not that i've finished anything lately! but this has been on my 'to do' list for quite some time. i'm glad i ran across the black yarn the other day, so i could get started! hopefully it will be an afghan some day!

sorry for being quiet for a few days.  i've been rather busy!  on saturday i spent the morning doing last minute things, going to the laundromat, sending boxes to kanagawa, going to nafco to get non-winter type sheets for my bed and sneaking in a yummy lunch!  in the afternoon i worked hard on more cleaning, mainly in the kitchen to get ready for the easter party i had on sunday.

above is a picture of the recent dress i made for sasha.  it's really cute, but too big (she is holding the back in the picture.)  really cute!






i also took a few pictures on easter day, enjoy!

i can tell it's spring, because i want to sew. so far i have finished a dress for sasha. the first time for me to put in a zipper! so exciting. i took a few pictures, but will have to wait to upload them.

 in other news, it's quite possible the three kidlets have the chicken pox. if they are rash-y tomorrow, i will be taking them to the pediatrician! i actually kind of hope they have the chicken pox, because they have not been vaccinated for it, and i want them to get it out of the way. so...if they have it, let's hope it's not too bad a case, for each of them!

about a year ago, i saw a flower afghan, much like the one i made before, with white and red roses, and a dark green background, on a television show. i really liked it and wanted to make one for myself. sadly, i found out that no one makes the red and white variegated yarn anymore, at least, not in acrylic. i asked my mom to get me some red and yellow yarn, but oh boy, was it ever bright! not quite appropriate for roses. so, i looked around here, and found this pink, white and orange/peach yarn. not quite what i wanted (i would have been satisfied with pink and white) but i think i like the final product. of course, after nearly finishing, daiso started carrying a different color, much paler and softer looking. but, oh well! i think sasha is well pleased with it.

yarn: acrylic yarn from daiso (100 yen shop), pink/white/orange, frosty green redheart super saver and hunter green redheart super saver. pictures!











i think zorro is under there.

so, i've gotten some knitting done, when i haven't done any in ages. i am crocheting a blanket for sasha, which is taking a lot of time! but, i started making a fish hat, to see how long it would take me (and to see if i could do it!), and then i found some fabulous (acrylic) yarn for making candy corn hats and thought i should make some for hiro and tommy's birthday party. i got one done, and should have the rest done by the time their party comes around, but we'll see!

first, the fish hat.



it's supposed to be a dead fish, with felt circles embroidered with black Xes, but i don't trust myself to be able to cut a perfect circle out of felt, so i got some buttons. i got four-holed buttons and thought i'd do the X with that, but i think they're too small. doesn't matter, because i think it turned out pretty cute anyway.









it's supposed to look like a fish is on your head, kinda like you pulled a fish on your noggin into its mouth. maybe it's supposed to be for kids more than adults (though, it's supposed to be for both), but i think the proportion looks a bit off.

anyway, the candy corn hat i finished. it's for kuri's son, it is so adorable! now, to get the other 8 (or 10) that i want to make finished in time!







wish me luck!

here are a few things i am working on (and actually finished--one!)

first, sasha needed some legwarmers for the school musical/variety show they are doing in february.







i think they turned out rather well, although it took me a couple of weeks to finish up! (in reality it was only a few hours but i couldn't work on them continuously!)

next is a cowl/scarf for my mom.





it is knit in the round, and the true color is the one in the first picture.

last of all is a crochet-along and is so easy! it's a shawl and will be for me.





i really wanted to make a couple of vests for hiro and sasha to wear at school, and although it's still rather cold, i fear it may be too late for me to get one done for hiro. *sigh*

i have got quite a bit finished, and am just going to show you in pictures:














previous posts are here and here.

just a bit more to stitch, and then it's on to backstitch and french knots. quite a bit of french knots in this project, oops! not my favorite stitch!


i will try to get back later today to blog about our trip to sasebo. you can check out photos here, though it's only the ones i got with the olympus. the nikon died yesterday morning, and i am only just charging the battery now. the kids and i are going to kuri's today for an easter celebration, so i don't know when the next post is going to be!

my cameras are pretty much full which makes uploading a pain. i've got four strips sewn together. i can see this being a one day project, if that day does not include small children. ;) sorry that the photo is not the greatest, but i hope it shows the beauty of this quilt.

my strips are not lining up 100%. that is user error, not the design! i think lining up is one of the most difficult things in quilting, especially in strip quilting. but, even though it is not perfect, i'm not going to redo it. i think that the amish don't make perfect things (quilts?), even purposely skewing a block or making it upside down. i think the philosophy is that only god is perfect. that is not my philosophy, but i do like the idea, to me it is not always possible to be perfect and that it's ok to make mistakes. especially if those mistakes don't destroy the final product. most of my projects (ok, all) have mistakes, which probably makes me mediocre, but i'm ok with that.

tomorrow is the kindy's graduation, so hiro has the day off. i just realized this morning that i am going to have to cook breakky, lunch and dinner. (didn't i do this last year, too? last summer maybe?) which may sound strange, yes i do cook every day but it's different for two instead of three. but, if i think about it, soon i'll only have tommy at home which will be so different! anyway, hiro will have a half day on thursday and then SPRING BREAK!! um, yay? yeaaaaah, i dunno how i'm going to handle it either! LOL

take care of you and all of yours, i am thinking of you tonight.

well, sadly the fabrics were too small, even for just making a smaller quilt. i think the original size is lap to begin with, so just skipping a bit will make it tiny! no worries, though, i have thought of something else to do with them.

first the new fabrics i got. i love the idea of a sakura theme, so i got a few more prints like that. mainly i had to get half yard cuts, but i did find some proper fat quarters, plus i had some at home, so here's to trying a new quilt!



i have cut everything (but i don't have a back yet) so there's that. and i've put together two rows, yay. hiro is so into it, he really wants to sew something now. LOL



sorry for the dark photo, the weather has been awful today.

anyway, here is the previous thing i was working on:



i really liked it when i bought the fabrics, and i liked it when i first made a square several months ago, but now i'm a little annoyed with the 'background' fabric, the white one. a little busy i think. i need to change my mind about sashing fabric. something solid. maybe navy blue. ANYWAY, i am showing this because i think i will use the other sakura fabrics to make some pinwheels, and that will make a lovely quilt.