RECYCLE

These are among high quality scraps given to me by NYKOLETT
Thank you Rosni :)
The fastest item I can think of to sew is a tote so I arranged 16 pieces to get the best
color combination. I want my tote soft, the outside and inside patched.

The end product...
The small flower in the middle is made of scrap of lycra.
I have bags of these.

The inside.
Next time I'll try reversible.

ONCE UPON A TIME...part 2

...of circuses and funfairs.

I was too young to remember details but when the big tent was erected people got excited!

Elephants and tigers in cages..monkeys and parrots.

I remember the ride to the circus site on my male cousin's bicycle. He was 11 years older than me.

Hmm..how much the entrance ticket cost..I don't remember.

We would sit on wooden benches chewing popcorn while waiting for the performance to begin.

I love to watch trapeze act..the performers swinging , jumping and catching with perfect timing.

Of course there was the safety net below to catch the performers in case of mistakes

or the final jump during the finale..and they lined up and bowed to spectators.

Elephants were actually taken around town by their keepers to promote the circus.

At one time the elephants strolled beside our house and we fed them bananas and sugarcane.

Some of the young children around the neighborhood took the opportunity to ride the

elephants but not me..I was too timid.


Funfairs..o yes..the ride on the choo choo train, the games to win prizes

and candy floss.

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Tote bag made from curtain remnant.

I bought the remnant from Jakel..only 1/2 a meter left.

The double layer bows are made from Ikea heavy cotton and velvet.

The string attached to the bows is a salvage item from a paper bag.

So...this is my shopping bag :)

RECYCLE..WASTE NOT!

ONCE UPON A TIME..CERITA DULU2

Glimpses of childhood brought fond memories...... I was brought up in a small town in south Kedah by grandparents whom I called "bapak' and 'mak'. Way back in the 1950s there were no such thing as preschool, so my morning activities were a trisha ride with my grandpa to his favorite coffeeshop in the middle of the town. Grandpa's order would be 'kopi O' and mine 'kopi susu'..and yes 2 slices of toasted bread and half bolied eggs. I loved to sprinkle the egg with lots of black pepper. After breakfast, off we went to the wet market..see..those days of no refrigerator, fish, meat and anything perishable need to be purchased daily.

Pak Arshad or Pak Chat as we called him was the trisha man my grandpa hired to take us on those trips. For 6 years in primary school Pak Chat sent and fetched me without fail..may Allah bless his soul.

Those were the days.....of circuses that came to town...funfairs once in a while...a quiet life... no responsibilities.

...to be continued

KAK ZAI SAYS

This morning I paid a visit to Nykolett and look at what I bring home...:)

Thanks a million Rosni for those beautiful pieces of material.

(pic taken by hp so not very clear)

Perhaps after class tomorrow I'll start sewing a tote bag..

hmmm ..mix n match the pieces and sew scatter cushions

think..think..so many things to turn them into...

thanks again Rosni :)

MENCARI HIDAYAH DAN PETUNJUK...

ISLAM

TO SEEK ITS TRUTH

TO DISCOVER ITS BEAUTY
<><><><><><><><><><><>


Jika diizinkan Allah setiap Selasa dan Jumaat Kakzai akan ke kelas agama di masjid.
Guru kami berasal dari Pattani..dilahirkan dan dibesarkan di pondok.
Ilmu Tasawuf dan Usuluddin yang diajar membuat kita lebih mengenali Allah dan juga diri kita.

Kakzai ingin kongsi antara apa yang diajar hari ini.

HURRAN MUHAJJADI..pertama kali dengar ni.

Kata ustaz di padang mahsyar nanti Rasulullah diiringi malaikat Jibrail akan mencari orang yang ada HURRAN MUHAJJADI yakni orang ada cahaya dari wuduk..tidak membazir air ketika berwuduk.

Bagaimana kita berwuduk ketika kekurangan air..dari secawan air pun boleh..pernah cuba?
Itulah yang dimaksudkan.

KAK ZAI SAYS

Reflexology..my younger sister is an expert at it having travelled as far as a remote village in Sumatra to learn the art of massaging the feet from a 'kiyai'. Her guru invented the above tool to make massaging easier. The one above was custom made in Kota Bharu and she gave it to me as a present. The u shape part is made of iron and the handle solid wood. My children and I massage each other's feet to improve our health.




My son's foot...this boy is so tall he's going to be a six footer in a couple of months n he is only 17.

KAK ZAI SAYS

Friday 15 Oct 2010..I made a trip to Putrajaya to give sewing class to a group of ladies. They took advantage of the long Friday lunch hour to learn how to sew 'tudung'. My mode of transport..the KLIA Transit..the coaches were clean n comfortable..what a smooth ride only 20 minutes to Putrajaya. Ticket price is a bit pricey though but then if you travel once in a while it does not hurt the pocket.



...and the arrival.

This shot was taken by a student I befriended on the train.

RECYCLE

Organizer...

What can you do with an old blouse or t shirt?

Below is an organizer which I made from my daughter's old blouse. The long sleeves were folded in the front part of the blouse and then sewn in such a way it became a big pocket.


Turn the blouse inside out then sew along the opening.


I opened the seam at the back of the blouse about 6"..thus creating space for extra storage.

Hang it anywhere suitable and you can save a lot of space.



This one I hang in the bathroom..

An old t shirt, the sleeves had been cut off and sewn as pockets.

KAK ZAI SAYS

Giveaway by Izue

Jom ramai2 kita cuba nasib..mana tau bertuah dapat label percuma. Kata izue boleh design sendiri nanti. Kretif izue..dah lama kak zai teringin buat label tapi tak tau macam mana..sebenarnya tak pernah cuba pun.

Jom !

KAK ZAI SAYS

Interested to sew your own 'tudung'?

Please visit LOVE STITCH :)

Step by step instructions with diagrams.

Acquire a skill.......
Save your ringgit......

KAK ZAI SAYS

FRIENDS OF YESTERDAY
YOU BRIGHTEN UP MY DAY
MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP LAST FOREVER
START AGAIN NOW OR NEVER

Well..one of the wonderful things about modern technology is it brings people from all over together. Long lost almost forgotten friends from decades ago.
Recently I had the urge to search the name of my former secondary school..SULTAN BADLISHAH. Pleasantly a string of familiar names surfaced. The faces are no longer familiar..the toll of old age..or should I say we have all mellowed.......
Last night I rummaged through my old albums and found pics of fond memories.
Days of short skirt and short hair.
I bet everybody has fond memories of their school days.

KAK ZAI SAYS

I was touched when I got this order..."Kak Zai tolong jahit tudung untuk isteri saya..baru

bersalin..jahit cantik2 mahal tak pe..letak manik sikit..nak surprise dia"


Actually the husband wanted to buy branded tudung but the wife turned down because she wanted something that reach almost to the waist. No problem Kak Zai can sew :]

When we visit friends or family members who give birth..do we bring presents for the newborn or the mum? Personally I think the women who have undergone such traumatic moments of labor should be appreciated more.

Here is the tudung labuh ...

Dont throw that...not just yet

What do you do with old shirts or t shirts with buttons on them? Too soiled to giveaway so just turn them into rags.......before that....save the buttons. They can be used for other purposes. I turned some of them into bookmarks.

All you need is a piece of string thin enough to go through the holes. Tie the ends together.


The string should be longer than the length of the page of the novel, book or whatever reading material you want to mark..and of course the button will be hanging outside the pages instead of being inside.