Went to the beach today afternoon. I can't remember the beach name, but it's around Callao Salvaje. One of the tourist area....
I sat close to the big rock, the rock come as a shelter, covered me from the direct sun. It was around 4. 30 in the afternoon but the heat was unbearable (for me!).
We were there for less than an hour, but I already drained. I felt the heat fatigue, dizzy,.... a bit hungry (it was an afternoon tea time afterall).... and burnt.
The beach itself was nice. Not so many people around, I mean it's month of August and it was saturday afternoon. But there are so many Playa in this island, so I guess the tourist are spreads around.
The typical beaches in this islands are black sands (volcanic sands), dark blue water and the water is slightly colder than the normal beach (it is an open ocean beach). The water is actually very clean, but bcoz of the black sands, it's hard to see whats underneath. Makes the water doesn't look transparant, but dark.
I deliberately didn't bring my swimming costume. I didn't actually wants to go in the first place,.... to the beach.... in the hot day!
When I arrived back home, I had a strong headache.....actually I still have headache right on this moment. I hope will be gone by tomorrow.
And I wish everyone a wonderful weekend ;)
Speaking about zipper, I just found out ....
that you can buy zipper by the meter. Thanks to my girlfriend who took me to the sewing supplies shop this afternoon. I've been round and round the Chinesse shop (yeaaa,.... I said I wouldn´t go there but I went anyway to four Chinesse bazaar to look for a decent looking and reasonable price zipper). I mean, I need more than one, so I want the right price for sure.
When I went to the shop and asked for zipper, the shop keeper show me the normal zipper (suitable for clothes not bag), cost 50cents each for 30cm long. I thought, the price is almost correct .... but I want to pay cheaper than that ;)
She saw me struggling calculating the cost (.... the cost of zipper?!), then she show me (..fffiiuuhh......finally) the zipper by the meter. She was holding two big bulk rolls of zipper. At first I was confused, where is the beginning and the end of the zipper?! Then she shows me how to insert the head,... seems easy I thought.
Practically, you buy by the meter (50cents/meter), I asked for 4 meters and I asked 10 pieces of zipper head (5cents each).
Total : 2.50 euros
That's what I call the right price! I was happy ;)
I tried to inserting the head on the zipper, it´s same like when you try to fix an old zipper by trying to re-inserting the zipper head,....
I mean, it seemed easy to do it when I was in the shop. I tried, re try,.... try and try again.... finally the zipper gave up on me. Persistence is a good thing ;)..... I mean, we are talking about zipper head here...
First zipper head took me a while, second was smooth,... the third was hard like the first. Then I get the hang of it. I'm relieved, I can carry on with my project.
My (not so) new project these last few days, I used same material like before ....
apparantely I haven't finish them yet, just the red one is practically finish. I supposed to be on my way to do fabric shopping, but I don't want to go, when there is an Olympic game going on there. I have a story about the organizer bag HERE and how to use the Organizer bag HERE.I actually have another project to complete but I ran out zipper, and I don´t know where to buy sewing supplies here, I refuse to buy in Chinesse shop, last time I bought laundry clip (1 euro), it was total flop. I´d rather pay more but decent quality, but guess what, I bought wooden laundry clip in the expensive supermarket for 0.75 cents.
oh,... and I still doing aerobic during my busy day. I need to say this, bcoz exercise is good for your body... and soul, I supposed?! I´m doing it 2-3 times a week, not much... sometimes I get the "lazy cow" mode so I skip it, but I try not to. I'm not doing it to lose weight, I'm doing it in the hope to lift up my good positive energy, to feel relax and happy.... that's all that matter in majority people's life, I think...
I do aerobic at home, on my computer and youtube! I also put my trainers shoes to get in the right mood.
The conclusion is, still... more difficult to try to take crisp clear pictures than sewing itself.
When I saw this quote, I thought --oh ,,dear... it is soooo me! Let me explain why..
