Yellow Flower Episcia

This plant is one of the easiest to grow. It does not require much sun and is perfect for the balcony. This particular Episcia has yellow flowers while the more common ones have red flowers. Other Episcias have copper or red leaves.

A Pink Hairpin

This one is done in pink Venus Size 40 threads. In the middle is an alabaster pink rhinestone. The shape is slightly more diamond shaped. And Tsuru said no. Some of you asked where I found the hairpin filigree frame. I got them from the local jewellery craft store. And no, I did not stiffen the tatting. It takes time to tat this and it isn't easy as a tiny crochet hook has to go through the tiny spaces of the filigree frame.

I think I will also try glueing some to the other type of hairpin e.g. snap clips or aligator pinch clips which would be easier to use, especially for the younger kids. I will post them if I ever get around to making them.

Balcony Garden Decor

I found this pretty pink tin jug in Malaysia when I visited mom. The shop was filled with similar items and I had a hard time choosing just one. Perhaps I will get more, the next time I visit. I also bought a little plant holder for a friend but since she is not a gardener, I thought she could use it on her desk in the office. I forgot to photograph that.

The little porcelain cat is from Bangkok. It's like a kitten trying to get into the tin jug for milk. The little doggy plant holder was a birthday present from friends years back. I have a spider plant in that.

A Tatted Hairpin

Did this in size 40 Coats thread which The Tatting Goddess sent me. Gina knew I love tatting in red. There is no pattern. Just me tatting and fiddling with it until it looks okay. Fixed a rhinestone in the middle and it is a new hairpin. Do you see four hearts in the negative space? I did not notice that before. I tried to get Tsuru to model it for me but she refused. I am currently tatting a pink one perhaps she would not mind modeling that.

Petunias are Blooming

The blooms are pretty and it brightens up the balcony. This plant needs plenty of water. It starts to wilt fast if I am late watering it. I hang it from the ceiling. It does not get direct sunlight but it is doing quite well.

Some of you asked about the glass chandelier in my previous post. I did not want to comment at that post as I am keeping count of the numbers for the draw. Now to answer some of your questions. The fluorescent lights are placed vertically in the core and circular frames surround the lights from which the glass cups hang. This shop is in Bangkok's Siam Paragon Food Court. No, although it is a cafe, they do not use the glass cups from this chandelier. I am sure it is a major operation to clean it but I should think it would be easier to clean than a regular crystal chandelier. At least this one you could bring down the cups and wash it in the dish washer as Tatting Marie said. Coffee cups or porcelain cups would work in your own kitchen although it would not reflect the light so much but I am sure it will still be pretty.

Christmas 2011 Snowflake #3

Snowflake #3 is another pattern from Susanne Schwenke's book Spitzen Ideen on page 28. Using 2 shuttles and tatted in one round. This was easier to tat than Snowflake #2. There is a small mistake but I shall not dwell on it. I hope it is not noticeable.

A Glass Chandelier

Do you call this a glass chandelier of cups? Yes, glass cups. I will tat for you a cup from one of Martha Ess' pattern in your favourite colour. Leave a comment here and I will draw one name on 31st January 2011.

Early Sunday Morning

6:59am

7:09am

It was early and we were driving to have breakfast with friends. Along the expressway, the sun painted the sky in a glorious glow. Traffic was smooth as it was Sunday morning. I love a morning drive like this on a weekend.

A Parade of Penguins

If four can be called a parade of penguins. This is from Jane Eborall's pattern page. I saw the one that Sally of Tat's Heaven tatted for her challenge/giveaway. I loved it and this pattern is amazing. I wish I could tat a replica of Tsuru in black and white threads. This is tatted in Milford Mercer size 40.

If you noticed that the first small penguin has an enlarged head. Well, blame it on the person who scrolled to the adult head and happily tatted away until she realised her mistake. So the lower photo has the correct sideways baby penguin in the correct head size.

Buddhist Mission

I took this photo from the bus. It's a Buddhist mission in Singapore. The background is void of high rise buildings which is quite unusual. I have not visited it but we pass this way quite often. It looks so serene, away from the hustle and bustle of the traffic.

According to a 2010 population census, 33% of the resident population in Singapore (age 15 years and above) are Buddhists; 11% Taoists; 18% Christians; 15% Muslims; 5% Hindus; 17% no religious affliation. Total population in Singapore is 5.08 million. Population density is approximately 7000 per sq km.

Button Lamb

This is Martha Ess' button lamb pattern. It was a link from Jane's pattern page. The lamb I tatted had tiny eyes, too tiny for its body and the picot for the ears should be more prominent. But if I did not tell you what it was, would you guess it was a lamb? It is a cute little pattern. I did this in size 8 thread and the button measured 0.6 inches across and the lamb measured slightly less than 2 inches across. I may tat this again to get the proportions right.

Eat with the Fishes

In Bangkok, we never miss a visit to our favourite shopping centre food court and have a meal with the fishes. This large aquarium (maybe 12 by 4 by 4ft) is part of the attraction and of course the food. My favourite dish here is the crispy egg omelette with rice, fried rice with crab meat and the som tum (papaya salad). Seats surround the aquarium and you can enjoy your food while watching these beauties swim by.

Christmas 2011 Snowflake #2

This pattern is also Susanne Schwenke's from her book Spitzen-Ideen on page 22. I chose this to tat because it seemed an unusual pattern. My block tatting was not too neat but I still love the pattern. This is snowflake #2.

