Tribute to a 37 Year Career

I was hired to make a bag for the USFK Commander's wife as a retirement gift from an organization. Whenever I make bags for people I don't know that well, I'm always a littler nervous. I try to make bags reflect the personality of the person and really cater to the things they will use the bag for. Usually this comes down to the interior and location of pockets and patches. For this bag, I laid out the patches for each of his commands. Through reading his biography, I was able to get the patches in order. Here is the back of the bag:



The front of the bag was made in my normal style:


In the military, spouses don't have rank, but spouses definitely contribute to the earning of each rank. There aren't many 4 Star Generals in the military, so I thought it was important to include the rank in this bag. I didn't want the rank on the outside because I felt the receiver of this bag isn't an outside carrier of rank. I decided to place the rank on the inside, directly across from where it would be if it had been on the outside. I thought this was more symbolic to the way that spouses carry the career of their spouse on the inside, close to their hearts.



It was a privilege to create this bag, as it is with all the bags I create. Right now there is another bag in the works for a very special military lady...more to come on that soon.

The Loot

I was able to slip away during my lunch hour at work today to make some purchases. The "Happy Quilt" man was set up in the on post hotel for the morning. Here is my loot!
I'm loving the availability of all the Riley Blake fabrics. I think it pink, peach, white and orange quilt may be in the mix. I'm getting spoiled. I won't know what 'real' fabric prices are like after our tour here.

Again, would you eat this?
Yes, he did eat the fish. Don't worry - not the whole fish, but still...Yummy?!

Would you eat this?

Last week I went to the local 'Super-Target' style store, Emart. My friend and I loved walking around the grocery area and trying all different kinds of things. We didn't know what a lot of it was, but it was delicious. We came across some interesting things, that I would like to play a game..would you eat this?

Large squid? I have eaten a lot of smaller pieces, but this kind of scares me.

A whole fish. I'm not really a "fishy" person. I like shell fish and some mild fish. Seeing the whole fish packaged up and ready to take home is I think what caught my eye.

Large suction cups? Again, I think this one is the size issue. Each of those suction cups was more than 1/2 inch wide.

What in the world are these? They have spikes!

Shrimp tale surprise! These were delicious. I grabbed two to take home. It was kind of like shrimp in a roll.

Doesn't it look great! I"m not a huge fan of raw sushi, but my DH loves it. I haven't seen sushi this beautiful in the US.

YUMMY! Now these I can handle. Already cooked too! Time for some dinner!

Kwik Crazy Quilt

It's finally finished!

I was able to get an appointment with the long arm to quilt my first quilt on the long arm. I chose a playful paisley quilt design.

I love that I get to learn how to use the long arm and quilt it myself. It's such a great machine...now if I only had an extra $50,000 to have one of my own!!

I also made an Easter basket for a new friend. I may be teaching a class on how to make this basket since many people at the quilting group would like to make them.

Getting it Together

I'm almost a freak about organization. I love everything to have its own spot and also be aesthetically pleasing. Living in an apartment with no attic to hide stuff has given me new organizational challenges. Thankfully our apartment has tons of closets, but there are some things that are better stored...under the bed!

Because I couldn't find them anywhere in Korea, I ordered adjustable bed risers from Walmart.com. I got the adjustable ones so I could choose how high I wanted the bed. An extra 3", 5" or 8". I'm a woman after all and changing my mind about things is what I'm allowed to do! Either way, after ordering these things over a month ago they finally arrived!

I started with our master bedroom.

Ahhh...all that extra under bed storage bliss. But, eww! The sheet is hanging out and you can see all the *crap* underneath. Time to make a bedskirt! Rather a faux bedskirt because there is no way I'm lifting the tempurpedic mattress myself. I love the bed, but it's a pain to lift.

I wanted to make the bedskirt tailored to the bed with straight lines. No ruffles. No pleats. Here is the end piece.

Now for the rest of the bedskirt.

