Janovi

Corrine's tote

2012-01-12T05:04:00.000-08:00

My friend, Corrine, will be back from States during Chinese New Year and a few months back, she asked if I could make a tote for her. As both of us are from Sarawak, the land of hornbills, I thought this fabric print would be ideal. I hope she likes the color!

I will be concentrating on making more quilts this year. Still in the process of making the scrappy quilt. Been sewing lots of triangles together. Will try to piece the whole quilt as soon as I have enough triangeles and squares!!

Another Year...

2012-01-09T19:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all!! Another wonderful year has gone by! Like they say, ' in a blink of an eye'!! Made some resolutions and hope one or two will come true!! It has been a year of learning and I am sure this coming year will also be one filled with many new projects and challenges as well!!! This is one of the bags I made last year!! Made 2 bags out of 2m of fabric. Not enough for the handles. Just nice for the linings and the kanzashis!! Am now in the process of making another tote for a friend. After that I will stop making totes and start concentrating on making some quilts this year!!

2011-12-13T19:42:00.000-08:00

Made another tote with a different handle. Put the magnetic button inside the bag. This year my trademark will be the kanzashi flower! Used two buttons for the center of the flower. This bag is of the same size as the previous one.

Went shopping for presents yesterday and is happy with the progress!!! Another round tomorrow!!! Taking time off from tote making!!

Totes and more!

2011-12-11T07:05:00.000-08:00

I have been busy with Christmas preparations.....put together some decos for the tree, present buying etc.. Love this time of the year!!
Made some totes to give away as presents..this is one of them! Bought this Japanese fabric some time back. That time I had 'big' plans!! Was supposed to make at least one bag a month and by now, I should have quite a big collection!!! Sad to say...that was one big dream I had!! So now I am working very hard in the sewing room!! Trying to churn out, at least a bag a day!!! LOL

2011-12-01T01:55:00.000-08:00

I was working on the brown stems then decided green stems would look much better with the fabrics I chose for the flowers! Well, two things came into mind, either I rip off the brown stems and put in green stems or I start on a new piece! The later seemed like a better idea so here it is..two sets! I called my friend, Haminah, and asked her if she'd like to take over the brown stems and she was over the moon! It's a kick start for her!! LOL

So the next few days, I will be sewing the stems! But I am happy with the change!

2011-11-21T23:42:00.000-08:00

I used the no. 6 bias maker for the stems. As the stems are quite tiny, I prefer to use the double sided tape bias maker. This bias maker is so convenient for small stems like these. Once I ironed on the stems, the next thing to do is to applique the sides. Was thinking of using the sewing machine but decided to do everything by hand! It will take a bit of time but I'm just going to take it easy!!

2011-11-20T06:04:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most tedious job to do! Tracing the pattern onto the fabric. I had to tape the sides of the paper pattern on the floor first and then the fabric to keep it from moving and shifting. This is done on the floor because the pattern is rather big and long. Not good if you have a bad back! It took me quite some time to do it but I am so glad it's all done!

Floral Fantasy

2011-11-19T06:25:00.000-08:00

Bought this book during my New Zealand trip because of the lovely floral quilts. This is one of the quilts that made me buy the book!! I have already sorted out the fabrics for this quilt. The background will be cream in color. I will be using strong colors for the flowers. I just hope my combination will be as nice as the quilt in the book!

Christmas Quilt

2011-11-17T18:11:00.000-08:00

I started this quilt a couple of years ago and only managed to complete it last night!! It was such a joy to finally sew my label on it!! The quilting was done by a friend (she is a professional quilter.....contact me via email if u need her help) as I wanted this quilt to be extra nice...she puts my quilting to shame! I love piecing quilt tops together but the quilting kind of slow me down quite a bit!! Got lots of quilt tops sitting in the cupboard waiting for their turn! LOL

Adeline's Quilt

2011-11-02T05:21:00.000-07:00

I finally had a chance to see this finished quilt. I pieced the quilt top but I didn't do the quilting. Made this for my sister's 50th birthday! I told her I don't have time to quilt but I don't mind piecing together a top!! This is a king size quilt and I do like the colors. I seldom make quilts in these colors!! In future, I should consider making more quilts in these colors!!! LOL

Square hearts color variations!

2011-10-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

This purple quilt is made by cousin Emma. She has changed the pattern of the heart . She made it more curvy at the sides. I like what she did! Her heart looked nicer than ours!!

The yellow and blue combination is made by cousin Michelle. She extended her heart by 2 rows top and bottom.

The blue and white combination is made by Aunty Cindy. She took our advice to go for a patchwork class. Well done for the 'first' project!!

I will be off to Bangkok for a week for some R &R! Back soon!!!

2011-09-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to see all the blocks together!!! There should be a 1.5in sashing all round the center block but I can omit that if I want to. Now I have to make some decisions!! To add sashing or not? To applique some butterflies?? There are still some more work to be done...After joining all the blocks together, I still have to applique hearts in between all the blocks. But the biggest part of it is DONE!!! Woohoooo!!

