Emerson Skirt for Emma

I made this maxi length skirt for Emma, my dearest Idamurni's niece. It's a size 7, but I cut a longer size 10 length because Ida wanted it to be a long flowy, maxi length skirt. I really hope Emma likes it :)

I have sewn many skirts before but I truly enjoyed the simplicity and sweet modesty of this long skirt. I made it using the Emerson skirt pattern by Marie Madeline Studio, pattern pics as below :

I absolutely love this pattern. Easy peasy and comes in 3 different styles - pleated, gathered and flared. I chose the flared style for Emma since I've always wanted to sew circular skirt before.

I learned from this pattern that circular style uses more of the regular 44/45 inches wide fabric. The flared shape of the pattern would extend beyond the folded edge. For this pattern, up to size 7 is fine but if you're sewing a larger size you might need double the amount of fabric. All the other styles would use less fabric as the patterns are mere rectangles. Either ways, I'm pretty satisfied with the results and already planning to sew another one for my older girl Aisha who loves to wear modest clothing :)

On the home front, I finished my back-to-back mid-term exams and the stress of it all is taking a toll on my body. I caught the flu bug and spent most of my free time lulled into flu-meds induced sleep. I hope this won't go on for long coz next week will be the start of another round of presentations-paper submissions-quizzes.

Hope you have a wonderful, productive day ladies, bye! :)

New Skirt & A Note from My Babies

Hello friends! :)

This is almost random - I have Business Research Method exam tomorrow morning. The fact that I am writing and posting this now is a clear indicator how stressed out I am. Classic in-denial, escapism mode for momma lol!

Oh well...this place makes me happy and the pictures sooth my messy brain, I'll take whatever form of pacifier I could get right now...

This is a skirt I sewed for my neighbor's lil birthday girl last week, a present for her Miss Rania, 2 years old. Am calling it the Hop Scotch Skirt. I love the ruffle and whole lots of possible combos for this skirt. I will be offering this for custom order in the shop by end of December :)

And that note I mentioned in the title? Well, I was rummaging through my half-yards drawer last night when I found a folded paper stashed away long ago. It was a sweet Mother's Day message from my babies...it is Aisha's drawing and writing...I thought I'd snap a photo of it and post it on this blog coz this mama is good at losing things lol!

Off to the library now and face reality - time to hit the books! Till later beautiful ones, have a great week!! *hugs*

KCWC - A Sweet Dress For The Lil Mam

Ok...I confess. I didn't formally signed up for the challenge simply because I know me! I know how I could end up with just another unfinished project for my girls and later feels really bad about it....

But I went through with this one and am so proud of myself haha....The main push factor?? Our neighbor is having their girl's 2nd birthday party - so this lil mam wanted a new dress and she actually picked the fabrics herself!! So I complied & stayed up late to finish it. And since KCWC is still on, I decided to enter it there too :)

I wanted to sew something different & browsed through my pattern stash for something modern yet sweet for a birthday party. I decided on this pretty pattern by Lily Bird Studio. I love all her designs, and it was wonderful to know that the designer, Cecilia, once lived here in Malaysia! She has been very helpful whenever I need help regarding the pattern. 

I made the dress one size bigger for Hanan (5T) so that it would have a longer wear-time. As mentioned in my previous post, I LOVE the pleating detail of this dress. Pleating adds to a sophisticated look to the dress. All in all, great design, very satisfied with the outcome!

The lil mam could not agree more, as you can see...lol!

Have a beautiful week ahead my friends! *hugs*

In The Zone

I'm sewing...in between school work...

I find solace in the movements of my hands and the soothing whirr of the sewing machine at dawn....

Among all the techniques, I find that hand pleating is my favourite...

It's so comforting...the rythm, the pace..left-right-left-right...

aaaahhh.....

It's zen.

What's your favorite sewing technique?

:)

Too School For Cool

You know that one line in Pink's song - Raise Your Glass? I love it...so very anti-mainstream, very appealing to me. That's how I feel rite now. Now that school is back, I am so into it I found other endeavors not as interesting, including - oh no - sewing!

You see, this semester, I'm well towards the end of my MBA. I'm in the 4th Semester, one more to go for my project paper & I'm done. The courses I'm taking this time around are all SO challenging + advanced in its rigor - that I am practically living on my nerves - all the time. Worse still, it all begins way too early! Just the 4th week of the semester I already have 2 major presentations, 2 journal articles review + 1 strategic marketing plan to do.

Party dress - pattern credit to Olabelhe :)

Naturally, sewing is on the back burner. I found the current courses I'm taking SO interesting - I basically feel guilty whenever I'm sewing instead of reading! 

This is new to me. But credit has to go to the professors. I am so lucky to have the opportunity to learn from some of the finest academics in our country this semester. Especially in a course called Current Issues in International Business. I learned world history, economics, politics, current happenings & the impact on businesses as well as our future generation. Nothing that comes from a standard textbook. It inspires me to think hard, makes me aware of where our country is going while at the same time I fear for my children's future as the world gets deeper in turmoil. Other than that, I have new found interest in economics as I learn a lot from my International Trade class.

More pictures on my Facebook page :)

BUT, I did manage to finish a few overdue orders, mostly just in time before an event or wedding a customer need them for. I do still find sewing comforting & de-stress-ing (??)...but there is also that eagerness in me to read more about world history & economics & fall of empires & financial/debt crisis in the US & Eurozone & the struggle of the Palestinians - that I'm constantly on flight mode - wanting to get away from the sewing machine.

That's it for today. As Pink would say in that song - why so serious???.....Lol!