Autographed Toys

J came back two days ago with an autographed fish - all the students in his class had one and they were given a fabric marker to sign with. Isn’t that just a fabulous idea? The fish represents the Primary School, gecko represents the Intermediate, etc..

So C is also interested, he wants to write on the fish but big brother says “No! It is for friends who are leaving or people whom I won’t see again - I will still see you!” C then asked me to make one for him as it is also his last week at school. So last night, in a panic, I looked around on the internet for some ideas of cat pictures and saw one which seemed easy to sew. So I drafted up my own pattern and made this in a few hours. I would have liked black buttons for eyes but I didn’t have any. I also did not put in a tail until everyone complained that it seemed like a naked cat so I had to unpick it to sew in a tail. Let’s see what it looks like tomorrow after everyone has written on it!

Recycled Scarf

As we are clearing out most of our things, Matt had to throw a few of his suits as he could not fit into them. It just seemed like a shame to throw away good quality wool suits but no one wears them here in Singapore as it is too hot.

So I cut up his suits and made them into a scarf, using accent fabrics - batik. I followed Denise Schmidt’s pattern but I could not understand the instructions in her book (my English is not good), so I just followed the idea and did it my own way. I had to put a quilt batting inside because I figured it was too thin for a scarf. Now it is kind of like a pillow…yikes. One thing is for sure, Matt’s neck will be kept warm when we move to Washington DC.

After doing this scarf, I made another one, without the batting.

This is the finished scarf.

I am not too sure if Matt would wear it as it is very different, as in weird.

While I Was Sick...

This is an Eric Carle Quilt, fabrics from the USA. It is for a friend's son. She loves Eric Carle so when I give the quilt to her, I will present her with the book, "Brown Bear" as well. Will post more photos when the entire quilt is finished.

Elephant Quilt

I haven't had the time to do a lot of quilting. I have been so bothered by work that all I wanted to do was just wallow in reading other people's creative blogs! Anyway, I have just finished putting the elephant blocks together and now I don't know what border to complete it with. I like the purple mini border but now the final border has to be something bright to bring out the colours of the elephants.

By the way, I made this quilt for C's teacher who is having a baby but I am going to give her something else now. The orange elephant in the quilt is crooked despite me unpicking it and putting it on a new muslin cloth. I will tell them that it is a naughty elephant that doesn't want to do what it's supposed to!

Being Inspired

Eversince I saw Jenny's art piece at the American School Silent Auction, I have been in a sort of frenzy trying to glean as much inspiration as possible from books and magazines. I have been looking at art books, craft books and even how to write creatively. I am just so hungry to create something but the stuff is all stuck inside of me.

Jenny and I met up shortly after that auction and I told her that I was not creative. I could make things using patterns or copying other people's ideas, but never make anything from scratch. She said something that has stuck in my mind, "You say you are not creative because you are afraid to lose control and not allow yourself to make mistakes."

Know what? She was right! I have a huge blank canvas, 40" by 40" in my storage, waiting to be painted upon since we moved into our Woodlands flat almost 2 years ago! I know what I want to do with it but I am afraid of mucking up because I have never attempted to paint on such a large piece of canvas before. Due to that, it remains empty. How ridiculous am I!

Now, I feel ready to explore and Jenny suggested that I go for a walk with Matt, completely blindfolded and trust that Matt will lead me in safety. She promised that it would be a liberating exercise. While I don't think I am going to do that, I think that am ready to start on a smaller scale. I am going to start experimenting with fabrics first as I have so much of it at home! When something comes into fruition, I will post it here.

Chinese Cut Outs

The Chinese are just so good with their fine motor skills. Can you believe this is rice paper, painted and cut so perfectly? Lots of projects come to mind!

The Uncommon Quilter

I borrowed this book from our local library because of the catchy title. The Uncommon Quilter by Jeanne Williamson was a surprise and a big inspiration! She makes quilts out of mixed media such as cardboard, plastic, brochures, ribbons, fabric, and she even paints on them.

I was so inspired by her work that I wrote to her and she replied yesterday! She wrote that she wanted a picture of my quilt when I was done with it. I am making a "travel quilt" of Matt's travels recently. He was in Melbourne last week and he left for London on Sunday. I have asked him to pick up maps, brochures. I am excited of what he will bring back!