It seems like everyone has signed up for Elsie Marley's KCWC and I'm no exception.  I definitely need some motivation, the weather is warming up and Lizzy and Martin have both grown so much over the winter that they need some new clothes. (desperately!)

My challenge is to take all of my patterns  and inspiration out of my sizeable stash of Japanese pattern books.  I'm passionate about them but definitely don't use them enough.  I am forever buying patterns when in reality I have enough to keep me going in my Japanese pattern books till my kids move out.

While at times the patterns can be  little confusing (hello hiragana!), there are lots of amazing resources out there to help you out.  Last year I blogged about them here.

Why do I love these books so much?

• Their aesthetic is beautifully simple  ( I don't think I've ever seen a diamonte in a Japanese pattern book...)
• They sew up  beautifully ( as long as you don't forget to add seam allowances!)
• There as many gorgeous patterns for boys as there are for girls
• The patterns are timeless - they aren't caught up in the latest trend or fashion and they are just as suitable for a ten year old as a three year old
• The books contain lots of basic shapes - They make a perfect blank slate for your own designs and inspirations
• While the books seem expensive, they all contain at least 8 patterns in multiple sizes.  When you look at it like that, they're a bargain!

So - the sewing challenge has been set.  Seven days of sewing, all Japanese patterns and no fabric buying.  Easy....

Are you sewing along with KCWC?  What are you plans?  Do you use Japanese patterns? I'd love to hear all about it!

Hello!  I'm Cherie from you & mie and I'm so happy to be here today as a part of Caroline and Maryanne's Best Friend series!

Truth is, I had the hardest time picking one thing that I wanted to write about.  There are soooo many necessary tools, amazing resources and incredibly inspirational and creative people that help me continue to sew and blog.  But I wanted to share something that I really couldn't do without.

(This is going to get a little long winded and actually ends up getting a little personal, but I hope you can stick with me till the end :) )

I started looking through all my old pictures to jog my memory about what really inspires me and how I learned to sew in the last couple of years.  Then I came across a folder of pictures that really got me excited.  My (then) new sewing area!

So I decided to tell you a little bit about my sewing area and how much I truly love it and can't live without it.  It is, after all, where all the "magic" happens!  So here's the story:

I've been sewing casually for several years now.  But when Yuki, our daugther came along, it really ignited an interest in sewing things for our home and for our little baby.  About one year ago, I started getting really serious about sewing and started considering starting a blog, creating an Etsy shop and really investing more into this growing passion.

I didn't have my own sewing machine - I was switching back and forth between borrowing my mom's and my mother-in-law's.  I had my own desk to sew on, but it was ridiculously cramped and cluttered.  But I was happy with what I had because it worked, and what more could you ask for, right?

Well one day, some time just before my birthday, I came home to see the most AMAAAZING sight!

My partner, Hideko, and one of our very best friends, Sanjai, had spent HOURS cleaning and organizing all of my stuff, purchased and built furniture and cleared a bunch of other stuff so that I could have all of this beautiful space.  My jaw dropped and I was in tears.  It was honestly the best gift I've ever received!

All of these pictures were taken the day that I came home to this amazing surprise (almost a year ago), so A LOT has changed since then.  Namely, the huge piles of projects, papers and clutter all over the place, but there have been positive changes as well.  The most important things have stayed the same though, the things that make this space so efficient and conducive to work.  So I thought I'd show you around a little bit.

1. Thread
2. Scissors, ruler, rotary cutter, pens, pencils, water soluble pens, etc.
3. Sewing machine and small cutting mat
4. Pins, measuring tape, seam ripper, etc.

I think the most important thing is to keep all your essentials within reach.  At any given moment during a project I might need anything of those things and nothing ruins a groove like having to put down the project and get up to go get something.  Or even worse, go searching for something!

