More Creations from the Felt Team

Not to be outdone, the Felt Team had been hard at work too.  Here are two more of their wonderful creations:-

I don't know whether you have the same experience but my sister shared that her son and daughter have opposite tastes when it comes to food.  The boy loves Western food but the girl would have nothing but Chinese food.  For cakes, the boy loves chocolate while the girl loves strawberries.  It's always a nightmare to try to cater to both their tastes and we always end up with blackforest cakes, which come closest to satisfying both.

Fed up, my sister decided to create a cake which has both chocolate and strawberries.  

  

 

No, this can't be eaten although it looks mouthwatering.  I pity my sister who, like me, has a weakness for cakes.  Making this cake must have driven her to steal a bite or two to satisfy her hunger pangs.  If she's not careful, she will be looking like the Little Dumpling Women.  So, do us a favour ok?  Take this cake away from her.

My sister is a collector.  When she obsesses about something, she goes to great lengths to collect every item related to it.  I remember when we were sharing a bedroom, her shelves would be full of collections of various display items.  At this late hour and age, I can't remember what they are but I know that my mom refused to dust her shelves.  Anyway, my sister's latest craze now is OWLS.  

 

She is so crazy about them, even to the extent of ordering owl fabric from ebay (and she doesn't even sew!).  Hence, she has made these owl egg cosies.  Huh?  you ask.  What's that?  Tsk, tsk, did you not watch Martha Stewart?  All these ang-mos like to cover their hard-boiled eggs to keep them warm and toasty.  I think it's a great idea and maybe Killiney Kopitiam should order them in bulk.  I so hate to eat cold hard-boiled eggs. My mom said that it will give you stomach wind, and we know what that means right?  We don't want to go there.

 

But seeing this pair, I had an inspiration.  Don't you think that the colours remind you of Halloween?  Isn't Halloween around the corner?  So, what say you, that you draw a skeleton of an owl on the hard-boiled eggs and cover them up with these egg cosies?  Imagine the horror of the person who will be served these eggs?  * Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, evil laughter *     

Look!  The owls are screaming in terror!!! My sister is so not going to appreciate this post.

 

Another Pouch (One of its Kind)

Pouches are really hard to make because of the zipper.  But that did not stop the ever-hardworking Tinkerbell from creating yet another unique, one-of-a-kind pouch.  Believe me when I said it's one-of-a-kind because Tinkerbell swore that after slaving over it (the whole zipper was painstakingly hand-sewn), she won't make another.  Zilch.

Did you see the girl on the pouch?  Every single piece of her was hand-sewn.  And the embroidery?  You guessed right, who else but Bobo-Charchar could render art out of threads?

Nope, I'm not allowed to say it.  But you all know what I'm thinking right?  I 
w_ _t it for myself. 

Lady Leticia & A Male Friend

I know I said that I will blog only on Sunday, as from Mondays to Saturdays, I assume the mild-mannered alter-ego of a corporate executive, devoid of all creative flair.  But as D-DAY draws near, I figured I should make an exception and squeeze in a post or two.


In my earlier post, I promised more knitted dolls.  So here she is, fresh from knitters' oven, Lady Leticia.  

LL was knitted by Tinkerbell's mother.  She's not quite complete yet - I'm supposed to sew some leaves on her hat but she just had to make her debut tonight.  LL is based on the Little Dumpling Women series, and she is supposed to be portly and middle-aged. But that was depressing and hit too close to home.  So I gave her my now-famous slimming treatment and made her a little more sexy (I know, she's still all covered up but who says you have to show skin to ooze s_x?).  She is more french chic than hollywood sexy.

Here she is again.

No, that's not the male friend referred to in the title of this blog.  Duh.  Of course, you remember Miss Valentine?  She's here to say good-by 'cos she found her home with the loveliest lady in town.  She'll be living the good life of being cherished and shown off.

