Back in May, Yoshimi embarked on her Me-Made-May excursion and gave me lots of inspiration with her professional looking and meticulously made garments. As a novice sewer, I do not dream of a Me-Made month but I try to keep a goal in mind to actually wear what I sew. With that target, I would try my best to finish the garments properly. Yes, I classify myself as a hobbyist sewer but at the end of the day, it is much more satisfying if the clothes I made are somewhat wearable.
The Me-Made holiday to Penang, Malaysia started with this cream Nani Iro top at the Hong Kong airport in late afternoon of Day 1. We arrived very happily in the evening at our beach hotel at Batu Ferringhi.
I decided to get my act together to fix the neckline of this top sewed last year but never worn. There's nothing wrong with the neckline if I like it slightly off my shoulder but I prefer not having to watch over my bra strap every so often, so I narrowed the neckline by gathering a little at the back too. The belt was an idea from my elder daughter JY and I think it is a good suggestion. The fabric is Nani Iro double gauze. It is so nice and breezy to wear. The pattern is #1 from this book (SBN 978-4579111497).
Day 2 was pretty much spent at the pool and then out to Gurney Drive for some much-missed hawker food. Look how gleeful my 2 girls are.
We went on a round-island tour on Day 3 and went to the hillside for some of yummy Penang durian. We tasted the delectable Ang Heh (literally means Red Prawn). There is mostly Thai durian sold in Hong Kong which is so bland to me. Nothing like the tasty Malaysian durian that I'm so used to from my childhood days in Singapore. For those interested, you might like to check out the different varieties of durians here.
And I wore the linen pants I sewed using the Very Easy Vogue 7883 (I made the size 10). The fabric is a grayish blue linen (the third one from the top of this stack of fabric) which I bought in Shamshuipo. I love this fabric and have some more it which I hope to make a Twinkle Sew top. That is, if I could figure out how to print the patterns from the CD (do I shrink to fit when printing? Thanks to anyone who can help me out with this or point me to where I can find more information on printing out the Twinkle Sew patterns). The waist band is in elastic, next time I have to learn how to fix the elastic to the back only as I certainly do not need the extra bulk around my tummy.
Are you tired of the headless photos of mine? I am, so here's the 4 of us and another look at the linen pants.
Day 4 was for visiting the historic sites in Georgetown, which is one of the Unesco heritage cities. Below is a photo of Chew Jetty, homes built on stilts in the waters. I wore my purple Nani Iro tunic on this day. We went for some yummy Peranakan food that evening.
On day 5, our last day in Penang, we went in search of the famous Penang Road Chendol, had more Ang Heh durian along Mcalister Road and had authentic street side hawker food at Lorong Baru/New Lane.
And I wore the Simplicity top (2596, View A, size 8). The fabric is a synthetic blend (realized it only afterwards) that I got from Taobao website in China. It is mini navy anchors on white. I chose the wrong weight interfacing and the neck sort of stood up. Luckily it softens after a wash and here you have it, me being adventurous wearing my own homemade top in the streets of Penang. And of course flip-flops are a must.
A mix of everything in this post, our adventures in a fun-filled holiday in Penang (so much to see, so much to eat too) and my adventures in sewing (so much to learn and so much room for improvement). Hope you are still with me. Meanwhile, have a great weekend!
SC, I don't think that you are novice seamstress any more! Putting together a holiday wardrobe - that's experience. I love all of them, and all the mentions of Malaysian food makes me very hungry, and tempted to go out for curry today.
Posted by: Ingrid | Sunday, July 04, 2010 at 05:11 AM
The clothes you have sewn are well made and look lovely. You are more than a hobbyist sewer.
Thank you for sharing the details of your trip and the photo of your family. I enjoyed it all.
Posted by: Laura | Sunday, July 04, 2010 at 06:23 AM
Your finishing skills seem quite good from the photos!
Posted by: chloe | Sunday, July 04, 2010 at 08:24 AM
The garments look awesome! Wish I can get down to learn the sewing machine use sometime...
Posted by: emy | Sunday, July 04, 2010 at 05:28 PM
Wow. SC, you looked stunning in your Me-made holiday wardrobe. Good work ! I especially like your linen pants.
My hometown is very famous with durians. I think the Malaysian durians you used to eat in Singapore might be imported from my hometown. Haha !
Penang "Rojak" and "Tou syabia" are famous too. Your post made me wanted to revisit Penang....:)
Posted by: PY | Sunday, July 04, 2010 at 08:10 PM
Great photos! Love your handmade clothes.
Posted by: Julie | Monday, July 05, 2010 at 12:46 PM
I'm definitely with you. You're one of 3 posts I check regularly. Nice clothes, you made!
Posted by: Louise | Monday, July 05, 2010 at 01:01 PM
Very inspiring clothes - wish I could understand that pattern book it looks lovely.
Posted by: Rebecca | Monday, July 05, 2010 at 03:27 PM
Lovely clothes you have made and it is great that you wore them on your holiday. I'm starting to learn how to make clothes and I don't thing you are a novice as your clothes looks very professionally made. I love durian too, but it is very difficult to buy good durian here in the UK. I must start saving some money for trip to malaysia.
Posted by: Mary | Monday, July 05, 2010 at 07:21 PM
I agree you have become a competent sewer!! Can I ask about your bag? Looks like a good bag for sightseeing and travel!!..
Posted by: linda | Tuesday, July 06, 2010 at 12:34 AM
Glad to see you had a great hol in Penang. Your girls are cute as ever :) Love the linen pants. It looks very much like a pair that I just bought from Marks and Spencer! I like your me-made holiday! SC, you're cool :) haha
Posted by: erin | Tuesday, July 06, 2010 at 08:41 AM
Lovely clothes - love your style. About the printing - I don't have that exact book, but when I have printed patterns from a CD, I have just print all the pages as they were and then taped them together at the markings or numbers afterwards. It sounds more difficult than it was - actually it all became clear when just printing. Hope you find a way and good luck.
Posted by: Little Miss S. | Thursday, July 08, 2010 at 03:16 AM
Penang! Durian! Yum. Love your 'me-made' stuff ~ very chic.
http://www.artsintertwined.com
Posted by: Willa Goldthwaite | Friday, March 04, 2011 at 06:16 AM