I love having all these drawers surrounding me.  They are filled with office supplies, decorative paper, zippers, bias tape, elastic, needles, trims, and every other notion I might need for sewing.  Again, all within reach from my chair.  On the right of the machine I have a jar of buttons, my yard stick, more thread and bobbins.  I also keep my patterns in the shelves near the wall.  The magnetic board above the machine now houses some pictures as well as lists, ideas and inspiration.

This desk used to be Hideko's and we're actually still supposed to share it, but honestly, no one gets much stuff done here anymore because my "work in progress" basket had about a million babies and they have been strewn all over that desk.  Hah!
  I LOVE having my iron and board so close and always out.  I'm a short cut taker, so unless I make it really accessible, I probably would never bother.  I definitely value ironing during sewing, so this just makes it that much easier.

Something that I added immediately was a clothes line to one of the blank walls.  There were actually already 2 nails in the wall from a large frame that used to hang there, so I just strung a rope between them and now I use it to hang and photograph almost all of my projects.  It's by no means original or stunning to look at, but it allows me to document my projects in a consistent way.  The clothes really stand out and I think it's almost become a trademark for me.

1.Painted Purple 2. Saturday Blazer 3.Maxwell Shirt 4.Tucker's Suit

I also love that I can get great shots of detail or can photograph the clothes from unique angles.  Something that I can't get when my lovely, super active model keeps running away from the camera!

5. Signature Look Pullover 6. Double Ruffle Top

Now my sewing area is really great and everything, but it isn't actually what my "best friend" is.  See, when this gift was given to me, it wasn't just the sewing space that touched me.  It was the fact that these people who were so close to me, really believed in me and wanted to support my dreams.

Shortly after that, for my birthday, a bunch of friends and family members pitched in to buy me my very first sewing machine.  All of their support really changed the way I viewed myself and what I then considered, just my hobby.  I decided to take the plunge and start a blog and start investing time and money into sewing and see where I could go with it.  It's been almost a year and I have had the most amazing experiences since then.  My sewing has improved by leaps and bounds, I've joined an incredible community of artists, parents, and bloggers, and every day I feel even more inspired and my "to do" list grows way faster than I can keep up with.  And I really owe it all to them.  My family and friends.

The people who offer to take Yuki out of the house for a few hours so I can finish my current project.  The ones who listen to me DAY after DAY talking about my next project, my next blog post, or my next fabric purchase.  The one that lets me buy SO. MUCH. FABRIC.  The ones that hold up my quilt so I can take pictures or takes 300 pictures of me so I can get at least a few where I don't look too fat.  The ones that console me when my project has gone awry, even though they can't even see what's wrong with it.  The ones that give me advice every time I ask, even though I almost never take it (sorry!).  The ones that compliment every little thing that I make.  The ones that put up with the messy house, the unwashed dishes and the instant dinners because it's KCWC.  The ones who put up with just one. more. trip to Joann's (it'll be quick - I swear!).  The ones who love and support me through it all.

So it turns out that my best sewing friends really have little to do with actual sewing at all.  They are my friends and family, and most of all, more than anything or anyone in the world, my real life best friend and life long partner, Hideko.  And I am forever grateful!

Thank you, Caroline and Maryanne, for inviting us all to think about the things and people who enable us to do what we love and for letting me share my story with your readers!

Happy sewing, everyone!

Don't forget to go and check out you and mie. It's a gorgeous chronicle of all things crafty!

Have you been reading the recent series on Whip up? I have really enjoyed this interesting collection of posts about Creativity - creativity and health, creativity and business, creativity and parenting and creativity and process.

I loved Kathreen's post today:

"Being creative is not about skills – it is a state of being, a way of living. It is about process and thoughtfulness and slowing down of life. It is about appreciating the small things, not getting hung up about money and a bigger house, and more appliances and a new car – it is about shopping at the farmers markets, making your own bread, sketching and gardening and baking with your kids — and hand sewing the binding."

Writing this post for the series gave me an opportunity to think about some of my own reasons for trying to live a creative life. Being creative gives me a greater sense of well being. Sewing with the Flow looks at why that might be.

