Spot the difference

Can you pick out the differences between the 2? I made one more than a week ago but it was reserved for someone when H saw it here. Thank God I had just enough of the grassy green fabric for the interior though I still had lots of bunny fabric.
Thing is, I am no cookie cutter so I can't make everything the same. Even the multiple pencil cases I've made so far, none of them are the same. Either the lining is different or the zip is different or the size, even if the exterior is the same. I didn't take a pic of the insides of the bunny bags but the earlier one has 2 pockets but the later one has 2 extra pen slips. There's also an external difference... see if you can spot it!


One's reserved and the other has been sold, sorry!

 [Hint: cotton tape tab]

Blessed are the meek

Being meek is not being weak. It's showing patience and humility, being gentle.
When I chose these fabrics, I had the intention of using them as a lining, pairing them with something bolder. They are made of small, simple repeated designs. No bunnies, no sheep, no marching soldiers. But a friend's daughter took one look at the yellow one and decided she wanted something made from that. I doubted if it would be nice so I only started on this last night. I like them, what about you?
Fully lined and interfaced with 2 pockets and 4 pen slips (slim pockets meant for pens). Why so many, well, DD and DS like to journal and draw so having some stationery neatly available is useful, no?


Mustard - 23cm (L) x 5cm (W) x 24cm (H) - SOLD
Peach - 21cm (L) x 5cm (W) x 25cm (H) - SOLD

 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5,NIV)

Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?



SOLD

DS and DD have sling bags that they carry around so often. Waterbottle, umbrella, book, NDSL etc. Theirs is quite spacious and uses canvas which can withstand the heavy load/usage. Made from oxford, this gingerbread sling bag is smaller ('cos it's for a younger girl) and is softer. The adjustable strap is narrower (1" vs 1.5") too. Comes fully lined and lightly interfaced with 2 internal pockets. Do you like this?
ps: don't mind the creases. I'll try to break this bad habit soon and iron first before taking pics. But I was in a hurry to share this with you :-)

Do you like Thomas?

The No. 1 Blue Engine makes a debut here. Mini tote just the right size for Thomas fans. Exterior is fabric leftover from DS' backpack more than 5 years ago. Vintage?


Dimensions - 14cm (L) x 5cm (W) x 18cm (H) with 23cm handles - SOLD

Still had some Thomas fabric left and made this pencil case. Sorry about the creases, was just so excited to post this. Some stuff are fun to do, some are tedious, some are downright taxing. This was fun. Which do you like more?


SOLD

Hey, that's mine!

SOLD

I do not have a sewing machine that can embroider letters but since I had a request to personalise these wristlets, I thought I'd have a go at hand-sewing them. The only other personalisation I've ever done was for DD and DS, of course. DD likes the one where I sewed a fairy along with her name on her pencil case while DS prefers his felt bubble letters (oops, I just remembered that these felt bubble letters were not hand-sewn but personlised, nonetheless).
But I digress. Pic shows 3 of 4 requested personlised wristlets. Hand-sewn on cotton tape then machine-sewn onto the wristlet. Perhaps one day I'll be more adventurous and add flowers/hearts and more colours? Maybe after the fabric teddies. What do you think?

The Bunny Bag is here!

 

Tote dimensions - 21cm (L) x 4.5cm (W) x 24cm (H) - Not for sale
Pouch dimensions - 19cm (L) x 13cm (W) - Not for sale

  Bunny's Day out by Wilmington exterior with super combed cotton grassy interior. Padded so it's both soft to touch and sturdy enough to stand on its own. No exposed seams so you can essentially use this tote inside-out and have the 2 pockets on the outside. I prefer seeing the bunnies though. What about you?

I like teddy bears, do you?

I had just enough of this pink teddy bear fabric to make 3 totes of different sizes for my 3 nieces. Hope they'll like it. Only 2 shown here 'cos I've yet to make the 3rd one. Ran out of batting. I probably can make the 3rd one without batting 'cos I used the thin one for these 2 but somehow, with it, there's this puffiness and softness that brings out the texture of the cloth.

ps: I'm tempted to make my own fabric teddy after seeing how cute these printed ones are. What do you think?

DD's New Journal

Made this for DD for her plain paper notebook that she's going to use for her journal. BTW, you can get really cheap notebooks at a bookshop in BBC (ground floor near Allson Hotel side). We paid 125 cents for 3 of these A6 notebooks (without lines so DD can draw).
Super combed cotton exterior (Wrap It Up! range) and cotton interior (Which you can't see 'cos it's covered by the book). 2 metal snaps keep pages dog-ear free.
If I make another (and I will... soon), I'll make the following changes:

• use a thinner interfacing. I used the thicker one which I used for the pencil cases (so that the pencil cases can stand) but while it's fun to hold since it's super smooth and soft, the snaps took a tad more effort to align and secure. Also, there's this part near the inside snap that puffs up. Thinner interfacing next time!
• include pockets. I was considering this since DD likes to collect cards and she can then slot them here on the inside of the book cover but since this is a prototype, I decided to go without. Card slots on the inside cover and maybe another zipped / snapped pocket on the outside.
• include pen pocket. This seems sensible but I didn't include. :-(
• experiment with triangle flap rather than rectangle.

