His birthday present

Although I sew a lot more these days, the person I sew the least for is my husband. Why is it so hard to sew for a guy? I went looking for tutorials, patterns...and couldn't find any that was appropriate for a birthday present. In the end I decided to make him a shirt, and to draw up the pattern myself.

I traced the pattern pieces from one of his existing smart casual shirt. It's a good thing I've been into japanese garment sewing lately, because it was easier to figure out garment construction once you've sewn a few pieces.

I decided to add some tucks ( is that what you call it) to give it a bit of interest without interrupting the clean lines of a man's garment. I didn't have any appropriate buttons so I picked these out of one of his old shirts that was about to go to charity...

A pocket for good measure

Packed full of love and affection :)

I love you.. my husband, my best friend, my soulmate..

Happy 30th birthday!

So what do they do all day?

PLAY! 

Surprise birthday trip

Last weekend we went to a surprise trip for my husband's 30th birthday. 

A little slice of heaven, for the guy who spoils us all year long so once a year he definitely deserves a good bit of spoiling too..

This is Minang Cove resort, Tioman. I definitely recommend this place. The location is gorgeous, unspoilt and the service there is exceptional! They cater only to a small number of guests and we all receive personal, charming treatments from the staff. They know us and our kids by name. Love this place!

the kids think it was their treat instead. We couldn't keep these kids away from the beach the whole time we were there...

beautiful view from the jetty

my little boy goes exploring a lot around the rocks and corals. He had many cuts on his legs, splinters on his fingers, but nothing could stop him from enjoying the place. He fit right in.

the kids having afternoon tea with Sophia, the owner's beautiful 9 year old daughter. She looks english but talks malay fluently and is a real island girl. She knows where all the nemos are when snorkeling, she can dive deep with no equipment to pick up dead corals and sea cucumber.

Snorkeling is really good just off the jetty. Lots of corals and fish and good visibility.


Adam jumping in. He was fearless! water was 5-10m deep. my little island boy.

the birthday boy with his surprise birthday cake. The staff picked it up for me far from Tekek, they had to take a boat. tq guys!

don't know why this pic is coming out senget. My girl wearing her sunhat that she requested urgently and was sewn by a very tired mama the night before we go on the trip.

one of the highlight of the place - nighttime fish feeding off the jetty. We could see some big black tipped sharks!

time passed by way too fast on the island. It's time to go home...

we'll be back little fishies...

Ok I admit it...

I'm addicted to japanese sewing now...oh my..

This top is made from the same pattern as this previous one. I liked the fit on that one so I made another. With the pattern already traced this was a quick sew..

Nice comfortable neckline

I made this with more pleats this time...

and finish it off with a pretty button..

Sew as one

Yesterday Adam wanted to sew himself some traintracks (??!). He asked Mia for help..

rather good teamwork, i must say ;)

Later that day he wanted to sew some more and asked Mia to help. She said "Sorry, I'm busy!" . She was sorting out coins. Hey that's serious work too, you know ;)

Handmade apron knobs

I asked my husband to make an apron holder for all the aprons we've been making recently. He came up with this brilliant apron knobs. It is a collaboration work between my husband and the kids.

The kids painting the knobs

all done and getting dried

working together

almost there..

all done!

perfect height for the kids to hang their own aprons after their activities

I loved the resulting apron hanger. So useful! But the best part is having it made with love!

p/s: i wonder if there are any woodwork classes for kids around here?

More japanese sewing

Yet another japanese top from japanese sewing books. I warn you, I might be getting addicted.

My husband's reaction when he saw this top was 'berangin' (airy). hehe...

i like the collar detail...

light and airy indeed...

more japanese sewing coming, i think :)

I *heart* Terengganu

We're having some quiet days here in this house. The kids and the daddy have caught a nasty virus. Lots of cuddling, sleeping, sponging, resting around here since last week. But we did have a nice short get-away early last week when my husband was out-station in Terengganu.

Enjoy the pictures!

The view was so beautiful, masya Allah. The ocean water is blue, now that monsoon season is over..

my girl having lots of fun in the sand

collecting pine cones to decorate their sand castles

when she was done she announced "Good at this!" I noticed recently whenever she accomplished something new (like learning to use the water dispenser on her own, or using the toilet and water faucet) she declares quietly to herself 'good at this!'. What a brilliant method of building one's own confidence. I think I might take that up myself.

aahhhh knitting at the beach with kids around me busy making their castles. Such bliss! I seriously wish I lived there...

Amazing rocks at Pantai Kemasek. In the picture we were pretending to be dangerous barnacle collectors :) - like in BBC Human Planet.

This beach is awesome...there are lots to discover - snails, crabs, seashells...

hope we can come here again...

Venturing into Japanese sewing

I'm feeling inspired by japanese sewing lately. The style is simple, chic and effortless. So recently I went to Kinokuniya to pick up these japanese sewing books. The books are in japanese, I don't read japanese, but rumor has it you could figure out the sewing from the pictures. So gave it a go. Tracing the pattern was a bit of a mess, but I found sewing it quite fun. I've always avoided sewing clothes from commercial patterns because of all the lengthy detailed instructions that confuse me, and quite frankly rather irritating. But with these japanese patterns the pictures are clear and it's pretty simple to figure out how to piece the pattern pieces on my own.

This first piece I tried is actually a maternity top, but I liked it, simple and light.

short sleeves to wear with a cardigan ( I seem to be a serial cardigan knitter lately)

there were supposed to be many more pleats on the front, to allow for a big belly. But I didn't have enough fabric and and I didn't need the extra belly space, so I made it with just one pleat on the front.

it closes at the back with a button

It think it goes quite well with my new cardigan (unfinished, I still need buttons )

the tops wears well...and the fabric is a dreamy light voile..love! I think there'll be more sewing from these particular books coming up..