Sofya is ONE

Sofya turned one last Saturday. Nope! No party. Ordered a beautiful ( and delicious!) rainbow cake to be enjoyed with the family.

We spent the morning at my uncle's kenduri. Then went to the swimming pool in the afternoon. Sofya was on duty as the poolside girl, lol! And when we collected her cake at BakesNBites, she was fast asleep. When we all sang 'Happy Birthday' she slept through it and didn't move a bone. Haha! By the time she woke up and posed with her cake, it was half gone!

To our dearest princess, mami & ayah doakan Sofya menjadi anak yg solehah, di dalam keredhaan Allah sentiasa. Moga kebahagiaan sentiasa bersamamu. Amin.

Wedding, Birthday and Quarantined!

Wedding..... My cousin Adil got married to his sweetheart Nadiah end of August. The reception on our family side took place early in September. It was held at the Putrajaya Wetland. The whole thing was beautiful..the day itself, the place, the set up, espcially the bride and groom.

To the bride & groom. Though this entry came two months late, if by any chance any one of you is reading this, we wish you two a happy and blessed marriage here and till the hereafter, insyaAllah.

Birthday... Akif, my busuk masam turned 3 on 25th September. Here is a picture of me & him during last raya. From a very quiet boy, he has now become very chatty... ever since he become a big brother. A very loving and protective brother towards his baby sister. The same with my other children, in my heart, I know he is gong to be a great son, brother, person. Mami and Ayah prays only the best for you dear...

Quarantined... Two weeks after the wedding, Sofya was down with chicken pox. Kimi and Hafiy are already immune. Both had theirs in 2008. Alhamdulillah, Sofya had a mild one. Most came out either on her face or inside her diaper area. Still it took about two weeks for all to dried up. She (and me, of course!) were quarantined for two weeks. I had mentally prepared myself to take care of two chicken pox babies in case Akif got infected too. Made him drinks Air Kelapa but nothing came out.

And when all Sofya's spots have cleared, and I was about to celebrate my 'freedom', Hubs spotted one teenie tiny spot on Akif's foot. And we were all quarantined again, for another two weeks. Anyway, I'm glad it is all over now. Chicken pox is after all a childhood disease. Since they are very young, scars disappear fast. Today, about a month after..the spots you see in the pic below are now hardly visible.

Quick update on Sofya:-
Weighs 7.3 kg at 6 months. She was introduced to solid at 6 months 3 weeks. Her 1st solid food was plain rice porridge. Loves exploring and manage to get herself 'far' by slithering on her stomach. She's a very determine girl!

And last..( yes..I'm cramping all in one post hehehe)..here's Itsy Doodles new label. Clean and simple. And I love it very much. Thank you to Aiya from Insang Pari, who was very patience with my 'cerewetness' on the design so that I get exactly what I want and how I want it with my label.

 

*LOVE*

Birthday and Raya in August

Yess..I'm still a little behind with my posts. Still on one-week-one-post on what took place during the months my blog were left untouched hehe. This post covers August happenings. So one more post (on September), then I'll be on track (if I don't get side tracked ;).

Celebrated my thirty fourth birthday in August.  I'm thankful and blessed with everything I have..life, family, everything! Wishing I'm given more & more blessed moments like the ones I had for many many more years to come. And that day by day I'll be a better person - daughter, wife,mother, friend but most importantly, a better 'abd, insyaAllah.

Raya Aidilfitri came about a week after my birthday. We had a very simple and fulfilling Ramadan this year,Alhamdulillah. Hafiy 'puasa' (fast) for the first time but only made it till noon. At 5 years old, he still doesn't understand the concept of fasting  . He fasted so that he can 'berbuka' .He thought, if he doesn't fast, he cannot eat 'dinner'. Cute eh? hehe

Sewed my kids' baju raya and this time it's 3+1! Three raya tunics for the boys and a simple dress for cik kak.

Set a countdown for the whole process so that I could finish them on time (before raya, that is). Recorded my progress of the whole baju raya making process on Itsy Doodles's page. Managed to complete all four in 7 days.

And lastly..a quick update on Sofya at 5 months..

Weighs 6.9 kg, chuckles and laughed a lot, can roll on her tummy and back. Bought her first crinkle cloth book. But instead of read, she binged on them! Still not over those itchy gums i guess :)

Pillowcase for A Cause, Mama Bag in Corduroy and Cik Kak @4months

In July,  a group I belonged to in facebook launched a special project for children at the pediatric ward in government hospitals. The idea is to give each and every one of them cheerful pillowcases to brighten up their ward.

