Another week on the web

1) I totally have the hots for the large-ish redhead- OMG
2) Yet more reasons to move back to Taiwan from EatingAsia
3) Absolutely gorgeous things at Mon Petite Fantome
4) Love the food and love-love-love the styling in this post- Cooking Books
5) Make your own truffles? I think I just might- Dana Treat
6) Go around the world in seconds- Pret a Voyager
7) You did not just say that- Kenneth in the (212)
8) Dreamesh is playing house. Envy!
9) Lotta provides inspiration for all. I love it- Wisecraft
10) I want more- Primitive Culture

A Hippo for Maddie

After completing the mobile for my nephew, Alexander decided we should make something for his two-year old niece, Maddie. He suggested a hippo and decided that it was also time for me to move onto something more challenging and make a three dimensional hippo. Yikes! Luckily he took it upon himself to make a pattern and quite the pattern maker he turned out to be.

He picked out some shweshwe fabric and I set out to cutting the pieces. It was going to be a challenge, but luckily we were still at home so my mom could help out if we got stuck. We decided to embroider some details onto the hippo- eyes, nose and a little fish, with the machine. I quickly figured out I had no idea how to go about doing this.

Good thing my grandmother lives crawling distance from my parents. We went over for tea one morning and asked her if she would do the embroidery for us. She was pretty excited to be included in our project and immediately grabbed her box of supplies and helped us pick out some colors and discussed the design details.

Later that afternoon she came over to drop them off. The embroidery looked super and it was time for the hippo to be assembled. It was a bit of a headache and I though we would not be able to finish it in time, but my mother helped us a bit with the sewing, stuffing and stitching the hippo shut.

For a first attempt at making a 3D toy I think we did really good. The hippo looks very South African and the embroidery detail add a sweet unique touch. She's a bit heavy around the head and tends to fall on her chin sometimes, but overall she's a sturdy hippo.

And did Maddie like her hippo? When Alexander showed it to her and asked her what it was she answered, 'It is mine!'

* Thanks Alexander for the pictures.
** I just ordered a new sewing machine and can't wait for it to arrive so I can start on some Lotta Jansdotter projects- I just picked up her book, Simple Sewing and it has some very fun and inspirational projects.

Another project

While I was home and had some time I sorted through my 'stuff' and discovered some thin boards that were just taking up space. I decided to cover it with bits of fabric I had traveling with us and then using string, fabric and ribbon to crisscross over the boards for keeping notes, pictures and other random light bits of nonsense. Everybody in my family got one and they'd better be using it.

Jean's mobile

To welcome our new nephew into the world Alexander and I decided make a mobile with African animals made from South African shweshwe to hang above his bed. At the time we didn’t know if it was going to be a boy or a girl, so a mobile with neutrally coloured shwshwe seemed a safe idea. We started on the project in December last year, but never got further than drawing the patterns and cutting the fabric.

Moving house and travel wreaked havoc with that plan though and so the cut-out pieces of fabric were mailed to my parents, the project to be finished once we had access to a proper sewing machine and other equipment again.

It ended up being quite a family project. Alexander designed and drew the patterns and gave lots of helpful suggestions. I was responsible for sewing and stuffing the toys and my mom assisted in sewing them shut. My dad had some great ideas for building a stand and did all the sawing and drilling. There were a couple of nervous moments, but in the end it all came together nicely I think.

Have to say I’m pretty satisfied with how it turned out. I like that African look and feel of the animals and I think the stand adds to the natural style of his parents’ house. The mobile can also be removed from the stand and travel with them to their temporary home further north where they will be living for the next few months while my brother is their for hunting season, where they can suspend it from the ceiling over his bed. I hope he likes it.

I am tempted to try my hand at more of these and sell them on Etsy, so anybody with a word of advice in that regard, give me a shout.

Muji is Love

Alexander’s love affair with Muji has become infectious. I’ve always liked their stores ever since I first discovered them here in Taiwan years ago, the stationary section in particular always made me happy.

More recently though, my enjoyment of their products has started to turn into a full-blown obsession. Sadly I cannot indulge fully in this obsession yet as we are still without home and full-time employment and will be spending the next few months traveling to Malaysia, South Africa and the US. But when we return to Taiwan in the summer I am most certainly going to be spending a lot of time and a lot of my income on Muji’s cleaning products, toiletries, stationary, snacks… you get the picture.

