new fabrics...

These are my latest fabrics in the collection... all are cottons... some are for baju kurung and small project like bags and pouches for friends and daughter, Hajar and for my cushion cover...

The cottons were purchased from all over the places i.e. Nagoya in Tampin, from a textile shop in Taipan Senawang (Senawang pun ada Taipan...) and also from Bandung, bought from a friend Zarin. (psst.. zarina... I lum bayar lagi la...)

Today, konon nya after lunch nak start potong kain untuk baju kurung Sarah and Hajar... and after that to finish up the remainder of the batu seremban...

Sanctuary...

Finally... I concluded the Sanctuary by Nora Roberts... I took me more than a month to finish the book... and now I am indulging P.S I Love You by Cecelia Ahern.. my first time with hers. I borrowed from a friend who had abondened the book after halfway reading it. I'll finish it for her....quite different from the other books I've read... the story flow is much simpler and easy reading...

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It's been over 2 months since I last purchase Sanctuary. I think I'll pay a visit to the book store by end of this month. Been to the bookstore recently but sibuk beli buku for Nadia's PMR revision.

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Ada sesiapa anak nak PMR? I'm worried sick...

Batu Seremban...

Few months ago....a colleague has asked me to sew a set of 5 batu seremban... I tak rasa pelik sebab before this my daughter pun pernah suruh jahitkan batu seremban for her and friend. I used to play 'batu seremban' during primary school. But those days we used to collect stones to be used as batu seremban.

During the weekend, baru I took the opportunity to sew a set of five 1.5" x 1.5" sachet batu seremban. I used my left over cotton from the baby's pillow case. I also sew 4" x 3.7" small pouch to keep those batu seremban... I filled those small squares with kacang hijau..

Anyone out there... ever sew batu seremban before.... It's quite fun sewing those tiny squares....

Oh ya... those batu seremban would be used for the Pertandingan Batu Seremban during Hari Wanita at our office to be held in October.

Giveaway from SewPrettyPink

ROSES IN MY HEART

Cantik kan bag ni... I terus jatuh cinta the first time I visited this blog.... sewnice.... Why I like about this bag ?... simply because.... this bag is soo... cute especially the knot... I belum pernah ada bag macam ni... selalunya bag just a simple strap tapi yang ni special, ada ikatan istimewa di atasnya. I could imagine how cute the knot would look on my shoulder nanti .... perasan la tu...itupun kalau menang... please... please pick me..... and the most special is this bag is reversible... and it turn out to be taa daaa.. roses in my heart. Surprise!!!

Yes! that's it... I, (drum beat please...) proudly present you Roses In my Heart.... (clap..clap...clap) by SewPrettyPink

I do hope SewPrettyPink would love the name...

Almost everyone at my office knew that I suka menggayakan bag buatan sendiri... walaupun kadang2 taklah cantik sangat... I could still remember my first bag that I sew myself when I was in Form 3... (about a century ago...) kain kotak-kotak with a white cotton lace kat poket depan...

Dear SewPrettyPink, this time I would love to menggayakan your bag pulak...

Another Cute Giveaway

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Memang tengah demam giveaways sekarang ni.... I'm impressed that the owner of this giveaway is still young... tahniah dik !... dulu I pun umur macam you dah start menjahit... I can still remember my first bag that I sewn at the age of 15! Brown checked prints bag with renda kat poket depan... sayang no photos that time...

More Giveaway... by Sweet Wannur

Meriahnya.... banyak crafters yang buat Giveaways.... bestnya I nak join.. I tersangatlah sukanya hairclips pink and blue itu... pick me... pick me..

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So.. to those out there yang nak join go to here

I Want to Win again!!!

This is my second attempt to win the handmade giveaway by lilstitchy... I really love the fabrics offered on the site...

I want to Win!!!

Definitely YES!!! I want to win... zhaneez-craft

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Why??

1. This would be my first time joining Giveaway.. kalau menang kan jadi kenangan manis...

2. The giveaways are sooo cute...

3. My favourite would be ....ALL!! see above picture

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If you too want to compete with me just bloghop to zhaneez-craft and drop your comments.

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It's sew cute..

Projek manik lagi...

I was 'forced' by a friend to jahit manik for her sister's baju kurung yesterday. Once, I dah pernah jahit manik for a baju kurung for the other sister's of her last year.