Tulips N Anemones

2011-09-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

I finally completed the center block!! I started this three years ago as a 'while waiting' project. Whenever I have to wait for someone....especially Luke (when he was in and out of the hospital), this really kept me busy. This is time well spent! I have something to show for it! I didn't rush to try and finish it ASAP but just took my own sweet time. Brought it with me when I know I have to wait sometimes 2 to 3 hrs at the doctor's for him. I am contemplating whether to add some butterflies or not......

2011-09-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

I machine appliqued the leaves and resized the blocks. Added plain green fabric for sashings and printed green fabric for the frame. Found some nice yellow print fabric to match the yellow background of the blocks. I didn't know I had that fabric in my stash! Need to use up more of my stash fabric. This is a single size quilt and I hope my aunty likes it! The stems will be quilted directly on the blocks later.

I am happy with the outcome of the rescue mission!!

Rescue Mission

2011-09-26T17:35:00.001-07:00

WOW! Time just flew by since my last post!!! I have been quite busy working on a few projects at the same time!!

One of it, is this rescue mission!! This quilt top was made by my Aunty Cindy. Her first patchwork project. There were many flaws in this quilt because she just started and didn't pay enough attention to making the blocks all the same size and the quarter inch sewing allowance was not there. She was very reluctant to show us the quilt. But we said constructive and creative criticism is what every quilter should welcome! We all encouraged her to go for a basic patchwork class and she was the one who started the square heart quilt craze! Will post a picture of her quilt later! I didn't want her to be discouraged by her first quilt so I decided to see if I can rescue it!! My quilt challenge for the year!!! The first thing to do is to rip it all apart!! LOL

2011-08-26T05:09:00.000-07:00

I have added four extra rows on the top and bottom. I think the quilt looked better with the extra rows. The heart shape is more prominant. Lenght wise is also much better. The quilt is not too square. Without the extra rows, the quilt is neither here nor there...too big for a wall hanging and too small for a single! I am considering if I should make it into a queen..add sashing and maybe one or two borders and applique some flowers or something... endless possibilities!!! LOL

2011-08-18T01:56:00.000-07:00

Finished piecing together all the squares. I find that it is a bit too small for a queen! My cousin, Michelle, added two extra rows for the top and bottom of the quilt. But even with the addition, she said it is still short. She ask me to try and add maybe another 4 rows for top and bottom. Hopefully 8 rows may be alright. We still have to add some more sashings and borders to try and make it into a queen size quilt. Got to think of a more interesting border or something!!

2011-08-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

This is the first half of the heart! I hope tomorrow I will be able to put in more time!

To make the squares, I learnt a shorter way of making them. First you will have to join all the 12 strips (must remember to start with the number sequence) Then sew together fabric 1 and fabric 2. Then cut into 3" strips. Check which line you want to do first and then mark it. Count the little squares and unpick following the sequence....LOL I know it looked complicated but actually it is very east!!!

2011-08-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

Sewing the 12 strips together. My 1st strip is the darkest solid color. Got to remember the number sequence and sew the other 3 sets of 12 strips correctly.

2011-08-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

I cut the fabric into 3in strips. The fabric are numbered 1 to 12 starting from the darkest color. Fabric 1, 6 and 12, cut 5 strips. The rest, cut 4 strips.

It's been ages since I made a quilt!! So nice to get back to these sequence when making patchwork.. matching the colors, cutting, ironing and piecing them together!!

Square Heart Quilt

2011-08-12T04:27:00.000-07:00

I was back in Miri for a couple of days because Luke wanted to go for a few lessons with the golf pro at Eastwood. The timing was good as I could see to the renovation for my father's house as well. My cousins and two of my aunties are into patchwork so we had a nice time sharing ideas and going to the quilt shop! Aunty Cindy just started doing patchwork so we all thought it is a good idea if she goes and learn some basic patchwork. She chose some blue white fabric (all from my cousin, Michelle's stash!) and a simple pattern for the lesson. We all got carried away and decided that we will use the same pattern but in different colors. All these are fabric are found in my stash!! Cousin Michelle's colors are blue and yellow. Cousin Emma's shades of purple and Aunty Agnes's shades of green. LOL

Scrappy Quilt

2011-08-08T04:27:00.001-07:00

I have a HUGE laundry basket full of scrap fabric sitting under my sewing table. Each time I look at it, I feel so ashamed!! Those are good fabric in there. So I decided today, I will try and make a quilt or quilts if I can!! So I set about the task and got the help of my friend, Haminah, who was so kind to help me iron out the scraps. I used the scrap master ruler to cut out the triangles. This is the first time I am using this ruler.. bought it some time back and I think I have made a very good investment!! It is so convenient especially when the fabric is an odd shaped scrap!! I am contemplating if I should sort out the color tone of the fabric or leave it as scrappy as it can get!! Mind you, I've got lots of contrasting colors! So for the next few days, my task if to cut out as many triangles and square as I can out of the scraps...in betweeen cutting and sorting..it's practising quilting on my Juki!!! I need to know if there are any fast and hard rules in feather quilting....any comments or help would be greatly appreciated!!! :-)

Andrea's quilt

2011-08-07T06:58:00.001-07:00

Remember this quilt??? I've finally managed to get it done! I didn't do the quilting myself as I know I am not good enough yet! But I did the binding though! LOL

If anyone of you out there need someone to quilt for you, just send me a message. I will put you in touch with the lady who did this piece for me!! She really did a good job.

