Stitch 2 Stitch

Arianna is turning 4 next week. ARIANNA IS TURNING NEXT WEEK??? O.o Where did the time go…..? I still remember as clear as day that she was the smallest normal baby in the nursery. I guess being 1/2 Asian contributed a lot to that. Growing up I was lucky that my parents had loads of birhday parties for me.

We’re not too sure yet what or if we’ll be celebrating Arianna’s birthday but one things for sure, she is sure to get the best birthday gifts in town!! Grandma (my MIL) loves to shower the kids with presents and even though it’s not one kid’s birthday the other will also get a present so that they do not feel left out. She’s very thoughful like that.

I’ve been meaning to sew a birthday dress for Arianna so I think I better get a move on it. *sigh* So many things to sew, so little time!!

*sigh* Ok, progress on my sewing marathon has not been good at all! The first thing I sewed was a sample of the flowergirls dress and while it turned out alright, Arianna has flat out refused to try it on. I am totally surprised by this reaction because normally she’d be flying off the handle, bugging me to let her wear it. So, sorry Godma…pix will take longer than I thought!

I cant really figure out why she is not interested but I reckon its because she has another dress in the same fabric print hence, its not calling out to her. I’m considering sewing the same pattern in a smaller size with another print and hope that she will be interested but the thought of having to sew this pattern another 4 more times is so putting me off at the moment so I’ve turned my attention to this humongous pile of ready to sew pattern pieces that I’ve since prepared over the past 2 weeks. We’ll see how things progress over the week…..

After I completed my Fano, I couldn’t decide what to start on next so decided that I had had enough of winter sewing and now I’m focusing on some summer clothes for the tribe.

So the whole of last week was spent picking out patterns, tracing them out and over the weekend, I was on a major fabric cutting session. I’m still not done yet coz I have a few more to cut out. But here’s hoping for some super sewing this week and then once the fabric from Mum arrives, I’ve got about 2 months to sew up 4 flowergirl dresses!! *stress stress* And to think that this lot of summer wear is only for Brandon….. :/

Just another reminder that my Mum’s side of the family is just so talented!! I took these pictures when I was back in Kulim last year but never got around to posting up the pix. Now that I finally found some time to do it, I thought it was best to do so right now! (Aside from some reading up on barska binoculars coz Bill has been harping about it and I wanted to find out more about it so I can yak along!)

My Uncle Danson’s loves making handwoven basket from rattan. Sadly this trade has since long gone as he passed away many years ago (God bless his soul) and no one in his family picked it up.

I can’t imagine weaving these gorgeous baskets but I wish I could nonetheless!! They are simply amazing….

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved boots. But back then, my choices were limited since I hardly, in fact, never went online shopping at all. I do have to thank my current income for contributing a lot to my online shopping sprees! lol

When I first heard about dereon, I didnt know what it was until I read that its a line of products founded by Beyonce Knowles and her mother! A little surprised but it didnt knock me out of my chair. I had a peek at their products and I’m definitely loving the Tulip Heel!! But the best thing of all is not only is it affordable (coz I thought they were going to cost an arm and a leg), everything seems to be on sale!! ^.^

I think a bit of online retail theraphy is calling out to me right now…toodles!!

Persistance pays! I finally managed to get the gathers working for my final attempt at making this Fano pattern work! ^.^ Was really pleased to note that when you sew with quality fabric, things just fall into place beautifully.

Sewn with stella marle grey from CM shop – I can’t say this enough, I LOVE THIS FABRIC!!! It really is an absolute dream to sew with…

It’s a real pity that it’s too cold to wear this now but I am really looking forward to wearing it back home in Malaysia come October. So far, I’ve got this and another short sleeve Fano which is good. *happy happy joy joy* Thinking of making some sleeveless tops as well. Hhhmmm….what pattern should I try out? Have to hit the books and see what I can attempt next.

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a chat wil my MIL and we were talking about knitting. She has knitted a lot of cardigans and hats for the kids, I really am thankful and grateful for them because it is not easy to knit if you’ve got arthiritis. So while I don’t expect anything from her, she will always find something to make for the kids. She’s really quite wonderful that way. Anyway, during out chat, she told me that she had recently finished the last beanie for Salvation Army – she made 50! O.o At first I thought she said 15 and to me that was already quite a few but when she said 50, I couldn’t believe it!! It took a long time but she got there. She was glad to see the end of it. lol I thought it was very generous of her to do such a thing and I’ve been somewhat inspired as well.

One day, I too will try and make some beanies for the homeless because it gets really cold at night and it’s really the least I can do to give back to society. After KR was born I wanted to find out who my midwife was coz she was so good with me but sadly when you’re in *that* mindset and in labour thinking that I’m going to die at every contraction, everyone who was in nursing uniforms looked alike to me and somehow, I never came across her after that. It’s a real pity coz I would have liked to thank her personally and with all the hoohaa of the new bub and all, I never got around to doing it. So for the record, thank you Nurse X for all you did for us, especially taking care of me.

This was exactly what I said to dh and he just looked at me, and shook his head! lol I bet in his head he was thinking that I would make up ANY excuse just to sew. If only it were truth!! (Not!!)

Actually, it is partly true. I do need to sew warmer clothes because of winter coz the kids do need to be warm and snuggly when its cold. It is times like these that I think about all those people who have to work when it’s freezing out there like truckies. If you know your route, then you get there on time so you dont have to stay in the cold any longer than you need to. Otherwise, you’d get lost!! I wonder what it was like before we had any trucking gps system. Really makes you think, doesn’t it?

Anyway, coming back to the issue at hand, I am swamped with sewing summer clothes for when we go back to Malaysia for the holidays in Oct! And on top of that, I also have to worry about 4 flower girls dresses as well. *stress stress stress* I’ve got Brandon’s summer wardrobe traced out but need to cut them out now. I’m just glad I love sewing!!

When Xila hooked up with Tom, I told her that being a tradie, don’t expect him to be the mushy/romantic sort. Tradies are toughmen and while I don’t really mind not getting all mushy and romantic, Xila is the total opposite. She is a hopeless romantic – the kind who leaves messages on the mirror with lipstick. *shudder* Even I can’t take it sometimes when she tells me what surprises she left for Tom. Poor bloke must be wondering if he should at least try something himself! lol But apparently, he hasn’t even bought her flowers so I’m not so sure what she sees in him.

But the other day, Xila told me that he had to go away for a few days and that he’d miss her birthday. She was rather upset about it but what can you do? The man had work to attend to but turns out that he had actually took the initiative to get roses delivered to her doorstep!! She was totally over the moon and can’t wait for him to get back. I didn’t tell her that Tom, under much stress and desperation had turned to me for help and it was me who told him where to Find the lastest ProFlowers coupon codes so that he could arrange it online. I reckon he now owes me a nice big, fat lunch at Sergio’s. Heh.

Just when I thought that I could stop sewing leggings for awhile, the girls decided to sprout overnight! >.< We can't get enough of leggings - the girls literally live in these so I decided to whip up a few for the girls using my fav leggings pattern from Otto.

All fabric from the CM shop

Since the girls now have new leggings, I have a fantastic excuse to sew more tops for them now! lol TFL….