The Return of the Comeback

The last time I checked,  I was mighty proud of my formal sewing class.  Well, I still do, but, not as mighty high and proud as I was a few months back :(

One,  I realized, sewing clothes isn't my forte :(  I know I delivered well in school.  The projects that I did all passed the scrutiny and standards of my teachers. BUT,  it isn't really just for me.  I know it's way too early to tell.  Still, at this moment,  I can't say that I am able to sew a clothing project (sob, sob, sob....)

A lot of things had happened this past few months and before I knew it, the year is about to end again.  This is the only year that I can truly say, "time do fly fast."

Anyway, I went back to sewing after a few months of taking a break - when I said break, it meant that hubby and I had gone through another transition again - yes, you read it right... we basically had two transitions this year, huh?!?

Going back to my sewing.  I sew a few pieces of doggy beds for a dear friend/first customer/business coach/everything else :D

I also did a few of my past sewing projects.  I'm amazed how much I have improved in executing my sewing techniques now.  Thanks to my formal sewing classes,  although I didn't really achieve the purpose of attending those sewing classes,  it still gave me a lot of know how in doing my sewing projects now.  I am thankful that somehow, I have managed to incorporate all the lessons and my years of experience in doing sewing projects on a better note.  If only I can do the same with  clothes :(

So, here's a rundown of all the sewing projects I did the last few months :)

 doggy beds with my friend's own doggy/my endorser, Tequilla

 potluck take-along tote

 

the vanity pouches

 Crayon Rolls

Pen Rolls

God is good. One stitch at a time. :)

not another sewing project post :)

i am on sewing hiatus - not on purpose though but by circumstance, huh?!? but i miss my sewing blog.  but i don't have any sewing project to post. so? i'll just post a sewing-related thing ;)

i think i haven't really told you yet that i am so drawn to old things, or in other words, anything way past the age of my late grandmother and the likes ;)

when our malaysian adventure finally concluded, and while we are starting a new adventure back here in Manila,  i have been scouring the net for some household items which will suit my taste and my budget.  as for the taste,  it only meant, anything old.

two weeks ago, hubby and i went to Tiendesitas in Ortigas and lo and behold,  amongst the collection of antiques there,  only one really stood out and caught my interest.  a refurbished old sewing machine converted into a sewing table sans the sewing mechanisms of course.  i asked for its price but it was beyond my budget. inasmuch as i really would have wanted to have it,  i just can't.  we were able to buy another old piece of furniture instead. and the memory of that old refurbished sewing machine have slowly drifted away.

last week,  i decided to check ebay philippines and one of the categories there says, antique... hmmmmm.... sounds interesting! (at least to me).  i immediately went to see what's inside that antique category. OMG!!! the first thing that popped out - the same refurbished old sewing machine with an old hardwood attached on top and the feet and pedal are all webbed iron.  must be fate! and it was being sold for half the price as the one in Tiendesitas!  and it wasn't the same seller too. it was out for bidding, so without even thinking, i bid. a day after,  i got a message from the seller and everything happened too fast that before i knew it,  that sewing machine turned sewing table is now neatly placed in one corner of our living room area - i knew it! it found its way to find me :) destiny???

so, for the benefit of you, who have been patiently reading my sewing mis adventures, here's my sewing table which actually isn't going to be a sewing table really :)  i'm thinking of other ways to put it into much good use... i would be needing a huge sewing table for my sewing machine when it arrives soon.

husband temporarily found an alternative use for it ;)

God is good, all the Time.

P.S.  I have a new blog which will chronicle my formal sewing lessons soon!!!!

vanity pouch

yes, i admit. i am vain. but not a vain to a fault. i know when i should be and when to stop.  when i was still working in Manila,  i would always experiment with make-up, there was even a time that i got hooked with the bloody red lipstick.  i would wear just the lipstick and nothing else.  without even realizing that i didn't even have my own car and i just rely on taking the public transport.  you should have seen how people would react seeing my bloody red lips.  i had so much fun then. yeah, that was then, when i had the luxury to be vain.

where i am right now and how i am right now,  i don't seem to be very excited anymore being vain.  although i still take good care of myself.  i would still experiment on different products, but not with make up anymore. i do still keep a few make up pieces but i hardly ever use them, unless there's a very important occasion where i need to make myself presentable and not embarrass my husband.  but no more red lipstick this time.

