Little Boxy Bags

Folks,

Over the weekend I was suddenly overcome with a familiar feeling - the one which comes when one is making stock for a craft market. A overwhelming desire to stop sewing. It hit me hard. One minute I was sewing, or maybe dawdling. The next I wanted to do nothing. I'm thinking after my Christmas market, I'm going to take a very long break from craft markets. I know I say this every year end but it's getting harder and harder to keep going.

So I thought to make it interesting for myself, I'll make a few pouches for non human beings - like my dolls. All my bags are usually slated for humans so I wasn't very sure how "my guys" will take to them.

For the first pouch, I used a Japanese fabric which has bamboo leaves and flowers and crests. This is an interesting fabric as it has these textures which I would normally call slubby but it's not really slubby. Just nice to touch. This fabric has a unique name but for the moment, I can't recall what it is. Melly must have the same taste as me because the minute I finished the bag, she jumped right into it. She was so quick no one else had a chance.

Melly reasoned that since she's from Japan and the fabric is from Japan, it's a no-brainer. She does look cosy in it. But don't tell her her head's too big.

This is the 2nd bag I made. There was an ugly fight over it. Little Red won. Needless to say, Bear lost.

She wouldn't budge - no matter what. Yup, she's still sitting in the bag in the balcony right now. Little Red said Bear's big butt couldn't fit into the bag anyway. Oh, don't tell Little Red her big head can't fit either.

You know what Kevin Bacon once said? (wise man)

You're only as happy as your unhappiest doll.

Bear put up such a big sulk that I figured his bag had to be 3 times more kick ass than his siblings'. (3 times more because his butt is 3 times bigger...)

I think he likes it but he's not sure yet. <grumble, grumble> And I slaved over it too.

It's really mine?

That's Bear's happy face.

Now everyone's happy, we can all move forward with our lives.

I had to drag the bitches out to get pics of the bags.

Hmm... actually I kinda like the bags without the dolls in them.

Maybe I'll sell them to humans after all. Shhh.

p.s. I have a big promotion at my Etsy shop for all my digital bag patterns. Use coupon code ILOVEJANE50 (all caps) to get a 50% discount. Coupon expires Nov 13th 2013. Hurry. Go here.

Friday Ketchup No. 2

Folks,

When hubs first announced that he had bought a dish washing machine, I was a bit apprehensive as he had tried to talk me into buying one over the years. Many, many times and I was never keen. I just couldn't believe a machine could wash the dishes like a human could.

Once the machine was delivered, I started coming round and even looked forward to trying it out. It was bigger than my clothes washing machine and being such mountain tortoises, both of us dared not use it. We waited for the demo lady to arrive. And I let the dirty dishes pile up. By the time she came to my home, I had a weekend's worth of dirty dishes.

It turned out the dishwasher is not too hard to use. The only issue I had was how to arrange the dishes in the best way so they get really clean. Then we realised we did not have the special detergent needed. We were given a few sample tablets but these were for the super oily stuff.  And still I refused to give in and let the dishwasher win. And I carried on letting the dirty dishes pile up. I mean, who washes by hand when you have a brand new dishwasher sitting in the laundry room? (yes, I have a laundry room)

One morning I needed to drink some water and there were no clean cups and glasses anywhere to be found and let me tell you, we have a lot of cups and glasses. (because idiot McDonald's kept giving us free glasses) So I had to drink from a bowl. Not a small tiny bowl that could pass off as a cup but a big bowl. I think that was my lowest point this week.

It took us a few days to finally find a supermarket that stocked the special detergent.

One morning I woke up and I saw the detergent on the dining table and I swear I felt as happy as when I received my yellow roses. I had a ton load of dirty dishes to wash!

This was my first load. I pressed the start button and more than an hour later, it was all over. I think I was too eager to see the results and opened the door too soon after the cycle was over. Because when I opened the door my face was hit by steam!

Anyhoos...

My life is changed. Forever.

The dishwasher is the best invention on earth. If I could go back in time, I would go back to the exact moment when hubs and I first lived in our own flat which was a rental flat with 2 holes in the ceiling and sometimes bats came. That was when we cooked a few times a week and although we agreed to take turns to do the dishes, he often forgot and we had to throw away at least one frying pan and a few plates. We were that lazy. Yes, I would go back to that moment and buy a dish washing machine. And when that one breaks down, I would buy a replacement.

I have to say this. Hubs is right again. He said a dishwasher would solve our dish washing problems and I never listened to him. I have no idea why I was so resistant. And I'm someone who hates to wash the dishes. Over the years, how irritable and annoyed I had been often over doing the dishes.

