Bunnies in a tea cup

Hi peeps,

These little Sylvanian Families bunnies were living in this tea cup for weeks, many, many weeks.  They were patiently waiting for some repairs.  Mr Bunny needed one of his red buttons sewn back on.  Mrs Bunny needed her fluffy tail to be re-attached.

When I was taking off Mr Bunny's top to sew the button back on, I realised he was also missing his fluffy tail.  Whoops.  No one can find his tail at the moment, I hope it turns up some time soon. 

Super glue, thank you for fixing yet another toy.

Do your kids toys sit around for ages before you fix them?  Ours do!

We now have two happy bunnies, repaired and two happy little girls who have their toys back.

Have a great My Creative Space day.  Cat.

Has it really been that long? Reflections on living in Hong Kong - the first 12 months

 

Hi peeps, 

It caught me by surprise a few days ago realising that we have been living in Hong Kong for 12 months - a whole year now.  It has gone so fast.  Some days I still can't believe we were crazy enough to move countries.  Did we really do that?  Yes, we really do live in Hong Kong. Most days I am grateful the Universe gave us this amazing opportunity to live some where different and experience a new culture.  I love Hong Kong.  It is an amazing city.  Yes, it is hot.  Stinking hot and humid at the moment.  But that is just part of this adventure.  

Of course I miss my friends and family.  I ache some days missing my mum and some dear people back in Australia,  I try not to think about it too much.  I cried the day my Grandma did not want to talk on the phone, she just can't hear anyone properly on the phone, even when she wears her hearing aids, it was not personal.  I just wanted to hear her voice and have a chat.  Thank goodness for skype I say!  

I miss op shopping.  I did miss yummy bread until I started to make our own, most of the bread here has sugar in it and tastes wrong (to us).  I missed Jaffas, so my mum sent me two packets. I gorged myself on them, got a terrible head ache, and no longer miss them.  I don't think I will miss them for a long, long time.

I stressed for 10 whole months, worrying that Abbey did not have a place at a school, terrified that I might have to home school her.  Then in a short period of time, she had offers from not one, but two schools. We then had to choose.  I could write a whole long winded post about the International school system here, about needing to apply years before a place is even needed and the long waiting lists and the fees just to get on a waiting list.  But I need to let that all go.  Abbey now has a place at a lovely school (thank goodness!)  

We have experienced typhoons, tropical storms, amber rain, red rain and black rain.   Hong Kong does get cold.  I can attest to that.  But winter here is brief, and the summer feels very long, hot and humid. The summer is easier to cope with when we have access to an amazing pool complex, which contains 4 pools and 2 spas.  There is photo of it here. 

I am enjoying the lifestyle we live here.  We do not need a car, I can walk or catch a bus or a train to get around Hong Kong.  If all else fails, a taxi ride is not that expensive.  The trains are ever so clean and efficient (and air conditioned!), the buses stick to their timetable,  if anything, you could miss your bus as it was early to your stop.  Seriously.  

There is still so much to see and do here, but that will have to wait until after our summer holiday.  Soon we will be off to Paris and then on to explore Denmark.  I am reminded that this was one of the reasons to move to Hong Kong - we can see more of the world from here.

I hope you are having a great day.  Cat.

The green and purple

Hi peeps,

Don't you just love it when your day goes to plan and you can finish off things that need to be done.  Thank you to the toddler for playing so happily by herself today.  Often, when I have sewing I "have to do", I procrastinate and start a new project (do you do that too?  Please tell me I am not the only one)

Not today.  I was determined to finish these zippered pouches.  Two of them are gifts, one is spare (for me? probably!) and one a friend commissioned me to make (such a compliment, she wanted one of my large zippered pouches!)

I have not been happy with the straps on some of my other zippered pouches, the ones I use almost everyday.  I have one I use as a snack bag for the girls when we are out and about, it is used most days, and often hung from the handles of the stroller. The straps don't hold their shape, and get all bunched up.  They need to be reinforced.  So this time, I added a very thin iron on interfacing, and top-stitched over the whole strap, 4 rows of stitching.  I love the look of the top-stitching.  They are very firm now.  Only time will tell if this is sufficient reinforcement, I'll test drive the spare one, and probably keep it for me - you can never have too many zippered pouches, right?

I got all fancy with the straps on the purple zippered pouches, and patchworked some of the fabric scraps with the strap fabric.  It was really fiddly to do, but I know I will use this method again as it adds such a special touch.

Both of the purple zippered pouched are to be gifts.  One of the recipients is my Nana and she has sewed all her life, so I felt the pressure to make hers just perfect.

