kidswear
7 Comments

Denim knee-length pants

As he is growing, Sidra is in constant need of new clothes, especially pants. He doesn’t like wearing long pants in spring and summer, and asked me to make more knee-length pants. This is a new pair that I’ve made using a Japanese pattern book. By the way, I’ve been using Japanese pattern books for kids’ clothes since Sidra in kindergarten (110 cm), and this year is probably the last time I can use them because the sizes end at 130 cm. I made pattern #24 from シンプル&ちょこっとデザイン おんなの子服おとこの子服, which I have used last year. It is one of my favorite […]

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giveaway
204 Comments

Bombshell swimsuit pattern giveaway! – CLOSED

If you want to make your own Bombshell swimsuit , here is some good news for you! Heather will be running a Bombshell swimsuit sewalong in her blog, so it’s like she will be by your side guiding you making the swimsuit! And you can have a chance to win a Bombshell swimsuit PDF pattern by leaving a comment in this post! I will draw a winner on Friday, June 14th! Thank you! UPDATE: Thank you for entering the giveaway! The winner is Ai. Congratulations!

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womenswear
29 Comments

Pattern testing: Bombshell swimsuit

It is starting to feel like summer here! And just in time, Heather Lou of Closet Case Files has just launched her Bombshell swimsuit pattern! In case you haven’t followed her fabulous blog, last year she made this very flattering vintage style swimsuit. Since then she has worked on creating multi sizes pattern of a perfected version of the swimsuit. The PDF pattern is now available to buy in her etsy shop! I’m very fortunate that Heather has kindly invited me to one of her pattern tester. I finished mine sometime last week and have been dying to share it […]

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making other stuff, Pets
37 Comments

Dog bed

As Monte has destroyed the big pillow that he used as his bed, I thought that I would make a proper dog bed for Duff. Yes I could have bought it, but where’s the fun of it? After searching for some DIY dog bed on the internet, I found one via Pinterest that I quite like. Unfortunately the Pinterest link only pointed to the image with no explanation of the original creator. The watermark shows a username on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging service. If you are the owner of the image, or you know who owns the image, please tell […]

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life
20 Comments

Goodbye Monte and Hello Duff!

Last weekend, we went to ARK adoption event at Dogsign store in Jingumae to see Monte off. It was indeed a bittersweet moment for us, but we were all ready. A few days before, Sidra said that he felt sad that Monte was leaving, but also happy for him and his new family. At the same time Sidra was excited to see our next foster dog. ‘It is such a confusing feeling. It is the first time I’ve ever felt this way,’ he said. Monte might be confused right now in his new environment but he will settle down in […]

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womenswear
32 Comments

Pineapple dress (Vogue 8901)

I wanted to make a quick summer dress project and after browsing at my pattern stash, I found this Vogue 8901. From the pattern envelope: “Dress has no side seams, close-fitting, lined bodice extending to side back, pleated skirt, side front seams, narrow hem, and invisible back zipper. B: lined skirt. C: bodice front cut on crosswise grain, back hook & eye closing, and zipper for skirt only.” The bodice of the dress is overlapped on the side and the skirt is actually just pleated rectangles. Looks simple enough! I cut view A, size 6 on bust, tapered to 10 on waist and hip. The […]

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lingerie
22 Comments

Baby blue gingham set

A new set of bra and two panties made with ‘Vichy’ kit from ELingeria. I bought the kit sometime ago and unfortunately all the kit is now not available because the store is closing. I’m a bit sad actually because I only have two sources for lingerie pattern and supplies and ELingeria is one of them. The other one is Merckwaerdigh and I hope they are not going anywhere now. Anyone know any good online stores for lingerie supplies that accept Paypal and can send worlwide? On the other hand, ELingeria is having a closing down sale until May 31st […]

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bags and purses, Pets
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Dog saddle bag

Monte has been with us for a week now. I take him for a walk twice a day and he seems to enjoy this routine. He’s very energetic though, which is quite good for a dog at his age. But it means that I get tired before he does, and he still needs more exercise to calm him down (or I need more exercise so I can keep up with him). I read somewhere that wearing a backpack can give the dog more exercise and sometimes helps focusing his attention. Monte is pulling on the leash a lot and easily […]

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womenswear
32 Comments

Summer knit dress (McCall’s 6700)

I’ve been busy this week since Monte came, house-training him and such, that I don’t have too much time for my sewing machine. But yesterday I really want to make something instead of wiping dog pee off the floor, so here’s a quick dress for an instant gratification. The pattern is McCall’s 6700 from the Spring 2013 line. From the pattern envelope: “Pullover dress has fitted, mock wrap bodice, shoulder ties, elasticized shoulders and raised (seamed) waist, fitted, narrow hem, thread carriers and self belt.” This dress is designed for medium weight stretch knits and I was happy to find […]

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life
19 Comments

Monte the beagle

If you’re following me on Instagram or Twitter, you’ve probably noticed a new face that recently popped up there. Meet Monte the Beagle! He’s a 10 month old beagle that we are fostering since last weekend. Whenever I think about fond childhood memories, there’s always dogs in there. They were part of my happy memories.  I remember them all, every physical traits and unique characters. Some of them were pure-bred, some were mutts and strays that I found on the street. Some died of accidents, illness, and old age. I stopped having dogs since Sidra was a baby because I […]

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