Small Tatted Heart

Thank you Betsy Evans for this small tatted heart pattern. The shape of the heart is just lovely and I am amazed at how she created the pattern to allow the chains to flow. If you have not tatted it, I highly recommend it.

I found some minor corrections (Ring #3: 6+4-4-6 and Ring #13: 4+4-2) to the pattern.

The black one (Milford Size 40) was tatted first with one mistake (so I thought). I went on to tat the red one (Lizbeth Size 40 Red Burst #147) to correct my earlier mistake and apparently totally satisfied with myself, I started blocking both and realised another mistake found in both. And you see the third heart in Lizbeth Size 20 Sea Shell (#114) which is still wrong (see Ring #13). So the last heart in Lizbeth Size 20 Shell Pink Medium (#627) is hopefully correct, otherwise I am going to scre........am.

More 2010 Rabbits

These are store adverts which I thought were quite nice. I hope you like them too.

This one is a dough dumpling shaped into a rabbit.

Chinese New Year Decorations

Lots of red and gold everywhere. The pineapple represents good luck; gold for wealth; and red for good fortune and joy. All auspicious symbols and colours.

Chinese New Year Goodies

These are Chinese New Year goodies sold only at this time of the year.

Waxed leg of ham

Waxed whole duck

Preserved sweets - sugared fruits and melons

Preserved sugared persimmons

A well-known shop in Singapore for sticky sweet cakes (nian kao/tee kueh), a traditional cake for the Chinese New Year. The shop is also famous for its mooncakes sold only during the mid autumn festival.

It could be cut up and steamed, rolled in fresh grated coconut or deep fried in batter with yam and sweet potatoes.

It's Spring in Chinatown

Cherry blossoms in Chinatown Singapore?

Just fake crystal ones which light up at night.
Enjoy the photos.

I had fun walking through.

That is the only way to take some photos.

More new year goodies tomorrow.

Year of the Rabbit

This year I decided on a black one. The red one was nice too but I love this one. I got this at the Chinese craft fair. Last year I got this red one here.

There was also a Chinese ink brush painting which I love but it was not mounted and I hesitated. The artist painted it the morning I visited. What I loved about it was the brush strokes of the bamboo stems and leaves. It looked abstract and more contemporary. The photo above is an example of his work on his namecard.

Abundant Rabbits

They do multiply quite fast, dont they? Good for thread ends from your tatting projects. It takes about 2 yards of Size 20 thread on two shuttles or on one. Pattern is from Lisa Trumble and can be found here.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Happy New Year. According to the chinese calendar, this is the year of the rabbit. I tatted two red rabbits and two gold rabbits for the occasion. I chose red because it is a lucky colour and it resembles the chinese paper cuttings. Gold because this year is the year of the metal rabbit. This pattern is from Mark Myers called bunny. I forgot to tie a ribbon before taking the photo.

Reunion Dinner

Probably everyone is rushing home for reunion dinner on the eve of the lunar new year. A dinner prepared lovingly with traditional dishes by mom or grandma and every member of the family tries to be present for this dinner. These days, some family reunion dinners are done in restaurants because it is just too troublesome to cook a huge dinner.

In the old days, my eldest aunt and grandma would cook and we would all go to my grandparents house for this dinner. Imagine cooking for 30-40 people using a wood burning stove. Eating on long dining tables on wooden benches. Some of the dishes I remember: salted vegetable with duck soup (kiam chye ark thng/ kiam chye boey) or pig innards soup (tu tor thng), shredded turnip and carrot with cuttlefish (jiu hu char), mixed vegetables (chap chye or koh le chai hua), fried chicken or curry chicken, meatballs with fatt choy, shrimp paste chilli (sambal belachan), soy sauce pork (tau eu bak), pork roll in tofu skin (lor bak/ngor hiang), tamarind prawn (assam hae) and shredded vegetables in flour cups (kuih pie tee).

Announcing the Winner

The lucky commenter on this post who wins a tatted cup is . . . . . .

Tattips of Loves to Tat.

Thank you to all 21 of your who participated. Hope you had fun.

Tattips, please let me know what colour you would like your tatted cup in. I will tat it up and send it off soon. Do e-mail me your mailing details too.