Birthday Present

Remember the beloved cloth that I was supposed to turn into cushion covers?  Well, here's another product from that same fabric - a single-handled bag as a birthday present for M! I first came across a similar style of bag that someone got as a gift from overseas.  What I liked about it was that all it needed was a wooden ring to hold the bag shut at the top.  Copying that idea, I pulled out some brown fabric to match the earthy colours of the flowery fabric.  I didn't have any wooden rings, so I used a metal ring instead (the cheap metal rings that can be used as key chains).  It's lined on the inside and is reversible if you want a change.

Ulysses' Siblings

Remember Ulysses who now lives in a car? 3 more little fellows from my new batch of owls also made their way to Ulysses' owner.  Here are 2 of them (the remaining one not in this photo has a red tummy):

Those 2 little fellas above were given to 2 little girls who already have many soft toys, so Mummy was expecting them to play with them for a while then forget about them. Then, she'll be able to take all of those little owls as her own and place them in the display cabinet.  However, things did not go as planned.....

Somehow because the owls are small and round, the girls giggle whenever they see them because they look so comical.  They're quite convenient as distractions whenever the kids are fretting. 

The owl with the blue tummy has been named "Tweety" and is permanently paired with a little blue dolphin.  The owl with the orange tummy is call "Angel" because "she has wings and can fly"..... now, who's to fight with an imaginative kid?

Mummy took the owl with the red tummy as her own and suggested calling her "Rosie Redbreast", but the girls say she's Ulysses' elder sister (the owl in the car), so it's name got changed to Athena (Greek goddess of wisdom who is often shown together with an owl). But the kids were playing with her in the car the other day, giggling and making her roll around, so now her name has become "Athena Rosie Roly-Poly Redbreast".

Now now now, who said kids would only be happy with expensive toys bought from high end toy stores?

Dare I Try?

Now that I've got a brand new sewing machine, dare I venture where I've not gone before?  Check this out from Sew, Mama, Sew:

Project Cushion Covers

As mentioned in an earlier post, I received a request to turn old sofa covers into cushion covers -- as many as possible!  The cushion insert was from Ikea and measured 14" x 14".  I don't know why I did what I did, but I took one of the two sofa covers and decided to unpick the thread to see if I could maximise the cloth.  On hindsight, how much difference will it make??  Duh....

Anyway, after all that unpicking, I ironed it out nicely before cutting..... something I seldom bother to do in my own projects :p *Snip snip snip*

Paranoid...... measure again to make sure it's alright.  Yeah, I have enough cloth to make 5 cushion covers!!

I don't have a serger, so here goes the tedious work of hemming in all the raw edges. *iron iron iron* *sew sew sew*

With the experience gain from sewing my own cushion covers with hidden zippers, this batch wasn't as frustrating.  Here's the final product:

My New Toy =)

After much consideration, I finally decided to get a new sewing machine.  My old sewing machine will be sent back to my Mum's place as she doesn't do any fancy sewing.  Here are a few photos of my new toy!!!!!

Call me suaku (mountain tortoise), but this is the first time I've seen an auto threader:

 and.... a drop-in bobbin which needs no oiling:

Here's a sample of some stitches that weren't available n my old Sakura sewing machine:

Ulysses the Owl

This little fellow is one of the first few mini owls that I made.  Gave it to a friend and this is a photo of him in his new home =)

He has been christened "Ulysses", after the scops owl in the book "My Family and Other Animals" by Gerald Durrell, a book which his new owner enjoyed reading from her childhood.

He has found a nesting place in his owner's car, where he never fails to brighten his owner's day with his cuteness.

His owner's children like playing with him and always laugh and squeal when he's handed over to them. They make him fly around the car. He keeps them occupied during long car journeys. The children insist he's a she, though. They are also concerned as to why he has no wings and no feet.