Bella Baby Dress

This sweet baby dress is custom order by a lovely new mom, Feena. At a teeny tiny size of 3-6 months, the dress is such a cute little thing, I can't help smiling when I look at it. It is yet to meet its little owner as I have 1 more dress to sew for her.

This Bella Baby Dress is designed by Tiedyediva & Monkeysbug, I love it! The instructions are clear and easy to follow and the result is stunning. The bias tape trim makes all the difference, totally worth all the sweaty ironing.

Another feature I added as per customer request is the bow sash. The designer, Jen, was so helpful when I asked about adding the sash to the pattern. I am very satisfied with the result.

I hope this special dress will fit the little princess I sewed it for. To me, every little garment I sewed with my two hands is special and I could feel the love flowing into my work. I might not be the most professional of a sewer but sewing little girl dresses really, truly makes me happy.

Today, I am delivering my last lecture at work, before I begin a new life as a full time MBA student next week. The farewell luch organised by my colleagues at work was fun and heartwarming. I'm eager to begin yet another phase of my life, with lots more to come for Lovemelots Creations. I have something brewing in here, in my little studio. Stay tuned! :)

Another Sweet Baby Sundress

I just LOVE this combo!! Made this sweetie for Amies's baby girl, Qaira Jasmine, size 12-24 months. It's a bit tight on my toddler size dress form but I love how the whole silhouette is showcased here. I'm totally in baby dresses mode at the moment, so happy sewing them! :)

The main fabric is Ontranto in Sage by Alexander Henry from their Fashionista Series. Very sweet pastel pistachio green background and the sweetest pop of pinks! And the Henna Garden in Pink by Sandi Henderson is just the perfect pair.

 

I'm running low on this pretty pink fabric, need to get more in stash. The tonal color is just so delicious! I hope this dress will fit Amie's sweet lil princess :)

Have you been sewing much this weekend? I completed many items but they are all part of a big project of mine. Will blog about it once its done, can't wait!

Birthday Giveaway Winners!

Yeay, we got winners! 94 entries altogether, with so many sweet and wonderful birthday wishes (some are funny too! lol). Thank you friends for participating and commenting, I really, truly appreciate it.

With large number of entries, I could not manage to print out the names and let my girls choose the winner as in previous giveaway. So I had no choice but to rely on the good 'ol random.org. I first listed the entries in Excel Spreadsheet to get the assigned number or entries.

Since there are 2 winners, one local, one International, I had to press the button twice. If the first winner is a Malaysian, I will keep pressing the button until I get an International friend as the second winner, Vice Versa

Here goes!

1st Winner


Number 42 is Rozi Rahman! Congratulations Rozi!

2nd Winner


So the next one has to be an International entry. I tried 3 times until I get an International entry and surprisingly I got number 1!


I heard many times before that Random.org never select 1st and last entry, well its now proven wrong :)

The lucky number 1 is For The Love of Laundry! Congratulations! (I could not find your name :))

Both winners please email me your addresses so that I can send the fabrics asap.

Thank you all for playing! Me, well I got over my birthday all right, gotta get back to sewing! Later ya? Have a great week ahead!

Love,
Zura

Camera Strap Cover Samples

Responding to a custom request and the call to create by my very talented good friend Maya,  I made not one  but four of these camera strap covers.

I learned A LOT from making these. One thing for sure, looks can be deceiving! It's not as easy as I thought! Lots of measurement, padding, tube turning and bulky seams issues. Padded it for comfort and be prepared to face a hard time getting the bulky seams to move on the sewing machine lol. But I really wanted it to work, and as Maya had linked in her blog, there are just endless possibilities with fabric combo when dressing up your camera!

I don't have a photo with these straps attached to the camera coz I only have one camera and obviously using it to snap these photos lol. So these are Lovemelots Camera Strap Covers, I made them in 2 types.


