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!

She's growing....

First, the good news: the zoo safari dress is DONE!

I just love the little pop of zebra print!

And I also love the red flower buttons (bought from Antiq Rose in Chinatown -- in the same building as the hawker centre and fabric shops).

Oh, and my darling little monkey likes the dress as well. BUT ...

... it is too small for her. Sigh. I'm going to make her another, in a larger size.

The "zoo safari" dress - progress in pics

Progress has been made on both the quilt and the "zoo safari" dress!

This time, instead of sewing only when I have a chunk of time to do so, I've sewn in little snippets at a time. It seems to help and I don't feel like I'm so behind on projects. Cutting out has to be done when the little monkey is not around, though, as she's too curious about what I do and loves nothing better than to snatch fabric away from me ("for my babies, mammy," she says).

Speaking of the little darling monkey, she has informed me that that by her birthday (at the end of next month, she turns 3), mammy has to teach her how to sew. LOL! Funny little girl.

Anyway, the dress is almost done. I just need to sew on a pocket and do the hem. Here is the progress of the dress in pictures:

It has been a while since I sewed a placket, but the Oliver + S instructions were so detailed, putting in the placket was actually quite simple. LOVE the groovy zebra print. LOL!

Close-up of the placket. Please ignore the blue fabric marker markings. Those are the locations of the buttonholes ... which reminds me that I need to hunt down some red buttons for this dress.

On goes the collar. The top is the animal print and the undercollar is the zebra print. Now I'm wondering if I should've done the top in the zebra print. Hmmmm maybe next time.

And on go the sleeves! The sleeves have funky zebra stripe tabs too :-)) The pocket is done too -- it just needs to be sewn on. Then, I'll add a strip of zebra print fabric to the bottom of the skirt, hem it and then ... ta-da!

The dress fits the little monkey quite nicely now, but I should've gone up a size as I think she'll get just one wearing out of it, maybe two, before it becomes too snug. Oh well!

Ah, about that colourful quilt, the top is all sewn together and looks quite happy, if I may say so myself. I just need to actually quilt it and add a binding and it will be 100% completed. It was meant for a friend's daughter. Guess who has declared it to be hers?

Bits and pieces

Yesterday, I learnt that a little simple cutting will transform this (9 straightforward squares) .......into this (fuuunnnkkkyy!). And this is just one variation.
And yes, I've started on ANOTHER quilt. This one is for a colleague's little girl. She loves bright, cheerful colours and so I hope she will appreciate this quilt :-)) I've also decided to sew some funky patchy reusable grocery bags for colleagues for Christmas. This method is a wonderful way to use up scraps of fabric.

For those interested in trying out this method (or just to explore patchwork), Quilts & Calicoes has charm packs all cut up already. Ira also has classes for the curious :-)

Now, it hasn't been just all about quilts around here. After several auditions, I've finally chosen the darling monkey's birthday dress fabrics and pattern:

That's the Oliver + S Jump Rope dress and I plan to sew up View B (not shown) which is more like a simple shirt-dress. The fabric is just right for a trip to the zoo :-))The zebra stripes are for the trimming -- I plan to use just a bit of it and perhaps add some red buttons. The darling monkey has approved of the choices and sewing should begin shortly!

A prezzie for the in-laws (work in progress)

The Christmas present sewing has begun and the first is near completion! I can't believe that it took just two evenings to cut and piece the front of the Japanese Cranes quilt for the in-laws. Here's a yucky pic of it:
And here are some shots of the details:This quilt is from a kit which I bought from Quilts & Calicoes (Tanglin Mall). They also have it in a gold/red colourway, but my in-laws really like purple and this will look nice in their lavender and Oriental-theme bedroom.

Yesterday, I got some backing fabric and the batting. So what's left is the actual quilting! This time, I'm going to do some simple machine quilting because it's a whole lot faster than hand-quilting ... hahahha!

Roll the credits, please ...!

It is DONE!
My first adventure into the world of quilting and getting stabbed with an itty bitty needle while hand-quilting is officially OVER. Mission Accomplished!

I'll post pics as soon as I can find that thingie which connect the camera to the computer (it has gone walkabout, the slacker).

The binding was a dream to sew on and I'm so pleased to have learnt the "secret" to good mitred corners (patience and some simple precision sewing).The little monkey, however, isn't as enamoured of her new quilt as mommy is. She says it's "not soft"!!!!!! She has promised to like it "tomorrow," though, so we'll see. LOL!Oh, and I've begun the Japanese cranes quilt for the in-laws. (She's NUTS, I hear you say ... hahahhaha!)

The finishing line

(I'll update this post with pics later)

What I thought would take just a little time, expanded across several weeks .... BUT .... the finishing line is finally in sight! 99% of the hand-quilting is done on the monkey's fairy quilt and I've started machine-quilting the borders. On Saturday, the binding goes on (hopefully) and then, ta da!