Once people knows that I'm familiar with sewing, they first question or request are usually : "can you shortening my pants?... or can you fix this?.... fix that? " At first, I didn't have the heart to say NO, eventhough I hate even the thought of doing it--- depress me right away. As you can see the quote above, I simply don't mend! I really better off clean the toilet bowl than mending someone elses clothes, -- to take it to extreme... oh, I actually prefered. Long ago, I used to mend people clothes. I made business out of it. I charged 5 euros to shortening pants or skirt. I might charge more like 10 euros for alterations, any kind. I made my circle of clients, made some money, but I also depressed. But when I create something... anything from scratches, I´m over the moon. I satisfy, I feel complete. "Asking a seamstress to mend is like asking Michelangelo to paint your garage"
Can I actually make my point with this.......?
Playa San Juan
Playa San Juan is the closest beach to where I live at the moment. It is only something like 2 km away, 5 minutes with car. One time I walked it from home, I should do it more often, it's just there is no proper walk path, so you end up walking on the side of the road, while the road is a busy one......
There is a small seaport in Playa San Juan, where you can see fishing boats, private boats or any other little boat. There you can buy fresh tuna for 10euros. Usually it is 4 kilos for one tuna fish.
The beach itself is a bit rocky with little layer of black sand, if you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of the waves hit the rock.
There is a long walkpath going up, where leads you to a mirador (sightseeing spot). From there you can see the whole of Playa San Juan, the beach, the port and the little town.
That day was a bit windy and cloudy, that's why I wore a jeans jacket. Otherwise I would have wear a tank top.
Next time I walk there again, I'll make sure I wear a walking shoes though.
There are few benches, where you can sit down and relax, looking out the sea. I personally like to sit there instead of sitting on the sand.
Every wednesday morning I go to Playa San Juan, to buy fruits and veggy on the local market in the square of this little town. Sometimes I get free bananas, avocado or tomatoes from the vendor. According to them, the fruits and veggy they sell are coming from their own farm, more natural compare to the supermarket.
After shopping, I sometimes go to the beach, sit on the bench for 20 minutes to distract my mind and to get some fresh air then go home.
Yucca Root
Some people may not know or never taste Yucca Root before. Or even doesn't how to cook Yucca. This time I choose the simple way to .....
cook Yucca. I cut to pieces Yucca Root (prefereable thin), wash it with clean water, sprinkle it with salt. set aside.
Chop one or two garlic (optional, but I think its give more taste). Set aside.
Make mixture of flour and water. Make it in a way that is dense, not to thick neither too liquid (this is just a guide line, in the end it is up to you). Mix it with the chopped garlic.
Prepare the pan, pour the frying oil, I use olive oil. I didn't do deep fried, only stir fried.
Fry the remaining Yucca until golden brown, crunchy outside, tender inside. Delicious! Great for afternoon snack.
When my husband tasted, he asked for the "salsa" (dip) to go with it. I made the dip with onion, fresh tomatoes, salt, a squish of lemon juice and chilly.
IstriTeladan note :
Back home in Indonesia, we call it Singkong or Ubi. Many ways on how to cook it. Relatively cheap to buy, while in Europe would cost 3 euros a kilo, more or less.
New Sewing Space
Good things come to those who wait. After so many months, waiting and wanting (unpatiently) to have a proper sewing space, finally it happened .....
I actually can sew anywhere, on any table, with any sewing machine. Of course to have a proper sewing space is much more convinient, I don't need to clear up my tools, I can just leave them there as they are, so in the following day, I'll remember what I left behind.
Let say, no one would accidentally use my cutting scissor to open the food package for instance ;)
My husband helps me to look for a decent long board (plywood) to turn it into a sewing table. The idea is to have all my sewing tools ready to use anytime I want.
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My husband made a hole on the table for Supernova Julia to fit in. It is a highly engineered task when you see the result ;)
| Right after he installed the machine, I cleaned and swept the remaining wood chips everywhere. I polished the machine, wanted to put oil on it but couldn't manage...
Then I sat down in front of it , doing nothing just stare and daydreaming for about half an hour,...
Doesn't it look very bright? It is a brightest room in the house. You can't see the opposite of the table, there is another table for my husband computer and stuff. The door on the side is an entrance of the house. The whole room is actually our living room. Our appartement is a one bed house, I could't afford- yet to have my own private sewing room. I'll make sure I have one... in time.