As I mentioned in my earlier blog, I went for machine quilting class. It was intensive for us as we (my aunty and I) had only two days to learn whatever we could! The class was from 9am till 5pm and the first day, we stayed till 6pm! I have no regret in going for the class. I wished I had gone much, much earlier! Since coming back home, I have been practicing real hard and I could see some improvement!! I'm so happy!! :-)

Dianne's bag

2011-08-01T04:08:00.001-07:00

Decided to make another bag for my cousin because I don't know if she likes small totes. Didn't want to chance it. This tote is slightly smaller than my bag.

2011-07-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

I also traced and cut out two pieces of fabric for the lining. I didn't use any interfacing on the lining. The bag will be hard to sew if I use the interfacing on the lining.

I made brown handles to have some contrast.

The kanzashi is then sewn onto the flap of the bag.

One simple kanzashi on the bag and the bag look sooooo unique!!!

2011-07-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Sewed the two pieces together and fixed the magnetic button onto the front of the bag. Made a 11/2" flap for the bag and attached the other side of the magnetic button.

2011-07-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

Ironed the interfacing onto the wrong side of the fabric.

2011-07-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

This was made and finished in about 2 hrs!!

This template was taken from one of the books I bought at Borders called Bags in Bloom.

I traced and cut two pieces from the interfacing.

Kanzashi

2011-07-21T03:27:00.000-07:00

I bought this book from amazon.com and really love it! Check out the kanzashi I made!! It is so easy...no sewing round the petal.... just folding a 3" square. The flowers will look pretty and sweet on any bags, quilts etc. Will make more when I have more time on my hands!!! LOL

As I will be staying with my cousin in Kuching and I thought I'll try and make her a bag to thank her for her hospitality. I hope she will like the kanzashi as I intend to embellish the bag with it.

Check out my reading glasses!! LOL

MY Bag!!

2011-07-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

Finally, I've decided to make a bag for myself!! I will be going for a two day machine quilting course in Kuching next week. Made this bag so that I can put all the stuff I need for the course! The best thing about making a bag for oneself is that I can just about add whatever I want on it!! I made the flowers a few days ago and just decided to spend the whole of yesterday to make this bag. For info, the front of the bag has the flowers and the back, I've added the flowery fabric as a compartment for me to put my note book or papers in. The inside, I have made compartments for handphone, pens and my reading glasses...LOL My favourite thing for a bag to have is a key ring for car keys!! I think that is important because you do not want to have to rummage through your bag looking for them!!! OHHH.. my reading glasses just arrived today!! They are great.... now I can see the stitches so clearly...had a look at my applique project...ohhhhhhh some of the stitches are soooooo ugly!!!!! Ladies....don't wait to get them if you need them now!!!! hahhahaha

2011-06-28T03:13:00.000-07:00

This bag is the same style as the previous one but slightly bigger. Made it with the Sarawakian fabric. Most of my friends preferred it made with the other fabric though!

Guess what......it is "TIME"!!!! Made two pairs of reading glasses for myself yesterday!! LOLs!!! Had to make sure one pair is kept in the sewing room!! hahhahahah

Hand bag

2011-06-14T02:17:00.000-07:00

Took this pattern from my cousin in Miri. It's a very nice pattern but I am not satisfied with the way I made it. Look at the stitching on the top left...

I like the fabric though! Bought it at Nagoya. This fabric has a different top and bottom pattern. Will try and make another bag with the same fabric. I made this pattern a little smaller than the one my cousin gave me. Thought it will look cuter smaller in size!! hahhahhah

Jenny's tote

2011-06-10T03:14:00.000-07:00

Made this bag for my sister, Jenny. I had to show my aunt and cousin the way I make my bags. This is a simple tote because of time constraint! I had to fit this bag making session into my very tight 'ops sapu' (clean up) schedule!! Started making this after dinner at aunty's house. I cut out all the fabric, aunty ironed and cousin sew!!! The outcome is this bag for Jenny....who did nothing except watched us!!! LOL

2011-06-07T05:57:00.000-07:00

I had to make a trip back to my hometown to sort out my father's house! Major clean-up job!! Had to get rid of things that we had accumulated over the years. Lesson learnt... get rid of things we don't need at least once a year!!!

This is the bag I made. I know I should have put it on the blog but each time I wanted to something came up!! LOL

Back to the sewing room!

2011-05-25T23:22:00.001-07:00

Back home already!! Thought I will start making another tote bag. Before I left the the holidays, I went to Nagoya (not in Japan! but a shop) to buy more fabric for making tote bags. I love the colors and texture of these type of fabric. If I can make one bag a week, I should be able to have a good stash of Christmas presents in the cupboard!!! LOL

Patch of Country Quilts

2011-05-24T03:24:00.000-07:00

This is the shop that I was told I must make a stop! And I am glad I took the advice!!!! Came out with a bagful of quilting goodies. It was really a lovely shop....I wished I could buy more!!!!

