Simple Summer Separates & Ramadhan Kareem !

Salam Ramadhan to all my fellow muslims, may we find berkat in all our doings in this holy month.

So, what are you guys having for buka puasa tonite? Ish I am sooo jealous ! Here it is going to be whatever that I decide to dream up hahaha. Buka is currently at 9.15pm and imsak is 3.50am, yup, its a really long day. But it actually feels alright because the weather is nice and cool, in fact summer has flown on by and the cold winds and wet days of autumn are already here. Kids are going to need warmer school clothes again.

Just wanted to share some summer separates I made for Shasha before they become obsolete :-)

The top was from here and I think its going to be her last time wearing it. The pants is from white eyelet cotton, loose fit with leg cuffs. Got the idea from a Burda March issue, just looks so relaxed and carefree.

The top and 3/4 pants are from Ottobre 3/2009, here. I added woven ribbons around the knees and a cute button, totally transformed. The top from jersey and has a very sweet flaired sleeves and hem. The pants are linen, really comfy.

Whats cool about separates is all the mix and match to get double the outfits :) The beautiful embroidered blouse was a steal from a small vintage shop in Amsterdam, some things never go out of style.

This is the pants up close. I topstitched the side seams with a bright pink criss cross stitch, vamp !

And finally, a simple peasant dress from Cucito, altered to flare it up more, added an elastic waist casing, green rickrack and red woven ribbon at the hem

Hmm I just realised all her outfits are blue this summer , not a pink in sight ! *Sigh* I am so missing summer already, just too too short.

Selamat berbuka all, I still have a longgggg day ahead :)

Sewing with Jersey - The Secret

Pretty cotton and viscose jersey fabrics are coming out by the bolts right now, and I'm so totally in love with them. But have to admit, sewing jersey is a nightmare, they keep puckering. Then I keep reading in Ottobre and Burda the tip of using a bias facing. So I asked the sewing notions stall and yippee they had it, a thin strip of bias facing that you iron on the shoulders and armholes to stop the fabric from stretching when sewing, it worked like a dreamm:) 

Here's my first project of sewing with jersey, really loved how it turned out

Can you see the white strips on the shoulders and armholes? Thats the bias facing which needs to be ironed on the stitching lines. 

The completed dress and I adore that matroshka applique 

The dress in action, has a really swingging skirt and is so comfortable, its now her 'go to' dress :) If you notice the neck binding is a bit wide, after intense studying of Ottobre tips, when using stretch binding, the length of binding is only 0.75% x the length on the pattern. So I did it again and turned out really well.

The original model from this book

Tip when sewing with jersey ; prewash is a must! I didn't and after the first wash the length shrank by 2 inches!! Wash at 30C max and line dry. The bias facing gets softer with every wash. I used a straight stitch but stretch the fabric as I sew and slightly loosen the upper thread tension, so in its relaxed mode the fabric will be a bit elastic and the stitches won't break. The pattern has a really dropped shoulder and is a bit larger than usual but the skirt is beautiful.

Hope you'll share some tips with me of sewing with jersey, so love it because now I don't need to iron Shasha's dresses :)

Pochee Crazy !

Hello everyone. Its been a very wet and cloudy December in KL. Yesterday went balik kampung in Bukit Merah to visit in-laws for the last time. It was a gorgeous sun shiny day with clear blue skys , but by the time we made the return trip home at 6.30pm it was raining torrents and the heavens were split by thunder and lightning. We finally made it home at 10.45 and headed straight for the Mamak stall :-)

I made these dresses a few weeks ago. It started as a birthday dress for my dear niece Fitrah, but after seeing how cute it was I ended up making one for Shasha and Fina, so here they are !

Made in Yellow Buds by Hunky Dory. 1 Yard was a bit short for her so added a lower frill.

Here she is at I-City with her mom and baby brother on her birthday.

Fina's in Chocolate Lollipop and Shasha's in Remix by Ann Kelly. I sort of fell in love with the added ruffles. The original used a bias tie around the neck or buttoned all the way down, a bit too tedious for me, so I improvised by making a placket on the back skirt and made button bands only on the back yoke.

Here they are, best of friends at 8 years old. I sometimes wish my girls will stay like this just a little bit longer! Pretty soon they'll not want dresses any longer :-(  Well, the circle of life must go on.

I first saw this pattern made by the talented Zura here and knew I just had to get the book. I believe I browsed thru it on 4 separate occasions and each time convincing myself that NO I do not need another pattern book! On the 5th visit, I finally decided that YES I was going to buy it and suddenly this young couple picked it up and seemed so interested! OMG, I was nearly in tears, my heart was racing. They put it down, I picked it up and ran to the counter for my life, they looked flabbergasted haha, yup this is a true story.

Sizes in here are for 90cm to 130cm and they are gorgeous. A MUST !

One more week till I leave Malaysia, not much looking forward to it especially going from 32C to a -6C, brrrr , I hope the kids can take it. Have been shopping for winter clothing since it is a bit cheaper here compared to Europe.

