'Tis The Season

With Thanksgiving behind us here in the US our thoughts are starting to turn to the Christmas Holidays.

The kids and I made an Advent calendar together today 'Just In Time' to open the first installment on December first.

It was a lot of fun, I'll have to take a decent photo of it for you.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we ended up visiting Southern California with a brief stop through Los Angeles.

The Last Bookstore is located in downtown LA and is a HUGE shop where you can get almost any book you could imagine, used, for a great price.  The kids went crazy in the children's section, grabbing up handfuls and handfuls of books, begging me to buy out half of the store.  I bought them a copy of A Light in the Attic which they have fallen in love with.  It makes them really laugh.

The shop itself is a beautiful space, I highly recommend a visit if you have the chance.

On the 2nd floor, there is a small but very interesting yarn shop called Gather.  I was smitten by their boxes of tiny 'mystery yarn' balls for $5.  You could make a lot of striped socks for next to nothing.  They also had sock yarn by a British company called The Uncommon Thread.  I picked up a skein of their Lush Twist in a cream colorway called Manuscript.  Very pretty, will have to finally knit myself some socks from it.

I also did some sewing on the trip.  I'm working on an Alabama Chanin style 'coaster' - meaning a very small piece of fabric that you may use to put your coffee cup on.  It has a ton of bead work on it and has been quite slow going.  Sewing with beads has proven to be fun but it is far from a speedy undertaking.  I want to eventually use this technique on a larger project but it will likely be limited to the lower couple inches of a skirt or the lower sleeves of a bolero or something.  Photos of it soon for you.

And in other news, Jay recently left me a comment to a link where you can get EVEN MORE Yoko Saito books in English (thanks Jay!), so check out this shop called Willow Lane Quilting Company - it looks quite cool.

Hand Quilting: Beads and more Yoko Saito...in English!

Natalie Chanin's hand applique work often includes beads.

I have tried using them here and there on small projects, but I have it in my mind to try and make a larger garment with them all over it.  Either a tank top or a skirt probably.  I have ordered some of the beads from her site and starting to play around with them a bit.

One of the tricks is finding a needle small enough to get them on there but also with a large enough eye to get the thick button craft thread through it.  A delicate balance for sure.

Jennifer from See How We Sew blog recently alerted me to a give away she hosted some time back for Yoko Saito's new book.  It's quite rare to run into a publication by her in English, so I'm excited to get a copy of it.  it's called House Warming Patchwork.  Looks like you can already order it online.

Not sure I can wait for Santa to get my own copy of it!  ;)

Basket Quilt: Japanese Taupe Fabrics

Before PIQF rolls around again this fall, I wanted to do something really inspired with the small pre-cut quilt fabric squares from the Pinwheels booth.

Does this give me just cause to buy more in October?

Maybe.  Pinwheels is not on the list of vendors yet.  Oh dear.  I hope they go!  I might actually cry if they don't.

Either way, I am in process of whipping up a wall quilt with four basket blocks made out of Japanese Taupe fabrics.

So far, enjoying the process.  I was inspired by Yoko Saito's Traditional Patters Lesson book.  It's got a lot of the basic quilt blocks you see in antique quilts but all done in in the taupe colors.  Very attractive.

Japanese Quilting Piece by Piece: Yoko Saito in English

It is unusual that I am this excited about a book.  I have been waiting for this one in my heart for perhaps more than 10 years. 

Was it worth the wait?  What do you think.

What:  "Japanese Quilting Piece by Piece"

By:  Yoko Saito (my favorite!)

ISBN:  978-1-59668-858-2 published by Interweave press. 


Juicy Details:  This book consists of 29 projects.  Methods used are mostly hand piecing and hand applique although you could at times find a machine handy for some of the bag construction.

I have not seen this book published in Japanese, rather it seems like a collection of 'greatest hits' from some of her Japanese publications.  I like the selection that was chosen.

Many are bags, some are small wall quilts.  There is also an apron, and some smaller items like sewing kits and thread holders.

On the back cover there is mention that she has an exhibit called the Yoko Saito Quilt Exhibition at the Matsuya department store in Ginza.  AAAhhh!!!  How did I not visit this when I was in Tokyo recently!!!   This is on my short list for next time.

It would take a long time to start at the beginning of this book and make all the projects in it.  I am thinking a couple of the bags would be a good place to start. 

Fold out patterns are monster huge.  Some of the designs need to be enlarged by 200%.



