Birthday "Pilgrimage" to HCI

October 12 & 13 have been 2 very special days for Knotty Bicsie since 2009. These are the 2 days when the J1 students of Hwa Chong Institution gets to enjoy their 2 days of Sabbaticals Program, while their teachers go busy marking their exam scripts :P & coincidentally, itx the time when Knotty Bicsie celebrates our Anniversary! So it always feels like a "birthday pilgrimage" for Knotty Bicsie :P

This year, besides our usual Funky Knit & Basic Tatting Workshop, we also collaborated with Japonicas to conduct a very special course - "Mu" Workshop (Terrarium & Hand-Bouquet).

I'm really excited when the teacher-incharge told me the wonderful news of "full-house" for Funky Knit Workshop on both days. This means Knotty Bicsie will be able to spread knitting as a therapeutic hobby to 50 new Funky Knitters!!! It's indeed an honour to be able to make crafting (knitting in this case) a modern way of life for everyone. & I give myself a pat on my shoulder with every new Funky Knitter that Knotty Bicsie successfully teach :) So 50pats this year... I can have a massage liao! Woohoo... :P

With 2 full classes this year, which means I had to bring more "Knotty Elves" along... :P

Meet Master Wenn Yann.

Wenn Yann is extremely experienced in her knitting & crochet. In fact, I would say she's much more experienced than me! Knotty Bicsie is so honoured to have her join our humble team. Wenn Yann's experience, patience & approachable personality makes everyone (students, other "Knotty Elves" & myself) simply adores & respects her :)

Meet Knotty Elf - Chenyen.

Chenyen has a long history with Knotty Bicsie. We 1st met some 4years ago, when I conducted my very 1st corporate knitting workshop @Anderson JC. Chenyen was 1 of the very enthusiastic students I met then. Some even went to MAAD to look for me after the workshop! It was indeed a very encouraging & heartwarming experience for me. It was also a pleasant surprise when Chenyen called me up 1 day to say she'd like to continue knitting & learn more about knitting. & the rest, like they say, is history... From a young Funky Knitter, Chenyen has now bloomed into a wonderful Knotty Knitting Instructor (which never fails to surprise her friends)!

Meet Knotty Elf - Gina.

Gina is an extremely talented crafter. Among all the handicrafts, u name it, she probably had properly learnt from a teacher & even has a proper tool set for them :P Since she's left-handed, I was initially apprehensive about teaching her to crochet. When we both finally picked up the courage to just give it a shot, I was immediately amazed at & impressed with Gina's psychomotor skills! Within minutes, she was crocheting like a right-handed Crochet Craze! Nothing can stop her now! ;) She was shy & unsure when I 1st approached her to join the Knotty Elf Team. Very glad I finally managed to convince her (after a lot of persuasion & assurance! :P). Look at that smile! I know the students really like her & I know she truly enjoyed herself too! :)

Meet our dear friend, Ayako.

Ayako is not really our "official Knotty Elf", but she's always so willing to help when I need extra hands. Ayako is much more than just extra help. To me, Ayako's been a guide, a listening ear & a supportive friend. Thanks so much, my dearest friend Ayako!

Busy with Corporate Workshops

I know it's been ages since last update on events :P Here's a peek at what we've been up to...

Knotty Bicsie Home Studio has been busy mostly from Thursdays-Saturdays only, due to some ongoing corporate workshops:

1) Weekly knitting sessions @Warren Golf & Country Club is very fun for me as well. These ladies are truly enthusiastic & diligent! :) 

2)The gals at Singapore Chinese Girls' School Art Club are in the process of completing their very own knitted vest! I'm really excited to see all their masterpieces! 41 vests!!! The biggest class for Knotty Bicsie so far... Special thanks to my 2 lovely assistants, WennYann & Chenyen. Couldn't have done it without you ladies! :)

Knotty Bicsie Handmade-A-Fair 2010

For this year's Handmade-A-Fair, instead of showcasing crafters like last year, Knotty Bicsie will be showcasing a group of talented instructors who are dedicated to share their passion & craft :) There are limited seats for every workshops. So do sign up early to avoid disappointment. Closing date for registration: 5th Dec 2010

- Introductory Funky Knit (coaster)

- Tatting for X'mas (shuttle tatting)

- My Mini Garden (terrarium)

- Angelically Yours (Swarovski crystal beading)

- Little House Cushion (sewing. pin cushion)

- Bead-It-Your-Way! A Charming Time (bag charm)

- Bead-It-Your-Way! A Nostalgic Session (photo locket necklace)

Coming Soon...