I'd love to hear what you think...

Why do you create?

Are there particular projects that give you a greater sense of fulfillment than others?

Does creating improve your mental health?

I love craft blogs.  I love reading them and taking a tiny peek into the lives of other crafty souls - their passions, projects and sewing spaces.  I love the way in which people share information, the way they spread inspiration and are so very  generous with their hints, tips and ideas.  Just lately though I've been thinking... (My husband hates it when I say that - he thinks that I'm going to suggest a renovation project or initiate one of 'those 'relationship talks.)  What's this blogging business about anyway? 

For me, blogging is about trying to make crafting connections and friendships beyond the people that I come across in my day to day existence. It's for this reason I love it when people make  blog comments - especially ones that initiate a conversation or a dialogue.  While it's lovely when people say 'Wow that's amazing' or 'I love it', ultimately it's constructive criticism and questions that really  make me think  and make me happy.  Craft and creative projects are all about aesthetics. What you find aesthetically pleasing is just that... what YOU find pleasing.  Chances are, it won't be someone else's cup of tea and that's ok. If you're only after positive comments to boost your creative ego, then blogging probably isn't the right crafting zone for you


Funnily  enough, Pinterest has taught me  something pretty important about blogging and blog comments - just because people don't comment on a project, it doesn't mean they don't like it.  Maryanne and I have many, many, many posts that haven't initiated any comments, and that's OK.  But a brief check on Pinterest  (is searching your blog on Pinterest weird? Probably, but that's beside the point...) reveals that tonnes of people have pinned the said commentless post or project.  Hey - who am I to complain? It's great that they like it and it's not like I make a comment on every single thing I pin.  It has inspired me to be a lot more diligent with commenting on other people's posts and ideas, though, especially those that I have pinned.

Since we finished up on Project Run and Play, Maryanne and I have been thinking a lot about our blog and the direction we want to take it.  We haven't really firmed up any answers  yet  other than the fact that we love to sew and craft and that we love to connect with other crafty souls and maybe that's enough. 

What kind of commenter are you? What kind of comments do you love?  I'd love to have a chat to you about it!

PS - don't worry - we're not going all existentialist on you.  There are plenty of crafty posts coming up soon!

Madeleine turns 7 on Thursday and preparations are  in full swing - dinner on Thursday with our family and a party with 5 of her friends on Saturday. It is all going to be lovely, but I have to admit this year I am feeling a little confused when it comes to presents...

A take along art satchel made by me, filled with beautiful art supplies and a watercolour nature journal or some Littlest Pet Shop?

All my instincts about parenting would instantly tell me the Art satchel is perfect. It is a gift that I have made for her and making for me is a way to show my family that I love them. It is full of quality art materials that I hope will nurture her creativity, her interest in the environment and  an appreciation for the beauty in the world around her.

And well Littlest Pet Shop is... Littlest  Pet Shop - a huge collection of plastic stuff sitting on toyshop shelves waiting to be purchased and collected. Stuff that I would usually dismiss as rubbish, stuff that would annoy me if anyone else gave it to my children. But this stuff has another role that I am only just learning about. It is something that helps Madeleine connect with her peers. The two littlest Pet Shop characters Madeleine already has are highly treasured possessions. Madeleine would say that it's because they are cute, but I think it's got a lot more to do with her feeling like she belongs - she has something that her friends have and that makes her feel good. This  is probably the first lesson they teach in Marketing 101, but I haven't really thought about it like this before!!!

So what do you think...

Should birthday gifts be virtuous or should you put your parenting philosophies aside and let your children have what they would truly love but you don't really approve of?

I'm going to sit on the fence this year...
On Thursday morning Madeleine will be unwrapping the Art satchel and a Littlest Pet Shop character to add to her collection.

If you're feeling virtuous or you're a fence sitter like me, I'll have a tutorial for the Art satchel later this week. It's quite nifty!! I'll show you how to measure up your art supplies and make a take anywhere satchel in any size you want.