Grace's bag

Two weeks ago, I decided to take a break from sewing until the new year.
But I got tired of not making anything in just a week and a half.
Grace came over and chose this clutch the other day. She wanted to have a little longer strap.
I made a strap using gajibangsuk(eggplant cushion) knots and garakji(ring) knots.
This year has been very busy but productive for me.
One thing at a time and keep positive! This was my motto this year.
In new year, I will keep trying things that I love and hopefully my happiness passes to others with my creations.
Happy New Year!

2주전 새해까지 일을 쉬기로 마음먹고 바느질방 문을 굳게 닫았다.
하지만 한주반만에 아무것도 안만드는 시간이 너무 길고 지루해져 버렸다.
그레이스가 고른 작은 손지갑에 끈을 달아 달래서 그 핑계김에 바느질방 문을 열고 잠시 즐거운 시간을 보냈다. 가지방석과 가락지 매듭을 이용해 끈을 달아 보았다.
지난 한해는 한번에 한가지씩, 긍정적으로 살자는 마음으로 열심히 바쁘게 지내왔다. 새해에도 좋아하는 일을 하면서 남들에게도 행복을 나누어 주면서 살고 싶다.
새해 복 많이 받으세요!

Moshi bojagi bag

Combining two of my favorite things turned quite nice.
Bojagi techniques and a bag making.
When I had an open house, I displayed this bag but not intended to sell it. But many people liked it and keep asking about it. So took orders and made 3 more bags. Fun!
First, I made long strips of moshi bojagi using ssamsol technique.
And added solid moshi fabric then made it into a big tote bag. Great chance to learn about what people like. I might try more projects with bojagi techniques.

Life is Good

December always makes me feel anxious. As soon as December starts( even before it starts actually), I change my mode into holiday and busy decorating, buying presents, planning for holidays. I start to making to-do list everyday and it help me calm down every time I feel in a hurry. Last week, I was saving my whole day for a special person and savored the time with her.

Her name is Lucy, she came from Mexico city to meet me!( I know she has other plans in her mind, too. But she saved one day especially for me as I did :)
Couple months ago I got an email from her that she wants to learn about Bojagi.
I've done this distance class with Kim in Seattle years ago so we started Bojagi class via mail.
I sent her materials and the instructions and she sent me back the project that she has done.
Sending and receiving mails took longer that we anticipated since we are eager to hear from each other. She is a patchwork teacher in Mexico and recently taught a course about the patchworks around the world. I was thrilled when she asked me about teaching Bojagi as a part of the course.
When she came to my house last week, I felt that I've known her long time.
We talked about Bojagi, sewing, culture and Bojagi again.
She surprised me with her own creations. She brought me a handmade wallet wrapped in a blue linen Bojagi! She understood so well about the meaning and use of Bojagi.We went to Korean restaurant for lunch and after trying 2 places(funny they both closed on Monday) we finally has soon du bu( spicy tofu soup) and grilled mackerel at the third restaurant.
After the lunch we started our 3rd project, flower shape pin cushion. Time went too fast so we couldn't finish the project. But Lucy got an idea of making it so she will finish it at home.
I wish we had more time just sewing but it got dark already so I drove her back to her friend's place. We had so many things in common and sewing was just one thing out of them. On the way home I felt so happy to have a friend who shares passion of Bojagi. Now I dream the day I visit her studio in Mexico city. Some day!

Open house

An idea just came one day and I decided to have a open house with my bags and foods for good friends. I was busy making things, planning for the day and dreaming about this fun event.
Once I sent invitations out, I was excite and stressed at the same time.
어느 늦은 여름날, 내가 만든 가방을 모두 모아 오픈하우스를 하면 어떨까 하는 상상을 했다.
'일단 저질러 보자' 하는 마음으로 주위사람들에게 알리고 초대장을 보냈다.

Kid, the master of Thai cooking came over for fancy appetizers for me.
Sa Koo Sai Moo-tapioca ball with meat, peanut and cilantro. Eat with lettuce leaf and it was a big hit!
타이 음식에 정통한 친구, 키드를 졸라 에피타이저를 준비했다. 땅콩, 고기, 야채, 실란트로가 든 타피오카 볼. 인기만점!
Another appetizer was a pineapple slice with meat, bell pepper and cilantro combination.
소금에 살짝 절인 파인애플에 고기와 야채를 볶아 얹고 벨페퍼와 실란트로로 장식한 이 요리도 입맛을 돋구는 감초였다.
Kid has a super talented sister-in-law, Prair made me these beautiful cheesecakes and macaroons. 뿐만아니라 키드의 동서, 프레어는 치즈케익과 마카롱을 준비해 주었다.
프레어는 정식으로 배운 페이스트리 요리사인지라 맛 뿐아니라 모양도 장식도 멋지다.