anyway,  after being so high with our "epic christmas tree" episode,  i  got busy doing some baking projects for the coming holidays so the pending sewing projects had to take a back seat.  then i realize,  next week will be christmas day already and i haven't had the time to buy any christmas wrappings for a few gifts to be given to our very few friends here, huh?!? as if this moslem dominated country would be bountiful with christmas inspired gift wrappers, duh?!?  then it popped into my mind, what could be a better gift than something handmade and the materials can be found right in front of me -  my stash of scrap fabrics!!!!

so here's my take on a vanity/cosmetic/medicine/what-not pouch.  boy, i'm so glad to have finally made something with a zipper and didn't have to do it a gazillion times :) thank you God!  i got the tutorial here

 

more of these to come :) 

thank you God. :)

Hanging Christmas Tree - A Walkthrough

Finally, after 891 days since I started my sewing (mis) adventures,  I have made my first ever tutorial.

I have actually sewn quite a few projects which are original ideas of either mine or hubby's,  but I haven't had any chance to make tutorials for them.  Yes,  my husband do contribute a lot when it comes to ideas on my sewing projects.  He does sketch better than I do. No, beyond better than I do.  He also serves as my quality control manager, and my adviser when it comes to fabric color coordination.  He is  a lot more coordinated with colors than I do.  (Thank you God for my husband!)

Anyway,  last November,  both husband and I decided to make a D-I-O (Do It Ourselves) hanging christmas tree (click here).  Then I posted photos both here and in my facebook account.  Little did we know that  a lot of our friends and strangers alike would really show appreciation and admiration for such an impulsive project that hubby and i made.   Hubby and I am really thankful for those who have enjoyed our christmas tree.  Never did it occur to us that indeed, it was such a good project, maybe one of the best projects I have ever made.  And it's HUGE!  I haven't done anything as HUGE as this christmas tree.  I have always limited myself to small projects.

And since it is the christmas season, and as our way of giving back the glory to God for the inspiration and guidance, I am sharing a tutorial for that "epic" hanging christmas tree.

Since this is also my first time to make a tutorial which is sewing related (didn't know it would be that difficult, huh?!?),  I hope that you would all bear with me if there are things which I might have  un-intentionally missed out along the way.

Here's the link to the tutorial.  Enjoy and have a blessed Christmas!

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree! Much Pleasure Thou Can'st Give Me!

This year will be our 4th Christmas away from home.  Malaysians don't celebrate christmas the way the Filipinos do.  Since they are quite diversed in their culture, and the majority here are Moslems,  they really don't make such a big deal of the christmas festive season.  Although December 25 is considered a non-working public holiday, still,  you wouldn't feel it at all unless you go to the big cities like Kuala Lumpur and go to their shopping complexes, then, you would have at least just a hint of the christmas feeling.


When we were still in Labuan,  hubby and I would put on some christmas lights by our windows and that was just it.  Our malay (moslem) neighbor's daughter even asked her mom why we celebrate Hari Raya/Eid in December (their annual ramadan festivities).

Anyway, this year,  after getting the winter issue of the sewing magazine I have subscribed to,  I just felt so excited about christmas again.  I started doing some of the christmas ornaments detailed there which I haven't been able to finish yet since I ran out of felt.  Then it hit me,  we should have a christmas tree!  I scoured the net for some christmas tree inspirations which wouldn't entail us to buy the whole christmas tree but anything that would resemble a christmas tree, for christmas' sake!

Here are some of the christmas tree inspirations I saw from this website, Apartment Therapy

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/look/janes-wall-collection-christmas-tree-072170

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/at-sponsored-posts/breaking-the-mold-what-christmas-tree-style-suits-your-home-135313

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/green-ideas/drying-rack-as-christmas-tree-103437

There  were so many of them that I got overwhelmed which one to follow :)  Never did it occur to me that I have a handyman husband in the house.  So I went up to hubby and asked him for ideas for a Christmas Tree where I can use my fabrics.  Sometimes, we really need not look further because the answer is right smack in front of us! The moment hubby opened his mouth for ideas, it was non-stop and we both got so excited, he drew everything on my sketchpad, made all the measurements, and my goodness,  I didn't know that for such a simple thought of making our own Christmas tree, I would have to go back to my trigonometric formulas of the phytagorean theorem and the pi, whew!?!

