Christmas is around the corner. Merry Christmas to you, let's celebrate this wonderful season with joy !

I am using Japanese taupe / yawn dyed fabrics (shortly be available in my Etsy shop) to make this bag to create very natural look of houses and background for this project.  Japanese taupe are widely used in Japan by most patchwork guru like Yoko Saito, Minami Kumiko for their works.   Here is some examples of art works using taupe fabrics.

https://www.pinterest.com/sewingmom15/taupe-quilts/

The front side of the bag is partial hand and machine stitched little houses appliqué.  The snowy sparkling beads are carefully sew onto the bag, creating a sparkling effect for this bag.

The bag has 2 pockets, the one as the window at the back of this bag and an inner pocket to further help you organize your personal items.

At the back side of the bag is snowing view from my window.  Well, is it really a window at all ?  No, it is also a pocket for you to put your handy item such us travelling ticket or cards, maybe your phone too.  A "Let it snow" is embroidered near the little window, I think it add more meaning to this side.

While designing this bag, I decided to make this shape of this bag into something unique.  It is pretty wide to accommodate all the little applique houses. Also, its height is just ideal to put in quite a long of your daily goodies.  As this bag is padded with polyester batting and quilted, it is just so easy and light to carry around.  Besides that, if not in use, it can also be decorative art work on the wall or display closet.

I usually collected lots of decorative accessories and zipper pullers handy.  This tower clock zipper puller is also my collection.  It just add more character to this bag.  I love this idea ^v^

An over view of this beautiful bag.  

If you are interested to get this bag, you can visit my Etsy shop at the link below

https://www.etsy.com/shop/StoryQuilt

OR, if you don't have an Etsy account but you do have Paypal account, please feel free to email me at

contact me : Storyquilter@gmail.com

Grab this one of a kind handmade bag before it is gone. ^v^

p/s:  Pattern for this bag will surely be available in my shop too, if you are interested to get the update of this bag pattern, please feel free to drop me an email.

Remember to join me of more update of my future works. You will surely don't want to miss it.

Merry Christmas ^v^

Hexagon patchwork basket bag.

This bag is completed, yahoo !!  It is just perfect as expected.  I hope you will love it ^v^!  The pattern will be available in my Etsy shop soon.

The entire bag is fully quilted.  Quilting allows the bag to maintain its shape and also very comfortable to the touch. 

The unique patchwork bag provides very idea shape to put all daily goodies.  You don’t have to rummaging about to look for things at all.  It’s light and easy to carry around.

The long handles also makes this bag very easy to carry, as a shoulder bag or handbag.  

I  hope you love this bag too ^v^ !

Am taking a break from now on !!

If you are interested to purchase this pattern, please feel free to email me at StoryQuilter@gmail.com or visit my Etsy shop.  ^v^

Work in Progress ! Wedding Ring cushion for Desmond and his lovely wife ^v^

I did a wedding ring cushion project using Baltimore quilt concept few years ago. 

http://storyquilt.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-baltimore-style-wedding-ring-cushion.html

Last year, I received a special request from a special couple.  I have been collecting information and fabrics for this project.  After going through so many ideas, I finally decided to make something my own way, it is going to be different than the earlier wedding ring cushion project.  I am sure the result is going to be awesome.  Right now I am having fun just to make the fabric flowers ^v^.  I am so thrill to see the result. 

Here is my work in progress …...

About Anne Story Quilt original digital pattern file available in my Etsy now ^U^

Hello, everybody

Story Quilt About Anne cute tote bag digital pdf sewing pattern is available in my Etsy shop now.

The digital pattern is in photo illustrated step-by-step instructions.  I will guide you through almost every step, at the same time, I also use a more error proof way to help you through your sewing process. All you need to do is to understand every step and take it to your own pace.  Apart from making a beautiful bag for yourself or your love ones, you will surely enhance your quilted bag making skill from my pattern too.

If you wish to find out more about this pattern, please check out my Etsy shop or by clicking on the photo below.