Type 1

COMFY v1
One Main Fabric, Non Reversible, Softly Padded
This type is not reversible but have the comfort of soft padding inside (courtesy of fusible fleece) which is easier on the neck. I put Version 1 (v1) coz I'm sure I can improve on this design one day and come out with v2 :D

Type 2

REVERSIBLE COMBO v1
Combination of 2 fabrics, Reversible, NO padding, fully lined
This type uses 2 fabric combo, reversible, but not padded (as the padding is too bulky to turn the tube for this design). However there are 2 layers of soft flannel interlining inside the strap covers, making it a little bit more meaty to the touch. The outer fabrics are also fully interfaced for stability.

I'm offering these in the shop, will upload perhaps later today. Products can be custom ordered and I will also add ready to ship items in the shop from time to time.

Honestly, I'm way behind schedule with sewing as things at work plus getting ready for my study leave, are driving me crazy! I'm grateful I managed to complete these last night right into the wee hours. The little miss Hanan was of course like a baby owl stayed up to keep mommy company. Here at 12 midnite, she refused to go to sleep and asked me to snap her photo lol

Before I go, I'd like to say THANK YOU for all the birthday wishes in my giveaway. Some make me chuckle, some make me reflect on me, and most of them are loving, soothing words which I truly appreciate! You gals are the best, 3 more days before the draw, fingers crossed!

Til then, have a great day lovely peeps *hugs*!

It's My Birthday, Fabrics Anyone? A Giveaway

** This Giveaway is Now Closed, Thank You! :) **

13th June. My Birthday. I'm officially 34 this year. To be honest, ever since I reached 30, every year's birthday got me a little depressed. Mourning the fact that I'll never get any younger, ever again. Well at least on the outside. Inside, I always feel like a little girl lol.

So, just to mark the day, I'm giving away half yard each of these pretty vintage prints by Tanya Whelan from her Barefoot Roses Collection. As usual one set is for fellow Malaysian and another one for the lucky International friend.

I'll pick a winner randomly on Sunday, 20th June. To enter just leave a comment here. Help me cheer up a bit ya? Thank you friends! :)


Love,
Zura

Inspirations - Stitch Magazine

Hye there! I'm blogging from my in laws' place, 500 kilometers away from home, and yes, I miss home (and my sewing room, my fabrics, my machines the list goes on lol)...

So this is another favorite sewing magazine of mine. Stitch by Quilting Arts, published by Interweave. I discovered it last year when I found the 2008 issue on the back issue stand at one of my usual magazine hangout in Mid Valley (mall). It was sold at just RM9.90 , I took one look at the content and immediately launched my personal hunt for other issues. Well, the next one, Spring 2009 issue, was also found at a back issue stand in Armcorp Mall. That's when I realized that this fabulous mag is really a new one. Just 2 issue out at that time. And then I waited. The next issues never appear again on our local magazines shelves. Oh noooo.....not another Burda, I thought to myself....so sad, so sad! 2 new issues came out and I could not find them anywhere in Malaysia anymore, arggghhhh!

So, I had no choice. When I saw on its website the new Spring 2010 issue, I just gotta get it!! True to my hoarding nature, I purchased the two latest issues from the publisher's (Interweave) website. Now, ordering the 2 mags direct from US, combined with the expensive shipping, the price of each magazine ballooned to almost RM80 each!! Die, Zura, die...

The thing is this magazine is packed with modern sewing projects with full sized patterns. Everything is just so fresh and inspiring. There are many projects contributed by renown sewers and crafter, many are also bloggers. For a sneak peek of the overall content of this magazine, go to their website here. You'll find many sewing info and free templates there too. 

In the latest Spring 2010 issue, there is this gorgeous tiered ruffled halter top pattern by my favorite designer Liesl of Oliver and S. Super cute!! Definitely topping my to do list right now! And to put the icing on the cake,   I just discovered that Liesl has made the pattern available on her blog for FREE!! Yeay, now fellow Malaysians could at least get a piece of the mag through this cute pattern. Go grab it here, and happy sewing! :)

Introducing My New Niece - Asma Widad

I'm totally smitten! She's adorable and so full of life! This one will not stop wiggling and at just over 2 months old already showing signs of turning over.

Here she is in her auntie's creation, the Little Cupcake Dress. It fits her just nice, I hope its still wearable for the upcoming Eid. The booties I made for her before also fits her well. Too cute!!!

