Pockets of Time

These days, I just feel like the days go so fast with each waking moment spent doing something. I guess you can say never a dull moment. So many things to do and projects to start on top of the usual 10 hours at work a few evening hours during the week and full days with kids on the weekend.

This will probably be the last couple posts before Blogger stops supporting my blog on 01 May, and before Simon gets round to moving my blog to our own blog system.

Getting into retro Chinese stuff: My new trainers for only US$5 +/- which are so cool! These Hui Li brand shoes are made by one of Shanghai oldest brands and are currently the latest trend and are actually sold overseas for around 60+/- Euros! Plus the red laces are free :-)


Tried to take a photo of the box unfortunately our cleaners have put them in the trash before I got a chance. The box still has the same 1970s style of design and graphics.

Found some spirograph for the kids at only US$1.00 per set and didn't realize these are not easy to find anymore. The packaging are so cool as they have these old 1970s style.


I've also finally decided to cut into my AMH Good Folks fat quarter stash. This is going to be a quilt to commemorate our 10th year anniversary. I have to admit math is my weakest point and that is why I've stayed away from quilting really. Anyway, I decided to grab images of the fabric online and put together the design digitally to see the sizes and how they will look with light linen sashing...
or dark red/burgundy-ish one.
Haven't completely decided... I may end up not adding a sash but use a dark red binding.


I've finished trimming them and the kids helped lay them on the floor according to the picture. They even helped me with the measuring tape (though how accurate the measurement was, I'm not sure).

Last bit on sewing... I think it's time to park my Oliver + S Popover Sundress pattern. I love the pattern as it's quick and a great dress to make esp when I'm always pinched for time... but I have already sewn too many of them for the little girl in Australia, Paris, and in Shanghai.


Finally, as a little Easter treat, I revisited Bakerella's Cake Balls. I found her own recipe for the Red Velvet Cake and I decided to try it out. I LOVE IT! It tastes even more yummier than ones I've used before. Moist and light and so perfectly right.

Made cake balls with less frosting but I still cannot seem to get my candy melts to have a smooth finish like on hers... not sure if it's because of the brand I used (Wilton's, which had to be purchased in Hong Kong) or if I did not heat it enough.


I haven't given up yet even after a couple attempts. I know I will do some more of this.

Sewing with Knits and Stretchy Fabric

Ever since I saw this post from Made, I just knew I had to make some for my twins as I still had some in my stash. The first one turned out alright though not perfect as I was still trying to get myself acquainted with sewing stretchy fabrics.

Then I decided to make 2 as I really want to make the shirts even better. There is also a helpful tip from Omni Creates which is quiet helpful.

So 2 shirts later, I had 2 broken ballpoint needles and 1 bent one....


I really really really would love to be able to sew more and thought about getting a serger but after reading Omni Creates's tips, I knew I can do it without a serger (cannot afford to get one now so had to weigh options)...

I haven't given up yet and in fact have my kids' knickers (or undies) fabric all cut up ready to be sewn based on this pattern. Hopefully this time around, I'll be lucky... fingers crossed.

Long time coming

It has indeed been some time since I managed to blog just about anything. For some reason when December started, we got swamped with work which is great of course, as it made up for the very slow beginning of 2009.

So I've been trying to find little pockets of time in between work and weekend with the kids to do something. Our Christmas presents for the family unfortunately still has to go out! It's awful and I'm fortunate my family has been quite forgiving about the lateness. I guess they get to have Christmas all over again... the gifts will finally and definitely will be out this week and I'm so looking forward to that!

I thought I'd share a few things I managed to get done over the last few months in pictures rather than words; or at least I'll try not to blah too much...

Our Advent Calendar: This is the finished version of what I blogged about some time ago here. A new tradition for us which we will be taking out of storage every Christmas. My first project that involved a lot of hand sewing and embroidery. The kids loved taking turns getting the ornaments out of the pockets.


