Blame it on Facebook

I woke up at 3am this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. After my usual early morning routine, I switched on the computer and started cleaning up my blog. Made a new banner for it. Somewhat a rebranding process to tie my blog with my brand I started in 2012. I tinkered and customised a template that I could work with and Tadaaa!!!!! Here’s to the new look.

Why the long hiatus?

1. Refer to title of this post: BLAME IT ON FACEBOOK. 
2. I’ve reached my limits on the pictures that I can post. I don’t quite know or understand how to explain this. Basically, I love a blog entry with pictures in it so it’s saves a lot of story telling. You know the saying that ‘A picture tells a thousand words’. But when I try to upload pictures, I get a message that says I’ve maxed out. 
3. I was super busy in 2012 going after bazaars and fulfilling online orders that I think I got so burned out. 2013 was just a recuperating year for me. I didn’t really take on a lot of orders and basically take some time out just to chill.
4. Having said that, it doesn’t mean I stop sewing all together. I still do some sewing here and there, some crafting here and there, just not so much publishing it to this blog. This again refer to item #1. I kept life simple and just update stuff on my page in Facebook. Check out Made by Rozi Rahman and like my page :)

So, what now?

1. I won’t say I’ll blog more often but I’ll try to have more entries than I did in 2013.
2. Do follow me on my Facebook page: Made by Rozi Rahman for the latest updates.
3. If you like pictures, follow my Instagram with hashtag: #madebyrozirahman

What are my plans?

To be honest, I’m still doing a lot of soul searching when it comes to my craft. I’m a hopeless sanguine. I want to do a lot of things and get bored fast once I’ve master the basic skills set. I started with bag-making and small crafts. I did pretty well and I had lots of support and encouragements from my blog readers. The proof was my booth did well in bazaars and my online sale was good. But it got stale. I got tired of making the same thing. At the end of the day for me, it’s not just the Dollar sign or in local context, the Ringgit Malaysia sign. My heart was just not into it anymore. And as the year passed by, I see more and more local crafters getting really good at bag making. Again, it’s not the competition that I’m afraid of. I envy them because of the passion that they have, the love that they put into making each and every bag unique. And without that passion, I can’t be making bags that I’m proud of and what more sell it to the general public.

For a business plan, I’m just going against the grain here. I’m not specialising in any particular area. Maybe not just yet. I’m taking orders as they come. I like it for the time being as it gives me the variety that colours my life. For instance, this week, I’m making telekungs for friends who are going to perform Umrah. Next week, there’ll be something else. In other words, it’s a ‘anything and everything goes’ or ‘Caca-marba’; but it’s my caca-marba. 

I need to have a big sign and say “I AM SORRY” for not replying or sitting on emails and enquiries that passed through my mailbox. I am so bad at that. Did I tell you that I’m a hopeless procrastinator too? I have a button that says ‘Procrastinator Extraordinaire’, not a trait that I’m proud of. I promise I will try my best to reply to any email or enquiries. That’s one reason why I have not decided whether to add a ‘Contact’ widget on my blog. 

I think that’s enough rambling for the day. I still have to add some finishing touches to the telekungs that I did yesterday and prepare them for postage. It does feel good to be able to ramble again on this blog. I wonder who still reads my blog after a long leave of absence. Maybe I’ll do a random giveaway to anybody who cares to comment after this post :)

Quoting Emmet from Lego Movie, “Everything is AWESOME!”


-Rozi-

A long silence and a new interest

Whoa! this would be the longest time for me to not post any entry on my blog. The last post was 6 July 2012. Almost a whole month of silence. What happened?! I was ill a few weeks back, suffered from viral fever. In fact, the whole household was infected. After that, I just seem to lost my mojo. After Supplies Surprise Bazaar, I've not cleared my room at all. It's extra messy as I just pushed everything on the table down onto the floor and took the table to the bazaar. If it hadn't been for Azrai putting it back in the room, it would still be lying infront of the door.

A friend who is also a doctor said it's probably a post viral fever recovery symptoms. I hope so but it's stretching a bit long even to my liking. I'm just avoiding the sewing room. One BIG reason is the loathing of clearing up. If I can't clear up, I can't sew. Fortunately, I've posted on my facebook page that I'm taking a break from accepting orders.