Yesterday I cooked to test out how well the machine cleans my wok, frying pan and big pots. My god. Super mother&$#@#% clean. 100 marks. Did I say my life is changed? Forever? Can I go back in time? Please? My only regret? We did not buy the really giant industrial sized dishwasher because if I could I would just load my fridge in it and my kitchen cabinet and other stuff that needs cleaning!

* * *

I think one of the reasons I was resistant to buying a dishwasher was the cost. They are priced ridiculously high in Singapore - way more than clothes washing machine. I suppose it's due to low demand. Then fate intervened.

Some time in Feb, hubs won an award for the newspaper he works for.

He won Headline of the Year (see pic above) - Teach, Prey, Love? and received some money. And the money is just enough to pay for the dishwasher! So you could say the headline paid for our dishwasher.

* * *

A few days ago hubs took me to see G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra  G.I. Joe: Retaliation (thanks for the correction hubs! so...you do read my blog!) on the government's money. He was sent some vouchers for having served National Service and someone in the government kindly included cinemas in the scheme. It's not a bad movie but not great either although hubs loved it. All the big stars are there and I mean BIG. Have you seen the rock?

Anyway, after the movie we had lunch and then I went to the library while hubs checked out the supermarket for that magic detergent for our dishwasher. When we met up later, hubs said the supermarket was under construction and he had also purchased a pair of glasses so we had to wait around. Anyway, he wanted me to buy a pair of glasses for myself (on sale) and as I was trying each pair looking at him for his stamp of approval, I saw something black in his teeth and I was going to say something when the salesperson spoke to us. Anyway he didn't like any of the glasses on me face so I did not get any. Then he had to go upstairs to collect his new spectacles and while he was talking to me, I really saw something black in his teeth and I really wanted to call out to him:

YOU HAVE SOMETHING BLACK IN YOUR TEETH.

But I didn't. So he went up and I supposed he spoke to a few people, flashed his big smile and the something black in his teeth. Meanwhile I was downstairs waiting for him and trying not to laugh thinking of that something black in his teeth.

Here, you see for yourself. I know my drawing of hubs doesn't really look like him but it's the best I can do.

Finally, on the way home on the train, I pretended it was the first time I saw something black in his teeth and got him to remove it. Anyway, maybe I did let the black thing sit on his teeth for a while because I was annoyed that I saw him smiling broadly at the lady selling ham the other day. Haha.

* * *

I have some updates on my craft markets. It is quite frightening. To me. I have like 6 weekends of craft market to prepare for. The earliest is on the first weekend of May and I am so not prepared. I don't know why I am not producing more bags. Someone needs to kick me in the butt. Today I got a little scared and decided to make a couple of boxy pouches. I haven't made any for ages.

I learned a big lesson from last Christmas. I won't make so many of the same kind as that will lead to a burnout. So I couldn't bring myself to make another same boxy pouch.

Instead I made a boxy bag.

Check out the ribbon tab!

This is a pattern I had been working on last year and never got around to work further on it.

Speaking of patterns, I have adjusted the prices of all my bag patterns. I hope no one minds! I rounded everything up so at most the increase is 10 cents.

Sales of my new bag pattern, Easy Sling Bag Pattern has been quite pathetic. I only sold 1 and it's to a regular customer. I'm not exactly new to this selling thing so I know things change and sales will pick up in future. Even saying that, I feel I am lying to myself.

SO! To rectify that, I'm offering you guys a surprise coupon at my Etsy shop. The coupon code is EASY20. This means you get a 20% discount. I will keep this coupon active for 1 week.

It's cooling off day again

Today is Cooling-Off Day for Singapore's Presidential Election. Voting day is tomorrow. As a joke, the sky poured all through morning. Generally, I dislike heavy rain in the morning because the kids have school and walking to the train station requires three umbrellas and three rain jackets. On top of that, the kids eat their breakfast while they walk. In case you're wondering why they don't eat at home, it's because the kids are unable to wake up early enough to eat at home. Anyway, it's only a problem when it rains.

Well, the weather stayed really nice and cold after the rain. It's so rare to experience such cold air (without freezing) and not sweat at all. So I would loved to have stayed home and sew or snooze. But I had to be out all day.

Remember the Ikea grey roses fabric? I made another bag with it. Nope, not getting sick of it yet.

I made another been-there-done-that bag. Honestly, this bag is getting just a wee bit boring for me.

I wanted to try something different with something familiar. So I went back to the good ole zip pouch. What's different about this zip pouch is how the handle is made.

Thought I'll include a BEFORE image before I complete the handle. See it's really just a zip pouch.

Once the handle is sewn on, it becomes a zippy bag. P.S. The bag is hanging on my sewing chair.

Just to give you an idea how small this zip bag is, look at my phone. I think this bag is really cute. If I were to make it again, I would have to make the area where I sew the handles on less bulky. I broke 3 needles sewing the handles on.

But what I really love about this bag is the bottom. It's so boxy. I used a layer of batting for the bottom but you can't see it.

