Friday, December 19, 2014

Patterns To Print

Guys,

http://patternstoprint.com/designers/projects-by-jane

I have some news. I have a new reseller, patternstoprint.com which will stock all my bag patterns. Patterns To Print is a UK based site owned by Samantha of Mrs H fame.

http://patternstoprint.com/designers/projects-by-jane

Can you see my bag patterns in the shop?

Right now Patterns To Print stocks bag patterns, clothes patterns and quilt patterns. Everything is digital so you get your pattern right away.

Up until 31st December 2014, there's a 20% discount. The code is: HELLO15 . It's a single use per customer code but can be used on multiple products. Happy shopping!

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Anyone watched The Missing?

Anyone watched The Missing? It's a 8 part British drama TV series and it's about an English couple who lost their 5-year old son, Olly while holidaying in Chalons De Bois, France.

via
When my kids were little, I lost both of them once for a few minutes. It was very scary and during those initial moments, you go mad. Thankfully, a stranger lent them her handphone and I managed to locate them. On another occasion, I lost my girl for around 10 minutes as we were walking to the supermarket. I ran around screaming for people to help me and they just stared at me. But my screaming paid off because a little boy told his grandma he had seen a girl fitting my description nearby. I think I never got over losing my kids for those few minutes. What do you call that - post-traumatic syndrome? Almost as if to punish myself further, I seek out movies, TV show, books, stories about missing kids and the aftermath.

So you can see how The Missing is right up my alley. This TV series is told in the present timeframe and 2006 when the boy went missing. Let me just say this first. It's not like the horrible series, Lost with the use of flashbacks. This one's just simple storytelling in 2 timeframe. (I think there's one more timeframe but that one's not so significant) In case you haven't watched this show, I won't give anything away. Just that it has some brilliant red herring. You've got to pay attention. It's also not a whodunit. So don't try to guess who took Olly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Nesbitt
James Nesbitt plays the father who never gave up looking for his boy. He's a pretty good actor. He brought tears to my eyes several times. And so much hurt and grief in that face!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tch%C3%A9ky_Karyo
Tchéky Karyo plays the lead detective in charge of the case. He gives off this comforting vibe. Plus the accent! I think if I need a detective, he'll be my number one choice.

So I officially have two new TV crushes.

Unfortunately, the ending of The Missing sucks. I mean, wtf, wtf, WTF!!! Why is the father in Russia? Who's the Russian boy? Wait. Come back, TV writers. Don't leave us hanging. The ending is missing!
 
Yep, you have to decide for yourself what you want to believe. Cop out. Still, it's worth watching.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Catch Up With Me?

Yo guys,

How's everyone doing? We've been enjoying the long school vacation since November. Sadly on 2nd Jan, the kids go back to school and I have to wake up at 6am again. But I have 2 more weeks of sleeping in. Yay!

Sorry I haven't been posting. My muscle pain got a little too much for me. For a while, it took all my energy just to go through the day without collapsing. And thinking about the situation got me feeling down. And it's a downward spiral after that. But you know I'm a fighter. I always get myself up again. I've been exercising faithfully. Right now, I feel much better compared to November. I believe this is as good as I can ever feel. I had already been thinking of blogging regularly again. But you know how it is. You get into the habit of not blogging...

For a start, I'll tell you of a few places I've been to since our last "meeting". What? You think I stay home all day?

Doll Carnival
In mid November, I went to this very niche, barely publicized event. It's very hardcore and for serious doll collectors. I don't consider myself a serious doll collector but it's rare for such an event to take place bringing in foreign vendors so I had to go. I wanted to go with hubs as I felt shy to go alone but on that day my girl was ill so I bravely went alone.

These dolls are huge and the clothes are so exquisite. Btw, it's the clothes that are for sale. 

I wished I had brought my Nikon DSLR along as there were many creative booth displays. This one of a classroom of little dolls is my favourite.

 Always room for steampunk.

These little mixed species dolls may scare some people. Yes, it's a thing. Dolls with animal heads.

Like humans, dolls need shoes and if you bring your doll, you can try them on.

I bought one doll and I shall show her to you one day.

Public Garden
I brought hubs to a Public Garden market once and since then he's been hooked.

In this pic, we're just walking into the market which is usually held on the 16th floor of Triple One Somerset. FYI, my girl is carrying a bag I bought more than 20 years ago. It's a Guess bag and I'm amazed it never fell apart.

 
Hubs became insanely besotted with these glasses holders at the Public Garden market and had to have it.

He wanted this shirt too which is too small for him. I had to be the sane one and stopped him.

There are 2 more Public Garden markets this weekend. I think they will be held at the National Museum. I'm pretty sure we will go and have a look-see.

Biology Discovery

Hubs saw these black bread french loaf for sale at Giant supermarket and immediately bought it for his dinner. Later he told us that his poop came out black. At first, the sight of black poop gave him a shock but he quickly remembered the colour of his dinner.

Movies

We saw Big Hero 6. It's okaaaaay. I don't know why I have a craving for marshmallows after the movie.

