Finish Quilts - Finally!

The past few days I've been busy spring cleaning (and it's not done yet!). The weather is pretty peculiar this year. We had chilly weather throughout February and turned pretty dry and hot in March. And it's pretty dusty too. I usually start packing winter clothes and duvet around April, but this time I am doing it early. Yesterday,  all duvet is washed and kept away today. 

 I have two quilts that came back from Tina at the Square Inch. The first one is the ground cover quilt top that I did 2 years ago. The top was quite big but Tina suggested making it bigger if it's meant for my elder son, who is 6.1' tall. After a few chats over WhatsApp, we agreed on this green border and black and white bear for backing! I used mostly scrap from wallets and bags, and I am glad I did. I still have lots of scraps that I don't have the heart to throw it away. When I look at this quilt, I can't help remembering what stuff I made with those fabrics. 

I really love the emerald green fabric that Tina suggested. It really framed the patchwork well. For the backing, I chose the bear print fabric and love it!! 

The second quilt is the Jellyroll race quilt in Batik. I think I finished the quilt top back in 2019 when I was doing this quilt. The JR was a gift from my BFF mbak Belly when we first met in Jakarta years ago. At the time, I just started learning about patchwork and quilts. I finally decided to make another Jellyroll race quilt with it. Once I did the top, I was still undecided on what to put for the border and backing. This part usually takes me so long to decide. And when I sent it to SQI and had a discussion with Tina, we decided to use Indian batik for borders and backing. The Square Inch has good collections for Indian Batik. Definitely, 2 heads are better than one, right? 

The quilts are washed and now in use. I may need to make another one for my son when he goes to college, but still undecided what pattern to use. I took out one batik JR and also Indian fabrics in the shade of blue. Let's see which one will I finally make first! Just waiting for the idea to strike. 

Blue Fabrics 

What are you planning next? Do let me know in the comment below. 

Thank you for stopping by and Happy Sewing!!

Elvira

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New Video Tutorial - Passport Card Wallet

Voyage Passport Wallet

 

Hello,

As promised in my previous post, finally the video tutorial for the small passport wallet is up on my YouTube channel now. And as I edited the original pattern to add the link, I also gave a name to the pattern. Well, I am really not good at giving names but then, as I make more patterns, I suppose it's inevitable for me to give a certain name. This time, I go with the simple name Voyage Passport Wallet. I plan to update the original pattern with better photos when I get the time, so please bear with me.

In the video, I cut the pattern pieces slightly bigger than the original one, because I want to use it for Journal Cover like in my previous post

For the zipper version, all the basics remain the same as the original pattern. If you want to make it with zipper closure, here are the additional materials to cut/change: 

✓ Cut 2 -  Medium or All-purpose interfacing for main exterior and lining

✓ Cut 1 - Fleece Batting  - the same size as the main exterior 

 ✓ #5 Zipper – 24” Long (based on the continuous zipper that is cut to size) 

✓ Bias binding (follow THIS TUTORIAL)

Without further ado, here's the video :

If you're new here and wondering about the interfacing I used in my wallets, I wrote my secret guide for interfacing in THIS POST and THIS POST. My suggestion is to keep experimenting until you find the combination that you like the most. In the hydrangea passport wallet above, I used all-purpose interfacing for the main body and using medium interfacing for the sleeves' base. The wallet turned out softer and I can even fit it with more passports - up to 4 passports and it still closed nicely. 

I made another Voyage Wallet with Snoopy Print as a custom order. Some of the crafters, DM me on Instagram asking how to do bias binding nicely. As I mentioned in my previous post, before cutting the binding (cross-cut or bias), make sure the fabric grains are straight. This small step is very important to get a good finish. And of course, practice! Practice makes improvement. Sometimes even I had to rip off the already sewn binding because I didn't straighten the grain nicely and resulted in sloppy finish. 

Zip Around Passport Wallet

Another question is, can I use cross-cut binding instead? Yes, you definitely can. I made a couple of passport wallets with zippers using cross-cut binding. It will be like the usual wallet binding, like in THIS tutorial. When you want to use cross-cut binding for a zipper wallet, do not CURVE the corners. I will make the video next time when I am working on a wallet binding. 

Here is a few Ohana Passport Wallet I did for a custom order. 

Mitered Corner binding

Cartoon Print Passport Wallet

I hope the video and a few tips above help your journey in the wallet making. Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Thank you so much for reading my blog. 

Happy Sewing,

Elvira

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Happy Women's Day - Let's empower women!

Yourstory

Happy Women's Day to all the wonderful women!! On this women's day, I've been honored to be featured on Yourstory.com Women's day edition. A few days ago when Disha from Etsy India sent me the questionnaire, I was sitting on my computer thinking what should I write? I am just an ordinary mother of 2, doing what I love the most in my spare time from one of the corners of my home. But when come to think of it, most of the mompreneurs or women entrepreneurs that I personally know, started the same way, from one corner of our homes. 