OK moving on... While gathering courage to tackle my sewing room, I've started something new. I ordered a pair of jumbo hooks over the internet and started using them with some tarn (t'shirt yarn I have lying around). Picture below was taken with my iphone and the small basket is the first project with these hooks.

My 2nd project was a rag rug. I followed this video on preparing some old bedsheets and turning them into yarn for my rag rugs.

And this video on making a simple oval shaped ragrug. Some good tips on how to add yarn when you reached the end of your working yarn, what to do if there's too much or too little stitches. I just love her rugs. They are so rustic 'ala Little House On The Prairie' like.

This is my first rag rug:

The one on top now is laid nicely outside the bathroom downstairs. I quickly made a second one which goes to Danial's room, just outside the adjoining bathroom.

These projects are super fast! I can make a small bath rug with one single fitted sheet in a couple of hours. I'm really hooked on this and got Azrai to ask for some old bedsheets from my mom inlaw and I asked my mom when I went to break fast at her house last Sunday.

Here's one rug made with MIL's old bedsheets:

And I made this from my mom's retro bedsheets. I used to see them since forever. They're probably and most likely older than I am. I love the retro batik prints and decided to combine 2 colours. Love how they turned out, don't you?

I caught the interest of some of my craft buddies and they asked me to organize a group buy. So, here's my poster for the group buy. If you're interested to jump on to the bandwagon, drop me an email at rozirahman@gmail.com. 

While typing this post, I found out that I've maxed out my Picasa pictures storage for the blog. The whole 1GB of it. Now my pictures are stored in Flickr (Thank God for Pro Account). 

Having said that, I think it's not too late to wish all Muslims wherever you are a blessed Ramadhan. 

Signing off for now. Time to pick Danial up from school. 

I am LUCKY

I woke up this morning and after the usual morning routine, I checked my Facebook (I’m somewhat of an addict) and saw a notification that a few of my friends liked my status update. It turned out to be a Pixoto update. Hey! Waddayaknow, my picture won the best of the day award in Pixoto! What a way to make the day :) I was on top of the world and that didn’t cost any money :) Here’s the screenshot of the notification on my wall:

Here’s the picture that won the award:

You can view it better in Flickr.

I submitted it on Friday, 16 March 2012 and it won the award for the day. How cool is that????

It’s been a while since I’ve been out of a photo shoot mission like this. I was even tempted to skip the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta this year even though it’s happening in my own backyard. That Friday, I woke up extra early and got my gear ready. I felt a bit feverish and my throat was scratchy. I swallowed a couple of aspirins and some cough mix, put my jacket on and left the house before the sun was out.

The crowd was already building up and the hot air balloon crew were getting ready to fill the balloons with hot air when I got there. I walked till the end of the area where all the balloons were supposed to take off and parked my self there. It was still early, the air was cool and I was in a good position.

Long story short, here’s what I got for the day:

Created with flickr slideshow.

Here’s coming to the point that prompted me to blog about this. When I uploaded my pictures onto Facebook, one person commented, “...lucky you have nice photos”. I read that with mixed feelings. What do you mean, “LUCKY”? How did “LUCK” played a role in this? I wanted to say something  in response to that and recalled a quote I read somewhere a long time ago:

LUCK is PREPARATION meets OPPORTUNITY

I like to think that I was LUCKY because I came prepared and met the golden opportunity of a fantastic weather to capture the hot air balloons getting airborne. I won’t be so lucky if I don’t have a camera with me, would I? So, Luck is by design... not accidental. 

I better sign off... I think my cough mix is doing the typing now. Have a great weekend or what’s left of it... School starts tomorrow and I have a whole load of ironing to do. 

NYC Cab revisited: A fresh perspective

I made a post about my knitted toys here at the beginning of this blog and the photos were taken from a camera phone. As today is the theme day for DSLR Kelab Malaysia, and the theme is ‘vehicles’, so I shot this, this morning. The photo does justice to this little cutie :)

I’m slowly turning this blog as a gallery for my photography as well. How it has evolved... One of the main reasons I took up photography more seriously was for this blog. To have better pictures. I’m glad I did and I’m having fun doing it.

