Another Cherie and Love For The Little Girl

Just a quick post. I finished another Cherie wristlet for a lovely customer, Yan. Both fabrics by Amy Butler from her Midwest Modern collection. I love Amy's fabric from this collection so much! I think they are a staple for bag making, such yummy, retro prints!

On a sad note, I went to sleep last night crying as my heart goes out to the late little Shafiya. She was such a pretty and smart girl, I can't possibly imagine how could those closest to her have the heart to harm her??! I pray hard that the monster who killed her get the worst kind of punishment for what he did and please God no more this kind of news....It's disturbing to realize the breakdown of civilisation right here in this beloved, peaceful country. I blame it on weak family institutions and drugs. These kind of horrible crimes always involve drugs, the one thing that would pull our society down as it slowly turn good men into hideous monsters. Please God, save us all. Please let our children be safe to enjoy this beautiful life you bestowed upon us. Ameen...

Jom Jahit - Sewing Roll

The Jom Jahit sewalong hosted by Tinihani is fun, and as always, being a slow sewist, I find myself only able to finish the projects nearing the dateline :P

Well, at least this one makes me happy once completed, for many reasons! :D

One, at last a reason to use this cute scissors print Wonderland by Momo. Two, my scissors, fabric markers and other tools now have a secure, comfy home! I misplaced them all the time as I am not much of an organised kind of person lol

So instead of sewing a crayon roll I turned it into a sewing roll for yours truly.

The fabrics I used are a bit too thin. I debated wether I should interface it, but decided to add a layer of poly batting instead. Later, I quilted the pocket through the inner body fabric (the scissors print) and the batting. The result is a comfy, cuddly roll, padded and safe for my precious sewing tools.

The top part here turned to cover the tools in the pocket so that it won't slip out when I carry the roll around. Fun project, and more to come! :)

More Sewing - Frenchy Bag and Patched Pincushion

I managed to sew this Frenchy Bag by Amy Butler that I've wanted to make for so long. I love the unusual design and the endless possibilities that comes with it. The first attempt was fairly okay as I used some cotton canvas from IKEA, without interfacing. I sewed the shoulder bag option.

Overall, sewing the bag is fairly easy. But I would definitely make some changes on the next one, construction wise. This is because I find the pockets are just too large. They are a bit floppy and gaping inside. Next time I will stitch them down in the middle to make 2 smaller pockets on each side.

I will also use a different method for attaching the top band to the lining and exterior. And also, I would change the magnetic snap position. I think it's better to position it on the upper band than just below the seam because the weight of the magnetic snap somehow pulled the lining down.

I skipped the double top stitching of the exterior to lining part. I mean, I don't know how others can do this without the magnetic snap getting in the way!

Other than those improvisations to be applied in my next attempt, I still think the bag turns out pretty good, thanks to Amy's fabulous design.

Another pretty little thing I managed to make is this little patched pillow pincushion. Made entirely from little scraps of mine, I know now I have to make tons more of these cuties. Patchwork is addictive, gotta love the opportunity to play with the fabrics, mixing and matching them.

Till later, happy sewing! :)

Lovemelots New Shop URL and Being Featured at Keykalou Blog

Just dropping by to announce the new URL for Lovemelots Creations shop. The blog shop is now replaced with http://lovemelots.crazyartzone.com for better shopping experience. Credit to my partner Maya for her help and expertise, the best I could ask for. :)

Come drop by the shop anytime and subscribe or be a Follower to get latest updates.

Malaysian customers, watch out for the ever popular designer fabric Preorder runs. I am opening the 5th batch very,very soon and you can choose from so many goreous, delicious prints offered at the shop.

On another happy, happy note, Michelle, the designer of Keykalou patterns has featured the Garden Party Wristlet I made from Jennifer Paganelli's Sis Boom fabric on her blog. I am truly honored she likes it and of course, I could not have done it without her fabulous pattern! Read about it on her sewing blog here.

First Booth Experience @ WOW Carnival Putrajaya

....and WOW what an experience!!

I was at the Wow Carnival Putrajaya on Saturday together with Zilakasim, Anne and Maya as we shared a booth, bringing handmade items and sewing supplies to the market. I could only snap photos from my mobile, please excuse the bad pictures.

It was a scorching hot day as you can see here :

But it's all worth it in terms of me learning how it is to work a booth at a bazaar/market etc. It was really fun sharing the booth with the girls and it was literally a blast with KLFM booth right in front of ours, blasting out songs after songs!

The crowd was heavier in the late afternoon and got really heavy at night during the concert. I made a few sales too which is great confidence booster. All the wristlets and hair scrunchies were made by me with the help of my darling sister, Masni. Without her I don't think I'd have many things to sell on that day. She also tirelessly helped me at the booth attending to the customers etc. I love you sis, thank you!! *hugs*

But after leaving the first day at 11pm (I was there since 7am!), I was totally pooped! Now having a bad sore throat and feverish, I decided not to join the girls on the 2nd day. I need all the strength to go to work tomorrow lol

All in all, great experience, will definitely do this again! :)

Garden Party Wristlet In Sis Boom!

