Bali

There is something about Bali that I love. It gives me much energy and inspirations... I just felt so happy  while spending time there...

The island is so beautiful.... . spending time walking in the beach... and waiting for sunset...were wonderful moments for me, and I guess for hundreds of people who were there with me too... LOL. A few seconds when the sun hit the horizon was worth a wait. 

I lived in Bali when I was a  kid, although only just for a couple of years, but the memory is still in my mind... the beach... shells.. sands..  colorful boat ..the  garden... frangipani trees along the road.. the scenery.. and the houses...

Balinese living among art in their everyday life. It is the source of life for them...this amazed me. They are painter, batik maker, jewelry maker, wood and stone carver and many more..
Back then... I didn't really realize that all that kind of art  really gave me a pure joy. All I knew that I enjoyed seeing them working and admiring the final result.
Little did I know what I enjoyed the most when I was growing up was really what I want to do later in my life. Do something I love with all my heart .

Being an Artist is my dream... oh.. how dare I am called myself as an Artist... but...I guess my path leading me to the artful life... OMG.. let me be living my dream... :)

 Now I had a chance to be there for only 4 days... just a little getaway...enjoying the food and shopping activities with my mom and sisters... Fun.. Fun.. Fun.

This a silver jewelry place .. they open the factory where we can see how they make a delicate silver jewelry piece... they are so beautiful....

The entry is really luring me in.... just wonder what they are... . the shop is just makes my jaw dropped. They are simply just stunning.

All I can say about this is they really give their heart to their works...   WOW





Decorative pieces for your homes.... they are so cute... and colorful... aren't they ?

I think these are made from metal sheets... Wow.. the creativity is endless for them...  Love it.           They make an art from any kind of material... Stones, wood, metal, clay, silver, fabrics, even an egg shell... .                                                                                                                                                                                                              Love this one too... :)    It takes time for me to pick the color that I like... they are all so beautiful. These are a decorative plates made of clay and painted glass. and . and look... it is painted ukulele and a bird kites....


 
Now you know how can you leave Bali without adding more bags ?

What did I find for my creative spirit ? of course Bali batiks and lots of beads... :) for my quilts and jewelry... ooooh.... it's so exciting. I'll post more about what I get for myself from this little getaway....

So... plan your next vacation to this beautiful island.. 
Sure this vacation will satisfies your precious soul. 

Felt so happy and satisfied... Thanks be to God....
'Na..

Sewing Studio

This is a view from my sewing studio...  looking far is my neighborhood ....

And looking down at my garden...

Every quilter wants to own their spot that is dedicated only to do their work. No doubt about it. Sewing studio is  gonna be their sanctuary.. where one can just spend time there creating something with their hands and just let the creative spirit roar...

One of those quilter is me.  Of course for years..I kept holding to my  dream to have my own sewing studio.

Once, I read a book that we need to have a vision what are we going to do or what we want to have in the future by imagining it... and some how the universe will lead you to the path where you need to go and hopefully arrive safely to where you want to....

I made a journal to keep my  dream  in a 'scrap book' kind of page.
I cut the things that I want from magazine... write a journal on it... and just wish this will be come true..

So.. one day... I was busy dreaming..... that I will have a sewing studio I can call my own... with a good view to the garden... with a big table and a shelf that I can store my stuff..
At that time I don't have my own spot to sew... I sew on the dining table... which need to be cleared on lunch or dinner time and I put my sewing stuff in boxes under the bed... :)

I praise to God.. that He is a good provider... years later, now I can spend time to sew in a place without someone bothering me to clean up the table....
I can leave my studio clean or mess.. with no one complain about it... :)

I can't believe that my stuff is growing from a few boxes and now I have one big shelf.

This is my studio, where I spend time to create something,... doodling... and sewing....  I am so grateful that what I dreamed back then is now become a reality... the sewing studio that I want is just like what I have today... :) 

This is my table.. where I put my sewing machine... and all the little pretty things..

When the first time I own this shelf.. it is not as full of stuff and fabrics like today.... My stuff is growing... :)
I put my fabrics in a shelf with a glass window.. so they're not  dusty.
Books, papers, cd's, paints are on the open shelf.

My beads collections in a Jar.. always love them...
So colorful...

Surrounding myself with all this kind of stuff stimulates me... sometime when if i feel a brain freeze and no ideas floating around on my mind..  then I sat in my studio.. looking to all the stuff and usually that "AHA" moment will just pop up.... LOL

My fabrics collections....
Looks yummy for me...

