Lush Colors of Fall with Ottobre

Yup, there's no denying that Autumn is here, you should see the amount of yellow leaves outside my door! Its chilly too, temperatures went down till 10C in midday but last 2 weeks we had beautiful sunshine with temperature in between 12C to 16C. But I have to admit, it is beautiful, sweaters and wool coats are out again and everyone is busy shopping for winter boots. There's a cool fresh breeze blowing and activities seem to be winding now, everyone going into hibernation !

I found some gorgeous winter fabrics, beautiful rich babyrib corduroys , knitted jerseys and my favorite, knitted velour ! Velour has the plush look of velvet but with less fluff and a cotton underside, it is so easy to sew. I used my normal foot and size 11 needle on my machine, perfect. I've tried sewing with velvet and it was a nightmare, never again ! So here's a tunic and legging set made from velour, pattern from Ottobre 1/2010.

Suklaatwist  Tunic n Ruusunnuppu Leggings from Ottobre 1/2010

One metre of each in a size 128cm

Simple but comfortable, love the twisted ballon sleeve. I used Framilon, a clear elastic tape to gather the sleeves and skirt, excellent invention.

I fell in love with the picture above, but I couldn't get that rich brown velour :)

Wild Nature top from Ottobre 8/2008, made from fine baby cord. Made matching pink corduroy comfy pants with elasticated hem. 

 Blouse pattern from above, that skirt has been on my list of 'to-do's' for like forever!

Scenes of autumn from my house :) Gorgeous hues, yes ?

Anyone in Malaysia interested in the Ottobre magazine, please let me know soon , delivery will be 4th week of December. I can also get the velour knit , at RM42/ meter, just let me know the color and I'll go shopping for you :)

Watch this space, I'll be posting sewing stuff and notions that you might be interested in soon :) Till then , keep on sewing.

ps, anyone sewed any fall kids clothes ? would love to see them.

Salam Eid-Ul-Fitri 2011

Salam everyone and Selamat Hari Raya / Eid - Ul- Fitri Mubarak !

I know how this is soooo long overdue, sorry but things have been quite hectic once school restarted :) We had a good Raya here in Rotterdam and was actually pretty festive. I guess that once you are away from family and close friends, you begin to appreciate more of what you have around you. So it turned out pretty great, with first Raya being hosted by the Malaysian Embassy in Den Haag, had some yummy food ( that was the best part hehehe). Felt a little homesick especially since it was 1st Syawal but once we started eating it began to feel like home :)

So here we are from Rotterdam !

Yes, we were always a family of mismatched Baju Raya :( not that I did not try !

The Malaysian Rotterdammers posing for a 'family' photo' 

I finally decided to smock again. A simple drop waist dress pattern and first time doing ribbon embroidery done on raw silk!

Inspired by Australian Smocking and Embroidery Issue 89 dress above. It was done on green damask silk full bodice smocked and ribbon flowers.

This duo is actually my favorite from that issue, simply gorgeous, one day I will persevere :)

Not forgetting my boys on this occasion ! Made them matching pants from plaid winter cotton and they choose the cotton for their tops. All patterns are from OTTOBRE and turned out like a pro 'cough , cough' But seriously, Adam's shirt had a double back yoke and real cuff and plackets. They loved it and now they want to go shopping for more fabric for mommy to make them more shirts, hahaha hurray for mommy :)

So thats it ladies for now, more interesting stories soon I promise, take care everyone.

Simple Summer Separates & Ramadhan Kareem !

Salam Ramadhan to all my fellow muslims, may we find berkat in all our doings in this holy month.

So, what are you guys having for buka puasa tonite? Ish I am sooo jealous ! Here it is going to be whatever that I decide to dream up hahaha. Buka is currently at 9.15pm and imsak is 3.50am, yup, its a really long day. But it actually feels alright because the weather is nice and cool, in fact summer has flown on by and the cold winds and wet days of autumn are already here. Kids are going to need warmer school clothes again.

Just wanted to share some summer separates I made for Shasha before they become obsolete :-)

The top was from here and I think its going to be her last time wearing it. The pants is from white eyelet cotton, loose fit with leg cuffs. Got the idea from a Burda March issue, just looks so relaxed and carefree.

The top and 3/4 pants are from Ottobre 3/2009, here. I added woven ribbons around the knees and a cute button, totally transformed. The top from jersey and has a very sweet flaired sleeves and hem. The pants are linen, really comfy.

Whats cool about separates is all the mix and match to get double the outfits :) The beautiful embroidered blouse was a steal from a small vintage shop in Amsterdam, some things never go out of style.

This is the pants up close. I topstitched the side seams with a bright pink criss cross stitch, vamp !

And finally, a simple peasant dress from Cucito, altered to flare it up more, added an elastic waist casing, green rickrack and red woven ribbon at the hem

Hmm I just realised all her outfits are blue this summer , not a pink in sight ! *Sigh* I am so missing summer already, just too too short.