The male friend is actually a boy (do I hear a sigh of relief from Henry? The Fireman.  Remember him?).  

Look up in the sky!  It's a bird!  No, it's a plane!  No, it's SUPERKID!  And his human friend.  Superkid was knitted by my colleague and proved to be such a hit with her own kids that it was impossible to wrest him away for a proper photography session.  So, apologies for the poor quality of photos, for the cereal speckling the doll and the disembodied hand appearing in the photos.  Well, at least it shows that the doll could withstand the rigours of constant handling and rough play.  Superkid is indeed tough.

 
 
I usually like to include a quiz in my posts.  So here's the quiz for today:  what are the differences between the costume of Superkid and Superman?  To make things more challenging, I have masked the picture of Superman. And no checking the 1st picture until you are done.

THE BIG REVEAL

I have a dispute with my business-partners/partners-in-crime.

The more I see and blog about the products they are making, the more I want to buy them, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.  How can anyone resist?  Each item is so pretty, practical and priceless.  And, as an insider, I know the quality of their handiwork and therefore, I know as a fact that the price I'll be paying for the items (and sorry hor, no staff discount) is a mere fraction of what I'm getting in return.  


But, but THEY wouldn't let me.  They have this policy that these items are for the stall and we must keep our hands off (how could I when they are safe-kept with me?  By the way, they have since been moved to a safer location after I exhibited covetedness).  See? see?  what an injustice to me. I hope you all appreciate the GREAT sacrifice on my part.  Hey, maybe I can buy through you. You wouldn't tell, would you?


Ah, never mind such pettiness on my part.  Now to something more exciting.  

WE'RE OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED!!!

Ok, so you noticed that the hand stitches are really inconsistent (guess which untidy one is mine?). And yes, the roof on the house logo is crooked in some and the window misaligned in others.  But, don't you see?  That's the whole intention - there's beauty in the unconventional, in the imperfect.  This is what being handmade is all about.  Now, I just need to figure out how to get this logo onto the banner of this blog. Any techie out there to help me?

With this official launch, we are ready to make our debut next weekend.  Details are as follows:-

Date:     3 & 4 October, Saturday & Sunday

Time:     11am - 7 pm

Venue:   

Red Dot Museum, 28 Maxwell Road (next to Tanjong Pagar MRT station and opposite the URA Centre.  It's the former Traffic Police Station)

We hope to see you all there.  Your support is crucial to the continual survival of this business and blog.  And since we are making our debut, I guess we can't hide behind the veil of anonymity afforded by this blog anymore.  It's time to make our introductions.

This is Tinkerbell (hitherto referred to as "E").  She's the mastermind and the driving force behind this whole venture.  She gave you the eco-bag, the pouch, the lunch bag, the long wallet, the hair accessories and Henry the Fireman. This girl is prolific.

This is Bobo-Charchar (hitherto referred to as "C").  She's the workhorse of this team, her exciting and packed social calendar notwithstanding.  You will appreciate her attention to details and delicate handiwork in the reversible tote bags she designed and embellished.

 

And shamefacedly, this is Klicketty Klack (hitherto referred to as "J").  I only did the drawstring bags and untidily sewed on some labels.  As I have little else to show for my efforts, I sacrificed myself and showed some skin (aka shoulders and thighs) in my big reveal photo.  Just because I am basking in the sun, please do not mistake me for a SPG.  On the contrary, I love rainy days.

  

Ok, so we are not the sweet young things who have made it big on the blogosphere after posting photos of themselves posing in their own wares (see today's Sunday Times).  But we can sew, we can cook and we can keep house, and best of all, there's no maid levy payable on us.  So, who's interested?  Like our items, we are limited editions - only one of us is single and available.

 OK!  REMEMBER TO KEEP OUR DATE NEXT WEEKEND!

 

 

More Knitted Dolls

I'm not the only one busy with the knitting needles.  Others have jumped on the bandwagon and they have fared better.  They will attest that it's really easy to learn knitting and before you know it, you're hooked (pun intended).