Much better! I haven't decided it I want to put some trim on the skirt to add some visual interest. I also need to make some more decorative pillows to tie all the colors of the bed together. Right now it's a bit too neutral. I am also on the hunt for a night stand for the far side of the bed. Right now it's just some simple shelves that were shipped to Korea by mistake. I had seen a beautiful blue cabinet that I hope to find again.

At least for now I can hide the under bed storage!

No Teaching Today

I've been busy for the first three days of this work week subbing for first grade. The teacher was feeling a bit better, so I get to sew today because I didn't get called in to work. I've been working on a Bags From The Heart order and I finished it this morning.

I love the fabric that was used for the lining, side panels and accents. It is Vera Bradley Bali Blue. One advantage to living in Korea is that I can actually buy these fabrics by the yard! In the US, I would have to scavenger hunt the web to see who would send it to me - at a much higher cost too! Here are two pictures of the inside. The inside has three slide pockets on both sides and one of the ends has three pen pockets. Isn't this fabric wonderful?

Three Slide Pockets (above) Pen Pockets (below)

I truly believe a bag needs to have pockets on the inside to keep all your stuff organized. I always find it a pain when you can't find your cell phone in your purse when it is ringing. When I design my bags I try to maintain functionality.

Finally, here is a picture of the back. I stippled all over the exterior. I love the look it gives a somewhat plain uniform. I used beautiful blue thread for the stitching.

Working Again

I've been a little absent this past week because we had our first visitor in Korea and I've started working again. There is a huge military training exercise that takes place every March in Korea, so my DH has been gone from about 6am to 10pm everyday since Feb 22. Luckily, there have been some "pauses" on the weekends, so he has only had to work 6-8 hours on the weekends.

This past weekend (March 6-7) our friend from the states was here because of the exercise. He was in the same unit as my husband when they were in Iraq, so it was good to see a familiar face again. We went with him to Itaewon for some shopping and dinner. It was kind of weird because our friend had to stay with other members of the group here. Almost like babysitting. The commander didn't want the guys to separate into groups less than 4. It was weird since all

the guys were officers. But, we dealt with it. Our friend was able to come to our apartment for some cookies though, so it was nice to show him where we live.

On Tuesday, March 9 I got a phone call from the school to say my substitute paperwork was all complete and I could start working. I wasn't sure how often I would be working...but Wednesday morning I got a call to come in for 1/2 the day. I worked in the nurses office. It was a good first assignment. I had never been in the building before and there isn't an orientation or anything, so I asked the nurse I worked with a lot of things about the school to try to get some bearings. On Thursday morning, I got another call to work in 1st grade. I was excited to be in a classroom. The kids were pretty good, and my teacher attitude/voice came back pretty easily. Today (Friday) is a teacher work day with no students, so I'm off. Getting back to work is kind of nice. I like having my day planned out more. Hopefully I will find out if I'm subbing early than the morning of my assignment, but for now...I'll just keep my phone at the bedside.

Introducing the Yongsan Long Arm

It's only Tuesday and I feel like is should be Friday! Phew! On the first Mondays of each month the quilt group meets at a member's home rather than at the Quilting room at the on post Chapel. The monthly meeting allows us to show and tell, discuss projects and just have some girl time. This month was my first time visiting another member's home. It was nice to just sit and chat. All of the ladies are very informative and helpful. I brought my finished Krazy Quilt blocks to share as well as my Hanbok example block to show for the exchange. Both items were well received and boosted my sewing/ quilting confidence. Some of the other ladies brought their blocks to share as well. I think they are all really cute.We were all talking so much that before we knew it, it was past 3pm. We had arrived at 9:30am!

Tuesdays at the Yongsan Quilt Shop are designated for long arm quilting Quilts of Valor. I decided to go to the shop and start training on the machine. Once/ if I get trained then I will be able to use the long arm to quilt my own quilts as well as quilts for other people. The process isn't too confusing, but is just takes practice. The machine that we have is AMAZING! The entire machine is computerized. Below is a picture of the computer screen for the quilt we quilted today. Here is the machine in action. We quilted a patriotic pattern on the quilt.
The long arm has a 14 foot bed and measures pretty much everything for you. You click the buttons on the sewing machine to designate your parameters and then you decide on pattern placement. Owning a machine like this would be crazy. Anyone have an extra $35,000 laying around?