How to get it:  I just ordered it online

Ok, end of my book report.  I'll leave you with this:  It's Yoko Saito, it's in English, it's beautiful, inspirational, and your collection of quilt books probably won't be complete without it.




In other news:
I picked up some vintage Libbey Frosted Gold Leaf Glasses on Etsy:  cheap thrill, makes you feel either like you're in the Mad Men TV show, or that you're a kid again if you're old like me.

I've also had enough of my ear buds getting tangled up.  If I can muster the energy, I may knit some eye cord around them as show on Wonderfully Awkward.

Thinking of knitting some supertiny vampire bat toys.  Gosh only a couple more days before Halloween.

Blocking a knit dress for my tiny-niece.  Photos of it as soon as it's dry!  You'll have to let me know if it came out as cute as the one made by Posey Gets Cozy.

Birthday Siguature Quilt (part 7) and chillish weekend fun

We didn't do any big trips on our 3 day weekend, but we did have a great time chilling out at home.

- Listening to the Songza app - love this app, the 'hanging out with your kids' station includes the Wheels on the Bus song, and for under $5, you can split the audio ending arguments and curbing the popular refrain "MY TURN!!" (priceless)

- Checking out indie French band M83's album Saturdays=Youth.  Pretty cool, I think.

- Finishing knitting my sweater: yes, yes, I did finally after 6 months finish knitting a sweater.  More on that later of course.

- Making Japanese Hamburgers:  This is soooo easy to make (especially when your husband is willing to go to the store for you 3 times in order to drum up the ingredients).

- Falling in love with the art of Camilla Engman and the pottery of Karin Ericksson: I'm using one of their small vessels to store my short knitting needles for socks.  If you have a few moments to watch a video of Karin making her amazing hand thrown creations, this is one of the most beautifully shot videos I've seen in a while.  The light is stunning.  Her studio is called Manos and is in Sweden.  Teamed up with the art of Engman, the work is to die for.

- Awe stricken that rapper Ice Cube loves Eames architecture: this is such an amazing surprise to me.  If you are sensitive to rude language, please don't watch this, there is at least one bad word in this video.  Not for kids.

- QuiltMania did some pretty cool quilting videos as a guide to creating Yoko Saito's mystery quilt block.  If you speak French, you'll probably enjoy them even more than I did!  Parlez vous francais?

If all those links don't keep you entertained, I don't know what will.

The photo at the top of this post is the 7 year old's birthday signature block, in progress.

Quilt Shopping in Tokyo: Quilt Party - Yoko Saito's Shop

Quilt Party is perhaps my favorite shopping stop of the trip.  This should not surprise you if you read my blog regularly, since I'm perhaps Yoko Saito's biggest fan.

Getting there is something like a 40 min train ride from Shinjuku station with a very short walk from where the train stops, only really a block or so.

There is a small sign in front of the shop that will guide you inside.  It looks like this:

It was a big thrill for me to finally see a Yoko Saito quilt in person.  I have seen this quilt in photos many times before but standing in front of it was so much more moving than I was expecting.

The ladies who work at the shop were extremely helpful and although their English was not completely fluent, they were excited that I was visiting there and they put 110% of their efforts into helping me and communicating with me.  It was very special.  I told them I felt like it was my birthday or something because visiting the shop was such a long-time dream of mine.

I was not there to pick up a lot of fabric, but I could not resist a few small pieces.  They have a big area of small cuts where pieces are slightly less than fat quarters in size, but they are arranged by color, and a lot of them I have never seen in the U.S. for sale. 

There was one very small item that caught my eye for several reasons.

It was a coin purse:

I could not figure out how you could cross stitch on top of quilt fabric.  The shop manager introduced me to some plastic cross stitch mesh that you lay over any quilting fabric, make your stitches, and then remove later with tweezers.  Brilliant!  This stuff allows you to basically cross stitch a small motif or an initial pretty much anywhere.  I used to love cross stitch, and doing a small bit of it to personalize something sounded like a lot of fun to me.

Here's a view of the inside.  There is a zipper that goes all the way around, and there are plastic 'button' pieces inside both of the clamshells.  I got supplies to make a couple.  

I have been collecting books of Yoko Saito's student works for years and was still missing several of them.  I found the ones I was missing while I was here, so that was a big treat.

You can see the latest released book third from the right in the book stacks on the shelf below:

More on the works of Yoko Saito in previous posts I have done here (including info on her books).  

