Yimi Handwork

     One of the great things about crocheting is that it's portable, the supplies - a ball of yarn and a crochet hook - can be easily carried anywhere, making it perfect for crafting on-the-go.  You can even work on your crochet projects while you're waiting in line, on a road trip, or anywhere else you find yourself.       Sometimes I don't have any particular projects in mind, so I crochet pieces just to keep my hands occupied while indulging in other activities such as watching TV, videos, or reading novels. Over time, I've accumulated a collection of pieces. Some I have used soon after completing them, while others have found their way into my stash of unfinished projects (UFP) , which I believe every crafter has.     Recently,  I resolved to finally confront my pile of unfinished projects - a task I have attempted several times before, only to end up with more added to the pile.    While digging through...

The past three months I was not very productive. After all winter is time for all to go dormant, I believe and wish. It is for my mother, that means 200% effort being given. The whole process took my some time,  designing, drawing paper pattern, making a prototype, revising pattern, choosing fabric, and finally sewing. And forgot to mention the time spending on hunting small parts:single square loops, adjustable strap ladder and grommets. First I searched online, so many products out there, it's hard for me to pick since I've never used them before. Luckily, a local store has what I need, I took my half-done project there to pick those looking good on it. This bag was made of  heavy velvet and vinyl. A extra bag organizer, made of 5mm felt. I tried it, quite useful, it keeps everything in place, water bottle, glasses, wallet, cellphone. etc. no need to dig any more. I'll make one for myself later, when?maybe when the spring comes, just joking.

   Summer's almost gone, autumn's coming. Canadian geese will head for south again. I made this very roomy shoulder bag for the coming vocation. My dear husband commented:"very good, so it can hold everything." And I'm not sure if it's a praise or not. :D    It took me almost a month to complete this bag. The amount of this fabric was quite tight, I had to plan every cut carefully. Still I made a few small mistakes, but fortunately, all were fixable.    A side pocket was added to hold some small things, like a facial tissue holder, keys, a pen or a small coin purse. Hate to admit that this was one of the mistakes I made, the opening for the zipper was 1/2" shorter then I planned. I must measured wrong, so pocket pickers are gonna have a hard time with this one.  :P      The interfacings used here are : Pellon medium weight fusible interfacing, light weight poly quilting batting which I bought a long time ago and couldn't reme...

   I love fabric, in an addictive manner, even in the past few years when I didn't have time to actually do any project, I still went to buy fabric from time to time, eventually, they are everywhere.    Last week, somehow I suddenly thought about a specific fabric which was bought at Joanna years ago, a yard long.  It is a brown fabric with blue, red, orange flowers and some sparkling, very pretty. I went thought the 1~2 yards brown pile,  "no, not there", then I checked he floral design pile, not there either. Hmmm, maybe piles under 1 yard? no, I couldn't find it anywhere. This made me crazy.   Am I imaging it? I actually never bought it, I saw it in some shop and got impressed, but I didn't buy it. I regretted so much that I imaged that I already had it. Is that possible? NO, I have evidence, luckily, LOL see, the left bottom fabric, that's the one I'm talking about. I'm glad that I  made this owl pincushion long ago, although it has n...

-----Hi, where are you going? ---Hmmm, heading for the woods~~~ ---The woods is down over there, just get back in line!!! ----You guys are fast, don't leave me behind And no, these are not coasters

Here comes the 2nd block. Since it's called "block of the month", it's gonna be one at least per month, that's  the bottom line for me.  Pattern

"If making 1 block every 1 or 2 weeks, maybe I can make a queen size quilt in a year ." I said to myself. 6" block, hand appliqued.  I used whatever pieces in my scrap box. It was originally like this. The value of  the yellow petal is too light, it jumps out, but that can be easily fixed with some stitches.                                         Backstitch swirls with dark green floss, voila, the world is saved Old fashion way to draw my pattern

         After counting all the granny squares, 43, I knew I was nowhere near to a blanket, and I have some new ideas I really wanna try. Never be able to resist the temptation to start a new project until finishing the old one, that's my big problem, and that's how those UFOs are hidden in my closets. But not this time, this time I'm determined  to finish this project ,  in another way.                             40 squares are used, still 3 left, but only 3, that's a miner problem, right?

