Big box of fabric and goodies

Marie' just got back from her sister's wedding in Japan.  For months leading up to it we've been carefully planning online orders of fabric and patterns that would only ship within Japan.  What a super friend she was to make so much room for me in her suitcase!  And her sister was just as kind to go through the hassle of ordering it all at the same time as planning a wedding.

The fabrics themselves don't look so spectacular in the photo but they have a beautiful buttery feel that will certainly be a joy to sew and wear.  Included in this pile are the following fabrics: triple gauze, double gauze, lawn, linen cotton blends and quilted knit.

 The patterns are from a company called shell button and I'll have to wait for Marie' to share the links because I have a whole bookmark folder full of Japanese sites that I can't make sense of.  

But my goal this year is to do more adult sewing so I ordered these three for myself (quilted jacket, empire knit dress, and button up shirt dress) - I will post them after I have lost baby weight and found time for proper fitting and sewing.  That means I'll be lucky to have them ready to post before 2011.  

Felt Fruit

Book:  Felt Fruit and Vegetables

  

If you can't tell from the picture here is one tomato and one apple. With the tiny hand blanket stitching they took a long time to finish - I started them almost a year ago but was never in the mood.  Late pregnancy/ nesting urge got me to finally finish them and I'm happy I did.  Once things settle down a bit after the baby I hope to make more but instead on the machine.  The leaves of the tomato were done on the machine but you can see it doesn't look as clean.

Also, if you look closely you will notice the apple has a fuzzier texture.  That is because that felt was from JoAnn's where as the tomato was cut from some special felt Marie's mom sent from Japan - it is so much nicer!  I recommend splurging on the nice felt (you can find it here or here) if you plan on hand sewing because it feels better in your hand.  I will use the cheap stuff from JoAnn's as I experiment.

If you look even closer you will notice the fruit are resting on my very pregnant belly - a perfect table top!