If you end up in Tokyo, it won't be a waste of your time to visit her shop, that's for sure!

Contact info here.  

Address:  272-0034 Active Ichikawa 2F, 1-23-2 Ichikawa, Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture

Walking directions from Ichikawa Station in comments on Quincy's Big Adventure blog post here.

Daiwabo Fabrics: yarn dyed

Some time ago I subscribed to a BOM that Yoko Saito's shop was hosting in conjunction with NHK magazine. 

Every month, I had the Kinokuniya in Costa Mesa California ship me not only this monthly Japanese magazine, but also a little pack of fabric that Yoko Saito's shop had picked out for you to make the blocks as a kit.

I dutifully keep these publications next to the fabric packs in their little bags for ages as my plan was to make all the blocks.

Eventually, all the blocks were actually published in a book (doh!) so I didn't actually have to collect the magazines after all. 

I also finally decided to wash all the fabrics, iron them, and incorporate them in my regular fabric stash since it was unlikely that I'll be making all those blocks exactly as designed. 

I would have loved to follow the exact recipe, but the creative genius in me cannot find her way to duplication of an exact quilt.  I need more flexibility and I need to make my quilts take on my own asthetic.

The above fabrics are Daiwabo yarn dyed fabrics that came as part of the kit and are now ready for use in other projects.  I have already started cutting into them more and I'm glad that I decided to stop waiting to use them.

Maybe this is some sort of a late spring cleaning thing for me, but having new fabrics washed and ready to go is the only way they will ever make it into a quilt. 

That's the name of the game after all.

Are you out there doing a little late spring cleaning?  Maybe I'm the only one that still has late-spring early-summer fever.

Yoko Saito: Floral Boquet Quilt

You know I'm not one to resist the latest book by Yoko Saito.

This one is called Floral Bouquet Quilt - ISBN978-4-14-031183-7.

Although all her books are beautiful and have tons of taupe quilts, I really like this because of the focus on flowers and the number of small pieces it has.  Not a lot of full sized quilts, but many bags and small household items like place mats.

Page 6 has a small wall hanging quilt with a bunch of different vases.  It is so beautiful.  More simple than the Modern Objects quilt I'm working on, but not all that different in concept.

On p. 26 there is the most adorable bunny rabbit ever to have been made by fabric.

If you don't have this book, it is worth the shelf space in my opinion.  

My copy (purchased in California, USA) was $37 USD.  Looks like if you get it in Japan it goes for 1900Y which is something closer to $24 USD.

Quilting Videos: Yoko Saito vs. Liberty of London

Would You Rather see a video by Yoko Saito about hand quilting, or a video about all the amazing artists that design fabric for Liberty of London?

I couldn't decide, so I watched (and loved) both:

Does anybody out there already have Yoko Saito's book called Floral Bouquet Quilt?  (I think that's the title anyhow...)  Check out this cute video of her on her site talking about some patterns in the book and watch as she demo's her method of hand quilting.  She doesn't use a hoop which I think is very interesting. 

In the Liberty of London video you can hear a bit about how the designers work as they create these amazing (*warning* and addicting) fabrics.

Have you tried the Quilter's Dream batt in wool?  I love their cotton bats, so low loft, so easy to quilt through.  I'm really interested to check out this stuff.  It looks a bit like it might be on the thick side though...hard to tell from a photo, but there is one up on Purl Soho.

The above blossoms were hanging over my side of the fence in my yard.  That makes them my property, right?  Considering they are now in my kitchen...they certainly are!  Let's hear it for the sakura.

Hand Quilting: Feathers

First thing's first.

The winner of the Lego "quilt studio" giveaway is...(drum roll)...AnnVallance of Rupert Girl Blog.  Congrats Ann.  Shoot me an email at "quilt (dot) baby (at) hotmail dot com" and I'll send your amazing and teenie studio out your way.

It's no secret that I love hand quilting, and feathers are my favorite.  I like to quilt other patterns, but there is something very appealing about the intricate detail of them and the antique feel they give a quilt. 

They are, however, not the fastest method of quilting, so my blocks are getting finished at a more relaxed pace.  

As long as the baby recipient is still a baby when she gets it, I'll be pleased.  She may have the ability to actually crawl off of it at the rate I'm going (and the rate she's building muscle!), but it will be fun to try and catch a photo of her sitting on it.