While my friends are busy making good foods, I made a center piece for my table.
One of my home grown pumpkin is volunteered to be a vase.
친구들이 음식 준비를 다 맡아주고 내가 한 일은 집에서 기른 호박을 화병 삼아 꽃장식.

자, 이젠 거의 준비 끝!




People started came and I was really excited! Thank you to all my friends who came! Lots of encouragement and suggestions are so precious to me.
사람들이 들어오기 시작하면서 바쁘고 흥분된 한나절이 시작되었다.
등을 토닥여주면서 용기를 북돋아준 모든 친구들에게 정말 감사한다!
Good food, good friends and lots of laughter erased all my difficult time and I am thinking about next open house date!
Thank you my friends! Without you, I wouldn't be able to make it!
먹고 마시고 웃고 떠들면서 행복에 젖어 보낸 소중한 나의 첫번째 오픈 하우스.
그동안 준비하느라 고생한 기억이 말끔히 사라지며 다음번 날짜를 달력보며 동그라미 친다!

Saekdong jogori

When I was a young girl, Chuseok is a special day to get new hanbok( Korean dress).
My aunt was in hanbok business so she sent us pretty hanbok for special occasions. Saekdong means colorful stripes and used in hanbok for children. With childhood memory, I made a clutch using saekdong technique. I sent this one to my sister-in-law who lives in NY. Hope she could use this for remembering her childhood memories.

Chuseok- Harvest Moon Festival

Chuseok, harvest moon festival is one of the biggest holidays in Korea.

Even in here California, people celebrate this.

I went to Asian Art Museum in San Francisco 2 weeks ago.

It was Korea Culture Day and they celebrate Chuseok with lots of hands-on activities.

Traditional embroidery master, Han Sang-Soo came all the way from Korea to demonstrate her exquisite master pieces.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/asianartmuseum/with/5024497312/

http://www.koreatimes.com/article/617264#

Smart way of gift wrap

When I have a gift card to give, I always think about how I can wrap it since it's so small. Also think about wasting paper. Here's a good idea. Bojagi can be used over and over again.

You can wrap the card with this bojagi and person who gets this gift can reuse this bojagi for the same purpose.

Bakji- Bat figure decoration

This is a tiny knot figure to decorate or hold layers together.

So it has a practical use as well as decorative function.

Bat sounds same as good luck in Korea. Using lots of bat figures, people wish for good luck.

Unlike western culture, bat is actually one of the good luck symbols in Asian culture.

Here's how to make this good luck bat.

Fist, cut fabric 2x2 inch square.

Using pins, roll the fabric from 2 corners to the center.

Fold it outside and sew 2-3 times on each side.

Trim the shape and open to outside until you can see the bat figure.

Good luck!

Lotus Leaf again

I finally finished this project. I wish I can concentrate in one project at a time but sometimes I lost in many on going projects. I made 10 lotus leaves for place mats. 10 napkins have matching lotus bud napkin rings.

First Impression

This month, I participated in friend's 'Gathering Artist' event. I brought some bojagi works and other handmade goodies. One of the customer saw my own business card case and asked me to make some for her friends. I used colorful Gongdan(brocade) strips to compose this.

Basic Ganchimjil(whip stitch) using silk thread.

Hope these will give wonderful first impression!

Baramgaebi(Pin wheel) pattern Bojagi

Triangle is always hard shape to work for me. This took me a while to construct since I can see many flaws when I make this. Once you put triangle shape into square, you have to keep go on. Just like a life you can look back but hard to change it. So I decide to make some tea and enjoy it!

Lotus Leaf Bojagi

Life gets busy always and if I don't do the things that I love, I will regret at the end of the day. So better get busy and enjoy my life! Recently I got a request from an art lover. She wants me to make lotus place mats and matching napkins. I used Moshi(Korean linen) for this lotus leaf. Moshi is very fun material to work with because of the texture and stiffness but at the same time it's a bit tricky to handle. Korean people say that treat moshi as you treat your baby.

Moshi comes in very narrow width such as 12-13 inches maximum. So when I made this lotus leaf, I had to sew 2 pieces together to get enough width. I used Ssamsol(french seam) to construct this piece. To express the veins, I used pinching technique. Since I have to make 10 more lotus leaves, I will have a chance to take pictures of these techniques.