A dedicated page, KuSarungkan Kasih was set up to update all necessary activities regarding this project. The Pediatric Oncology and Respiratory Ward in Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) has been selected to be the first to receive the pillowcases. The event is planned to take place sometime in November 2012 in conjunction with Children's Day.

We have received overwhelming responses on this project. From volunteers to sew pillowcases, to fabric sponsorships as well as individuals who donated cash and other items to be given as gifts to the children.  To get updates or to know how you can contribute, please go the the page as mentioned above, LIKE the page and contact the page's admin.

I had just finished sewing few pillowcases for this cause. Will post the picture in my next entry :).

On Itsy Doodles creations.. in July, Mama Bag made using beautiful corduroy as the main body panel were introduced. The luxurious look of the corduroy, the soft textured when touched really compliments the beautiful prints of designers cotton used for the outside pockets. Corduroy really brings our 100% handmade Mama Bag to a new level without blowing one's pocket :).

Below are pics of custom made Chic Mama Tote in Corduroy. Gorgeous aren't they? ;)

As for cik kak who turned at 4 months last July.. her weight was 6.3kg. She's salivating a lot and likes to put everything in her mouth, to bite on! Looks like her gums are itchy but no sign of teeth coming out anytime soon. Bought her a teether which her brothers nicknamed it as 'Sofya's Donut' :D

Sofya and her donut ;)

Modpodging with The Boys and Her First Hat

So..what did we do in June? Hmmm...

Bought these Modpodges since before I gave birth to Sofya. Please goggle 'modpodge' if you want to know what it is. Not until the mid semester school break in June did I find time to enjoy these with the kids. The one in blue is to be used on fabric while the yellow one is for all surfaces with matte finishing.

Each of the boys modpodged empty cadbury chocolates plastic bottles while I modpodged empty cookie tin. We had an enjoyable afternoon that day doing this. We look forward to another session of modpodging..possibly soon after but none took place so far. Maybe during the long school holidays at the end of year boys? I promise!

In the pic below, 1st bottle on the left is Hakimi's, middle one is Akif's while Hafiy's is the one on the right.

Add caption

For my cik kak (that's her nick name ;) who turned 3 months in June, made her a reversible sunhat. Named the sunhat Aara Sunhat - after her.  It was a bit big for her then but she'll grow into it..(she's 6 months now but there's still room for growth). This is in size 0-6 M.

At 3 months, cik kak weighs 5.2kg. Notice how round and chubby she has become? Mami's milk did all that :D. She loves attention, hates lying down and always demands mommy to be her Bumbo ;).

What I Picked Up, Put Down and Baby at Two Months

It has been 3 months since I last posted anything. Today, while going through my blog..i realised how I miss those days when I had time to blog about my babies, my sewing activities..breastfeeding.. well..practically about anything I want.Hopefully..more post will follow after this one ;)

*Few post will back date on things that happened since the last time I wrote until today*

While I was pregnant with Sofya, I learned tatting. The word 'tatting' was new to me when I first heard of it. Until today, this is what i managed to make..few rings with picots.

Then, after I was done with my confinement, I picked up knitting. Me and a few friends meet up and were taught on knitting basics by sifoo Rozi. During the two hours class, I learned how to cast on and the knit stitch. I was not ready for purl. Bought the circular needle set for beginner so I could practice.

And here is my practise piece hehe...

On Sofya...here is a pic of her at 2 months old and weighs 4.0 kg. Her first time wearing a skirt. Paired it with a romper. Easy!

Another pic wearing another skirt. Because of this pic, I named this skirt the Peek-A-Boo skirt ;). and yes, I made the diaper cover too.

Now, she can still wear these skirts. Used to be knee length. But now they have become mini skirts. Lol!

Love Note : Able to sew for a girl is a bless :).

Leisure Sewing : Pillowcase and Pillowcase Dress

The pillowcase is for my mom while the pillowcase dress if for baby dearest,InsyaAllah. remember the huggy pillow I made for my mom a whileeee..back? ( you can read bout it here ).It is now not as fluffy as before. Therefore, I decided to stuffed more cotton fluff (kekabu) and at the same make a replacement case for it.

I recently bought a button cloth mould/maker but had yet to give it a try. So for this special project instead of making the normal slip case or with tie closure as before, I made one using cloth buttons as closure.And I love the result. Emm,..had fun making them too hehehe :D. And this is my first time sewing laces too. I simply love the fabric combo added with cotton lace as embellishment.

And since I have enough fabric left, I thought this combo would also make a sweet dress. As it was my first time sewing a dress, I used a free pattern & tutorials by Made by Petchy and Little Big Girl Studio. This dress was easy to make thus made me feel addicted to make more. I definitely will, if time permits :).

