December Is For Sewing Marathon

My sister Marina took-up my offer to sew for elderly ladies and brought some leftover fabrics her mother-in-law (MIL) asked to be made into blouses.  Luckily she provided ready samples so that I didn't need to measure her MIL who lives quite a distance away.

I completed the project pretty quickly.  Just measure and made patterns from the ready wears, then cut the fabrics.  I learned from my sister of her MIL's likes and dislikes. Hahah... she does not like froufrou stuffs so I cannot do any embellishing on her blouses. 

Here are the finished blouses:

These rose buttons are rare and I love them.  I found them in an old sewing store that use to sell sewing supplies now doing clothing alterations.  It matched perfectly with auntie's rose coloured blouse.  I hope she won't loose a button because there's no replacement hehehe....

The above sunset dusk coloured blouse is interesting to make.  It was the first time I came across this type of collar and taught myself something new.   She's going to wear it for the new year celebration.  Great! Thanks auntie :-)

Darn... I have forgotten to take a photo of the topaz coloured blouse.  I styled it like a baseball player's jersey.  Topaz coloured fabrics are rare here where I live, it gave me a hard time looking for buttons that matched.  I saw her wore it the other day going for her doctor's appointment and it fits her perfectly.  I bet she liked the boyish cut hehe...

Niways, that's all for December 2013.  Look forward to more sewing next year.  Wishing you a wonderful Happy New Year 2014.  Cheers.. ^ ^

My Diamond Ring

We were having lunch at Blue Ginger today (27 May 2013) and Sharif held my left hand and was looking at my fingers.  Suddenly, he took out a small black box with orange and white polkadots from his pouch and when he opened, there was a shiny diamond ring in it.  I was so surprised, I was speechless.... It was so beautiful.  He swiftly put it on my ring finger.  

He said it's an engagement ring. Ow My God... Never thought that I would finally be engaged.  

He was delighted that the ring fit perfectly in my finger.  He  was worried because of his last experience buying a ring for his ex-girlfriend named Julia.  The ring didn't fit and they had to choose another ring at Centre Point.  When he told his mom about it, his mom said that was a sign that the relationship would not last.  And unfortunately it didn't.  

Well anyway... I am smiling ear to ear.  Still can't stop   grinning when I put this in my blog today and hearing Rihanna's song "Shines Bright Like a Diamond" in my  head hehehe....  ^_^

Visited by the Sewing Fairies

Hahah..... I must've been visited by the Sewing Fairies these days because I just can't stop sewing.  See what I mean....

Project:       Marina's Shorts

Details:       Using leftovers Baju Kurung fabrics.  Super soft, 
                     bright coloured and suitable for warm weather.
                     Inspired by the Baroque Period.
The Vote:    Marina loved the shorts but said that it was a bit
                     short for her to wear outside.  She's a modest
                     mom heheh..  ^_^

Project:       Brenda's Grey Dress
Details:       A friend gave the dress to her but it was way
                     too big.  Funny dress because there was no 
                     zipper or buttons on it.  Hmm.. wonder how did
                     the wearer put it on?  I altered the dress to a 
                     more updated look with bit showy zipper
                     out front.  
The Vote:    She loved it.  It's more comfortable and easy to
                     wear.  But she wore the dress with zipper at 
                     back.  So old fashioned of her hehe.. ^ ^

Project:       Brenda's daughter, Girlie dress for outings and 
                     going to church.
Details:       Girlie is only 14 years old and was given some 
                     money to buy fabrics to make a dress.  She 
                     ended up buying just 1 meter of the polkadot 
                     fabric material  which was not enough to make 
                     a dress.  Fortunately I saw a designer style days
                     before in a website somewhere that I've wanted 
                     to make and thought that the polkadot fabric 
                     would be perfect for the skirt part.  For the top 
                     part, I bought a white fabric cool touch fabric 
                     which I really like that I also bought                     
                     black colour to make my pants.  
The Vote:   Brenda informed me that her daughter was 
                     thrilled to see the dress and it fitted perfectly.