What do you think?

Which one is yours?

Look what I had fun making while grounded indoors due to the rainy weather and shelved plans of attending the Festival of the Stars. How was it?
So I stayed home and cut and sewed. Which one do you like the most?
As I sewed, I made some improvements, especially to the zipped area. You might notice that there's a small bit of cloth. This allows for a neater triangle than sewing the 2 sides of the zipper's teeth together. In a nutshell, cleaner lines :-)


SOLD

Yet another pencil case



21cm (length) x 6cm (width) x 6cm (height) - SOLD

Made from Little Country Collection from Yuwa. Fully lined with super combed cotton and interfaced. Comes with lockable YKK zip. Text on the fabric says 'The Language of flowers'. Didn't know the meaning behind : Daffodil (regard), Daisy (Innocence).
Have a blessed day!

My sheep hear My voice

SOLD

I like this fabric. Oxford material that's slightly thicker than quilting fabric but still soft to touch. Cute little family of sheep. French sheep? LOL! 2 sizes here, one for carrying over the shoulder and the other for maybe, lunch hour?

Christmas Magic

This Christmas, join Lawrence and Priscilla Khong – Singapore’s only father and daughter magician duo, as they share with you three magical Christmas gifts that will make you laugh, wonder and smile.

These gifts, presented with magnificent performances of world-class magic, pulsating dance routines and familiar Christmas medleys, will warm your heart and excite your soul.

Embark on a journey of faith, hope and love, and share the spirit of Christmas with familiar faces such as Raggedy Ann, Toy Soldier and Mr Robot. It will be a fun-filled show that the whole family can enjoy!

Keep your eyes peeled and don’t blink as Lawrence and Priscilla amaze you with unbelievable illusions that you’ve never seen before.

Christmas Magic captures the true meaning of Christmas. It is a great way to share and enjoy the spirit of Christmas with your whole family. So come and be enchanted by Singapore’s own family of magicians. It is their Christmas gift to you.

Further details here.

Zips, zips and more zips!

Yes, not everyone drools over these as much as I do, but look at the pretty colours and the range! Picked these up this afternoon from one of my favourite shopping places. Mind you, I didn't even choose all the colours. These will be pencil cases and pouches, maybe even wristlets. Not as any pockets 'cos I don't think I've ever made any zipped pockets for bags that are 8 inches wide.
Anyway... enjoy and have a blessed day!

Zippered pouches

Two different sized zippered pouches for you. Neutral colours this time but more colours coming up soon. Fully lined and interfaced to protect whatever you put inside.
Larger one has a sewing-themed exterior with a retro sewing machine and spools of thread. Smaller one has text like 'Count your blessings' and 'Life is lived in the moments'.

Larger: 19cm (length) x 15cm (width) - not for sale
Smaller: 13cm (length) x 8cm (width) - not for sale

 

iLove Singapore

Come on down to the Padang tomorrow for the iLove Singapore walk.

Love Singapore has always been committed to pray for the nation and to serve the community with acts of kindness with no strings attached. Through the "Take the City Walks", the Love Singapore churches have rallied to the call to unite in prayer for the nation and to walk their talk in serving the nation.

The iLove Singapore Walk 2010 will be held on Saturday, 13 November 2010 at the Padang at 7am. It aims to raise $800,000 for the disadvantaged and needy. The Guest-of-Honour is Senior Minister Professor S. Jayakumar.

 A unique feature of this fund-raising initiative is to allocate 50% of the net proceeds to the charity of choice nominated by the church and the remaining 50% to broader national concerns represented by the Community Chest and President's Challenge charities. For FCBC, our nominated charity is TOUCH Community Services, which means that 50% of the net proceeds of the funds we raise will go to TOUCH, while the other 50% will go to a basket of charities under the Community Chest and the President's Challenge.
 
So mark the date down in your calendar, and be part of this historic event! 

Nope, I don't just make totes





22cm (length) x 6cm (width) x 7 cm (height) - SOLD

 I initially made these for Teacher's day this year using different materials  @and filled them with snacks and a red pen. Made 15? Lost count after a while 'cos I was concentrating on making each one unique. This was inspired by the elongated -pyramid-shaped chocolate, using purple and yellow Flowers on the Hill by Keiko Goke for Yuwa and fully lined with natural cotton fabric. It's interfaced to keep any sharp stuff inside from poking out.
Purple one has a YKK zip which locks when you press it down. Yellow YKK zip doesn't.