This fabrics will make several quilts and dolls... but before I can finished a quilt I add more I guess...

The closet of other women, will surely filled up with  shoes and bags. 
But for me...fabrics..fabrics..fabrics.... :)

This is where I sat to listen to my favorite music while  reading or  quilting..  or just do the day dreaming.....  What a little heaven for me... :)
(* feeling gratitude ). Thanks be to God .

Happy creating in your own place...
'Na

Batik

It is more likely that if people talking about Indonesia, they will also talking about Batik.

Read more about Batik :

http://www.discover-indo.tierranet.com/batikpag.htm

http://www.expat.or.id/info/batik.html

Batik is an art form  which need a high skilled people to do it. From tracing the pattern on the cloth to outline it with a melted paraffin to color it.. it is such a long process.
There are two kinds of batik... one is Batik tulis which is done with hand,   this kind is expensive because of the process takes longer than the  Batik tjap which is done with stamping the Batik stamp to the cloth. Some time they combine both of those methods together.

Batik is spreading in lots of places in Indonesia. The pattern and color in one place is different from others. One use a brown or darker color with a repetitive design and other use a bright color with more free pattern like buterfly, flowers, and more..

I guess no one in Indonesia doesn't know about batik... because we use it in our everyday life. Batik touch Indonesian people  from the village to the city... in every occasion.. we can use Batik as kain.. a long piece of cloth and we wrap our lower body from waist down or sew it as a scarf , a blouse, a dress...  even we use it for every family member as a uniform.  and also  Home decoration such as a pillow case, a table cloth, a bed spread, a painting, oooh so many more... now we can also found they do batik on wood for trays or just an ornaments...they even created Batik wooden sandal. The creativity of using Batik methods is unlimited.

One that famous for quilt makers is Bali Batik.
Bali Batik is a real gorgeous fabrics.They seems come in unlimited gradations of colors and patterns which is so beautiful for a Quilt.
The island of Bali is a part of Indonesia. They are famous with their arts and crafts and the heritage culture they still practicing in their everyday life. I'll blog more about Bali soon.

So Batik become one of my life. Especially after I work with fabrics.. now I have lots of Batik ... :) well enough to make several quilts... I'll show you more about my Batik stash... :)

As for me... I love Batik with a bright color from Pekalongan - Central Java..
They are just " Me " and really feeding my soul... with happiness..
you will know after you see the pictures...

See... ?
Can you describe this with words ? tell me...
Stunning ? Awesome ? Cool ? Beautiful ?

I had a hard time to select this Batik.... I try to breath normally, but to tell you the truth... my heart was pounding so hard... LOL..

I went  home with 5 pieces of Batik... I don't even know what I'm gonna do with it... but knew for sure I'll use it.. some day. (* feeling confidence... )

So this is what I bought that day...

Red, Orange, Blue, Green, Purple....
ooh what I missed ? Black, Yellow, pink, Brown... and more.... :)


Happy.. Happy... Happy...
'Na

Matryoshka doll

 

I just can't remember when is the first time I'm in love with this doll... it was a long time ago.... LOL..

And I am so grateful to have one.
They're  handpainted.. a very pretty face on a wooden doll... oh this is a fine craft to me.

Matryoshka doll is a Russian doll which contains of several doll from small to big size doll.  
Read more about this doll :

http://russian-crafts.com/crafts-history/nesting-dolls-history.html


I have the original doll from Russia that  I bought from a Craft store near Dallas area... see I even forgot where exactly I bought it.

Usually I always think twice to buy even the smalest things, but not for this one .... :)  it's too cute.

 I just grab it then Pay and Go...

Of course this doll become one of my inspiration... I make pin cushions, and a softies just like Matryoshka doll...   and planning to make a quilt with this pattern which would be lovely I imagine.  Every time my eyes struck to this doll... either it is a pattern on cloth.. or even a pencil case... that will be most likely I'll try to own it... Looking at them just gives me joy.... :)

Try to put a flower brooch in the middle and ruffle in the front... looks cute.

This cute face is never forgotten.... oh I love this.

There they are... three of them.

Aku lupa kapan pertama kali suka  pada boneka kayu Rusia ini...

Matryoshka doll adalah boneka kayu dari Rusia. Boneka ini terdiri boneka paling kecil sampai yang besar.. 