My IMac is leaving with Mr J on his flight tomorrow night, so that means this will be my last post from Bukit Antarabangsa, Malaysia. I'll see you next from cold, wet and cloudy Rotterdam.

Adios and keep on crafting.

ps. I couldn't help it, I bought books on crochet and knitting, have high hopes of making pretty sweaters once there! Lord, I'm gonna have excess baggage moannnn.

Azirin's Wedding - Part 1

My sister Zirin got married last friday, Alhamdullillah! Frankly, the whole family was getting a bit worried over when she would tie the knot. She's a fussy little thing, smart and way too talented for her own good. It was a bit of a bombshell when she suddenly announced to our parents, ' urmm, my 'friend' wants to come meet you'. And by 'meeting you' the boy came and asked my parents permission for her hand! Then the flurry of organising the wedding took hold. All the work was done by my mom, zirin and baby sis and between the 3 of them they did a beautiful job. The whole thing went without a hitch. I'm a bit sad that I didn't get to help, I was busy running around doing my own organising :-( I didn't even get a new dress done, just didn't have the time, and ready made ones never fit me cos I'm too tall and skinny to be average , sob. So, I ended wearing something old.

Here are the photos of the engagement and wedding solemnisation ceremony held at my parents'.

Zirin looking relaxed whilst waiting for her groom !

The groom being told the rules of marriage by Tuan Kadi. Ironically, this is the exact Tuan Kadi that officiated my marriage at that exact same spot 11 years ago! Lord, how ancient that sounds , LOL

Such a beautiful serene bride to be, her dress was stunning, wished I could have gotten a close up.

The exchanging of rings

The four siblings with the gorgeous mummy. My mom painted the walls herself! Yup, she's one of those 'I can do anything' types!

Enjoying her wedding feast with new hubby. My mom made a whole pot of masak lemak udang galah (Tiger Prawns in Coconut Gravy), was awesome. Shucks, should have moved that flask out of the way.

With Shasha and Aika who insisted on posing with the beautiful bride. I made Shasha's dress from the Autumn Cucito 2010 same as here. I used 1 meter of this gorgeous maroon velvet I found at Harrisons. First time using velvet, I have to admit it was pretty tricky, but as long as you sew with right sides together, it was ok. Only catch was that it can't be ironed and topstitching was impossible. But I loved how it turned out, simple and demure and the material flowed gorgeously. 1 metre only got me 3/4 sleeves however and hem slightly above the knee. I always underestimate how big she has grown.

I wished I had gotten better pictures though, but I was too busy running around entertaining the guests. Hopefully the photographer has good ones, he better! 

I'll post photos of the reception later, thats even more stunning :-)

MY Girl has come a long way

Celebrated SHASHA's birthday recently. Since her's was on the 25th, a monday on the start of exam week, she agreed to postpone it till the week after. I did of course bring everyone out for dinner to celebrate and she got loads of books in the process. She's so into The Tiara Club Series now so I decided to head over to our favourite bookstore ( other than Kino), bookexcess at Ampcorp Mall. Yup, even though its all the way across town I ploughed through traffic to get there! Why you ask, well, for those who are not aware, bookxcess is just that, they sell excess books at very discounted prices. A RM35 paperback goes for RM17, and even hardcover editions go for Rm19 / RM17 and keep checking their website because they're allways bringing in new titles, too bad they're not getting any Japanese Pattern books, then it would have been perfect :-) Its of course a great place to get kids books. Adam got his Brinsinger and Eldest for Rm17 and Danny his Dr Seuss for RM12!

I made Shasha a new dress to commemorate the day ( actually I was sick of packing ! shhh), the pattern from the cover of Autumn Cucito. Made it from the gorgeous Hunky Dory Garden in Green. Turned out very pretty I think.

She's getting a long distance call from her beloved Ayah, she is such a daddy's girl! I tell you, she only has to say the word and the daddy will get it for her, it never works for me ! You really should see when she's lying on the sofa, twirling her hair and having a chit chat with her daddy on the phone, utter romance LOL!!

So on Monday the 1st of Nov we went over to her school. Made some cupcakes , her friends were more excited over getting the party packs tho. But they were so cute, everyone said 'Thank you Aunty' after that and Shasha looked so proud and happy. 

Looking at her now, I find hard to believe everything she went through. She was born full term at 3.79kg and healthy. She however did not thrive as normal babies did even though she fed well. Every time I pointed it out to the hospital paed he would dismiss it but a mother's instinct are never wrong. She contracted serious pneumonia at only 5 months and had to be hospitalised for a week. I was doing my closing from the hospital bed and not getting any sleep, it was exhausting. After that episode she continued to be hospitalised every month for serious asthma, I seriously have a phobia of hospitals now! 

I really think it was a blessing that events conspired to enable me to stop work because she was not thriving at all. She developed motor skills and speech much much later than other kids. The two of us have been to weekly sessions of physio and speech therapy from the time she was 4 till just before she entered primary, scans and tests. But seeing her now, so confident and happy and interacting with other kids, I sometimes can't help shed a tear of happiness at the most unexpected moments.

