Tablecloth and tote bag.

So....

Not that I haven't been doing anything. I have been busy lah, people. Ceh! I've been over-using the word "busy", and I think it's losing its power. Its strength. Its credibility. So much so that when I say "I'm busy", people go like "Pfft!! What else is new?" Arr haa haaa!

Tapi seriously, memang busy nak2 pulak lepas raya ni. Dah bukak sekolah balik and what not. And at this stage of my life, touching mid-40s, I am having lots of health issues. Mainly hormonal. Aches and pains, gas and winds, worries and fears, you know what I mean.... 

Getting up in the morning is a real, legitimate pain, I'm telling you. It's like... celik-celik mata and wham! Anxiety kicks in. No warning. No need reason. Just, aku nak datang, aku datang! Haaa gitu. And there is always some pain, somewhere. Pinggang today, perut tomorrow, kepala the next. I mean, I can't really be THAT old!? Deal with this every day and I bet you, depression is going to kick in, sooner or later. Blaarghh! Here we go again.

Well anyways, enough grumbling.

Other than mengadu on whatsapp kepada teman2 sekapal, I do the next best thing that occupies me and keep my mind off things I want to keep my mind off of. Things that mess with my brain cells and synapses.

Sew...

I mean, so... 

I sew. 

I make things. I bask and revel (mostly in my head) in the glorious feeling of having made something with love and passion and a dose of inadvertent perfectionism. (Read: OCD)

First up, I made a tablecloth for my dining table. My 2nd diy tablecloth since we bought the table. Terpaksa jahit sendiri because you know why? Alas meja untuk meja 8-10 orang (6' x 10') sangat lah susah nak cari. Setakat ni belum jumpa lagi jual kat mana2 kedai yang I pegi. Maybe ada jual kat some specific shop but I'm not one who would take the trouble to hunt something sampai ke lubang cacing. Since I can make it myself, jahit je lah.

Cewah.... "jahit je lah". Bila dah jahit, baru tau susah juga menjahit alas meja besar ni. Sebab?

1. I use cotton linen. Kain linen is heavy-weight. Having to deal with 12 kaki of linen as you sew is no easy feat, hokay? To begin with, I have always hated bulky projects. Urgh!

2. Target lebar alas 6 kaki. Bidang kain 5 kaki. Tolak basi 2 inci, tinggal la 4 inci je lebih kat tepi meja. Kontot benor! So nak taknak, kena sambung. Haaa... keje memotong border panjang ni lah yg lecehnye. Mind you, nak cover keliling alas meja tu.

3. Bucu. Mitered corners. Harder than they look. But now I know how to make them nice and sharp! Win!

4. Sewing bulky project yg memerlukan jahitan berbatu2 jaraknya using a portable machine ibarat nak ke JB dari KL naik basikal. Gedek gedek gedek! Apa sajaaa si Manisah tuu...

Having said all the above, here's my baby...

Back

Front

Took me 3 days to finish this. Pelan-pelan buat, hati-hati potong semua to minimize mistake. I didn't want to make a mistake and have to bukak balik semua jahitan, oh tidaakk! 

When I'd finished with that one, I had enough leftover fabric (and then some) to make this tote bag.

I'm thinking of making more bags. Macam best pulak jahit beg.

But that would be another project for another time. 

Cheers!

DIY Makeover - Perabot Lama Berwajah Baru

16 years ago, I bought a set of 2nd hand wooden living room furniture set. It was on auction and we got a pretty decent deal. Having just married less than a year then, it was all we could afford at the time.

When we moved to Miri in 2010, we had already by then acquired a new set which, of course, deserved centre stage in our living room. Mesti la kan? And so the old wooden set was then demoted and moved to the patio. Which actually, wasn't such a bad idea lah. We hung out on the patio quite frequently, so they have been well, useful, to say the least. Therefore, not forgotten.