This Garden Party Wristlet is for a lovely customer, Siti. The Sis Boom fabric is Amy Dots in Fuchsia from Jennifer Paganelli's Bell Bottom collection. I love the unique graduated dots in different sizes. Besides, fuchsia and turquoise together = Sweetness! So girly, with detachable ribbon bow brooch. A lot of handstitching action going on here too...

Happy...happy day! :)

It's Done! My First Baby Quilt and Blanket Set

My first baby quilt, took me 2 days to complete. I am now officially in love with quilting! :)

I rushed to finish the quilt as I'm afraid the baby might arrive early. It's due in March but you never know with a first born. It's my new niece/nephew (most probably niece), the first child of my beloved sister in law.

I planned for so long for this quilt, in the end just settled with a simple log cabin. I think I need more practice before attempting the smaller square piecing. I had so much fun playing with the fabric. The quilt has a cute novelty center print and all over polkadots in multicolor.

There's a lot of puckering going on here actually because I quilted using the normal foot. I have yet to invest in a walking foot. I told myself before I will only buy one if and when I really wanna seriously quilt. Since I've seen worse puckering on store bought comforter quilt I guess this is not that bad :P

The back - I used 100% cotton flannel from Robert Kaufman and a sweet blue floral binding from Timeless Treasures.

I used a combination of instructions from Quilts and More magazine and a pattern from Elizabeth Hartman from Oh Fransson. I used outline quilting as per Elizabeth's advice and it is an easier method compared to stitch in the ditch.

I'm loving the clean mitered corner and yes, the binding was 100% blind stitched by hand! :D That's my favourite part....sitting in front of the tv, slowly hand stitching the binding..so relaxing. And the result is pretty neat too, way better than machine stitching.

To complete the set, I made a simple 36" square (with rounded corners) matching baby blanket. I used thin flannel as the backing for that soft, cuddly effect.

Made with love by an adoring Aunt, all ready to go and meet their new owner, can't wait to see those tiny legs and wiggly toes! :)

Shhh...I'm Working...

Just a sneak peak.... :D

Hopefully I can finish it today.

To my friend Maya (Mai) - memang berpeluh-peluh lah....hahaha...tapi seronok!

Sew It - Wonky Patchwork Pillow

After a short break, Sew It started again as the Wonky Patchwork Pillow tutorial won the poll.

So I finished mine this morning, pheww! So glad I did as Sew It is a weekly sewalong, being a slow sewist, it's a real challenge for me :D

I gathered scraps in dusky pink and brown tones with some odd colours here and there. I did not pay any attention to the patcwork print positions at all, after all this is a wonky pathwork pillow lol. But I still think the dark brown polkadots overpowered the others on this one.

Still, I love it. My pillow is a 20" square, so had a 21" square patch.

The back. I love this pink Sis Boom fabric. The little miss just woke up and beaming. Glad to know at least one little girl loves the new pillow! :)

Come join us before Mayya feature this week's Sew It on Wednesday! It really is an easy project, great to use up those mounting scraps! :)

Ottobre Three Way Dress Sewalong Feature

This feature is almost two weeks behind schedule but no worries as when it comes to sewing, one ought to be flexible right? J

I'm glad I waited before making this entry because there are many inspiring entries popping up in blogland by incredibly crafty and industrious Malaysian sewists. I made many new friends through this sewalong and humbled that many new sewists would love to join, with infectious enthusiasm! Thank you all for participating, honestly, in the beginning I thought it would only be Dura and me, and you've proven me wrong with your drive, determination and of course, most important and highly appreciated, friendship!

Let's look at all the entries now (I try to take only the dresses' photos (not the child) from participants blog in if they have one) :

UPDATE :

This sweet dress was sewn by Ajnie from http://ajnie-isma.blogspot.com. The yellow floral sewn in View C of the dress turns out real pretty! Thanks for joining Ajnie! :)

Sayap Si Pari Pari – The Angel Wings! Love this version by Maya, fondly known to me as Mai ;)

Maya is the owner/founder of the vibrant Craftzone.MY, the definitive Malaysian crafters community hangout. She also has a wonderful blog, a daily must read for many. I love her creativity and neat workmanship, someone I look up to. Maya and me, we go way back to the time when we were sweet 17s, as we were classmates in high school, only reunited almost 17 years later through this passion for sewing and craft. Amazing!

Fuschia Swirl Dress by Durra

We thought of this sewalong when Durra purchased her first Ottobre. I love her fabric selection, sweetness!! FYI, Durra's blog was recently featured in Malaysia's mainstream national daily newspaper. How cool is that! Congrats Durra!

Pink Dress by Kak Haida

Kak Haida, the sweetest sewing lady and friend I've ever met, albeit online. Love all her sewing especially those beautiful bags. Here the dress is for darling Yasmin, her daughter, so pretty!!!

Soft Pink Dress by Neeza

Love how she wing it and put her spin on the basic dress shape. Now that's what I call creativity! Neeza is one of the most consistent blogger in this craft. Love how she evolves into a confident sewist through her blog. Way to go girl!

