Susani and Velvet Patchwork Cushion Cover

Susani for wedding with symbols of fertility

I was so excited when a friend told me that she got me gift of two Tajiks' Susanis from Taskorgan, Xinjiang Province of China, a town which majority population made up of Tajiks people. According to the Tajik lady who sold the Susanis, the Susanis were brought in from neighboring Tajikistan.

Susanis are an embroidery technique practiced across Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. Susani literally means "needle" in Persian. They were and still are a major part of girls' dowry in those regions. Some mothers would even begun embroidery Susani during pregnancy. The girls would eventually join the embroidery work when she is 8 or so. The rectangular piece on the first picture obviously must be prepared for a wedding. It depicts symbols of fertility with motifs of wombs, ovaries and sperms; close-up Tulip which attributes to Anahita, the ancient Goddess of fertility.

Vagina & Sperms

Wombs and Ovaries

Close-up Tulip

The bigger piece of the two pieces Susanis that I have was just the right size to make into a cushion cover for the big cushion in my family area.

The heart shapes - new element?

I have been planning to make patchwork cushion with my velvet and upholstery fabric sample books. A patchwork with these fabric is just perfect for the other side of the cushion cover.

I have been longing for Susani after I came across Vogue Living Nov/Dec 2010 issue feature of the Bokja founder- Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri , two talented women based in Beirut, Lebanon. The duo had created stunning designed and eclectic in style furnitures by an elaborate assemblages of embroidered tribal textiles and tapestries found along the Silk Road.

www.bokjadesign.com

Bokja Design on http://www.designhome.ae

I have already placed my order more Susanis from my dear friend and I look forward to receive them next year. By combining Susanis with my other Southeast Asian tribal textiles, I am going to start a new project-assemblages different textiles for the upholstery of my ottoman. Wow, can't wait to start it soon!

Refashion a clutch into a shoulder bag

I always love Indian tapestry. To name one is the Kutch tapestry that is distinct with its mirror embroidery. I had cushion covers, wall hanging and torans (doorway hangings) but never have a bag. Hence, when I came across some beautiful Kutch Paako tapestry clutches recently, I certainly wouldn't resist having one. I would have grabbed few if the price is more affordable. This one that I picked is adorned with Indian 25 paisa coins which are no longer be used in legal tender after June 30 2011. The local artisans had creatively used the coins to design their handicrafts.

Original form of clutch purse

I don't like to use clutch purse because I can be somewhat careless and forgetfully left it somewhere. Besides that, I feel handicap when holding one. For this reason, I decided to add strap on this clutch purse that I bought. I also added a bag charm to comprehend the design of the bag. I was hoping it gives a resemblance to Malaysia front line lifestyle brand British India and Anthropologie merchandises. After the makeover, it turned out pretty cool and its status updated.

Just as I was writing this post, I saw on pinterest this clutch from Anthropologie made with the same Kutch tapestry and similar charms. What a coincident of idea! But of course the Anthropologie's clutch has better finishing.

I bought the PU handle and lobster hook for the bag charm in this project from a Malaysian online sewing supplies shop- maymayshop. Give the code of "Yanns Journal "and enjoy 10% discount for minimum purchase of RM100 and above.

All images except the last image in this post are my personal photographs, please do not use them without my written permission - I can be contacted at yannsjournal.gmail.com. Thank you!

Bracelet Making with My Little Girl

While working with my key chain charms today, I noticed my little girl was feeling so bored. To cheer her up, I suggested to her to make beads bracelet. She got excited with the idea and was eager to start it right away. 

At seven, her hands and eyes coordination are ready to work on smaller beads or beads with small loops. I opened up my storage boxes  which contained new beads and trinkets and saved beads and trinkets from broken necklaces and bracelets. I encouraged her to use  some of those colorful children's beads and my little girl made her selection like pinking candy. I do not buy jewelry making kits from the stores because I do not find that is interesting combination and it is pricey for me. 

I like the random design bracelet that my little girl created. I adore handicrafts created by kids. They do not think and plan like adult instead they let their instinct guides them in their creativity. When she completed stringing the beads, I helped to tie a dead knot at the two ends.  To add a little fun and uniqueness, I tied  a little pink pompom it to the bracelet. My little girl loves it!

This would be a great party activity for girls. We may not have JoAnn in Malaysia but they are many jewelry making supplies shops in China Town, KL for beads shopping. Having that said, my favorite place to buy jewelry making supplies is Bangkok. 

Knitted Neck Warmer Refashion Into Cushion Cover

Living in the tropical has limited my exposure to any winter fashion thus far. I fear of cold weather, hence I don’t like the idea of traveling to any country during their winter times. As a result,   I didn't know a large knitted thing with opening at its’ two ends is actually a neck warmer. It is quite a cool way to keep the neck and even head warm.

So, here is the story. I was doing my Christmas shopping at the newly opened H&M store at Setia City Mall last December.  This is the 2nd H&M Store opened in Malaysia in three months. I was excited to discover this amazing store where I found many great fashion stuffs at surprisingly reasonable prices. Among the many goodies that I spotted, this beautiful knitted neck warmer was in a bargain bin for RM 15 (US$5). I was mainly attracted to its colors and design before I know what it’s for.  I thought it was a great deal and an idea to turn it into a cushion cover flashed into my mind and a perfect Christmas gift for a dear friend.



To start, I made a cushion with nice upholstery fabric and sewed a few fabric covered buttons to it; making few button holes on the neck warmers so that it will secure the cover to the cushion.  To add some fun, I decorated the cushion cover with some pompoms - a project is done in a few short hours.

If you have knitted neck warmers sitting in the closet you should consider up cycle them for cushion covers!