Oh yes, we have many up and downs stories and I am glad I have a circle of craft entrepreneurs friends in my city that empower each other. Truly, I would not have met them if I was not in Etsy. 
Today, I'd like to give a shout-out to them, thank you girls for always being there for me! 





Achumi from Treasured Elements, I met here 20 years ago when I first came to Guwahati. She was my makeup artist during my wedding!! We lost contact for many years, and finally met up again a couple years ago and this talented girl, now a self-made Jewelry designer. She mostly works with silver and precious stones and has her products displayed at Guwahati Airport and several stores in Northeast India. 





Manisha of  MrbWatercolor is a watercolor artist and is the first Etsy seller from Guwahati that I know. We chatted several times on Instagram before we met in person a couple of years ago. I love her style of watercolor painting (I got a couple of them!) and of course, her popular watercolor paints that she sells on her Etsy shop. 

I first met Meenakshi from Rustic Origin during the Etsy event in Guwahati in 2019. She's a friend of Achumi's. We shared a common interest in fabrics and hand stitching. She loves doing boro sashiko and dyeing fabrics. We met a couple of times, and always planning to meet and do some sewing and quilting together. She runs her Etsy Shop, Rustic Origin Shop, where she sells woven loom home decor from Northeast India.

When we met, we talked about the hustle we have to do, the challenges for selling online now compare to a few years ago from shipping to compliance with the latest government regulations, to the worries for our children, etc. You know the real talk and we often forgot to take selfies! But here's the photo of us from 2019 just before the pandemic started. 

Do visit their social media or Etsy shop whenever you are free. Yes, there are always untold hustling stories behind those pretty photos on Etsy and Instagram. For every woman who reads this blog, I hope you can be inspired to pursue your dreams. It's never too late to start doing what you love, what makes you happy! Whether it's a hobby or a business. Just do it! 

Happy women's day! 

Elvira

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My Latest Video

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WOMEN'S DAY SALE 

Use Coupon WOMENSDAY and get 20% off on all products

 

Wallets, Quilts and Bias Binding Tutorial

In the past few days, I've been busy making a few wallet and placemats orders. I got a couple of passport wallet orders in the past two months. I think now that travel around the globe is eased, many people started to travel again.

This time, the zip around small passport holder seems quite popular and as usual, whenever I make for an order, I cut one extra to add to my shop. Because I am working solo and nowadays hardly have time to sew, this way I can add a couple of new designs in a month. Also, I will always have projects that are ready to sew. Although sometimes it takes days to finish and sometimes I can finish 2 wallets in a day. Well, as long as I can sew, I am a happy girl! 

Ah, I also recorded the video tutorial for this small passport wallet - which hopefully I can finish editing and put up on YouTube this week. 

I often got questions regarding bias binding. For beginners or someone who never makes or use bias binding, it can be a daunting task. There are a few ways to make a bias binding but this traditional method is my fave because the binding always turns out perfect. 

In this video, I made DIY bias binding using FAT 8 fabric (9" x 22"). The rule of thumb is, you must make sure the fabric grains (warp and weft) are straight. That way you will get nice and crisp bias tape. 

Please check the video below. I hope the video is clear enough. If you have any questions, you can contact me or leave a comment below. 

Here are more fabric wallets recently done and a couple of them are on their way to the new home. I love making this classic bifold wallet.  My first wallet was this bifold wallet and even after washing it several times, it is still in a good shape. The interfacing and padding did make the wallet sturdy and did not lose its shape. 

GET THE PATTERN HERE

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And here's the medium scrappy placemats I recently finish and sent out. I hope they will be received well. As a maker and seller, nothing more rewarding than a happy customer! 

I kind of love these medium-size placemats and I have a couple more to finish hand sewing the binding before I put them up in the shop. 

I also experimented with different quilting lines on my Industrial machine. I tried doing FMQ after watching a couple of  YouTube videos where people do freehand machine embroidery using a similar machine as mine. Well, guess what? I worked! I will try in my next project and hopefully can share a few tips with you all. Stay tuned! 

Scrappy Placemats

FMQ Trial 

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On the 16th, my SIL and I went to a wedding in a village nearby. It was great fun for both of us. And of course, I love watching how the folks are having a great time at the party. In the village, a wedding party can last a couple of days (2-3 days) from morning to midnight. People from all around the village and nearby village will keep streaming in, sitting and chatting. I love to see the young girls dressing up to the latest Bollywood trend. 

And of course, I enjoyed the ride through different small towns and villages. Since the harvest season is just over, most of the fields are dry now. But it was a  lovely day! 

