A Rescue

So, this started out as my usual embroidery on linen cotton slated for a drawstring pouch. (like these) (In case you're interested - chain stitch for the petals, colonial knots for the center and stem stitch for the stems.) But I made the error of using fusible interfacing on the fabric. Based on my experience, fusible interfacing and hand embroidery don't go together. Why then did I fuse interfacing to the fabric forgodssake? Well, I have some newly bought supremely lightweight fusible interfacing, light as feather and I thought surely, surely these will work. I was wrong. The end result? A million puckers around the embroidery. I steamed and unsteamed (?) the fabric but everything I did made the puckers worse. It was ugly. What to do? I didn't want to throw it in the storeroom because that would increase my UFO stash and since I've put in so much work on the embroidery, it would be such a waste to throw it away. And I never throw away anything embroidered, that's my rule.

I couldn't think of any other solution but to make it into a small art quilt. Since the puckers were the problems, why not make the puckers part of the solution?

The first thing I did was to sew running stitches across the linen cotton. I used some cheese cloth as interlining. Once the running stitches were in, the puckers no longer stood out. Next I put in the borders. I'm really pleased with my border because I was going for beige-ish tones and most of my scrap stash is colourful. I have 50 shades of yellow-green, green-yellow but beige? After much digging, I managed to assemble a very pleasing (in my eyes) scrap combo.

As a nod to Janet Bolton, my applique hero, I've included a sun that rose from the ground, gravity defying trees and I finished the quilt using the method taught in her books which is an easy going method. Fold the top to hide raw edges. Fold background to hide raw edges. Put top on background and sew together. Of course the stitches will be visible on both sides. Brilliant!

I used a Lizbeth size 20 multi coloured thread to sew the top fabric to the background. I love the different colours so much that when this thread runs out I'll cry because I bought it really cheap and I didn't think to buy more than one ball. This thread is meant for tatting so it has a nice texture. If you run your fingers over the stitches, you can feel the rough texture of the thread which is really nice.

I have some regrets about the leaves. The one with thick sashiko open fly stitch - I thought the stitches were too thick and maybe I should have picked a different colour like gold or gold yellow. But I couldn't be arsed to cut out the stitches.

Can you spot what I put here?

I used a loosey-goosey method of cutting my applique. I draw a shape on freezer paper, cut it out but not necessarily following the drawing and fuse it to fabric. then I hide the raw edges of the fabric using the freezer paper as a guide. Sometimes the freezer paper falls off but I just keep going.

For the backing, I used batik remnants my mom had given me. I have no idea where she gets her fabric but it's clearly someone else's scraps because the cut is all weird. I have 2 colourway and I hope to use them as background fabric. I added a casing to the background so I can hang the quilt. (as if)

Overall I'm pleased with the result. It looks clean and minimal. (to me) Originally I was going to add a flower pot. So glad I didn't. Less is always more with me. I didn't use up much scraps as the size of the quilt is only 11.75" all round. What do you think of my rescue effort?

Pig Applique Template

Edit 14 Jan: Sorry guys, the pig applique template link has been removed.

The Year of the Pig is a little over 3 weeks away. It starts on 5th Feb 2019 and ends Jan 24 2020. If you're not aware, the Pig is the 12th in the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac. If you're born in the year of the pig, your age this year is a multiple of 12. (12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84,  96, 108) Thank you Miss Tan for teaching me how to multiply by 12.

In honour of the coming Year of the Pig, I'm giving you guys the applique templates of my mama pig and little pig. I have combined them, uploaded it to my google drive and you can download the PDF here. I do sell these 2 applique templates in my Etsy shop for a tiny amount of money so PLEASE DO NOT pass the pdf around as a freebie. The pigs PDF is given to you guys for free until Sunday 13th January 2019, Singapore time. When I wake up on Monday, I will delete the link. So download ASAP.

This is what I made - my applique of the pig. The fabric I used is a very lovely pseudo patchwork Japanese fabric. I sewed the outline using straight stitch (stitch length 2.0) with an open toe foot. I used black polyester thread, the same thread I use for sewing bags and clothes. The eye and tail are hand embroidery using DMC thread.

