A couple of weeks ago, I had a few quick finishes. I remember being really happy, working on these projects. Because I got bust some Japanese fabrics that I was in danger of hoarding and also trying my 1st bias binding, and my virgin attempt at crafting with the baby strap hardware.

Cot-sized quilt made with ultra-cute Anpan man pre-quilted fabric, hand sewn bias binding

Stroller-sized blankie made with 100% cotton and backed with flannel.

I remember spending quite a bit of $ on ugly binky straps and general straps to tether items near Benji when he was little. So, I whipped up a couple of straps for Baby L that not only function as binky straps, but also as the tether strap for the stroller blankie.

Kawaii fabric tapes (for stroller blankie and binky straps) from Moopie Fabrics.

Tags: binky straps, fabric tapes, Japan
Posted in Books and Patterns, Fabrics, Gifting, Kids, Quilt, Sewing, Star QAL, Stash Report, Tools | No Comments »

I’ve not been a good girl when it comes to deadlines for the past 2 weeks.

Last week, we shared a super yummy Mother’s Day dinner at my mom’s (yes, she cooked. Insisted that we should not get ripped off by the restaurants, and we can always buy her expensive meals anytime :p). I whipped up some last minute small-ish gifts for her then. Well, I didn’t plan to make anything too elaborate because we celebrated my mom’s birthday at the end of April and I gifted the Star Quilt for the ocassion. The weather then was dreary for many days and I did not manage to take a decent before I gave it to her. But I did snap a quite picture at the restaurant that evening.

Week 5: 3 May - 9 May

In: 0 yds(so far!)

Out: 2 yds (more for string quilt, coin purse and zipper pouches for mom)

YTD total:
Purchased: 24.59 yds
Busted: 9.75 yds
net: -14.84 yds

Tags: Fabrics, Quilt, Stash Report
Posted in Gifting, Star QAL, Stash Report | No Comments »

I have been receiving emails asking if I sew stuffs for ‘adults’ for sale, other than the crayon wallets that I list on Etsy. Well, while I do make fabric covered button book marks, Quilted applique notebooks, bobby pins, etc. But sewing wise, I have yet to list anything for people above ‘crayon-age’.

BUT I have been sewing pouches and clutch purses for friends over the holidays and I do love how they turned out. A very nice lady helped de-mystify zippers by showing me how it actually works!

Zipper pouch + matching key fobs

Fabrics from Denyse Schmidt

Besides the Zipper, I finally took the plunge and ordered some clutch frames from Etsy. I loved how they all turned out! Ok, my Stash is 70% kiddy fabrics (and most of them scream ‘boys’), but what came to my rescue was this lovely local online store Needle and Thread - check out the website, prices have been revised down! YAAY!. Magdalene delivered the fabrics the very next day after I placed my order and I knew they were perfect for my friends.

Amy Butler and Art Gallery Fabrics.

Revive by Art Gallery Fabrics

So YES! I will be sewing more zipper pouches, clutch purses, card holders, etc… I can’t wait till the end of this tax season, get over a couple of day-job projects so that I can clear my brain and get started soon. Sewing for the Shoppe is such a wonderful excuse to buy more lovely fabrics!

Tags: clutch frame purse, Fabrics, friends, zipper pouch
Posted in Bags and pouches, Fabrics, Gifting, Sewing, Shop | 2 Comments »

The headlines in today’s papers caught my attention. The was my exact sentiment as I put away my son’s gift wrapping, the boxes/plastics that the toys are clothes were packaged in and also the left-over Christmas pastries in the pantry. It is really scary reading how much waste (esp. food waste) is generated in this festive period.

Over at our household, we are also trying to cut down the volume of trash that gets dumped in our garbage bins. We try to repair, reuse, recycle as much as we possibly can. One ‘green’ item is my fav re-usable bag: the Ikea Big Blue Bag:

image from ikea.com

We always have a couple of these bags in our car. They are great for carrying grocery, esp. the heavy bottles, or cartons, etc that the normal plastic bags can’t hold anyway. These bags are strong and easy to clean out. Best of all, they are guaranteed for life!

This year, I didn’t spend a single cent on gift wrapping paper either. All my gift items are either packaged in my Midnight craft sandwich baggies (made from recycled paper), tied with baker’s twine or with cute piece of decor tape. For bulkier items, I made gift bags and tried my hand at furoshiki wrapping too.

Handmade drawstring gift bags

1 yard of Ikea fabric, wave-cut, rubber bands at both ends & finished with ribbons

Furoshiki-style fabric gift wrapping

Fabric gift wraps are absolutely wonderful to make and to use. For the furoshiki wrap, I simply folded the fabrics selvedge to selvedge, right sides together, leaving a small gap to turn the wrap around. And I top stitch the square fabric and closed the gap. It was perfect for Baby Elliot’s soft book.

Tags: fabric gift wrapping, Fabrics, family, green living
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Happy holidays, everyone!

