Fabric swop!

Went nuts over black friday weekend and bought a whole load of fabrics and supplies. Even I have to admit is a bit much. Considering I have half a cupboard of fabrics waiting to be cut into.... Anyway, have decided to clear space and thinking about a fabric swop. Any takers?

Carnival bloom festival

Whipped up between fetching and picking M up from her holiday cooking camp.

Need to start working on the 2 bb blankets, M's car blanket, the "manly" tissue holder and J's macbook sleeve. Christmas shopping taking a back seat.. but somethings gotta give.

Kooky Klutch mini pouches

Love how fast these little pouches are to make. I actually take more time deciding on the fabrics to use then actually sewing.

Also tried out the journal cover as requested by H. Not satistifed with the final product as I couldn't figure hour how to put in a closure. Included a 2011 journal inside.

Now inspired to make baby gift baskets. Will need to start working on the baby blankets for S and E too! Argh.....

Kooky Klips Collection

The Japanese fabrics are here! Here are the fruits of my labor ...

 Tried doing some sewing but spent so much time admiring my now enlarged stash that I just couldn't get down to making anything! So many possibilities, so little time...

Design space

My dining table has been turned into a sewing workstation. We now have our meals on one half of the space and so far, no one has complained, YET. They understand that when mummy is happy, they are happy :)

I am also loving the grosgrain ribbon that arrived the other day from Ribbon Retreat. Some of it will be turned into pacifier holders. Can't wait till the other little packages to arrive (went crazy over the last 2 wks)

New stuff fresh off the Bernina: Gathered front purse. Forgot (as usual) to put on the label so thinking of adding on the inside lining. Used Amy Butler Love fabrics, but just looking at the pictures, kinda seems a little granny. Happy how the gathering turned out though, had no idea clue how to execute until yesterday. You tube to the rescue. Added some inner pockets, for cards and stuff. Well, will see how it goes.

By the way, the pics were taken on my iPhone (not so bad huh), coz the trusty Nikon has been whisked off to Japan. B's gone for a trip there, and I so wished he was able to cart back some of those yummy fabrics, No such luck!

 Will just have to arrange another trip there sometime soon....

Also, another sale made! The diary (amy butler lotus) is gone :) Tks H!

First Sale!!!!

I made my first sale today! Still get a kick just thinking that someone out there is happy to PAY for stuff made by me (not that its that badly made :))

The snail pony tail holder and travel tissue paper holder (elephants). 2 different customers (see Perfect Sense Collections - Design Sense in facebook as I can't seem to save the pics on my mac)

More offerings: Kate Spade inspired make up pouches ( imperfect I know, but definitely one of a kind ). Inspired to make more, muah hahaha....

Launching Kooky Klutch (copyright ok)

 

 

And Kooky Klips

Japanese Fabrics

For those who know me, the cutesy Kawaii look is not really my aesthetic. That being said, the Japanese that really know how to appeal to the girly girl in all of us (no matter how suppressed). So much so I have ordered a bunch of super cute fabrics which should come in soon. Waiting patiently for all packages. In the meantime, these are off to the shop.

 S took some pictures of the iPad sleeve in action. Snug fit! Yay!

Making the most of scraps

The bip and bops left over from the last 2 quilts were used to make these tissue holders. Took a few attempts to get the size right, and addition of label makes it look a little more professional :) All going to the shop. No sales yet though.

Obsessions and Confessions

I am obsessed. An intervention is required. Not only do I spend all my free time sewing, the rest of the time is spent thinking about what projects I can do. Here are some of the latest offerings.

 The bib and burp cloth sets (with terry cloth backing) have turned out nicer than expected. Will let H have a look and see what she thinks. Reckon it'll do well. Only fear is that they don't hold up well to rough use.

The note book cover given to Es. Excuse the pics, taken on iPhone.

 S's birthday gifts. The eye pad was made out of scraps from the Hope Valley collection. Not a terribly good photo, had to leave in the zip lock in an attempt to prolong the lavender scent from the organic Chamomile / Lavender tea bag mix which I used together with the green beans. I can imagine what will happen if it gets wet!

 Finally the prodigal iPad case. Gave me lots of heartache, this one did. Screwed up the velcro with the hot iron (had to hand stitch another one on top), then the flannel lining started to stretch, forgot to add the tag and D ring..... sigh. To be fair, I don't actually have an iPAD and was basing the entire calculations on the specs on the Apple website, Fingers crossed.

Its the weekend!

Finally got down to downloading the pics from the other computer into this mac.

 The round the world quilt still needs to be well....quilted!

 Joyce's last min birthday gift. Not terribly flattering photo.

E's baby bib

On more exciting news, I've been tasked to put up some baby items for sale in a friend's boutique. Didn't think it was high quality enough, but will see how the demand will be like.