Handmade Notebook with French General Giveaway

Lucky me had won 'The Warp and the Weft'  of French General blog Petite Odile giveaway in end April 2012. The giveaway consisted of a Jelly roll fabric, cards and stickers from French General. Thanks to French General for posting the parcel across half the globe to Malaysia. And I had promised to make something out of the Petite Odile jelly roll. Finally after a few months, a handmade book was made with the given fabrics.

The patchwork idea came into my mind as individual piece of the long narrow stripes could not cover the surface of the book. Making patchwork was great as it display different prints and shades of the Petite Odile collection.

I made use of everything in the gift package including the wrapper and whatever I could get in my stock for an old french theme. And I hope for more acquires in future to add on to this book.

This handmade kettle stitch book collects sewing notions like vintage buttons,laces, fabrics, inspiring motifs and images with red, white, cream and natural are the key colors. It was an inspiration after the French General.

Duo-sided Christmas Napkins

I haven't got over my red mania since last Christmas. The French General had quite an impact on me since I learn about it from Kaari Meng books. Thanks to a dear friend recent order for Christmas theme napkins as one of the item in her gifts catalog, I got to continue my red mania project. I happily designed and handpicked some fabric for the napkins and sent them to a workshop for the order. I sew some extra for personal use and gifts to dear friends as I think that is more special. Another reason is because I could do better job than the workshop as I take longer to sew.

Diagonal Buffet Server  with pocket for holding cutlery set

I have designed duo-sided table runner and table mats last Christmas. Now, it is a table napkin. The purpose for designing the duo-sided napkin is simply to have extra option for table display.  After sewing the sample, I searched on Youtube for napkin folding tutorial. I found this napkin folding- Diagonal Buffet Server great to display the duo face napkin I made as it shown the different colors of the two sides. 

To personalize the seat, just add a name tag of your guest on the white fold

I have never use fabric table napkin at home as this is not common practice in Asian homes. This is the first time I learn to fold a fancy design napkins and that was really fun. I hope to learn more ways of napkin folding when I have time.

Lily Napkin reveals the different side on the top fold

Simple Butler Napkin with a fold on the top flap to reveal the different side

Vintage brass napkin ring I bought in Healdsburg Antique Fair 2011
adds charm to table setting. But one problem, I only have one ring.

I couldn't wait to use these beautiful napkins for my Christmas events at home in this December. Click here for this easy to make napkin tutorial.

Makeover of Family Area

The vibrant mix of colors and ethnic flare in this room caught my attention when I was pinteresting one day. I repined the photo to my home decor board right away. I would love to create a similar area in my house.

Picture from
http://blog.hgtv.com/design/2010/10/01/blog-of-the-week-sf-girl-by-bay/

We moved to our new home one and two months ago on 17th September 2012. While there are still projects for home improvement, I have finally unpacked all our stuffs and stored them accordingly.  I am taking time to add the finishing touches around the house. There are days that I would transfer plants from the old house, located not too far from the new one. Other days I would hang up pictures on the wall. After looking at the above photo again last night, I decided to do a little makeover for our family room, something that I have been reluctant to do because my husband prefers the decor and colors in the house to be simple and plain. But I finally decided to rule over him and take over the space since this area is adjunction to my studio. I supposed I can do what I like for my space :)

Before

Before the makeover, the corner had a slight ethnic flavor with the display of the Uyghur's carpet on the floor and Chinese floral cushion cover and Borneo Ikat displayed on top of the improvised TV bench. I found the room pleasant but it has yet to achieve my expectation. I love ethnic-eclectic style for home décor.  It will allow me to display my collection of beautiful textiles and knick knacks that I picked up from my travelling.  Additionally, I have made many cushion covers that will fit perfectly to this concept.

After

1- Cat stuffed toy from Northern Thailand; 2- Embroidery work from Uzbekistan; 3- Baby carrier of Dong people, China; 4- My handmade cushions and covers; 5- Left - white base cushion cover from the Akha people of Northern Thailand; 6- Yu Yu chair of Indonesia turned into TV shelf.

With a little creativity, I turned this little corner of my house to an oasis for cultural experience. Nice! This is a perfect place for reading and watching TV shows. I love the result but I believe there is still room for improvement. Perhaps I can change the curtain on the door or hang few more things on the wall to enhance the concept. I will keep you updated when there are new improvements to this project. 

Note: Please excuse the poor quality shots because I am relying on a phone camera for photography at this point of time.

Gathered Fabric Flower with Bird Hair Clip

My little girl had been talking about her kindergarten party all week. She kept asking me which outfit to wear and what headgear to match her outfit for the party. The kindergarten she is attending organized a headgear party today before the end of the school year next week. This is my daughter’s last year in the kindergarten and she will advance to primary school starting Jan 2013. I want her to enjoy her party and have been planning on making her a headgear or a hat to wear on that day. However, many events took place since end of last week, and I was not able to work on the headgear until this morning.

After sending my eldest daughter off to school at 6.15am, I started making this gathered fabric flower hair clip with bird resting atop. My initial plan was just to make a big flower hair clip. After completion of a flower hair clip, I felt like adding something to make it more interesting. A little decorative bird in the hallway flashed into mind. To enhance the concept, I picked up a green leave from my basket of artificial flower and add it at the bottom of the flower. Here it goes of my little creation completed in 2 hours. I would have added a tiny twig if my little girl would use it.

My little girl was not pleased with the bird resting atop the flower as she didn't want to look too outstanding among her friends. I had to convince her that other kids will come in fancier outfits and her headgear will just be cute and creative. The persuasion continued for a while and it eventually ended with bribery of a technical pencil, a stapler and an eraser!

At last, she was convinced and happy, and so was I. She returned home happily after school and told me about all the compliments she received from her teachers and friends.

The tutorial page should be out in few days. You may find it on Yann's Simple Tutorial page.