It has been a long long time time since I have posted an entry to this blog. BUT I’m gonna make up with some pictures of crafty gifts and some sewing I did since November very shortly.

And as we draw closer to the end of year, it is also time for some crafty reflections. 2009 has really been a fantastic crafting year: I bought more fabrics that I can store in my rooms, bought myself lots of notions and gadgets, attended workshops and completing my quilts (2 of them!). And in this year, Mama G helped to give Midnight Crafts a beautiful skin and with this new identity, I set up shop on Etsy in around May and also created my 1st (and only) Facebook Page.

All 3 platforms give me opportunities to reach out to the crafty community and I have received so much in return with each sale/purchase and also with each ‘fan’ of the page. THANK YOU, everyone!

A very special Thank You goes out to Clara, a sweet local customer who bought some items from my Etsy shop earlier in Nov. And about 2 weeks after the sale, I received a very cool package from Clara.

She made me a personalised notebook and I appreciate all the hardwork that went into creating this beauty: cutting the motif, layering the pieces, setting the eyelets, etc. After a couple of workshops at Made With Love, now I know how scrapbooking is not be sniffed at. Not only you require the creative eye to set everything in their places, you also need to have the right materials and tools to make things happen (just like the tools for putting a quilt together!).

I don’t receive a lot of handmade gifts and this is just something I will treasure for a long time to come. Thank You, Clara, for your thoughtfulness!

It is certainly the most wonderful time of the year!

Tags: blog, facebook, Scrapbooking
Posted in Gifting | No Comments »

The quilt & cot bumper are done, delivered and received by Mama G.

I managed to take some pictures of the QUILT, but not the bumper because I was in a rush to take up a promotion with SpeedPost that saved us SGD$50 for the express door-to-door service.

Front of quilt

Back of Quilt

Quilting details

Waiting for pictures of the how the nursery is dressed with the quilted goodies. Can’t wait for the little one’s arrival too!

Posted in Gifting, Kids, Quilt, Sewing | 5 Comments »

I’m especially heartened to receive emails and convos (through my Etsy shop) in the past few weeks. Some wanted to know where they can get quilting fabrics, supplies, workshops, etc in Singapore. Some people wrote asking for custom crayon wallets and also custom sewing for Teacher’s Day and Children’s Day celebrations.

I’ve also received some requests for custom quilt jobs. Now, making a quilt, a crib sized or full sized one, requires a lot of commitment, resources and attention. The 1st request for a few baby quilts was turned down because I knew I could not commit to that kind of quantity and timeline. But a week back, I received a convo from a nice lady who wanted a special quilt for a special guy friend. I initially said no, but she said that she would be happy with a lap sized, and simple pattern… how could I say NO to such an earnest request? So, I said yes and offered a price which she accepted. And I started hunting for patterns suitable for a guy, pulling out fabrics that are not too ‘girlish’, and in the process I really had fun. ALL because I was thinking how this would be a gift from such a sweet girl to a special friend. Well, since then I have not heard from the lady and it is a little disappointing to say the least. But this has sort of strengthened my resolve that quilting is reserved for special people in MY life. Until I have the bandwidth, skill and stash, then I can consider making quilt for cash.

Label of love

I mentioned I won’t post any pictures of the completed Mish Mash Moo quilt… but I just can’t resist adding this here

Tags: Crayon Wallet, family, Mish Mash Moo quilt
Posted in Gifting | 2 Comments »

Welcome to my NEW blog :> 

Looks pretty, doesn’t it? The new look, the move and the shop set-up all came together rather quickly - almost ‘inspired’, I’d say. It all started when my friend asked if I could whip up a baby quilt for her new baby. Of course I can! Being the generous soul that she is, she wouldn’t accept it for free, but I can’t (and won’t) charge for the quilt either! So, it is ‘butter-trading’ time! 

I asked Mama G to help with the blog’s and my Etsy store’s banners design in return for the baby quilt then. She came back with the cutest ideas and there was no turning back. The whole episode turned into a full-blown identity/branding exercise, which took us less than a week to complete: The new domain name, store, avatars, banners, blog page, migration of the blog, etc. This is how far I’ve come since the day of my 1st entry on blogspot.com. And this big move would not have been possible without my tech-guru-hubby and the super-talented Mama G.

THANK YOU!

Well, some renovation dust still lingers - I’m trying my best to clean up the alignment issues that cropped up during the move. But I’m not going to get caught up with the legacy issues… there’s so much more to do, and to talk about! 

Tags: blog, family, friends
Posted in Gifting, Kids | 1 Comment »

Posted in Fabrics, Gifting, Kids, Sewing | 4 Comments »

The backing is a japanese 100% cotton brown striped fabric which is very soft.

I think its a great gift: The shops sell them for quite a bit of $$! With a cover, I don’t have to wear a nursing top or risk flashing my boobies at anyone! 

Posted in Fabrics, Gifting, Sewing | No Comments »