Angels for the New Year

I am well and truly back into the swing now.  My classes have all started and, as usual, I am having a blast sharing what I know with others who are interested in learning.

Last Thursday, I had a group of 7 women at the YWCA for the Chinese Knot Basics class.  We went through the first 5 introductory knots, did our take-home project, had time for a tea break (which is a huge giggle for all my students because I get so wrapped up in what I’m doing, I forget to let everyone up to stretch their legs!), and finished on time!  Every one of the women receive a huge “atta girl!” for catching on to the knots so quickly.  I always give an extra-credit knot to try at home and I am fully expecting to have everyone tell me on Thursday that they did it with no trouble.

I made this gaggle of wee Chinese Knot angels as New Years gifts for family and friends.  Now that they are all made, they will be winging their way around the world very soon to bring best wishes and, no doubt, a smile to the face. 

This will most likely be the Christmas project class that I teach at the YWCA this Autumn.  Everyone who sees these precious creatures wants to make them.

My last term sewing students and I started up our sewing group.  We met Tuesday morning this past week to start on our next project.  Everyone is making a dress.  Last week, we all got our muslin fabric cut out for a fit garment and this week will be doing fit trials and pattern modifications.  We also took a quick trip to Sham Shui Po last week so I could point out a few fabric shops.  Talk about the addictive nature of fabric…I think everyone got back on the train with at least one piece of fabric for our current and future projects.  Yes, that includes me.  What can I say, there are worse things to be addicted to!

Sewing Basics at the YWCA also starts up this week for a new group of people interested in learning all about sewing machines, seams and basic construction techniques. 

I had made this design up in white rice shaped pearls for myself ages ago with the metal beads and leather braided cord.  I was playing around before Christmas with my pearls and found these huge green/blue rice pearls; they are about 13mm long.  I started thinking, “Why do pearls have to be just for girls?”.  So, I strung these up for David as a Christmas gift.  He absolutely loves them.  He had this necklace on one day and a couple of our male friends saw it and asked for me to make them a necklace too.  I think it is great that men get to enjoy the specialness of pearls.  So when I go pearl shopping, I keep my eyes open for others that would be suitable for the men in my life.

All from me for this week.  Enjoy your week everyone and may it be filled with fun!

Happy New Year!

I’m rested, recharged and ready to get back at it!  As you can tell, I’ve taken a bit of time off and have really enjoyed allowing my creativity to flow freely again without the full diary of appointments and lessons.  There is a bit to catch you up on so I’ll start where I left off.

The fair in New Zealand was fantastic.  We could not have asked for a nicer day.  The event was held at a local winery which has a beautiful yard around the house.  We were positioned on the tennis courts with other craft type stalls.  This fair features all local artisans and crafts.  The rough headcount for the day was upwards of 3000 people; I think nearly all of them stopped by our table!  Kiwi’s are very inquisitive and friendly people.  Nearly everyone approached the table wanting to know all about our wares.  I was very happy with our sales for the day.  And I was even more pleased with my sales the following week!  As our friends came around the house to visit and catch up, everyone wanted to know what I was doing to keep myself busy.  What better way than to do a bit of show-and-tell.  I generated more sales by just talking about what I was doing without even trying to sell anything.  So many women said that they knew people who would love what I do so when we are back in New Zealand for Chinese New Year, I am going to have a few friends organize “home” parties with their friends and family. 

I made a lot of Christmas presents again this year.  Seems like table runners were the theme.  I went to Shenzhen and picked up a lot of beautiful Chinese brocade fabric to use in my table runner and pillow cover class at the YWCA in December and a bit extra for gifts.  The green runner was a gift for a good friend, the red one was on my table over the holidays and the white/gold runner will be sent to a friend for her birthday.

I also made a scarf for another friend (which, I understand, can double as a table runner).  I found some beautiful crinkle silk and had fun piecing it together, adding fabric and bead fringe and other decoration.