And this is mama pig applique. The fabric is a delicious pastries print scrap. It's unfortunate I chose a very wrinkly background muslin. I sewed the outline using straight stitch with an open toe foot. I increased the stitch length to 3.0 because I used Aurifil 40wt thread and I felt the longer stitch makes the outline look better. The eye and tail are hand embroidery using DMC thread.

Later if I feel inspired, I might turn these 2 applique into a little art quilt. Something like my rooster art quilt.

Those of you who are incapable of sewing, you can trace the pig applique templates onto scrap booking paper, cut it out and paste onto coloured paper. Like these...

p.s. if you need help sewing your applique, do refer to my applique tutes.

Chun

Friends,

Fyi, the year of the rooster is almost ending. So fast, right? The Year of the Dog will begin on Feb 16 and end on Feb 4 2019. You know what that means? Most Chinese locals are busy spring cleaning, buying and baking festive food in preparation for Chinese New Year. Well, I really wanted to skip the spring cleaning myself but in the end I decided to do "a bit" of vacuuming and tidying today. The bloody dust will return in a week's time anyway!

Usually my home is devoid of any Chinese New Year decorations or goodies. I can't remember why but that's the way it has always been. (maybe rebel without a cause?) This year however, I became interested in making my own "Chun" paper cutting. My friend, SK showed me how it's done and it's so easy. In case you don't have a single Chinese friend to explain "Chun" to you and you don't know how to google, it means Spring. In China, Spring Festival marks the start of the new year. In Singapore of course we do not have Spring but it doesn't matter. The "Chun" character is hung or pasted everywhere in malls and homes. Some people go to the extent of putting the "Chun" character upside down but let's not go there.

So I took the liberty of creating 2 versions of "Chun" using Illustrator. I've uploaded them to my google drive so you can download and make your own "Chun" paper art.

By the way, this is how "Chun" is written. It's pronounced "Choon" like in moon.

The straight edges version. Download chun v 1.

The curvy version. Download chun v 2.

I assume everyone on earth knows how paper cutting works but just in case, here's what you do. First you print on A4 or letter size paper. Print at 100% or Actual Size. Fold paper on the dotted line, staple outside the lines and cut exactly on the lines. You can print the template directly on coloured or fancy paper provided it's A4 or letter size. Just REMEMBER to print on the WRONG side of the coloured/fancy paper because remember I have a dotted line which will be visible after cutting.

You can also trace the whole template off a nice scrapbooking paper and cut with scissors or if you aren't scared of craft knives like me, use it.

So here's mine. The left one's cut off a scrapbooking paper and the right one I printed on a piece of well, red paper. I've pasted mine on the wall. You can mount them on a art board or something but it's not necessary.

You can also create an applique. If you don't know how to create one, check out my applique tutes. I traced the template onto the fusible paper (in half) and stapled outside the lines. The stapling is really important to prevent your fabric from shifting.

After the shape has been cut, I bonded the applique to a background fabric and sewed running stitches all around. For the applique, I used  leftover fabric (a momo print) from my craft market days. I had left the fabric in the water for too long and the red had bled into the white. For Chinese New Year or just being Chinese in general, red is lucky so win-win. Looking at the applique now, I wished I had been smarter in my fussy cutting and not have so much red at the bottom right as my background fabric is also red. (a leftover Ikea fabric) Are you impressed I can remember my fabric's names?

I've pasted my "Chun" applique to the wall using masking tape. Please feel free to use other less clumsy methods.

My daughter likes the first one. My son prefers the second one because he says it looks like calligraphy. I didn't ask them what they think of the applique because you know, it's sewing and I can guess their answer.

Okay, I think my home is ready for the Year of the Dog. Bring it on.

p.s. To see how I finished my Chun "quilt", go here.

Pattern Shop Updates

Hi guys,

If you buy my bag patterns, I have a few updates for you.

PRICE SLASH
Firstly, I've decided to lower the price for my Messenger Bag. I designed this pattern as a learning bag for a beginner transitioning to a larger and more complex bag. This pattern was published in 2012. Unfortunately sales has never been good and it's been almost 3 years. I've thought about it and decided I will slash the price permanently from US$10 to US$6. I have updated my Etsy, Craftsy and other stores with the new price.

