In Loving Memory of Our Very Special Knotty Elf, Oreo

I have never really introduced this very special elf at Knotty Bicsie, but Knotty Fans who's visited our studio would've met him. Oreo was always charming, especially with the kiddos. Oreo had & will always have a special place in my heart. On Oreo's 2nd birthday, I started Knotty Bicsie. Every year as we celebrate Knotty Bicsie's Anniversary, we celebrate Oreo's Birthday...

On 24th November (Sat), Oreo waited till Knotty Fans from the morning class to leave to spend his last moments with me. I'm sorry we couldn't spend more quality time together, but am glad I was with you till you finally rest in peace. We will always remember you, Old Pal!

Oreo, 6 October 2004 - 24 November 2012.

Rubber Stamp Carving Fun!

Back by popular demand! This time Jo is bringing the X'mas mood into our carving fun!

Special Offer for Knotty Fans: S$55.00/pax, INCLUDE materials. (Usual Price: S$65/pax)
Limited seats only. Email bicsie@gmail.com to register now!

NEW! Finger Knitting & Decoupage Tile Coasters Workshop

The school holidays are here & X'mas is just round the corner! As usual, Knotty Bicsie has prepared a few special workshops for our Knotty Fans this season. These workshops are suitable for children too. Great time to come learn something new & be able to hand-make something for your love ones this X'mas! :)

Finger knitting is a form of knitting done entirely using fingers with no knitting needles involved in this technique! It is a fun way to introduce knitting to anyone, including children and easy to learn. A great way to keep one occupied too, e.g. travelling, as it is safe to do finger-knitting on planes.

Finger knitting produces a long thin strip of stitches which can be made into many useful items such as a scarf, belt, hair / gift decoration! 

Course Fees: S$28.00/pax, INCLUDES materials.Limited seats only. Email bicsie@gmail.com to register now! :)

Decoupage is the art of decorating an object using paper cut-outs, giving an appearance of depth and makes the pictures look as though they are painted on the object. Decoupage is a fun and easy way to decorate any object from small vases to large furniture. Best of all, decoupage can be learnt quickly in just a few steps.

In this workshop, participants will learn how to decorate tile coasters using decoupage, which make lovely handmade gifts for any occasion! 

Course Fees: S$48.00/pax, INCLUDES materials.

Limited seats only. Email bicsie@gmail.com to register now! :)

Knotty Every on the Raod...

To participate, simply:

1) Like us on our facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/KnottyFans);

2) Post on our wall to tell us why u would like to pick up knitting from Knotty Bicsie;

3) If your wall post is accompanied by a photo of yourself with our Knotty Every, you get double the chance!

I see u have met Knotty Every after an extreme makeover! Stay tuned for MORE makeover coming your way from now till October 2013! We'll be having Giveaways whenever new "makeover procedure" is being spotted by our Knotty Fans :)

For our very 1st Giveaway, we are giving you a FREE Trial Funky Knit Workshop worth S$50.00! Simply like us on our facebook fan page & tell us why u would like to pick up knitting from Knotty Bicsie to stand a chance to win. We are giving away 3 FREE Trials every month from now till February 2013! Knotty Fans who already can knit can join too, & bring a family/friend to enjoy the free trial, & we'll be giving u, our beloved Funky Knitter a mystery gift. ;)

THREE winners per Draw.

FOUR Draws in total: 1 Dec 2012, 1 Jan 2013, 1 Feb 2013, 1 Mar 2013.

Closing dates are the last day of November 2012, December 2012, January 2013 & February 2013.

Best Way to Celebrate our Knotty 6th Birthday!

"Happy Birthday to you,

  Happy Birthday to you.

  Happy Birthday to Knotty Bicsie,

  Happy Birthday to you!" :)

Every year on our Anniversary month, we are always VERY BUSY. This year is no exception. Besides our ongoing workshops & usual custom orders, we've been burning more midnight oil to prepare for our Knotty Handmade-A-Fair & also for our annual "pilgrimage" to participate in Hwa Chong Institute's Sabbatical Programs.