Look out for details in the coming week... :)

Workshops to look out for:

- Introductory Funky Knit (coaster)

- Tatting for X'mas

- Bead It Your Way! A Charming Time (bag charm)

- Bead It Your Way! A Nostalgic Session (locket necklace)

- Terrarium. My Mini Garden

- Angelically Yours (swaroski crystal beading)

- Little House Cushion (pin cushion)

KBCC #22 - Friendship Pen

After stopping for a month in Febraury, we are once again back for more crafting last Saturday! :) This time, we did something which I enjoyed doing alot for my friends & teachers during my Primary & Secondary school days - Friendship Pen. We basically weaved our names & patterns onto regular, plain-looking pens.

As simple as it may look, to weave the alphabets, while coiling the pen, actually requires quite a bit of concentration & imagination. Look how everyone's deep in concentration... :P

When we were finally done, our playful Rita & Moses had lotsa fun posing with their masterpieces! Aren't they cute?? lol... :D

Check out our vibrant work of heart! :)

Since last Saturday was a small group, we decided to just get KFC :P Had a looong nice chat over makan... & KBCC ended much later than usual :)

Special Announcement

KBCC will be meeting for a LAST session for 2010 on 24th April 2010 (Sat). After which I will be taking a break to prepare for the arrival of my Little Princess Edda :) Hopefully by 2011 I will have fully adapted to this new phase of my life & can once again rekindle the dynamites of KBCC :) Details of our last session as follows:

KBCC #23 - Colour Pencils

Date: 24th April 2010 (Sat)

Time: 3.30-6pm

Venue: Knotty Bicsie Home Studio

Things to bring: Any sort of colour pencils.

Registration: S$10/pax

RSVP: Pls email bicsie@gmail.com by 19th April 2010 (Mon) to confirm your attendance.

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KBCC #21 - Pocket Tissue Cover

Last Sat, as usual, KBCC met up again to craft. This time round, we did some sewing & made a pocket tissue cover, which we all jokingly claimed that it'll now be our beautiful "tool" to "chop" tables @hawker centres with, with much pride! hehe... :P

Some of us chose to hand-sew, while others happily try our hands at my new sewing machine, which has proven to be very user friendly, even for beginners :) With sewing, of course we also did some ironing. We all had fun!

Check out our masterpieces! ;)

Our dear friend, Ee Wei, once again did her very own KBCC Craft & mail over to us, all the way from Canada. Now Jasper is the proud owner of Ee Wei's "made-with-love". Ee Wei, I've just mailed out Jasper's "made-with-love" out to you yesterday afternoon. So look out for a little surprise in your mailbox ;)

KBCC never goes without yummy food as reward after an afternoon of hardwork :P This time we had sedap lontong :) Despite the heat, everyone went for 2nd, some even 3rd helping, coz it's simply SEDAP! :)

As for dessert, we had chocolate cake in celebration of the February Babies' birthday. Shireen, Ellen & Jasper, here's wishing u once again a happy birthday & may all your wishes come true! :)

Special thanks to our wonderful friend, Suzanne of PeriwinkleSu, who has so generously shared her skills & craft. We love the fabrics u've chosen for us. They are all so pretty! Since this session is so well-received, Suzanne & I have decided to include this project into Knotty Bicsie's list of workshops officially! Details of our very 1st session is as follows...

Pocket Tissue Cover

Date: 20th March 2010 (Sat)

Time: 2-5pm

Limited seats available only.

