Sew Busy!

I am in a sewing state of mine. I had a bunch of Korean pouch kits that I had assembled for some bojagi classes I taught a few years ago just sitting in a plastic bin. I decided to stitch and assemble the kits into pouches and I'll use them as gifts and I may also put some in my Etsy store.

I love the fabric which I had bought from Dongdaemum Shopping Center in Seoul. My favorite satin guy went out of business but I was able to find a shop with the same fabric I love. That's one thing I hate and also love about Korea, it is ever changing.

I am also working on a couple of quilts which if you follow me on Instagram, you can see that I've been spending a lot of time at my sewing machine. If that wasn't enough, my folks just arrived for a weeklong visit and then I have a weekend of painting classes. No wonder I've been neglecting this blog. Soon I'll be adding lawn mowing to that list but luckily here in Minnesota that is still out at least a month. We have had snow in May don't cha know:)

Bojagi on Etsy



Every once in a while I'll do an Etsy search on bojagi to see what pops up. It had been awhile and when I found Harim Kim's etsy site I almost jumped through the screen. She had the most amazing bojagi and I immediately ordered several things. If you know me, you know how obsessed I am with bojagi and especially Korean thimbles. She was offering handmade thimbles at an unbelievable price. I know all the time it takes to make a thimble.

 

She is in South Korea so it took awhile for my package to arrive. You can see what I bought in the photo above. So if you want some Korean bojagi and can't get to Korea, Harim Kim can ship to you. She also has a Ebay store. She also sells the ramie that I use in a lot of my bojagi.

Speaking of ramie, this is a photo of mine. I had bought just about every color the Korean vendor had. This is one of my happy boxes.

Louie has been really affectionate since I returned from our daughter's. He loves to sit on my lap or Rocketman's and purrs up a storm.

 



Ahn Kum-Joo, My Korean Bojagi Teacher

When I returned to South Korea a second time, I knew I wanted to learn bojagi (Korean quilting) and chasu (Korean embroidery) but finding a bojagi teacher was another matter. I was lucky to find Kum-Joo through a friend who knew her through the SIWA organization. SIWA is an organization in Seoul which offers classes in all sorts of things to ex-pats and it is where Kum-Joo taught bojagi lessons members. She is also a teacher at the Icheon Global Center in Seoul.

The photo above is the first thing I made in class. We met once a week in my apartment in Suwon.  I was so impressed with her English. It is not an easy language to learn and she spoke and understood it very well. Kum-Joo always brought all the materials needed for each project. She also brought samples that she had made to show me what we would be making. And then the stitching would begin with her watching and instructing me to make sure I was doing it correctly. The time flew during those hours and I couldn't wait till the next lesson.

                     These are some of the amazing things I made under Kum-Joo's guidance.

These thimbles had a lot of steps to complete them but they were so much fun and I feel like each one is a little work of art. Kum-Joo also included the instructions and patterns so that I could make them again when I returned back to the States.

I also took chasu (Korean embroidery) lessons from Kum-Joo. Korean chasu uses very thin silk thread and is incredibly difficult and time-consuming. I had done embroidery in the past but not with silk thread and not with just two strands. It takes a lot of time to fill in areas and to make them look great. Kum-Joo was a great help in instructing me.

This is another one of my chasu pieces. It was one of the first ones I ever did and I love how great it turned out all thanks to my teacher, Kum-Joo.

Here are some things that Kum-Joo made and brought to show me. When you see what she has made, it makes you want to work hard and make the same things.

I couldn't believe the chasu shoes she brought one day. She did the chasu flowers and then had a shoemaker make the shoes. They were so beautiful.

As you can see, Kum-Joo is very talented in bojagi and chasu. She also holds a Master's degree in Cultural and Arts Administration from Kookmin University in South Korea. She taught and lectured not only in South Korea but in the United States and New Zealand. She has had her work appear in numerous exhibitions where she received several awards. And if that wasn't enough, she is also certified in maedeup (Korean knotting) which is a beautiful addition to bojagi.

I highly recommend Kum-Joo as an expert teacher in bojagi and chasu. Any organization throughout the world would be very lucky to have her teach at their institution. She not only knows the craft of bojagi and chasu but she knows the history which is also fascinating to learn. If we ever got the chance to live in South Korea again, I would take classes from Kum-Joo. She is a wonderful teacher and I hope that you will get a chance to take a class from her someday.

