A Special Gift

The ladies from Indonesia who came to learn the handphone pouch last Saturday had made a request for us to sew a bag as a gift for their course facilitator. After discussing the design and selecting the fabrics (once again the small black polka dot is chosen), and negotiating the fee of course, here is the end product. A hand appliqued bag with wooden handle. It took us a few hours to hand applique the flowers and another 4-5 hours to assemble the body, free motion quilt, attach the lining and finally fit the handle.

I like the combination of these fabrics. Black is beautiful, don't you think so?

Thank you Wardah and Nelly for trusting us to create this beautiful gift. We hope the lady likes the bag.

Kawan-kawan Dari Seberang

Last Saturday we had a group of students from Indonesia. They are actually lecturers from a university in Acheh. They are here to attend a two week course at the UM. In between they managed to find some time to learn some simple craft. They decided to take up the challenge of making a handphone pouch. And all of them have never used a sewing machine before. But I must say, they are fast to catch up.

Here is Puan Wardah.


From L to R: Puan Nelly, Irai (my assistant for the day!) and Cik Lia.

All of them couldn't wait to see the end result, their first ever handmade craft using a machine. First time for Nelly and Lia but Wardah prefers to hand stitch her crafts back at home (tapi kalau mau beli mesinnya jangan lupa telpon kami!)

An old colleague, Azimah also came to continue her lesson later that afternoon.


Irai showing Lia how to sew the wristlet.

It was a fun Saturday. Hopefully kita ketemu lagi di lain waktu, for a more challenging project!

They will be going home on Sunday, ample time to shop around KL and Sunway P. Anyway, Happy Shopping!

A King Size Quilt

Hi. It has a while since my last post. I was a bit busy and I tend to procastinate my blog updating. Now that the quilting frame is at home, I would sometimes return home early to continue with quilting.

My latest big project was this machine appliqued king size quilt that my team and I started some months ago. The owner had been asking about the quilt a few times! The blocks were individually machine appliqued. This process was fun but when it comes to quilting the whole quilt, well, I have to admit it was not as fun. But I somehow managed to do it.

This is the quilt before it was quilted.

The quilt top, the batting and backing are already rolled onto its respective roller and ready to go.

The view from the front.

I spent a few days thinking and planning on how to quilt it. It is better to take it slow. To tell you the truth, to quilt an applique quilt using this quilting frame is not as easy as I thought. I had to do it section by section. It was a real challenge. I think over time it should be much easier. I will consult the supplier on this matter. There could be a better way. By the way, for anyone who is interested in getting this quilting frame can contact me.

And here is the quilt after quilting. It took me almost 2 weeks to completely quilting this piece. I celebrated the day I finished it! I did stippling from edge to edge, but section by section as I have to change threads. Right now, I can only do edge to edge quilting with a few patterns like stippling, curls, small flowers, and circles (Pardon me,i really don't know the right terminologies)

A close up view of the quilt.

Dear quilters, I welcome suggestions and ideas on how to work with this frame. I mean, how do we do border quilting and block quilting. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Baby Set

I have been keeping these fabrics for a while. So one day I asked my assistant to sew the cover for make this set. Aren't the ducks cute? We can custom made bedding set for your baby. Even the set for baby cot including the cover for the cot bumper.

They are all made up of three layers - cotton top and backing; and cotton batting. But you can choose to use polyester batting if you wish.

Purple Sue Bonnet Tote

Yes, it's a purple tote. Requested by a regular client, with a bellow pocket in front. Something which we had never done before. I think it's for her grandaughter. So what do you think?


The pocket was a bit difficult to attach because of its thickness. Somehow, my assistant managed to sew it nicely. This type of tote makes a good X'mas gift for girls. It is already October. If you want us to custom made them for your loved ones, dont wait any longer. Time flies.

Quilting Service - Part 1

A friend came back from Ireland for holiday with two quilt tops. She requested that we finished the quilt for her. The first piece was quilted two weeks ago. It was a gift to her niece who returned to Manchester to resume her studies. I had forgotten to take a photo of the quilt.

This quilt below was actually the second piece, slightly smaller than the first one. This one goes to her daughter who is in Sabah (undergoing housemanship at one hospital there).




The back of the quilt.