Orange Floral Dress View C by Zue

The only one who opted for View C and I love it! Beautiful dress for that special little girl. Keep on sewing Zue, you have it takes! J

Dress with Shoulder Ties by Ainun

Ainun sewed View A, the shoulder ties version. This design is so pretty on her little girl, and it looks real comfy! Thanks so much for joining Ainun! J

My Little Valentine Dress by Me!

Of course, worn by the reluctant model. She was not in the mood and it shows lol. I made an entry about the dress here.

I know that there are at least two more young moms just started sewing the dress. I will update here once they are done. However, please email me if you participated and I missed to feature yours.

Finally, I just wanna say, well done ladies! This sewalong is so much fun, we shoud do it often! :D

Lovemelots Label n More

They are here and how can I not love them? :) Teeny tiny labels, just right to carry my mark on each handmade item I churn out every week. Thanks to ribbonboutique for their assistance and exceptional job in producing these.

And these fabrics? Pre order batch 1, just arrived. Gorgeous, yummy, delicious!!

Drool on... :P

Ottobre swealong feature is coming up. Stay tuned! :)

Apron for Aisha and A Manly Pouch

These are projects finished two weeks ago but I forgot to blog about.

Aisha wanted an apron. So I cooked one up using scaled down version of my apron tutorial and added one huge, grinning pocket :D

Do you notice how girly the apron is? I used the cheapest materials here, some pink gingham and polycotton blend vintage roses print. But....this apron is actually meant for Aisha's art class in school!! LOL, I got carried away with my girly-ness and forgot it's supposed to be an art apron. Oh well, I bet Aisha will be the one with the girliest art apron in class then :P

The girls danced on the sofa during the photoshoot as if they are little chefs.

I love Hanan's expression here :D


And Hanan wanted to put it on too. It looks like a dress on her lol..I need to make another apron just for her, a teeny, tiny one.

And after that, hubby wanted a small pouch to put all his manly stuffs (dunno what they are hehe)...So I offered a few prints in man color in my stash, which of course is very limited. He refused all of them, too girly he said. Sigh...

Then he returned to the room with an old folder (usually we get for free when we attend Government's courses :P) made from thick poly+webbing mix (I dunno what material this is) and asked me to recycle it and made the pouch. And then he printed his name on iron on transfer paper and transferred it onto my cotton tape. I attached a D-ring for him to attach his office keychain etc.

So this is the result, made with love. Manly eh?

Almost Losing My Parents, Shocked and Shaken

My parents was involved in a scary road accident near Merapoh last weekend. My dad was driving when the car went out of control, spin about, veered off the road and fell upside down 12 feet in the ditch. They crawled out from the back door as both the front doors were smashed in and jammed.

My dad sprained his shoulders while my mom's condition slightly worse with swellings at the chest and neck. She's in horrible pain and advised to just lie down for 3 weeks!

I am now waiting for their flight from Kota Bharu tonight and will spend a few days at their place. This incident shocked and shaken my siblings and especially me....

Worst things could have happened and it's just unimaginable to me. It reminds me that life is really a fragile gift given to us temporarily and family is the most valuable treasure one would own.

I love my parents so, so much. We're lucky to stay so close to each other that I can visit them often. I want to hug them close and tell them how much I love them.

My parents, they are the most generous people on earth. Willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of their children's happiness.

My dad, started with nothing, was able to bring the family to the level that we are today. He is smart and strong and soft all at the same time. He is my pillar, my rock.

My mom, she has a strong, able mind and soul. The will that keeps everything together. She loves to cook and have large family gatherings. Family is everything to her.

They are the best parents anyone could ask for. I want my children to love me as much as I love my parents but not sure I deserve even half of it.

Syukur, alhamdulillah that I'm able to see them again tonight.

Ladybird Dress for Hanan

I made Hanan this dress simply because I need a reason to use this cute Tina Givens fabric. I LOVE the unusual shade of pink. It's like a mixture of pink and coral and really, really beautiful in real life. The yellow lamp/chandelier and the contrasting blue ladybirds are perfect as it makes Hanan wonder and point and a breeze to put the dress on her.

The dress is a Japanese pattern from Natural and Layered Style Pochee Special pattern book. Simple 5 piece pattern with tie up closure at the back. It looks like a no brainer to experienced sewer, but the upper bodice has a curved shape that helps the dress swing, thus different from similar looking dresses.

All in all, when your little girl happily twirl and dance in the dress you made her, you know you've done something right! *grinning momma*

Cherie Wristlet In Amy Butler Fabrics

I finished the Cherie wristlet commissioned by a friend, Lin.

She chose these gorgeous Amy Butler prints and I enlarged the bag by 0.5 inches on all sides.

The inside, fully lined and a patch pocket. Ooohh...I'm falling in love with the fabrics all over again. Amy Butler is, indeed, the queen of all fabric designers! :D

Today, I'm off to Sabak Bernam to interview some enterpreneurs for our research (at work). Will not be at my computer and dragging the lonely 3 hours drive.

Till I come back, have a happy, crafty day friends! (I sound a tad like Barney :P)