EU VAT
This news affects you only if you reside in a EU country. Etsy now collects EU VAT for digital sales if the buyer resides in a EU country. This means that on top of the selling price of my pattern, you have to pay the prevailing EU VAT rate of your country. This VAT doesn't go to Etsy or me. It eventually makes its way to the EU VAT tax collector of the customer's country. I get customers from EU countries once in a while. Most of my customers are from US, Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia.

Even though I don't have a large EU customer base, I would like to encourage them to buy from me. I have thought about how I can get EU customers to pay the same price as my other customers from US, Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia.

Anyway, my solution is this. I have set up my Payhip store such that I pay all EU VAT out of my own pocket. The catch? My Payhip store is very slow to load. However it is a low maintenance site for me. I only pay a fee when I sell anything. So I think I can afford to sponsor the EU VAT. The shop has a shopping cart so you can buy more than one pattern at a time.

To encourage you guys to give this slow tortoise Payhip shop a try, I have created a special coupon for you - ILOVEU25 which gives you a 25% discount storewide valid till 31st August 2015. Apply coupon code only at Checkout. Click here: https://payhip.com/projectsbyjane
If the site takes too long to load, just click refresh. And yes, in case you're wondering, anyone can use this coupon, whichever country you live in!

ETSY EU VAT RANT
This is a small rant as a Etsy seller. When Etsy announced that it would collect and remit EU VAT for EU customers, I was one happy bird because it meant I didn't have to do the work. However, since implementation, I have noticed that Etsy is doing it in a way that makes me shortchanged.
Say I sell my lunchtime pouch pattern to a UK customer.
Price : $6
VAT at 20% for UK: $1.20
Total: $7.20

Rightfully, I should only receive $6. However, Etsy has chosen to do it this way instead. It treats the transaction as $7.20 instead of $6. Because of that Paypal charges me 62 cents fee instead of 56 cents fee. So I end up forking over an additional 6 cents to Paypal. At the end of the month, Etsy collects from me my fees plus the EU VAT I have received.

You may think 6 cents is nothing but it adds up. Plus it's wrong that I should be penalised because my customer resides in a EU country. Hopefully this problem gets rectified.

Bird on a bee hive patchwork garden

I think I have already told you guys a gazillion times how much I love Janet Bolton's applique style in A Patchwork Garden. Well, I'll tell you one  more time. I soooo dig her innocent, folksy, hippy, child-like, loosey goosey way of making applique. But much as I try, I can't do it like her. I so want to. But I have finally admitted it to myself. I am much too anal.

This is the book that I wish I own.

This was the unfinished quilt I started possibly 8 years ago.

And Janet's Beehive and Wild Cherries was what I was trying to make.

I honestly was going to leave the quilt unfinished FOREVER because I felt it wasn't me. I couldn't feel the love.

This week I was feeling a bit traumatized by my Nikon DSLR camera. After a few months of struggling with images getting corrupted, I finally sent it to the service center. Based on the conversation with the customer service staff, I'm not confident they will even be able to do anything to fix the issue because data corruption happens now and then. Short of them giving me a brand new camera (which they won't), I may end up having to buy a new camera. When I was taking photos for my last pattern, once I shot a few hundred images only to find them all corrupted. I nearly had a mental breakdown. I had to resort to taking a few photos at a time just to be safe. Hubs and I don't have any luck with cameras. We are defintely going back to a Canon for my next camera. I wonder what's a good, solid model to buy?

Anyhoos, where was I? Without my Nikon, I dug out my old Canon S100 to see if the camera still worked. Well, it still sort of don't work. The Auto mode is totally shat now. With the manual mode, I could still take images but not all the setting work. So I was taking some test pics and I used the 8 year old unfinished quilt as my test object. The more I looked at the unfinished quilt with the stray threads hanging loose the more irritated I got. I can't believe I let this thing sit around for 8 years. What's wrong with me?

So I started working on it. The first thing I did was to finish the beehive. But the quilt still looked empty. So I added a blue bird.

The blue bird is done in needle turn applique and finally I feel like this is my quilt. It was missing a bird all these while!

For the backing, I vaguely followed Janet Bolton's method which is very simple. Fold in the raw edges and topstitch. I don't like that I can see the stitches on the backing!

My applique aesthetic is clean and simple. That's my style so I think I'll stick to that from now on.

I can't believe it myself. Finally got this UFO done and done. I want to tell Janet!

