Guilt on Holiday + Malaysia's Quilt Resource

Hi!

I am back here in Canberra! We reached here safely last Monday. I already got myself back to the office and I am back on track. (for those who doesn’t know : I went back to Malaysia, my home country for three weeks as a break from my studies, my husband Master’s convocation and to see friends and families)

The first few days of our holiday – we were busy with my hubby Master’s Convocation ;

Then, there is a lot of travelling.. though I must say, there are some free time during weekdays (since most friends are only available on weekends)..

Here is a quick visit to Steel Mosque at Putrajaya : love the pattern there -potential quilt block =)

Well, at first I thought I would post few updates during my holiday but I guess I was not into posting anything. In fact, I must say I was not at all productive  on holiday..LOL.

Why didn’t I post really??Well,
There is something about guilt that I can’t avoid. As a student, I always fail to have a really good time on holiday. Its the GUILT. The GUILT of not reading or thinking about your PhD project. The GUILT that kills my creativity, my relaxation and my need to sew. I have to say that, I am only best when I am busy. I see myself best at home when I do best in school. I feel relieved and relaxed when I have done I am suppose to : which means, I can then focus on my hobbies like sewing or home stuff like cleaning. I fear of doing anything when I am not doing my PhD things.

(photo : Beach walk at Tanjung Balau, Johor Malaysia – crabby prints : great quilting inspiration)

I was determined not to do anything PhD related on holiday. But that does not mean I did anything sewing related either. I still have that GUILT! Can you believe it.. but then again, there was not much time either.. Hey, It was a holiday —so, I did spend most of my time having fun outing with families. But in between those times, free times was only wasted on pinterest and browsing over the internet. No sewing. No PhD. So I do feel a bit of waste. But can I say I can’t handle it.. LOL.. and it kind of makes me want to end the holiday as soon as possible. I want to get back on track. Back to school and back to my sewing machine. Is it a bad feeling?

BUT…. I did a little bit of sewing. A bit of sewing to influence my mum and mother in law to do some patchwork too! So I went shopping around here to find quilty stuff. But it was hard to find quilty goodness here.. but I did find some great things here: If you are in Malaysia , and looking for some places to buy quilty things try this :

1 : Anna Patchwork House (Kota Damansara, Selangor)

I bought from her two sets of these rotary cutter sets for my mother in law and my mum.

The fabrics on the mats were from fabricfanatics.

2 : Fabric Fanatics (The Summit, USJ)

I went a bit crazy with scrappy linen at the fabricfanatics shop. You can also purchase online from them.

This shop is fabulous! I met with the owner, Kelly..and she is wonderful.. I’ll definitely would be coming back. For those international buyers, you can also buy from her shop on etsy here.

I made these pouches with scrappy linen I bought. These pouches were made using the quilt as you go method.

3: Harris Bookstore (Aeon Shopping Centre, Tebrau, Johor)

I bought japanese patchwork, bags and quilt book here. There are lots of choices and they even sell Cotton Life magazines. Great place for japanese craft book.

4. Kims Button (previously JBF Sewing) (Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Johor)

Now, this is my regular sewing shop when I am in Malaysia. I use to do a lot of beading embroidery and this shops stocks a lot of beads that I need and use. I love their customer service and I love their little tidy shop.
They stock on good quality sewing/needlework related stuff and much to my surprise, now they also stock on a lot of quilty stuff like cotton fabrics, battings, threads and even rotary cutters and mats!

I stocked up on zippers for bags and bought some batting for my mum here.

Well, that’s it for this post..I think its lengthy enough.. i have a lot more to share in this few days, so please bear with me..