My sewing space took on many changes over the past years - from sewing on a tiny Ikea table in my bedroom to a more generous space in our loft. For the past few weeks, hubby and I have been cracking our heads trying to re-jig the sewing space configuration again to make things work a little better for me.

We thumbed through our Ikea catalogs, browsed the website, and drew and sketched. We really got to a point where I told hubby to go buy a circular saw and make us our furniture from now on! Anyway, we managed to draft a solution - and we’ll take a few more measurements before we order the drawers and worktop.

In my ‘research’, I found Jan’s video. Her quilting space is AMAZING! I absolutely love the table, her space/view outside her house, her husband’s woodwork and the clever quilt display frame! I pulled my man over to watch this video with me and he could totally relate to Jan’s words like ‘I work so that I can go buy material’ and the cameraman’s “you have more stuff than walmart!’.

After the video, hubby proclaimed that he would set-up a woodwork shop in the garage, grow his hair long, and build everything we need when he retires.

So, how do you orgainse your sewing space or room?

Posted in Sewing Room | No Comments »

I went to the bank to run a little errand and there was this nice customer service lady who offered me some packs of Red Packets (Hong Bao). I refused her with a smile - was recalling how the same bank were limiting the number of red packets to each customer just last year. Must be trying to make up for the service lapse during the recent ATM skimming fiasco.

And while waiting to be served, I saw that the boy & girl featured in the design are wearing PATCHWORK costumes! It reminded me of a display at the Peranakan museum some months back. And then I just gotta have this year’s designs! I took 2 packs (10 pcs each, with boy/girl designs in each pack).

There are gold embossing details - with the top stitching (quilting lines) in gold! And check out the little girl carrying a gold-framed purse with a stinking cute chinese knot string.

The 1/2 square triangles in the design really made my day

Tags: Chinese New Year, Red Packets, Singapore
Posted in Sewing | No Comments »

Happy New-ish Year!

While I’ve been away from the blog, the sewing machine was humming, fabrics were pulled off the shelves and more new fabrics were stuffed back into the cupboards over the past 6 weeks or so. And there were a lot of balls in the air - kids, work, house chores, sewing, appointments at the doctors, etc. With the Chinese New Year coming up soon, there are of course more shopping, cleaning and scheduling to do. But I’m finally able to see the light as work and family schedules are falling into their places.

The sewing has not stopped! I started on a faux chenille blanket for a friend’s upcoming new baby and completed that over the weekend. The main fabric is a quilting cotton Oliver & S fabric, layered with 1 x Kona cotton, 1 x cotton/linen blend and 1 x cotton flannel. Binding the blanket became an issue for me - I like to hand sew down binding for the neat/invisible look. But I was short of time and I was not sure I wanted to hand sew down through fiddly layers of cut fabrics.

I decided that I would machine sew the binding down and went with a store-bought bias binding this time. I tried to clip the binding down, but I didn’t feel confident that I would catch the bottom part of the bind when I top-stitch it down. I decided to invest a little more time so that I will get it right and perfect the 1st time. Out came the Japanese basting needle and threads and I took my time to fold the binding over the blanket.

This morning I completed the sewing at the machine and sent it off to the wash.

I cut the chenille part with my Clover slash cutter that I bought from Rosie’s store a few years ago. You can use a pair of regular scissors, but again, its good to spend a little for a nifty little tool that will give you great results and save you lots more time (and also reduce strain on your hands). This cutter comes with 2 guides - one for straight slash cutting (as pictured below) and for shorter guide for curved lines. Minimum width of the ‘channel’ is about 1/4″ (6mm), and for this blanket I sewed my lines about 1/2″ apart.

Can’t wait to see this blankey wrapped around its new owner soon!

Tags: faux chenille, slash cutter
Posted in Fabrics, Quilt, Sewing, Tools | No Comments »

It’s been a while since I have updated the store. Husband has been kind enough to take some shots of the items when playing around with his camera.

Christmas really comes early this year as we have already packed and given away our 1st gifts (teachers & classmates).