Back to the Presidential Election. As you may know, in my family, I'm tasked with deciding who to vote for. I do take my job seriously and I've been busy reading up on the 4 "Tan" candidates. The Election is very much like a job interview except it's a $4 million job interview. The voters ask the candidates questions and based on the answers given, the "interviewers" think it through and decide who they want to give the job to.

Have you ever been asked this question at a job interview? It's my personal no. 1 hated question.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years' time?

You either give a completely fake answer or you say something stupid.

For the presidential hopefuls, the questions are geared towards personal standing on issues like death penalty, detention without trial and use of govt reserves.

Let me explain a little about one of the key roles of the Singapore President. He holds the key to Singapore's past reserves. Each year, there is a budget surplus which goes into Past Reserves. Over the years, the amount of money has grown. The amount is not publicised. But it must be substantial enough to warrant a $4 million President to guard it. So if the government wants to spend a part of the reserves, it needs the okay of the President.

That is why the choice of the President is important. He must be someone who is smart, fearless, fair and well-versed in finance. Honestly, none of the candidates fit the bill fully. So I think I'll have to go with the fearless candidate.

In my family, we too have our current reserves and past reserves system. Every month me hubs transfers a sum of money to bank A (current reserves) which I use for household expenses. By the end of the month, most of the money is used up. We have a bank B where we keep our "past reserves". I usually don't withdraw money from bank B but if I do, I inform me hubs so he doesn't get a heart attack plus he's the President. (I'm the Prime Minister) Occasionally I forget to do so but me hubs is eagle eyed and will ask me about it. So far this system has worked for us.

Come back on Sunday and I'll tell you who our new President is. See ya.

Houses Bag And 2 Rejects

Last week I was feeling very tired and achy most likely triggered by the weather change. This week I was quite determined to be more productive and I did the most unlikely thing.

But before that, I had been eating rather sweet food for breakfast and would usually end up with a sugar crash. And that would mean I ended up napping for a good half hour wherever I happened to be, usually in front of my monitor. I don't look good waking up from a sugar crash induced nap. Guilty, horribly achy, numb because I'm not in a sleeping position plus I'm covered in drool.

So this week, I wanted to stop eating sweet food for breakfast and I ate peanut butter with bananas on multi-grain bread!! My friend, Vivian introduced this mind-boggling concoction to me years ago and I had tried it then but never quite stuck to it. I'm a typical Chinese in the sense that I don't eat fruits for breakfast. And seriously, the idea of peanut butter with bananas is quite gross. But I wanted to get energized so I could do some serious sewing instead of just lethargying around all day. And it worked! Tastes pretty good too plus bananas give it a little sweetness so I'm not like deprived.

So I felt pretty good for the past 3 days and I made this.

 Yes, another BIG sports bag inspired bag. The canvas cotton fabric is ricco-ricco.

I used piping again. My sewing machine seriously groaned when I sewed all the layers together. And I busted 1 needle.

I like this angle of the bag. When my girl saw the bag, she said, "Diaper bag!" Gosh, I hope no one else thinks it's a diaper bag because it's a sports bag inspired bag!

I had so much energy I made 2 more items but sadly they didn't make the cut.

This curvy zip pouch I made with my current favourite Patty Young's clover print fabric is a little too small. Plus the pleats make it a little too bulky at the seams for my liking. So I'm gifting it to MYSELF. It's cute, isn't it?  Next week or so, I shall attempt another larger version and take care of the bulk.

When I made this recessed zip clutch, I was trying to make a mini-version of another pleated bag I had made in March 2010.

Remember this pleated shoulder bag?

Somehow when it's small, it doesn't quite work. If I were to attempt another one, believe it or not, I'm actually going to ADD PLEATS in the bottom. My girl likes this zip clutch a lot so I'm gifting it to her.

Hmmm...if I have more peanut butter and bananas I may make 1 more bag this week. See you soon.

The Rainbow Bag

If this bag looks familiar, it is. I've made a similar bag in July 2009. My sis, Elaine owns the bag but unfortunately, the zipper became faulty. Don't you hate it when that happens?

The faulty zipper was bought from Spotlight and hideously expensive. So I'm rather disappointed with the quality. Expensive does not always mean good. Thank goodness I only bought a metre's worth and probably used it on 2/3 bags. Anyhoo, I've since discovered YKK continuous zippers which are far cheaper, wider (!!), stronger and reliable. Plus, the owner of the shop always gives me a discount.

I tried to replace the faulty zipper but it seems I had used a continuous zipper which had a rather narrow width which is no longer sold anywhere.

So I did the next best thing I could think of. I made a new bag, same design with the same fabric but with YKK zipper.

I added 2 pockets to the front.

I love the back. This fabric has so many colours that only white is missing.