A wee moment of silence for the closing of our local Spotlight store.  It was truly a one-stop shop for all sewing related items.  The final weeks were chaotic as the sales got better and better.  One weekend two friends make a trip out there (I think I’m glad I did not go) and relayed that all packaged items were HK$1 each and the queues were over an hour long to get to the cashier.  I tried to keep my visit to mid-week.  I did not get the selection; however, I found enough good things to keep me going for quite a long time.  I am now the local Hong Kong dressmaking pattern outlet.  I was fortunate enough to get to go through the pattern drawers and pick out the patterns I wanted before they went on the sale table for the masses at $1 each.   I won’t divulge exactly how many patterns I walked away with; let it suffice to say that I could use one of those large, 4 drawer pattern file cabinets! 

A bit of house keeping items for you all…I’ve updated the Knot and Sewing pages with dates for upcoming classes.  Private Knotting classes will be advised after my first YWCA class concludes at the end of this month.  My Y sewing students from last term are getting back together and we are having a weekly sewing group meeting here at the flat to continue building our skills and techniques.  Anyone with basic sewing knowledge and your own sewing machine is welcome to join.  Future meeting of Baubles & Knots will be determined shortly and will be posted. 

And with that, I’m going to venture out in the rain to do a few errands.  It’s good to be back to my blog and back to work.  And my wish to all for the new year is that happy surprises and pleasant adventures come your way.

Until next week…

Absent but not gone…

The past few weeks have been filled with finishing up the majority of my classes for the year, assisting in the final sale of a business overseas, getting ready for a charity fair in New Zealand, and trying to have enough time left over for me.   And in all honesty, I have not been doing anything new and interesting to share.  Life definitely has not been dull but it has been more routine than creative.  With the activity on the blog as of late, I wanted to let you know what I’ve been up to and that I’ll be back to you soon.  I’ll be return to a more even routine the week of 7 December.

In Memory of Spencer

Animal lovers will understand…one of the most difficult things in life to do is come home from the vet with an empty pet carrier.  We lost Spencer yesterday very suddently.  His absence is being greatly felt within our home.  He was an amazing wee creature full of love and happiness despite the difficult start he had in life and all of the medical situations he was dealing with.  We feel blessed to have had him in our lives…if only for a few short weeks.

 

Looking forward to some sewing…

The Helena May Bazaar is over and I’ve put my knotting cord away for a wee bit.  Mostly  to give my hands a break and also to go onto some other projects that I’ve been wanting to do.  The Bazaar was actually really good and I am very glad that I did it.  Unfortunately, I do not think that my product is well received in Hong Kong because there is so much Chinese knotted items available in the markets here and in Shenzhen.   That “specialness” factor just is not present.  That said, I think our table looked good, I think we had a great mix of product and colors and who could be two more personable and approachable women!  We had a great spot in the Blue Room right in front of this huge window with great light.  One thing  I did take away from the bazaar is that my passion lies in creating and teaching and this is where I am going to concentrate my efforts.

The next event of this type that I will be attending will be the end of November in New Zealand.  The winery just down the road a ways from our house holds a yearly charity fair called A Country Occasion at Neudorf.  In NZ, the Chinese Knot items will be new and different.   In addition to the sales part of the fair, I am going to generate interest in holding classes there on a regular basis.  What better excuse to make a trip!

Remember my “humbling” skirt from a couple weeks back…?  Well, it has been deconstructed and reconstructed and now fits me like a dream.  What a giggle I have had over that one.  I smiled to myself the entire time I was ripping seams.  Lessons I’ve learned from that experience….too many to list.  However, the most impactful is to always remember that you are never too good at something to make a huge mistake!

The project I have cut out and on the table now is a pair of wide leg linen pants where I am going to clean finish the side seams from knee down to hem and use self-fabric Chinese Button Knots as closures.  I’ll post a picture as soon as they are complete.

People have been asking me about Feng Shui lately and I thought it would be a good topic for these pages.  I am by no means a Feng Shui Master.  What I know of Feng Shui comes to me primarily intuitively and through reading that I have done.  I have used Feng Shui principles in all the homes I have lived in since my initial move to Asia and all offices that I have worked in.  The one comment that I get from most is that the spaces I create are always comfortable and inviting.

