These are my beloved "kai no kuchi" colony! Some of them are new for my trip to Turkey, some are old, the remnants from my craft shows. I intend to give them to my friends and family as gifts during the summer. Since they're different and rarer than most of the things they see around, people love them dearly.
これは私の大好きな「貝の口」小物入れのコロニーです！その一部はトルコへの旅のために作ったもので、もう一部は手芸市からの余ったものです。トルコでそれらをちょっとしたプレゼントとして配れるし、あまりあっちこっちで見れるものではないから、人たちには喜ばれると思います。
I love making them! And they're the best seller of my Etsy shop. Some years ago, a Japanese friend of mine gave me one as a gift. This was my first time to see a traditional Japanese handicraft "kai no kuchi" container and it was all her handwork! I admired it and used it as a holder for my wedding ring a long time. I kept it in my purse all the time and when I felt like taking off the wedding ring for some reason, I put it in the kai no kuchi! It was so convenient to carry one!
それを作るのが大好きです。私のＥｔｓｙのネットショップの一番売れるものです。何年か前に、日本人の友達からプレゼントでもらったのでした。これは初めて見た伝統的な「貝の口」で、彼女が自分の手で作ってくれたものでした。とても可愛くて、すっかり気に入ってしまいました。で、長い間、それをウエディングリング用箱として使いました。カバンのなかでもって、リングを外したい時その中に入れておきました。指輪などのアクセサリーを入れるように丁度よかったのです。
After I had started patchwork, I came across a how-to for a kai no kuchi box in a Japanese patchwork magazine and I thought "why don't I give it a try? It looks very easy to make!" I always have to convince myself first that I can make it; I start making whatever it is in my head first and I virtually completed it all in my head , then I start sewing. This is what I do normally.
パッチワークを始めた後、いつかの日、ある日本語のパッチワークの雑誌には「貝の口」作り方を見てしまったら、簡単そうに見ていたので、一回やってみようと思ってしまいました。私はいつも作れるよと頭の中で確信をもってから、まず第一に頭の中で作り始めるのです。頭の中で仕上げたら、本格的に縫い始めるのですよ。私は普通はこんな人です。
In case of kai no kuchi, it looked very easy in my head, but when I really started to make it, I realized it was difficult than what I had expected. It required some meticulous planning of production steps. In the end I had to invent my own sewing order and some tricks to make it easier to sew.
「貝の口」の場合は、最初は簡単そうに思ってしまったのに、縫い始めたら、きれいに作るのは思ったよりずっと大変でした。製作中は細部まで丁寧にプラニングが必要でした。ついに、自分の縫い順番と簡単に縫えるためのこつを考えなければいけなかったのです。
This is the first "kai no kuchi" I made and sold! I used vintage kimono fabric for this and I liked how it looked and felt to my touch! It turned out to be very cute! And to my surprise, people loved it so much and right now I'm selling them quite satisfactorily.
これは初めて作り、Ｅｔｓｙで初めて売れた「貝の口」です。これを作る時、古着物の布を使いました。とても可愛く、感触がやわらかく、とても気に入りました。驚いたことに、他の人たちも大好きになっていただいて、今は満足のいくように売れています。
Recently I decided to sell my kai no kuchi boxes (and the other hand made things you have seen in my Etsy shop for that matter) and to take custom orders also through this blog of mine! Especially for the fellows who find online shopping tiresome, boring, difficult and sometimes insecure. All you have to do is just to contact me at
incigungor3@yahoo.com! If you like my hand made items, but you don't have enough courage to do that going on Etsy.com and registering to purchase that item, just email me! I'm sure we can work something out and I can make you a special one!
最近、「貝の口」小物入れを（と私の他のＥｔｓｙ商品も）Ｅｔｓｙでのお店の以外にはこのブログを通じて売りに出すか注文を受けることにしました。特に、インターネット上の買い物が退屈で、難しく、時々でも安全ではないと思う方々のためです。私の
incigungor3@yahoo.comにメールでお問いいただければ、必要なことをお教えすることができます。
This siggy block is for a friend who is collecting siggy blocks from all over the world for her future siggy block quilt. This is my first siggy block I made. "Siggy block" is short for signature block and they are small squares that quilters love to swap and collect. It was fun. I used my favorite fabric and appliqued my dear evil eye applique design to the center square. I'm going to give it to her in Istanbul, and I hope she'll like it.
This is the first time I used these fabulous Japanese "sakizome" yarn dyed fabrics for a project. I like these fabrics so much that I couldn't get myself to use them for something until now. I always admired these "sakizome" fabrics that were used in the Japanese patchwork magazines, but it took a while for me to get some.
These are my beloved "kai no kuchi" colony! Some of them are new for my trip to Turkey, some are old, the remnants from my craft shows. I intend to give them to my friends and family as gifts during the summer. Since they're different and rarer than most of the things they see around, people love them dearly.
And this is the sunset on the Black Sea from the window of our summer house in Sile-ISTANBUL! What a sunset, isn't it? Actually it's different every evening in different colors and very fun to wait for it! 