As you can see, line of my sewing tools... from left : Supernova Julia, vigorelly- emergency machine, and last but not least ---hoping to get an industrial one--- is the serger. They always make my day!
Funky Backpack
Do you happen to notice my Funky (enourmous) Backpack?!
It takes a courage to hanging around in the public area with Funky backpack, and it takes someone with a big heart to stand next to someone with a FUNKY BACKPACK!
Anyway, that day was a first day I'm with my F-backpack. Took me more time than usuall to complete the bag. I guess I laid back alot bcoz of the hot weather maybe, not to mention I still couldn't access my other sewing machine (the powerful one), the one I use at the moment is basically a toy.........
| Some of these pictures taken when I went to the beach around Las Americas, Tenerife. Las Americas is one of the main tourist area here. Full of tourist, nothing but tourist! When I went, wasn't that crowded thought. I mean it is month of July after all.
We had picnic homemade lunch which was bocadillo, sort of sandwich. We bought the bread in Iceland supermarket, while for the filling, I already prepared chopped tomatoes with olive oil, salt pepper, coriandolo/cilantro (chinesse parsley), and Brie from home. Not much, hey I didn't plan this picnic, I just packed what I found in the fridge. My husband was surprised I manage to prepare them all. And a bottle of water of course.
| | Some pictures I took during the making of a F-backpack :
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One of the important element on my bag is zipper as a closure, so you can be so 100% sure that your belonging is safe inside the bag.
I made a zipper casing. Believe me, it may look like a waste of time by making a case for the zipper, but worth the final look and helps you a lot when you install the whole thing together later on.
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This is the frontal pocket. Also with zipper. Secure and neat.
The famous Red BIG Flap on my F-backpack. It's quilted and padded. I sew on my old commercial label Ritney, just for fun.
The F-backpack shell from the front. At first, I thought the bag would turn out small, so I get a bit panic, then I added extra pieces on each side and the bottom, to make the bag bigger. Guess what, turned out enourmous!
The bag shell, viewed from the back. I don't have a special hook for the bag making, so I just did more or less for the straps, the length or so. Seems like work out fine.
Zipper for opening installed on the bag. Very much sense with the zipper casing. To secure even more, I even put snap button there.
Inside the bag, another pocket with zipper, the O ring for keys and lined.
I tell you the downside of my F-backpack, due to its size, it is not suitable for everyday bag. It's more like a weekend bag, you know when you need to go for a short trip, to pack few clothes and such.
Another thing is, due to its faux fur material, makes your skin hot, your back hot, especially in a hot weather like now, OMG... hot!
Last but not least, show me what your needle up to. Share the picture of your creation maybe, anything really... anything that fun and positive. Anything that makes you happy.
Happy sewing everyone.
Reversible Blazer
I made the Reversible Blazer the other day, I don't actually like to make a blazer nor to wear it. But sometimes I like to give myself a little challenge on sewing. And making a blazer is surely a hell of a challenge!
I chose the wrong material to work with. The black material is a sort of corduray, which fray a lot and make a lot of dirt aswell gives me headache. Also it is thick, hard to sew.
The printed material is much more forgiving. A bit elastane and sort of cotton. The two material combined together makes a reversible.
To make a reversible basically you need to cut double on every pieces. Surely is a time consuming and hard work. But....
 Printed side of the blazer. I think it's well worth it. You can see the transformation of my blazer when I turn it inside out. Gives totally a different new look, as if I have more than one blazer.
 The black side for a calm look. I think the black side is best to wear it for night time. Coz in the daylight can be sooo hot and a bit out of place. And the printed side should be for late evening, in other words : can't wear the blazer during the day!SUMMARY :1. Choose a very simple and easy pattern, to make a reversible.2. Prepare for the "Time consume".3. Try on working with cotton material, easy to handle and cut.4. Plain fabric for one side and printed for the other side. 5. Don't forget to take a pictures of your finish project and share it with us HERE
What's more fun than playing with the soap bubbles during the hot day?
Especially when you allow to do it in the public area such this :
Agua Dulce is one of many interesting areas in Tenerife. It is under Guia de Isora Municipality. It is very close to Playa San Juan (about 2km) or maybe less by car. It is surrounded by bananas plantation.
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