Zip pouch mania

Dear friends,

In my real life I suffer from mania (self diagnosed). I use the term suffer loosely because I don't actually suffer. The people who live with me probably do. I get ridiculously happy and energized and this usually ends with a low. It's the lows that's the problem. I've never really considered it an issue as I always thoroughly enjoy the highs. But lately I've given it a lot of thought and decided it's not a very responsible way to live. After all, I can stop myself from feeling too happy. I'm sure the people who live with me will be quite grateful.

You know I do the same thing with food. If I enjoy a particular food, I will eat it every single day - to enjoy the "taste of heaven" until I get sick and tired of it. I would not space it out over weeks so I could enjoy it longer. The desire to just enjoy it while I can is always too strong. Not too long ago, I ate a slice of pineapple and I had the "taste of heaven". Of course I had to ruin it by eating one slice every day. Then one time I had two slices in a day and that's what killed it for me. It was too much. Now I can't look at a slice of pineapple again.

It's no different for sewing. I go through periods where I can't sew anything with much enthusiasm. Then suddenly I get hit by the mania and it's ka-boom bling blang. This whole week I did nothing but make zip pouches because I got zapped by the zip pouch mania.

I will be selling these zip pouches at my next craft market at VivoCity, Singapore from 25th to 26th May. Go here for more details. I have calculated that if I somehow have the capability to sell all these zip pouches at the craft market, it will be enough to pay for rent and supplies and my meals and if my kids come along, their meals as well.

I am quite the hoarder when it comes to fabric and fabric scraps. I had saved these small strips of Echino turquoise panther fabric forever. Echino fabric is very expensive especially when you live in Singapore so there was no way I was throwing them away. Finally I saw a chance to use them. 

It started with this zipper that I had bought, also many months ago and I just wanted to use it. See the teeth? It's different from dress zippers. I would have liked to buy more of these but the shop that I bought it from? I really dislike being inside the shop. They put up these smelly thick plastic curtains at the door and every time I'm inside the shop, I feel like fainting.

I paired up the usable Echino strips with black cotton twill.

I even managed to make the wrist handle out of some of it. It was quite challenging making this pouch. In layman terms, I cursed a lot. A lot. A lot lot.

If you've ever wondered if I free motion quilt (FMQ), here's your answer. Yes, I do but not very well. The front and back of this pouch is about the same. I am not a huge fan of FMQ. Maybe it's because I can't do it well? I have considered taking up a class.

I finally got round to turning my sequin beaded Pegasus into a zip pouch. I got a little nervous ironing near the sequins because it's really easy to destroy them with heat.

I had the perfect lining for this little indigo Pegasus zip pouch. Indigo really shows up lint, doesn't it? I'm going to have to remove the lint before I put it up for sale.

Front

Back

Front

Back

I made 2 checkerboard zip pouches. Tell me if you find them a little weird? I'm quite intrigued by them. They're big. Lately I've enjoyed making larger zip pouches.

 Front

 Back

Front

 Back

These two patchwork zip pouches are more "regular size". Hope these two will satisfy the people who say, your zip pouches are too big!

I finally found the fabric my friend, Mandy @Mandy Pan Millinery had given me at Christmas last year when we were at Vivocity. She gave me a lot. A lot. A lot lot. The poor thing had to lug them to VivoCity from her home.  I had put them in different plastic bags and well, I couldn't find them for a long time.

 Front

Back

Front

Back

I made two zip pouches with the Paris fabric. The one with the blue zipper is for Mandy. I hope it fits all her barang-barang. I will also be making a passport cover with the same fabric. I'm just wondering if I should use interfacing.

Here you can see the difference in the sizes.

I made a big-assed sexy zippy pouch using a quilted patchwork method. Well, first, I patched strips of scrap fabric together. Then I quit the patchwork to a piece of batting. This way of patching allows me to control the look of the patchwork.

It is meant to be hand carried. I thought about making it a shoulder bag but in the end I felt a shorter handle makes it look better. Some Singapore women are so small that it's quite possible they could use this bag as a shoulder bag.