I am sure that most people are aware of Feng Shui and its principles; however, for those of you who are not…  Feng Shui is simply how chi (or energy) flows between the levels of heaven, earth and humans.  It is this chi that makes something feel “good” or “bad”.  Negative energy (or chi that is blocked or stagnant) is called sha chi.  What keeps the energy moving between the three levels is the constant movement between two opposing forces – yin and yang.  Earth chi also has five elements of earth, wood, fire, metal and water.

Have you ever walked into a room and absolutely loved it or felt incredibly comfortable?  How about the opposite when you felt very uncomfortable, agitated or even anxious about being in a room?    If you have, then you have experienced Feng Shui.  This is where I always start with a room – the feeling.  Is it warm and inviting, cold and off-putting, kind of okay but needs something?  What is the view from the windows and is the light coming in good?  From this point, you can make decisions about what needs to be done.  If the room is not inviting, look at the colors and furnishings.  Maybe some warmer, softer colors or some softer furniture with pillows.   Even the position of the furniture has an impact on the overall feel.  Your furniture should always “welcome” you into a room meaning that you should be able to walk right up to it and sit down.  Maybe the decorations in the room are not right.  Remember, that too much of a good thing can have a bad effect as well.  If you have an already inviting room, you can make it too much so where it turns into a space where no one wants to leave (when you really want to end the evening) or it is so relaxing that you always fall asleep. 

So start with assessing a room, determine what the “feeling” is in the room.  Identify items in the room that either enhance or detract from the overall feeling.  Also, know what the room is intended for (i.e. socializing, sleeping, relaxing, etc.).  The furnishings should be appropriate for the function.  For example, it can create  negative energy to have a piece of exercise equipment (that keeps you moving) in a bedroom where you are trying to rest. 

Next week, I’ll talk about color and Feng Shui.

I’m going to go and do some sewing!  Take care everyone…

I’ll be back next week…

Just wanted to let everyone know that I’m taking a week off from the blog due to a whole pile of work needing to be done.  I have the Helena May Bazaar next week and, of courese, have not done as much as I had hoped by this time.  I finally realized how much still needs doing and how much time it actually takes…Yikes!!!  I’m spending all spare minutes knotting up items for the bazaar.  Spending so much time on knotting makes me want to do some sewing as well.  I would like to make a few of my Chinese brocade bags to see if there is interest in these; however, this is at the end of the list.

Here is a preview of some of the things I will have on sale…

…and hopefully a lot more!

And just to refresh your memory about the bag…

The Baubles & Knots gathering on Monday was wonderful.  Everyone had great projects that they worked on.  Good company, good food, good conversation…what more could you ask for!

I’ve been hearing from a lot of women as of late saying they are incredibly busy at the moment.  Is it the time of year, alignment of the planets or just life?  Whatever it may be, I hope everyone is finding  joy and fulfillment in their “busy-ness”. 

Have a great week everyone…

Ahhh, to be humbled

Apologies for the delay in this weeks post…I’ve just been way busy teaching.  I’m having an absolute blast with this.  The sewing classes are just amazing.  I have been sewing for decades and never thought about sharing the knowledge I have.  I am finding so many women out there (and one man!) who are  eager for the information and chance to sit behind a sewing machine and see what it is all about.  This terms knotting classes are also going really well.   I’m challenging the women with some pretty complicated knots and we are moving through quite a few in each session and they are all doing fantastic!