And to get you started on your christmas shopping, here’s a 10% off coupon code (Yes! Including Olfa items): xmas2011

Valid till 31 December 2011 and applicable for all items listed on Etsy.

// Zipper Pouches //

// Premium Grade Lavender Sachets //

Posted in Crayon Wallet, Gifting, Hand Quilting, Hexagons, Kitchen, Sewing | No Comments »

The new I Spy baby quilt is simply NOT working out for me. I bought this softbook panel a long time ago. But decided that it was too big and flimsy to be a good soft book, although it would probably make a great I Spy quilt instead.

I took a long time cutting and piecing the quilt, and another good few months before I sandwiched the quilt. I got the quilting done ONLY because I needed to free up some space in my WIP drawer. So, its a ‘difficult’ quilt for me since the start.

Benji loves the quilt and had a great time reading the text and ’spying’ the images. But he declared it as ‘TOO SMALL’ for his bed. My son loves big quilts that have generous overhang. Sigh…

The ultimate blow was when I realised that the binding was a real hot mess - fabric is from Sevenberry - and even after 5 rounds of Synthrapol treatment, the binding could not be saved (although I got the reds from the main quilt out).

Now, I’m wondering if I should simply rip out the binding or leave it as-is???

Posted in Gifting, Quilt, Sewing, Sewing Bloopers | 1 Comment »

I started this Lanarte pattern around April this year and just completed it earlier in September.

I chose to leave the season name in Dutch just for the fun of it. The project is actually quite small, stitched unto 100% evenweave, but its a fun and easy pattern. Looking forward to completed set (I’m working on Winter now!), though I have no idea if I should frame it individually or sew them together as 4 blocks… If you are interested in this kit, you can get it from Cross Stitch Joy here.

Tags: Cross Stitch
Posted in Sewing | No Comments »

And I said: ok! mummy will make you a cape. I started to dream about what fabrics, pattern, etc to use. But due to work & the sewing area still snowed under by fabrics/mess/projects, I did not manage to get that cape made for many weeks.

Last week, my son came home from my mom’s place with a vinyl mat taken from a toy set and asked me to clip it around him, so that it could be his ‘cape’. That kind of broke my heart to see him dragging that piece of material all over the room.

Cue 10-min shopping at Spotlight for satin fabrics and I got down to sewing it today. Drafted a quick pattern and involved Benji quite a bit (for measurements, customisation of insignia, etc). After a couple of hours, we got CAPE!

He grabbed his Lego Castle helmet and Star Wars light saber (aka Lance or Sword) and stood in front of my full length mirror for some practice moves. I had to sneak a couple of photos while he was in action

And once again, I’m really glad for my sewing stash - interfacing and BLACK velcro that I bought long ago without a project in mind (perfect for these ‘just in case’ situations).

Here we are: on the way for dinner and he made a beeline for the garden so that he could admire his reflections in the glass doors and running in the open to get wind under his cape.

At bedtime, he asked me for a super-hero cape, with a lightning bolt on it, please.

SURE!

Tags: cape, knight
Posted in Clothings, Kids, Sewing | No Comments »

I have about 8 Rotary cutters in my collection. From cutting circles, wave/pinking patterns, to using different sizes for different types of projects, etc. Through the 45mm family of cutters, I explain how each cutter is used and discuss the ease of replacing/changing the blades.

Pardon the background ‘noise’ as my boy was playing with his lego bricks nearby.

The cast:

1) Wave cutter: WAC-2

2) 45mm Rotary Cutter: RTY-2/G

3) 45mm Deluxe Rotary Cutter: RTY-2/DX

4) 45mm Quick-Change Rotary Cutter: RTY-2/NS

If the player is acting up, you can click here to view the video too.

*UPDATED 22nd Aug 2011

In the video, I mentioned that the 45mm cutters can use either the straight and decorative blades interchangeably. But upon scrutiny of the packaging of the cutters, there are some cutters that will take either type of blade, or both.