A Cat And Its Moiré

After years of trying to improve my drawing skills, I have come to enjoy my childish drawings. Yes, it is indeed I who drew the cat, not my kids.

The cat applique is done using needle turn technique. Needle turning is such a pain, isn't it? I ironed freezer paper of the cat outline on top of the fabric as a guide.

I tried to add an interesting embroidery detail except I'm not sure if anyone can see what it is. (It's a fish bone.) This collage is a 6" block. I have no idea what I'll do with it. I have this idea in my head where I'll make lots of 6" blocks and when I have enough I'll put them together. The idea sounds good in my head but the lazy part of me is screaming, "don't do it!"

Also, photographing fabric is hellish with my camera. The fabric gives off a wavy thingy. It's called moiré.

Our Cat

Hello,

I know I haven't exactly been telling you guys what I've been up to. I mean what's up with all the cats drawings. Truth is I'm working on a little idea I had. The seeds were planted last year when after a conversation with me mom, I wanted to confirm what she had said because I was pretty sure she had gotten the timeline wrong. It was a small, inconsequential detail so I won't tell you what it was but what really bothered me was I could not recall the timeline in my memory. It was as if I never lived it. I've always had amazing memory - maybe I don't retain facts the way hubs and son do and they're like walking encyclopedias - but I could remember timeline, conversations, what someone wore, the weather, pretty much detailed stuff. I know that not everyone remembers stuff the same way. For me, I've always loved how my brain stores memories. Because I could always go through the different moments of my life. That's a little bit how I amuse myself - just going thru' my memories.

So it frightened me that I was losing bits of my memories. Sometimes huge chunks at one go. I had known for some time that as I age, I forget stuff. It's part of the aging process and there's nothing I can do about it.

Or is there?

One day it occurred to me I could write down little pieces of my childhood. I choose my childhood specifically because these are the memories that are fast disappearing from my brain. Since I started blogging I have written a little bit of my life when I was little but it was more incidental.

Thinking it was a great idea I tried putting into words little floating images and conversations of my life between the ages of 4 and 12. And yes, I assure you I'm totally sane and I do not really see floating images and conversations. They're just floating inside my head. But however much I tried, the words did not come. It was early this year and yes I know it's only 16th Jan today, but one day it came to me. In order to make it work, I need to relate those memories to what I do now - something creative with some sewing and I believe when I do that the words will come. And that's the reason behind the drawings.

So I started with my cat.

Meet our cat.

It had no name. We weren't the kind of family who gave cats names.

We referred to the cat as Our Cat or simply Cat. In my Chinese dialect, we called it NGEOW. Unless you're Chinese, I don't know if I can teach you how to pronounce NGEOW. But let me give it a shot.

Say YOW like the sound you make when in pain. But say it THROUGH YOUR NOSE. Like NGEOW. That's it. You got it.

It was a house cat. It wasn't a pet. That much was made clear to us as our cat gave us no affection. None of that purring or nuzzling. Occasionally it would brush past our legs as if to tease us with what could have been.

It or rather she lived in my house every day when I lived in a village. Not the hobbits kind of village. More like the no paved road, no plumbing kind of village. I don't remember when we first had the cat. I just know that as long as I could remember, I had a cat until I was 12 when we moved to a flat far away.

I think our cat was light brown-orangey. It had stripes all over. When I think of the cat, I always see a tiger. She was fierce. She walked around the house like a boss. She also constantly fought with our dog. But let's save the dog for another day. I haven't drawn him yet.

Our cat also constantly got herself pregnant. If you're wondering why we didn't get her fixed, well, we were ignorant and mostly we were poor. So we simply put up with her getting preggy. I often wondered where the male cats came from as in my village, most families had dogs, not cats.

Of course we couldn't afford to keep the kittens. It was my third brother's job to "take care of the kittens". Our cat would care for the kittens until they became independent. That was when they mysteriously disappeared. I often wondered what happened to the kittens. One day my brother invited me to accompany him and I realized that he would take the kittens and release them in another village. The people living in that village seemed wealthier and maybe he was thinking they would have the resources to support the kittens. I have no idea. Anyway, it was a long time ago. A different world. A different time.