An update on my pregnancy :

I am now 33 weeks along. Based on my previous delivery history (my 2nd & 3rd sons were born on the 37th week) my OB said I may have about 4 weeks more before the baby comes. Have a few more orders to complete and baby projects as well. Hope to finish them all in time. Wish me luck! *wink*

Let's see what I have achieved so far from my to sew list..

I have been busy. With everything. In between chasing deadlines on orders, I make sure I managed to cancel off some things on my list of things to sew.

Here are the final pairs of the active pants I had planned to sew for my boys..

Made some hankies which was initially for Hafiy. But Kimi and Akif also claimed one each. These were made using printed cotton flannels I have in my stash and recycle t-shirt on for the backing. Guess I have to make more as one each is definitely not enough.

 As for the little person in my tummy...who is at this moment is now at gestational age of 32 weeks, I made her some baby pants using the Big Butt Baby Pants pattern by Made by Rae. For her quilt, I bought the Love U panel by Deb Strain which I have fallen in love with the first time I saw MyBotang made her quilt using a similar panel.

This excited heavily pregnant mommy have also added baby dresses into her list of things to sew for her baby. I have cut five pieces of dresses using patterns from Made by Petchy and Sew Much Ado. Made one yesterday. And am happy with the result. Will post picture of it in my next entry..emm..maybe :)

For the shop...


Added something new...Key Fobs. They are available and ready to ship.

And some BFF pillows set. Also available and ready to ship
.

Head over to Itsy Doodles Shop or Itsy Doodles FB page for more details.

Weekend quick sewing

I got invited by an old childhood friend, Thasa for her 1st daughter, Jeda's birthday party and her 2nd daughter, Madeeha's Akikah feast last Saturday. I didn't have the time to shop for anything nor did I have the time to make anything fancy for the two girls. Since I have always wanted to try and make sling purse for little girls, I thought it would be a great time to try and make one. Alhamdulillah, it turn out great as I imagined it :). And I got feedback from Thasa this morning that Jeda loves her purse and wanted to wear it to kindi.

As for little Madeeha, I googled on what to make for her and came across burp cloths. Thought it would be a great gift for mom & baby as well. Using a plain baby nappy cloth enhanced with designers cotton at one end and voila! Madeeha can now burp in style. I love how quick and simple it was making the burp cloths. I'm sure I'll be making some for myself sometime soon *wink*

As for sewing for my boys..I'm still not done with their active pants. Made two more pairs-one pair each for Hafiy and Akif. Got it done Saturday morning and they worn it to Jeda's birthday party/Madeeha Akikah feast later that afternoon. I sooo love the guitar print! Don't you?

All in all..it was great meeting old friends. Can hardly remember when was they last time we all sit together like this. Probably during primary school years?

 The Girls

New week has begun. Will start working on confirmed orders once again. But I hope to be able to do more leisure sewing in between. By the way. Hafiy, who turned five on 5th January 2012 started his first day at kindi yesterday. He was all excited about school. The first word that came out of his mouth when he got into the car after school was "Seronok sekolah!" (School was fun) :D.

Tummy binders for newborns a.k.a Barut

A dear old friend called me on a one fine day. She was looking for some barut gantung for her new niece. She asked me if i could make some. I thought...hey! i can sew.  So,why not? (walaupun tak pernah tengok barut gantung ;P). En. Google kan ada hehe. It looks like dulu-dulu chinese punya undergarment. Can't recall the name. D something something i think. Anyone has a clue? Please share with me.

This design is my fav. For girls..on a hot day like today, can be worn by itself. I use flannel as lining so i suppose it can still keep the baby's tummy warm ( tummy binders are worn to prevent baby from becoming 'windy'. One of many Malay's belief). As for the front, i use Ikea cotton for this one. And the rest...Japanese cotton bought from local textile store. 6 pieces all together.

Besides that, she also ordered 3 normal binders. They are made using printed flannels.

Wanie, thanks for the order. Hope your SIL likes them ;)

Booties for my babyboo

When i first saw an entry by Rozi's Needlework on reversible baby booties, i knew instantly that this is what i want to make for my baby. The weather is so hot these days that sometimes i let him sleep without any socks at night. I was to make something that's warm yet comfortable to wear and doesn't make my baby's feet sweaty. (and smelly)

My 1st attempt was a disaster. The pattern given was a newborn size booties. I need to size up a little. So..i had to make my own pattern according to Akif's current shoe size. The out come...oklah.. Will make some more, DEFINITELY!

The booties below...made using the pattern given. Aren't they adorable? Thought of giving it to my friend's, M baby girl who is a little over a month old. But worried that these might not fit her, i think i'll give it to another friend's baby, L who is expecting a girl and is scheduled for a C sec this weekend. Hope it fits.