Cottons..Japanese Cotton

Look at the yummy fabric...all cotton. The floral ones are Japanese Cotton.

Going to use these designs as inspiration. I always like to tweak the patterns to better suit me.

( Thanks Kwik Sew Pattern and others for the inspiration ^o^ )

Mum's Quilt Update

It's coming along...slowly but surely. Finished two whole blocks just to see how it looks.

The Great Falls from Jinny Beyer

Will be making blocks with the floral fabric in reverse order. Next update...soon ^o^

More Blouses (*o*)

I've been in the 'mood' for making blouses. Three blouses in 3 days!


Day One

Remember the sleeve? Finished stitching the blouse in one afternoon. No great feat cos had lots of chores to do in between. Mum said this material is more suited for her. But I think it turned out quite right for me..with the cream bias binding, it's more 'youngish'?!

Day Two

Bought this material long ago. Thought I use it to try a new cut...a high empire..just at the bustline. Added some pleats in the middle. Turned out nice. I love it ^o^

Day Three

Saw a tutorial for the 'tent' sleeve at burdastyle.com Thought I give it a try.





I love the way it turn out. Has a soft look. Think I chose the right fabric for this pattern.

Went fabric hunting over the weekend. Got four beautiful cotton..one of it is Japanese cotton. Will post the pic soon.

Blouses...Tops

According to wikipedia.org , blouses were rarely part of the fashionable woman's wardrobe until the 1890s. Before that time, they were occasionally popular for informal wear in styles that echoed peasant or traditional clothing, such as the Garibaldi shirt of the 1860s.
Read more here.

According to yourdictionary.com

blouse (blo̵us, blo̵uz)

noun

1. a loose, smocklike outer garment of varying length, traditionally worn by certain European peasants and workmen
2. a loose garment similar to a shirt, worn by women and children
3. the coat or jacket of a service uniform or dress uniform of the armed forces
4. a sailor's jumper

I guess, the blouses I've been making fits the second definition :~)

But according to simplicity.com and butterick.com, they are called tops ! Now, these are two great sites to get inspired for my next blouse..top pattern!

Colour Play

If only my white hair changes to black when I put on my shades !!!
Ain't it cool (*v*)

Dressmaking

I've been a couch potato...stitching mum's quilt. But today, I cut out a blouse to stitch.

This is the sleeve I'm working on. The material is dark brown..so I brighten it up by adding cream bias binding.

I've got quite a stash of fabric for making blouses. There's some more in my drawer *v* . Thought I better get my sewing machine running.

I like to make simple and comfortable blouses to wear. Well, better start my wardrobe for next Chinese New Year!!

The fabric

Okay.This is it. I've chosen the fabric for mummy's quilt. She's going to have blissfull sleep at night. So, I chose light pastels..calming designs. Nothing loud or dark.

What do you think?

Yipeeeeeeeeeee!!!

I've got one thousand hits!! :) Thanks a million to everyone who has been to my blog. I hope I have not bored you to tears .

Thank you, thank you, thank you again. I really do need your help to make it to a MILLION !
(*v*)
( ..er, maybe let's try ten thousand first, hehehe )

So, do come back often . Sadhu

Great Falls

I've decided on the block I'm making for mum's quilt. It's the Great Falls.

There are three sizes to choose from. I chose the 10" block.




You know, there are commercial acrylic templates you can buy but they can be quite pricey.

So, I make my own! That's what I like about Jinny Beyer.
I print out the templates as per instructions given.




Then I attached a clear rigid plastic sheet on the templates, carefully placing some double sided tape on the seam allowance.
Then I carefully cut out the templates as close to the outer lines.



Next, I cut out 'holes' at the corners so that I can mark the seam lines for easier hand stitching ( otherwise, my stitches will not not be straight!).
Cut out the pieces needed and start stitching!



One more cool feature about Jinny Beyer is I get to use my own colour scheme. All I need to do is to print out the Line Drawing of the quilt and colour away! Once I'm happy with the layout of the colours, I cut the pieces and I'm ready to be a couch potato!

Jinny Beyer

I have been busy...reading all those lovely blogs out there! I always get glued to my computer screen for hours!

I came across this website some time back.What I love about this site is that I can download, print the pattern and make the templates. And they are FREE!!

Head right to Jinny Beyer.com.

I'm making a quilt for mummy. So, I'll be posting my progress. For now, go to Jinny Beyer Studio and head to the Design Board to start designing your own quilt!

Inspiration

I totally love this !

Stumbled upon this amazing hexagon quilt here. Think I'm gonna use up lots of my scraps making it :~)

It's the antique quilt that started The Great Hexagon Quilt-Along.

Grilled Fish #6

My family loves spicy food. The hotter the better !! To whip up a simple and fast ( and hot) dish, I have this to offer. I'm sure my kids can do it without any mess ;)

You'll need any fish of choice (here I used stingray),
curry powder,fennel and cumin seeds, plain yogurt,salt and a little sugar.

Mix the spices and yogurt to a paste and marinade the fish with the paste.
Leave to stand for half an hour.
Pour a little oil over the fish for it to sizzle!
Put in the grill to brown on both sides.
Notice that I use alluminium foil to line the grilling dish for easy clean up.

Scrumptious! The roasting of the cumin and fennel seeds add to the ummph.When you bite into the seeds, it releases the extra aroma..yumm.

Found this site with loads of marinade recipes! Thanks Marinade.com.

Marinade For Grilling Fish Recipe at Marinade.com

Pancakes ! #5

Every mother should know how to make pancakes ..right?! Made these quite often. Thick,light and fluffy makes beautiful pancakes ;~D

Nope.. it's not made from the store bought pancake mix. I made them using this fabulous recipe I got from ....somewhere out there....thanks whoever you are!

You need two eggs, 1 teaspoon sugar, 0.5 teaspoon salt..beat till fluffy,
add 2 teaspoon baking powder..mix in but don't over beat.

Pour in one cup milk and 1/4 cup oil .. stir to mix,
add 1 1/3 cup flour ( all at one go) .. mix in till smooth.

add raisins and 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, mix well.
This is the most important step..leave the batter to REST for at least 30mins!
Pour batter on lightly oiled non-stick pan on low fire.
When you see bubbles appearing......

take a little peek. If it browns too fast, turn down the fire.
Flip over to cook the other side.
Done!

Great taken with honey, ice cream or yogurt :P

Have you tried savoury pancakes? Added pepper and parsley to this one. Served with pan grilled chicken and veggies ! Make sure you make extra gravy...yumm.
Hmmmm.. reminds me of Paddington....



Go make them..stack them..enjoy them ! :~D

Psst..they keep well in the fridge for up to two days.. or more but I'll never know cos they'll be snapped up too soon ! Just warm them up in the microwave.

Hexies Craze!

My fingers have been buuusy !

Psttt... click on the pics for more details ;)

All the yummie gorgeousness !!! Love stitching them. Got lots of inspirations from the lovely ladies in the cyber world! Made them into hexies using my hexagon coaster method.

Then stitched them together using slip stitch.
* Found a great blog with an e-book for help in sewing slip stitch.Thanks DJStoreroom.

That's how it looks like on the other side. No need for backing fabric or batting.
Hmmm..maybe I can make a quilt this way....