The bride and the bridesmaids 

Henna -  a must in every wedding! 

We also went to the market last week. We went saree shopping for one of our helper's daughter's wedding next month. Of course, I wore a double mask even a lot of people are not wearing masks now since the state government announced that all pandemics restrictions are lifted off. 

I really enjoyed looking at those colorful sarees. Even though I don't wear colorful clothes myself, looking at those bright colors, makes me happy! And no, I did not buy for myself, I only went to my regular fabric shop to get denim material. I suppose to go look for Mekhla (Assamese dress) border for my kawandi project but it was getting late, so maybe next time! 

 

That's all for today. I hope you enjoy reading my blog. Thank you for stopping by and please leave a comment or two.

Until next time,

Elvira

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What's been going on

We're almost in the middle of February. The past 2 weeks, I was pretty busy, and even though I have so many things I want to write somehow I do not get the time to do. 

First, I got back muscle spasm, hence I cannot sit or stand for too long. I am resting as much as possible and also doing a couple exercises and now I am feeling much better. 

I ordered a watercolor painting from Nusrat when I met her a few months ago and she painted it so beautifully! Thank you, Nusrat!  I have this beachfront photo that I took when we visited my mom's hometown, Makian Island, in Ternate a couple of years ago. The picturesque island holds great memories. It was our first visit to the island and also met many of my cousins, nephews, and nieces. Some of them I met for the first time! 

On February 5th afternoon, suddenly we got a hailstorm which was pretty heavy! It was so fascinating to see the yard turning "snowy" white. The last week of January and the first week of February were unusually very cold. And then suddenly this! People in town are pretty excited as this never happened before. The flowers and vegetable garden was ruined but that was a pretty exciting experience. 

 Another news is the mall next to our house is finally open. Not fully open but at least Pizza Hut was open for online ordering. That's really good news as we have one more option to order in. The area where we live is becoming to feel like a satellite city now. New shops and malls are coming up, in one way it's good that we don't have to spend 3 hours just to get a couple of stuff from the town. I hate going out nowadays especially since the flyover construction is going on nearby. It takes even longer to the city. 

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Last week, I took a Chikan Embroidery Online Work Shop with Saba. It was on my list to learn. I was really excited about the class.  Chikan embroidery is a traditional embroidery from Lucknow and is still very popular. I LOVE Chikan embroidery and I have a few sets of kurtas and stoles of Chikankari. 

Chikan embroidery is traditionally done on white or pastel colors thin fabrics, like muslin, and with white thread. I did not have the thread that is traditionally used, so I used regular embroidery yarn here. 

Although some of the stitches are the same or similar to regular embroidery, I am so excited to learn the stitches' names in the traditional Chikankari terms. Listening to Saba tell us the story of how they came up with the name and some historical background of the design while we were embroidering away was fascinating. 3 hours went by in a flash! 

I still have to practice a lot and Saba gave us a couple of designs for us to start. But first, I must get a white muslin or maybe Kota cotton. 

Katey Stitch 

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I went to the Guwahati University Post Office last week to send an order to Australia. This is the second time I came to this PO. Since the rate for FedEx and DHL to Australia is too expensive, I started sending packages to Asia and Oceania by Post. It took about 30 days from here to Australia by Speed Post (EMS). The package is trackable but I suppose due to the flight restriction, most packages, even via FedEx experiencing some delay. The PO is not too crowded, so it was nice to go there instead of going all the way to the main PO in town.  The officer in here is also more efficient so the process was pretty quick. I hope they keep it up, now that India Post started international services again. And of course, I always like the drive to the University. 

A couple of handmade goodies I sent out recently

Extra Spacious Face Mask

Family Passport Wallets

Small Passport Wallet

Gauhati University 

And today was the son's farewell party in School. The program was set in the morning and I love to see the boys and girls dressing up. The girls mostly wear Saree and they look really gracious and the boys look dashing in their suits. My son spent 13 years in Sarala Birla Gyan Jyoti Guwahati. I remembered how he used to be very shy and hesitant to start a conversation. Thanks to the teachers and staff in SBGJ now he grew up to be a confident young man, with a clear goal in mind for his future. Insha Allah he will start going to college next fall and we have been going through a lot of discussions choosing subjects, etc.  And yes, I do feel anxious and excited for him at the same time. He is going for a big leap this year, will start a new journey et al. My younger one, who is more sensitive, often asks me how I feel about his elder brother going away for college. And when I said, sometimes I feel sad, he said " can you imagine how Nenek (my mom) must have felt when you decided to come here". Ha! I did not see that coming! 

Anyway, the party is over now and the boys have to start studying for the Term 2 exam next April. And we still have a lot of things to do. Wish us luck!! 

Until next time,

have a nice weekend! 

Elvira

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