We also saw Exodus. Question: Do you prefer Christian Bale dirty or clean looking?

I almost forgot we saw Penguins of Madagascar just so my girl could giggle over Benedict Cumberbatch's pronunciation of peng-win.

Tomorrow, my crazy hubs and daughter are watching The Hobbit marathon.

See ya.
p.s. i owe you guys one more giveaway.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

The Urgent Run and UN World Toilet Day 2014

The rain gods spared us. Last night there was a heavy downpour. I thought there's a chance this morning's Urgent Run might be cancelled. My girl checked the weather forecast and it predicted a 3am rain. I hoped it would stop raining by 8am. And it did!

The grounds were wet and the field was muddy and filled with puddles. Still, better than rain which affected runners from another run which took place much earlier.

In case you are unaware, this morning's run, The Urgent Run is World Toilet Organization’s global mobilization event for UN World Toilet Day 2014 which falls on November 19. Yes, it's a real thing. Possibly, many other Urgent Runs will be held around the world soon.

Sadly, The Urgent Run did not enjoy good publicity. We didn't read about it anywhere and only found out about the run last week via a email from 8packs! I didn't expect many people to show up. I estimate over 300 participants in total. So sad.

The space booked for the event was huge.

So many toilets.

There was a giant air-filled toilet close to the Start line.

Many people were attracted to it. It was the star.

We even had to pose in front of it with a bunch of strangers. (photo filched from Lim Swee Say's fb)

Even the guest-of-honour, Minister Lim Swee Say couldn't resist coaxing a good photo out of the air toilet.



Speaking of Lim Swee Say, how fab does he look! He is 60 years old. Check out those legs and those arms. What does he eat? Or rather, what doesn't he eat? And how much exercise do you need to look like this at 60?

Hubs did his usual secret selfie thingy.

There was a group warm-up on the field before the run. The MC kept calling everybody to walk all the way across the mud to the stage at the other end of the field. But I was determined not to get my shoes wet so I did the warm-up on the raised platform near the start line. (meant for the flag-off as I discovered later on, oops). But look how clean my shoes are.

To compensate for my stubbornness, I did as much warm-up as I could. I usually have my photos taken without my glasses but it's hard to take the glasses off and on... so please excuse the unglam pics.

Finally the flag-off. But not before taking a few pics!

Everyone took off like a rocket. I immediately found myself at the back of the pack trying to catch up. My greatest fear was to finish last.

I struggled the first 2km. After that I felt less like dying. Towards the end I ran like the wind. Okay, it's just the wind blowing in my hair. Then I realised the grass was wet and muddy. My clean shoes!

Because I took my time to tip toe my way to the finish line to avoid getting my shoes wet, so many people sprinted past me. But I needn't have bothered. My clean shoes got wet and muddy despite my careful maneuvering.

I got my finisher medal. Can you tell what it is?

I used my stopwatch to time myself but forgot to press the stop button. I estimate I ran just under 30 minutes. This is not a good timing as hubs said it was less than 5km. (see how red my face is and why does hubs like to take photos at the moment when you are ready to collapse?)

I needed 4 cups of Milo to quench my thirst.

Last cup, promise.

Btw, the song Urgent by Foreigner was not played at the event. I was kinda hoping it would be.

There was a lucky draw after the race and fittingly, the top prize, a iPhone 6+ was won by a girl who was in the toilet when her bib number was drawn. Luckily, her friend ran to the stage with the winning bib to help her claim the prize.

Friday, November 7, 2014

New shorts for Melly, Mell-chan doll

Folks,

I complain a lot about Singapore weather. Lately it's been worse. Rain, haze, humidity. My home is mostly not air-conditioned. That means I feel hot all day. Well, we do have air-conditioning in the bedrooms but I spend most of the day in the study room which is also part of the living room. When I was growing up, my home did not have any air-conditioning. My brothers kept cool by going shirtless. They wore a pair of home shorts. I kinda wish I could do that as well. But I'm a woman. And I live with other people. And there are neighbours and laws.

I wanted to make Melly, my Mell-chan doll something to wear and since it's so hot, I thought why not let her lounge around in a pair of home shorts. She is young enough to go shirtless.

After much cursing and swearing, I managed to sew Melly a decent looking pair of shorts using my scraps. I haven't made doll clothing for so long I forgot how difficult it is to sew something so small. I don't know if you are aware, making clothes for dolls was my first love. I did that when my kids were little. I pretended that it was for them. But it was really for me. On the positive side, sewing doll clothing doesn't require much fabric.

Doll clothing is no different from human clothing. They need to fit.

Thank goodness the back of the shorts doesn't go too low to reveal the butt crack. (Melly went commando on account of the heat)

 Melly loves her new shorts. It's comfy too. Wait.

What's that hanging by the side of your shorts, Melly?

What thing?

You mean this? It's my cat.

Melly! Since when did you get a cat?

Oh, never mind. Why am I talking to a doll?