The world is changing and we hear more and more cases of children with autism or other special conditions where before it was very rare. I salute those mothers who are dedicated in giving their all to their children, I know how hard it can get. But always remember it is worth it 100% and when at times it gets just a little bit overwhelming, call the hubby and go get yourself a day off :-)

One thing I do regret however is concentrating so much on Shasha that I disregarded Adam. He became such a wise little person too fast and was always helping me out around the house. He was the one helping to look out for the baby sister even though they are only 2 years apart. I'm trying to be fair to all now that Shasha is on the right track.

To my darling girl, just be the best that you can be and no matter how far or high you go, what matters is you keep that heart of gold.

xoxoxoxox
Ibu

It's Zara again!

Hello dear cyber readers, I'm sick today :-( Thats why i finally decided to take a break from my hectic packing and blog. This one is so so long overdue but it really is one of my most adorable collections to-date. These were commissioned again for my niece Zara by her lovely mom for the past Eid. A bit unorthodox for Eid, but the mommy just fell in love with the cute Japanese pattern books, who wouldn't ?!

So here they are , ta-ra !

Set 1

Pattern from this look, she loved the simple Sunday School look, so i tried to keep the choice of material from being too garish.

Set 2,

I just love the itsy bitsy shorts, cuteness personified. I couldn't resist making the 2nd one from pink, Zara is just so cute! These from this original photo:

These two patterns are taken from this book. Its definitely worth it, the patterns are modern, fresh and so very boutique. Does take some fiddling to do but the results are so gorgeous!

And here, the last, a simple peasant long sleeve tunic

Met Zara's mommy ( Intan) recently and she wants more! Well, not a problem except that postage will later cost a bomb :-)

The movers are supposed to be here in the next week and there's still tons that I need to sort out. The kids toys are giving me a headache, I'm telling them, thats it, no more toys from now on. Its amazing how much trash 3 little tykes can horde in their bedrooms! At least now, Adam has moved away from toys and into collecting books and he has become such an organised little person, its scary! Have a feeling it skipped a generation and he's getting it from my mom's side of the family :-)

Thats it dear readers, the kids are hollering for their dinner , sigh, a mom's work is never done.

Beyond Gorgeous If I May Say So!

A good friend, Shahrizan, offered me a challenge, a striking, pretty blouse and pants set for her tomboyish 3 year old daughter and 2 cousins. They had to be pretty she said but also versatile enough for active 3 year olds! And, they had to be same but different to avoid cousin squabling! So there I was leafing thru designs then putting batch after batch of materials together to match, quite a headache really.

These are what I finally came out with, and I just love them. It was hard to stop from keeping them for my Shasha, luckily they didn't fit :)

and my absolute favorite!

No 1 pattern from CUCITO Spring 2010 same as here, no 2 & 3 from CUCITO Summer 2010 no 43. The pink is Daisy Dance by Michael Miller teamed with Argyle in Spring by Ann Kelley. The sky blue polka dot is teamed with a Heather Bailey's. Those ruffles are a full 84inches!

And here are the matching capri with of course, ruffles!

My friend loved them and most important, the little miss (also a Shasha) loved all of them and wanted to wear the pink to bed! Yup the mom has decreed the pink to be hers :) A satisfying job well done, pat, pat LOL!!!

And i didn't think the outfit would be complete without hair accesorries, so using a Clover flower yoyo maker, here are 3 pretty hairbands.

Blues for Zara

Where does the time go, its nearly end of July already! I have been stitching and running errands as usual, I hope my fellow stitchers are having fun stitching. 

I had a request from a cousin to make one pants suit and one smocked bishop for her 2 year old Zara, and below is what I came up with. Pattern for the blouse is again from Children's Style Book from my post here. I have to say this is my best Japanese pattern book to date, so many options, I'll probably end up making them all :)

And here is pretty Zara, she's just adorable with the prettiest glossy black curls. She's real happy with her new clothes :)

The request for tops and capri sets have been really good, so that is what your's truly will be doing at her machine for the next few weeks! Ramadhan is just few weeks away, so in case I forget then, to all my fellow muslims, Have a happy Ramadhan and may your ibadah be blessed by Allah s.w.t.

A Color Fiesta!

Yes, I've done it in record time! Am really in love creating with these yummy fabrics to the point that I even skipped lunch, bad bad girl! So here are the two blouses that were meant to complement the Insa skirt.

Blouse No 1. Sweet, Simple & Demure

Blouse No 2. Funky, Fun & Sassy !

But truth be told, I prefer blouse No2 paired simply like this

I am seeing bright pink corduroy pants with some appliques with this top! Yup there I go again, mind just can't seem to take a break. Blouse no1 pattern from Spring Cucito 2010 and Blouse No2 from Children's Style Book Spring 2010.

But as the saying goes, "too much of a good thing sometimes not so good" hahaha my version! I actually would pair this skirt with a simple plain white t-shirt and maybe just add a dash of applique on it from My Minds Eye. What do you think?