This whole week,  I dug through my scrap bin and sewed scraps together, felt like making my own fabric. I've made piles of pieces,  without making any decision how to use them, a reversed applique wall hanging? . maybe.  but I'm sure they'll come in handy one day, some day when I want to make something.

Too much fabric, fabric everywhere waiting for being used? Try fabric origami, it really helps to kill some stash.

       Ever since seeing that beautiful granny square blanket on "Big Bang Theory",  I've been wanting to make one. After reading a few crochet books from the library and some practice, do, undo, redo, I started this big project. I did a few blocks and got some odds and ends, that were too short even for the inner circle. I hated the mess and I hated to throw them out too, so here's the idea: A scrappy look  cross-body purse. Add lining to it, a zipper pocket to hide some secret money LOL I didn't stop there. I know it's almost summer now, but winter will come, then I'm ready, we're ready. No idea how many squares are  required to make a blanket, as a beginner, i'm allowed not knowing that, but it seems a lot, 9 blocks make a throw pillow cover, up to now, I made 28 of blocks.

Finally, Spring comes. I come out of hibernation eventually, and finished this project which was started months ago. It is small, yes, in size, only 4"1/2 (11cm) diameter, but when talking about the effort, Hmm, I'm not so sure, it did require hours and hours of work, including undoing some embroidery. I'm still learning stitches, so I have an excuse for doing, undoing and redoing. Back or front? another side for sure  inside Some details It started with one pink rose to practice bullion knots, then added more in different colors, then added leaves and stems, and two cat tail plants to balance the whole bouquet

An area rug made from my old T-shirts and yoga pants Cut old clothes into long strips, then braid 3 fabric strips together, as you braid your hair, then stitch the braid to oval or round A round one which I made before Tips : 1. when braiding, fold the raw edges towards center, like binding strip, so no raw edges will show in your rug,           2.Don't cut too narrow strips.  otherwise, when braiding, it's hard to fold edges, and the folded strip will be to narrow.  I personally prefer 1"1/2         Some Blah, Blah,  People always say we need reduce waste to protect the environment,  to help the Earth, save our planet. Actually, the earth doesn't need anyone to save.  Pollution, climate changes will not destroy the planet,  tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes probably can only cause scratches on it. but to us, those are devastating disasters, we are the fragile environment-depending little cr...

A knitted throw I haven't done any knitting for a long time, but finally, finished this UFO project, Phew~~ It has 12 blocks, 39"X54"

Do cross-stitch when you really want to stab something a lot. I surely stabbed some recently. back side some Christmas ornaments and some small borders, yes, I'm a scrap saver. some of them I did before. added some beads here and there. some more to go:D

Some bags     These are things I made recently, a card holder, a wrist-let, an travel organizer .,  and a recycle round area rug which is made of old shirts.     I didn't use any patterns, actually I  made my own flyers paper patterns. The card holder and the wrist-let were easy, but the organizer went wrong many times. I want an organizer that can hold everything for travel, money,cards, passport, tickets, documents, etc. , so I planned many inside pockets without considering the thickness of those layers of fabric and interfacing would add up together. When I tried to assemble it and found out the seam was too bulky to sew,  I had to cut some inside pockets shorter to reduce excess bulk, with undo and redo many times, it got there.

I always say: I hate winter. To me ,winter equals cold, equals snow, equals shoveling the painful long driveway, equals walking on slippery sidewalk.......... But, sometimes it simply equals beauty. The autumn joy looks like a Chinese brush painting. Magnolia is waiting to blossom quietly.