Aku beli di toko craft di Dallas.. tapi sudah lupa dimana pastinya... karena sudah lama siiih... he he he. Waktu aku lihat boneka ini.. langsung saja ingin punya...

Aku bersyukur punya satu yang original... Boneka kayu ini dilukis tangan... wajahnya cantik... dan bagiku boneka ini adalah kerajinan yang memiliki nilai seni yang tinggi.

Tentu saja boneka Matryoshka ini menjadi inspirasi untuk beberapa kreasi kerjaan tanganku...
Pin cushions, dan boneka peluk sudah aku buat... dan sekarang berencana untuk membuat quilt aplikasi dengan pola Matryoshka ini... hmmm pasti lucu..

Setiap kali aku melihat boneka ini baik di pattern ataupun tempat pensil... aku selalu mau beli. Hanya melihatnya saja sudah membuat saya gembira... he he he..

'Na

Sketching

I love doodling...
This activities can detox my brain and captured the ideas that swirling around in my mind. I have many sketching books...it mixed with my journal... :)

If I opened my sketching books a few years ago.. I knew what interest me that time... some time it can bring the feeling back again....

This sketch  that I made in 2008  for a quilt... but for years.. the sketch is here... but not the quilt... LOL

If only I can just nod my head like Genie.

and voila... the quilt is done ! but alas.. that never happened...

Happy doodling... :)

'Na

Wedding Ring Quilt

The time has come when some one saw your work and asked if I can make a customed quilt. Thanks to my husband who took a picture of my work and showed it to His piano's student. :)

The first reaction from me isn't that I agree to do it, but told her that it takes quite a while till this quilt is done, because I'm not spending my entire time to focus on quilt making at that time.
Surprisingly she says ok.. just take your time.. she didn't rush me.. she told  me to picks the design, even to decide what color  that is suited well for her bed room. Queen Size bed. WOW. that's big.

Woooo Hoooo......  I will make a big project... this isn't easy... but rather a challange for me !
My husband told me to do something that I haven't tried yet.. challange your self ! Don't just do the same old stuff !!...

Boy that kicked me...I finally decide to make a weeding ring quilt.. which is not for a beginner anymore... it has lots of curved piecing... and lots of blocks...because the size would be 200 X 200 cm.

Making a quilt surely teach me to be precise, consistence and patience. Especially a big quilt like this.  After a quilt is done, you will feel different. You'll be a better person... I guess. LOL..

I make my wedding ring design and calcuted how much fabrics do I need to buy.
I make a sketch of this quilt...

Then I went to the fabrics store with excitement...
Feeling overwelhm because I bought so much fabrics at one time...  the store owner smile  a lot...  and helps me to find a matching fabrics after I picked my main fabrics.
Oh this is fun... !

I picked a good quality japanesse cotton.  Pretty...!!

This is my main fabrics

and combine with other matching fabrics...

I use a broken white fabric too..

I kind of forgot not to take a picture when this quilt is on process..  but have it when I baste the quilt

and The quilt is done... several months later... LOL
I'm so proud to finish this quilt.
This is the third big quilt I've ever done.. but this one is really my master piece. I really put my heart into it.

When I bring the quilt to the lady who ordered it... she loves it.. I was paid more than I asked  (* Big grin... )

Up till now.. I still saw that quilt  adorned her bed... I knew because, the last time I came over to her house over a week ago,  I peeked to her bedroom when the door is opened... LOL...

I don't even have a big quilt I made for my bed..
Sure will be my next list project to be done.... soon... soon.... :)

Keep quilting... and keep loving it.. they give you warmth and tons of love...

'Na

Softies are always lovely

Softies are made with love. that is true.... :)
Like usual, I can't help myself for making only one.. I make elephant, bunny, owl, bird, cat... and more to come...
I make the pattern my self... and just unleash the creative spirit to do their own work.... I just follow them.. to draw.. to cut... picking up the fabric...sew it dan finally stuffed it....

The bright bali batik fabric become my favorite..
I select only brights for this project.... Yummy like candy aren't they ?

wooo hooo... let's start making it... I cut the fabrics just a little bigger  from the pattern for a sewing line, audition it by mixing and matching ... look at it... and this is the owl before sewing.

 

So.. now it is about time to sew it.... wow.. I'm excited !

Sewing with a happy heart.... yeay !

And... after that all the work is done... this is what I call Lovely softies...

they are huggable... and trust me... hugs them gives you warmth and an unspoken feeling.... ha ha...  

Happy sewing..

'Na