New Year's Gft for my Bike

Finally I have time to upload this bicycle frame snack bag after clean up the messy almost in all rooms. I had finished it early this morning. I couldn’t find any Velcro ties at local hardware yesterday, so I used usual Velcro band to tie up the bag onto the bicycle frame.

Happy New Year to all my blogging friends :)
Hope this year will bring many new hopes, opportunities and happiness...

A Closing Year End Project

It has been 2 weeks being a “single parent” since my hubby’s departure. Our Christmas is quite good after all. 3 of my brother in laws had come to visit us, all with their families on different days so we’re just like to be entertained and cheer up by them each day. My kids love to play and chat with their cousins and I was happy to see that.

Talking about living apart from hubby.. I think next year would be very challenging for me. I should be very creative to organize my time and schedules in taking care everything. Something flash on my mind…”be creative, creative…” so I wont have much time left for sad moments or daydream…

This morning I started to make something small as a closing year project. It’s a bicycle frame lunch bag. I found this idea yesterday at evilmadscientist.To see the picture my mind instantly goes to Rachel who biking to work and also my hubby there at Netherland. He said everyone’s biking there!

I haven’t finished it, hope tomorrow. By the way, do you have a closing year end project?

My Christmas Morning

This is Christmas morning, almost 6 am. My kids haven’t waked up yet. Their Christmas socks have already full of with gifts from Santa. Aah…, what a lovely and unforgettable moment being kids at Christmas morning. I always love this moment when I’m a mom seeing all their excited and happy faces when open up the gifts.

I didn’t have a good sleep last night. Actually this is the second night of my bad sleep. After chatting with my hubby via YM (thanks goodness for the technology!)until past midnight (there’s 6,5 hours difference between us because of time zone) then I still awake in bed for couple of hours (really I miss him a lot) before finally I could fall asleep for only 3 hours. In the morning like this at least I have a cup of hot coffee to cheer up my mood. It sounds not good, isn’t it? Have any good suggestion for me?

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones….

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas Eve!!
Wish you Merry Chistmas, hope you have a wonderful one :)

Christmas Miracle

I’m sooo… happy for the 2 things that happened to me at the end of this week.


First…I finally had done my quilting. Yes, it has done!! This is going to be the first “serious” Christmas present that I had ever made for my daughter. I know she will be really happy to have her first quilt blanket.

Second … my family received a Christmas gift from the Hospital management where my hubby works. You know what we’ve got? A beautiful batik bedcover quilting !!
It’s very special because there’s a paper labeled in the casing that the quilt made by disabled peoples from a local non-profit health organization.
I never expected I would have a present of beautiful batik quilt at the same time I finished mine.

Gift exchanged by gift too??
Hmm… Christmas miracle has already happened to me :)

Now....Binding!

Well, now I had finished my quilting stich and starting to bind the edge.
I found in some part my stiches is not good....






but in another place is quite ok!










This is part of my quilt from top. Maybe I need 1 or 2 more days to finishing.

I saw a tutorial in binding by hand from sampaguitaquilts at blogspot this morning. Since actually I'm a type of a 'student' that should always have a teacher stand next to me.... I don't know if I'm doing right or not in this binding at the back of the quilt. I left dacron batting to fill the binding strip so I can have a puffy edges. What do you think?

It doesn't easy at all...

Yesterday afternoon when finally I had my ‘free time’ I was glad. I straight went to pick my little plastic container where I put all my sewing tools and find a coziest place in the living room to start quilt. I think this weekend I will bind and next week I hope it could be finished. Oh…what a long journey to create a very first piece of quilt.

For me it’s a special blessing that I still have time to do nice and simple things I want for my own happiness. I feel like recharging my “self battery” while I’m doing my hobby or learning something new even if I could only have 10 minutes to do it in a day, but…really it doesn’t easy at all to find “me time” when you're married or still have young kids. I used to be smart to find it between my daily works after works as a mom of 3 kids! That’s why I called it ‘special blessing’.
What about you?

Good news to start a new day

Oh, I'm happy this morning because I finally received an invitation in my inbox from Jackie to join her "Black and White Quilting Challenge". Good news to start a new day :)
I wonder where this challenge will bring me in quilting..
Today I'm starting my quilt batting. Hope I could finalized it in a right way.