Unfortunately, luggage limit is 30kgs!!! LOL

The Dog Box

2011-05-20T01:29:00.000-07:00

When we arrived at this little town called Picton, we had just enough time to locate our motel, dumped all our suitcases and rushed down to the wharf to do the mail run cruise. We took the one o'clock cruise and came back around six thirty in the evening so we didn't get to walk around the town. Guess where I found this shop??? LOL Right below the other end of our motel room!!! I could have sleepwalk there!!!!
Anyways, I bought some fabric from that shop and had a nice time chatting with the lady there. Gave me the address of another quilt shop that I MUST stop by on our journey through South island!!!

Minerva

2011-05-04T01:54:00.001-07:00

We are now in Wellington. Found this shop which is a bookshop as well as a quilt gallery. There were a few quilts on displayed but unfortunately no photography allowed. :-(

I bought this book because one of the patterns in there caught my eye. It will be worth it if I can make at least one quilt from this book!! LOL

Tirua Quilt Cottage

2011-05-02T02:08:00.000-07:00

Found this little quilt shop on the way to Rotorua. It's located in a little village called Tirua. Went in and came out with some 'goodies'!!
Wendy ( pic ) gave me some advice on the thread to use for machine quilting. She said the best thing to do is to use good bobbin thread and a lighter needle for the machine. So am looking forward to going back and trying that out!!

Blessed Easter

2011-04-26T07:57:00.001-07:00

Blessed Easter to all. May you find comfort, strength, wisdom, joy, love and peace in the Risen Lord!

I will not be blogging for the next 3 weeks. Off for holiday in the land of sheep (there are more sheep than people in New Zealand)!! But if I do happen to come across any quilting shops, I will take a pic and put it up on the blog. And I will be buying lots of quilting magazines!! LOL

Adeline's tote

2011-04-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

I made this for my sister, Adeline, in return for her help in reorganizing my quilting room! I found quite a lot of stuff that I didn't know I had!! Lots of UFOs as well!!! She managed to sort all the fat quarters, Japanese fabric, bag fabric, Christmas fabric etc into individual boxes for easy access. I even have an empty shelf after all the reorganization!!! WOW!!

While she was busy rearranging the stuff, I was busy making the bag! She wanted a tote she can use for her pilates class. It's deep enough for her to put a rolled up mat in. In the interior of the bag, there are some pockets for putting her handphone, pens and purse. I've also attach a key hook for her keys so she doesn't have to rummage through her stuff to find them. As you can see, there are two pockets on the outside of the bag. Same style as the other tote! But minus the beads!!

2011-04-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

I went to visit my sister in KL and came home without my laptop charger! Felt so 'lost' without my laptop! The laptop has become such a personal thing. I mean, I can still use my husband's desktop but it's not quite the same............LOL

Well, I've completed the bag. I used a plain fabric for the inside of the bag. Put some pockets in there as well. For the outside of the bag, I sewed in the middle of the quilted piece (on the lace) to make the pockets.

2011-04-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

Added some wooden beads on the quilting to make it more interesting. Put the lace to separate the pockets. I will sew down the middle of the lace later.

I was out shopping yesterday and I saw a few bags which look nice and am thinking of making them so maybe after I am done with this one, I'll try and make one or two more. Am into a bag frenzy mood!!! LOL

2011-04-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

Made the basic quilting lines for the front of the bag. Did them diagonally. I am going to make two front pockets for the tote. Probably try and add some lace to it.

Yesterday, I made a little progress on the 'tulips n anemones' project. Got a little confession to make.. been lagging behind on my sewing because I got myself hooked on an online game!!! LOL

Another tote

2011-04-04T01:57:00.001-07:00

Yes..another tote! I bought this fabric from one of the local textile shops called Nagoya. (I love textile shops!!!) I like the colors and the feel of the material. I thought a bag might be nice for this sort of material. It's a bit rough and thick like those Japanese fabric. Got together a pair of handles, some wooden beads, a button and some lace. Will see what I can do with them!! I haven't decided on the style of the tote yet but then and again... a tote is a tote!... LOL

Grace's tote

2011-03-28T05:17:00.000-07:00

This tote is made specially for my niece, Grace. I used this fabric because I know she is very proud of her heritage. Her dad is a native from Sarawak and almost every Gawai (harvest festival) they would travel back to their long house in Kapit.

I bought this fabric from Miri at the handicraft centre. This is actually sarong fabric. There are three distinctive patterns on the sarong. The handles of the bag is made from one pattern.

I used the same fabric for the interior of the bag. Made a pocket for her handphone and purse. I also attached a keyhook at the side for putting her keys.

I hope she likes her tote!!! If not...........any takers out there???? LOL

2011-03-13T23:07:00.000-07:00

All done! I love the color of the jade beads!! There are some which are greenish black!