Project:      Marina's work pants.  
Details:       Marina handed me 4 meters of black fabric that 
                     she'd kept for a long time and asked me to make 
                     her a pair of pants.  Eventhough this was my 4th
                     pair of pants that I made, I was still struggling 
                     during the process of making it.  Reason is 
                     because of the long duration from the last one 
                     made to the present one and I sort of trying to 
                     remember the steps with much difficulty.
                     Important notes to remember:  1)  It is easier to 
                     make a pattern out of the customer's current 
                     pants that she/he is comfortable with.  2) If you 
                     have to make patterns, pay attention to the 
                     crotch area.  Remember to measure the 
                     customer's thigh.  3) Pay attention to what 
                     the fabric material you're using e.g. whether 
                     fitted/tappered pants are suitable or not.
The Vote:   I haven't yet given it to Marina.  Hehe.. to be 
                     advised :P

Sharif and His Bad Days...

That evening Sharif and I were talking at one of the beach's gazebo in Teluk Likas (Likas Bay).  He seemed to have had a bad time that day, it was Wednesday 13 March 2013. 

He told me a story of when he was at a very difficult time of his life when he had only RM 28 money in his pocket.  He had phoned his employer several times to ask for his two months’ salary that has yet to be paid but his employer ignored his calls.  The rice stored in his house was good for one more cooking and that made him really worried.  But after so much thought, he decided to go out and buy additional food supply with that little money he had.

When he arrived at the shop, he heard a faint sound of an old lady crying nearby.  He approached the old lady and asked why was she crying.  The old lady replied that she could not help it as she felt helpless to help her grandson who was sick at home as she does not have any money to do anything.  She told him that both of the child’s parents were currently serving time in prison and she was left to care for the child.  She said that she has no money at all to buy food and medicines and no means of contacting her relatives for help.  Sharif felt pity for the old lady.  He weighted his options but with a heavy heart, he handed over the RM 28 money to the old lady and told her to use the money to buy medicines for the child and try to contact her relatives for further assistance.

He returned home empty handed.  He then ransacked his room for coins and found 40 cents.  He went to a public phone and tried to call his employer again.  But again there was no answer.  Suddenly, he noticed someone's wallet left  on top of the public phone.  He ignored it at first and waited from 7.00 pm to 8.30 pm for the owner to show-up looking for the wallet.  But there still no sign of the owner.  He pondered on what to do with it and decided to open the wallet and found RM 500 inside it. 

“Wow…. this is a lot of money.”  He thought to himself, “Hmm… maybe this is God’s way of extending his help.” He decided to leave only RM 50 inside the wallet and took the rest.  He then sent the wallet to a nearby Police Station and left his phone number with the police.  He also returned to the shop to look for the old lady again as he wanted to give more money to her but the lady was nowhere to be found.

The owner of the wallet never called.

Sharif then told me another story when he found an even larger sum of money. He said that it happened on the first day after New Year’s celebration that also happened to be his birthday.  He said that he went to a public phone booth and found a wallet on top of it.  Inside the wallet, there was RM 1000 cash money.  He took it for safe keeping and waited there for about an hour as he feared that another person might just take it.  The money could be for a very important purpose he thought and so he waited. 

He decided to drive around the place in his car to see if he could locate anyone looking for the missing wallet.   After the fourth turn, he saw someone looking around using torchlight.  He stopped and took out the identity card from inside the wallet and approached the man.  When he came nearer, the person’s face was the same as in the identity card. Sharif knew that that was the owner and gave back the wallet with the RM 1000 money still inside.  

The man was relieved and told Sharif that he took out the money from the bank to pay for his wife’s surgery.  He said that he had lost his handphone earlier and came up to the public phone booth to try and call whoever found his handphone to return it back to him but in his haste left his wallet there instead.  He chided himself for his bad luck.