So after careful thought, planning, solving formulas, buying the very cheap materials, cutting them, forming the skeleton, sewing the ruffled  covering, I would like and I am very proud to present my husband's Hanging Christmas Tree :)  It's not really complete yet since all the christmas trimmings and embellishments are still yet to arrive, but I'm just way too excited and really proud of my husband's work of art.

the bare hanging christmas tree with just the fabric covering

hubby made the lighting fixtures inside

and of course,  a christmas tree wouldn't be complete without this scalloped mat beneath it

I can't wait for the next batch of felt to arrive so I can make the rest of the embellishments and trimmings :)

Some of the embellishments have arrived yesterday, so now, I am updating the photos :)

Thank you God for Christmas!

life is worth stitching. one christmas at a time :)

I Love You Seam Ripper

After finishing one of the christmas ornaments sewing project that I am so into lately,  I decided to finally make a sewing machine cover.  After more than two years!  It could have been one of my first few projects but I kept on stalling the idea until one of the patterns from the sewing magazine that has recently arrived caught my attention.  It makes use of Felt and Fleece!!! Which I am so into lately, huh?!?

Without even measuring my own sewing machine thinking that most portable sewing machine almost measures the same,  I just prepared all the necessary fabrics and felt appliques. I wasn't in a hurry but was taking my sweetest time in finishing all the appliques and bias cut bindings and finally to finish the cover.  Much to my dismay, it was way too oversize for my machine and it tends to slouch rather than to stand upright.  I didn't make use of any fabric stabilizers like fusible interfacings since the ones that I have aren't of good quality that they will just fray later on.

you will notice the top tends to bend towards the rear side and the width of the

sewing machine cover is way too big by around 2 inches on each side that's like 4 extra

inches for the width!!!!

I felt so bad that just when I took my time, never hurried, quite have gotten used to changing and adjusting the thread and bobbin tensions to suit the fabric that I was using, used the correct needle size, there I go again.  It was so stupid of me not to even realize that sewing machines do vary in sizes, ha ha ha!

Anyway,  since I couldn't just let it go and tell myself that, "hey, it's for your sewing machine perla so why bother to make it almost perfect?" I slept my disappointment away and promised myself to make the necessary adjustments the next day.

So yesterday,  armed with my BSMAE (Best Sewing Machine Accessory Ever),  the tough and mighty and fearless Seam Ripper,  I ripped off the bottom binding, the top binding, all the sides, and re-sew everything again.  I wish we humans would also have like a seam ripper at hand for our follies and mistakes in life, duh?

So now, I'm happy to present once more my newly re-sewn sewing cover.

I want to thank my dependable BSMAE

I will be indebted to you for the rest of my sewing life

now i'm happy :)

Now I can continue with my christmas ornaments project.  I just hope that I get to finish them before christmas comes;)

God is good. All the time.

overwhelmed

Just when I thought I could already manage to slowly grapple my sewing-a-basic-dress dilemma,  I failed again miserably :( I don't want to think that I'm so limited to sewing bags, home crafts, and basic blocked pattern blouses.  I know I can do more only if I would push myself more. 

After the vacation, the birthday, and the post-vacation-post-birthday days,  I thought I was all set and fully recharged to conquer my greatest frustration in my sewing experience - as if I've been sewing for a century already, huh?!?   Now, I feel as if I'm back to zero :(

Then the mailman arrived and much to my surprise,  a sewing magazine in our mailbox!!!  I entirely forgot about signing up to a promo online that entitles me to around 4 magazine subscription and I only paid for its shipping fees for like 5 USD.   I was way too happy to scan the pages of the magazine that I entirely forgot about my forthcoming "sewing depression."  In short,  I  bounced back!!!!

Since christmas is almost here,  and the magazine is a winter issue,  there are a couple of christmas-inspired sewing projects there.  So instead of sulking and making myself miserable which is not so worth it at all,  I scoured my stashed fabrics,  my collection of felt, traced the patterns,  cut, and started sewing each of the felt applique.  Now, I'm excited again to finish this project soon and complete our handsewn christmas ornaments.  It's going to be a first in this household.

Here's a preview of what is keeping me sane and busy and diverted :)  Thank you God.

 

these are 30 pieces of felt appliqued denim/canvas fabric

ready to be pieced together soon :)

once I finish this off, then I'll be able to name this one :)

Would you like to guess what this one is?  Since October is my birthday month, then maybe there's nothing wrong if I have my first giveaway to the very few readers that I have, most of whom are real close friends of mine, ha ha ha!!!!!

You may either leave a message or comment regarding your wild guess.  The first one to give me the correct answer will get a handsewn gift from moi.  

God is good. :) Thank you God.