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!

Projek malam minggu - langsir jadi alas meja

Ini cerita semalam.

I just bought a wood-top dinner table. A couple of days old. Dan sepertimana lumrah bila dapat barang baru, I sangat2 berazam nak jaga baik2 supaya tahan bertahun-tahun.

And since we were going to have a kenduri doa selamat and housewarming hari ni, menggelupur lah I semalam mencari alas meja @ saprah untuk menutup meja I agar selamat dari sebarang "kecalaran" akibat pergeseran pinggan-mangkuk, gelas, toys, kuku, gelang dan tah apa2 lagi yang masuk logik akal.

Bukan I tak ada alas meja lama, tapi meja lama was a smaller table. Memandangkan keluarga I sekarang dah merangkap 6 orang dan in my household, total ada 8 orang (termasuk my mum and maid), maka meja 6-seater doesn't serve us anymore. We therefore upgraded to a 8-seater table, which is big enough to accommodate 10, when the need arises.

Considering I was pressed for time, I decided to go to the nearest place I thought I could find a tablecloth. Malangnya, the home decor shop I went to tak ada jual saprah, tapi ada jual langsir. Not wanting to waste much time, I pun sepantas kilat merekacipta design saprah yang I boleh buat, dan berapa helai langsir nak kena beli untuk buat saprah 10x6 kaki.

The curtains I bought. One opaque curtain
and 2 sheer curtains.

So I ended up buying 3 helai langsir pasang siap.

I mula menjahit some time after dinner dan selesai kira2 tiga jam kemudian. Let me just say that it was quite challenging, especially tang part nak potong sheer curtain tu. Payah betul nak potong lurus. I buat teknik tarik benang untuk dapatkan garisan lurus, but when you have only so much time, and twice as much work... takde masa der akak nak tarik2 benang bagai. Berpinar mata nak kutil benang tu uols!

Walau bagaimanapun, berkat tekun dan sabar (yang hampir2 jugak nak padam), siap lah jugak saprah I yang tak seberapa itu. It could've been better, but this time, I gave myself a break and casted my need for perfection aside. Considering kesuntukan masa dan ke-terhad-an material, I would consider this little (bulky) express project a success. Next time, when I can take my own sweet time, insyaAllah I'd make a better saprah.


Finished product...

Akhir kata, to all mothers out there...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

-Nin-