Till next post and happy weekend :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you enjoy your thanksgiving day :)

I do enjoy this day very much, because I had just recently received my dacron batting from my friend, Yuke. Yay...I'll start (to learn again) for quilt batting tommorrow.
And here's another paper quilling card I had made this morning. Sorry, the picture is not so good.

Paper Quilling Book

Yesterday on Sunday’s shopping at the book store with the kids, I found this lovely paper quilling book and so happy because it sold in HALF PRICE !!

I used to quill color papers before I learn quilting and sewing. I plan to make some cards again while waiting for my quilt batting after posting this.
Have a nice day for you all :)

A Little Project for Christmas

While waiting for a special gift -dacron-batting-for-my first quilt- delivery from one of my best friend, Yuke Lee (I think I’m a little bit impatient to receive it and continue my sewing. Thanks, many thanks to Yuke… I really didn’t expect to have it as a present!!) I did this little Christmas project this afternoon for little girl. Since I don’t have little girl anymore then I had already given it to one of my friend’s kid. Seeing her expression maybe I would make another 20’s for the preschool kids as Christmas presents.

First -to-be- Basting

I am about to sew my first quilt as you know - and this is the part I am confused about now -basting - especially in choosing the filling, I mean the quilt padding. Surely, I did follow some tutorial in it. (thanks Monica for your links!).
Now since I have been shopping around for a whole week to find it and only this kind of white-puffy-like-cloud batting I could buy here....

















Not similar to this picture I had download from a quilt batting tutorial blog. It looks like layers..
The shop owner said that they don't have any dacron batting like I wanted. I bring this picture while shopping for the batting :)she meant not only at her shop but others shop here in my city!
Maybe one of you had ever did this basting project with dacron/polyester like I had bought.
I may be bugging you for help -as always- if that's ok! :-)

I'm Going to Finish It

Yay, yay…finally I’m going to finish this blanket for my girl(maybe before Christmas) :)
I had chose a strip of red inside and white outside for the binding, but at this moment I faced another problem how to binding the edges, LOL!
Should I made a Dacron layer first in the middle and sew with the backside fabric layer before binding or what? Please, please help me…..friends

I appreciate all your comments and helps. I tell you.. without all your encouragement comments and helps I know I can’t make it all this way.
Thank you so much …
I also proud I can sew now for the first time although I don’t have a sewing machine.

Giveaway Gorgeous Fabrics from Katie

If you love beautiful fabrics or love to sew, I recommend you to visit Katie's place HERE. It's her 2nd birthday of blogging and she want to give her gorgeous fabrics to us as a giveaway present! Absolutely gorgeous fabrics.. you must see it, really!
Don't miss it, friends....visit her blog now. She'll pick the winner on Nov.5
Who knows.. it would be you :)

Lavender

I haven’t quilted for 3 days now, no time.. Every one at home is getting sick, one after another. Cold, cough and fever. I didn’t but get diarrhea. Really it’s an awful week.

This is a "non relevant" post to this blog, sorry it just to make me feel better for a sec from this sickness aura.

On my trip with the kids to a local farming last week, I bought couple of indoor plants there.
One of them is Lavender. Even I could only get a pot of it (they run out of stock) I was so happy to get it because I have been trying to look for that plant since last year. I had ever read an article that lavender is natural mosquito repellent, just simply put a pot of it on the room that you don’t want mosquito came in. It’s not easy at all to find real lavender here, because it’s not a local plant. Here I upload pictures of Lavender. Sorry for those who always good in taking pictures..you should be “get something itchy in the eye..” to see mine this time. Haha…very blurred and unfocused.
I hate mosquito really bad.
Since I only have 1 pot of small lavender plants then I have to let it grow thicker and bigger before I divide it into couples of pots. Oh..I hope my lavender could grow fertile in this rainy season and no more mosquito again in every rooms at our house in the next couple of months :)

New Fabrics

Yesterday after I took Ian to his kindergarten and accompanied him playing on the playground that has already set for celebrating the UN day (all the kids and teachers were supposed to wear traditional costumes from different countries around the world, Ian was wearing Japanese costume) then I spent couple of hours waiting him going off from school, first at a traditional market buying fruits and vegetables and then visit a nearby fabrics store.

At first I just want to buy one metre of white polka dot that I run out of it, but finally I ended up on buying many kinds of fabrics. I plan to collect them for my future quilting. Hahaha....as if I’m an expert on it! I don’t care, I just fell in love to see their lovely colors and pattern.