He was so thankful to Sharif and gave Sharif RM 200 to show his gratitude.  But Sharif handed it back to him.  As the man still insisted, Sharif decided to keep just RM 100 and gave the other RM 100 to the man.  Sharif told the man that he is donating the RM 100 for the man’s wife surgery.  

He smiled at me and said, "I considered the RM 100 as a birthday gift from God to me".

Sharif then held my hand and told me of his late grandmother’s advice to never steal from anybody or take anyone’s properties.  His grandmother told him that when you found something valuable, just stand and wait on the spot for a few hours.  If no one comes to look for it, you may then take it but you must place a rock in its place instead.   

We were still talking when two small little girls walked near us.  They were probably the children of the homeless foreigners living under the nearby Likas Bay’s bridge.  I asked Sharif to call them out in his native language.  The children responded by coming near us.  Sharif then handed over to them a box of the KFC snake plate leftover chicken that we had for dinner.  He has such a good heart.  I hope his bad day will be replaced with a good day from tomorrow and continue onward.  Amen.

Sunset at Likas Bay

Heartache..

"Dear Father...
There has been so many things happening all at once in my current life.  It is making me dizzy.  Please Father help me to see clearly and be strong.  Help me and guide me in whatever words that comes out of my mouth and whatever action I take.  If we were not meant to be together, let us part our ways in peace.  If we were, remove all obstacles and let us be joined with your blessing dear Lord Father. Grant me patience, grant me wisdom.  Grant me a man who loves me only.  Amen."

Phew…. I can finally relax after a very hectic month.

August 2011 has been a very busy month for me.  I think my blog missed me too (^_^)

Building Our Family Kampung House

It started with a trip back to my village or ‘kampung’ as we called it here for the purpose of looking at the cleared land that my sister planned to build her house.  It was long overdue and it was what my late mother had wished for.   My cousin’s wife (Mailin) told us that as soon as the land was cleared, she dreamt of my late mother who looked really happy and told her how excited ‘she’ was that a house would finally be built on that piece of land.  Hmm…. It seems that the spirit world is still connected to our world after all.

Anyway, here you can see my nephew Jonathan parading comically with his red umbrella on that cleared land. Hehehe….. so cute.

The appointed contractor, Jay (in the middle) and his nephew.

At first, my sisters (as usual) were reluctant to disclose any details with me.  I don’t know why but they usually end up telling me when things got bad and needed help to bail them out.  Maybe they were scared of me because I’m the oldest sister and a very strict person. But they still come to me because I am the only sibling with a good sense of judgement.  Same thing here, i.e. they didn’t have any plan, just the money to build the house and tons of impatience coming from my younger sister.    

This is the house plan that I designed.  Thanks so much to this wonderful site:  floorplanner.com

Hmm.. not too shabby right? The website's great.  Anyone can use it for free for your first plan.  The best part is you can see your plan in 3-D.  Really cool.   

For the front slopping side of the family house, I have found this gorgeous picture as sample.  I think I can create this.  Fingers crossed ^ ^

Money Plant

One morning, I was surprised to see this weird looking thing sticking out from the “Money Plant” that I bought many years ago so I took a picture of it.  The “thing” was actually its flower.  I googled the plant’s real name and came to know that its real name is Zamioculcas Zamiifolia or simply ZZ, a plant from Eastern Africa.  Heyyy.. wait-tha-minute... All the while I thought it was from our Borneo jungle!  How come? Hmm… Anyway, it is a poisonous plant ~ so no chewing on leaves heheh.

Three Gorgeous Island Castaways ~ -Mabul -Island, -Semporna

Well..err not really castaway hikhik… Just went for a look see over at -Mabul -Island from 5th August 2011 with my girlfriends.    So much has changed since my last visit back in 1997.  I was scuba -diving in -Sipadan then and accepted an invitation to go on a speedboat ride to -Mabul.  Back then it was only populated by a small fishing village and many coconut trees.  I remembered always looking up ‘em coconut trees fearing that a nut will suddenly fall down hitting my head.  Heheh.. crazy.  Niways, there was only one –resort there and a very very long jetty.  Waaa.. the island has changed completely. Nowadays, the fishermen communities have quadrupled and so were the number of –resorts and –tourists.  It feels more like a small town now.   We visited almost all the –resorts.  The most beautiful thing I found about this island is how abundant and close-by were its live corals to the shore.  The sea was crystal clear with visibility up to the bottom of its seabed.  Sadly, I was unable to join my girlfriends snorkeling because of my 'period'. 

