2011 and more sewing projects!

It's 2011 already. Haven't been updating my blog for a while. Been busy with kids since school has just opened after a long holiday. But I have not forgotten about my sewing madness, despite the busy daily chores, I managed to make a few little pocket money purses for both my kids, 1 for my niece and another one for my neighbour's daughter. Also managed to sew a wristlet for sale at Groommepretty.com (GMP). All the pix are in my cellphone, maybe I'll upload them later.

Yesterday my GMP partners and I went to a sewing class, and the class continues today. We are learning to sew the Baju Kurung (to those who don't know what it is, it's the Malay traditional attire for woman). Though I love to sew, I have never actually tried sewing something that I can wear. So I am so excited to see the end product. Hope I can do it properly since I'm using a nice and pretty piece of fabric. Maybe when it's completed, I'll upload it in this blog.

Oh oh... and another thing, I'm so happy coz I finally managed to get the binding foot for my machine... now hopefully I can sew the binding tapes on my products more neatly. Can't wait to have it a try!

Okay, it's 3am and I need to sleep or else I'll be tired in today's class. I'll upload pictures later. Have a nice 2011 ya all!

Projects done in December...

I'm really loving my machine... just couldn't find enough materials to sew... hehehe...

Last week, we organised my baby's aqiqah at my parent's house. I made 30 pieces of goodybags for the marhaban group. Also, as a doorgift for others, I made pocket tissue case instead of buying the common ready made gifts such as bunga telur or hand towels. Managed to make 125 pieces, for the adults along few other edible items. The kids received sweets.

Other than that, I made a handphone pouch for my mom, and she loved it! Also made a bag for my sis in law.

And the madness continues...

Been wanting to sew something... but couldn't find what product fits my sewing mood. The I remembered that my new handphone doesn't have case. I've been asking around, but I guess maybe coz it's quite a new model (Released this year) so there's no cases made for it yet.

Since the size is quite small, I am still not that comfortable holding it. It feels like it could slip from my hands any time. So, I decided to make one of my own. Been looking around for the design from the net, but nothing really catches my eyes. So I tried to design my own pouch. Since my daughter is inheriting my old hp, so I need to make a pouch for her hp as well.

It took me 3 tries to actually get the design and the correct size. Being an amature, and a lazy one, I did not make the proper patterns, I just plan and visualise the end result in my head, and started to cut the fabrics, and sew them. The first try, my pouch ended up a bit too small to fit my hp. So half way through, I stopped and abandoned it.

In my second try, I used zippers for the pouch's closure and placed a small zippered pocket outside the pouch. But I guess since the pouch is quite small in size, so the zippered pocket seemed impractical. Since it was completed, so I gave it to my 2yo daughter for her to play with it.

Planning for my next try, I decided to use velcro closure insted of the zippers. That's because I think the zipper might scratch my hp. So, I used velcro, and used the same type of fabric (it's a canvas fabric, and I love the design of the prints).

I'm quite happy with the end product. But I forgot to attach the velcro on the inside of the pouch cover before sewing both inner and outer fabric together. So, I just had to sew the velcro on it and the stiches can actually be seen on the outside. But I feel that it's still an acceptable looking pouch. This pouch's length is a bit longer than my hp. My 8yo daughter's hp seems to fit better in it. So I offered this one to her and she liked it. Here's what my 3rd try looks like.

Since I ended up giving that one to my girl, so I had to make another one for me. So based on my experiences in making the first 2, now I know better how to estimate the size according to my hp's size. I used a different fabric for the outside, but retain the same type of fabric for the inner part. And it fits my hp well! I'm very happy with this one.

So, I can fit my hp in it's pouch, my 8yo girl could fit hers in her pouch, and my 2yo started to imitate what we were doing. Sho took her toy hp and tried to put it in the pouch that I gave her. Well, of course it could not fit into the pouch coz her hp is even larger than my 8yo girl's hp. As I can't stand listening to her screams , I promised her that I would sew one for her. Then, again, using the same design and inner fabric, but different outer fabric, I made one for her. This time it took me much2 less time to do it...

All done in one day! Of course in between cooking for lunch, bathing and nursing my 3mo baby boy, and fetching my 6yo son from his kindergarten. That's how crazy I am when the sewing madness begin.

Having done all the pouches, my hands are still feeling itchy to make more bags. But I'm still undecided on what type of bag. I think my fabrics collection is still lacking in suitable fabrics for my bag linings... now I just can't stop feeling the urge to rush to the fabric store. Maybe I'll try to go there during this weekend. Else, I just could not mix and match the right and suitable fabrics for the inner and outer parts of my bags. *sigh*

I guess that's all for today.. I wonder if anybady actually find my entries interesting to read... but it kinda gives me a sort of pleasure to just share what's happening in my sewing madness world.

Joining the bloggers world...

When I created this blog, I was thinking, "Am I really joining the blogging world like others?". I like to read peoples' blogs, but not sure if I myself can be a blogger. But I guess why not? Maybe this blog could be a place for me to brainstorm, think out loud, share with others and just write anything I feel like expressing, especially things related to sewing... my obsession since about a year ago...

I've always loved sewing, but mostly it depends on my mood. But normally once I get started, it is difficult to stop... just like when I get started reading the twilight books... hehehe... But somehow since I got pregnant with my fourth child, I began to feel the madness of sewing. I started sewing using my own hands, making pencil case s for me and my daughter. Then I started borrowing my mom's Kenmore machine (which I bought for her during my studies in the US about 12 years back). That's when the madness began... I sew bags for myself and my girls, then a few for my sisters, then now I can't stop thinking about sewing.

But having a baby and 3 more kids to manage kinda limits my time to really sit, think and sew. Of course I have to plan what to sew... Hopefully I could attend sewing classes so that I can actually learn the proper skills and techniques to sew even the simplest things such as pencil case and tote bags. However, thanks to the wonders of Internet, I learn bit by bit from the free tutorials I found on the net.

Most of the products I have made were posted in my album in FB. Now maybe I can start sharing with others via this blog. But I'm not sure how frequent would I be posting things in this blog. We'll see...

Anyhow, I hope to inspire myself and others who share the same passion in sewing by sharing the knowledge and experiences in this blog!

Thanks for reading!