I checked the mail center today and there was a lovely surprise there for me. My new sewing chair arrived! I've been sitting in it for only about 20 min and I'm already in love. The chair sits a little higher than a normal dining chair and the low back is great for supporting my lumbar. When I saw this chair I was in love with the funky retro looking fabric. The fabric is an Alexander Henry print, so I will check to see if Dongdaemun will carry the fabric. I was able to purchase the chair from JoAnn's for 50% off the original price, no tax and free shipping! I thought that was a great deal. The shipping was a lot faster than most of the orders I have placed too. Below is a photo of the chair from a website advertising it.
One thing I like is that there is storage under the seat too. I love things that are dual purpose. This picture is also from the advertising website.
Now that I can roll around my sewing room, I will get to work on some of the exchange blocks. I'm excited for tomorrow because I am heading to Dongdaemun with some of the ladies from the quilt group. Also tomorrow is my Birthday! I think shopping for fabric will be a great way to celebrate!

Sewing in Seoul

Now that my new sewing room is set up, I've been busy. I'm loving my new space!

I've made a dozen blocks to exchange as friendship blocks for the quilting group. I still need to write my name, date, Seoul, Korea and my home state on the blocks. They will then be traded with the other members of the quilt group to be kept as a reminder of each member.

I'm also working on a Kwik Krazy Quilt. I like to make quilts that are more of a mish-mosh of fabrics and what I consider "funky." I really like how the blocks are coming together.

Here are the first 12 blocks.

Now I need to go make some more! I will continue to share as a progress with this project. I also need to get to work on my quilt exchange block. I need to create a block that reminds me of Korea. The Krazy Quilt block kinda reminds me of Korea... kinda crazy and chaotic.

New Workspace

Our stuff has finally arrived in Korea which has me bouncing with excitement because this means I can SEW! I've been in fabric heaven, but with little outlet. Tomorrow, I will be sewing! I have turned into one of those military spouses that can unpack and set-up house in what seems like a flash. Friday at 5 pm we were in a heap of boxes and packing paper. Saturday at 5 pm we were headed out for dinner with a fully intact apartment, all boxes gone and pretty much everything set-up. I need to purchase a few odds and ends, and as we live here I would like to purchase some furniture; but, for now I'm most excited for my NEW WORKSPACE!

I started with this blank room.
My work table is set-up so that I can cut fabric from 3 sides. I love have the cutting mat as my table. It makes my life a lot easier when trying to make things precise. The mat has cutting measured for 58" x 33". It is a nice size work table. The white cubes are from Target. They store sewing and scrapbooking supplies.Look at all the beautiful storage under the table and the large workspace.

This picture is standing behind the work table looking back at the other wall. My cubes for fabric storage are almost full. I Think I will probably have to think about more storage solutions for fabric soon. I like to fold my fabric so all the pieces are the same size. This makes storage MUCH easier!The last part is the AWESOME closet. I did give my husband one section of the closet for his Army gear, but I'm more than happy to share. The white drawers in the first cabinet store scrapbook paper and thread. The grey bins have 1. batting, 2. parts of uniforms that have been cut up for Bags From The Heart and 3. Finished items to sell/ give away & works in progress. I like that I have space to store all of my sewing machines, so that if I want to just scrapbook, my sewing stuff can be out of the way and vice versa.
I can't wait to start creating in this awesome new work space.

It's Snowing...Off to Dongdaemun

It's pretty cold out today and people are a little crazy because it is snowing, but weather can't stop us from hopping on the subway and heading to Dongdaemun. Each time I go there (this was my 3rd time) I feel more comfortable and slightly less lost. It helps when I go with people that know where to go too. My mission today was to look for home decor fabrics to cover the dining chairs. I wasn't too successful. I think I need to wait until the sofa and lounge chair covers get here to make any decisions. I did see some awesome fabrics though.