In other local news, we have a local non-profit teaching/learning farm called Hidden Villa.  Check out their calendar for a sheep shearing event coming up on 4/14.  My knitting friend and I are going to check it out to see where all that fluffy stuff really starts.  Sounds like good clean (or not so clean?) fun.


Have you seen the video that Pinwheels posted yet on their site?  Maria Tamaoka (owner) posted a really cute BOM instructional clip that is about 9 min long and features inspiration from Yoko Saito.  She talks about Daiwabo fabrics, and it is really cute and informative video. She mentions that you do not need to pre-wash the fabrics. 

Hm...I don't like to work with fabrics unless they are washed first, so I'll probably keep up my usual procedures (cold washer, gentle cycle with a color catcher....no dryer...directly to a hot iron with no steam...air dry overnight...love).

New classes, modern house quilt blocks, and A Yoko A Day: Yoko Saito Quilt books - day 9 - final (陽子斉藤)

Well, for those of you who guessed that I couldn't last that long doing a post every single day...you were right. I am WAY too busy for that sort of thing. What was I ever thinking?!

Ok so enough with the Yoko A Day, I'm done, I'm throwing in the towel. It was fun while it lasted, but jeez I just cannot do a post every day.

At the end of this post I'm including info on all the other books Yoko Saito has ever written, that I know of, that I own. There is one more out there that I don't own yet, but...I have the feeling that ugly little situation may not continue for long. If you know of the existance a book by Yoko Saito that I haven't listed in a recent post, pls do let me know so I can look into that.

In other news, I am teaching a few new classes up at A Verb For Keeping Warm. (yeah!) The first one is a machine quilt-along this coming Sunday, where folks can join and work on their in-progress projects. I am also booked for teaching some introduction to quilting classes in October. Join us if you live locally, it will be good fun.

We will be working on more applique this Sunday at Verb in the modern house applique class too. I'm using Japanese Taupe fabrics in the block this month again, as you can tell in the block above.

On to the final info about Yoko Saito Books: (if you seriously read the rest of this, I give you a gold star)
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Yoko Saito: 9th book review

Title: (unfortunately, your guess is better than mine on this one, could not figure it out although there is some more info here...I'll bet that Julie knows!!)

ISBN: 978-4-14-031126-4

Summary: Items are made out of triangle and square pieces. Projects in this book are not super complex, and there is not a lot of applique. That said, this is probably the best of all her books in terms of showing you methods used for hand piecing, and tools used. Photos are great so you can really understand what is going on (even w/ zero understanding of Japanese - trust me on this, I should know).

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Yoko Saito: 10th book review


Title: From American Patchwork Bed Quilts to Bags
ISBN: 4-14-031079-0

Summary: Small bags, and bed quilts, as the title says, but also backpacks. My favorite project is the bed quilt on p.43 called Farmer's Bowknot which is a signature quilt. Nice photos of how to make applique grapes on p.59.

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Yoko Saito: 11th book review



Title: Free Patterns (I think?)
ISBN: 4-579-11080-3

Summary: You know I love applique, and this book is really full of it. If applique is not your cup of tea, feel free to skip this one. For me, the photos are amazing, the projects are stunning, and I could see myself easily making each and every last one of them. Bags, small quilts, sewing box on p.22 is amazing, this is probably the most beautiful of all her books. Usage of french knots, just amazing.
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Yoko Saito: 12th book review


Title: 138 Original Applique Designs by Yoko Saito
ISBN: 978-4-529-04331-1

Summary: This is the other book that she has written that I would give 'MUST HAVE' status to, and it is in my top 5 list of favorite quilt books. These tiny block patters include botanicals, halloween, more robots, a portrait of Mozart (wow), another alphabet (yeah!), and a myriad of other adorable blocks. This one is worth the bookshelf space.
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Yoko Saito: 13th book review



Title:Study Book for Taupe Color
ISBN:978-4-86322-130-7

Summary: This book is limited to bags with a mix of applique and pieced quilting in different projects. I believe there is some extensive discussion around which taupe colors go well with other ones, but since my Japanese reading skills are lacking, this is a slightly less valuable book to somebody like me. It's still beautiful though and some of the bag patterns could easily be turned into wall hangings or quilts.
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Yoko Saito: 14th book review



Title: Walking the Green Quilt (??Seriously? don't trust me on this title please!)
ISBN: 978-4-14-031160-8