Quilting drought

What can I say....its been a busy 2 months. Not that I haven't been sewing at all, just been stealing whatever "free time" (code for sleep time) I have to clean up some older projects. (will post some pics once I get them freed from the network folder which I can't seem to access on this mac, ARGH!)

Over the past 2 weekends though, finally cut into my Hope Valley stash to product this quilt top. Quite proud of this one as actually took time to go through the tedious process of cutting out everything first, lay it out, pin, edit, then piece together. For those who know me well, I am prone to skipping all of the above (the ADHD kid in me) and start sewing straight away.

I think it did pay off in the end and am pleased with the result. As you can see, the points do meet! Some credit goes to the trusty 1/4 Bernina foot. Yay! Also spent ages trying to get a random look to the triangles. Dunno whose gonna get this one yet.

 

Tuffted Tweets Quilt top

A sneak peek at what I'm working on currently. While waiting for further instructions on the Trip Around the World quilt, decided to cut into the lovely tufted tweets FQ pack.

Spent ages trying to decide what to do with it, went to Oh Frannson! and Red Pepper Quilts for inspiration. There are so many wonderful patterns to try out. Decided to go with a simple and therefore quick to finish modified log cabin. Each block consists of a 5" centre square surrounded by 2.5" border. Figure I need about 25 blocks to make a single quilt top. Haven't decided if I want to use the essex linen as a border yet. Will see how it goes.

Also tried my hand at a baby bib. Used the free tutorial from chickpea studio. Used the nylon type (waterproof) material which was purchased from Japan, as well as installed my first snap button.  Not too bad an attempt :)

My Precious....

My new Bernina is here! After an agonizing week of waiting, manage to collect it on Friday evening. You read the reviews and think how different can it be? Well I am definitely a convert...It's just so preeettty....and it sews like a dream. You can already feel the difference with the regular straight stiches. But the real party trick is when I snapped on the walking foot. Boy, started on the Hexagon Flower quilt and it is so much easier compared to the old Brother (which has been packed away). No more pushing/ bunching/ puckering etc. Will take some photos once I clean it up a bit.

I've started piecing the Trip Around the World quilt which is a project I am undertaking together with Y and friends. It was such a breeze that before I knew it, finished the 4 panels. Awaiting instructions on how to proceed (hint hint)

Also received 2 packages with Tufted Tweets (with coordinating deep purple / red / lime green fabrics) and Hope Valley. Taking some inspiration from Red Pepper Quilts and want to try out some of her designs. So much for finishing a project before moving on!

I DID IT!

Yes, I have committed to buying a brand new Bernina 350 PE with leg lift. Get the chills just thinking about it, partly due to the guilt for spending so much on it, but also the lovely projects I will be able to complete with it! More reports once it arrives in a few days time.

In the meantime, caught up on some handwork I have been meaning to do. Stitched together the doll panels for M and her friend (pretty sloppy work but I was under dourest, by the demands of two 5 year olds, they don't seem to care), as well as some paper piecing hexie flowers (thanks to Y for some pink scraps from her bin).

 Also selected my fabrics for the Quilt Around the World which Y convinced me to try out. Since I'm not fabulous at matching up fabrics, took the easy way and chose the Nest collection from Tula Pink as my final 8. Like the color scheme, except not sure about the Teal colored piece at the end. It kinda looks disconnected from the rest?

Hexagon flower quilt top/ Hourglass pillow

Haven't been good about posting last couple of weeks. Here what has been going on....

• Completed the Hexagon flower quilt top (yes, it needs to be ironed). 

• Hourglass Pillow (1 of 2 which I had planned on) Don't know if I'm gonna gift it to Mum or keep it for myself

 

• 1 Crayon Wallet for B's office colleague's kid (no pictures unfortunately)

Collected a whole load of delicious fabrics from Y the other day. Don't really know what I, gonna do with all of it. Yet, still trawling the sites for more fabric bundle deals. Is that crazy of what?

All I want for Christmas....

I cannot stop thinking about it. Plan to test it out and will provide full report then.

Sarah's apron / oven mitts

Haven't had much sew time in the last 2 weeks. Absolutely itching to start new projects / finish up the hexagon quilt top! Decided though, to make the apron/oven mitts as a gift for S (as a top-up birthday gift) who just loves to play dress up. Used some of the lovely elephant print I got from Japan.

In the process, realize that I NEED a sewing machine that is more forgiving. When inspected with my more discerning eye, the stitches are really uneven when using the walking foot. Tried free motion quilting (with scraps of course) and lets just say, the pictures are not fit for posting. Yes, my skills are amateur but I think it doesn't hurt to have a little help with some cool tools.

Speaking of which, also eyeballing the Accuquilt GO! cutter. Been reading up on it, and the only thing that is stopping me is the price. Gadget dilemma : To upgrade sewing machine, or splurge on Go...sigh.