(this pic above shows some hand-quilting, including the a hand-quilted outline of a butterfly which wasn't a part of the print but which I included cos I thought it looked cute).

My poor darling monkey has been patiently waiting for her quilt to be finished. She wants to play "house" with it. Hahahahhaha!

Speaking of the monkey, she had her first hair-cut last Friday! Now my baby looks like a little girl and I'm happy and sad at the same time. I'm such a sentimental momma. I get it from MY mom, who was there at the hair-dresser, video-taping the whole event. Hahahhahahahha!

Rulers and oilcloth

I had always wondered how people drafted things from scratch and I'm sooooo thrilled to be a little in the know now. LOL! One of the tools which fascinated me as I embarked on the drafting adventure were the rulers.
They're like toys! BUT they help you draft things on a smaller scale first. And they're relatively cheap. A set of two like the above pic costs SGD$1. I bought mine from the teacher, but they're also available in Chinatown.

Speaking of Chinatown, Malin Textile has brought in some oilcloth! Oilcloth is useful for things like bibs, purses/bags, diaper changing pads and things like that.I bought some to make a daycare shower bag for the little monkey and some cosmetics pouches (getting started on some Christmas gift sewing).

The oilcloth is available only in polka dot prints, but in a huge variety of colours, including chocolate brown, lime green, beigey white, dark blue and the rich black and deep black which I bought. Cost is SGD$35 a metre (slightly cheaper than Golden Dragon) and the minimum cut is half a metre.

Now I need to read up on oilcloth -- ie. needles to use, what presser foot to use, etc. Good thing is, it doesn't fray, so there is one less thing to worry about.

Edited to add:

• Here is a good link about oilcloth -- its uses and general machine sewing suggestions. And here is another decent link.
  
  
• Here are links to tutorials on how to make:
  - a simple oilcloth wallet
  - coin purse
  - grocery bag, another grocery bag, yet another grocery bag
  - backpack bag (from u-handblog, one of my favourite blogs on bag-making)
  - man's toiletries bag
  - garden tool caddy (VERY cool for someone who loves gardening)
  - baby bib
  - Collapsible travel dish for a pet (CUTE idea for someone with a cat or dog!)
  - book cover
  
  

Still ....

Just a quick, picture-less post to say:

1. I'm STILL quilting the fairy quilt. Oh boy, this hand quilting thing sure is taking up a lot of time; but there is something oddly and immensely satisfying about pushing needle through fabric. That said, though, I'm NEVER hand-quilting again. Or at least I'm NOT going to do it again in the near future. Sewing machines were invented for a reason. LOL!!!

2. I'm still enjoying drafting. In addition to the skirt, I drafted a simple top and have just about finished sewing it up. In the works is another skirt which I will draft as time permits.

Will take a few photos soon and show them to you :-))

Adventures in drafting

Sorry for the delay in updates. I caught the sniffles, but am better now :)

So as mentioned in a previous post, I took Friday (20th August) off to attend a drafting/sewing class at Stitch & Craft Corner (Eastpoint Mall, Simei). It was FUN and I'm going back for more lessons.
The first thing I learnt was how to take proper measurements, a vital first step, said the teacher, and of course that makes perfect sense. Having used paper patterns all my sewing life, it was an eye-opener for me to learn about the many vital measurement points.

In addition to the usual bust, waist & hips, we also measured things such as shoulder, bust length (distance from shoulder to bust), hip length (distance from waist to fullest part of hip), front waist length, back waist length (my measurements for front waist and back waist are dramatically different, but for some people, it's the same), etc.

First, we measured the mannequin in the shop and then, I attempted to take some of my own measurements and that of the teacher's (in the pic below, the teacher is in the red top; wonderful Ati is the person in dark blue):After the measurements were taken, we began drafting a basic bodice and skirt. The drafting was first done in a sketchbook, using itty bitty rulers.

The drawings look mighty complicated, don't they!At first, it was a bit overwhelming, but the teacher was really patient and explained things logically ... eg. add xx inches to the waist measurement and then take xx off for the darts.

Then, after walking me through the first draft, she made me draft the basic bodice and basic skirt by myself in the book.

Then it was time to do the "proper" drafts on paper and cut out the fashion fabrics. First up, was the skirt. And I was so engrossed in the process that I forgot to take pics, sorry! But here's a pic of the bodice back and all the red lines are the teacher's corrections.
The interesting thing (to me) about drafting is that you don't add seam allowances to the draft. That is done directly on the fashion fabric before cutting it out. So you place the paper on the fabric, mark out the cutting lines (and there are different seam allowances for different parts of the garment) and then cut out the pieces. In the pic above, the "outline" is where I cut.