If you are interested to purchase this pattern, please feel free to email me at 

StoryQuilter@gmail.com

or visit my Etsy shop at the link below. 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/storyquilt

Weekend is coming soon, so any special plan ?  Enjoy your weekend ^v^

Important tips for making applique bag

You may have bought a lot of Japanese patchwork books and intend to try making the bags just like them.  But when facing the appliques, you give up!  I am sure a lot of you may have such experience.  Well, not too worry, here is some of my tips for making applique on a piece of quilt or for my bag.  Applique is never a quick job, it is a slow work with passion.  So take it slow and absorb every way to stitch, once you learn the technique, you can really stitch your works beautifully and pretty fast :) 

Always make sure your background fabric is larger than the original pattern, normally I will have larger space by an inch or more.  This is because when one is sewing the applique, depends on the person's stitching works (especially beginners), sometimes they may pull it harder or they may use larger stitch to sew, in the end, this may cause the entire piece of work to shrink and become smaller than the original pattern.  When making your own bags, it is important to prevent this from happening because all the measure measurement is fixed and you really need to stick with the measurement, you will end up having a bag that is either mis-shape or smaller.  So leaving extra background fabric will leave you extra space to do possible correction.

Photo below :  I normally leave an inch or more for my background fabric.

Always number your applique 
Take your time to look at the pattern and number them to create sequence for your to stitch (some books may not number the applique).  Start layer-by-layer, the farthest layer should be the one to start first.  This prevents you from making mistakes.  

Number your applique from the farthest layer.  

 

after stitching my first layer (furthest), I will continue on my second layer of my applique.  With this method, you can slowly come to a beautiful applique works, with less mistakes.

When facing smaller applique that you can't sew ? 
You can try using the felt to help you in your works, I would suggest you to use machine to sew in this case.  This surely reduces a lot of difficulty in stitching.


 Choosing the sewing thread that has the same color to your applique
This is applicable to machine or hand stitch applique.  Your works will become very neat for sure ^v^.


Cut out fabric needs to be larger than the pattern

For hand stitch applique, after cutting out the pattern, you will need to draw it onto the fabric, always make sure your fabric is larger than your pattern when you cut it out.  Here is a guideline for you

http://storyquilt.blogspot.com/search/label/How%20to%20applique

You are excuse to miss out applique that is less significant
This is really true. Sometimes a simple tiny thing that is not significant in your project, you can actually omit it.  Or you can always find other solutions to replace that particular applique.  For example a flower applique with complicated petals to sew, you can actually replace with beautiful buttons or small fabric flowers or felt ^v^  (lazy way to make beautiful project)

Do a final check
See if you have missed out anything important.

Practice make perfect
The more you practice, the more you get to know more about applique (you may even find more ways to sew applique).  You will also be so surprised that applique can be so much fun that makes you so addicted to.  Also, when you have complete even a very simple project, you will be amazed by your hand works, the end result will be so unique and full of your own character.


The above are my ways to making applique quilt or bags.  I hope the solutions help you a lot in your future applique works.  So why don't you start a very simple project soon ?   Good luck!

Enjoy !!  ^v^

A special pouch for a special friend, Emi Miyase san ^v^

I am so thrilled when my Japanese friend, Emi, who sent so many lovely gifts for me to mark our friendship for so many years.  She even made me a very cute piggy pouch that warms my heart completely.  

I really can't thank her enough.  The only way I can show my utter appreciation is to make a very unique gift, just for her.  

Though i was inspired to make a pouch like this but what to make then ?  I did some sketching and I kept looking at the piggy pouch to see what come out from my mind.  Sometimes you can sit for whole day and never get any idea coming your way.  So, I did an hour of line dance (totally addicted  to it) .  Maybe the exhaustion help to 'spark some light' in my mind and there comes my idea , a carriage !!!  This idea is pretty fresh, not many people are making carriage pouch i think ^v^..  (giggle)

Home sweet Home mini quilt applique

9/10/2013, 2:33 pm

I am almost getting the mini quilt completed.  In between there are some details that I want to confirm before I stitched them onto my work.  But before that here 's a little preview  ^v^

Today I will proceed with quilting.  Time to concentrate ^^

Home sweet home wall hanging / mini quilt

As always, my projects started from sketching like this, from smaller pieces of paper to bigger and bigger one until finally coming to the real pattern stage. 

This is a Home Sweet Home project for our new home soon.  I am now in the middle of gathering fonts for the applique …. Besides that, I will add little 3 D candies applique for this project.  I am experimenting the technique now … ^V^

Hopefully the project will end up as what I wished for... wish me luck   (^o^)

30/9/2013, sunny day, 5:45 pm

I stuck half way while sketching out the design of this Home Sweet Home mini quilt.  I was struggling to decide on the details I am going to put in for this little quilt.  A little change in decision will make the following design to have a lot to amend.

 Finally I decided to choose the fabrics for the words first rather than bothering too much about the layout and detail first.  I know half way through I will surely have something to amend.  My main decision now is what kind of style should I use for my quilt, whether it is chic, country, elegant or Victorian etc.  Taking a look at my renovated new home, I will choose something floral and comfortable design, I like it nature and easy feeling in my living room. 