1) Wave cutter: WAC-2 (Can use ALL decorative blades - no indication that straight blade RB45 is supported)

2) 45mm Rotary Cutter: RTY-2/G (Only straight blade RB45 recommended)

3) 45mm Deluxe Rotary Cutter: RTY-2/DX (Supports Straight Blade RB45, Wave blade & Pinking blade)

4) 45mm Quick-Change Rotary Cutter: RTY-2/NS (only straight blade RB45 recommended)

If the player is acting up, you can click here to view the video too.

If you have any questions about usage/price/availability with regards to the above, please let me know!

Happy crafting!

Tags: olfa, pik-2, rotary cutters, rty-2/dx, rty-2/g, rty-2/ns, wac-2
Posted in Hand Quilting, Tips, Tools | 1 Comment »

Feeling a little peckish on this cool rainy afternoon. A sunny side up, perhaps?

Nah. What about grilled cheese sandwich instead? Yums!

Bleu cheese? But but but… they don’t have ‘eyes’, right?

I will just have some Singapore Noodles (whatever that is!) with extra chilli please? Oh, make it ’seafood’ noodles (that green thingy is a fish from a $2 fishing game we bought from Daiso)

Benji wants something posh! Green Eggs!

Do you like green eggs and ham?

I do so like

green eggs and ham!

Thank you!

Thank you,

Ben-I-am!

Green Ham with ‘rind’

Benji’s all-day breakfast special sandwich!

Special ingredients revealed

Last week, we bought Benji a set of Ikea kiddy cooking utensils (although he liked the kiddy kitchen set more!) and we have been cooking ‘ice-cream’, lego bricks and whatever that fits the pot. Yesterday, I popped into Daiso and picked up a small frying pan ($2!), and a pack of assorted felt fabrics.

Today, we spent a quiet afternoon indoors ‘cooking’ up a storm - Benji’s nursing a terrible cough. Cut up some easy shapes and the only ‘3-D’ effect was some wadding stuffed into the egg yolks. The ‘noodles’ yarn came from a ripped up old crochet project. Nothing fancy like the felt food that my friend made for her little girl, or even the $15 Ikea felt food toys. But it is fun to make food on boy’s request So who says you can’t sew for boys, eh?

Posted in Kids, Kitchen, Sewing | 1 Comment »

MamaG & Chris are very good friends of the family. And we were really happy for them when they told us they were getting married in July. Although we could not travel to France for their summer wedding celebrations, we are glad that we could be a part by helping with their wedding favours for the event.

The couple decided on personalised, double-sided napkins that the guests would use and bring home as keepsake at their wedding luncheon.

The napkins were professionally embroidered with the couple’s name and wedding date.

The napkins were made with my stash of Essex cotton-linen and Amy Butler’s Diasy Chain collection purchased from Needle and Thread.

I have enough fabrics left over to put together a table topper, though i wish I had more time to stitch down the binding by hand instead of machine.

I’m really glad to be part of the wedding with the construction of the favours. And I’m definitely looking forward to sewing for their little ones in the future too!

And closer to home, my sister got married earlier this year after months of preparation. As the wedding lunch was a cosy affair, the couple wanted to do something special for the guests. We made lovely lavender sachets filled with high grade french lavender buds, and sewn with custom-printed fabrics by Spoonflower and patches from my stash.

7 years ago, when we had our wedding celebrations, I was not sewing yet - so no such goodies for our own guests. But we tried to put our personal touch wherever we could like commissioning an illustration of both of us which we put on our custom-design/printed invite cards, church wedding programme booklet, dinner menu (we included a foreword explaining why we were not serving shark’s fin soup, since it is ALMOST a tradition to serve the dish at every Chinese wedding banquets), even stickers!

At the wedding dinner, we gave away candies that we ordered from Roc Candy in Australia. I realise that we didn’t have a good shot of the candy (all our wedding photos were shot on film!) but I found it on Roc’s website - although I remembered that the colour of the ‘rind’ was multi-colour, instead of green. I think.

I guess I will be sewing baby gifts next for my friends?

Posted in Gifting, Sewing | No Comments »