Fabric Find

I was traveling recently and found myself in Beijing. Chinese culture is, if I had to sum it up in one word, WOW! Apart from everything else they had, the silk and embroidery just blew me away! I didn't pick up any embroidery, no time and no budget this time, unfortunately.

But I did manage to escape for a walkabout at one of their markets, and see what I found:

Pretty, pretty, pretty fabric shoes!

I think they're gorgeous!

So of course I picked up a pair for myself, and an extra for Niece. In different shades of pink, hee! I wanted to post a photo of my pair actually on my feet, but I've got a scab on my left foot. And Niece's photo is in the iPhone, and I can't be asked to get up to look for the wire thingie that syncs it to the laptop. So I'll just show you the shoes sitting pretty at the market again, hee hehe.

Now I can't end this post without showing you this:

These little goldfish were in a big aquarium at a restaurant we stopped at for lunch.

And they were all looking out at us. Can you imagine hundreds of little goldfish 'wagging' their tails and staring face first at you? Priceless!

Another Quilt - Yay!

I'm tackling another UFO - soooo satisfying!

You may remember this one from  here and here.

I'm finally quilting it - in an overall meander, this time.

Lots of upper arm muscle involved.

I gave it a name a long time ago - Lavender Fields. It sounds a little dramatic now. But somehow it fits, what do you think?

Almost, almost done, heeeeee!!!

Better Late Than Never

So there's been this award that's been going around. A couple of gorgeous bloggy girls nominated me (thanks lovelies - muah muah muah!!!), so of course I should join the fun, right? A little late (as usual), but better than never.

Now apparently there are rules to this thing.

The first rule is I'm supposed to nominate up to 15 other bloggers to receive this. As I'm little late (ok, a lot late) onto the bandwagon, almost everyone I know has already received their nominations (seems the crafty, bloggy world in Malaysia is pretty small after all).  So I'm taking the easy and lazy way around and nominate ALL of you lovely, crafty, blogging ladies reading this, ahaha! Jokes aside, I want you to know that I do take the time to find and enjoy your blogs, and I appreciate all your comments (even though I'm completely useless at replying).

The second rule is that I'm supposed to tell you 7 things you dont know about me. Huh? Ok...

Number 1 thing you don't know about me is -  I'm actually a nut case.
2. My favourite colour (most days anyway) is RED.
3. I'm absolutely TERRIFIED of Ultraman. Ever since I was a wee lass. NOT a joke.
4. Ooh, serious one this. My life was so 'eventful' a few years ago that I was diagnosed with panic disorder and agoraphobia. Sewing and quilting became therapy. Literally.
5. My favourite idol so far is David Cook.
6. I loooooove potatoes!!!!!
7. When I grow up I want to be Beyonce. ehehee.

So there you have it!

Have a happeee weekend all : Happy Thanksgiving to those in the States (most importantly - HAPPY SHOPPINGGGGGGG) and to all here, happy looong weekend (yup, ANOTHER public holiday on Monday - insane! heeeee!!!!)

Another quickie

Simply to wish you Happy Eidul Adha!

For those not in the know, this is another celebration on the Moslem calendar, this time to celebrate the 10th day of the month of Zulhijah, otherwise known as the Haj month. And we all know about the great pilgrimage that is the Haj.

So, enough said.

PS. Sewing therapy well under way. Photos soon.

PPS. Because Eid Adha falls today ie Sunday, we get another public holiday tomorrow (haven't I warned you that we get LOADS?). A benefit of a multi-cultural, multi-religious society. But alas, not me. Oh no. I have to go to WORK tomorrow. Grrrrr...

Been Traveling...

... Can you say "shattered"?

Some serious sewing therapy much needed - preferably with a good dose of fabric shopping therapy thrown in.

Thank heavens for weekends.

And sewing machines.

And fabric.

And yummy hubbies too (someone's got to rub sore feet, hee).

Happy weekend all.

Tidy Shelves

The last couple of weeks haven't been particularly interesting in The Office, sadly.  Oh, I've been in it a lot, it's just that there hasn't really been any significant processes going on. I have made lots of little pouches, make up bags and such sorts, but I won't be boring you with them this time.

But.

I've also cleaned out my fabric shelves - they were getting to be scary looking. Quite.

So.

I'll let you have a peek at my stash, in all its technicolour glory.

Now I need to ask,  how do you stash your stash?

Me?

I have yard bundles:

half yard bundles:

varied length bundles 

(ie those not falling in the yardage or half yard categories - 

a bit pointless this category, but there you go) :

Solids, checks and spots:

A floral bundle:

FQ bundles. These come in two sorts, the first being bundled up according to collection:

And those just, well, bundled up.