I have set up another quilt on the swiftquilter. This one was made a few years ago. I am trying very hard to get all my UFOs done! Trying to make room for more fabric!! LOL

2011-03-01T04:06:00.000-08:00

I started making rosaries more than 10 years ago. My late father was the one who taught me and I ended up making lots of them for family and friends. I used glass and plastic beads, crystals and even pearls. The pearls are the hardest to make because I had to drill each pearl to make the hole bigger for the wire to go through! 59 pearls for a rosary!!! I used tiny fishing weights in between the decades! So if I see any rosary with fishing weights......I made them!! LOL

Rosary

2011-02-28T01:33:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been two months since I blog!!! I also haven't been doing any sewing as well!! However, I've finally got my sewing room back and also fixed up the Swiftquilter. I just haven't got the 'sewing spirit' back!!! LOL

My sister wanted me to make a rosary for her friend so I thought I might as well blog about it.............!!

These Jade beads actually come in different shades of green, black and brown. I chose the green and greeny black beads to use.

Christmas crafts

2010-11-26T19:05:00.000-08:00

I made these out of old Christmas decorations. I had to buy the little baskets, though. Found two little pots for the little santas. The pine cones were collected from a golf course a while back. I knew they would come in handy!! LOL At the back of the picture, against the wall are two half wreaths. I love Christmas!!!

2010-11-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

All done!!! I added buttons to make it more interesting! The flowers on the left should be facing upwards!! LOL I really don't know why I did it that way....... Might redo it later!

2010-11-16T02:28:00.000-08:00

Got to apologise for not being able to post the Christmas crafts.. The lighting was not good enough. I couldn't capture the true colors of the Christmas decorations! Will try for the next blog!

Quilted the middle and top sections with straight line quilting. Did the square sections with diagonal quilting. I'v e also made two plain handles with the same green fabric as the middle section. For the lining of the bag, I cut 3 inches green fabric and sewed onto calico. Made the green fabric as the top of the lining bag.

2010-11-13T22:15:00.000-08:00

I was caught up with some Christmas craft projects and neglected this bag. But I'm back!! Will post the Christmas crafts on the next blog!

I added a darker green fabric for the bottom half of the bag and two lighter green strips for the top.

When I saw this bag in the book, I told myself this is one bag I must try and make! The only problem I have is that all the instructions are in Chinese! So I just 'agak agak' and went ahead with it! I love craft books and as long as there are nice pictures, I think all of us can somehow figure a way to make it!! LOL

Another Japanese Bag

2010-11-02T07:38:00.001-07:00

I saw this bag pattern in one of the books I bought a while back. Been eyeing it for a while! I am using the same fabric combination as my other Japanese bag projects! Love the colors!! LOL

2010-11-01T01:38:00.000-07:00

Machine is working well. Sorry it took so long to post this! Took this picture after trying the machine. There is a sound on the machine which I have yet to identify! I hope it is nothing serious!!! LOL

This is the same quilt that was on the frame when the disaster happened! Once the quilting and binding is done, I have to send this quilt to the laundry shop to try and get the stain marks removed. By the way, the electrician came on saturday to remove the fan and hopefully, able to repair and fix it back soon.

Disaster!

2010-10-10T17:12:00.001-07:00

We got home from breakfast one morning and found we have a new shower place! When I came in through the front door, I could hear water sounds. Not a good sign when you know nobody is supposed to be home!!! I dropped the shopping bags and rushed upstairs! This is what I found ->

water flowing right through the fan and the lights! And guess what was under the fan????? YES...the Swiftquilter!!! It was a sight I will not forget! The quilt was dripping and water was also on the Juki! The floor was flooded.......the rest you can imagine!!! LOL

More clothespin bags!!

2010-09-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Made 24 clothespin bags for a jumble sale this weekend at the church. I started it last week. It was a last minute decision. Found some fabric, sat down and started cutting out the patterns. It took me longer than expected to get all these done. I needed an extra pair of hands to help me sew the buttons so I recruited my friend, Haminah. We completed the work this afternoon and even had time to visit a friend!!!

Geri Doll

2010-09-20T20:04:00.001-07:00

Made this doll for Geraldine. I was babysitting her for the first time and I asked her if she would like a doll. I gave her a book to look through and she chose this. I think the process of making the doll really intrigue her! She got to see how it is made from scratch!

Today, I am back to doing quilting on my Swiftquilter! Lots and lots of quilting to do!! LOL

Tulips N Anemones

2010-09-15T04:10:00.001-07:00

I have just completed these four corner blocks. Took me more than a year to do it! Last June, I managed to complete 10 blocks for the sides of the quilt. As I said, this is my 'while waiting' project!! I bring this with me if I know I have to wait for people......take this out and before you know it, time will just fly by!! Time well spent, don't you agree???.........LOL

Fickle minded!!

2010-09-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I machine quilted this Jacobean quilt. When I took it out of the cupboard today to do the binding, I look at it and decided I really do not like the multi color thread I had used. It actually made the quilt look very busy. I was going to hang this quilt on the wall at the staircase landing and would have to look at it everyday so I decided to redo the whole quilt!!! I started the unpicking process already so this will add on to my busy, busy sewing schedule!! LOL

Grandmother's Flower Garden

2010-09-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best loved vintage quilt pattern. Many people, including me, dare not even try to make a quilt from this pattern. It is a labor intensive quilt pattern. First of all, you have to cut out hexagon templates. Then a piece of fabric will be folded over the template and basted down. The hexagon pieces are then whipstitched together. The result is a quilt top pieced by hand!!