Summary: This book is a compilation of blocks that were released monthly in a Japanese Woman's magazine put out by NHK. It is really a handy place to have them all together in this book. These patterns are all botinicals, applique, and pretty detailed. Not for the faint of heart!
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Yoko Saito: 15th book review


Title: 120 Original Embroidery Designs by Yoko Saito
ISBN: 978-4-529-04653-4

Summary: Ok ok, I know I said that there were only 2 'must have' books, but if I could squeeze a 3rd one it, this would be it. I am not a huge fan of embroidery but there is a god mix of applique in here too (and thank goodness, also another alphabet). If you love embroidery, this book is for you. If you don't, it might not be your favorite book, but where else can you find an embroidery pattern for an ant farm?!
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Yoko Saito: 16th book review


Title: Yoko Saito's Scandinavian Quilts
ISBN:978-4-14-031153-0

Summary: Quilt designs inspired by Scandinavia - need I say more? Bags and small household items mostly. Lots of applique.
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Yoko Saito: 17th book review


Title: Patchwork Lessons
ISBN: 4-579-10697-0

Summary: Small projects, bags, and even a larger sawtooth star quilt on p.73 that looks like it would be fun to make. lots of great photos of 'how to' quilting techniques.
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Yoko Saito: 18th book review


Title: Patchwork Lessons 2
ISBN: 4-579-10759-4

Summary: Of her Lesson(s) books, this is my favorite one. The photos are beautiful, and there are some very detailed projects. My favorites are the acorn pillow on p.55, and the insane pine burr feathered star on p.77.
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Yoko Saito: 19th book review


Title: Patchwork Lessons 3
ISBN: 978-4-579-10892-3

Summary: small projects, bags, some applique, lots of embroidery. Best project here is probably p.53 - applique whale bag.
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Yoko Saito: 20th book review


Title: Patchwork Lesson
ISBN: 978-579-11174-9

Summary: Mostly hand piecing with a small amount of applique. Good technique photos including working with zippers, cute laundry line applique on p.35.
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Ok, DONE!

Whump! Marisa thuds on the floor from exhaustion after finishing 20 book reports and breaking all records of her longest blog post ever (after 580 posts, you would think I might have learned some self control, apparently not).

The crowd cheers with a standing ovation for the most complete list of Yoko Saito books ever mentioned on the entire internet! I wonder if Yoko Saito herself remembers writing all these books.

A Yoko A Day: Yoko Saito Quilt books - day 8 (陽子斉藤)

Title: Daily Quilt
ISBN: 978-4-529-04780-7

Summary: small bags, mostly with applique on them, small quilts, medium quilts - some pieced, some with applique. wall hangings, spools quilt, holiday items...some of the items look similar to projects published in day 5 of my posting about Ms. Saito's books. Cream Corn quilt on p.30 is probably my favorite thing in this book. My copy is signed by Yoko Saito herself, due to a generous blog reader. How special is that!

A Yoko A Day: Yoko Saito Quilt books - day 7 (陽子斉藤)

Title: 156 Original Patchwork Designs by Yoko Saito
ISBN: 4-529-04188-3

Summary: Let me start by saying that there are 2 Yoko Saito books that you MUST have in your library, and this is one of those two. This includes 156 block patterns that you will find to be unique, beautiful, and if you're anything like me, you may get the urge to make every last one of them. Some of the blocks you may have seen before, but most are quite unique. She does assemble some of the blocks into small zipper bags. P51 has the coolest little robot I've ever seen on it complete with propeller on top of his head. There are animals, bugs, botanicals, geometric designs, stars, another pieced alphabet (yeah!!!). If you don't have this book, please do yourself and huge favor and get a copy. It's going to be WELL worth your bookshelf space. I hate to pick favorites, but this is in my top 5 quilt books of all time.

A Yoko A Day: Yoko Saito Quilt books - day 6 (陽子斉藤)

Title: Yoko Saito and Kids (I think?, your guess is probably as good as mine on this one!)
ISBN: 978-4-86322-084-3

Summary: Super cute kids quilts, including another alphabet quilt (my fav!), a log cabin baby quilt, Jack and the Beanstalk applique kids quilt, some redwork, on p.21, my favorite kids quilt by Ms. Saito - it has trees, houses, but an awesome road that you could use to run your toys all along. I have had several requests in my household to make this quilt. Mobile, backpack, kids hat, paper pieced ducky, place mat, bibs, p48 has instructions for this block that has 4 pieces in it...an unusual block but a very pretty one. I would consider paper piecing this (of course Ms. Saito hand pieces it).