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Before that she came over to my workstation and asked whether I be able to jahit manik for a baju kurung batik. I straight away told her "tak boleh la kak sebab I tengah jahit baju orang lain ni". But then I asked her "nak pakai bila?". She replied "hujung bulan ni, ada dinner". I said "Ooo lagi la tak boleh sebab nak kena siapkan baju orang tu by hujung bulan ni". I continue by saying "sorrylah ya kak memang tak dapat, kalau bulan depan bolehlah".

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Actually, I was kind of throwing words by saying that with the hope that she would surrender eventhough I was quite tempted with the offer. I kan suka beading ni. Then looking dissapointed she said "OKlah nanti akak beritahu adik akak". That was the Part I punya conversation.

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Later, in the afternoon, in between my department's meeting, I came out of the meeting room and was on the way to the ladies, I selisih with the kakak again. Surprisingly she said "hah Ain, adik akak kata tak kisahlah lambat pun tak pe lah. Next month pun bolehlah". I was surprised but then I heard myself was saying "ye ke... lambat pun tak pe. Oklah." Then the kakak said "nanti akak bagi baju tu kat Ain ya". I can't believe myself. That was one of my weaknesses, not be able to say NO. Sebenarnya tak sampai hati to dissappoint other people.. That was the end of the Part II conversation.

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I pun teringat, bila celah pulak nak jahit manik lagi ni... Tak pe lah... jahit dulu bag for Suraya lepas tu baru jahit manik... dia kan kata lambat sikit tak pe.......

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Bertambah satu projek next month.... bukan mengeluh tapi ... tu lah tak cukup tangan rasanya...

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And..just now the kakak came over to my workstation and gave me the baju kurung batik for me to jahit manik sekreatif yang boleh... She said sambil ketawa kecil "nah Ain, pandai-pandai lah" I said "Ok lah kak". I smiled.

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Deep inside me, I'm glad that ada jugak orang yang suka dengan hasil kerjatangan I ....

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Weekend sewing project...

This morning, I sempat siapkan two small and simple projects i.e. the pin cushion and scissors case, complete with floral embroidered and my name monogrammed onto it lagi... photos below..

Later in the evening, I finished another scissors case, a smaller one. Embroidered also..

This is my favourite gunting and the case masa belum siap lagi...

My new pin cushion... with ribbon and a purple button sewed onto it... sebenarnya kan button tu is from my skirt, dah tercabut.. kain brown floral tu lebih blouse I...

..some of my tiny mini things...

This is my new tools... a rotary cutter, the cutting mat and the ruler... special for my coming patchwork project...

Beads...

It's been months that I last sewn beads for baju kurung. The most unforgetable beads work are for my arwah mak's, 2 pasang of her baju kurung moden. She asked me to sew beads on both edges of the sleeves. The 2 baju kurung were worn during a wedding in Jitra, Kedah in May 2008, about a year ago. After that, her health started to deteriorated and she passed away on 20th September 2008.

This morning, I went again to the Taman Rekreasi MPS, hantar baju kurung sekolah Nadia. After spending a while there, I singgah at the Kedai alat-alat jahitan in Seremban. I bought 2 different colour of beads and 1 type of sequin for the latest tempahan. I hope I could finish the beads work before end of this month. And...no more beading after this...

What would the next project?.. Well... here's my To Do List;
1. Jahit pouch for Suraya
2. Jahit shopping beg for Suraya also
3. Jahit my baju kurung
4. Jahit baju kurung Nadia
5. Jahit baju kurung Sarah
6. Jahit baju kurung Hajar
7. To start my first ever Ribbon embroidery project
8. To learn smocking (buku dah beli)

Banyaknya nak buat... tapi tangannya cuma sepasang... ada yang nak tolong out there??

My beads organizer ...

I ordered this online... (sebenarnya kat Giant pun ada....)

.. and there goes everything inside... penuh... ada lagi beads tak cukup nak masukkan... nak kena beli lagi satu ni...

..more organised kan? ... ada satu baju my friend belum siap jahit manik lagi... after this, project buat beg for another friend pulak... Suraya...

My sewing passion...

Almost all my friends tahu I ni gila menjahit sejak sekian lama .... It's kind of mind theraphy to me...

