I'm In Love...With Gibbons

This gorgeous photo of gibbons was taken by my globe-trotting student-niece, Mindy when she was on a study trip in Borneo. She's now holidaying in Canada. Just kidding. She's there to study the ...mmmmh..I have no idea what she's studying. (some aunt) Anyway, I literally fell in love with the gibbons. Mindy's so sweet to let me use the photo and I was so inspired by it, I made a bag with a gibbon applique. She'll be awaiting some royalties. :D



This is a simple tote which any sewer worth her thimble can whip up. I made if for a child and used my girl as a guide for the size. The applique part took a little longer. I used fusible interface and handstitched it. This reminds me of how I started sewing. I was 7 and really "blur" (s'pore slang for having a blonde moment). One day, out of the blue, my primary one teacher, Miss Read decided I would learn to handsew an applique. Me? I had never held a needle up till that day. In those days, I was too blur to even protest so I just went along with Miss Read's big project. She fused a huge applique of a puppy on a fabric which I remember felt very snuggly. Once a week, me and a few "chosen ones" would sit in a group and sew away. Some of the lucky ones got to do really exciting projects like art and craft. I envied them so.

Miss Read was fearless in her ambition to make sewers out of us. I have no clue why she chose me to be a sewer. I was clumsy. I was slow. I made a lot of mistakes. She made me unpick every mistake. Sometimes I would sleep on the snuggly fabric. But she would praise me at the end of each sewing session.

By some miracle, I completed the applique. Miss Read told me it would be displayed in the classroom on Parents-Teachers Day. On that day, I searched for my puppy applique and almost fainted when I saw it had turned into a really nice satchel. I loved it so much. At the end of the day, Miss Read gave it to me. And that was the beginning of my love affair with bags.

As for the bag, I think one of my siblings used it and ruined it completely.


Gibbon climbing up the cabinet


Gibbon hiding from photographer


Gibbon chilling


Gibbon lying down

Gibbon now available on Etsy.