Shop Display

This is a shop we chanced upon and was pleasantly surprised by how the books and magazines were displayed. It is a shop for ladies apparel and they were not selling books or magazines but isn't it a cool feature wall.

Test Tatting for Tatrldy

I promised Tattrldy of Wanda's Knotty Thoughts that I would test tat her pattern she designed for the Design Tat course. I loved how her motif turned out. The photo above was my first attempt with larger picots and it turned out looking very different from hers. So I tatted it again with smaller picots (shown below).

Chocolate with Coconut

If you have seen this and have not tried it, I highly recommend you do. Between the two of us we had to control ourselves not to finish this in one sitting. The toasted coconut was yummy and we prefer it to Bounty. Our only regret was that we bought only one bar. Hmmm. . . where are we to find more? If you have seen it in Singapore, do let me know.

Tatting with the Tatting Goddess

I have been tatting DMC vintage pattern Ground #1 with the Tatting Goddess. See her posts here and here. I have done mine in white Size 40 and made the picots slightly larger as Gina indicated so that it looks lacier. I also tatted 12 half stitches instead of 8 because I wanted the Josephine knots to be more prominent. I think I love what I see.

Shuttle for Exchange - Green Lotus

Front

Back

This shuttle is blinged using a green lotus nail decal on the front and butterflies at the back. Just leave a comment and e-mail me your mailing address if you would like to do a tatting shuttle exchange.

Christmas 2011 Snowflake #1

I love how Tatting Marie decorated her Christmas tree with angels. So I am starting early this year and will tat snowflakes for my mom's tree for Christmas 2011. Let's see how many I can tat before then. They will all be in white thread Size 40. I love how the white threads show up with the dark green of the tree.

Christmas 2011 Snowflake #1 is a pattern from page 26 of Susanne Schwenke's Spitzen-Ideen book. I bought this book for myself for Christmas 2010. This pattern uses two shuttles, done in one round. I was smiling when it was completed. Yes, it is one of those patterns.

Blue Weeping Ginger

A new plant to my balcony is Dichorisandra pendula or the blue weeping ginger. I think they grow quite easily via rhizomes so as soon as all its inflorescence bloom and it has acclimatised to my balcony, I will start to propagate it for mom. I love the blue flowers but they only bloom for the day.

Dragon Wing Doily

This is my first Dragon Wing Doily. The pattern is by Anne Bruvold. Thank you Anne. You can find most of Anne's patterns here. The next pattern of Anne's that I want to try is the SSSR angel. This doily is done in Lizbeth Size 40 in #117 (Countryside) and measures about 4 inches across. I over-stretched it during blocking.

Shuttle Exchange with Bonnie

Front

Back

I sent Bonnie this faux MOP blinged shuttle and she sent me these. I love to see how each of the shuttles from the shuttle exchanges are different. How each person has personalized it in their own style. I love how Bonnie chose colours to match the original shuttle colour and included the quote "Tat On". Thank you so much Bonnie. I will treasure them.

I still have two shuttles (Diva and Berry Branch) which are not spoken for. If you would like to do an exchange with me, just let me know. Next week I have another shuttle (Green Lotus) for exchange.

In case you were wondering about the background I used for the photos. I received this postcard from a local department store and thought it would make a lovely background for the shuttles. The Lunar New Year is on 3rd February 2011 and it will be the year of the rabbit.

Shu May's Third Christmas

My niece is 2.5 years old and she speaks now. She loves talking to grandma. See how she has grown since last year. Her mom bought her this red yakuta from Japan. And she sent me this on the phone on New Year's eve. Note what she is wearing.

Swensens Anyone?

Whenever we are in Bangkok, we must have Swensens every other day. It is a Bangkok holiday ritual. Back in Singapore we hardly ever go to Swensens. Why in Bangkok?

• There is a Swensens everywhere we go
  
• It is never too crowded
  
• A place to rest our feet after all that shopping
  
• The ice cold water is extra refreshing
  
• Food servings are small so there is always room for dessert
  
• Something sweet to neutralize all the spicy food
  
• It costs only half the price in Singapore AND
  
• We love the ice cream in Bangkok, must be the happy cows there.

Zigzag Wave Edging

I found this pattern by Tatman here. Thank you for the pattern. It looks very unusual and challenging. I was not too confident when tatting this. As you can see it is much shorter than the original by Tatman. His version is much prettier but this will have to do for now. This was done in Lizbeth Size 40 in Fruit Fizz (#139) and Country Grape Dark (#682).

The middle portion in #682 was done first. This is called the zigzag chain. I had some problem with this because the stitches kept unravelling so I had to improvise and do a lock stitch after each picot. Then came the side edging on one side. The design does not show until you tat the other side so I was wondering if I was doing it all wrong. I would appreciate any advice on how to do this better.

Tatting Press from Nifty Needle

My name was drawn in a giveaway at Nifty Needle's blog recently. I was thrilled to hear when Ann informed me. A tatting press which is so lovely and will be so useful to keep my tatting WIP when I travel. I love my tatting press. Thank you so much Ann.

She also thoughfully included the remaining fabric which she used for the press. I love the fabric she chose and although I would never think to choose this combination, when put together it complements each other so well. And the brown bow completes the press beautifully. I love, love it.

Happy New Year

2011 is here.

May all your wishes come true.

I recently heard the song titled "Happy New Year" from ABBA.

Do you remember that tune?