Selamat berbuka all, I still have a longgggg day ahead :)

Sewing with Stenzo Jersey - Ottobre

I just can't seem to stop myself from reaching out and grabbing these pretty jersey fabrics, arghhhh! Here's one I made last week , pattern from Ottobre Spring 2011, the 'tangerine top' and 'Cocos' tiered skirt. The skirt is from the awesomely beautiful Stenzo Jersey , aren't those colors just gorgeous ?! The top is not tangerine I know but the sriped red seemed to work , what do you think?

Somehow all my ready made applique's did not seem to work on this, so I made my own butterfly applique and made a running stitch using brown dmc floss, and of course the cute buttons, what do you think? I stitched the hem with a stretch zig zag with contrast white on my normal machine, very decorative I think.

From my one meter of red stripe jersey I had enough to make her 3/4 leggings, matched !

After many experiments this is the stretch stitch I use on my seams. Its a zig zag combined with a straight stitch. Its pretty stretchy and you don't need to serge the seams. 

Hmmm where was she when she wore the above? Hehe, another story for another time I think. its muffin baking time for tea. Today, banana walnut honey cream muffins with streusel topping :)

My version of 'Happy Little Sewer'

I've finally made an outfit from the gorgeous Ottobre Design, the hard part was deciding which one to tackle first :) I wanted something chic and pretty at the same time, so I choose the combination of the Four Leaf Clover blouse and High Rise Pants from the Spring 2011 issue, here's my intepretation, what do you think?

The blouse made from 'Strawberry Fields' turned out really pretty I think and matched the green polka dot fabric from Nagoya. Just proves that High Street quality can match Designer's !

The outfit in action ! I think its chic.

A matching hat would have been perfect 

The original from Spring 2011 Ottobre Design

The blouse was pretty straight forward but I really could not figure out how to insert the pockets in the pants, so I made a mock pleat and added the red buttons to match the blouse. I also made the pants elasticated at the back for comfort, which turned out great. I used Japanese cotton for the pants which made it a bit flimsy. slightly weightier cotton would be ideal.

Announcement : My giveaway will end Sunday 29th May because I'm hoping to catch the next week's post to Malaysia for the lucky winners, so stay tuned :)

European Blockbuster Giveaway!

Hello Crafters, awww I still have tears watching William and Kate just now, they looked so happy. I'm hoping many happy years for the two of them.

Ok people, listen up! My first ever giveaway and I'm really excited. Do the following to win some awesome gifts, easy as A, B, C :-) Oh Yes, there will be 3, yup 3 winners !!!

1. Become my follower
2. Leave a comment on this post stating which of the fabrics you would love to win and why :) Please list 2 in case the other is already taken
3. Tell me who you like to sew for, name of your child etc ( hint: there will be extra gifts based on your         answer :-))
4. blog about this giveaway and link it up in your comment

Giveaway ends 31st May  Sunday 29th May

And now, for the goodies yeahhhhh

First winner will get a copy of April Burda Style and Ottobre Spring. 2nd and 3rd will get a copy of Burda Style each. See here for gorgeous Spring Ottobre designs

Now choose your 1.25 mtr of gorgeous European cotton

 Pink daisy

 Blue hearts

Green Forest

Green daisy

Pink Forest

Blue Stripes

White Daisy

Pink Cotton Jersey

Grey Blooms Cotton Jersey

And examples of the 'extras' , surprise surprise

There are a few designer fabrics there , but I wont tell which :-) Have a good weekend !

Ottobre Patterns Anyone?!!!

Hello hello, the new Spring Ottobre 1/2011 has just hit the stores here in Netherlands, so esctatic was I you could not imagine, well, if you are a pattern magazine addict like me then I guess you can, lol! Among the rows of magazines at my local newsagent, there it was, just sitting pretty waiting for me. Here are some pictures from the spring issue, feast your eyes :)

I so love the blue paneled dress and check out those brown bell bottom pants, cool ! The peacock applique is also included in this issue.

This issue has 39 patterns in total and sizes ranging from 56cm (baby) to 170cm ( i just realized that I can use the patterns for moi :) ) They're really modern, fresh european styles, from pants to leggings to blouses and skirts, jackets and even a cool flanel sweatshirt. The detailed slim fit jeans are sexy huh, I bet Shasha is going to want that !

Here's an example of the patterns. They are all color coded and pattern pieces are marked and construction instructions are in the magazines as below.

You can view the full issue here. Just click on the last issue (1/2011) and start browsing .

Good news to my Malaysian sewing enthusiasts who have been trying to get this mag, I can get them for you in English of course! They will be posted out mid march by poslaju from KL, so please browse through the Ottobre site and let me know which issue you would like, back issues included. The Female Ottobre is also awesome!

1 issue will be for Rm55, subsequent ones will be at RM52 (inc poslaju). Email me at princess.diaries71@gmail.com for banking details. Please specify the issue number that you would like and how many copies. Please hurry as I need time to order from the publisher, thanks.

Cherios from me, I so long for my sewing machine and fabrics right now ! Do drop me an email or a comment for further info, and maybe soon we can have an Ottobre sew along in Malaysia :) 

ps I miss Nasi Lemak daun pisang and Kerang Char Kuey Tiaw!!