This year's Knotty Handmade-A-Fair was quite a bit of challenge for me. A chain of events kinda hit on me at the most untimely hours... First of all was our decision to withdraw our girl from her childcare because of numerous incidences that happened obviously due to teacher negligence. Hence I had to re-schedule all my classes to Sat, Sun & Mon, so I can homeschool Edda from Tues-Fri. This leaves me with the nights to prepare teaching resources & also to work on your orders. No doubt rewarding (both working on your wonderful orders & also homeschooling Edda), there is afterall a limit to what we can do. My body finally protest & I was down with bronchitis just 2days before Knotty Handmade-A-Fair!!! There cannot be any worse timing for this to happen, right?!?! :(

All thanks to our wonderful crafty friends, Knotty Elves & hubby, who were holding the fortress on our BIG DAY, Knotty Handmade-A-Fair was yet another HUGE success! Yippee...! :) View more photos of the day on our facebook fanpage . Thankfully, I was also blessed with a very quick recovery. In fact, I was feeling so much better by the actual day, I was able to mingle & chit-chat with our Knotty Fans :)

Immediately after Knotty Handmade-A-Fair, I was kept extremely busy preparing materials & resources for our workshops at Hwa Chong Institute (HCI). This year we offer 5 different workshops:

Funky Knit

Crochet Craze

Basic Shuttle Tatting

Rubber Stamp Carving

Miniature Basket of Bread

This is the first time we are offering Crochet Craze to such a big group of participants. I was conservative & cap the class size to a max of 12participants, & provided 2instructors for the workshop. Well, some of u might have noticed by now that it is not easy to find teacher willing to teach crochet; & for those of u who only just picked up crochet, or even tried teaching crochet, will know that crochet is not easy to pick up for most beginner. Lotsa personal attention needs to be given to be able to teach crochet properly. I'm proud to say that the "success rate" of our workshops so far (including Crochet Craze who are left-handed) has been a glorious 100%! Woohoo...! :D And our 1st big class of Crochet Craze was a hit too! This surely boost my confidence & I'm so gonna propose for a bigger class next year! :)

October is definitely Knotty Bicsie's favourite month of the year! Our Anniversary month is always so jam-packed with exciting activities, & we get to meet so many new Knotty Fans, plus all Knotty Elves & our crafty friends get to gather & catch up too! Truly grateful for all the love & support from all of you. These SIX years could not be possible without each & everyone of you. THANK YOU!!! Knotty Bicsie will continue to wriggle our fingers & bring you more fantastic Knotty stuffs! ;D

Final Countdown to Handmade-A-Fair 2012!

Dear Knotty Fans,

Final countdown to Knotty Handmade-A-Fair! In store for Knotty Fans are uniquely handmade bags & accessories, hand-sewn journals, hand-carved rubber stamps, hand-knitted/crocheted pouches, accessories & more! So do remember to bring more cash with u! :P

There will also be live demos by our invited crafters, LoveSprouts (2.45pm) & CY Studio (3.45pm)! So do make sure u come early & hang around (& SHOP, of course! hehe... :P)

So hurry & RSVP to bicsie@gmail.com if u have not doen so! :)

Looking forward to meeting u next Sat (6th Oct) 2-5pm! Woohoo...! ;)

cheers,
Betsy :)

We are SIX!!!

GREAT NEWS, Knotty Fans!!! It's the time of the year again: Knotty Birthday Promotions!!! :D To show our appreciation for all your continuous support for the past 6years, we are having the following special deals, JUST FOR YOU! :)

A) Annual Booties Sale

Usual Price: S$25-29.90/pair

CRAZY PRICE NOW: only S$6.00/pair!

(While stock lasts. Self-collect only.)

B) Funky Knit Beginner Special - small pouch (1pc)

Duration: 2x2hr

Usual Fees: S$80.00

CRAZY PRICE NOW: only S$60.00, INCLUDES materials

C) Crochet Craze Beginner Special - small pouch (1pc)

Duration: 2x2hr
Usual Price: S$85.00
CRAZY PRICE NOW: only S$60.00, INCLUDES materials

D) Funky Knit / Crochet Craze - scarf (1pc)

Duration: 2hr/session, valid for 6months starting from the day of STARTING your project.