A Yoko A Day: Yoko Saito Quilt books - day 5 (陽子斉藤)

Title: Patchwork of 1, 2, and 3 Patch Blocks

ISBN: 4-529-02567-5

Summary: Like the title says, these patterns are pretty simple. They are made from blocks in 1 shape (like 9 patches) or 2 shapes (as seen on the cover above) and even a few projects have 3 different shapes the pattern. Lots of little zipper bags, pretty much the cutest stuffed elephant you've ever seen on p32, adorable 'spools' pattern sewing pouch on p.35, pin cushion, doll quilts on p. 29, place mats, table cloth, full sized bed quilts, crib quilt...TONS of projects here. This book is older (1995) so finding it out in the wild might not be an easy task.

A Yoko A Day: Yoko Saito Quilt books - day 4 (陽子斉藤)

Title: Happy Patchwork
ISBN: 4-14-031112-6

Summary: Pieced alphabet (LOVE alphabets!) stars on quilts, feathered stars, small needle cases, little bags, adorable dogs and bees from what looks like to be a mix of applique and hand piecing on p.21, applique flower baskets p33, super silly and perhaps best yet Halloween quilt p36, wedding ring quilts (stunning).

A Yoko A Day: Yoko Saito Quilt books - day 3 (陽子斉藤)

Title: Small Quilt
ISBN: 4-529-03935-8

Summary: Includes some wool applique projects, a small quilt with star motifs (p 42. so beautiful!) usage of a zillion french knots in the border of a quilt of p. 40-41 (WOW!), small zipper bags, my favorite key ring holder cover on p33 in the shape of a small house, a wallet, a tape measure cover that looks like a dog, an adorable little zipper bag with tee pees on it...this book is certainly all over the map with lots of different projects, but well worth the addition to your library.

A Yoko A Day: Yoko Saito Quilt books - day 2 (陽子斉藤)

Title: Houses, houses, houses
ISBN: 4-14-031131-2

Summary: Patterns include large quilts, bags of various sizes, pillows, tons of house blocks, small amounts of embroidery here and there that is very tasteful. My favorites are the bag that includes a tree on p.12 and the placemats that include houses on p.28.

A Yoko A Day: Yoko Saito Quilt books - day 1 (陽子斉藤)

They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

At the end of the summer, what could I do to spice things up and get out of the back to school funk?

How about kicking off 'A Yoko A Day'!

For the next (insert a number here) days, I'll be posting a daily blog post about a quilt book that Yoko Saito has written.

I'll be including the ISBN, and a brief summary about topics covered.

Think I can continue this for the rest of August? How many of her books do you think I have? Will I make it into Sept? Guesses out there hot shots?

Woo hoo...here we go!

Title: Basket Made From Cloth
ISBN: 978-4-579-11275-3

Summary:This book is basically about small quilted bags with a couple of small quilts, one medium sized quilt, and other small items like a needle holder and sort of a sewing box. The book includes a very large fold out pattern in the back with applique designs that are very pretty and could be used basically for any project. The handbag on p.19 is probably my favorite project, just stunning.

Finish Nine Patch Quilt Top: Check!

The feeling of spreading out a newly finished quilt top on my bed and taking photos of it is a bit rare so maybe that is one of the reasons it is so special.

I have not decided how I will quilt this little baby yet, but I am trying to do it justice. Colors are very vivid and there is lots of empty space in the alternate blocks for some cool quilting patterns (my fav!). I'll continue to brainstorm on quilting designs for a bit longer.

So what are your favorite hang outs these days for eye candy? I could always use some cool new inspiration.

These days I'm loving:

• Amy Merrick: flower arrangement and photos of her creations - elegant. Blog photos: not so shabby either.
  


• Simple Pleasures: Quilted baskets here - check them out, adorable. How did she manage to get the new Yoko Saito book (in ENGLISH!!) before me. I'm green with envy! Perhaps not for long....
  
  It looks like Kathie of Inspired by Antique Quilts got her hands on a copy already too! Sheesh! I'm the last one on the block to get mine.
  


• Muji: sets of wooden blocks for kids to build and play with in shapes of New York, London, and Tokyo! If I bought these, I am not sure I would be able to hand them over to my kids.
  


• Minick and Simpson blog: recent post regarding hand quilting, feathers, and stencils - worth a look!

That should keep you off the streets for a while! Now how about what you're reading?