Only problem is, being outside all these years had taken quite a toll on the furniture. They were constantly exposed to the mercy of the weather. Our house faces the evening sun, and let me tell you... evening sun in Miri is merciless. Panas terik gila ok? And since we live close to the beach, rain means strong wind and often times during heavy rain, they were left drenched and the cushions soaked. And such has been the cycles of torment they have been subjected to.

Gile drama kan I punya description? Hahaha!

Anyway, one day I realized that these chairs are quite sturdy and of a reasonably good quality wood. I mean, after all these years under sun and rain and still no clear sign of decay to the wood. They still hold their shapes, no chips nor cracks. And they're heavy. So, for me yang tak berapa arif bab2 kayu ni, I take it that this can only mean that these furniture are made from quality natural material.

That realization lead me to embark on a makeover project. Initially, I just wanted to sew new cushion covers to replace the old, battered ones. Bayangkan, tak pernah tukar sarung sejak beli! But having completed the cushion covers and put them on, I thought they'd look better with a new coat of paint as well. But I had never painted any furniture before. Cat dinding pernah lah... but wood furniture? Macam tak yakin jugak la nak buat. What if I mess up?

But I went ahead anyway, after having googled the how-to's and what not-to-do's.

So here's the before picture. See how ugly they were? Nak duduk pun macam geli gitu kan?

Here's what one of them looks after a new coat of paint. As you can see, the plywood clearly needs replacement. But it's too much of a task for me... will get a real carpenter to fix it.

Someday... hik!

Here's when I made the cushion cover. Lazy me only made fitted covers. Yang macam fitted bedsheet tu. I don't want to go through so much hassle sewing zippers and what not since these are going to be placed outdoors anyway. Besides, it's so much easier to remove them for cleaning.

And here's what they finally look like.

Amacam? Ok tak? Ok sangat kan?

I still have more wooden outdoor furniture to splash paint on....

One day, insyaAllah.

=)

Baju 'peasant' munga2 ^_^

Remember that brown peasant dress I made for Aisyah on Labour Day?

Believe it or not, she only got to wear it yesterday! Hehehe... 3 minggu lebih mummy dia postpone pakai baju baru sebab nak tunggu bila mummy betul2 ada masa nak tangkap gambar.

Alhamdulillah, yesterday being Sunday, we went to our favorite club by the beach (sebab ada playground) and so I took a few shots of the said dress.

I love the material of this dress, cotton voile.
Lembut dan selesa.

Err... sailor kemetot, tak nampak depan heheh...

Rilek jap.
This is one of my favorite shots of the day.
See the black & white version here.

Close-up look of the lace border.
My first attempt and I must say, pretty proud of myself.
=)

I know this pic doesn't showcase much of the dress but it's
here because I love this shot.
Macam comel jer...

Same goes with this pic.
Somehow, something about this pic makes me love it, despite a little bit of lens flare
at the bottom right corner.
Actually, it's BECAUSE of the lens flare heheh!

Sekian saja lambakan gambar kali ini.

Kalau berminat nak buat baju ni, tengok lah tutorial peasant dress. Itu lah asas baju ni, cuma saya panjangkan lengan dan tambah ropol2 di bawah. Senang jeww....

Until next time, cheers!

Kerenah hari Khamis

Those who know me, know that I love to create. I love to make something, out of nothing. Well, not nothing... out of various materials lah, logically. Ambo buke tuhe... hehehe...

That is why, sometimes when Umar gets a school project to be done at home, I am almost always the one feeling all excited about it. I would be the one lying in bed at night thinking of ideas, materials and ways to make the project a reality. I'd go hunting for stuff to use in the project. Maknye yang lebih, anak rilek jek...

Today, Umar submitted his assignments... a shoebox habitat, a food chain, an informational poster of a Sarawak longhouse and a favorite piece of art depicting a natural habitat. I guess you can see the pattern now... they're learning about habitat this term.

So here are his assignments...