Usual Price: S$180.00

CRAZY PRICE NOW: only S$120.00, EXclude materials.

All promotions valid now till 31st Oct 2012. So hurry & send in your enquiries & requests now to bicsie@gmail.com ;)

Happy owners of our customized Knotty Dolls :)))

Happy Teacher's Day!

Made these dolls for Edda's teachers @Happy Train. Really admire their dedication to teaching the kids & they do it always so cheerfully, making Happy Train always fun-packed with sunshine! :D Thank you, ladies! :D

Took My Breath Away!

Are There Many Knitters/Crocheters in Singapore?

When I 1st verbalize my intention to make knitting/crochet my "full-time job" (as my parents would say), u can imagine the shock look on my dad's face! Don't get me wrong, my dad is always very supportive. He just couldn't believe that his "well-educated daughter" can be so naive to think that this is gonna take off :/ Well, I must admit that I'm idealistic & willful when it comes to Knotty Bicsie la :P But this is how u have to be in pursuing our dreams, isn't it?? :)

Thankfully all effort sort of paid off when Knotty Bicsie started getting some media attention & our products & workshops are featured in shops, magazines & Straits Times. & my dad's response? "Hmm... I never knew there are so many people knitting & crocheting in Singapore!" Well, neither did I! I must say I'm pleasantly surprised by the number of extremely crafty Singaporeans "hiding" in our own little crafting attic! If only we can all "come out" & show everyone how therapeutic & rewarding this hobby can be! :)

Recently, I chanced upon yet another crochet enthusiast, who turns out to be friend of my ex-students (yes, credit goes to fb again :P). Rachel makes kawaii amigurumi & posts them on her blog. Even better, she generously shares her patterns & "tricks" on her blog too! Check out her most recent creation - Singa, our courtesy lion :) Really admire her dedication in sharing this beautiful craft. Sure hope to collaborate with her on some projects some day :)

Coming Soon...

It's the time of the year again! Look out for our annual booties sale coming soon in Oct! :)

Me & My Bad Habit :/

Sometimes I do get "bored" doing some stuffs, especially when I'm at those "beefing up" stage of a project :/ So I always find myself working on more than a project concurrently, often too many at a go in fact! :P Guess I only have myself to blame when I feel I'm all over the place ba! *sigh* :/

A Productive Tuesday

One of the reasons why I decided on making Knotty Bicsie a home-studio is so that I can put family as top priority as I work. And as many of u know by now, Tuesdays are my "off-day", when I get to run errands, do house chores, & also to catch up on my production la. So "off-day" really just mean "no class day" ba :P

I'm happy I'm really productive today. Managed to grab a nice breakfast with good coffee & do some marketing after dropping my girl off at school this morning. Once I got home, I started brewing our daily soup (a "must-have" for my family, radish soup today :)), do the laundry, transplanted some new "greens" at our balcony, reply some emails, place new orders for materials... then stomach started growling at almost 12noon :P Perfect timing, since soup is ready! So I had lunch, followed by A LITTLE knitting (yes, I do knit/crochet almost EVERYDAY :P) before bringing Knotty Every out for a "little spin" :P

1st stop: Activated C Studio

Met up with artist friend, Tang Ling Nah, at her studio, which is only 5min drive away fr my studio ;) I needed some advice from her on our Mee Suah 2013. Really appreciate her generosity in sharing with me all the "back-end" things to prepare & do. I've been "away" from the art scene for so long, I've almost lost touch! Thanx for all the tips & reminders, Ling Nah! ;)

2nd stop: Innova Junior College

A group of students from Innova Junior College is proposing a project work related to crochet & they found me on the internet & ask to interview me. Initially we struggled to fix a time to meet, so I offer to meet them in school since I drive. Finally met them & had a nice little chat in their canteen :P Pleasantly surprised when a Knotty Fan SMS me later, telling me that she saw Knotty Every drive past her neighbourhood! So Knotty Every is already a "celebrity" even before the extreme make-over??? Woohoo...! :P