Well, I had a humbling sewing episode this past week hence the name of this weeks post.  I  found some cute lavendar/brown/white print cotton and had a length of it in my fabric bin.  Last Sunday, I had a bit of free time on my hands and decided to “whip something up” to wear to my sewing class on Monday.  This fabric matched perfectly with a pattern I have for a very simple skirt with a flare from the knee to hem.  Operative word here is “simple”…so much so that I did not even unfold the instructions.  Just cut the fabric and got right into it.  After the zip was set, I did a fit trial and adjusted a few seams.  I then finished off the waist, turned  the hem and did a final pressing.  To further admire the excellent job I had done, I went in the dressing room to try the skirt on and it nearly slipped down over my hips!  Horror of horrors…what had I done!!!  It fit perfectly before the waist facing and then…ahhh!  Now I got out the instructions and located the waist section and it said “To ensure that the wasit does not stretch, add seam tape…”.  Right…  Because of the way the pattern was laid up on the fabric, the waist area is on a bit of a bias and does have quite a bit of stretch.  So, now it is out with the seam ripper to remove the top stitching, waist facing, and zipper.  I need to overlock the waist seam to secure the raw edge so I can then give the skirt another soak and tumble in the dryer to take the stretch back out of the fabric, another fit and THEN the use of seam tape when I reapply the waist facing. 

I was just a wee bit too sure of myself when doing this skirt.  I hardly even had my mind on what I was doing because it was so simple.  This is exactly the time when you make mistakes…like I did.  So, for all of you new sewers out there, have a wee chuckle over my “blond moment” and learn from my mistake so you do not have to make one of your own.  It is always a good idea to be completely connected to what you are doing regardless of how simple your project is.  It is the attention to detail that gives you a garment that you will be proud of…and does not take twice as long to finish as it should!!!

I have friends visiting HK this week from New Zealand.  They knew that I was teaching but I guess that I neglected to tell them exactly what I was teaching.  When they found out it was Chinese Knotting, they said  they have been reading about how important knotting is to the Chinese culture and the history that it has. They went on to say how amazing they thought it was that I actually learned this art and was able to teach it to others.  Wow, talk about feeling a bit proud.   I am having dinner with them tonight so thought I would knot something up for them to take home as a rememberence of their trip here and Chinese knotting. 

I dipped into my pearl bin again last week.  It seems that it is calling me more frequently as of late.  I knotted up a beautiful string of pearls that David got me at the jewelry show in June.  I simply put flattened gold spacers between the pearls.  It looks beautiful…he will be pleased!

I  have a few gifts to make for some very special women I know.   I had intended to string pearls  for them.  When I got everything out, I stopped because these women are fairly down to earth ladies and I thought they would think a string of solid pearls would be “far too good and fancy” to wear.  Can’t have that because as our Pearl Lady says, “Pearls have to be worn and see the light of day”.   I started playing around with different ideas and came up with this design.  It has a center knot.  You see, to justify spending time with my pearls, if I can work a knot into them somewhere, then it makes it okay!!  I thought this design is much more approachable and wearable…perfect for the women that I will be making these for. 

Just a few things to remember…

Monday, 5 October, Baubles & Knots gathering

Monday, 12 October, Knotting continuation course – Pan Changs

Thursday, 15 October, Helena May Bazaar

Monday, 19 October, Knotting continuation course – Double Coin Variations

Thursday, 22 October, Knotting Project course – Belts

Have a wonderful holiday weekend everyone!

And Spencer makes six…

David and I are always first in line when a cat or kitten is in need and Spencer is just one of those kittens.  Our pet store called a week ago Friday saying that the breeder had handed over another wee creature that was less than perfect and needed to find a home.  We went in to see him and instantly fell in love.  After the cage was opened, he looked up at us and started purring.  As soon as I had him in my arms, he started nuzzling into my neck.   He certainly was starved for attention and was setting out to get it from whomever came close.  Our policy with the pet store is if we fall in love with a new kitten (the negative of this has yet to happen!), it needs to be checked by our vet first to ensure that we would not be bringing an infectious disease into our home.  Spencer was given the OK to come home on Wednesday but to make sure, he needs to be quarantined from the rest of the family for 10 days.  We’re on day 5 and he is getting anxious to be release from his confinement.  There has been a lot of meowing through doors and exchange of paw touching under doors.  Everyone is ready to meet the new addition to the family.