I would like to share with you some of their wonderful creations.  Here's introducing to you Valerie the Ballerina.

Valerie was created by Fifyjo, a perfectionist (if I may so).  Therefore, this ballerina has the perfect body shape of 36-24-36.  She looks rather lonely here, so we're trying to set her up with Henry.  For more of the making of Valerie and the travails and tribulations of Fifyjo in the sewing world, please visit her exciting blog at www.mystitchingdiary.wordpress.com.

Here, another colleague, given to meticulous details, created this birthday chef.  He is as yet un-named because he is meant to be a birthday gift for her 7-year-old son, who will have the pleasure of naming him.

Don't you think he's handsome?  He's just a boy, not yet a man (sounds familiar?  there's a female version.  Quick, name the song and singer) but Henry should start feeling worried.

 

If you come back to this blog in a few days' time, I will have more knitted dolls to show you.  Just join as a follower of this blog (see right) and you will be automatically updated.

 

Miss Valentine

What blog blast would be complete without a mention of the latest knitted dolls?  Here's a new doll which I just completed for a girl who is as sweet and as adorable (if not even more so).

 

For the one male reader of this blog, it's your turn to drool now.  Drip, drip.  Miss Valentine is supposed to be holding a present but after 10 hours of knitting all the lace trimmings (comprising only 4 stitches in variations) my fingers are so cramped that I can't quite hold another needle.  But I like her this way.  With her outstretched arms, you can easily give her a hug or you can "so-la-so, yi ci zou".

Miss Valentine is so full of love and compassion, she has taken in this poor abandoned baby.  You see, this baby was born deformed.  See whether you can spot what that is.

 

Poor thing, I think the mother was too tensed while carrying it.

Ahem, Henry the Fireman wants in on the picture.  He would have you know that he is the resident stud, and you have better not forget him.  Hmm, I think his head is growing too big for his helmut.  I should start knitting my pirate to give him a run for his money.  Wouldn't you girls like that?

Our 1st HSH Collection

We know that some people just like to bags in a collection, which is why luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior make tons of money from designing their bags as collections - from traveling luggage, to overnighters, to handbags, to clutches, to wallets, to coin pouches, to even baggage charms.  

While we may not have that much resources to do the same, we try in our humble way to satisfy those with this weakness by making our bags as collections.  So we would like to show you the Purple Bear collection.  You've already seen the reversible tote and the lunch bag.

Now, let us introduce to you the pouch.  I've already shown you our pouch in an earlier post.  This one comes in a brighter, and more importantly, matching fabric.

Here they are coming together.  Ah, don't you think they look perfect - so complete, so perfectly harmonised and so collectible.

Of course, there's the practical aspect in that by making a collection, we are maximising each fabric we buy, therey reducing wastage (in fact, if there is still fabric left, we might even throw in an iPod or handphone sleeve).  Now, wouldn't you like to do your part for the environment? 


Now, pricing this will be tricky.  Each item in the collection is highly-prized in themselves but selling them together confers exclusivity, privilege, rarity.  Surely we should charge some premium for that, yah?

The Lunch Bag

We can't help it, we've just got to launch another bag series.  We know that you all like the reversible concept of the tote bags and the practicality of the drawstring lunch bag.  So, we decided to combine the two and introduce to you..

 THE LUNCH BAG

Yummy, yah?  These bags are simplicity personified, therefore making them really versatile.  You can carry them like this aunty here (please ignore the forlorn dog in the background)...or kawaii, like a Japanese lady.

We've also road-tested this lunch bag and were ourselves surprised at how much this compact bag can contain!

All these went into the bag, with room to spare.  Please don't look down on my technologically-unsexy gadgets.  Having re-directed my monetary resources into this fledgling business, I have no budget to upgrade my devices (cue harp music... with tears welling my eyes, I plead... you know what to do, hor, don't let this venture fail...).