Of course, there's my scrap bundle (or should I say part of my scrap bundle). I think this is my almost favourite bundle. I looove playing with scraps, randomly piecing them, not making and not thinking of anything in particular, just seeing where they take me, eheh.

My favourite bundle? 

A basket full of precuts! 

So how do you stash your stash?

Charmed Fun

This week's project was brought about as a matter of necessity.

You see, and here's something about myself you don't know - I'm a bit of a creature of routine when it comes to my breakfast. I bring it with me every work day, probably because I'm always so rushed (read "unorganised") in the morning that I never manage the time to have it at home. And my packed brekkie is almost always the same thing, a jam sandwich and a juice box, and sometimes, if I'm feeling healthy, there'll be a fruit.

So anyway,  I have a little lunch bag which I use to haul my breakfast goods. I can't even remember where I got it from, but since its got a print in the front that reads "Welcome, Thank You", I'm thinking it must have been a goody bag from a get together of some sort, a wedding perhaps?

And here it is, but as you can see, one of the straps have gone. 

Oh dear.

But.

That meant I needed to make a new one - yeppee! - any excuse to sew, hey?

So out came some charm squares - happy happy! - volunteering for the job.

These are from Moda's 'Spirit' - I'm wondering how many of them I've actually got, Spirit charms seem to jump up at me every so often.

The construction was simple. I merely copied the dimensions of the old lunch bag. All in all I used up, let's see, 1, 2 ... 14... 17, I used up 17 charms for the new bag, so I suppose there'll be a fair amount of  Spirit charms left to jump up on me every so often again.

Now for the fun part - photos!

Lots of room!

All packed up and ready to go!

Now don't forget to eat your breakfast!

A Little Less Fabric

I've been very good lately in eating into my stash. The more I use up the more reason there is to buy some more, hee!

This week I've used up more than half of my Moda Arnold's Attic fabric.

So there's not miles left, only mere yards, eheh.

And this is where it's gone into:

My kitchen table's gotten a new look hu hu!

Hmm, maybe I should've ironed the table cover before I photographed it?

(Check out my mosaic floors, they must be about 30 years old - does anyone else have mosaic floors these days?)

For the seat covers I simply used velcro as fasteners. My previous seat covers (patchwork affairs also made by moi, of course - currently in the wash, so no photos) had ties, but I wanted this set to be simple with clean (or cleaner) lines, so I just velcro-ed it. It's not so pretty, I know, but ah well, I'm easy to please :-)

All in all, I'm giving myself a pat on the back *big smile*.

Used up any stash lately?

Fabric Finds

This week was about more input than output. I'd been around the shops a bit, and of course couldn't resist adding some to my stash. Not so much productive, but equally enjoyable!

We popped into our LQS for a visit, and walked away with these yum yums:

Fat quarters:

I can never resist a bit of red :-)

Now the next fabrics are actually smaller cuts, each about 10" X 10" each,  perfect for small projects and applique. I have no idea what I need them for, but hey, who cares? Hee!

Enough to keep me daydreaming for the next couple of weeks, eheh.

I also discovered these cutesy tins on a separate walkabout, aren't they the cutest?

The shop I got them from is called 'Romantika', in case anyone of you in the Klang Valley is interested, and they have a selection of tins to choose from. I was hard pressed to decide which ones to purchase. AND they only cost MYR7 (that's just over USD2) each if you can believe it!

Now I'll know exactly where my ribbons and zippers will be, hu hu!

Okay, truth is I haven't been completely idle this week -  I'm working on a home decor project at the moment. Some time ago I purchased miles of this fabric off the internet:

I seem to remember the intention being to make some curtains. However, when it arrived in the flesh, I discovered it was a little darker than expected. Just one of the hazards of purchasing online, I suppose. Ah well. 

But anyway, it's still some gorgeous fabric, and I'm using some of it (there'll still be miles left, sigh...) to make new chair covers and maybe a matching table cloth for my little kitchen table.

I've just about got everything done, only have the final details to finish off. Pictures (hopefully) soon.

Have a wonderful week ahead all - muah!

Updates!

It's been a haphazard couple of weeks in the fabric world. A little bit of touch and go, stops and starts. With a little bit of blaah to boot, yuck.

We've been busy celebrating (Eid, remember?). Now, this goes on for an entire month, so we're just over half way through. Lots of parties, or 'open houses' like they call them here. Which are basically, well, 'open' houses, where homes are open to visitors for some food and get-togetherness. And more money packets to give out, eheh.

And so, most of my free time has been spent making little gifts for the hosts. Things like these:

...pot holders 

...that double as trivets...

... little pouches and tissue holders...

still in love with these cute ballerinas!

