Fru-T

One of S’s last school projects was to make something from junk you find in your house. 

From the start S was determined to invent something.

He had been taking an old motorized car apart for a few months now…well……. he headed straight to that shoe box for supplies.

After about an hour he informed me he needed a switch….I looked at what he was doing and suggested that a kind of cat toy was an excellent idea….

he replied, “It’s not a cat toy. Can we go to Radioshack?”

after we returned he disappeared for another hour…..

and then emerged from the lab with a……… (not a cat toy)……a….Dimension Maker 

(a sneak peek at the inner workings of a DM)

S was very proud of his invention. 

Not as proud as his Mom though.

I can’t remember the last time S wanted to pose in a photo for me. I always ask……

This morning when I asked S, moments after waking up….

I got an enthusiastic……. yes !?! 

That’s probably all I need to say about Ms. M………because she is the reason I got a yes this morning…… for her………yes! 

….this is a simple case, completely washable and the interior has a new pocket design for the water bottle (kinda reminds me of my Mom’s cosmetic case growing up).

I finally decided to use a “purse zipper” duh……. I’ll be using these from now on. 

This was our second year with Ms. S. It was another fantastic year. And again, we are sad to say goodbye.

… the bag is made of cotton and there is a small zipper compartment inside…..

…and I’ve decided that M’s new attitude it making my work look more high fashion…..

so thanks.

happy birthday!

I used a water-repellent linen from Britex Fabcics  and a medium weight interfacing…..

together they hold the shape really well. The tail is from belt I found at  a thrift store.

many more bags in the next week….

M’s enthusiasm for modeling my creations is waning…… 

asking her to pose minutes after waking up…….not smart

but she’s still the best little helper a mom could ask for……

(and chocolate always helps us navigate those rough patches)

I have always been a fan of the fanny pack. It’s not cool, I know. But for me, it’s practical, convenient, and I can access my phone quickly. I’m always on the hunt for the right FP: not too big or technical, and of course….the right fabric!

Well, it finally occurred to me that should just make it myself. 

I used a water-repellent cotton for the exterior, and navy gingham cotton for the lining…..

The zipper is too small here and has already been replaced, but the interior pocket is perfect for my phone.

It is narrower and longer than you traditional FP which makes it more like a pocket.

I also added a couple of darts at the bottom for some extra room.

below if my first attempt….I didn’t care for the top stitching I did on the upper part of the zipper and left it out in the green FP.  I also didn’t put a lining in which I think is a nice addition

Yesterday over breakfast, S asked me what I wanted for mother’s day. Without hesitation, I said, “I would like you to extract that dead tooth hanging in M’s mouth”

well……there in the cafe….. he did just that.

using some of my Liberty fabric (M picked it), I made a little pouch for her tooth….

and last night it was safely tucked under her pillow for the tooth-fairy 

today I made 2 stops at 2 of my favorite fabric stores…..

First….. Britex where all of their remnant fabric is 50% off ! (today only) If you go, head up to the 4th floor when you get there……and have fun!! 

Next…… Discount Fabrics where I spotted this in their remnant section !!

Meadow Flowers from Lightening Bug and other Mysteries by Heather Ross

out of print for some time now….

our mornings start with this :

to make this :

(this favorite is;  kale, apple, ginger, one date, orange juice and ice)

and we end our days with this :

our dear friend A sent us some roasted garlic oil (ra-yu). In Japan it is eaten on top of rice, but S………. likes it on top of almost anything.

Look for it at your local Japanese supermarket (I know that Nijiya carries it) 

Enjoy!

this quilt was a family effort and…

we are all jumping for joy…

that baby L is finally here!

because M insisted,

 we used a PAAS egg dying kit to color our eggs,

 M was thrilled with the results.

we hope you had a colorful Easter too!!

M lost her first tooth yesterday.

Last night…..in typical M style….. she tripped and knocked her already wiggly bottom tooth out….. and the tooth above that askew.

one small exterior pocket and and water bottle compartment to keep her bottle upright

I’ll probably shorten that tail before we go to the party this afternoon.

have a good weekend !

: american museum of natural history :

: grand central terminal :

: central park :

when I asked S what he wanted to do for his birthday he replied, “Play Minecraft with my friends!”

…so we made a grass block cake:

…a creeper piñata :

…some creeper bags to catch the goodies :

…and invited some friends over to play and celebrate!

happy birthday S

This girl…

loves both snow and speed…

as well as ponies, dancing, gymnastics… 

and playing with her favorite playmate, her brother.

happy birthday M

Every year my kids feel like the luckiest kids in school because they have the best teacher ever!  This year is no exception..

room 6 : kindergarten

both bags are made with laminated linen for the exterior fabric and cotton for the interior. 

there are snaps on both ends to hold the bag closed when needed

the handles for this bag are from japan…and fit perfectly…

room 5 : grade 2

I only had one set of handles…so  I decided to make some for this bag…

I bought some cotton cording and encased it in leather…

(I used my zipper foot to stitch as close to the cord as possible… Cut the leather larger than needed… and then trim it back after you’ve stitched the cord in)

both bags also have a hanging interior pocket

los angeles:

bottega louie :

santa barbara :

ready :

set :

go :

hope you had a happy halloween too!

S is obsessed with Minecraft, so this costume choice came as no surprise. 

 We started making the costume body with foam board but it was difficult to walk in, sit and get on and off…

so we used ultrafirm stabilizer with cotton fused to one side. I then stitched it into shape and attached velcro where needed. 

We made the head by gluing the foam board into a cube and gluing an old army helmet  from the toy bin inside. I marked the eye hole and cut it out. I piled 4 layers of black netting and hot glued a rectangle and quickly put it over the cut out hole (on the inside of the box), using masking tape I finished it off…

the squares were painted with acrylic paint and the thin black lines were done with a paint pen.

have a good weekend!