I think I got along pretty well with our cat. I stayed out of her way and she growled at me from a distance. Then one day something happened. I estimate I was maybe 8 or 9 years old. Our cat had just given birth and she was moving the kittens from place to place. Maybe she felt paranoid and wanted to hide the kittens from us. She would do it by using her teeth to catch the kittens by the neck. I was clumsy and got in her way.

What happened next is forever imprinted in my memory I'm very sure I'll never forget it. I accidentally stepped on our cat's tail. She immediately dropped her kitten and sank her claws into my shin. I screamed and jumped in the air and landed ONE MORE TIME on her tail. Of course the cat sank her claws deeper into my shin. It was my mother who came to my rescue. She chased the cat away and possibly scolded me for being careless. The wound was deep and I don't know how long I howled in pain. My mother never even took me to see the doctor. Yes, in those days, unless you are on the verge of death or broke a bone, you don't get to see the doctor.

My wound healed. I did not die. I still have the scar now. But I'm deathly scared of cats today. This morning I was avoiding the pervert at the exercise area and had to walk past two cats and it was absolutely terrifying.

I had no further incidents with our cat but I was very careful to stay out of her way.

I was going to make the drawing of my cat real mean but I stopped myself. I mean, really? Do I want a picture of a mean ol' cat? I think it's okay to take some liberties here and make some false memories. So I decided to make my cat bipolar. Sometimes she's mean. Sometimes she's cute as can be. The cute cat is my fantasy cat.

Last night I made an applique of our cat. I sewed on 250gsm card stock. I used my old sewing needles. I used straight stitch and interfacing for the fabric. Sewing on paper is very unforgiving. You can't make any mistakes.

What do you think? Does the fabric used for the stool look familiar?

The back of the card looks horrible.

So there you have it. What I am doing now and my motivations. Please indulge me while I record my memories for when I'm old and forgotten everything.

In a patchwork garden

You could say I fell in love with Janet Bolton or rather Janet Bolton's applique designs at first sight. Let me see if I could recall that fateful day. It was a long, long, long time ago. (my son is 15 now) My girl was not born yet. (hope she doesn't read this!) I had gone to the library with my son strapped to my front. Since giving birth I had not dared to venture into the library with my son as my fear was I would be chased out once he started crying. That day I decided to brave it. My plan was to leave the minute he made any crying noise. Anyway, it turned out he was quite good. So I had time to browse and that's when I saw this book In a Patchwork Garden by Janet Bolton.

I was blown away. I was smitten. I fell hard. Gosh, I wanted to marry Janet Bolton. I wanted to marry the book. Later I found out the library had another book by Janet as well and I love that book - Patchwork Folk Art as well. But not enough to marry because my heart belonged to In a Patchwork Garden.

Let me show you a few pages from the book so you might fall in love yourself. Promise you won't marry her?

Janet makes these really amazing, quirky, fun applique quilts that evoke a sense of innocence. The stitches are deliberately not hidden and they add to the charm. Let me repeat. You need not hide your stitches!

What's wonderful about In a Patchwork Garden is Janet has step-by-step instructions on how to create similar applique quilts.

After my girl was born, I made an attempt to create one of the applique quilts. I chose Beehive Under Three Apple Trees as it looked the simplest.

I modified my version slightly and had two trees instead of three. Check out the details below.

I put in a lot of effort into this quilt. I tried to keep to Janet's aesthetics as much as possible.

You can make the comparison yourself.

Then I abandoned the quilt completely. It lay unfinished in my storeroom for years and years. Yes, vines and moss grew like in Snow White.

One reason why I abandoned the quilt was I realised that no matter how much I love Janet Bolton's quilts, they are her quilts. Trying to mimic what she did was fruitless as it was not my point of view. Passion is a prerequisite. If I were to try and complete the quilt today, I can do it easily. Finish the beehive, put a backing and it's done. But I see no point in it.

But I have another plan. An idea. Already I'm getting excited about it. It's been so many years since I made the quilt. I would love to make another one but this time, I will be inspired by Janet instead of trying to mimic her style. I have been sewing for so many years already. Certainly I would have developed my own style. Haven't I? So my idea is to make a picture quilt. Yes, soon. Maybe next week. Certainly this month. It would be interesting to see how my picture quilt turns out and to see how much I have changed aesthetically since I made the Beehive quilt.