For now I will just enjoy some of their well-thought-out and brilliantly designed products to make my travels easier. I just invested in a stylish black shoulder bag from them with several unobtrusive pockets inside and outside as carry-on luggage for those long flights ahead of me. The bag is sturdy and just the perfect size to comfortable store some in-flight necessities; a book, notebook, phone (turned-off!), i-Pod, light sweater and scarf, sunglasses and some toiletries. It can be adjusted on the sides to make the bag wider or narrower, a feature I enjoy as I can adjust it to my needs and mood.

I also picked up a clear storage bag that neatly fits in all my in-flight toiletries like hand lotion, fragrance, hair product and compact Muji toothbrush and toothpaste, everything under 100ml in size.

Something that’s always bugged me is traveling around with heavy bottles of soap, shampoo and conditioner. But now I can store all these in small lightweight containers that I can refill as needed. The perfect size for a short two-week break in Borneo.

Finally we also got a piece of Muji luggage. Something we have desired for almost two years. A brown suitcase that is neither too large nor too small, just the right size for the two of us to fit in all our travel necessities.

I think I am set for the holiday that lies ahead now. And very much looking forward to returning to Taiwan for more shopping at Muji!

*I am sorry for not putting up any decent images here. I blame bad lighting, and not having a camera at home right now.

Tribute to McQueen

While I was getting out of the shower yesterday morning Alexander called out to me the terribly sad news that Alexander McQueen had passed away. So very-very tragic. I don't have to launch into a long essay to tell you how brilliant and talented he was. Look at his body of work, it speaks volumes. This is just too sad.

My little tribute to him is the video for Bjork's Alarm Call which he directed below.



Goodbye and may your rest be peaceful.

Sewing projects: a bag for Dorothy Black

I recently went on a sewing spree, before giving up my darling sewing machine and overlocker. I am going to miss the terribly. Here is one of the last things I made. A bag/purse for my friend going by the pseudonym of Dorothy Black, lady columnist and friend extroadinaire. Some starry shweshe with fabric circles for an almost flowery effect.

I'll post some more things as soon as I come around to taking pictures. Which should happen soon, we have less than two weeks before we leave!

* Dorothy Black also has a blog where she discusses everything.

Another week on the web

1) Absolutely adorable pets at Skunkboy Creatures
2) A nutella tart would be perfect right now- Happygrub
3) Make this spiced clementine sherbet and then invite me over, please- Endive Chronicles
4) Feel free to do some Christmas shopping for me at Making it Lovely
5) I want this sandwich for lunch today- Eating Asia
6) Neat kitchen ideas- Design Sponge
7) Priscilla Presley's face scares me just a little (actually a lot)- Dlisted
8) Now this is seriously fucked-up, what was the BBC even thinking turning this into a debate?- BBC
9) Fun styles in Australia- The Sartorialist
10) I like the lung sculpture here- Hibernian Homme

Another week on the web

1) A clutch won't do in Hanoi- Medusa se Blog
2) Beautiful images from a trip to Charleston- Hibernian Homme
3) Delicious Tangerine Vanilla Bean Marmalade- Prudent Baby
4) How to make fantastic nut butters- A Life (Time) of Cooking
5) Musings on Thanksgiving- Primitive Culture
6) I agree, could not care for Adam Lambert before but beginning to like him- OMG
7) Art gift ideas- Bloesem
8) Pret a Voyager's Color as Communication class project using one of my favorite films, Amelie- Pret a Voyager
9) White chocolate cake with mango and pomegranate syrup- Winos and Foodies
10) A contest for something beautiful- Mon Petit Fantome

Another week on the web

1) Boarding Passes at Pret a Voyager- Conn Brattain and John Giordani

2) Pretty embroidery hoops at Dreamesh

3) Awesome news about Taiwan from Wall Street Journal via EatingAsia

4) And even more reasons to return to Asia from Primitive Culture

5) Beautiful still lives at Style Guide Cape Town

6) Super DIY projects at Dos Family

7) Oatmeal choc chip cookies at Cooking Books!

8) Great idea with yogurt at A (Life)time of Cooking

9) A neat Kuala Lumpur house on Bloesem

10) A frittata with green ingredients at Cook Sister