The quilting frame that I had installed almost a month ago is really a great help. I don't have to do tacking and basting anymore. Just assemble the quilt top straight away on the frame with batting and backing according. Once ready, I will take my time to start quilting. But it is important to get 3-4 bobbins ready before starting so that the quilting process goes smoothly. I completed the quilting for this piece (size 52" x 62" or 23 square foot) in 5.5 hours (I took it slow as I wanted to minimise errors).


Right now, I have one king size quilt top ready on the frame just waiting to be quilted. Hopefully I can start quilting it tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday morning.


My team and I have started making quilt tops for sale (quilting to follow suit). It is a great relief to have the quilting frame. Quilting is much more easier and faster too. I will give the details of the quilting service soon. But as a guideline, the quilting service is chargeable by the square foot.

Give us a call okay.

Hannah & Lynnea

Remember the two pink quilts I made for Hannah and Lynnea? Their mom, Puteri organised a kenduri about two weeks ago and I attended it with a few friends. My journey to her place was very adventurous, making a U-turn almost one-third way back and driving down a narrow and hilly path! Phew, finally we made it in one piece.


Well, I don't get to take any photos of the girls with the quilts. Hannah was busy with other kids, Lynnea was not well. But I did take some photos.


Here is me and old friends, with Puteri & hubby Roger, Hannah & Lynnea.



Me again with old colleagues and friends.

Charlie's Angels in the making, Ha ha ha ...

Hannah on the buaian looking very tired and confused maybe. Why are there so many people?

I wonder what Hannah was saying to her mom? I like this photo very much, Hannah was so cute. And Puteri looked so motherly concerned.

When will I see them again?

Hand Applique Cushion Covers

I just love to see beautiful cushion covers especially the hand appliqued ones. Over the past two years, I have passed down some skills to a few people who share the same interest with me. These cushion tops were hand appliqued by my nephew's wife. I am quite happy with her work, but I know she can be better. I am definitely very serious about quality. Especially for custom made orders, we strive to produce great quality work. There were times when we had to re-work on some projects. But at the end of the day, the efforts were worth it. Quality does matter, in every sense. When a customer is happy, she will return for more.

Coming back, next, I machine quilted these tops using FMQ, my assistant did the other two. I was very satisfied with the result. Nowadays I could do FMQ without hesitation. Some simple, wise words from my assistant completely changed the way I did FMQ. Thank you for that MI. But it is really important to keep practicing, and to remember how to do it. I need to practice more to consistently get that nice curve or swirl. And also, don't be lazy.

Cushion covers anyone?

Farewell My Dear Friend Jean

I first met Jean two years ago when she came to the shop with another friend of hers. Since then Jean would drop-by the shop. Sometimes she bought fabrics for her projects, or sometimes she just came to say hello. But most of the time, she would share with me her knowledge on patchwork and stuff. She kept encouraging me to do new things, something that we don't commonly do here, such as picture quilt or art quilt. I wish I could do evertyhing she suggested but I was skeptical as to how many people were willing to spend their money on those decorative patchwork items.

So I play safe. I make only things that are practical. Anyway, Jean shared her passion with me on her other hobbies such as jewelry making, beading, and crystal. It is sad that I have lost another good friend, well I mean she has to return to the US with her dear husband. She invited me to visit her. She said she would take me to the patchwork shops that are almost everywhere in the US! I will but not so soon Jean.

A few days before she left for the US, we had a simple lunch at the coffee house of the hotel where she had been staying for the past 3 years, Holiday Inn KL. Then we adjourned to her suite for a cup of tea. She handed me a project which she was working on but because she had sent off her sewing machine home, the project was sort of halfway done. I am yet to complete the project.

Here is Jean my dear friend who wishes me well in my venture. I wish her well too, in her new home in the United States. Hope you will make a lot of new friends there.

Till we meet again, Jean.

Cushion Covers for A Friend's MIL

A friend who now lives in Oslo is back in Malaysia for the holidays. She is married to a Norwegian. After 2.5 years there, she can now speak Norwegian fluently. She loves patchwork and wanted to get her MIL a patchwork gift. She came over to the shop and said that she did not want something bulky to bring back to Oslo. So I suggested that a cushion cover would be practical and nice. She asked me to make two pieces in green - her MIL's favourite colour. Here they are (50cm x 50cm).




I hope her MIL likes the covers.