Today, I set out to buy some fabrics for my mom. She is making a quilt for a teenager. I tried to get a variety of bold colors.

For myself I bought just a couple of yards to go with fabrics I already have.

I also bought this really cute measuring tape. It has both inches and centimeters. You pull the legs for the tape to come out and then push the nose and the tape rolls back up. I thought it was cute.
That's all for today. I'm off to try and stay warm!

Happy Quilt Warehouse

I met up early this morning with six ladies from the quilt group. We loaded up into Poncie's "houpde" and headed south to visit Happy Quilt's Warehouse. The warehouse is about 1-1.5 hours away depending on traffic. We were lucky to have more than 6 passengers in the van because we could take the bus lane. This was a great thing because there was a lot of traffic! So on with the post...I think today's adventure may best be described with lots of pictures.

This image is looking in to the right side of the warehouse. There are piles and piles of bolts of fabulous fabrics. Down the middle there are rows of 2 yard pre cut packets. Each packet has 2 yards in it. 44" wide yards are 3,000 won or about $2.60 per yard, and 60" wide yards are 4,000 won or about $3.50 per yard.

This next photo was taken standing in the back of the warehouse. If you look carefully out the door you will see a second warehouse. Yes, that smaller warehouse was filled with bolts too! You can pick any fabric you want and they will cut it in 1 yard increments.

They had a couple sewing machines there as well. I'm not really sure why they are there. There were some samples of things made with the warehouse fabrics, but that was all.

I wonder where you may have seen this fabric before?

Here are some pieces that I bought today to coordinate with the brown swirly piece I bought 2

weeks ago. I am really loving Riley Blake fabric designs.

On the shopping trip to Dongdaemun last week I bout the two Vera Bradley prints. This week I found the border that goes with the prints. I also bought the border to Bali Blue because I have the fabric matching that border as well.

Bali Blue Boarder for Vera Bradley

I don't think I can live in asia and not acquire some Asian fabrics. I really like the lanterns, so I found some other Asian inspired fabrics to coordinate. I think I will need Ideas on what to make with this.

I also bought some almost comic book like fabric. I thought it was really cool. I think a quilt made with this should possibly be titled "Hip."

The quilting group is going to do a block exchange. The blocks won't have to be done for a few months, which is good considering

my sewing machine isn't even here yet. The group picked out yellow and blue to use for the blocks. We can supplement with other fabrics as needed. I really like the yellow and blue fabric. It has metallic in it and almost ribbon-like patterns. It is very asian-eske. The block theme is meant to be "Memories of Korea."

I found this funny cow print fabric that I couldn't pass up. I thought it was hilarious. I'm not sure what I will do with it, but seriously, could you pass this by with a straight face?

Mr. Han, the owner of Happy Quilt is such a pleasant man. He will pull out bolts of fabric for you and is happy to have our business. It may be because all of the Americans go crazy and buy a ton of fabric like there is no tomorrow, but he is still a wonderful man. Depending on how much you buy, he always throws in some fabric for free. Usually it is 1-2 free fabric packets per purchase. That's 2-4 free yards of fabric that would be $10 in the US, so for me that's a great deal. Today, however Mr. Han was VERY generous and gave our whole group a box of "freebies." We didn't know what was in the box until we got back to base, but when we opened it we were amazed. Usually is is just scraps, but this box had yards and yards of fabric. No Scraps.

I picked out this dress model print for 1 of my free packets and the matching solid was found in the "freebie" box.

Also in the box were some large flower panels. I got a couple of them. They would make great Euro-Shams of lounging pillows.

The fabrics below obviously don't coordinate, but they were my other free picks. I can't complain with free!

So we have been in Korea a month today...look at all the glorious fabric I have collected in a month. Just to think I have 35 more months that I can accumulate more! Did I mention, I love Korea?

That was a pretty long post, but aren't you glad there are so many pictures of fabric! Now if just for my sewing machines to arrived, I would be set.