Schellea

Is it safe to come out now?

2010-09-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

So, I got freaked out of blogging a while back just because my boss told me how some stranger told him that we were friends but everything she told him about me was from my blog. Freaky! Not the part where my boss got to know about my blog and what I have on it (he's cool), it's that some stranger whom I don't know at all, thinks she knows me! I know, I know. It's super silly. That's what I'm supposed to get from writing for the world to see, right? This is bound to happen, I guess. Wonder how seasoned bloggers handle this situation. I just run and hide.

And then, I'd miss ranting and sharing things in this virtual outlet of mine (not that I care if anyone reads it) and rereading my weird past posts. So I thought, what the heck, it's all about content control, right? Right. So, I'm crawling out from under the bed now, in time to share this yummy picture of me and my CQ It was taken at Redang Island, while lounging on the beach. We were so relaxed and had a marvelous time there. Adding to that, I'm setting this as my maximum lovey-dovey benchmark for this blog! So that pretty much limits me to how-to's and guide-to's posts. I can get used to that.

♥ Chelley

Precious

2010-02-04T05:08:00.000-08:00

Wise words from funny woman Catherine O'Hara who, in my opinion, is super talented and strikingly beautiful. In her latest work, she's Judith in Where the wild things are. Even in the huge costume, her trademark raspy voice that is as sharp as her humour, gives her away.
Oh, and pictured here is our coffee table in the living room where we spend most of our time.

Be careful who you give your time to

The colour pink

2010-02-01T22:05:00.000-08:00

I guess there's no point in trying to be subtle when it comes to welcoming the month of lurve as I am seeing pink in almost every website. This year, I don't mind it at all. I am usually not a pink person but I have made a vow to accept more colours in my life (and wardrobe) and lessen my addiction to black and blue.

Anyway, how beautiful is this pink door that I found via "a life more fabulous"? My CQ will never approve it as a front door but possibly, the door to my sewing/art/guest room, perhaps?

via elementsofstyleblog.com via mimiandmeg.blogspot.com

Then, I saw these beauties. How divine is that powder-pink-with-thick-black-lining table cloth for my dressing table and while we're there, who could not want that big mirror and that pretty rug with shades of reds and pinks to match?

Oh dear, I am definitely in my I-want-pretty-things-for-the-house mode.

Finally, how perfect is this dress (via shopbop.com) for Valentine's Day? It's pink but not in a mushy way. No ribbons, no frills, no ruffles. Perfect.

Don't get me wrong, love em' frills to bits but you see them on everything on VDay, EVERYTHING from table cloths to cards, to flowers to chocolate boxes, to restaurant decor to office cubicles (oh yea, I've seen that).

...and I should probably mention that I have also had my share of disastrous (frilly/ lacey/ruffly) VDay numbers that I've had on in the past. Felt like I was camouflaged against a very sickly sweet and frilly world.

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Phew, so yea, I try to keep it simple and streamlined on that day (Note: Try to...)

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And, I already bought my CQ his gift. You won't see me scrambling and cracking my head for VDay gift ideas this year (unlike the year past)! Ha!

A walk in the park

2010-01-31T06:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we took my car Blackcherry, for her fifth service in two and a half years. Keeping up to the servicing schedule definitely paid off--she's a good, zippy little car with almost no problems at all (knock on wood). Thanks, Perodua Viva. :)

Since our service place was close to the Taman Bahagia LRT Station, it has been a ritual for us to hop onto the LRT (Light Rail Transit) for a little joyride to KLCC.

See how excited I am? I actually like our LRT trains. They're fast, cheap and comfortable BUT they don't run a wide enough network! Sigh, I won't even get into that. Our LRT stations always remind me of The Entrapment, that movie in which Sean Connery and Catherine-Zeta Jones met at the Pudu Station? Never mind, it wasn't very good.

This is pretty much the only picture I took in KLCC. Love the little booths selling pretty (but expensive) jewellery and trinkets. I had a list of things that I wanted to get but our little shopping trip ended up with a shirt purchase for my CQ and nothing for myself! Note- he's not the shopaholic in this marriage. :P

Ah well, we did have a good lunch and we took a quick walk at the park outside KLCC, pretty much our version of Central Park. It was blazing hot and that made me miss the sting of the sun while lying on the beach in Sipadan/ Manukan/Langkawi. Oh, and that pair of short shorts that I was wearing were altered from an awkward-looking Capri pants that I used to own (just pointing out the relevance of this post to my sewing blog).