One of the projects I thought I wouldn't be able to do this year - a December Daily - inspired by Ali Edwards. This gave me a huge sense of accomplishment as I managed to persevere in spite of all the late hours I had at the office. Plus everyone contributed, even daddy! I am looking forward to doing this again in 2010. Pictures can be found on my Flickr.


My first foray into making softies and dollies. This was from Wee Wonderfuls. It was quite an experience and can't wait to make more. Made these 2 plus 2 sleeping bags, 2 jumpers or overalls and 2 backpacks as gift to Margot, our French neighbour's daughter. They were all leaving Shanghai for good and I thought these were perfect to remind her of Samuel and Audrey. They've been playmates ever since we moved to the current address so it was quite sad to see them go...


The scarves for Stephanie and Bernard. I wasn't sure if I could do this as I've never sewn with silk before but wanted to use bits of silk I had lying around so decided to just do it. So happy with the results. Did not use batting as I didn't want it to be heavy since the cashmere wool on the other side was already enough weight.



Kidlets by JCasa. Made 6 for my colleagues each with their initials and different fabric.




There's actually more but I thought I should wait until my family has received their gifts or it'll spoil the surprise.

I'm working on a stuff for Chinese New Year... And stuff for kids to do over the 1-week holiday.

And also finished making a Tooth Fairy Pillow for Audrey. Check it out here.

Birthday Goodies

So so excited with my new birthday goodies. Simon brought home loads of books and magazines from Hong Kong for my birthday and these will definitely keep me occupied for the next few days; we have 11 days off from work starting tomorrow.

And then I got some eye candy goodies in the mail from a local online shop. I've planned on doing more embroidery so these would be perfect to start off with. Don't the colours look yummy?


And some Zakka style leather strings which I will be using on some mini album projects I've got planned (more on that later). I love the colours and the texture.


Watch out for the Giveaway# 3 coming up on Friday.

Squeezing in Some Sewing Time

It's been crazy here the past few weeks. In between preparing for the kids' birthday and work, managed to finish a couple sewing projects.


Made another Oliver + S Popover Sundress for a little girl named Anna, who was also celebrating her 6th birthday around same time as my kids'. And this one I'm rather proud because I was somehow relaxed. And on this one, I used a new technique I was learned, French seams, which made for a nice clean finish.


Added some little crocheted edgings and flower, too.



And finally, I'm making my very first quilt. I thought I'd do something simple inspired by a blog post I read a while ago (which I'm embarassed to say I cannot seem to find the link anymore) and recently Amy Karol's Easy Lap Quilt from Bend The Rules Sewing. I'm not really this would be even classified as a quilt but I'm not really bothered. Anyways, I'm putting this in the kids' room floor as the back side will have a dark blue cotton fabric with skid-proof dots. Will post more when I've actually managed to finish this. I've managed to finish the piecing part. Now comes the quilting part. Wish me luck!

New Books

So so so excited with the new books I just got in the mail.

Handmade Home signed by Amanda Blake Soule... excited to try out some of the ideas in the book.


Stitched in Time signed by Alicia Paulson... (kids wanted to read it before I could). After I managed to flip through it, itching to try out the ideas in the book.

Design-It-Yourself by Cal Patch... I am instantly in love with this book with clear instructions on how to take measurements and creating your own patterns. I can't wait to read it in detail and sew some of the simple clothes in the book.

Popover Sundress

Last night I finally finished the Popover dress for Audrey using the pattern from Oliver+S, free from Sew Hip magazine. It was a bit nerve-wracking for me as I worried about not doing a good job of it esp. since Audrey wanted Heather Ross' Far Far Away Unicorn fabric and it wasn't cheap. But I was glad that it turned out great (if I may say so) and importantly, she wanted to wear the dress today. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to take a photo of her wearing it as I was late for work.