... and this is supposed to be my dream sewing station...

but ... I bersyukur I only manage to set-up just a sewing corner .... punyalah jauh beza..

... with my precious sewing machine, embroidery machine and serger....

... this is the computerised embroidery machine...

.. the machine at work... and below are some of the projects using the machine....

... the embroidered baby's pillowcase and comforter...

... diapers stacker... embroidered with the baby's name on it....

Could you imagine the pleasure of saying "I sew this myself" (walaupun kadang-kadang tu tak lah cantik mana pun)...

Agree with me Zarina?

My Cupcakes

As promised, I finally managed to upload photos of us attending Kak Jun's Basic Cupcakes Decoration class on 1/4/09 at Subang Jaya. It was really an exciting and also a new experience for both Ida and me. I really enjoyed creating and experimenting the cuppies decorations.
pssstt.... Zarina... how was your cuppies class recently?..

These cuppies was mine...

These trays of cupcakes fully decorated belong to us, my dear frienfd Ida and me. Cantik tak? OK lah kan.. The forefront tray was Ida's and the other one was mine. This was our first time messing with fondant and buttercream. Kak June taught us the basic of cupcake decorations. We learned 10 different types of decorations. As you can see from the above photo, of all the decorations, the roses and mushroom yang paling I suka...

Cupcakes and me....

Sweet Ida with her sweet cupcakes....

The two new artists in action...

Delicious black coffee served by Kak Jun.. cap Tupai katanya... and Ida pergi cari kat Supermarket and found it!

Sambil - sambil minum kopi, we enjoyed the serene surrounding... how nice!

Ada pond with fishes yang menyejukkan hati dan perasaan menjadi tenang...cewahh..

Shopping for baking supplies..

My friend, Ida and me had planned a week earlier to go to the baking supplies shop nearby our office during the Friday afternoon break. So, after a nasi ayam lunch at the cafe, we rushed to Puchong searching for the shop. Finally, we found it.

Initially, we planned to buy supplies for our first self-made/home-made decorative cupcakes. By the time we left the shop, I had a handfull of something for decorating cupcakes and cheese cake. I bought a spring-fold tin for cheese cake. Quite cheap compared to the supermarket. Even the creamcheese was also cheap. Boleh datang lagi...

Now... I am planning to decorate the cuppies la pulak...

Ayat-ayat Cinta...the end

That's it!... I finished reading ayat-ayat cinta late last night. I started to continue reading while the girls were watching the AF7.. the season that I was not interested at all... I simply got fed-up with.... the stage!! In fact, the whole thing of AF!

The ayat-ayat cinta... I really like the whole story... the background of the story, the people inside the story, the references given, the characters within and the morale of the story... It was fantastic!!! It was truly full of life! Penuh keinsafan...

But.... I did not cry ya... eventhough it was soooo touching gitu... Maybe kalau watch the movie... barulah terasa....

What's my next book? I will visit the MPH next weekend... but I just received the April's copy of my Reader's Digest...

Now.. I remember the Book Fair at PWTC next week... alamak!! nak kena pegi ni....

Cupcakes

Today, I made another milestone in my life... I learn how to decorate cupcakes! Ida and I registered ourselves a week earlier to attend the class in USJ. The very baik and tak garang teacher who taught us was Kak Jun. Thank you for your patience on us thoroughout the class from 10.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. I will upload the photos (still waiting for Kak June to email me all the photos)

Saving Energy

It starts at home...

We already knew that the fastest, least expensive way to slow climate change and reduce global warming : use less energy. Tutup suis lampu yang tak digunakan or other electrical appliances yang boleh dielakkan contohnya jangan guna dryer, be it hair dryer or dryer for clothes. Jemur je kain kat luar. Some people enjoy hanging clothes out. We don't have to waste electricity on the dryer. The good sunshine and wind would help. I love to hang clothes outside bila panas terik, saja je basuh whatever plan nak basuh e.g. cadar or selimut. Another simple action, jangan selalu bukak pintu fridge kalau tak perlu... I know... my youngest daughter, Hajar suka sangat check the fridge.. everytime nak lalu depan fridge.. tak sah kalau tak bukak pintu fridge tu... just to check kalau ada lagi vitagen ke, sweets tak habis lagi ke.. or coklat terlupa nak makan ke.. ataupun kat freezer atas tu ada ice-cream ke...