By the way my nephews & niece call me Mami Zura hahaha....yup, not auntie, not Mommy, but Mami Zura lol

Don't you just love babies? They make you smile and grin and laugh and forget about life's suffering. Such precious gift of God, to remind us adults how we're all born to bring happiness into this world. Baby Widad is so special because she was a much awaited baby for my beloved sister in law (hubby's younger sister) for so many years. I wish her all the happiness and joy and the blessing of a good life surrounded by much love from all of us.

I'm so happy to finally meet her. Yet another reason to sew tiny sized dresses for. We'll be back to Putrajaya on Sunday when I can resume sewing. Till then! :)

Hugs and Kisses,
Mami Zura

My Little Cupcake - Itty Bitty Dress for Baby Widad

Yeay I managed to finish one rushed project, an Itty Bitty Dress, in My Little Cupcake print. As you can see, it is meant to be saccharine sweet coz it's a gift for my little niece Widad! We're going back to Kota Bharu tomorrow for a much needed break with my in laws. I so looking forward to finally meeting my new niece and wanted to make a special dress for her, so I cut & sew this in just one night!

I used the popular Itty Bitty Dress pattern by Made by Rae. As mentioned in her blog the pattern is really small, more suitable for preemies. I added half inch to it, praying it would fit baby Widad. I changed a few things to suit what notions I have in stash.

I sewed in a Fuchsia Laced Bias Tape I purchased from Holland instead of the piping called for in the instruction. Mainly because I don't have cotton piping and making one at 12 midnite is just too daunting for me. I think it's cute, don't you think so too?

I also opted to add a bottom band for contrast instead of the bias tape because again too lazy to cut small bias strips to make one myself lol. I just cut 3 inches wide fabric the same length of the skirt, folded it to make a double fold bottom band and attached it to the skirt, easy peasy.

Can't wait to put this on baby Widad, will take pictures of her in it I promise. I'll be in Kelantan till Sunday so no sewing till next week. Which worries me coz my work-in-progress is building up on me. Here's a sneak peek of what I'm up too :

Phewwww! Till later friends, have a great day! :)

Umrah & Ziarah 2010 - The Journey

Hye! I'm back from my spiritual journey to Eqypt and Saudi Arabia. It was a wonderful, wonderful experience, my first Umrah. Despite the worry of leaving my girls for 2 weeks, I still love the enriching experience, the spiritual revival and the chance to get a closer look at historic places that growing up I could only listen to the stories. The most rewarding journey ever, no wonder our religion highly encourage us to travel, Subhanallah...

So I share here a few pics from my journey before we go back to my sewing posts. Honestly I'm still revving up my engine sewing wise lol...

We were in Cairo, Egypt for 4 days, with a day trip to coastal city Alexandria. The lifestyle in Egypt is somehow similar to Malaysia. I could totally live in Alexandria, what a beautiful city by the Mediterranean Sea! It was awesome of course visiting the Pyramids but the weather was scorching hot and we had to wear masks to block the dusty desert wind. Then we move to Saudi Arabia for the rest of the journey. I don't have many photos at Madinah and Makkah mainly because camera is prohibited in Masjidil Haram. I have some in my mobile phone though :) 

I leave you with the pics till next post. Enjoy! :)

Mom, dad and grandma.

On the River Nile

Where else can we see camel in town?

The street market by the Mediterranean Sea and a citadel.

Sayyidina Hussein Mosque

The camel I rode at Jabal Rahmah. Let's just say, camel riding is not my forte lol

The Prophet's Mosque, Masjidil Nabawi, I cried buckets here thinking of the struggle of our beloved Prophet peace be upon him.

My dad in profile, at the Red Sea. He looks so happy :)

I love my dad...Isn't he handsome? :D

And this is ME!  Hahaha...I caught you by surprise right?

I decided to post a picture of me here so that if by chance you meet me on the street you'd recognize me. Will that ever happen? Well who knows! Fyi, this is the only decent picture of me the whole trip, I am never photogenic LOL

Thanks for reading friends, have a wonderful, happy weekend!

Love,

Zura