Flowers on the Hill

This is with P now whom we met for lunch yesterday. She transferred her stuff from the bag she had into this. Thank you for your show of support!

I forgot to take dimensions again but I guess it's ok since the thing about handmade is that I can choose to make any size I like, subject to material availability, of course. I can't find the braided webbing anymore and have limited stock left. Once it's gone, it's gone. Until I figure out a way to braid it myself which I think would be tedious but fun.

Will be making another for HH soon and I wonder if she'd like many or few pockets? I wonder if she'd like the yellow background of this Yuwa fabric?

I hear you

Thanks so much for your support whether in buying my bags or giving me comments about this site. I really appreciate :-)

• Include dimensions of the bags - Yes, this makes a lot of sense especially when I don't take pics of the bags with some point of reference like a pen or book.
• Include means of bank transfer - KIV. This is in the works while I figure out the kinks of the virtual world of payment. Even if it's safe enough for me, I hope it's safe enough for you too.
• Include catalog - Yes, I make other stuff besides totes. There are some stuff that I prefer not to make, like the gusseted zipped backpack which I've made only one and for DD who uses it so often that I've had to repair it due to wear and tear. My preference is to reinforce bags while they're being made eg. tight zig-zags on the handles on the inside, double stitching at stress points. I also like to make bags that I can throw into the washing machine and then iron.
• Include readymade stuff - Yes, my bad. This will be coming up soon!

Have a happy day ahead!

Mini Totes

2 mini totes for a few essentials of purse, phone, keys, paperback? Purple one is 'Flowers on the Hill' by Keiko Goke for Yuwa (which DS liked 'cos he thought they look like stickmen without the arms and legs). Green one's from Lecien (I like Lecien fabric so much!)

You've got mail!

These came yesterday and today and I'm drooling over them already. So many choices, so little time. Which do you like? Where shall I start? What shall I make?

Pins and Needles

This took me days to complete. No, not the patchwork.. the hand-quilting following the pattern of this rainbow myriad fabric by Keiko Goke for Yuwa. I hand-sewed 2 pieces, a smaller one which I'll make into a zippered pouch and a larger one that I'll make into a tote. Not now though, still recovering from pins and needles.

Sold!

Sold this though I wasn't intending to... so funny on recollection. What happened was at the end of kids' tuition, the tutor mentioned about my bags so I brought them out to show her. She's been asking about them for a while and gave some suggestions but I didn't sell anything 'cos I was still 'practising' and couldn't pass my own quality control. Anyway, I brought the 3 bags out and she chose this for her daughter-in-law.

CH, I'm sorry but I'll make another for you to have a look. Thank God I still have enough material left :-)

Hmmm, I forgot to take measurements... LOL

Not for sale - E's

Does this look familiar? I used the same beige background corduroy as the reversible bag in an earlier post. This fits a T24 Ferror Roche box and then some. Fully lined interior and pockets as usual. There's a heart-shaped applique inside, opposite the pockets. Giving it to E tomorrow, hope she likes it!

Not for sale - mine

Found this soft to touch Japanese cotton. No selvedge to indicate where it came from but it's ok. I like it all the same. Neutral colours that are easy to match with the interior and branded handles.

I've used this a couple of times since making this few weeks back but only just added the snap today 'cos the shipment arrived this afternoon. DS prefers a colour that blends in rather than a contrasting one. What do you think? Also, since this was a prototype, it didn't have the top parts on the interior using the same fabric as the exterior. Hmmm, does that make sense? Sometimes I line the top part of the interior with the same fabric as the exterior so that when the bag is slightly open (like most of the time), you can't see the interior lining. Well, this prototype has neither that top part nor exterior fabric-lined pockets. It's all plain coloured inside. Well, it's my bag and I like it :-)

There's some yardage left and I'll get round to making another mini-tote soon.

Not for sale

Played around with photovsi to create this collage of 3 bags:

• reversible corduroy tote (US$10) - no pockets and not interfaced. Fully reversible with dark brown background and flowers on one side and beige with flowers on the other. I'm thinking of making a matching pouch to go with this. Dimensions are
• olive tote - exterior is Japanese import fabric (Yuwa - I like their fabric, so nice!). Fully lined interior and pockets. Dimensions are
• beige tote - this is slightly larger than the olive one also using the same line from Yuwa. Ditto interior and pockets. Dimensions are

Sold!

This is the first bag I sold few weeks back. H saw the sling bag DS was carrying to church and asked if there's a girl-version of it. So happened, DD was carrying hers as well. So H asked for a similar one for his daughter. Both these bags use the same materials but I gave H's bag a different internal flap and pocket from DD's. Even when I make similar bags for DS and DD, there are slight differences so that each bag I've made is one-of-a-kind.

External canvas fabric lined with thick cotton from IKEA. Metal hardware for the adjustable strap.