Mask-apades

Helloooo! It has been way too long. Glad I still remembered the password :)

So much has changed since the last post … for one, the little munchkin is almost a teen. The world is also a different place and here we are, united in a universal disruptive experience.

BUT thanks to Covid-19, many are finding unity in this shared experience. We are more alike than different, no matter the colour of our skin, the shape of our eyes, where we were born ... the human experience is very much the same.

Another good thing that has come out of this experience is that I've rediscovered sewing again!!! And this time, I've been sewing masks - like the one below.

Does the fabric look familiar? It's Amy Butler from the stash :)

I started sewing for family and friends, which led through quite an intensive process of testing, prototyping and discovery. I went through several nose wire options; experimented with different construction methods; threw sewn masks into the wash to test if they held their shape; and generally played around till a final template emerged.

And here I am, wearing one of the creations :) 

There has been so much encouragement and support, which feels terrific. My sister says the ones I gave her are her favourite masks. Yesterday, I bumped into my neighbours and they were wearing the masks I gave them, which made me very happy. 

Soon, I'll be sewing batik masks for a group who is raising funds for the Alzheimer's Association Singapore. 

Annnnd I've decided, after much encouragement, to sell a few of my masks too. Please check out my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/simonesews

Nothing is for sale yet :) I'm still working out the process and how to juggle work, the charity sewing and my Simone Sews creations. Many people are selling their masks and I also need to offer something different.

It's good to be back.

A little bit of this, a dash of that ...

Still no activity on the sewing front, BUT:

1. The fabric stash is now neat. Everything has been folded and put into storage bins and nothing has been left strewn in a threatening-to-topple pile. Now if only the magic cleaning fairies would come and help clear up the notions and patterns too. LOL!!!

2. I have not bought new fabric ... and WILL NOT PURCHASE new fabric until the existing fabric gets sewn up.

3. Instead of being wildly and irrationally ambitious, my sewing and blogging goals will be modest for a start:
- sew a twirly dress for the darling little monkey
- sew myself a simple "buffet" dress (one of those flowy numbers with no darts)
- write a blog post at least once a week

Once the sewing gets back into some sort of regular momentum, then I'd really like to accomplish a few things this year, such as:
- learning more about fit and how to adjust patterns so that clothes look and fall right on my body (ie. dealing with my broad back, tummy pooch and swayback)
- inserting an invisible zip the correct way every single time
- inserting linings

That's it! Wish me luck :-)

Where did the time go????

Sorry, I've been a bad, bad blogger. And very bad sewist/seamster/person-who-sews. And the fabric diet .... ha! So now there is an Everest of fabric, a Killimanjaro of patterns threatening to take over the house. And the dear machines are still dormant.

Someone needs a kick in the behind. Hahahahhahah!

But that's what new year resolutions are for, right?

So there, I'm putting it out in the interwebz -- 2012 will be the year of returning to sewing. And blogging about projects and fun fabric shopping expeditions.

Happy New Year!

Yooo hoooo!

Talk about a l-o-n-g hiatus! Sorry. Work and life in general got in the way.

Needless to say, the sewing machine has remained dormant and the fabric mountain untouched (at least it didn't grow; hahahhaha!). It's still crazy busy at work, but I hope to find the time and mojo to start creating again.

Even the tiniest flame dispels the darkness ....

Wishing all my lovely Hindu, Jain, Sikh and all Indian friends and readers of this blog who celebrate the festival a Happy Diwali/Deepavali!

I feel so blessed to be living in a place where we have the opportunity to appreciate different ethnicities, languages and religious celebrations. Oh and the rich variety of cuisine too -- I'm reminded of this last point because of an utterly delish celebration we had at a colleague's home last night :-))

Read more about Deepavali on Wikipedia.

PS. To maintain a tenuous link to sewing, the little monkey wore her zoo safari birthday dress to the celebration last night and soaked up all the compliments :-)

You know a birthday dress works when ...