A big about Kelab DSLR Malaysia. It’s an open group on Facebook and I was invited by a friend. They have 1 Hari 1 Foto assignment which is in line with my Project 365. You get to post only one photo a day and have members of the group comment on your picture. I can really see a lot of improvements in my shots from my earlier ones in my personal project. At the end of the day, the admin will choose a few best pictures and have them in the Wall of Fame for the day. I am elated to have mine chosen twice! It’s here and here. What more, it’s challenging to compete with photos of nature, sunset, sunrise, macro shots of bugs and what have you. Mine were more on still life and the stuff in my sewing room. So, to be picked into the Wall Of Fame is really an honour :)

And if you’re interested to view my Project 365, you can go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danialraziq/sets/72157625671861223/

Scrap-busting: A beanie for Danial

The long Federal Territory plus Chinese New Year holiday came and went. For people like me who don’t really have a kampung to go back to, it was a relaxing period to just spend the day at home and go out for meals. Oh, I celebrated my 9th Anniversary on February 2. After nine years of marriage, it was the first time Azrai brought home flowers for me. Isn’t that sweet? It’s not that he never thought of that. It’s just that we’re a practical couple that flowers seems to be a waste. As it is now, it’s wilting away in my kitchen. But the thought of it is touching. Thank you my dear husband for being my everything...

On Chinese New Year, I went to BookExcess in Amcorp Mall but didn’t get any magazines or books. Nothing really caught my fancy. But I managed to snap this photo outside the building. Isn’t it pretty? May the year of the Golden Rabbit brings prosperity to us all.

Feb 4th, was my MIL’s birthday. We took her out for dinner at Outback, Bangsar Village. I asked Azrai to snap a photo of my MIL but the photo didn’t come out quite good enough. So, I give you this, instead:

As far as activities in my sewing room, I managed to sew me a blouse and wore it last Sunday. No picture. Husband is not a shutter bug and I cannot take my own picture. The first picture of Danial’s beanie is made from the scrap sock yarn. From two balls of 100g each sock yarn, I made a pair of socks for Azrai, a pair of socks for Danial, a baby gift set of a pair of socks and beanie (No picture yet) and Danial’s beanie. 

I postponed the delivery for fabrics and finished goods till after the long weekend as I don’t want any mix-up at the post office. 

I hope you had a great time being with your family over the long weekend, as much as I did. 

What happened last Wednesday

It started with a message in my Facebook inbox by Mashitah Abd Rahman, a journalist from Nur requesting me to do an interview. It was a pleasant surprise and an honor indeed to have been chosen from the many talented crafters in CraftZone (According to her, she found me there).

In addition to the interview, I was asked to fill up the DIY column in the magazine. I had to sleep over it before saying ‘yes’. 

Fast forward on D-day. I converted my dining table to my work table. I made 2 items, the ipad cover and the iphone/ipod/handphone pouch using Metro Market Apples in Black and Mingle in Red.

My makeshift work station

My ever-supportive husband, Azrai agreed to babysit Arwen for the duration of the photoshoot and interview despite his busy schedule. For that, I’m eternally grateful. (At this juncture, I’ve taken him and the kids for a dinner treat as ‘upah’)

Azrai trying to get some work done and Arwen pretending to read

 Puan Mashitah and Mr. Photographer (I’m sorry I didn’t get his name) came and we went straight to business taking photo shots of the steps to make the cover and pouch.

Mashitah approving the shots

 Long story short, we finished the photo shoot at about noon and we had something to eat while Mashitah interviewed me. I made macaroni soup, something easy as you chuck in all the ingredients and let it simmer and just add macaroni before serving.

Whatever it takes to get a good shot

I don’t mind the demo shots but I’m quite stiff when it come to personal photo shoot. I literally have to say “tiga” to smile for the camera. The camera don’t really like me that much. That’s why I prefer to be the person behind the camera.

Anyway, this is to go in the March 2011 issue, InsyaAllah. I hope they can find enough decent pictures to put in the magazine. My hats off to Mashitah. In the call of duty, it’s amazing for someone who doesn’t sew to explain it in the magazine. So, don’t forget to get the issue when it’s out.

Thank you Mashitah and Karangkraf for giving me this golden opportunity to be featured in Nur. Thank you Mr. Photographer for being patient with me. I hope you got my good side. Another milestone for me and Rozi’s Needlework. 

Spring cleaning and Work In Progress

I’ve been  hard at work, spring cleaning around the house these past two days. One particular reason is I’m expecting special guests this coming Wednesday, InsyaAllah. Am excited at the prospect of having these guests over to view my work.