Finally, I stopped by a coffee shop for my yummy ice milk tea before going to pick my 2 Dar-Dars up from school. Evenings are always nice & cosy family time... games, books, TV, cuddling :P after simple home-cooked food. Tonite's dinner - Radish soup noodles & steamed fish, Edda's favourite! ;)

Last but not least, blogging here, JUST before Wednesday! :P Tmr is gonna be another simply busy day I'm sure! Have a good week ahead, Knotty Fans! ;)

Making Some Knotty Noises

Hello, Knotty Fans! I know it's been yet another long long time... SORRY!!! Just that mobile upload to fb these days are so convenient, I find myself posting photos with quick captions onto our fb Fan Page all the time instead :P So are u following our Knotty News on our Facebook Fan Page yet?? :P

I started sending my girl to childcare since April & this sure frees me some time to get busy at Knotty Bicsie again...

 

Besides adding a few more sessions to our ongoing workshops, we are very lucky to get another regular corporate client at which we conduct various corporate workshops on a monthly basis. Yay...! :)

And I've also started taking in more customized orders again... So Knotty Fans, bring on all your crazy requests & keep our fingers wriggling like mad! hehe... :)

GOOD NEWS!!! By popular demand, we are bringing back our very successful Handmade-A-Fair!!! Once again to celebrate our Anniversary this October, we've invited some super talented crafters to set up "stalls" at our humble studio to bring you an extra-ordinary shopping experience! So stay tuned for our 6th Anniversary promotions... coming REAL SOON...! ;)

Also in the pipeline, we are in the process of cooking up a yummilicious Mee Suah 2013 for next year! Woohoo...! If u've been following us on our fb Fan Page, u will know about our "BIGGEST investment" & "new member" to our Knotty Family - Knotty Every :) Yup, our cute little van, which I'm doing an extreme make-over on :) His "BIG REVEAL" will be at our Mee Suah 2013 of course ;)

Here's a TINY peep at some Knotty touches on Knotty Every so far... (ps: model not included, of course! :P And yup, that's my little monster at home :P)

So u see, even though we have been very "quiet", we are working real hard to bring more exciting stuffs to you in the next few years. & we thank you for your patience & continuous support all these years! THANK YOU!!! (& stay tuned for more juicy news here...! ;))

We all need a life-long, therapeutic hobby...

Heartwarming community spirit keeps everyone ALIVE... Yarn Alive...

GongXi FaCai!

Dear Knotty Fans,

I'm taking my long-needed break to spend more quality time with my fast-growing 18month-old little angel :) For enquiries, pls email me at bicsie@gmail.com & I'll get back to u asap when I'm back to work on 29th Jan 2012.

Here's wishing U a Happy & Prosperous Lunar New Year! :D

Luv,
Betsy :)

We are on Straits Time Lifestyle Again!

2012 has started with a bang for Knotty Bicsie. We are on Straits Time Lifestyle yesterday! Yay...! We were featured in Sept 2008 & so glad 3years later Straits Time decide to feature us again after we've reached a new milestone. It feels like receiving a beautiful report card after 5years of hardwork :)

Straits Time feature in September 2008

This feature is extra special to me because of all of you reading this now. I received lotsa SMSes, facebook comments & emails from our Knotty Fans since early morning yesterday. I'm truly overwhelmed by all your enthusiastic responses! This feature in Straits Time means nothing, if not for your support & well-wishes. Thank u so so so very much for sharing this joy in celebrating Knotty Bicsie's "good performance" for the past 5years! I will continue to work very hard & attain new breakthrough to show my appreciation for all the love & support u've been showering Knotty Bicsie with! Thank you!

Here's wishing everyone a fabulous 2012 packed with abundance of love, health & wealth! :)

Customized Orders are Welcome

I've been receiving many feedback from our Knotty Fans on how they miss admiring our Knotty products. Thank u so very much for loving our creations & I sincerely apologize for not having been able to launch any new series of products. :( But if u wanna order our all-time favourite baby booties, bangle bags, amigurumi (dolls, toys), scarves, knitwear, etc... we definitely still welcome all customization requests! :) Kindly allow at least 2weeks (depending on your item, complexity of design & quantity) production time though. Simply email Betsy (bicsie@gmail.com) your customization requests to get a quote.