Then, after cutting out the pieces, you mark the sewing lines/seam lines. That makes for rather accurate sewing, I think! And it makes fitting easier too, in my opinion. In the pic below, you can see the skirt yoke cut out and the tracing wheel and carbon paper I'll use for tracing out the seam lines. Thank goodness for marking the seamlines because as you can see, I didn't do a good job cutting. Hahahhaha!

Then came the sewing. I've completed the skirt (simple yoked a-line with invisible zip in the centre back) and am currently working on the simple top.

Stay tuned as the adventure continues!!

One stitch at a time (or how to cultivate patience) LOL!

I bow down low to the patience and skill of quilters. Man, this hand-quilting thing takes some SKILL and lots of patience as well. I've poked my finger countless times, squinted like a demented thing ... and enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Yes, my darling little monkey, mommy will persevere just for you ... just promise me you'll use your fairy quilt till it's tattered and torn or till you're at least 65, whichever comes first. Hahahhahahahhahahhaha!

The next time I decide to make a quilt (I have already bought a kit for the in-laws for Christmas ... I know, I'm insane), I'm going to MACHINE quilt the thing! :-)))

In other non-quilting-but-still-about-sewing news, inspired by Jali of Equator Collection, I've decided to learn how to draft simple patterns! I'm taking this Friday off work to spend a day at the Stitch & Craft Corner at Eastpoint Mall.

Ati, who runs the shop, is the person I bought my machine from (she's a DARLING). She also runs crafting, home-dec sewing and dressmaking (western & Malay) classes. Fun times lie ahead!

If you're in the eastern part of Singapore and want to check out Ati's classes or shop, here are the details:

Stitch & Craft Corner
3 Simei Street 6, #06-29 Eastpoint Mall
Singapore 528833
Tel: 6787 9918

Courses
* Note:
- material and accessories not included in class fee;
- each class is 2 hrs long;
- You don't need to bring your sewing machine or serger -- Ati has a bunch of them in the shop

Dressmaking & Tailoring
Elementary dressmaking (12 lessons x 2hrs each) - $160 for 4 lessons
Intermediate dressmaking - $200 for 4 lessons
Advanced dressmaking - $400 for 4 lessons
Ladies pants only (no pockets) - $200 for 4 lessons
Men's tailoring - $400 for 4 lessons

Traditional attire
Men's Baju Kurung (12 lessons) - $200 for 4 lessons
Baju Kurung Pesak Biasa (8-10 lessons) - $120 for 4 lessons
Baju Kurung Pesak Pahang (8 lessons) - $160 for 4 lessons
Jilbab (prayer robe) - $50 one lesson

Home dec & crafts
Elementary curtain (5 basic patterns in 8 lessons) - $150 for 4 lessons
Hobbycraft/Patchwork/Quilting - $120 for 4 lessons
Smocking Cushion & Bag - $120 for 4 lessons
Beading or Knitting or Crochet - $100 for 4 lessons

The opposite of instant gratification

I've always been curious about quilting and as mentioned a few posts ago, decided to take some lessons to find out more. And boy do I have a new-found respect for people who quilt! These works of art take TIME and precision.

Here is where I'm at for the little monkey's fairy quilt:All the pieces have been sewn together (you can't really see the different pieces in the pic above as that shows mainly the central panel. I'm such an awesome photographer ... NOT! Hahahha!). The batting and backing are in place as well and what you see is everything basted together/

Here's a pic of the "quilt sandwich". I don't know what the actual name is, but it reminds me of a sandwich, with all the layers: top, batting, backing:
Here you can see the fabric I chose for the backing (along with the basting stitches). It's sooooo pink. It's a good thing the monkey loves pink, because there is a ton of pink in this quilt :-)
At the next lesson, I'm going to learn to actually quilt the quilt, which is a little like embroidery, I suppose, especially since I'll be doing hand-quilting and not machine quilting. You can quilt patterns, geometric shapes or outline details in the quilt.

Can't wait to complete this project! The monkey can't keep her grubby hands off it. Hahahahahaha!

Instant gratification project

So here it is at last, the little monkey's fairy skirt.

Every time we pass any area with lots of trees (and there are MANY such areas in Singapore), she tells me about the fairies in the forest and how when she was a baby, she saw fairies in the bathroom. Hahahhahaha! What an imagination.

But you know, when I was a little girl, I too thought I saw fairies and to this day can recall with great clarity the little people I saw one night in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. They were a colourful and noisy bunch.Ah, but I digress. This skirt was an instant gratification project which took just a few hours to complete. I didn't follow a pattern but just went with the flow. Sewing for children is so easy -- just cut up a few rectangles, gather, add lace, add elastic ... voila, you're done!