Being the hardcore crafter (ye ke? heheheh...) even when I sit down to take a break after vacuuming and moping the house and tackling 3 loads of laundry, I will automatically pick up my knitting needles. I can’t just sit still. Even when after all the housework, my muscles and joints are aching (signs of age catching up with me) and feeling numb all over, I would still do a few rows of knitting.

This is what’s on my needles right now. I bet my friend is wondering why is it taking a while for me to finish this shrug. I actually had to do the front panels three times as I wasn’t happy with the outcome. I’ve decided to modify and not follow the pattern to the letter as I’m using a different type of yarn. The yarn I’m using is Rowan Cotton Milk DK in Humbugs. It’s a lovely pastel grey though in this picture it looks a bit on the dark side. It’s actually much lighter. 

I’m working on the sleeve part and like the front panel, I normally do them two at a time. I hate counting rows and lousy at keeping track. So by doing it both at the same time, I reduce the chances of having one sleeve longer than the other :) This is how I was taught to knit and I felt it’s a great idea. The only drawback is you have to untangle your yarn once in a while as you’ll be knitting from two balls of yarn.

I’m almost 3/4 of the way in this project and only used 4 balls of yarn. I think another two balls would finish the project as I need to do the cuff and neckband.  I hope I can get this ready by the end of this coming week. 

As for my spring cleaning project, I’ve cleaned and cleared until I can’t clean and clear any more. And there’s still loads to go. A mommy’s job never ends.

My first photobook from Blurb.com

Danial And Arwen by Rozi Abdul Rahman | Make Your Own Book

I’m super excited. Just placed an order for my first photobook on Blurb.com. Here’s the preview. I hope the hardcopy is as good as the preview. I ordered 3 copies so I can give one copy each for the two neneks on their birthday.

I think this is a good way to showcase all the wonderful photos. With digital camera, photos never get to see the light of day unless you switch on the computer. How many of us do keep photos in an album anymore?

Blurb has a 15% discount for December. The code is: DECEMBER. Not too late to make your own photobook.

Itsy Doodles Gang Came To Visit

I got back to Putrajaya from my mom’s in Setiawangsa at about midnight. i was so sleepy and nodded off in the car. When we reached home, both kids were fast asleep and we took a child each up to bed. After all that, I tried to sleep but it’s no use. Mata dah merajuk. I’m wide awake. I was surfing in the darkness on my Ipod hoping to get sleepy again but instead, I’m more awake than ever. So, I checked out a few websites, sent some emails and organized my photos. I came across these set from Naza and kids’ last visit a couple of weeks ago and decided to edit and post it here.

Naza and kids had visited us before but it never crossed my mind to take pictures or mention about it here. This time, Naza asked to check out my camera and we shot a few pictures here and there. Here are some of Akif, Naza’s youngest. Teruna pemalu nih :)

Here’s one of a dusty flower arrangement on my side table. Showcasing the camera’s ‘bokeh’ effect. I edited this shot with Photoshop Elements 9 for the extra contrast. Read about my camera and Photoshop Elements here.

Thank you for the visit Naza and gang. I hope you don’t mind me putting up Akif’s photos here.

My Labels Are Here!

Had Azaidris from Itsy Doodles over for tea and the kids had their play time today. Talked about fabrics and more fabrics. We’re both waiting for our labels to arrive from kucinpurple. I was about to give up hope of getting it today when I heard the Poslaju van honking. Yeay! It’s here!!! Love it. Thank you kucinpurple.

For those who’s interested to have their own personalized ribbons made, visit kucinpurple.blogspot.com

Wall of Magnets

I ran out of fridge door to put up my fridge magnets. My friend, Lynne displayed her collection on these boards you can get from IKEA so I copied her. It was a Maal Hijrah’s project for my husband to drill and put up the boards on the wall. When I transferred my magnets, I have more space to put up more :) These magnets were bought during our vacations and from my brother who’s a steward. He’s helping me build my fridge magnet collection.

Now, how is this related to craft? Non whatsoever. Just thought of sharing the idea though.