It will be so hard to part with these purple pouches.  I love how they have turned out.  But that just gives me another excuse to make even more zippered pouches, right?  Yes, definitely!

Yay to it being Friday!  Have a great weekend you lovely people.

Cat.

My (green and purple) Creative Space

Hi peeps,

This week is all about green and purple. These lovely green and purple fabrics are to be turned into (more) zippered pouches. Yes, I am still addicted to making zippered pouches.  The purple ones will have fancy straps on them too, if they work out as planned (in my head)  We will see.

I can't sew up just one zippered pouch anymore, it seems like such a waste of my time.  I always make them in batches now.  The negative side of this is, I often have many unfinished ones lying about, in various stages of completion.

These ones need to be finished soon, as they are to be gifts.  What are you making today?

Happy Creative Space day to you.

Cat.

Edit: See these completed here.

Lisette Passport Dress

Hi peeps,

Wow, some more sewing for me.  Yes, I finally made the Lisette Passport Dress for myself, I have had the pattern since early March.  I love this one so much more than the Lisette Continental Dress that I made last month.  To be honest, I have hardly worn my Continental Dress.

The sizing, for me, was again all over the place.  I adjusted as I went along, taking some length off the bodice and tapering the armholes, as they were gaping.  Next time, and I am sure there will be a next time, I will remove 1cm from the bodice horizontally, as the bodice is still a little too big on me.  I noted all my changes on my pattern pieces so next time it will be much quicker and easier to make.

 

I used a light weight, denim-like fabric that I found at the fabric street market in Sham Shui Po.  It is a great fabric to dress up, I knew I wanted to add a pocket and use a different fabric for the armhole.  It is nice and light, perfect for the warmer weather in Hong Kong now it is summer.  I can add a skivvy and tights and wear it in winter too.

Here's all of me, feeling like a dork posing for photos.

I'll definitely be making this dress again.  First, I have these two other patterns I want to try.  When I decide which dress I like the most, I'll be making some out of these fabrics that I love.

Happy Creative Space Day to you.  What are you making/baking/crafting today?

Cat.

* Flower brooch made by Cam from CurlyPops.
** Necklace made by Lauren Williams.

My (temperamental) Creative Space

Hi peeps,

Are you temperamental when it comes to your creating?  I am.  I have to be in the right mood.  I usually am in that right mood. But some days, well, I am not in the right mood.  Then there is the not finishing some (too many?) sewing projects.  The UFO's (un-finished objects) We all have some, right?

When we moved to this lovely new apartment in February, I found a great many UFO's.  I found so many more than I thought I had.  There are many that I started when we still lived in Australia.......we have been in Hong Kong now for 11 months....so, these UFO's have been hanging around for way, way too long.

 

This week, I am tackling some of these UFO's.  Very pretty UFO's.  I can't tell you what they are, as they are presents for friends and family.  I am embarrassed to say, one of these UFO's is almost 2 years old.  It really is about time I finished them.

When I get my sewjo back (as Cam calls it), I will be finishing these pretties off.  I have to finish them now I have told the interwebs, right?

Have a great Creative Space day.

Cat.

*The toddler foot is not part of these creations.  She was "helping"*

Pac-Man and Xiao Long Bao

Hi peeps,

We recently went out to dinner to a restaurant we have never been to before in Hong Kong, called DinTaiFung. They have restaurants all over the world, including one in Sydney.  They are apparently world famous for their steamed dumplings. The menu had a huge selection of different dumplings to choose from (many more that are listed on their website), we ordered two different types, the usual pork dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) and spinach dumplings.  Both types were delicious.  We had to order a second serving of the pork dumplings as Abbey ate 6 or 7 of them all by herself!  The noodles with the peanut soup were also scrummy, we ordered a second serving of that too!

The toilets in the building had these fabulous Pac-Man tiled murals. Do you like Pac-Man?  I do.  It was part of my childhood.  I was like an excited child, taking photos out the front of the toilets. I did get a few strange looks, I can tell you.  Pac-Man in a wheelchair too.  The door handles in the toilets were ghost shaped, pity I was not able to get a photo of them.

We will definitely be eating at DinTaiFung again, not just for the delicious food, but to see these fabulous Pac-Man murals again.

While I am still talking about Pac-Man, how cool are these cookie cutters I bought?

A few months ago I was eating my lunch, and saw this Pac-Man in my partially eaten avocado rice cracker.

Yes, I love Pac-Man.  Almost as much as I love Space Invaders.

Cheers.  Cat.