There was one strange experience I encountered on the island though.  On the last day of our stay, at about 3 am, I was awaken because of a sudden strong wind that hit the island.  I was feeling a bit uneasy.  Then, I heard a very strange very sharp whistling sound.  It was really weird.  To me it sounded not like a whistle that one blows.  It was more like a voice.  Sea Sirens e.g. Mermaid definitely came to mind.  I was glad that one of my girlfriend, Angel heard it too.  She told me that at first, she thought that I was whistling because she saw me walk to and fro the chalet window that early morning still in the dark.  Hmm.. this one I will never forget.  

A view of Mount Kinabalu from our plane.

 Fishing ships in -Semporna.

One of the -resort in -Mabul.

My girlfriends ~Angel & Sue 

Me : -P

I just love these lights at the Spa.

Sea Snake sleeping.

Going back.

Ha... my pretty blue toenails hehehe.

This island looked interesting.  But I don't know its name.

Arrived in -Semporna.

Non-stop Sewing

I’m actually a lazy seamstress but this time around I did pushed myself to complete incoming projects and I’m really proud of myself.    I’ve managed to design, cut and sew five pieces of clothing for my workmate’s  flower girls dresses as well as Otromen’s, Brenda’s and her daughter’s Baju Raya for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2011 celebration.    It was a great personal achievement record for me.  Mind you, no one has paid me any money yet... Heheh except for Otromen who brought me to see the musical fountain at Perdana Park.  So  I consider his due paid ^__^ 

To be honest, I don’t really want to be paid for these projects as I was sewing for friends and loved the learning process along the way.  Unfortunately when the sewing ‘marathon’ ended, I ended being sick myself.  Caught the flu.  Darn the warm weather! Heheh.  Thankfully I’ve recovered.  Unfortunately, my sewing enthusiasm has receded too.  

Here are pictures taken during and after the projects.

Yeayy.. I finally bought a mannequin from Iron-Nique (KK) in Bundusan.  The store manager was a very kind man and sold this mannequin for only RM 100.  God bless him :-)

Bride's Flower Girls Dresses

Colour ...................  Olive Green

Material ................  Japanese Cotton

Sewing Notes ........  El needed them to be slightly longer i.e. the waist and length of dress.  Also the girls were skinny 10 year-olds so needed to cover their shoulder blades at the back.

Skill Learned ......... First time sewing little girls dresses and attaching tulle netting.  Also, learned making cute flowers from pieces of cloths from -Youtube crash course heheh.

Final Vote ............... Customer satisfied.  I attended El's wedding reception and saw the girls.  Their dresses  fitted perfectly.  

Yep.. I make my own pattern.  It's still a learning process.

The many pieces that I wonder how long it'll take to sew together..

I broke two needles doing this project.  Luckily the dress didn't got hurt hehe.

The finished dresses.  I just loved them.  

The flower I made. ~Love love

Otromen's Baju Raya

Colour  ............   Black

Material ..........  Japanese Satin

Sewing Notes ..  I've already made his last year's baju raya so I have a ready pattern.  But I added another inch on his collar and sleeves and reduced the width of his cuffs.  He has a cute belly now so have to add a few inches to his waist err.. note the chalk drawing on the cloth heheh.  

Final Vote .......  Satisfied.  He can't wait for Hari Raya to come heheh.

Otromen's pants.  Note the addition made on his waistline.  

He requested a smaller back pocket and add cover so that his wallet won't fall off during prayer.  

I added gold patterned ribbon to make the Baju Raya interesting.  This gold pattern was chosen as it  matched his Kain Samping's pattern.