SEX @ IKEA and Craftworld

I reached home but the kids just fell asleep so I'm mobile blogging in the car so they can sleep a little bit longer. I don't bother transfering them into the house as they never fall back to sleep so this is better. (Rae from Made by Rae does it too. I thought it made a lot of sense so I do what she does)
Went to IKEA to grab a couple of pinking shears. Grabbed some scissors and wire baskets to keep my growing stash. I love IKEA on a week day. Not so stressful. Even signing in Danial at Smaland was a breeze. The guy at Smaland knew I was a regular when I knew all the places to sign on the registration sheet without any prompting.
After a quick bite and paying for my purchases. We went to Craftworld. It's very hard to stay focus there as there's so many beautiful things there and yay! They are carrying Knitpro needles now.
I bought notions for my Papa bag and a spare blade for my rotary cutter. I've never replaced my blade since I bought it which is as old as Danial and it's not funny anymore when you have to go three or four times to cut a single layer of fabric. It's hurting my self healing cutting mat too. It's now no longer healing itself due to the pressure I put on the cutter when I cut.
By the way, if any of you are not aware yet, Craftworld has a membership card where you have to purchase a minimum of RM 100 to qualify. Members get 10% discount on selected items.

These are the faces of my tired troopers heheheh...priceless

SEX-Stash Enhancing Expedition

Hahaha... I like it when I read some of the new knitters’ jargon in the net from one of the oh so many newsletters that I subscribed for free. I think it applies to crafters as well, don’t you think so?

Well, this week, my SEX is to Mayfair Handicraft in Taipan. I bought a Korean made bamboo circular needle size 2.5mm. Looking for longer cable as I plan to knit socks. I love the yarn selection they have there too. Now I know where to go to grab some yarn.

All in one

I’ve a few things to update so I’m going to put everything in one entry. First, Arwen’s first smocked romper from AE&E magazine. There’s supposed to be some bullion roses but I’m too lazy to add it on. So, it’s going to be as is.

Close up view of the smocking.

Last saturday, managed to shop at Nagoya, Wangsa Maju. The pink stipey fabric is for Danial’s baju melayu. Pretty much set on pink/terra cotta colour theme for this year’s baju raya. The plain fabrics are lycra for my tudung. I’ll put up the extras for sale.

Japanese cotton for another smocking project perhaps...

Yesterday, I got this in the mail. It’s my ‘jarum mas’ courtesy of Rimbun. Thank you :)

My cotton baju kurung. It’s been ages since I sew my own baju kurung. Still have no guts to cut ‘kain licin’ so I made do with cotton.  The kain is also ready. Just have to make the shoulder pads and sew the hook on the kain. 

New Look

I tested the new design feature on blogger.com and decided to have a make over. What do you think?

The sewing machine cabinet on my blog title is not mine. How I wish it is.... I’ve been surfing the net and googled sewing machine cabinet and fell in love over and over and over again with the many different types of cabinets for sewing machines. Why oh why don’t they have it here in Malaysia. Love the hydraulic lift that can adjust the height of the sewing machine.

Another Saturday Outing

This morning I went to LSN’s free jahit baju kurung class. I was half an hour late (traffic jam at Seri Kembangan) and yet I was the second student in the class. I wasn’t thrilled with how the class was organized and conducted, thus shall not elaborate further on how the class went. One thing’s for sure, I’m not going to attend tomorrow’s part 2 of the class.

Moving on. My husband took us to IKEA to placate my foul mood after excusing myself from the class. Since we parked in the Curve, and the kids were still groggy from their nap, browsed at Borders and Daiso before crossing over to IKEA. 

Checked in Danial at Smaland (heaven for moms and dads to have their kids occupied for an hour, and what more, it’s FREE!). Azrai went to see a friend at Ikano and I browsed the textile department. I have to refrain myself from stashing as I have limited space in my sewing room and I’ve just indulged myself with a hefty investment recently. (Read about it here). However, I did pick up a few things to help organize things around my sewing room. Azrai got me a wall spotlight as lighting is poor at my sewing table. Hey, isn’t it Father’s Day? I’m supposed to get something for him. Instead of the other way around but I’m not complaining. (Alamak! Apa nak bagi for Father’s Day nih?)

We head back to the Curve and just before going home, we went to Borders again because I couldn’t find the Crafts section (which was on the upper floor). I picked up these two books. It’s been ages since I last bought books. I usually buy crafts magazines because I feel they are more up-to-date.

I was sold by the title of the book. So avant-garde.

I picked this up while queueing to pay the first book. Again, the title intrigued me. If I can make the beautiful things as on the cover of this book in 90 minutes, hey, why not?

To conclude, I’m happy to report that the outing did improve my mood. I’ve also finished knitting baby Ilisa’s no-heel socks and beanie; and finished her dress. That’ll be in my next entry. Stay tuned!