This beautiful quilt was made by my husband's Godmother (pic). Aunty Theresa used scraps she took from her tailor. These are mostly scraps from baju melayu thus the beautiful colors which are great for this quilt. The fabric are of different mix as well. Silk, polyester silk, satin etc.. The difference between this quilt and a 100% cotton quilt is the puffiness of the hexagon pieces. They look like they have already been quilted all around!!!

I am proud to say I am the owner of this beautiful piece of work! Thank you, Aunty Theresa!!!

2010-09-02T23:55:00.000-07:00

I had fun playing with this machine!!! As this is NOT my machine, I had to read the manual first so that I don't accidentaly 'hurt' it!! I thought, just for practice, I'll do a simple design with not too many thread colors. The outcome is the design on the right. I found this wording in a quilt magazine and thought I can try make something out of it later. I used two colored thread for it. Took an hour to embroider it. This machine is meant for embroidery only. The other machine that I am also looking into is the Janome Memory Craft 1100!! It can quilt, sew and embroider!!! LOL

Janome Memory Craft 350

2010-08-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Dream! Dream! Dream!

Wishing, wishing this is mine! LOL But it's not! This embroidery machine belongs to my friend, Haminah. She just left for Hanoi and put this machine in my care!!! Told me to play around with it!!! Woohooo!!! I better start reading the manual!!! LOL

For info, Luke went for his knee replacement surgery and is doing well. This is the second week after the surgery and he is walking without crutches and even started driving!! He still has to do a lot of physio sessions though. Can't wait to go back to my sewing rhythm!!!

2010-08-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

I have not been blogging lately because my hubby and I have been in and out of doctors' clinics and I have not been doing a lot of sewing. His knee is giving him a lot of problem and he dreaded the news that the docs gave him. He needs a total knee replacement.

I just finished quilting and binding this baby quilt. Made some progress with the Swiftquilter. I am getting very comfortable with it!! Will be putting a bigger quilt on the frame soon!

2010-08-01T06:03:00.000-07:00

It's just one stop to Orchard Mrt from Newton so I arrived there around 630AM! Found my way to Ion City and guess what??? I was not the first in the queue!!!! LOL.. second in fact!!! To cut the story short, I managed to buy two ipads and was the first to pay and get them. There were many people who made a beeline to get the covers but I thought I better buy the ipads and get out of the shop fast!!! For info, the original Apple ipad covers got sold out before the ipads!!! So I had to make this one for Luke!!!

I used the pattern for the Japanese handbag for this but had to modify it a bit because the ipad is smaller in size. I added 1/2 in of the same fabric all round the pattern. Made a flap with magnetic button. This fabric is nice because it doesn't look too feminine! Most of the fabrics I have are printed with tiny flowers of some sort!!

ipad cover

2010-07-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

A short story of how this came about! I was in Singapore a week or so ago and Luke called me and said, 'hey! i heard d ipad is coming out on the 23rd.. errr any chance of you getting it for me?' I said,' sure.."without thinking twice! So off I went to Wheellock Place. The fellow at Epi Centre said, 'No more taking orders.. u have to come early on the 23rd n get in the queue...oh.. i heard some ppl are pitching up tents!!!' I told myself no way am I camping overnight to get it!!! So since there is another Epi centre at Ion city, I thought I'll try there. The salesman was a bit more hopeful.. he asked me to come n queue at 8am and get a coupon cos without the coupon, you can't buy the ipad. So on the 23rd morning (took my brother's advice), I got up really early..550AM showered, left the condo at 615AM, walked to Newton Mrt (lucky it was only a few mins' walk) the sky was still dark and I couldn't help feeling rather foolish...all this for an ipad!!!.......to be continued..

More Quilting!!

2010-07-14T08:29:00.001-07:00

After a short break, I decided I better get a start on this baby quilt. My sister asked me to do this for her a couple of months ago and I have been carried away doing other things! Hopefully, I can get it done by tomorrow. I got started with this late in the afternoon and could not finish it because it was getting difficult to see. Poor eyesight........age catching up!! LOL

2010-07-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

Made a calico bag to keep the 3 bags together. It is convenient to have them in one bag for easy storage in the car. The calico bag is just nice for a loaf of bread or a tray of eggs!

2010-06-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Bags galore!! Finally!! Completed all the grocery bags!!! Now I have a choice of bags to use when I go supermarket shopping!! There are 3 of each kind. The bags on the floor, the printed green and brown fabric are made from the two pieces of block out curtains. Made 10 out of them! There are 2 more sets of the colorful fabric bags which are not in this picture. I will post them on my next blog! I don't think I will make anymore of these as it was getting pretty crazy making them!!! I was just waiting to finish them ASAP! Getting bored after a while making the same thing!!! LOL

2010-06-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

The bags that you can see at the bottom of the pile are made from old block out curtains. These are quite good and strong fabric which I think is nice for grocery bags. My sister gave me the curtains so I made them into bags for her. The rest of the bags are made from the nice fabric I bought from Nilai!