Would you believe this bag started with a zipper as well? I have this longer red zipper with the huge plastic teeth. It is an odd size and I didn't want it to stay in my zipper box forever. So I drafted a bigger sexy zippy pouch pattern to fit the zipper. After I had completed the pouch, I realised I should have included a pocket inside but I totally forgot. This pouch took like forever to make. I made different portions of it over different days as I didn't want to feel fatigue.

How big is this patchwork sexy zippy pouch? Thought this photo might help you out. The yellow-green sexy zippy pouch is the regular size. And oh yes, the patchwork zip pouch is big enough to fit my head, a scarf, a thin sweater, an umbrella, magazines, books, wallets, phone, keys and make-up. I don't know, what else do women put in their bags?

Front

Back

Much to my delight, after I had completed the super sized sexy zippy pouch, I had 2 pieces of patchwork left - just enough to make another small zip pouch! I wish I had planned it this way but it was all luck.

Which zip pouch do you like best? My favourite is the big-assed sexy zippy patchwork pouch. Have a great weekend!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to you. (if you're a mother). I hope you feel loved today.

 

My kids got me a little cake and wished me Happy Mother's Day. I'm hoping they'll throw in vacuuming and washing the toilets.

Yesterday we had the obligatory Mother's Day meal for my MIL at a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant took the opportunity to jack up the price. How do they do it? They give you limited choices in the menu selections. I'm pretty sure we paid double the normal rate. We had the usual dim sum, sharks fin soup (I think it's fake sharks fin), chicken, vegetables, fish, prawns and rice plus dessert.

 My MIL devoured this fish.

This glutinous rice came wrapped in a large leaf. It tasted horrid.

The prawns came with the shells unpeeled. A good husband peels the prawn shell for his wife.

The prawns were utterly tasteless.

I had a huge headache afterwards. MSG is evil.

Yesterday I finally wore the skirt I won from Thongbai Tatong 1 year ago! I almost forgot about the skirt. The skirt is soooo lovely. It feels so nice and soft against my skin. And so comfy. I want to live in it. I think I got a littler fatter since I got the skirt but it still fits.

Speaking of wins, I entered so many giveaways in the Sew Mama blog hop and was hoping to win something. But I've yet to receive any notification of my win. I have a feeling I won nothing. Did anyone of you win anything?

Yesterday was a big day. We saw Star Trek Into Darkness on Imax 3D. It was really expensive for the four of us. I don't know if you really need to see this movie on Imax. I had to keep closing my eyes and dodging my head to avoid the space debris and missiles. What a waste on me.

We were lent the big assed 3D glasses so I was very happy. Fits both our huge heads.

Spoiler alert: A lot of people die in the movie. A lot. A lot lot. But most of them are extras. However, a major character does die. Be prepared.

My girl is crazy about Benedict Cumberbatch. I first noticed him in Sherlock. I was like wtf!? He has a very unusual but arresting look and very pale looking skin.

In the Star Trek movie, Benedict plays a terrorist, "John Harrison". Actually we were talking after the movie and we weren't that sure if he is a terrorist. I shan't tell you more about the movie because you want to be surprised.

See ya.

Winner of my fabric giveaway May 2013 is

Thanks to everyone for taking part in my fabric giveaway. I enjoyed reading all the entries and I have filed away a few books that I thought I might want to read. I got terribly excited every time someone mentions a book I've read or seen in a movie.

This is the winning number picked by random.org.

via

And the winning book is Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris. I haven't read this book but just look at the cover! Makes me want to read it. I have Naked by the same author in my vast(messy) library.

Congrats to the winner!

Fabric Giveaway May 2013

Giveaway has closed. Winner announced here.

Folks,

Today is May 6 and Sew Mama Sew is organizing a Giveaway Day. It's a bi-annual thing and if you want to learn more about how to do your own giveaway, click here. To see the full list of all the blogs participating, go here.

This giveaway is 1 week long. It ends on May 10 5pm PST.

If this is your first visit to my blog, let me brief you on what my blog is about. I make bags, mostly. Which I sell at a craft market in Singapore. I'm also into tatting, crochet, beadweaving, bookbinding and drawing. Sometimes I produce bag patterns (digital downloads) which I sell on Etsy and Craftsy. My bags are easy to make because I make them easy to make and I write great instructions. Hahaha I'm a fairly lazy person who wants to laze around all day. I work best when I have a deadline...

