I am ready to travel!

August 25, 2010

Passport holder

I am going on a trip from Friday – to Malaysia and Japan. A few days ago, I suddenly felt the urge to make a passport holder to make the trip easier, and here is what came up with. Luckily I had this beautiful fabric I bought at Material Obsession about a year ago and kept it untouched in shelf. The inner material is fake leather. I was a little worried they might be too thick on my sewing machine, but worked fine after all. (Poor needle has to be replaced I think, tho.) I am very happy with the outcome and can’t wait to use it:) Only one thing, though, I wish I had put a pocket for a pen so that it won’t fall out. It taught me again that planning is very important when it comes to sewing to avoid undoing.. I hate undoing!

Passport holder

Category : Sewing,

Sydney Design 2010!

August 14, 2010

Sydney Design 2010

I love design and craft events, so did not miss the chance to go to the workshops by Knitty Gritty and Loopy as one of the Sydney Design 2010 events today. Well, I was a little late and was not sure If I have time to do anything, but when I opened the door, it had a nice welcoming atmosphere and in a short while, I was sitting there, with a crochet needle at hand and bunch of strings made of cut-up plastic bags around me:) So I dug one of those strings and managed to make a small .. I don’t know what:p (I will upload the picture later..) It was a great experience, making something out of plastic bags we see everywhere, as well as talking to other creative people and exchanging ideas. I wish I was there a few hours earlier, because there were other workshops that looked very interesting, too, such as vases made out of wraps or pictures created with egg shells. .. Well, next time!
Oh, they have another event in October – We Craft This City – at Object Gallery. Take a look if you missed this one, I’m sure you will want to create little cute objects!

Sydney Design 2010

Category : Events&Exhibition,

Young Blood Designers Market 2010

August 13, 2010

Young Blood Designers Market

Today was the first day of the Young Blood Designers Market at Powerhouse Museum. So I hurried there to get a quick look in the afternoon, before it gets crammed with people after working hours. It was great, had a very nice atmosphere with the planes over the head, and there were so many nice craft works. Though I did not buy anything – I was somehow more excited to take photos than to shop – it was definitely worth taking a look. The market is open until this Sunday (longer than usual!), and entry fee is five dollars.

Young Blood Designers Market

Category : Events&Exhibition,

Pon pon accessory is done!

August 1, 2010

pon pon accessory

Yay, I finished making a pon pon accessory:D I made this for a guy who wanted to give something special to his wife for their anniversary. That’s so sweet, and I hope she will like it!

Of course, this accessory pattern is again from Hikaru Noguchi’s KNIT WORK book. I used different yarns, though. I will definitely make one for myself:)

Category : Knitting, Scarf,

On the way to buy breakfast

July 29, 2010

29.07.10

I use Photoshop almost everyday for work/hobbies. But that doesn’t mean all my photos should be retouched in Photoshop! .. I recently realised that I rely on it too much, and haven’t much improved my photography skills since I learned it in the uni. I feel I wasted so much time, if continued regularly… well, no time to regret. I will take lots of photos from now on!

So I grabbed my D70s – hopefully upgraded soonish – on the way to buy breakfast, and took photos in the park near my place. It was after a rain so everything was dump and dark, and then I found this beautiful texture on the wall. I wanted to be able to focus more on the subject, I could crop in Photoshop.. nono, no more retouching!

Category : Photos,

Give me peace of mind, happy little birdie..

July 22, 2010

birdie 1

My happy little birdie is resting on a plant pot. I think felt material and unglazed pottery look great together, and I wish I had learned pottery from my dad or community college of which I am still on their waiting list..

I am a little bit frustrated in the situation in Australia, that I cannot find craft materials very easily. There is no such stores like Yuzawaya or Tokyu Hands here, where you could just drop in and get what you need. Here I have to search online, go to individual shops and find out that there is no such things available.. ending up using something different from what you had in mind originally. That sometimes works alright, like the eyes for this bird. At first I searched for tiny 2-3mm toy eyes, but after going to Spotlight, Lincraft, local art supply shop and button shop, I had to give up. Smallest ones they had were like 10mm eyes.. There are projects left in the middle and those are getting accumulated because I am waiting to get right materials.. I wonder if that’s just me or other people also. Heelp..

Category : My Toys,

My birdie

July 15, 2010

My birdie - work in progress

I was inspired by some beautiful bird photos on Flickr. I understand why some people are obsessed with wild birds, they are so free and alive, it goes without saying that they are just beautiful. The kind I appreciate the most is the chubby little colourful ones. I wonder if such birds will come to my balcony if I set a bird feeder like this:D Probably big ones will occupy it and scare them away like I witnessed often back in Japan..

Anyways, this birdie is still work in progress, am deciding whether I want a slim face or a fat one, also need to order some small toy eyes from Japan as I ran out of them – I put pins for substitutions for now. mmm..

Category : My Toys,

A little break

July 11, 2010

Taking a little break..

So much to do, so little is done! So I am taking a little break so as not to get stressed, or am I worsening the situation? :p Well, it seems to be the best time for me to introduce my arm warmer. Only right side is done, but am not waiting to wear it until I make the other side, because I have a feeling I will not finish it very soon.. This is the first time for me to knit something in pair, but I must say I very much prefer one piece items like a hat or scarf. I will blog about it again when it is done, hopefully within this winter:)

The toy is Pepe, used in an animation which my friend and I are working on. I hope I will have something to post about it soon, too.

Category : Knitting, My Toys,

Exhibition: Yumi Takahashi

July 8, 2010

I just came back from Yumi Takahashi‘s exhibition opening night at Kaleidoscope Gallery in Paddington. I really enjoyed her art works in variety that are from water color paintings to eco bags. Her water colours are beautiful, in sort of a dreamy fantasy style that makes you wonder what’s going on and engages you into each painting. Also there were some great dot sticky art – some layers of many many tiny dot stickies on panels – which created depth and space that raises your curiosity and imagination. It was a little bit like pixel art I like, but I cannot create such depth and warmth digitally I guess. The exhibition continues until July 20th. I was excited and forgot to take photos:p But you can get a glimpse of the opening here!

>Go to Yumi’s blog

Category : Events&Exhibition,

I need more knit items!!

July 4, 2010

Knit scarf

If you think it doesn’t get cold in Australia through the year, you are wrong! It is sooooooo cooooold in Sydney this winter.. maybe being single after 8 years is helping it a bit more..:p Anyway, to survive this ice age, I’ve got to do something and am keeping myself busy making knit items!

This scarf is again from Hikaru Noguchi’s KNIT WORK book. I made two of those, one for me and one for my friend. Although I used the same yarn for both, the end result was so different, ended up with 15cm difference in length.. hee .. that just proves my hands are not that stable yet. I guess it’s not a great deal when you knit a scarf.. but now I am moving on to arm warms that need a pair ..
..Well, I shall be happy if they serve the purpose and protect me against cold!

Category : Knitting, Scarf,