Setteling Down

It has been about 2 weeks since we moved in. Since most of our stuff from the US is Still on the Pacific Ocean somewhere, we have been treasure hunting from both our parents homes for everyday necessities. In fact, I think my mom was the happiest person when she knew we were moving back, not only because I will be closer to her, but I could take over a lot of her things.... My dad said she has been happily setting up a pile way before we arrived home. And here she was caught in action digging through her treasures....

All silliness aside, I am very grateful for our parents letting us taking over their things. They even lend us some old furnitures so we can setup our apartment so quickly~ We finally have a home base and do not have to live out of a suitcase anymore. That itself was a huge relief~

One downside of moving is the limited time I have to stitch. After a long day of cleaning, hulling, and shopping, I have very little energy left in the evening... So here is my pitiful progress on my Mystery Sampler... I hope things will quiet down soon so I will have more time to stitch!!

 

Checking In

Hello my darling friends, thank you for all your good wishes on our move. We have arrived safely in Taiwan, and still heavily jet lagged... The past few days were a haze. Hubby and I traveled back and forth between both our parents' places and his work place, and I spent a lot of time waiting for him while he was checking in work. Since I spend so much time waiting, I suddenly have a lot of time to stitch~ One day I spent a whole afternoon in the library hiding away from the hot and humid weather outside, watching movie from my iPad and stitch. That was a great break from our busy schedule. I will be on the train in a little bit and guess what I will be doing? Stitching, of course~

Hope all of you are enjoying summer!! Happy stitching~

Memories…

Four more days till the big move. I’ve been very busy packing, sorting, selling and cleaning. My apartment is a mess. It has been from this:

To this…

And this:

 

To this…

Although I hate packing, I can’t say that it was all work and no fun. You won’t believe all the things you would dig up during this process. I still have clothes from high school hiding in my closet, and old letters I received when I came to US fourteen years ago. That was when PC was still scarce and e-mail was not a common source of communication, and people still write letters by hand. I went through all the letters from my first year in the US and was so touched by all the encouragement I got from friends and family. Then I remembered what joy it was to receive a letter from overseas. It was these letters that kept me going.

Another thing that kept me going everyday was my car. I just part with it today. It was a bittersweet moment for me. I was happy that I was able to sell it in such a short timeframe, but sad to see it go. This was the first car I bought all by myself and it has been through all the big moves with me. I think no matter how many cars I get later in my life, this one will always have a special place in my heart~

I was very fortunate to have won Mary’s giveaway a while back. I received her package this week and was totally blown away by the pin cushion she made. The stitches are perfect and the finish just gorgeous. I love the saying on the pin cushion, it is so true. Thank you so much, Mary~

So this will be the last post I do from the States!!!! I guess next time I sign in again, I will be in Taiwan. Hopefully it won’t be too long of an absence. See you at the other side~~

30 Days!!!!!

Finally, a finish!!!! This piece was my travel stitching project so I have been working on and off on this one for a while, but I felt like I had to wrap it up, so here it is~

Pattern: Little House Needleworks “Plant Kindness”
Thread: Gentle Art and DMC Cotton Floss
Fabric: 28 ct Linen color Flax
Stitched Size: 5.75” x 7.5”
Completion Date: 06-22-2012

I really like the colors on this one, purple and green, my favorite colors~

So I went to visit a Sew and Vac superstore here in San Diego and guess what I got!! A new sewing machine!!! I didn’t actually plan on buying that day but saw this model there and it was on sale, and the next thing I knew I was pulling out my credit card!!! I still have to test it out more but I’m liking it so far!!!

So what do all these have to do with 30 days? Well, that is when I will be moving – AGAIN!!! This time, we are moving overseas back to my home country - Taiwan~ That is why I am so eager to finish up my projects and get a new machine is such a short time. Although I’ve already packing, I still have all my crafting things out. I need to figure out what I want to work on before all the boxes arrive to our new home… So if it seemed like I have not been too active lately, that’s because I’m busy packing!! I’ll try to pop in as often as I can~ Enjoy your weekend!!