So email Betsy (bicsie@gmail.com) to reserve a place now. :)

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Hand-Stitched Journal Workshop @Civil Service College

I had a fun time with 5 lovely ladies @Civil Service College yesterday morning. They are put in-charged of coaching their colleagues in making something using primarily recycled materials. So my job there was to teach them how to conduct this workshop to all their 50-60 other colleagues :) They were all very sporting & fun-loving. We all had an enjoyable morning...

The very talented Sueann even whipped up a poem especially for me within minutes!

"Betsy's very nice

She taught me a new vice

Measuring, cutting,

Threading, wearing,

With a smile on a face

And a patient grace.

Thanks again, Betsy,

from Knotty Bicsie!"

- Sueann, 21st Jan 2010.

"It's been a fun & interesting session... learning how to put together things we tend to just throw! TQ, Betsy..." - Lynette, 21st Jan 2010.

"Dear Betsy, this is a day I travel back in time some years back to my Home Econs Class. The session has been fun!" - Pauline Ma, 21st Jan 2010.

"Betsy, thank you for the interesting handicraft session. It's fun to make and easy to do." - Pauline Teo, 21st Jan 2010.

"Dear Betsy, thanks for the fun & enriching session. I really enjoyed it!" - Ellen, 21st Jan 2010.

Special thanks to Ellen, who's patiently made all the necessary arrangement, for this fruitful workshop!

Ladies, here's wishing u a successful IPAM day on 19th Feb! All the best! :)

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KBCC #19 - Hand-Stitched Journal

It's been 2months... KBCC stopped for 1 session in October coz it was Knotty Bicsie's 3rd Anniversary Celebrations. We finally met up again last Sat (28th Nov) & made some pretty hand-stitched journals :)

I've been very busy for the past few months since September, & I think I almost have neglected KBCC a bit. Sorry! :( Thank goodness our KBCC Family is very closely-knitted & everyone's always very helpful & generous. This time Moses once again came to my rescue by helping to conduct this fruitful session. Thank you, Moses!

We were all busy cutting paper, folding paper, poking holes, & stitching... before we were rewarded with our makan session! We had yummy home-made keuh patti, courtesy of our new member, Suzanne. Thank you so much, Suzanne! ;)

Check out our colourful hand-stitched journals! Yay!

As for Dec's KBCC, since it falls on Boxing Day (26th Dec), we've decided to make it a KBCC X'mas Get-Together! We'll just do a potluck, then we'll have movie screening on an animation (title to be confirmed later). Suggested food list is as follows:

1) Halal Salad

2) Halal Pizza (Portion: 1pc)

3) Halal Chicken Wings (Portion: 10pcs)

4) Halal Satay (Portion: 20sticks)

5) Halal Pasta (Portion: 2pax)

6) Fruits

7) Desserts

8) Drinks (provided by ME :P)

KBCC X'mas Get-Together

Date: 26th dec 2009 (Sat)

Time: 3.30-6pm

Venue: Knotty Bicsie Crafting Studio @Blk 467B, Admiralty Drive (free shuttle bus from Sembawang MRT station)

Activities: video conference with EeWei, movie screening, makan, gift exchange, lucky draw

RSVP: F.O.C. Please email Betsy (bicsie@gmail.com) by 20th Dec to confirm your attendance & the food u are bringing.

As for the gift exchange, just bring a generic gift of about S$5.00, it can be either handmade or commercially bought :)

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Funky Knit @Hwa Chong Institution (College)

30 young Funky Knit Newbies came onboard our knitting journey last Tuesday & Wednesday. Hwa Chong Institution (College) engaged Knotty Bicsie to conduct a post-exam activity for the JC1s as part of their Sabbaticals Program. We had 15 students each day, & we were all busy wriggling our fingers from 9am-3pm on both days :) This time, besides my mum, I've also hired 1 of our Funky Knitters, Amy, to help conduct the workshop, since Amy was a student from Hwa Chong Institution too ;) Amy sure was a great help! O, & she's making full use of this new experience as a knitting instructor - she's writing a research paper on the various ways knitting is being taught to inculcate this culture in Singapore! How cool is that! ;) Mum & Amy, thank u so much for your good work done! :)