What do you win?

♥ 1 yard of a fabric print with houses on it.
♥ 1 yard of a fabric print with cursive handwriting on it. That's 2 yards in total.
♥ 1 of my pdf bag sewing pattern. (you choose)

These are the fabric. Yes, the ribbon is included.

Have a closer look at the fabric. Like it? Love it? Want it?

And these are the 8 bag sewing patterns I have to my name. You get to pick ONE. Go here to have a closer look.

How to enter?
♥ Leave ONE comment answering this question:

What was the last book you read?

You may also comment on anything you like. The choice is yours. Btw, the last book I read was The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky blogged here.

♥ Open worldwide.

♥ Leave your email if your profile is not tied to your email.

♥ Winner will be decided via Mr Random.Org and announced on May 11 Singapore time. Winner must respond to my email of her/his win within 48hours. Otherwise Mr Random.Org will find another winner then.

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Vivocity craft market post-mortem 4th to 5th May 2013

How exciting it was for me. My first craft market in 2013. But some things don't change. The long hours. The boring long hours. The boredom. I leave my home at 9am and reach home at 11pm on both days. It's a really long time to be spent outside without the comforts you're used to. And you know, I've stayed in my cave far too long this year.

I took a pic of the craft market. This is the main area. A short distance away, there is another row of booths along the walkway. As you can see, it's a motley crew of all sorts of crafts people. Not everyone makes the items they sell. Some buy ready made goods from overseas and resell at a profit. Some buy parts and assemble them. A couple of tables teach handicraft.

You know what I fear most about selling at Vivocity craft market? Sitting next to someone who uses products that give off a smell, like glue, varnish, lacquer etc. Well, my biggest fear came true. My nearest neighbour used lacquer and glaze. That would have given me a decent size headache which I think I can handle. Unfortunately, a few tables away, another seller BURNED wax for hours. Now I have heard complaints about the wax burning before but this seller usually had a booth far from me so I was spared. This time, we were in the same zone. When I went home on Saturday night, I felt very sorry for myself. My head was pounding and I wanted to gouge my right eye out.

Oh, you know I was pretty sure I would forget to bring something and true enough, on my way home on Saturday night, I realised my transport card was at home. I had to buy a single trip card to take the train home. I think the last time I bought such a card was many years ago because I have my own transport card. I found out using the machine to buy a card requires the IT savvyness  of a 11 year old. It took me a while to figure out how to buy the card and I felt extreme pressure because I could see a queue forming behind me. When I reached my stop, I went to a machine to return my card in order to get my $1 refund. This time my IT savvyness failed me. No matter how carefully I followed the instructions, my $1 refused to pop out of the machine. I simply did not want to admit defeat. I tried all the machines but only one machine had the refund option. And I stood there maniacally trying over and over again. Finally, I recognised it was too silly to continue. I went to the control station and explained in a uncrazy way to the person in charge. You know what he told me? The refund is history. HISTORY. Apparently now we no longer pay an extra dollar when we buy a single trip card so the refund system is obsolete.

And of course I had not looked closely at the card. It is now made of card stock and it is reusable. What an idiot I am. And shouldn't the refund system of the single trip cards becoming history be front page news? People need to know...

On Sunday, the wax burning got really bad. My headache turned into a migraine and I felt nauseated and seriously considered packing up and going home. I mean come on. I wanted to vomit. The craft market organiser should put the glaze/varnish/paint/wax burner on an island far away from the main area.

This morning I woke up and was super pissed my head is still pounding. If I were to be reborn, I want beautiful straight hair and absolutely no migraine or headache. Now where can I find some morphine?

Rant is over. (promise) Here's my table display on Saturday. Ouch, no one liked my hair accessories.

This is me on Sunday. I was feeling not too bad when I had the photo taken. Hubs and the kids had come so I could step away for a while.

Hubs is not bothered by smoke, smell and has no allergies to food. Lucky man.

The only exciting moment at the craft market? Some people from Avatar came to visit. I think you can understand why I did not take a pic from the front?