Bojagi Coasters

I took a little break from all the knitting I had been doing and used some satin scraps to make a bunch of bojagi coasters.  I'm thinking of offering a class on it sometime. I had stitched the four squares together but then cheated and used my sewing machine to sew both sides together. Don't tell my bojagi teacher:)

It took awhile to cut, mark and pin everything together. Then the hand stitching began. I had forgotten how time consuming it is. One thing I have learned through the years is that bojagi cannot be rushed and you can't be impatient with it.

                              They really turned out beautifully and Rocketman also loved them.

Another thing I love about bojagi is that you can use even the tiniest scrap so very little is thrown away.

Well, we are into our 12th night of below zero temperatures and it has been below 0 most days except yesterday it did get up to a balmy 3 degrees. Stay warm my friends!

Bojagi Wrapping Cloths DVD by Young-Min Lee

I was so excited to receive a copy of Young-Min's bojagi DVD to review.  There is so little information in English out there on bojagi. So unless you could travel to Korea and spend months or even years there learning this amazing craft you were out of luck until now. Young-Min has brought bojagi to you.

The DVD is broken down into 6 sections:
1. Introduction and History of Bojagi
2. Supplies
3. Basic Stitches
4. Seam Techniques
5. Projects - Young-Min's demonstrates how to create three bojagi projects
6. Conclusion

The DVD is 2 hours long and covers everything you need to get started. I really loved learning more about the history of bojagi and I loved seeing all the samples of bojagi Young-Min presented. The camera work is also phenomenal and from my experience working on The Carol Duvall Show, I know how difficult it can be to get those close-up shots. Young-Min is very thorough and covers every step needed to insure success.

Even if you weren't necessarily interested in doing bojagi, it is a fascinating look at a piece of Korean culture. The DVD is now available on Amazon.  You won't be disappointed.

Bojagi Curtains!!

I officially started my bojagi curtains June 1st after Rocketman had recovered from his surgeries and was back at work. It took FOREVER and tried my patience sorely but it was so worth it. I finished this week, the third week of October and I worked on them constantly. Handstitching is not for the faint of heart or impatient people like myself.

                                 But they are hanging in our bedroom and I love, love, love them!

Photographing them was another story.

This is what I came home from Korea with. I ran low on the light lavender but my bojagi teacher was happy to buy me some more and mailed it to me. Love her!

This is what my kitchen countertop looked like all summer and most of the fall. Rocketman never complained about the mess.

Louie even loved my bojagi. Korean crafts like bojagi continue to kick my impatient behind but I am continuing to learn patience especially when I look at my new curtains. Do you think my countertop is cleaned off? No way, now it is covered with hanji paper. Onward!

A Summer of Bojagi (Korean Quilting)



You may think I hadn't been posting much since it was summer and I must have been busy enjoying the sun. Nope, it's bojagi that has literary consumed my every moment since June. I've been stitching like a crazy woman!



Remember the bojagi fabric I bought during our April trip to South Korea? I saw these colors and knew I wanted to make new drapes for our bedroom.

This was my kitchen countertop from June until now. It's become my bojagi station where I measure, cut and baste the fabric pieces.

 

Just this week, I finally am at the point where I am stitching to final pieces together. It's been a long, long journey but this got me really excited. This has all been handstitched, no machining. I did run out of the light purple and KJ, my bojagi teacher, sent me some more.

 

Louie LOVED to sleep under my bojagi pieces. I really didn't want him there because I didn't want cat hair on the fabric but he just looked too cute and it was so cute watching how he managed to crawl under the fabric without disturbing it. He's quite talented, our three-legged cat.

There are days when I really, really miss Korea and on one of those days I was babysitting the grandkids. Little Ez got upset with me and did the Korean squat. It made me think of Korea and how much I want to show it to him someday. He's a pretty good squatter, much better than his Grandpa and Grandma. Bojagi is calling so I better go.

 

Bojagi Bonanza Part 2!

 For some strange reason Blogger did not post all the bojagi photos from the bojagi exhibitions I had attended in Seoul.  So this post to correct that error.  Enjoy!

I'm working on a big bojagi project at the moment but I am really itching to make some pin cushions. Bojagi pin cushions are so colorful and each such a work of art.  More on the rest of my visit with my bojagi teacher, KJ, in my next post.