"Interactive & helpful workshop. I picked up a new skill." - Nicholas Cheong, 13th Oct 2009

"I had a great time! Betsy made knitting very fun & easy with her clear instructions & lively tone. Mdm Quek & Amy are also very kind & always willing to help. Thank you! :)" - Chia Xin Yun, 13th Oct 2009

"Very good. Enough time to complete a project :)... suggest some knitting books." - Guo Chang, 13th oct 2009

"This workshop is fun! The co-ordinators (instructors) are friendly & helpful! The lesson is very enriching... Thank u for this fun & enjoyable experience!" - Guo Shu, 13th Oct 2009

"More variety of knitting stitches could be taught over a longer period of time. Probably can make this a 2-day module... i really enjoyed learning how to knit!" - Kwong Hui Mei, 13th Oct 2009

"Fun & amusing. Highly entertaining!" - Lim Liang Pin, 13th Oct 2009

"I learnt a lot from this module & I enjoyed knitting... After making the whole handphone pouch, I have a sense of achievement! :)" - Eliza Liu, 13th Oct 2009

"Workshop was interesting & interactive, the steps were easy to follow & instructions were clear..." - Loh Wei Ming, 13th Oct 2009

"Not enough time. Can be a 2-day event. Clear instructions." - Shao Qihao, 13th Oct 2009

"Workshop was fun & interesting. Thank u very much for your help!" - Tan Tian Hui, 13th Oct 2009

"Very fun & interesting! Could include knitting more stuff." - Tan Yin Ru, 13th Oct 2009

"Entertaining & interesting - great opportunity to learn & pick up something new." - Wong Jing Hao, 13th Oct 2009

"Easy to learn. Explanations very clear." - Jessica Yu, 13th Oct 2009

"Fun & interesting. The instructors are very helpful & patient in teaching us. They are very meticulous. :)" - Chew Ai-Ning, 14th Oct 2009

"Interesting & comprehensive course. Very fun! :)" - Ho Zimin, 14th Oct 2009

"Very fun & a very useful skill to pick up. I enjoyed it a lot! :)" - Jacey lim, 14th Oct 2009

"Very interesting!" - Liu Yingda, 14th Oct 2009

"The workshop was really awesome! I really enjoyed it. It was very fun & easy :) :) Haha!! :)" - Miao Hanqing, 14th Oct 2009

"The workshop was very engaging :) & I enjoyed myself a lot! :)" - Ng Hui Kin, 14th Oct 2009

"I like knitting! It's fun!! :) :) :) O, & the elephants i saw on your website are very cute! :) Thank u for coming to teach us! :)" - Jasmine Poon, 14th oct 2009

"Approachable instructors. The techniques were taught very clearly, & the instructors were very patient, as well as willing ot help whenever they can. Thank you! :)" - Valerie Ong, 14th Oct 2009

"Quite fun. I like it a lot! :)" - Xie Yijing, 14th Oct 2009

"It was truly an enjoyable course :) My Mum knits too, but I never understood how to when she tried to teach me. The instructions given were clear & there was enough guidance given. Thank u! I had fun! :)" - Allyssa Wee, 14th Oct 2009

"This is a really fun activity... Maybe u can bring more of your masterpieces that you've knitted to inspire us even more! :)" - Lim Jin Ying, 14th Oct 2009

"It was an eye-opener since I've never knitted before. Enriching. & the instructors are very friendly, approachable & patient. Very fun. Maybe next time can learn to make more crafts. :)" - Stephanie Hsu, 14th oct 2009

"Special thanks to Amy for helping me solve all the weird problems during knitting :) The course was fun & interesting, a very cool experience! :)" - Stephanie Tan, 14th oct 2009

"Fun lesson. Great that u taught us more when we were fast... Thank u! :)" - Deborah Lim, 14th October 2009

"Instructors were very friendly & helpful! :) Course was quite fun & interesting! :)" - Jessica Wong, 14th oct 2009

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