And I got to break into my new heels, which I love to death. They are super comfortable I could run and walk all day in them. So I guess the shoe designers at Vincci are finally paying attention to the runway...specifically Miu Miu's. Wink wink. Well done, Vincci, well done for being inspired.

I could recommend some fantastic shoe blogs should you ever run out of ideas. Anytime.

I want to avoid posting about celebrities on my blog but since I couldn't find the Miu Miu heels on the runway, here's Lauren Conrad wearing them over and over... and over again. Must be just as comfortable as mine but ten times the price. Woohoo! Score!

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Although, she might've gotten hers for free.

-___-

Well, I got mine from hard-earned income.

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Clap clap. I win. :P

Image source: www.google.com

Hello you're pretty

2010-01-29T06:32:00.000-08:00

Dress by Matthew Williamson

I seem to be drawn to little white dresses nowadays. Could be that I am also scouting for a suitable design/style for my Canadian post-wedding/ family reunion gathering this coming June where I will finally have all my favourite people in one lanterns-and-fairy-lights decorated backyard. I am so looking forward to it. The theme would be more oriental, so I can acknowledge my very faint Chinese ancestry, which was left out during our 2009 wedding. Then, my CQ suggested that we also inject an equal amount of Hungarian element, which was also absent from the wedding. So, what does it come down to then?
A Sino-Magyar garden party. I love the sound of that. It will be one melting pot of no less than 10 races/nationalities. Perfect.
Oh, and isn't the dress just divine? Sigh. So simple. So me. I should be more adventurous this year but I just can't bring myself to wear loud things. Let alone pull it off. Phew. Thank God for pretty, simple things.

Image source: http://www.net-a-porter.com/

Project 03: Striped ruffled shirt

2010-01-26T08:59:00.000-08:00

Project Number Three came to me at the very last minute. I was going through the ironing pile and found a blue-white striped shirt my CQ hasn't been wearing for a while. Turns out, he didn't want it anymore but I sure do!

Before: Drowning in it. This is right before I completely took it apart. Hmm... really don't know why I'm tiptoeing...

So, with the help of McCall Pattern M5929 'Misses Shirts, I added ruffless...

puffed out the sleeves (this was a pain, I've never been pricked by so many pins ever before)

After: Ta-da! A new (and feminised) shirt for me!

Darn shirt took me 3 nights to complete. I deserve a drink.

...and another...

I kinda like it with my belt...ok, another drink. Don't think I'll be making another shirt in a while. Gotta say though, the pattern is so detailed and easy to understand, can't wait to start on my next pattern project. Thanks to my dearest Bea aka MIL for getting me the patterns. I love em'!

I love pencil skirts, can't you tell?

2010-01-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful weekend it has been. It rained yesterday at the most cuddle-worthy time of the day and my CQ and I sat side by side on the couch doing what most couples do these days; Surf the web together. :)

He (with my help), gave his travel blog a facelift and now you can see the gorgeous details in every picture. Sigh. It's a whole different feeling once you've found your perfect travel partner and We.Are.Perfect.Together. In practically every way. Seriously nothing biased about that. : P
Ok, I won't get into that because that will take up pages and because this is a sewing blog! Well, while surfing the web, I came across this divine lace embroidery skirt. Been a while since I wore anything lacey...since my wedding, actually! Anyway, (the) Phillip Lim beat me to it by creating this super gorgeous skirt.
I so wanna make it!

Maybe with a nude or deep red lining...

3.1 PHILLIP LIM

Embroidered lace skirt

Where do you get your inspiration from, Mr Lim?!

Image source: http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/63522

Not a bad mantra for 2010

2010-01-18T18:53:00.000-08:00

Oh, Paulo Coelho...you may have found your youngest fan but I'm definitely your (second) biggest one!

Coincidentally, I was listening to Cat Power's Sea of Love when I found this on Coelho's website...

Project 2: Short plaid skirt

2010-01-17T07:59:00.000-08:00

Ladi da...this week went by so quickly! Five days of work, a night out with the girls, a bottle of white wine, a jug of vodka-mixed-with-something, and a weekend of cleaning later and we're on to another week. Life would be so dull had I not married someone who makes me laugh every single (never fail) day.