I had good sales on Saturday but Sunday it was bad. I do admit my range of stock is not exactly very exciting so I will work on that. I'm waiting to watch The Amazing Race Finale. Please don't tell me who won. After that I'm taking a long nap. When I wake up, I'll take pics for my giveaway. So today I will have two posts up. If you're interested, come back when I have the giveaway post up. See ya.

Friday Ketchup No. 6

I have many fears. I'm easily frightened by noise, insects, cancellation of TV shows and sweaty bodies. This week I am scared of mosquitoes. Not any mosquitoes. Aedes mosquitoes. I discovered that there are a few cases of dengue fever victims near where I live and it's freaking me out. If you live in Singapore, you can check out dengue.gov.sg to see if you live in a Dengue cluster. Once we were at an aunt's home and we saw an aedes mosquito in the flat. You can tell it's an aedes mosquito by the white spots on the long legs. I chased it like crazy to kill it but of course I couldn't catch it. We did not fall ill but it makes me think that maybe some people don't fall ill from aedes mosquitoes bites. Still, the thought of getting bitten paralyzed me. It seems to me aedes mosquitoes cannot be wiped out and why isn't there a drug for dengue fever? Every year the government puts in a lot of effort to get rid of aedes mosquitoes but every year the situation gets worse. Shouldn't it get better?

Speaking of dangerous insects, guess who came for a visit? Yes, it's another dem wasp/hornet. It had been coming in for visits for the past few days scaring me to death because it would fly at my face/head. Why does it always aim for vulnerable parts like face and crotch? Yesterday morning when I heard the zzzz sounds, I immediately decided to end it once and for all. I really had it. I grabbed my broom and a spray can of insecticide. Honestly, I had no real plans. They just look like the most appropriate weapons. Then I switched off all the lights safe for one light as I wanted it to stay at one location. It worked. After stalking it for a few minutes, the wasp/hornet finally stayed still on the wall for more than one second. I took the opportunity to spray the hell out of it. I almost died from the fumes. It didn't do anything to the wasp/hornet. So I stalked it some more and finally got the chance to spray another round of toxic fumes. This made it a little ill and I saw my chance to knock it with my broom.

I was really shaking with fear as I imagined if I wasn't careful, the wasp/hornet would come for my ears. Isn't this everyone's fears? Well, my broom managed to catch just a bit of the insect and I trapped it on the floor but I could see it trying to free itself. I wanted to yell at hubs to wake the hell up to help me but really, this is a woman's job. I pushed the broom with the wasp/hornet below to where I keep my old newspapers and grabbed one section of the papers and threw it over the broom. I removed my broom and was horrified to see the wasp/hornet trying to wriggle its way out of the newspaper. So I grabbed a library book and let it drop on the newspaper. Then I waited for hubs to wake up so he could check if it was dead.

It was. The library book squashed the hell out of it. Anyway, I'm sending the photo of the insect to the town council. I'm pretty sure the stupid tree outside my window is where it lives and surely they should come inspect the tree. I'm so tired of my battles with the wasp/hornet family.

I have a craft market this weekend and I'm finally done with the price tagging. It took such a long time as I also iron the bags one last time. I brought out the ole luggage and discovered I hadn't touched it since Christmas. I'm sorting through my stock and discovered I have a few leaf accessories not yet photographed.

These are hair clips. They are pretty big. At first I wanted to use only green felt for the leaves but I realised I have barely any green felt. And I have felt of every colour you can imagine... I wanted to make more of these hair clips but I ran out of steam. You know I have no sensibilities when it comes to hair accessories. They look all right to me but I could be so wrong.

This weekend's craft market will be my first for 2013. No matter how many times I've gone out to sell, each time feels just as nerve wrecking. The display is always the biggest headache for me and I hope I find a way to not clutter my table. I have to pack cleverly and not end up with too many bags as I have to walk a long distance from the taxi stand to the market. This morning I just remembered that this year's craft market is slightly different without the cashiering system. That means I need to bring some small change along. I'm pretty sure every customer will hand me a $50 note.

If you are in Singapore, do pop by VivoCity. Oh, next week I have a giveaway so remember to come back!