This is the inside. I know it looks very plain but with the riot of colours on the outside, I think the owner of the bag would appreciate a little "quietness" when she opens the bag. At least that's what I think. See you soon. Hope the smog clears.

Redwork Eagle Bag

Somehow I did it. Despite a severe shortage of similar outer fabirc, I managed to complete this Eagle Bag. I'll be honest. I really, really wanted to junk it many times. But I had spent a fair amount of time working on the Redwork embroidery and it seemed such a waste. If you don't already know, redwork refers to a form of embroidery where red embroidery floss is used to sew an outline stitch, traditionally stem stich to depict a line drawing. Only one colour is used thru'out the embroidery. I've liked redwork for many years now, long before I started making bags. You can of course use a different colour, say blue and you will call it bluework. I used backstitch for my eagle.

Today I am the model. I dressed up for it. Yes, a clean Tee and jeans is how I dress up. Otherwise it'll be the Tee I slept in and pink shorts. I am of course very regretful I could not do piping for this bag due to lack of appropriate fabric. Piping needs to be cut on the bias and as such, an insane amount of fabric is required. Now that piping is one of the Must-Have for my bags, I really need to get fabric in a variety of colours solely for piping. Does anyone do piping?

The Boss pose.

Freaking hot day.

The inside. Might make a similar bag next month but with the inside on the outside. Hope I can find an appropriate green fabric for the piping.

Countdown to May MAAD (this weekend!). This is the 4th bag out of 6 bags I said I would make. 2 more bags to go in 2 days.

Let the eagle in you soar. See ya.

Blue, White And Blue-Grey Duffle Bag

Lately I've been thinking about how time is passing so quickly that if I'm not careful, I may lose many moments in my kids' lives. My boy is 13 and my girl 11 this year. It wasn't that long ago when they were just little kids running around. Now I hardly see my son who stays in school until evening. I see my girl more but she has her own thing going on - music, books and facebooking.

Recently my son asked me to read this book, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. This is an unusual request. In the past it was I who would recommend books to him. Naturally I was a little suspicious. Might it be required reading from school which he wanted me to read so I could help with his homework? Well, as it turned out, it was required reading but he thought I would enjoy the book. So, I'm going to read it so we can share. And I'm delighted that my son thought of me.

One of the "casualties" of my son growing up is us not enjoying the same music anymore. When he was little, I introduced country music to him. My husband introduced country music to me and I became hooked. Now, this may seem normal to some of you readers but understand that I live in Singapore. If I tell anyone here I like country music they'll go "Whaaaat?" and laugh so hard they pee in their pants. So naturally I was so happy that my son enjoyed country music and in iTunes, his playlist was similar to mom's playlist. So cute, right? We liked Brooks And Dunn, Garth Brooks, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood and Tracy Lawrence. Those magic days are over. Now my boy is just like any regular kid who listens to pop. In a way it's good he's over country because I don't want him to be treated different in school. Probably get beaten up! Now he introduces pop songs to me.

My girl and I shared Barbies and TV shows. Sadly, she's over Barbies. Why do kids grow up so fast??

In a desperate bid to hold on to more moments of my kids' lives, I started Movie Night. I copied this idea from Dad who would get the kids in my bed and they would watch something together. So when Dad's at work, and everyone's free, we watch a movie together at home. My son gets to choose the movie because he is super fussy about what to watch. The first movie we watched was Slumdog Millionaire. It was entertaining. The second movie was Bolt. It's an old movie about a dog-actor which believed it had super powers and got lost and had to travel across the country to save its co-star. It is the funniest movie I've ever watched. I'm someone who doesn't laugh easily when it comes to humour unless Steve Martin is in it.. I've often wondered why everyone's laughing at the cinema and I'm not. You should watch it if you haven't already. Laughed till I cried. Just imagine: Super Bark!

Back to my bags. Are you drooling over my latest bag? Because I am.  My husband calls this a duffle bag. I don't think it's a true duffle bag but I'll call it a duffle bag anyway. This bag is constructed the same way as The Money Bag. From a sewing point of view, it is an extremely difficult bag to construct mainly because the seams on the lining are hidden. But the result is well worth it. I included 2 front pockets and piping!

I'm sorry my husband had to pose for me again. Next time I'll dress up and be the model. In case you're interested to know how my husband's green jeans (see pic) helped save the Singapore economy, go here.

Can you see my husband in the background leaving for work? Okay, back to the bag. The pockets are binded for a sleek look to go with the piping.

See how hot it is over here?

The inner pockets match the outside. For the lining, handles, piping and binding, I used an odd blue-grey twill. Loving this bag. Might make another one!

Countdown to May MAAD. (1st to 2nd May) 3 out of 6 bags I said I would make for sale. 3 more to go in 6 days. See ya next post.