Spencer is partially blind in one eye from, what the vet is assuming , was a trauma either during or shortly after birth.  He is certainly a lucky wee boy for the breeder to have kept him around as long as this.  His personality and temperment is amazing.  All he wants to do is purr, be held, and sleep.  He is a persian mix with possibly some ragdoll in him.  Normal cats sleep about 18 hours a day; with his DNA, it is going to be difficult to wake him up for meals!  He is going to be a very, very large adult cat.  Already at 6 months, he is big for his age and his paws are a sure sign that he will be growing a lot more. 

So, I’ve been a bit pre-occuplied for the past few days!

The Knot Lessons page has been expanded with more outlines and photos.  Classes for this week are already starting to be booked so if you are interested in the Knot and Beaded Dangle Necklace project on Wednesday or to learn the Celtic knots on Friday, send me an e-mail as soon as possible.

The first Sewing Basics class at the YWCA was this past Thursday and it was a huge success…well, to me anyway!  I hope the class participants enjoyed themselves and from the comments I received both at the class and since, I think they did.  All the sewing classes are full.  I spoke with the Program Coordinator at the Y and if someone has their own sewing machine and if they have either taken Sewing Basics from me or have equivalent knowledge, we will be able to open up the Intro to Sewing class and allow more people to attend.  For the Sewing Basics, because of the way I’m teaching the class, it would be incredibly difficult to have more than two models of machines to use in demonstrations so this class, unfortunately, has to stay limited until the Y has the the budget to get more machines.

Mark your calendar…the next Baubles & Knots gathering will be Monday, 5 October.  An e-mail will be sent soon as a reminder and RSVP.

Another event to make note of is the Helena May Charity Bazaar coming up on Thursday, 15 October, 9:30am to 6pm.  Jamila and I will have a table there to promote our classes and sell a few items.  Do stop by and see us…we’ll be in the Blue Room.

I’m glad the rain has come today and knocked a few degrees off the temperature.  Stay dry, stay cool and enjoy your week…

Miss me?

Apologies for my silence last week.  Taking the week off from the blog allowed me to concentrate on a few other things and bring them to completion. 

Chinese Knot Basics should have started today at the Y, unfortunately, we had a typhoon roll through the area last night and the signal 8 was still hoisted at the start time of my class.  Luckily, it is a multi-session class so we’ll just start from next week and hopefully be able to add an additional class on to the end.  I have been putting together my teaching guide, knot samples, gathering up bits and pieces that I’ll need in class, cord and supply kits.  I spent a couple hours yesterday, getting it all layed out and my bags packed and there they sit.  So, I guess I’m all ready for next week!

Sewing Basics at the Y starts this Thursday.  This is a full day session.  Because of the popularity of the sewing classes, I have worked with the Y and we have added two additional classes each for the Sewing Basics and Intro to Sewing.  One of each is in the evening by request from members.  My teachers guide turned out to be quite the weighty document.  I have pulled together a curriculum taking the student from turning on the sewing machine to making sample seams to being able to identify a few basics fabrics.  I have gathered sewn samples, useful magazine articles from the internet and lots of fabric samples to share. 

And at the end of the Sewing Basics class, I hope there is time left so the students can use what they have learned throughout the day and make this very useful shoulder bag.  The project is supposed to be a secret though, so shhhhh, don’t tell!

 

Have a look at the Knot Lessons and Sewing Lessons pages…they’ve been updated!  I have put all of the Y sewing classes here for your ease and if you are interested, contact them directly.  You will also find a lot of private knotting classes that I want to do this Autumn.  I have spent a lot of time thinking about how I can keep those knotters who are just as good as I am satisfied with new and fun projects.  I hope that I have come up with some interesting topics.   For the moment, only a class title is given; outlines and photos will follow soon.

It was our anniversary a couple weeks back (28 years!) and my adorable husband surprised me with a long weekend in Bangkok.  It certainly did not take any arm twisting to get me headed to the airport!  My friends took me to the Jim Thompson fabric close-out store years ago.  I had forgotten where it was and the last time we were there in June, the hotel called Jim Thompson’s and, of course, they said that no such place existed.  Right!  When I was in NZ in July, I emptied out my travel cupboard in the library and did not budge until I found the card with the address for the store.  And lucky me…its still there!

