Amy Butler Style Stitches Sew-Along for May - Perfectly UnPleated Clutch

It's the last day of May and I just made it for my Amy Butler Sew-Along's May bag. The first thought that came to my mind when I was going through the instructions was:

I hate the handle.

The second thing thought was:

It's gonna cost a lot of fabric to make those pleats!

First of all, I don't like handles which look unbalanced. I just bothers me. But in the spirit of the sew-along.... Second of all, when I took a look at the amount of fabric required for the pleats, I almost fainted. For the SMALL clutch alone, you need 2 pieces of 8" X 54" of fabric.

All the "in the spirit of the sew-along" couldn't convince me to invest that much fabric in one clutch which if you look at closely is really just another zip pouch. So I made an Unpleated Clutch.

Seriously, without the pleats, the clutch looks boring. I'm almost embarrassed to post the photos!

This is what it looks like without the handle.

I just want to lop off the handle!

Is it just me? Sorry if I come across as rather negative about this "clutch". Maybe it's just my fabric choice? If I ever make this clutch again, I'll first of all, bury the handle in the deepest ocean and secondly, do something about those crazy pointy ends.

Hoo Goes There?

Hellooo,

Isn't it nice to just sit back and read blogs like usual and not have to enter in all the giveaways? I've won nothing. Have you?

The past few days, I've been in the midst of my epic journey through The Land Of The Owls. I've come to learn that most folks LOVE owls and owls and cute are tightly associated. So it's just me then with the creepy feeling from real owls. Just as I am slowly conquering my fear of heights, I am surely taking small steps towards not being afraid of owls.

So I've been pre-occupied with embroidering my owls. Yes, this is how I conquer my fear.

First up, as threatened, I made an owl wall organizer.

It's mostly just running lines for each of the 3 panels. It took a very long time mostly because I made the bias binding myself and when sewing it to the organizer, I did it the traditional way - by hand. This is my first wall organizer. Does it look weird? Me hubs says it looks "interesting weird".

I'm thinking this is one possible use for the organizer - sorting out your mail.

 

I made another owl zip pouch. This one is quilted. I call it "Caged Owls". Usually, for my bags and pouches, I have the showy bit on one side only. But for this pouch, I did it on both sides.

This is the other side and the owl is "caged" as well.

Here's the boxy bit. In case you're interested, "caged owls" simply reflect my fear of owls. Geddit? I'm the one who's in the cage. Caged by my own fear. So deep! Don't worry. Deep down I just like pretty stuff.

Next on my to-do list is another Amy Butler Sew-Along.

Some Singapore news. Remember the body in the water tank story? Well, residents were rather uneasy about drinking water from their tap after the incident. I mean, wouldn't you? One question: How long would it take you to go back to using the water from the tap if you were in the affected resident's position? (touch wood) Me? I would move. Btw, thanks to those of you who told me where your water came from. It was certainly informative.

Well, the member of parliament of the affected residents resorted to drinking water from the affected tap to lead by example. But the residents were too pissed to buy it. So finally it was decided the affected water tank(s) would be replaced. It will neither be cheap nor easy.

More news related to the Singapore Election, sort of. One issue which kept popping up during the election and carried on with a life of its own is the ministerial pay. I don't know the exact amount of pay the ministers get this year. But based on a 2009 figures, an entry-grade minister received an annual salary of SGD$1.57 million. The Prime Minister's salary that year was SGD$3.04 million. Staggering, right? What most locals cannot buy is how much more a Singapore junior minister earns compared to President Obama!

Singaporean's unhappiness with the ministerial pay has been around for a very long time. Surprise! Last Sunday, the Prime Minister announced a formation of a committee to review the pay. Whatever the outcome of the review and however small the pay cut is, I believe it is still better than nothing.

Mother Of All Giveaways

Hello dear friends,

Yes, I know some of you have day jobs. But if you do have time to spare and can't get enough of giveaways, here's more. Sew Mama Sew! organised a motherload....yeah, you get it.

You don't have much time. By Wednesday May 25th 2011. 

I'm sorry I can't do the homework for you and tell you what's up for grabs. (there are far too many giveaways!) The lists are nicely organised into "International shipping ok" or Not. For restricted shipping, the countries are listed so that makes it easy for you.

To win handcrafted item(s) + supplies/materials (this could mean a handmade item, a pattern or FABRIC) go here.

To win sewing + knitting supplies/materials (this could mean more patterns, yarns or FABRIC) go there.

To win handcrafted item, go to this link.

Good luck!