When it was first completed, the monkey feeling a bit of a grouch and said she didn't like the skirt. But when I asked her if she would like the skirt "tomorrow", she said "yes". Thankfully, she really did like the skirt the next day!

The fairy fabric is by Michael Miller, bought from Quilts & Calicoes at Tanglin Mall. Lace is from Spotlight.Now that the work crisis is over (knock on wood), I hope to get back into the sewing groove again!

It must be the alignment of the planets ...

... or SOMETHING, because things are absolutely insane! I'm really sorry about the lack of updates. I've been unusually busy with work-related emergencies/situations and there simply are not enough hours in a day to fight the fires, tame the egos and calm the frenzied.

Hmmmmm ... now that I've put it that way, it sounds like I have a wonderfully exciting, action-movie type job. I don't. Believe me. Hahahahahha!

The only good thing is, I didn't do any work on Saturday (Sunday is another story) and so took the opportunity to go for a quilting class because I've never quilted a thing in my life and I'm intrigued by all that precision cutting and sewing.

Also, I sewed up an instant gratification skirt for the little monkey. She had requested a "fairy skirt" and so that's what she got. Bad news is, when I first put it on her, she said that she didn't like it!! Good news is, she said she would like it "tomorrow". Well, we'll see! Hahahahha!

Will get a pic and post it and catch up on all my blog reading and replying to comments. Now, I need to get back to the grind, then pick up the monkey from daycare, send her to my parents' place cos i have a 7.30PM MEETING IN THE OFFICE! GAH!!! (Update: that 7.30pm meeting in the office went on till 3am. I kid you not)

Please, planets, may I ask that you behave a little and send some good joojoo my way soon? Thanks much.

BUSY!

Sorry, no updates. Been super busy at work ... in fact, i'm still working and it's a Saturday night. But things will ease up by mid-week next week (hopefully). It had better, because there is a top which is waiting to be hemmed and a Macaron that needs to be cut out and sewn!! AND I haven't responded to comments yet (sorry).

Hope everyone is having a super weekend filled with doing what you love to do :-)

Headsup - Sale @ Spotlight; Burda & New Look patterns cheap!

From this Thursday, 22nd July to Sunday, 1st August Spotlight is holding a red ticket sale. Here are the highlights for those who sew:

• Burda and New Look patterns are just SGD$5.99 each!!! VIP Members (if you're not one, just sign up for FREE) get an additional 10% off and so pay SGD$5.39 each.
  
  You'll need to go through the pattern book for the Burda patterns (and then line up and get the Spotlight folks to retrieve them for you ... pain in the behind, if you ask me), but the New Look ones are displayed out in the open at the section near the quilting cottons.
  
  
• Selected fabric from SGD$6 per metre. The Spotlight folks said that they're slowly clearing out the warehouse, so expect more of these specials in future sales as well.
  
  
• 30% off lace trim by the metre, machine embroidery theads and stabilisers, sewing boxes and trolley bags and the entire range of buttons.
  

I'm avoiding the place! LOL! I have zero self control and certainly don't need to add to the stash. But I'm happy to enable ... hahahahaha!

Address - Level 5, Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road
Phone - +65 6733 9808
Opening hours - 10am to 10pm daily
Website- www.spotlight.com.sg

And it didn't stop there

Nope. Golden Dragon was just the start. The fabric debauchery continued across the road at this place -
Seems innocent enough, right? But look here ... cute Japanese prints:.... adorable Hello Kitty (original Sanrio) prints which my little monkey ADORES:
And then there are these Kokka Russian Doll prints:
On the extreme right, you'll see a grey dotty fabric -- that's Japanese linen and I almost bought some. However, I resisted! And felt pretty proud of myself until these decided to come home with me ....
"She's a lost cause," I hear you say :-) LOL! Jo, who runs the store (and whose family also has a couple of other fabric stores at the same complex), is really sweet, friendly and not pushy. I like her range and think that her prices are pretty decent, especially for the quality you get.

At Jo's shop you know that when she tells you something is Japanese cotton, that it really is from Japan. And if you're looking at the "Japanese Liberty" inside the store, she'll tell you about the other similar ones outside which are on sale (the inside ones are not on sale).

Look out for the cuts of fabric at the back of the store -- ie. the ones not in bolts. These are usually shorter cuts of about 2 - 3 metres at the most (but most are usually about 1 metre) and they're all Japanese, if I'm not mistaken. You'll find linen/cotton blends and some 100% cottons as well.

The elephants are from those tempting piles at the back. And sorry, I think I took them all except maybe one in a blue colourway. But they may still have the cute hippos!

So with Jo being so nice and her fabric being so yummy .... HOW could I resist? Hahahahhahahah!

Malin Textile
Address: Block 32 new market road #02-1122
Tel: 6535 4660