We spent close to 2 hours walking around all the floor to ceiling racks on 3 floors touching nearly every fabric.  There were cottons, silks, blends, prints, garment fabric, upholstery fabric…absolutely everything you could ever want.  David appreciates all things beautiful so he was just as taken by all of the amazing fabrics that were there as I was.  I found two fabrics that I just had to have…this time!

This is a linen silk blend and while I was going through the 1970’s edition of my Simplicity sewing book, I found this silhouette.  This is exactly what I had in mind for this fabric.  I’ll have to go to their website and see if they still have the pattern for it!

This is a silk taffeta.  It is really difficult to get a good picture of a taffeta because of the way the light reflects.  The colors in this photo do not do the fabric justice.  This was one of those “I’ve got to have it because the fabric is amazing and I’ll figure out what to do with it later” purchases.  Actually, David was the one who spotted this one and said that I needed to have it.  Gotta love a guy that tells you to buy fabric for the heck of it.

Well, I need to go now and brave the wind and rain that is still coming down.  The Y took delivery of their sewing machines for the sewing classes on Monday and I, ummm,  must learn how to use them before I try to teach students how to use them!

Have a great week everyone and for those of you in HK, it would be a good week to do indoor activities!

Nothing makes me happier…

Than spending time around fabric!  I started my day today in Shenzhen at the fabric mart on the 5th floor of LoWo Commercial City.   It’s really dangerous to turn me loose in a place like that.  I walk around and touch every fabric that catches my eye.  There are so many beautiful fabrics.  I was looking for my drapy linen and found it…in two colors no less!   And then there were the impulse buys.

Besides being incredible colors, this fabric reminded me of a Monet painting.  It is cotton/silk so has a beautiful hand and drape.

 

 

 

And then there is this primary color stripe.  The vibrancy of the stripes is great and the color hues they matched together are perfect.  I can see a summer dress made out of this or a nice tunic and skirt.

 

 Fortunately common sense prevailed and I got myself out of there before I needed to buy a suitcase to pack home all of my yard goods.  The way I figure, if I leave some fabric for next time, it gives me a reason to go back and find other surprises lurking in those tightly packed stalls!

I was up at the YWCA yesterday and got a picture of the table runner.

The reason I was at the Y yesterday was to talk about the sewing classes.  I knew people were interested in sewing, however, the number of people interested has taken me by surprise.  The first two courses are full and have been for nearly a week!  We have added more day courses and, for those who work, have added evening sessions.  We are in the process of formalizing the new dates.  There are people already on the waiting list for the new classes so if you, or someone you know, is interested, have them call the Y immediately and get their name on the waiting list.  If the next classes follow suit of the first, they will be full nearly as soon as they go on-line.

Last Friday was our first gathering of Baubles and Knots.  Great group of people and we all had a joyous time talking and catching up.  I finished a shell pearl necklace which I thoroughly love.

These are large pill shape pearls in the colors of brown, bronze and dark green.  They go perfectly with so many things that I have. 

 

 

 

Because of a scheduling conflict, the next meeting of Baubles and Knots will be changed from 30 September to 5 October.  The B&K page has been updated and an e-mail will be sent a week prior.  But why not mark your calendar now!

I’m nearly feeling like I am getting on top of my To Do list.  I finished the Sewing Basics curriculum last weekend and it turned out to be quite a weighty document.  I’m in the process of creating the Intro to Sewing curriculum.  Fortunately, I have all of the Knotting Basics information complete so have put knotting on the back burner for the moment. 

But not too far back!  I have come up with a list of private classes that I’d like to offer this autumn.  I have attempted to come up with some new projects and concepts for the experienced knotters as well as basic classes for the beginners.   I am nearly ready to publish the class list; however, I’m going to wait a few more days  to make sure that I don’t over extend myself.  So stay tuned.  As soon as I have classes organized, I’ll send you all an e-mail so you can see what interests.

Time to go and do some more paper shuffling at my desk!  Have a great week everyone!