Update on Eco-bag (More fabric introduced)

Remember the very practical bag we introduced last week?  We've made more of those, in various fabrics. 


  

Don't you love variety?  We do!  And we try to cater to every taste, whim and fancy.  After all, we live in a multi-nationality society.

We've also taken the opportunity to road-test the bags and found them most useful in lugging around groceries.  I know, I'm an organic snob, so sue me.

And you know what else we realised?  These bags come in real handy now that our National Library has increased our borrowing quotas.  

Do note that we are using more gender-neutral fabrics so that guys will not be shy in carrying one around.  What other fabrics would you like to see these bags in?

Update on Reversible Tote Bag (New Series Launched)

This proved to be the most popular item (besides the knitted dolls.  Ok, you girls, stop drooling over Henry the Fireman - I know he's hunky and all, but all that moisture is making him shrink).

I think I mentioned that we have very limited editions (as in one only) of this tote bag.  For the Mushroom series which was featured in our earlier blogs, we only have them in green, brown and pink.  Well, they're sold out! (although I'm trying to wrangle the pink one back for the stall).

 

So, we've decided to launch another series of reversible totes - under the Bear series.  See the cute print?

This is for those who have asked for brighter and more colourful fabric.  We listen, you know, and this gave us another reason and excuse to shop for more fabric.  New converts to sewing will have you know that this is the most fun and addictive part.

 










And see the new embellishments, painstakingly sewn on by C, our embroidery expert.  It took her another 3 hours to put together a bear and there's one on each side of the bag (as in inside and outside).  How cool is that?  

 

Here are the full views of the bags.

 

A third bag is in the making but as usual, there are very limited editions (again, one each).  So, if you like the bag, you had better come down to the stall early Saturday morning to grab them.

Thanks for all your purchases!

Thank you! Thank you!  Thank you!  Your compliments, purchases and support really encouraged us.  You know, when we first had the idea of selling our handmade items, we didn't know whether anyone will be interested.  It is one thing for people to praise how pretty or how well-made our handicrafts are, but it is another if they have to fork out actual money for them.  So, when we had our 1st sale and 1st pre-orders, we were very excited.  And when our items got sold as soon as they are posted on this blog, we couldn't believe ourselves.  We started to get worried that we may not actually have any items left to sell at the stall come next Saturday.  So we "jia gong" and made more items (see later posts) and this is the effect on my housework (or the lack thereof)...

... and this is the sorry state of my "factory" after a girls' day in at the machines...

I know, I know, I don't even know where to begin in cleaning up.  But it's a happy problem, yup, a very happy problem.  BECAUSE to see the delight you expressed at seeing our crafts, it's all worth it.  Very worth it.  Ok, I'm grovelling but that's because our stall will be debuting at next weekend's MAAD (more details later) and we're desperate for all the support we can get.  Do you know that if we don't have many visitors or not much interest is shown in what we sell, we'll be relegated to some small obscure corner in a hot & humid courtyard, huddling together with flies & stray cats and mingling with the rubbish heaps.  NO!!!! We want to be promoted to the air-conditioned, brightly-lit hall inside,  We want a table bigger than the 0.9mX0.9m chess-board we're forced to start with.  We want the nice backdrop, the banners and the hype. We want, we want, we want!    

So, you know what to do, hor?

 

Henry The Fireman

I know I said we will post more next week but I'm just too excited and can't wait (so what's new).  Let me introduce to you Henry the Fireman...

Don't you think that his curly black hair looks like a certain Ju Jun Biao of Boys Over Flowers fame?  Well, like the hero, he is not as brave as he looks.  I espied him skulking around the house, trying to avoid the unwanted attention of my dog...

Hiding near the window...

This is too exposed.

Found a pillar.

Better look around.

Coast seems to be clear.

Wait!  What's that sound?

Ahhhhh........... got caught!  Slurp!  Slurp!