Ended up making this reversible as I thought the Far Far Away double gauze fabric was a bit too thin. And had to improvise a bit with the length on this side as I only have 1/2 yard, not enough to cover the required length. The yellow side is also made of double gauze cotton but slightly heavier weight which I bought about 5 years ago for less than a dollar for 5 metres (!) at the very original fabric market in Shanghai (the market has since moved twice to the current location which I don't like much and too far from where I live). Back then when I bought it I wasn't sure what to get the dressmaker to make with it. Glad I kept it.

By the way, j saw that this Popover Sundress pattern is now free for download. Check it out now.

My experience with Oliver+S patterns have been fantastic so far; detailed instruction and easy to follow illustrations. So for a newbie like me, it's quite a nice way to learn. Next up in my list of things to sew is the Sailboat Top, Skirt & Pants pattern I bought recently for my twins.

More Bags

Quick sewing over the weekend. Practically finished sewing each bag within a few hours and quite happy with the results. Definitely will be sewing more bags.


This bag was from Pippijoe pattern which was one of the few patterns I've bought recently from here.


This was very easy to do and only took me a few hours from cutting to finish. This bag is a gift for our Senior Designer. Added a little detail with a bunny button available from aCloset.


This based on a pattern I've been waiting to do ever since I saw this on Rae's blog. This only became available just a few days after I ordered the Pippijoe one... Anyway, I decided to buy this pattern anyway to compare. The cutting took longer for this bag due to the size and my work table isn't that big. So had to work on the floor for that one.

For this bag, I decided to use an embroidered fabric I bought years ago from the very original fabric market in Shanghai. When I saw this, it reminded me of a Shanghai Tang coat so I thought I could make a coat with this as it's quite a heavier weight cotton. But prenancy, twins, and 3+ years later, it still is sitting in my tub of fabric stash. I thought it was time I used this fabric for this bag esp since this was big enough for the required material.

So happy with the result esp with the nice shade of purple linen cotton lining I used and hope the person receiving this will also like it (this purple is her favourite colour). This is a gift for her upcoming birthday...

Gift for Mick and Suzy

Finally finished sewing up a bundle of gift for my good friends Mick and Suzy who are expecting a third baby this September.



Here are the links to the patterns and gift tags:
Tags: aCloset
Bib pattern: Chickpea Sewing Studio
Burp cloth: here
Cloth shoes: Stardust Shoes which reminded me of the first shoes my twins wore.

If only I'd had time to sew when I was still pregnant (I was working until the day before I had to go to the hospital to deliver via C-section; my doctor had panicked...) I would have made these same stuff for them... But it is still as much fun to make goodies for babies as gifts.

I decided at the last minute to use snap closures for the bib. Bought extra moulds for the closures for this piece of machine I bought 6 years ago but didn't realize how useful it was until I took it out of storage a few weeks ago.

Latest Fabric Stash

The linen cottons...


The cottons...

Okay, after weeks of deliberation, decided to take the plunge and bought a few Heather Ross's Mendocino and Far Far Away fabrics and have some ideas floating in my head to what stuff I can make with them... so exciting.

I'm equally excited with a couple of finds on the local Taobao.com shops. I found some great new linen cotton blends in solids; dark plum and purple colours on the top. They feel really really nice!

Bags and Key Holder

Been making gifts these days instead of buying, okay, I sometimes still need to buy the materials, so not really 100% all from my stash...

Anyway, I thought I'd make a bag for Naomi, my colleague from a canvass fabric I bought 4 years ago. Then I saw an instruction (in Chinese) for making the bird cage key holder. My first venture into felt and embroidery. I thought the key holder turned out well so I've made a new design which I'll post the instructions with pattern to share later. Here's a sneak peek at the pieces I've cut up below. It's actually almost finished.


The other night, I decided to stay up until 2am and do this Buttercup Bag by Made by Rae. Was quite surprised at how easy it was. This is yet another gift for someone close... can't say who yet until I've mailed this out.


After taking this picture, I just realized that I should have lined up the top part with the bottom part's pattern/design... ugh!

And the great news is Rae has just released her pattern for the Lickety Split Bag which I've been waiting to do for another upcoming birthday. Unfortunately, I've to work late tonight...