Somewhere in between I found the energy to finish my pink and blue blocks...

but the search for just the right fabric for the sashing continues... sigh...

I even made an ambitious start on my zig zag quilt top from this post, 'Start' being the operative word here. After an hour of wrestling the whole package just got dumped on the floor, where it remains. I'm not even going to bother with a photo, is just too sad in its present state...

But on the happy end, today I received a pleasant surprise. A neighbour returned from a holiday in India earlier this week, and I guess she knows I'm A Fabric Case, because look what she brought back as a souvenir:

The photos don't do any justice, no matter how much I fiddle with the camera. It makes a gorgeous wallhanging, so now I must find a spot on one of our walls to showcase it.

Happy week ahead all!

A Busy Week

We've had a big week here indeed!

And I'm going to tell you all about it, so this is going to be a wordy post.

First up, we celebrated the end of the month of Ramadhan on Tuesday. For those not in the know, Ramadhan in the Moslem holy month of fast, when Moslems abstain from food, drink and naughty things and remind ourselves of virtues we may have forgotten as the year progressed. Now I have to admit I tend to struggle a little at this time every year, I'm always so HUNGRY, but we persevere, and with some patience and a sprinkle of faith, all ends very well.

Cookies and cakes accumulated!

When the month ends, we celebrate. And I tell you, Malaysian's celebrate like there's no tomorrow. We get 2 days of public holiday just for Eid. The custom here (like in China so I've heard) is that there is a mass exodus from the cities to the villages. Families gather to:

• feast!
• forgive
• catch up with all the gossip
• visit relatives we haven't seen in a year, or years
• discover distant cousins we didn't know existed
• guess which child belonged to which relative (children grow so quickly these days!)
• marvel at how fat cousins have become (well, mine anyway)
• etc etc (you get the picture).

And if they're anything like my family, there'll be a fair amount of quarrel in between all that too, hee. 

So that's exactly what we did, Yummy Hubby and me. We went all the way down to Singapore, then made our way back up to Kuala Lumpur... 

Source

... visiting families and handing out money packets to little children (another custom - one I most looked forward to as a child and least look forward to now, for obvious reasons, eheh) along the way.

Money packets

I should also say that en route I got attacked by this fierce creature in Malacca:

Angry bird!

And I have a bruise on my stomach to prove it. I must say I will Never play the Angry Bird game the same again! 

So to continue with our busy week, we also had our Merdeka Day aka Independence Day on the 31st - I wrote about this last year here.  And that gave us an extra public holiday, bringing the official Malaysian total to 3 this week. So most people and employers had the ENTIRE WEEK off! 

Simply amazing, isn't it? 

Yummy Hubby thinks it's ridiculous and keeps asking me what other country on earth shuts down like this.

But of course I'm not complaining, ehehee!

Anyways, as you can imagine, not much sewing got done lately. I did manage to get all my pink blocks done for my New Project before the holidays, and even started on the blue.

I suppose my Singer deserved the rest, and I made sure to oil it well before we left for our trip. Can't wait to get to it soon!

But for now, to all Moslems, Happy Eid!

And to all Malaysians, hope it's not too late to wish you happy holidays!

Weekend Project

Some weeks ago, Izzati - a friend of mine, surprised me with some cutesy fat quarters....

She'd been out shopping and came across a craft bazaar going on in Subang. Knowing what A Fabric Case I am, she very kindly picked some up for me - I believe she got these from Kelly of Fabric Fanatics. 

Aren't they simply adorable??? 

The little ballerinas are my fave :-) 

And just check out Little Red Riding Hood there, cutesy cutesy cutesy!

So this weekend I got them out to enjoy some 'ooh-ing and aah-ing' and before you know it the rotary cutter had appeared and my trusty Singer was whirring away.

I'd made 2 quick pencil cases out of the pale pink Rommie and June fabric, but Niece and best friend Nina managed to run off with them before I could snap a photo.

So I cut into the Red Riding Hood fabric and made these:

A little quilted make up bag, and matching pocket tissue holder.

I love how the red zipper and olive binding frames the fabric...

I'm in love with this set, but have decided to gift them to Izzati - I hope she likes them as much as I've enjoyed making them... :-)

Have a happy week ahead everyone!

New Project - Yippee!

I've started on a new project - hurrah! (never mind all my UFO's... eheh)

This one is going to be big - I'm thinking at least 6 feet square. Such high expectations, we'll see how it turns out :-)

I'm using some fabric that's been sitting about in my stash for too long. I'm thinking it will be a two-toned piece.

This one's for the pink colourway:

And this one's the blue:

So far, I've cut out the pieces for my pink blocks... (does anyone else get a back ache after cutting or does that only happen to me?)

And made a test block...

More to come soon!