Otromen trying out his baju hehe  ^_^

Mother & Daughter Baju Raya
Colour  ................   Lime Green
Material ..............   Chiffon and Satin Lining
Sewing Notes ......   Reminder to self ~ never ever take last minute sewing project (bad for health) hehe. 
Skilled Learned ..   I used bias cut for the daughter's skirt i.e. maximum bias at the knee so the skirt turned out like a mermaid cut.  As for the mom's, it's the first time I made a strapless dress (Very important note to self; since it is a strapless dress, aside from around the breasts area, I must also take chest measurement above the nipple i.e. around the armpit area to ensure that the dress will fit perfectly after it is zipped.  Make it tight babe!).  
Final Vote ...........  The daughter was trilled that she has a nice and different looking dress to go round celebrating Raya with her friends.  The mother's happy with her dress too.

Girlie trying out her dress.

She said, "Thanks auntie".  Heheh.. Can't believe she's a young lady now ^_^

This is her mother's dress.

I've sewn boning on the neckline of the strapless dress to keep it from gaping.

Owkayy.. that's about it for August 2011.  Really really tired.  I think I am taking vacation from sewing for a year heheh.. Just kidding.  Anyway, good night everyone.  Stay safe and God bless.

A Prayer to Guide an Unborn Breech Baby

Dearest Lord, Father

Please help my friend Roy and his wife.

Their excitement in welcoming a second child in their life

is now overshadowed by a discovery that the little unborn one

is in breech position.

The little one does not know that his mum and dad is

really really worried and stressed.

Please Father, guide the little one to turn as soon as possible.

Please send your angels to whisper in the baby's ear to turn

to downward position before the little one's birthday.

With a natural birth, the little one can be welcomed by

the mother with great joy, steady arms to hold and

immediate nourishment.

Please dear Father spare this lovely couple yet another

period of hardship and despair.

They need you Father. Please bless them with your grace.

Amen.

P/s: I found the website that you have guided me to by Brenda Lane ~ God bless her.

(http://www.suite101.com/content/turning-a-breech-baby-a7421). 
It'll definitely help a lot. Thank you Father so much :)

~ ~ ~* Update * ~ ~ ~

14 September 2011.  I am happy to report that our Heavenly Father has granted our prayer.  Roy's wife has given birth to a healthy and beautiful 2.95 kg baby boy naturally. He's named Mohd Raycarlson.  I am so happy for them Father. Words cannot express what I feel inside.  Simply joy.  Thank you so much ~ Amen.

A Keris Made for Me

I think one of the the most wonderful gift one can ever receive is when someone thought about you, handmade it and surprised you with it. That's what Otromen did. He made this Keris just for me. I didn't know he has this hidden talent. Mind you he does not make Keris by request. He only did it when he feels like it. He did mine in just a day ^__^

I just love this little Keris so much. Wood is my favorite thing because I connect with wood through touch. There's a feel I can't describe.

The Keris he made for me fits perfectly in my hand. I'm really in awe how he figured this one out because he never sized my hand.

It's really comfortable and the length and weight is just right.

Sorry, I can't let anyone see the blade because it's really special and can only be admired by me heheh ^ ^

Mmuahh!! Thanks so much Otromen :)

24 June 2011 ~ Shaving Otromen's Head

Dunno what came over him that day, he suddenly asked me to shave his head. He said his friend told him that shaving ones head can reduce stress. I told him I've never shaved anyone's head before and I was a bit hesitant but he convinced me that it doesn't matter because he only wants me to do it. I felt honored that he chose me instead of a proper barber heheh :D

As you can see, it's not as easy as I thought. The hair must first be cut really really short then shaved.

Shaving's not easy either. After dulling 3 shavers with my short strokes, he finally told me that I actually need to execute longer strokes to achieve smoother result. Aiyaaa.... lucky I still have 2 new shavers left. (Otromen was busy watching reruns of "Titanic" on TV).

Tadaa.... all done. Otromen said his newly bald head itches. Guess he has to bear it for a while :P