...your darling little monkey happily poses in it (after undoing the bow you carefully tied!)

... she goes exploring in it

...she cuddles one of her many soft toys while wearing the dress.

...she opens up presents and then proceeds to stick stickers on her birthday dress to "decorate" it some more. In this pic, you can see some of the stickers she placed along the centre front placket.

My darling baby is now three years old and what a blast we all had marking her special day! We did a little party at daycare and then the little monkey and mommy spent the rest of the day at the zoo where she rode a pony and an elephant for the first time.

It was an exhausting but thoroughly fun day :-)

Busy time! And a word on comments...

Sorry for the lack of updates. It's busy time at the office and I haven't had time to sewwwwwww! But things will ease up soon enough and I'll be back to regular posts.

In one quick piece of sewing news, the zoo safari dress (remix version) is DONE. And the darling monkey approves. So she's going to wear the dress on her birthday. Hurrah!!!

Now, a word on comments. Thanks to everyone who has left comments here; I truly appreciate it :-)))

But I must apologise because I still haven't figured out the settings on Blogger and some comments sit for ages, waiting to be moderated. And then, some comments bypass the whole approval/moderation thing and are published.

So if you don't see your comments, it's not because I'm ignoring you, promise! I just need to figure out how to set things up so that anyone (except anonymous posters) who wants to say something can do so.

Thanks for putting up with my total confusion with Blogger :-) I *heart* comments and am always happy to answer questions ... especially about fabric shopping. LOL!!!!

(Almost) No pics, but progress made!

Sorry for a picture-less post. I'll be sure to take some when I get my act together, promise! LOL!

I'm happy to report that there has been some sewing going on:

• i've almost completed the dress i drafted! It just needs to be hemmed and it's DONE!
  
• Version 2 of the zoo safari dress for my darling monkey is also almost completed. It needs to be hemmed (notice a trend here?) and the sash needs to be edge-stitched.
• i've started on a quillow for my nephew, in a funky monster print. It will be his Christmas present. A quillow is a quilt with a big attached pocket. The quilt then folds into the pocket when not in use and it looks like a pillow.

In other sewing-related news, my autographed copy of the Bag Making Bible (by Lisa Lam of u-handbag) arrived!!! I LOOOVE the book and will write up a review soon.

Have a great sewing week ahead!!

Update:
Silly me! I *did* take pics of the quillow. Here is the "pillow" part. This is a very quick and easy project and I hope my 7-year-old nephew likes it :-)

A skirt and a sale

Here is the skirt I drafted and sewed back in August. It has been worn quite a lot -- both dressed up with a blouse and pearls as well as dressed down as you see here with a black tee and slippers.

Suck in tummy - check! Angle the body to look slimmer - check! lol :-)

Back view.

I need to make more of these skirts -- they're quick to sew up and best of all, FIT! I think I'll practice drafting and sewing one of these for my 12-year-old niece ... or skinny sister who is built like a 12-year-old (no, no, there is nooooo jealousy in my tone here ... LOL!)

OK, now for the sale news -- the Spotlight sale catalogue arrived today and there are some tempting goodies which go on sale from Wednesday 6th October to Sunday 24th October:

• Butterick patterns are buy 1, get 1 free ... and VIPs get an additional 10% off
• Knits are marked down ... SGD$8.99 - $13.25 a metre (from $12.99 - 18.95 a metre)
• All printed cottons (poplin, sateen & voiles included) from $6.96 - $12.56 a metre
• Adjustable dressforms @ $439.96 (usual $549.95)
• 100% cotton stripes and dots - $6.95 a metre
  

There are Christmas prints and panels too. Guess which mall I'll be valiantly trying to avoid for the next few weeks? :-)

Searching for Burda magazine, August 2010

Does anyone know where I can get the August issue of Burda Magazine? I somehow missed it in the shops ... boo! I have September; I even have October. It's just the darn August edition that's missing.

Many thanks!