2010-06-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

After cutting off the squares from the bottom of the bag, the next thing to do is to serge the sides.

2010-06-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

After sewing the sides together, cut off two 4' x 4' squares at the bottom of the bag. This simple task took me quite some time to do because I have to do that to a total of 4o bags!! LOL

2010-06-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

I flipped the handles up and sew a box with a cross just to make it stronger. I also double stitch the sides. These are grocery bags and they have to withstand a bit more weight than the normal shopping bags. I tried my best to finish as much as I can but still I find there are so much more to be done!!! I really need extra pair of hands!! LOL

2010-06-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

After ironing the fold, draw the markings for the bag handles. I mark it on 5 - 6 and 12 - 13. I like to do it this way because as I sew, I can just slip the handle in between the fold at the marked area. There is no need to use pins to hold the handle in place.

2010-06-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

I can cut three bags from 1m of printed fabric. The handles are cut from some plain fabric. Fold the fabric into half. Cut out each bag measuring 19" x 18". At the top and bottom of the wrong side of the bag, draw a line 2" from the top and another 3" from the top. Fold the fabric to the 2" line then to the 3" line and iron. For the handles cut out strips of 48" x 4" strips. After sewing the strips, half them into 24" strips.

I do have a lot of sewing to do before my holiday! LOL

Eco Bags

2010-06-13T09:23:00.001-07:00

I went to Nilai the other day with my friend, Haminah. We ended up buying quite a fair bit of these fabrics to make eco grocery bags. These are heavy cotton fabrics and they will make wonderful grocery bags... the fabric is thick enough unlike those green bags in the supermarket which tear easily. Go Green is a good idea but I don't agree with some supermarkets which charge their customers for using the discarded paper boxes there. They should give their customers an option of either paying for the plastic bags or use paper boxes. I know of one supermarket which has prices for different size boxes.......LOL

Japanese bag

2010-06-10T08:09:00.001-07:00

Lately, I have been buying a few of this Japanese pattern books and I told myself that I must make something from each of the books! This is one of the pattern in the book that I like. I modified the pattern a little bit because I wanted the bag to be slightly longer. I added some fabric at the bottom of the bag. This bag has a drawstring at the top so there is no strap or flap needed. There is one more pattern I would like try and make.........well, just have to see how it goes....!! LOL

CLown

2010-06-04T04:19:00.000-07:00

I made this for Aunty Linda. She loves clowns. The body is also made of wood. The head is a styrofoam ball so I used a glue gun and stick the hair on. This is much easier than the doll! With the doll, I had to sew the hair. As you can see, this clown can also sit anywhere without falling off!! Just have to be careful if you have toddlers around.. that piece of wood inside is quite heavy.

2010-06-01T02:52:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist making a matching book cover for my Daily Light!! This one is without the pockets and the strap. It's just a simple cover.

2010-05-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention I made a strap for the book cover. Did it this way so that the extra bookmarks and prayer cards won't fall out. I also sew 4 rows of decorative stitches in the middle of the book cover. This is to separate the two pockets. The strap is sewed on the inside of the back pocket. Finally~!~ My Bible has a cover!!!

2010-05-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

I have layered the fabric accordingly....starting from the bottom....1. Plain beige fabric (Omit this if you are not making the pockets) 2. Put the printed fabric right side up (This is the cover as well as the pockets for top and bottom of the book) 3. Two pieces of beige fabric for the book sleeves 4. Plain beige fabric for the cover behind the sleeves.

When sewing round the edges, leave a 2 inch (more if you like!) gap so that you can turn the fabric inside out.

2010-05-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

This printed fabric will be the front and back pockets of the Bible cover. I like to have a place to keep bookmarks and prayer cards instead of putting them in between the pages.

I have been going out with my friend, Haminah, for some embroidery lessons! She just bought a Janome Memory Craft 350E embroidery machine. I like the idea of combining patchwork, embroidery and applique! Beautiful!!! Maybe if I wished hard enough I might get one too!!! Woohooo!!!

Book cover

2010-05-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

I found this quilted remnant fabric my sister gave me some years ago and decided to use it to make a book cover for my Bible. I wanted to use it to make mittens for my kitchen but somehow never got round to doing it!

LOL!!! The printed fabric is for the pocket on the front and back of the Bible.

2010-05-23T05:28:00.000-07:00

This is my doll all done up!! Added a ribbon on her hair and a little hat on her hand. I took this picture of the doll sitting on my Juki sewing machine!! This doll can sit anywhere!! LOL

2010-05-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

I sewed two buttons for the eyes and glued a piece of red fabric for the nose. Chain stitched some stitches for the mouth. I took quite some time to make the hair! This is because I had to split some yarn into two then used six strands to make one braid! I had to make quite a few braids. This is how I sewed the first braid on.. leaving the ends as it is.

