September 2009 Giveaway

This month's giveway from Umi and Tsuru is a pair of earrings which I made. The flowers (27mm across) are tatted in dusty pink Flora 20 cotton thread (#237) with metallic pink Delica beads from Japan. A pink glass bead with gold flakes (12mm) with bronze bicones Swarovski crystals (3mm) hang from the tatted flower. Ear hooks and findings are bronze-toned. Length approx. 7.8cm / 3.1inch including ear hook. Leave a comment before 30th Sep 2009 and your name will be put into a draw.

Work in Progress

HJ who won Umi & Tsuru's August giveaway wrote me to say that she had received her tatting of blue hearts. She showed me a photo of her WIP which was a pretty pink motif with pearls. I thought I would share what I was currently working on too.

Threads are Tuscany (cotton size 20) from LadyShuttleMaker. Beautiful Curly Maple shuttle is from David Reed Smith. I love this shuttle. It just fits my fingers and tats very well. The wood is so beautiful and I find the pointed tip very useful for unpicking. I highly recommend David's shuttles.

What am I tatting, well . . I am following a pattern from this book on pg 72. What is it? You will have to wait and see.

Flower pins & my dear old sewing machine

I recently discovered the use of flower pins while attending the CQ class. Did not know of their existence until recently. I guess the normal pins with tiny heads would do just as well. Unless there is an extra use to these besides looking pretty.

I took my 20 year old sewing machine to the shop to fix and they advised me to get a new machine trading in my old one. I guess economically it's right when you can get a similar brand new one for about the same price that I paid for it 20 years back. Repairing it may costs just a little less and it may not last another 20 years. Sigh. What about just because it was a gift and it was my first very own sewing machine? If I trade it in, what will happen to it? Would they repair it, strip it into parts or just throw it away? Should I get a second opinion?

Bath Time

Every few months or so Umi and Tsuru gets a bath. Now before this can happen, there are a few conditions which needs to be met. It is a two person operation with a lot of protest from all. It needs to be a sunny day and has to be done in the late morning or early afternoon. The house has to be just vacuumed and mopped. Of course Umi and Tsuru must be healthy and not under the weather.

They may scream and shout during the bath but I think both feel more comfortable after. Umi will have soft silky fur for at least a day or two and Tsuru looks extra fluffy and smells delicious. The only down side for Tsuru is that Umi would hiss at her for a week after the bath. Tsuru does not seem to smell herself.

Bird's Nest Charm

A beautiful bird's nest with light blue pearl eggs. I love it. The accompanying gift card was so appropiate. She also sent it with beautiful trims encrusted with gems. Thanks so much Pat. You did not have to, but I really enjoyed receiving it!

More Sweets

Been busy baking. It is baking season! More cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies. All three recipes are off the web. I love making them but I need to feed them to someone as I should not eat them all by myself. AAA is more a savoury kind of guy and these sweets are just not his thing. I wonder if I could use my new found piping skills with mashed potatoes. Potato roses anyone?

One more puzzle piece

I received this from Pat sometime late last month. I thought I would share this with you. It's in pastel pink and blue. Isn't that pretty? Lovely stitching and creative use of beads, don't you think? I was happy to receive 2 puzzle pieces from Pat. I wonder which puzzle piece I made, ended up with her.

HJ's blue tatted hearts

I have tatted up the August giveaway for HJ. She chose blue for her hair. I hope she likes it. HJ, please send me your details and I will send this to you pronto.

August Project 2: Cake Decorating Completed

I made this lemon poppy seed cake for my mom's birthday. This cake travelled 300km and the roses got a little flattenned. We had a chinese dinner the day before her birthday for about 50 family members to celebrate her birthday. My sister ordered two of mom's favourite cakes: a tiramisu cake and a durian cake. This cake was cut the next day at home.

August Project 1: Mom's Memory Quilt Completed

I think mom loved her memory quilt. When she opened it up she thought it was another patchwork which I have made. I made one for my parents 25th wedding anniversary way back then. It was a queen size 'Trip around the world' patchwork duvet cover. It is kept like a family heirloom that is never used. I should photograph that one of these days.

I made this one with old photos of mom. Photos range from the 1960s to 2009. As I started this quilt late, I did not have enough time to do the quilting myself and I was having problems with my sewing machine. I had a lesson each week for 3 weeks and had to leave the quilting to the experts, Brigitte and Selina.

August 2009 Giveaway Winner

Tsuru chose HJ as the winner for the August 2009 Giveaway of a tatted heart bookmark/choker/bracelet. According to HJ's request, it will be tatted in blue and will be used in her hair. What a great idea! Do send me your addy, HJ and please give me sometime to tat this up in the colour you have chosen.