The diorama was very easy to make. Find a shoebox, line it with green crepe paper (I got Umar to do it himself), cut out 2 pieces of tree trunk shaped cardboards, stick them in there any way you would. Then just stick crumpled pieces of crepe paper around to make the leaves and grass. This was a very easy part where I got Umar to actively participate. It was his homework, after all.

As for the orangutan, I googled some coloring pics on the net, downloaded them, scaled down to size, and printed them. Umar colored them and pasted them wherever and whichever way he liked it. Done.

All these are due tomorrow but I insisted that we send them in today cause the longer they are at home, the higher the chance of the younger siblings putting their "fingerprints" on them.

Plus, these were just lying around on the dining table, like, juuuust waiting for a cup of coffee or milo to spill all over them...

No way am I going to risk that!

So due to the bulkiness of the homework, I decided to send Umar to school instead of him taking the school bus. Mana nak bawak beg sekolah lagi, beg isi diorama lagi, nak kepit 3 manila cards kat ketiak lagi hehehe... Kesian anak I yg chubby tu.

*******

After sending Umar, I had to rush home to fetch Muhammad pulak and send him to school. Dalam kelam-kabut tu, sempat jugak singgah beli nasi lemak berlauk dulu. I call that, rezeki. Jangan ditolak =)

And later, this is what happened in the car...

Muka nak nangis cause he can't get his socks to co-operate.

The little cheeky fella insisted that his socks must be pulled all the way up. And that they must be the same height. I said only girls wear socks that high. He didn't care.

And so I spent the whole trip to school coaxing him that it is not possible to pull them any longer. That is as far as they can go. He was beginning to get upset.

Nasib lah sempat sampai sekolah before he switched on this "cranky" button. 

And so, off he went.

It's only 10:15am now. There's more to come.

Don't you just love children?

Bright Red Romper

I made a bright red romper for Aisyah. A project that took me a few days to complete, as I had to steal time here and there as I go about my priorities. Finally completed it yesterday. Couldn't wait to put it on her! It just so happened that today is Mother's Day, did anyone notice? Lol! So off we went as a family to one of our favorite hangouts of good food and good no-fee-photoshoot-venue heheh!

I got the pattern for this outfit on Etsy. It was easy to make and looks awesomely comfy too. It is supposed to look like that, loose and baggy. I think Aisyah loves it. I'm thinking of making more, cause these look too cute to not have a few of them!

I put a white ribbon on the front just to differentiate the front from back. The prints at the front is symmetrical. Couldn't do the same at the back due to some technical mistake heehee! By the way, the fabric is Sarawak batik, thus the ethnic prints. Soft, cool and comfy. Perfect combo for baju budak kan?

You can find the pattern here.

Take care and Happy Mother's Day!

-Nin-

She, in the new dress I made

So I was thinking of something outdoorsy today so that I could take a few shots of Aisyah in her new peasant dress that I made. But it was not to be. It rained this morning and we were in no particular mood to deal with wet slides, swings, mud and puddles.

And so to the mall we went to get Umar's watch fixed. Good enough excuse to get out of the house and go somewhere! So here are the pics, as best as I could get them since I didn't bring my speedlight with me. It would've been a bit too bulky and heavy to be lugging that around the mall.

I made the dress a little bigger so that she can grow into it but I may have made it a tad too short.

I think.

This is one of the easiest dress to make. I've made this so many times that I can probably whip one up in less than 2 hours, if I get to work on it without any distractions. Which, unfortunately, doesn't happen very often hehehe!

"Mama, abang taknak share!"

"Mine! Mine! Mine!"

"It was your fault." "No, your fault." "No, you did it first."

And on, and on, and on...

So you see, sewing helps keep my sanity intact. 

My therapy.

My creative outlet.

If you'd like to make one of these, find the tutorial here.

I'll be back with a new project soon, inshaa Allah.

In the meantime, take care and always keep kindness in your heart.

Yours truly, Nin.