: laminated cottons, all from the remnant section :

: “motor land” cosmo textile :

: nylons :

: for M :

: knits and double sided gauze (cotton) :

: more double sided cottons :

: pinch purse hardware, bag handles, music + sound makers :

to Angela and Yasu; for the many wonderful meals, restful sleeps, and endless help. Please visit these guys if you get the chance. Guesthouse tabi-tabi

scarecrows :

an awesome fabric store in Japan

I’ll post some of my fabric purchases later this week!

natural spring water …. 

: too beautiful to drink (almost) coffee at Cafe Cubstar, Shimoda

Fontaine Cafe and Cake Shop, Shimoda

unfortunately I was usually too hungry and excited to take pictures….

happy birthday!

here is the  first leotard I made and I have to say it came together easily in one day

not so with leotards 2, 3 and 4

I’m still not a fan of that fuzzy lycra (my machine didn’t like it either) so I switched to this thick organic cotton/lycra ( 90% organic cotton & 10% lycra ).

 I redrafted the pattern and took the neckline in by reducing the angle of the shoulder seam, and I used a thinner (1/4 inch) softer elastic. 

It’s still not perfect, but it’s better.

lots and lots of tomatoes……

with M’s help we’ll have a lot of tomato sauce too!

(M is)

I’ve sewn the neckline at least 4 times, with 2 different elastics, on 2 leotards…

and it still looks….  

look for more leotards this weekend…

: hope you have a good one! :

Our sweet neighbor A has been patiently waiting for me to finish start this bag since the beginning of summer. Yesterday I finally started and finished the bag.    

She picked both the fabrics and the design…

This is the first time I have added an interior pocket- I think we’ll see more of these.

a backpack for S

when I asked S what he wanted for a school backpack…

he said, “just no monkeys” (last year’s bag here)

using the fabric he picked, and my Fjallraven bag as template…

(we added a water bottle pocket, and stiff divider in the back for support and papers)

…. I think we have a “cool” enough bag for grade 2

Last year M rarely wore the dress I made for school. So this year we went with a simple  design that she not only approved, but wanted.

here it is in blue with a raglan sleeve

the fabric is a lightweight fleece 

in grey with a flower

The dark grey fabric is a cotton silk voile

and yellow-  M’s favorite

next….

a backpack for S

school bag for M

(kindergarten students are not allowed to carry backpacks… but they are allowed to have hearts on their bags)

there is a water bottle pocket in the front, a stiff divider to shape the bag and hold important papers and a strip of white fabric where she can write a secret message (it actually covers a hole where I melted the nylon) 

The fabric was designed by Orla Kiely and was originally a laundry bag sold at Target (about 2 years ago)

yup again

although this year I spent some time improving my pattern…

I made three pairs the last of which is below…

this pair has a shorter inseam (Dad said they look like maternity pants), a lighter weight knit and this year I added the back panel…

S doesn’t ask me to sew much…

but we both agree these pants are a winner!

original pattern from Everyday Bottoms and made again last year here

______________

things I don’t do but should:

change the thread color to match the fabric

take S’s measurements and write them down

keep all the pattern pieces together

keep track of the memory card for my camera

iron as I sew

S started packing his Elmo bag…. every compartment too small….

(so we updated his luggage to something more age appropriate)

S:     “Boy, I can take a lot of toys now!”

M:    “Yes, and clothes”

(hoping he’ll carry his own stuff this summer)

late evening climbing is the best

My dear friend A visited for a few days from Japan. Along with her husband Y, they operate two guesthouses. If you are ever looking for a cool place to rest your head in Shimoda, Izu or Hakuba, Nagano please stop by and say hi, you’ll be happy you did.

Below is a quilt I made for Y and A-

She only left a few days ago but we miss her already

M spent her morning, playing an accordion, in a box, wearing a swimsuit.

S discovered texting and LOVES it.

both M and S finished swimming lessons for the summer…

treading water is NOT a favorite skill for S

D is for dropped

I dropped my poor camera over the weekend (this is the photo I took at the camera shop when I learned I had smashed the LCD screen)

V is for veil

M’s favorite dress up item (which she asked me to make)

P is for princess

I’m not sure how this princess still gets into this dress (it was snug when it was made 1.5 years ago)

S is for sandwich

S is obsessed with the BLT sandwich ( we use turkey bacon but otherwise it’s “classic”)

G is for glad

glad l married S (who always takes my lemons and makes lemonade)

these wheels came off…

and this girl…

learned to start, stop, turn, and ride!

swimming is fun.

okay, it was yesterday. I had read somewhere that a tie should take about 2 hours to make. It took me 2 days.

fabric: Liberty of London, Felicite

hey f, we hope you a had a fantastic f day!

M told me to do what I wanted :

so I did.

S told me to cut it all off :

so I did.

My kids really enjoyed this project-

1. I had the kids decide and collect the objects for their print.

2. They decided how they wanted to organize their objects (on red board)

3. We made the room really, really, dark (I emphasized this point even though it’s not really needed….but it’s a lot more fun)

4. In the really, really dark room (but more than enough light to see), we took the paper out of the envelope, pinned it to our board and then organized and pinned our objects.)

5. We carefully took our prints outside and exposed them to sunlight

6. as you can see S’s objects were securely fastened

7. soaked them in water for a minute

8. and returned them to the boards to dry

This project takes about 45 minutes and the paper is available from Amazon here

we’ll be doing this again this summer!

: thank you to everyone who entered :

: Kristin, please email your address to blogfru.t@gmail.com and I’ll post your napkins :

she may still look like a baby…

but this “big girl” graduated from pre-school today!

to try and win this stack of napkins :

enter here