How insane is that? I made pockets for Melly's home shorts. It's one inch wide. I forced Melly to empty her pockets. Thank goodness I found only some hair ribbon.

Just to give you an idea of the scale I am working with, I have posed Melly next to a 600ml bottle of water.

Melly wants to stop posing for photos and play with her friends.

Oh look, Cat gets a friend to play with too.

I didn't try very hard to hide the raw seams. Serging these little pieces of fabric would drive me nuts so I passed. For the elastic, I used an elastic used for tying hair. It is much less bulky than the ones used for human clothing. I'm very happy with this pair of shorts. Next time I will give more allowance at the top so I could hide the raw edges.

Partaying with Sew Many Ways

Thursday, November 6, 2014

The urgent run 2014

Hubs dragged me into another 5km fun run. It's happening this Sunday morning at the East Coast Park.

The last time I ran at the East Coast Park, I was still a student and I was a member of the school's Jogging Club (it's a real club). The Jogging Club was made up by my form teacher who was ordered by the principal to helm a sports club of some sort. She decided the school needed a Jogging Club. (because it required so little effort?) Unfortunately, no one joined the club. I mean zero. So she used her power as our form teacher to force us to join her Jogging Club. Get extra homework or join her club. Her Jogging Club was our entire class. Every Saturday morning, we had to run at the park. Well, most of the students walked. I mostly ran just so I could go home. FYI, my form teacher never ran. She carried an umbrella, wore sunglasses and heavy make-up. At the end of the school year, there was a competitive 5km run at East Coast Park. Actually, my school called it The Marathon. But I'm too embarrassed to say it out loud. My teacher chose a bunch of us to take part and my bff and I were the unfortunate chosen ones. My bff had not much stamina but we were determined to finish the run. I practically dragged her by the hand. Close to the finishing line, I told her to struggle on her own. I was too tired and just wanted it all to end. I heard my classmates cheering me on and some of them kept yelling something to me. I tried to hear what they were saying but it was too noisy. Suddenly a girl came running past me. Immediately I tried to outrun her but it was too late. I crossed the finishing line just one second after her. Then my classmates came to tell me I had missed finishing 10th. Prizes were given to the first 10 runners. So I was very sore about it.

The name of the run? The urgent run. It's organized by Singapore's World Toilet Organization. Ah.......

I wonder if the organizer will be playing this song at the run? Urgent by Foreigner.
Urgent... so urgent...<urgent> <urgent> <urgent>

And the purpose of this run?

"The Urgent Run is World Toilet Organization’s global advocacy campaign for UN World Toilet Day 2014. It is a global mobilization event that involves citizens around the world joining or organising a run to draw attention to the urgent calls for action to end the sanitation crisis"
copied from urgentrun.com

Hubs' reason for joining this run?

Yep. To get this t-shirt. Don't be concerned. This is perfectly normal behaviour for hubs. Go here if you'd like to hear his side of the story.

These were in the race pack.
2 bottles of Newater - it is treated sewage water. (see the clever connection to toilet - pee and shit?)
1 Toilet Seat Sanitizer - so obvious
Tissue - for wiping you know what
Thumbdrive - someone on the committee was not on the same wavelength

At first I was concerned that the organizers were giving out only Newater after the run. But hubs said free Milo would be provided. Such a relief because the only way I will drink Newater is to be tricked into it.

Based on my Hello Kitty run's experience, I shall pack the following for the race:
- fanny pack
- ziplock for phone
- ziplock for cash
- foldable raincoat
- fashionable hanky to tie around my wrist

It's been raining every single day. I hope the run won't be cancelled due to rain. Because it will rain. The weather forecast for Sunday is "morning thundery showers". The run starts at 8am. The East Coast Park is really far from my home. I would be so angry to go all the way for nothing.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

September/October 2014 Giveaway Winner

Yo. My bad. I was supposed to draw and announce the winner yesterday but I took a long nap and then at night I went to sleep early. Anyhoo, this morning after my Pilates class, I remembered to do the draw and here are the results.

The first number drawn is 39.


The lucky commenter is Joanne and she loves the elephants brooch and the fabric so that's what she'll get.

The second number drawn is 16.

Lucky number 16 is Suzee who thinks she may be picked second!!! She gets the frixion pens which is what she wants! 

Congrats to both of you. Please come and claim your prizes!!! Btw, thanks to everyone for taking part in my giveaway. A few of you wrote jokes. I like this joke the best and it was submitted by Jeneta:

What do you call a deer with no eyes?

Answer: No idea.

Sorry Jeneta. No prize for the best joke. But for the next giveaway, I'm going to have 2 winners as usual but I will draw one winner via random.org and for the other winner, I will personally pick one that submits the best joke.

See ya.
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My Bag Pattern Shop

https://www.etsy.com/shop/projectsbyjane

My Applique Patterns

https://www.etsy.com/shop/projectsbyjane?section_id=15580078&ref=shopsection_leftnav_2

My Embroidery Patterns

https://www.etsy.com/shop/projectsbyjane?section_id=15580078&ref=shopsection_leftnav_2