Camera Strap

Remember my wedding anniversary wishlist? I decided another compact wasn't going to satisfy me.

I got sick of noisy pictures produced by compact camera, so with my Taiwan trip as a catalyst, I traded in my Canon IXUS and topped up some cash for Canon EOS 550D and paired it with Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. The first thing I did before showing it to the world was to beautify the strap which was so harsh on the neck. :) And since this camera was meant to travel with me, the fabric paints has to be my favorite animal - elephants! 

It was a simple afternoon project. I added batting to the underside of the strap for extra comfort during long trips. I wanted to add a removable lens cover pouch, but didn't have time to brainstorm. Oh well, next time.

 Closer view.

Stock up!

A scheduled post for my dearest readers while I'm in Taipei!

fabric.com was offering 15% discount for all Michael Miller's fabrics a week ago. My browsing session turned into a 'Add to Cart' and decide later action, followed by 'Checking Out'. Just like that, I clicked a hundred dollars away within minutes. But I'm happpppppy! =)

I really enjoy getting fabrics from this site. Email confirmation was sent promptly, fabrics were cut, folded, and packed neatly into the box, and I love those little info tags. USD$20.49 was spent to ship 14 yards of fabrics to my home (Singapore) in 5 days. Perhaps next time I should try gather a few fellow sewers to share shipping cost.. What say you?

A book I love

Hubby bought me my first dress book when I started displaying interest in dressmaking. I was lucky the book turned out to be a good copy cause Kino wraps most of their books to prevent browsing.  I love this book cause there is a style for everyone - basic, high-waisted, low-waisted, a-line, shirt, smock and peasant look. For each style, it comes with 4 designs, along with suggested fabric for each design. 

This is also the book I used to make summer dress, low waist ruffles dress and peasant dress. Good stuff must be shared! Enjoy!

Ｄｒｅｓｓ　ｓｔｙｌｅ　ｂｏｏｋ 
パタ－ンのバリエ－ションを楽しむ 

ISBN:9784579112678

Price: SGD$38.20

My first top

This top was made to match my skirt. :) My first attempt with knits. The experience wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. The instructions, with illustrations (same sewing book as skirt), were easy to interpret. I relied more on the illustrations though cause I have problems reading chinese. Furthermore, this book was written in traditional chinese, not the simplified chinese I was taught in school.

Basically I just needed to cut fabrics for the front, back and bias for collar, then piece all together. I found it easy to serge the pieces together. Pictures time!

Front view. I added a flower brooch bought 7 years ago.

Close up on the collar.

The sleeve.

Likes!

Japanese Cemetery Park

The Japanese Cemetery Park (Kanji: 日本人墓地公園; rōmaji: Nihonjin bochi kōen) is a cemetery and park in Hougang, Singapore. It is the largest Japanese cemetery in South East Asia at 29,359 square metres, consisting of 910 tombstones that contain the remains of members of the Japanese community in Singapore, including young Japanese prostitutes, civilians, soldiers and convicted war criminals executed at Changi Prison in Singapore. It was gazetted (announced or published in an official journal or in a newspaper) as a memorial park by the Singapore Government in 1987.
source

My first skirt

This Lunar New Year I sewed an outfit for myself - a lazy day skirt and a top. Let me show you the skirt first cause the weather hasn't been kind to my camera. :)

A really simple project which took me less than half a day to finish.

I decided on this skirt pattern after browsing through my little collection of sewing books. This was found from the following book.

Material used was 100% cotton fabric by Robert Kaufman . The skirt is very light and comfortable, especially on a warm day (which means most of the days in Singapore). :P

Tmeed Cat