So what's holding us back?

I suddenly became very energy saving conscious. Perhaps after the earth hour on Saturday.. My daughter Hajar asked me on Sunday evening "kena tutup lampu lagi ke malam ni?". My answer was " malam ni tak pe, boleh pasang lampu" Then she said " ala... Hajar nak tutup lampu lagi". Then my answer to her "boleh lah kalau nak tutup lampu, bagus jugak, jimat sikit bil". Then I remember "eh eh tak boleh tutup semua sebab mama nak iron baju, esok kan kerja, Hajar kan sekolah".

Hajar just got excited of the idea that she can lite up the candle and play with flame... I still remember when my second daughter, Sarah, was little, she also likes to play with candle flame. She got that curly hairs... and she burned a few strand of that curly maggie mee hair of hers.

This morning, I was supposed to bawak bekal, ada lebih kari ikan masin from yesterday. Tak sempat nak packed bekal, sempat panaskan je. Late Sunday afternoon I cooked kari ikan masin which I bought the ikan masin and serbuk kari ikan kering from Jitra. Masak lambat sikit sebab my dear husband buat nasi goreng for us. How nice of him...

Sarah and Hajar and dear husband on Sunday evening pergi Jusco Seremban 2 to buy Science Practical Book for Sarah at the Popular and of course! for Hajar another colouring book. Ashu just bought for her the counting 123-100 last week. So... she have many books to keep her busy at least.. By the way, I just finished The Best Laid Plan the other day. This weekend I might pay the bookstore a visit.

While they were out, I finished up all the two embroidery orders for my colleagues. So, I am now free from any sewing engagement. But.. another friend of mine wanted to see the embroidery designs for baju kurung. I brought the design template with me today for her to choose. So... perhaps another new embroidery job waiting after this... While I was busy with my embroidery things, my eldest daughter, Nadia was busy downstairs... her eyes were glued onto the monitor, busy with her MySpace.

So.. when can I start with my own baju... I would need a new baju for a majlis this coming May... perhaps something with my own embroidery work... we'll wait and see...

My latest books...

I am now indulging reading Sidney's Sheldon's Bloodline. I bought the book on the way to boarding flight to Alor Setar from KLIA. Dalam terkejar2 to the gate, I sempat grabbed (and pay it of course!) the book from the shelve. It is the best ever book that I read by Sidney Sheldon.

Bloodline is about a daughter of a rich and powerful father and sole heir to a billion dollar fortune. In summary bloodline is a tale of love and ambition, danger, intrigue and death. Very interesting. Much better than Danielle Steel. You are right Zarina! I would prefer Sheldon's.

Another two new books this week are Japanese Ondori book on patchwork projects and Sewing bags for children. I would love to start new project this weekend. But... this weekend ada kenduri kahwin and guess what??!

Hajar is having another coloring contest in Seremban Parade in conjunction with Karnival Kerjaya Daerah Seremban, this Sunday at 10.00 a.m.

Glass Painting at Rumah mak.. Kota

Yesterday, Saturday, as planned I drove back to Kota. Adik was there. As usual Sarah and Hajar followed me. Nadia was busy with some motivational program at school. Babah as usual would not follow.

We went there after lunch. I cooked and eat and left. Normally, I would help Ayah to fold all his clothes. He would do the washing but not the folding. I would do it for him. Ayah gave me the latest edition of Feb's National Geographic because he got 2 copies. Last month pun dapat 2 copies. Sebenarnya Ayah terlupa yang dia dah renew the subscription. When he got the other form the following month, dia isi lagi sekali. That's the reason why they sent 2 copies. And I was to cancel the second subscription or to change it for the upcoming year subscription. This month National Geographic's 'What Darwin Didn't know'. I just browse thru but haven't read it yet. Actually I was busy reading the latest book I bought, Danielle Steel's Honour Thyself. It is quite a good book.

Back to Kota, what do we do there beside folding clothes? Yes, we do some glass painting. It's been quite sometime that I last do this. For Adik it was her first time. So do Hajar. We painted empty bottles that adik collected. Hajar tried her skill on an empty tomato ketchup bottle. See the above photo. I have a few bottles of acryllic colours. It was quite interesting.