Inspiration - Blush & Lush

My first etsy treasury...my favourite color...love how it exudes romance in pure femininity..blissly inspired...

dutchpearl $25.00	TCaponePhoto $30.00	ArtCityFrames $24.99	clairelafaye $1400.00
pomtree $3.40	PrettyBabyBowt... $10.95	underabluesky $15.00	pinkquartzmine... $5.95
clairelafaye $525.00	DayView $10.00	GIGIENRI $5.00	northbrooklynd... $56.00
eclu $48.00	plumprettysuga... $68.00	sewlola $25.00	AcuteDesigns $16.00

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! :)

Inspiration: Japanese Pattern Books

I received many inquiries from readers about Japanese pattern books I'm using in my sewing projects, so I wanted to make an entry on this to share yet another of my addiction J

In this picture are half of the books in my collection. Really, I am a junkie : P


Why I love them? The patterns are just so gorgeous! I am not Japanese and I don't read Japanese. Still, most of the patterns in the books are easy to follow, with the help of pictures and diagrams. Every pattern has its own diagram showing numbers that represent the steps. Example here:

The number 1 means you sew the neckline lace first, 2nd the bias ties, 3rd the elastic back and so on. The book will also show some details on a few salient techniques as well as fabric cutting guide (pattern position on fabric). Sizing for children's clothes goes by the height of the child in cm.
Every book has 2 or 3 designs shown step by step in colour pictures:


Seam allowance is NOT included, you have to add it yourself, there usually will be a picture guide on how to do that :


I used to buy the books according to the designs I see inside. Nowadays I go by how the folded pattern looks like. Because I realized that some books have patterns that tightly overlap each other that gives me headache just by looking, let alone attempting to trace it. Example is this one:


This one makes me breathe easier:


Be careful when selecting the books as I once received a book without patterns, yikes! This one was purchased online and I was surprised to see that there is no attached pattern to trace inside.


It turned out we have to draft the pattern ourselves, with the diagram guide as shown. The measurements in Japanese books are all in centimetre (cm) not inches. I've yet to draft anything from this one *sigh*....


The designs are always cute! I realised most of the children modelling for the patterns don't even look Japanese hmmm….and I think many designs in Japanese pattern books have French influence.


Some books offer mix and match suggestion:

Of course there are many with boys patterns included:


But I'm always drawn to designs such as this:


And I love the mommy and me patterns too! I just wish I am as pretty and slim as the mommy in the books though lol


All in all, these books are fabulous, but I still think that a little experience in sewing is needed as there are quite a lot of guess work to do when you try to decipher the step by step instructions. Complete beginner will have problems trying to make sense of some of the techniques. There are many blogs offering English translation of the Japanese writing on the patterns. Try and have a look at this, I found it really helpful when I first started using the pattern.


If you sew and haven't tried one, I highly recommend them. I buy my first 3 books on Etsy, and later locally when I found out KLCC's Kinokuniya bookstore carries shelves and shelves of these in their Japanese books section (and cheaper too).



Malaysian readers, if you ever find a lone woman making herself at home, sitting on the floor in front of the Japanese craft books shelves, browsing for hours, please say hi! :D

I always spend at least 1 hour browsing before I buy. Lately I am into their bag pattern books, oh my, I am so in trouble, I need to go to fabric and pattern books rehab or something….



(hear that? Me singing "No…No..No…" ala Amy Whinehouse haha).

Inspirations - Burda Magazine

My first love.

The initial spark to sew for me started way back in 2003 when I stumbled upon this magazine in a bookstore. Back then it was known as Burda World of Fashion (BWOF). When I browsed the first copy I found, I was awestruck. The magazine is jampacked with beautiful European designs (easily 2-3 years ahead in trends) and comes with full size patterns. It opened up a whole new world to me. A world of sewing gorgeous designs, using beautiful fabrics with endless possibilities and to be able to do it on my own! So I started hoarding the magazine. I even asked the MPH boy to save a copy for me every month and call me to pick it up at the bookstore when it arrives from the magazine dealer.