Nothing much…

Thank you for all your comments about my sister’s wedding and my wedding sampler~ You guys are so sweet~~ I have not been doing too much stitching since I came back. Still in the recovering mode… I did ordered some fabric online before I left town, it was The Pop Garden Collection by Heather Bailey for Free Spirit Fibers!! I couldn’t resist the beautiful greens~~

I’m also searching for a sewing machine. The one I had is pretty basic, and I want to find one that has more built in stitches and quilting abilities. Right now I’m looking at SINGER Stylist 7258 Sewing Machine and Brother CS5055PRW Sewing Machine. I couldn’t decide which one to get, for all you quilters out there, what type of sewing machine do you use?

I was at a gathering the other day, and one of my friend made these most adorable rice balls for the kids~ How cute are these?! And of course, all the kids loved it!!!!

Enjoy your weekend!!!

A Wedding

I’m finally back to California~ I had an awesome time with my family, but it sure feels great to come home!! My sister’s wedding was a great success, even the weather cooperated. We were a bit worried cause it rained the previous days, but not a drop came down that day during the ceremony, so the newly weds could hop in the convertible as planned when they were leaving~~

The church was so beautiful itself, so we didn’t have to do too much decorating. My sister found those flower balls online and they were a perfect fit!! Can you tell they are made of wood shavings?

In fact my sister did a lot all by herself, she sew all the table runners, putting together all the wedding favors, punched all the little decorative flowers, and made that gift box – well, I kind of helped her a little bit with that. But  I was so amazed with all the work she had done, not to mention she has a full time job as a professor!!! The one thing I love most are the wedding favors, I think it’s totally her~ She is a scientist, hence the test tubes and flasks!! Isn’t it cool?!

My wedding gift for her almost didn’t make it on time, it was finished just days before her wedding!!! I used two full skeins the red threads on this one!! I think it turned out beautifully~

Pattern: Plum Street Samplers “Beloved” 
Thread: Gentle Art and DMC Cotton Floss
Fabric: 36 ct Linen color Tea  
Stitched Size: 8” x 8”   
Completion Date: 05-25-2012

The back stitch is what threw me off. I did not think it would take me that long to work on them!!! But I think they were totally worth the time!!! I just love all the little details on this design, did you notice the two Cupids were actually a couple? How cute!!!

I did messed up the fabric sized, though… Didn’t know what I was thinking cutting it so small. The stitched area is 8x8 and the fabric is only 10x10!!!! Luckily I found a 10x10 frame that worked, couldn’t do any lacing on the back though, but I think it looked alright!!

Since my sister took care of most of the projects for the wedding, I had time for some small projects. Annabelle needed a hairband for her cute little outfit, so I made one for her -  it was so simple it only took me like 10 minutes!!! I just hand sew some pretty elastics together and made clips out of the premade flowers I found at the craft store!!! She can change out the flower part according to her outfits~ Isn’t Annabelle the cutest little model?!

Inspired by my sister’s shoe piece, I decided to make a hair piece for myself~I found the perfect feather at Michaels, got the button at Joann’s, attached them to a clip and here it is!!! You can’t really tell by the photo, but the green matched perfectly with my dress~

It took her a while, but I’m so glad that my sister found her happiness. I love seeing her smile, and I can see that she is really happy – and that, makes me happy!!!

Family

Hello my darling friends~ How's everyone enjoying their weekend? Sorry for my absence lately, I've been traveling back and forth between my two sisters' places helping out on my younger sister's baby and my elder sister's wedding. We are so blessed this year with all these wonderful events!!! My elder sister and I have been doing some crafting for her wedding, here is a sneak peak of some favors she had prepared. Can you guess what they are? A hint, my sister is a scientist!!

We've also been hitting the craft stores and fabric stores buying supplies, and when we saw this adorable giraffe print fabric, you know I couldn't resist buying it and make another little blanket for Annabelle~ Since she was using the one I made for her last time everyday, I thought it would be nice to have another one to rotate.

Pattern: Sew Much Ado "Ric Rac Receiving Blanket"
Size: 42” x 42”
Completion Date: 05-21-2012

Thank you for all your lovely comments about Annabelle~ She is such a little angel!! It has been so nice to be around my family. I am loving every moment of it!!