If you're keen to check out more of Janet Bolton's quilts, go here.

I discovered a youtube video of her conducting her applique quilt class. Aren't the ladies in her class lucky to learn from the master?



I checked the library catalogue and am thrilled a few more Janet Bolton's books have been ordered. When will they arrive? I shall have to stalk the library catalogue. But I was terribly disappointed Janet Bolton's Textile Pictures has not been ordered and possibly never will be. I tried looking where the book might be available and it seems to be a very hard book to find as the only place which was supposed to stock it is a French site. Excusez-moi, my French not so powderful. I literally know 10 french words. It also sounds like a terribly expensive book so I decided not to hunt for it further. 

If you want to buy Janet Bolton's books, I have a a couple of links below for you*.





*Disclosure: I am a amazon associate and a few pennies will be thrown my way if you buy via my affiliate links.

Heart on my wings

Friends,

This is the week I make a breakthrough in my back-to-fitness quest. I've been exercising every day since Monday. Wow. What a feat. I must be ill or coming down with something.


This morning I went for my 6 rounds jog again. So unbelievable. After Tuesday's jog, I suffered a whole day's of ache. You know the kind where suddenly you discover nerves in places where you never knew existed. Or as we say in Singlish - here pain, there pain, everywhere pain!


Last night I told myself I would go jogging if it doesn't rain this morning. I tried very hard not to pray for rain. Okay, maybe just a little prayer. Guess what? It didn't rain this morning. It's so strange. It's been raining in Singapore every day since March. But it chose not to rain this morning. I tell you, we don't understand the universe as much as we've let ourselves believe. Eventually it did rain, thunderstorm and all but by then the jog was long over.


With even the Rain god and sky god agreeing I should go jog my 6 rounds, I obliged. I mean, who am I to argue with the gods?


Tuesday's jog being the first jog went pretty smoothly. This morning's jog had as its baggage Tuesday's muscle aches which were still recovering. But I did it. I completed my 6 rounds. It's a good thing I did not time myself.


But I had an inkling how slowly I jogged when:

♠ a big-walker walked faster than me

♠ an old lady sprinted past me

I was not about to be shamed by a walker and an old lady. So I ran faster. To outrun them. Well, first I had to catch up. It took me a while but I managed to eventually overtake them. No shame in admitting I almost fainted from the effort.


Oh, I did something quite out of character yesterday. Me hubs and I have signed up for a run. That is we are running together with a bunch of people in public. And the best part? We had to pay to run. The man is doing the 6km run because he's too embarrassed to do the 3km run which I opted for. I doubt if I can do 6km. I'll need an ambulance to follow me closely. The run is in early July so I have plenty of time to get fit.

♥ ♥ ♥

Did you guys read about the 8.6 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia yesterday? In some parts of Singapore, the tremors could be felt. I felt nothing because my home is far from the coast. I've always felt Singapore is a safe country. But is it really? Is it?


Lately I've been thinking a lot about what I've achieved and also what I haven't achieved. I'm someone who doesn't like to feel troubled and pretty much could sail through life without worrying if I could. Alas, that isn't how the human brains work. I think too much about what I want to do. The actual doing - not so much. I fear that sometimes I don't tell myself the truth. Yes, I can't even be honest with myself sometimes. It's the truth. But you can hear the truth. And the truth? I fear my creativity is diminishing. 

Here I am doing the same old thing again. I like to say "I have a thing for..." but you know it's really an excuse to do the same-old same-old again. This time just to be different (or not to bore myself), I used felt for the heart and drew the wings with my favourite ZIG* pen. I used cobalt blue. Do you guys fall in love with colours? This blue is so beautiful. It makes me want to fly.

Is it just me or does the heart on wings look a little ethereal in this pic? Like it's flying towards ......

I think I share too much with you guys.☺ Well, here's more. This is from a part of me that no longer exists. Once upon a time I obsessed over up-cycling my cheap tees. This is a hang ten Tee but I'm such a T-shirt snob that I wanted to hide the ugly image in front. I used a heart on wings applique.

This one is totally raw-edged. I've worn this Tee to death and you can see from the frayed edges of the applique. psst. The fabric for the heart came from an old skirt. Oh, I'm keeping this T-shirt forever.