Back then, I have a sewing machine. A cheap, generic brand, purchased at the hypermarket which once broken, no one can fix. And that exactly what happened. The machine died on me barely a year of its sorry life with me. I managed to sew some pillowcases, bedsheets, curtains and errrmm....about ONE pattern from my precious BWOF lol

I remember sewing a cute lavender romper for Aisha who was just a tiny 3yo toddler that time and mind you, it had 6 buttons! Now that my sewing mojo is on full swing I wonder why I've not sewn as many buttons...

I faithfully collected BWOF until 2007 when suddenly I no longer received that monthly call from my trusted MPH boy. So I asked around and sadly...for some reason, the magazine is no longer distributed in Malaysia. So, so sad....I wanted to subscribe directly from the website, but somehow I find they are not making it easy for International customer to make a purchase (I suggest they look at how Ottobre is doing it, so easy to purchase with them especially the single issue options).

So, from then on, since I don't have a sewing machine, I auctioned off a few copies on eBay. This magazine's back issues are highly sought after on the International sewing community.

I remember a bit surprised when a fellow Malaysian bid on the magazine when I listed one of it on eBay US. And now that I'm on blogland, I realised the buyer was the very talented Alviana! Yes Alvi, I was keepsakes_n_such on eBay J

I now have a new, better machine and am seriously back in business with sewing, therefore, I will definitely try and sew a few designs from this amazing magazines I have in my hands. This magazine is now known as Burdastyle and perhaps one day our love affair will be rekindled!

My Fabric Fetish

When I reassesed my sewing room early this morning, I realized that my habit needs a little bit of controlling. It's not news that I love fabrics and I have been a constant gatherer for many years already. I just love fabrics especially natural cotton and linen. I used to sell fabrics too but decided to stop and focus more on creating/sewing. However, since I work fulltime, I can't sew/create fast enough to deplete my stash, so now the fabrics are taking up space. I mean they are everywhere!!

Here, bursting in the closet (I don't even have time to refold and organize 'em).

Peeking from inside here in the WIP bucket.

Some more in this box.

In drawers down here.

And more boxes up there!

And many more under the table and behind the door in rolls!!

Hmmm...what do I do? I might destash one day (or perhaps not! I love 'em all **hoard,hoard** :P)

Okay I got it!

An atonement.

I'll be having my first fabric giveaway soon and share some love with all you lovely readers.

Check back often ya? **Hugs!**

Inspirations - Sew Hip Magazines

I wanted to write about where I draw my sewing inspirations other than the fabulous creative indie blogs I frequent every day.

Sew Hip Magazine published by Kalmedia. I love it. It turns sewing, an endeavour once exist out of necessity into a modern women's avenue for expressing creativity, sharing love and inspirations. Every issue is packed with wonderful projects with full sized patterns plus step by step instructions. More than that it includes valuable information about all things related to sewing and crafts.

This magazine is from the UK, thus it arrives here in Malaysia one month late. I don't have a subscription. Every month I haunt the bookstores to get the latest issue. Most bookstore only carry one copy so if it's gone, it's gone. You can order back issues from it's website here.

Oh, one perplexity I would like to share here. Lately I noticed that sewing magazines are getting less and less space on our bookstores' magazine stands. Instead, a lot of knitting magazines being offered. And by a lot, I mean multiple issues of knitting magazines put on the shelf. I understand the trend for warm, knitted clothing in other countries where winter is approaching. But in this land of perpetual summer (even in the current rainy season), I just don't get it. Can't help wondering if our local magazine dealers did any research about Malaysian craft scene.

But then again, perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps there is indeed a large community of knitters in Malaysia I don't know about. I'm wondering aloud here mainly out of frustrations. It's so difficult to get good quality sewing magazines here. Especially when my favourite mag, Burda World of Fashion (BWOF) was no longer distributed in Malaysia. I'd been a faithful collector for years and it's so sad now that I can no longer buy it. I'll write about that magazine in another post. For now I'm enjoying my divine Sew Hip magazines.

Till then lovely peeps, have a great day ! :)