A crafty weekend

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! I had a nice birthday and a busy weekend. We saw Harry Potter yesterday and loved it. I was so drained afterwards I went home and immediately took a nap. On Saturday, we met up with my mom and my sister Yumi at the Japan Expo downtown. It wasn't very big, but I did buy a t-shirt there.


This is from a company called Spicy Brown. Rob and I are a big fan of cats and salmon sushi so I had to buy it. But will I have nightmares about eating sushi that turns into cats?

Since we were already in Downtown LA, we made a stop at the Garment District, where I stopped by Michael Levine, a big fabric store.

I bought some fabric for my first project on my birthday present... which was a learning experience.


Don't you love how I positioned the pattern to cover up the worst spots?
I made the "Uptown Bag" from the Amy Butler Madison Bag pattern. I think it turned out kind of wonky because I added a ton of interfacing to it. By the time I was sewing up the top, the machine was not happy. I didn't really know what I was doing. I thought about it and I think it would turn out better if the top of the bag was just sewn straight across, instead of the weird jog they have for the handles.


I love the fabric Rob helped me choose for the lining. It's chrysanthemums, my birthday month flower. I think I'm going to try to make a second bag with some modifications to help my non-existant sewing skills.

Of course, it wouldn't be a birthday weekend without a new knitting project.

I decided to make this hoodie in the fall issue of Vogue magazine. You know how sometimes you just want a project that is pretty simple that will use up some stash? This project fulfills both requirements.


I'm knitting this out of some handpaintedyarn.com merino that I bought a while ago. The color doesn't photograph well, but it's not as bright as in the photo.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and is able to spend it with loved ones. Gobble gobble!