Few hours to choose fabrics ….. matching ... figuring out , throw out unsuitable ones ….. finally come to decide the fabrics I want for my quilt ^v^

It is a good idea for you to cut out small pieces of fabrics and match it to your background fabric.    Using this way, you won’t waste too much wrongly matched fabric.

Here are my chosen fabrics for my mini quilt today.  I am so excited to sew them to my mini quilt and see the result tomorrow .

(waiting for tomorrow to come **)

   

Next project, Zakka Style needle book. Will be available in my Etsy shop soon. ^V^

A preview of  my needle book.  My pattern will be available for sell in my Etsy shop tomorrow ^v^

I always mess up my sewing needles, having a needle book come be handy to me to organize my needles perfectly. The needle book follow zakka style yet comes with vintage look.

If you would love to purchase the needle book sewing kit too, please contact me at storyquilter@gmail.com

A Baltimore style wedding ring cushion

This is a special request by my regular customer.  I think this idea is pretty good  for a wedding ring cushion.  It is not only a wedding ring cushion but also a proprietary decorative cushion for the newly wed too.   Maybe you can try making this type of cushion for your family members who is getting married too.  Definitely a very special gift for him & her.  

A whole month project from design to sourcing and to the making of this beautiful cushion.  ^v^

Remember to join my Facebook for more updates and chatting :)

https://www.facebook.com/story.quilt.9

0

Busy morning at the farm purse

Mother hen : " Master said early birds get the best deal, hurry, don't be late for our breakfast".

This pouch is based on this idea, I really love to see chicken running around at the farm, always searching for something to eat, they are so cute !!  When seeing this picture is stitched to my handmade pouch, I just can't express my happy feeling to see the result.

Front of this pouch. 

 I decided to try something new for this bag, a 3 D effect window.  The result is absolutely more lifely compared to normal applique window, that is for sure.

Also for the zipper head (I was lucky that I collected a lot of zipper head each time I visit Japan).  The clock really makes the whole scene more meaningful. 

The back of this pouch is purple checked Japanese sakizome fabrics (gingham).  This fabric is one of my favourites too.  Adding a simple touch at the back of the pouch makes the whole thing more colorful instead of plain fabric, also make this pouch more unique compared to other pouches.

Usage : 

traveling pouch , cosmetic, as a purse, pencil case as a gift, or any usage you can think of.   The pouch is big enough to

The pouch is also available for sell on my Etsy.  Please drop by anytime. More things will be coming up for sell very soon.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/StoryQuilt?ref=pr_shop

Join my facebook page too  :

http://www.etsy.com/shop/StoryQuilt?ref=pr_shop



Able to access to blogger again !!!!

Hurray !!! I am able to access to blogspot again, yeah !!!! Today, my husband sent me a link that provides a proxy to bypass screening server in China. I am able to access to blogspot again. I am so happy ^^.

Here are some of my works during the "unable to access blogspot" period

12/10/2010 , Sunbonnet Sue clutch pouch.  This pattern kit (from Minami Kumiko) is a gift from my friend, Sophea (how wonderful of her ^^).  Though I was struggling with the wedding ring project that time, I tried to free up myself to make this pouch from time to time.  Sophea was so proud of me when I showed this pouch to her (I managed to make it during my tight project).  How I miss my dear friend these few days cause she is now traveling to Eastern Europe.  I love this pouch so much, the size is big enough to put my purse, handphone and some cosmetics.  Very Japanese country patchwork indeed :>

Bag in Bag 30/11/2010

Introducing bag-in-bag concept.  This is currently very popular bag in Japan (especially if you are handmade maniac).  It is actually a bag by itself AND an organiser for bigger bag.  Imagine carrying a big bag, isn't it difficult for you to locate even your handphone ?  This beautiful organiser actually solve your problem.  The bag has 2 sides, different Japanese Kimono prints in each side.  Take a look ^^

.

Take a look at how your things are organised ...

I will slowly begin to sell this bag in Etsy under the name Cotton Friends.  Right now, I am designing few more items for sell soon.  Please feel free to drop by and enjoy my works :)

9/12/2010, Wedding Ring, with Love.....

I sewed these pieces when I visited Leeds, UK , in November.  As a result, this project is really memorable and meaningful to me ( I actually visited UK, WOW).

Look at this colorful projects, how many pieces of fabric did i use ?  It took me few days to cut out and arrange them (combined with worrying feeling about the result).  Right now, I am just so happy to see the real result.  (**Big big laugh**)