Anyhoo, here's my second project a- a short purple plaid skirt.

It's supposed to be more bubble shape but that didn't really turn out...

Still, it's wearable and goes well with pretty much all my tanks and my CQ approves! (not that I need his approval for what I wear (phew). Just nice to know that he loikes it!)

Surprisingly, the waistband and pleats only took minutes to sew so less cursing in the sewing room this time!

Project 01: Pink paisley-print dress

2010-01-10T03:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the gorgeous MrsU's birthday and since I hadn't made anything yet for my first ever project for my sewing challenge, I made a dress to wear to the party. Two birds, one stone. Yay!

The dress was super easy to make...

Started off with two pieces of rectangles where the lower half was wider by a few inches and gathered before it was sewn to the top half...

Next, the shirred bodice. Most important ingredient- elastic thread! Thread the bobbin with it and normal sewing thread on top. Start sewing straight lines and voila, shirring stitch!

Oh, and then my CQ requested for hot chocolate and I ended up having a break and watched a bit of "Catch me if you can" sipping hot and super-yummy Godiva hot chocolate. Ah, decadent.

And back to work on the second part. With the garment right side up, just start sewing straight, parallel lines. In my case, I sewed 12 lines and that was enough to hold it up without straps.

Tip: Mark the parallel lines on the garment (with washable markers, of course) before sewing the shirring stitches. I just used the edge of the presser foot and since I had to stretch out my garment as I sew, I ended up with (quite unnoticeable) wonky lines.

Tada, I think I'm addicted to shirrings now. Guess what you're getting for your birthdays this year, oh sisters and mommy of mine?

Me and the gorgeous MrsU at her birthday party last night.And the dress behaved and held up for the entire night.

Beyond perfect

2010-01-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

OMG. CQ my love, let's get married again.

Saw this dress over at dress, design & decor... swoon...

Meet me, the easily distracted daydreamer/ procrastinator/ aspiring sewist

2010-01-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

via YellowGoat Design

Whoa...ok, time out. First thing that came to mind when I saw this awesome futuristic sewing machine was that it would fit ever so perfectly in a corner of the Jetson Family's space-capsule home. Aw, brings back memories of sitting on the dark brown itchy carpet of our Sandakan home, still dressed in 'My little pony' PJs, groggily watching Saturday morning cartoons.

Ok, back to cracking my head of what my first project should be. Week 01 is almost over. Yikes.

What's this, a sewing blog?

2010-01-03T21:31:00.000-08:00

Knock knock...I'm back...for the last time, I promise! Don't blame me. Moving around is in my blood. We've moved houses eight times growing up, and six + three times in university (ug + pg) and then twice since I've moved to Kuala Lumpur so can you blame me for feeling the itch to move blogs, Princessalitah? Yes, I'm justifying my blog move just for you :P

Phew, now then. I have decided to move (again, yes, yes) from schellea because I need my blog to actually focus on a purpose, such as my passion for sewing, yes. Schellea was a bit too personal, aimless and ok, i've just lost the motivation to talk about things I do every day that I've missed out the most bloggable and happening times of the year, such as Christmas, birthdays, trips and hello, my WEDDING! Obviously, the dedication was just not there.

It's a brand new year and perfect time for a new beginning, blog-wise. Hopefully my enthusiasm for Chelley Q will last as I blog about my sewing journey.

I have the room, the equipment, the supplies, the fabrics, the patterns (thank you, Bea!), the mentors (Hi mom and Bea!) and the support system (kiss kiss to my CQ) so I'm good to go!

Of course with any goals I have, I must adhere to deadlines. That's why I'm pretty good with New Year resolutions. So here it is...

I will ~~try to~~ make 52 sewing projects in a year.

One project a week, I think I can handle that!

Ok, I got a bit nervous after writing that... seriously Chelle, can you handle it?

Ah, what the heck. I need a new challenge in my life now. Can't get too cozy...what with the perfect family (mine and in-laws), perfect husband, perfect home and perfect job (no, really..it pretty much is)...

MUST.CHALLENGE.SELF

Or I'll get fat, lazy and stupid.

Image source: www.google.com