WEARING or USING what YOU”VE MADE

Hi friends..
I just finished my reading on ‘The Friday Night Knitting Club’ novel (after a whole month!) and found these wonderful notes that I want to share with you, something about anything we’ve made by our own hand.

“This can be the most fun:
To show off what we’ve made. And other times it’s just so hard to wear or use something that seems less than perfect or didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. But just put in on anyway; celebrate your hard work and your talent. And your love. Why else would we create? Especially in the world that doesn’t need homemade anything. That’s when we need homemade everything. It never matters if things don’t end up just the way you planned. Every moment is a work in progress. There may be worse, but there is always better. When you wear or use something you’ve made with your own hands, you surround yourself with love, and all the love that came before you. The real achievement, you see, is being proud of what you’ve made.”

What do you think.. beautiful isn't it?

Intermezzo

This post is just an intermezzo in the middle of my quilting work.

I bought this inspiring book couple of days ago. At first, I planned to give it as a Christmas present for my boy’s Montessori teacher but I couldn’t stand to open the plastic cover and read it myself. Really it’s a good book for teacher or someone who’s working involved with kids. I speed up my reading and had finished it in an hour last night. I found many encouraging quotes and heartwarming stories in it.

I’ll share some of inspirational quotes here:
Every good teacher is a student of students. After all, if he is to venture to cross over to student’s side of experience, he should have some idea of where he is going and how to get there. –Wayne.R.Rood-

Abruptly, circumstances arrange themselves so that the commonplace becomes the significant and the routine memorable….Afterward you know that you have learned something valuable, something that can’t always describe exactly, or measured, or fully explained. But something. –Arthur Gordon-

In teching you can’t see the fruit of a day’s work. It’s invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years. –Jaques Barquin-


Oh yes, one more thing.. I found funny notes from a kid on this book that loves his ‘very strict’ teacher. I thought before kids don’t like a strict teacher :)

The Progress

Sorry if you feel bored to see the same project of mine for more than a month!
This is the latest progress of it. Finally I know I want it to be a blanket for my girl. I had recently knew too that the pattern I chosen called 'double nine patch'. Really this is all about learning by doing for me. First time sew -hand sewing-, first time trying patchwork too.

I think I need one more big block and then think again the color and pattern for the border or shashing. Wish me luck :)

Only 4 Blocks in A Week

Here is my progress with my first patchwork and quilting project.
So far... only 4 blocks had made in a whole week. My little one, Ian was sick -Bell's palsy disease- so this is the best I could make for the project.

Pattern

I spent yesterday evening by trying to make some patterns. I think I should put red fabric to make the pattern more dynamic. Haha…that’s only my own “theory”. Of course, I should take the easiest one since this is my first time to sew and make patchwork.



I think the easiest pattern is the first, but the red triangle seems more challenging..
What do you think?

First Project in Patchwork

Wuihh...finally I really understand why quilting is always expensive (as far as I know)! This is my first project to cut and make all the four square put together and it isn't easy at all, but I don't give up :)

Take a look at the first cut I had made to the white square, haha..not straight!
I found difficulty too in sew from the center, just to make the big square in right position. Any helpful tips on it?


Finally I'd done the first square...
Please do make comments for me. I would be glad to have some sugestion from you :)

Knitting and Novel

I found this novel about 2 weeks ago on a sale at a bookstore. The cover had taken my attention at the first sight because it reminds me to one of my new blogger friend, Rachel from the Cornblueflower Studio who loves knitting.
I can’t knit but always admire people who knitting. I seldom buy a novel just by looking the cover, but that time I didn’t know I really want this novel. Until today I have read until page 80, all is 329 pages :)
So far … the story is very interesting. It’s a deeply moving portrait of female friendship at a knitting club.

Start to Learn Patchwork & Quilting

It has already been years ago I was interested in patchwork and quilting, but never had a way to learn as a beginner.
No one of my friends here could quilt so I would be glad if some of you that already expert in quilting give me some suggestion.
Yesterday I was looking for a patchwork & quilting book for a beginner at a bookstore and I found this.

Take a look at those steps...






Is this a good book for a beginner (that could only sew straight lines :) ? Thank you so much for all your comments. I really appreciate it.

Collecting

I like to collect ribbons, dried flowers, colored paper, flanels or something cute and unique to my eyes.

Sometimes I made them into a paperquiling card or a gift box...

but sometimes I don't exactly know what I want to create with all those things. Just keep them in my plastic container boxes and believe that onetime I would need them for one of my craft works.