I wanted to use thicker yarn but in this town where I live... things are quite limited here! The thicker yarn don't come in the color I wanted so I had to make do with whatever I can find! LOL

2010-05-20T03:35:00.000-07:00

Added lace on the dress. Then I decided to paint the shoe black. I think I should have done it before I put the dress and the pants on the doll. LOL

2010-05-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

LOL My poor doll looked naked so I decided to make the dress first instead of the face! I also made the pants with some gathers at the hem for the it.

Just some update on my sewing room. The 6ft folding table arrived yesterday. I moved the 4ft folding table out into the TV room. After joining the two tables, I found out that I need to move the TV just a little bit more but I can't do it because the writing desk is next to it. I need some muscles to help me move them! So that's that for the day!! I then decided to make a book cover for my Bible! I wanted to do that for a quite a while and have been putting it off! Now's a good time!!

2010-05-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

I've added two pieces of fabric onto the legs to join it to the body. It was a bit too short for my liking. Notice how nicely the doll sits on the table. That is the reason why I decided to use a block of wood for the body. The fabric over the wood makes it easier for me to attached the arms, legs, hands and head!

2010-05-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

WOW! Time just flew by!! I saw my last blog and it was on Tuesday!!

arrggghhh!!!

I used running stitches to attach the doll's head to the body. Got to make sure that the head is upright and not drooping down.

2010-05-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

First I sew the arms on the body. After that, the head goes on top. I did it like that so that I can adjust the head easily when I attach it to the body.

2010-05-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

I used cotton to stuff the head, hands and legs. Made a small bag for the body to cover the piece of wood. As you can see, I didn't stuff the cotton all the way to the end. I left enough fabric to attach the parts together.

2010-05-05T23:54:00.000-07:00

I drew the patterns on the calico by free hand. This is because I made some modification. All the patterns in the book are for dolls with fibrefill or cotton stuffing . I decided I wanted my doll to be able to sit upright properly so I will be using a block of wood for the body.

Country Doll

2010-05-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

I bought a book on dolls and thought I will try and make one. Got the book from the Chinese Section at Popular book store. Sad to say, I can't read Chinese but...there are step by step pictures on how to make a doll! LOL The first thing to do is to dye the calico in tea bags!!! If you want the doll to smell good, use flavored tea!! I supposed if you want the doll to have a darker shade, you might want to use more tea bags!! LOL

2010-05-03T03:55:00.000-07:00

The table and Hi-fi stand have been removed from the tv room. I'll move the quilting table there tomorrow. Then I'll try and get this quilted. I didn't realize the color combination would be this bright!! LOL

2010-05-02T04:57:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't move into my sewing room yet!! Hopefully by this week!! I am still doing my work in the tv room! LOL

I've finished sewing all the blocks. In the process of adding sashing and border. Actually I didn't want to add sashing but three blocks in a row is a bit too small. So I added 2" sashing around the blocks.

2010-04-27T04:49:00.000-07:00

I had to rearrange my sewing room again! At this present moment, it's in a mess! I have decided to move the Swiftquilter into the tv room! The tv room is where I multi task! Watch tv, blog and do some sewing! My private domain!! LOL I moved the Janome into the tv room after I set up the Swiftquilter in the sewing room and I found out that it's not conducive for me to work from there because all the things I need are inside the room! I need my sewing materials to be within reach!! I don't know how I managed to get this far with the project. I have been in and out of the sewing room when I needed something or another! By tomorrow I should be able to piece all of them into blocks. I wanted to do them today but I stopped and started to rearrange the two rooms! At least I managed to get the tv room sorted out first! Need to get rid of the hi-fi stand and the big table!!! LOL

2010-04-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

I was in Singapore a couple of days ago and did not have time to go to my usual haunting ground.... Spotlight! The trip was just too short! Arrived in the evening, had a superb dinner made by my sister in honor of my cousin. Haven't seen him in years! The next day, went to Wheelock Place because hubby wanted to check out the Apple store. On my way to there, I found a shop which sell MBT shoes!! Woohoo, bought a pair of sandals!! That was my consolation for not being able to go to Spotlight!! LOL

Right back to the sewing board! Attached the white strips onto the squares. I am really taking my time making this quilt!

2010-04-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

Today, I joined all the triangles to make squares. Then I ironed and trimmed all the edges off.

After that I sat down and wrote down a list of backlog projects! My niece is bugging me for her quilt, one sister is waiting for her laptop bag, another sister brought 2 quilts for machine quilting....I can go on and on and on....LOL

2010-04-19T06:26:00.000-07:00

These have been ironed, cut and trimmed! One more white triangle to be added to make a big triangle. I will join all these with the printed animal fabric to make squares. I am glad I can use some of the fat quarters from my collection. Been hoarding quite a bit of fabric and somehow not putting them into good use!!

2010-04-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

The fun part is sewing the pieces together! I like to cut out all the pieces before I start sewing. So if I am making a big quilt, out come my calculator. I'll be cutting, counting, cutting, counting... LOL Sometimes I do miscalculate! I don't mind if I cut more but when I find I have less...LOL