Kreuzmotive WIP

I have been working on my WIP - Kreuzmotive pattern by Ruth Scharf. After taking this photo, I realise that one flower petal is wrong. Can you see which one? I have to cut that off and tat in a new one. After reading all your comments here, I decided to change the colours around. Pink petals seem more appropriate. At the moment, I am thinking of 3 by 2 repeats but I may change my mind again.

Thunder

This morning I woke to thunder and thought of Umi. She would be calling to come into the room, running to hide under the bedcovers or behind the TV in her favourite corner. She seems to think the thunder won't get her there.

Here she is, Umi with the beaded spider I made last September.

 "What's that on my back? . . . . . There she goes again, does she not know that I am not her backdrop to show off her beaded things?"

Heart of the Rose #3

I have been having problems uploading photos.  I get a message from Blogger that says I need to purchase more memory space. Have you had the same problems? Anyway, this is the 3rd and last Heart of the Rose for now. This one is tatted in Lizbeth Size 80 in Spring Fling #106.

I wanted to show how the 3 hearts compare in size - Size 20, Size 30 and Size 80 threads. Finally, got it uploaded after reducing the size of the photo.

Tischband Tat Along Giveaway #1

I put in 13 names into the random number generator and it picked out #10. So Karen, you get to choose one of the three mystery gifts - tatting thread, tatting shuttle or tatted motif.

There will be two more draws sometime in the future to encourage more participants to finish one repeat of the Tischband. If your name did not get drawn this time round, it will be included in the next draw. Happy Tatting!

Heart of the Rose #2

I had to tat this pattern again and used my Umi shuttle for the first time. Shuttle tats perfectly. This one is tatted in Cebelia Size 30 threads Col. #745. This is a pretty colour and it brings cheer, doesn't it?

Tischband Tat Along

If you are wondering if this is still on, wonder no more. It is still on and you can join Ladytats and Fox. Do remember that I have a draw on and when you finish one Tischband repeat, I will add your blog link to this page and your name into the hat for a lucky draw. Do drop me a line if I missed your posts on this Tat Along or if you have finished a repeat and would like me to include your name in the draw.

Heart of the Rose

I first saw this pattern on Tat-ology and just had to get the book. The pattern is from Karey Solomon's book 'Hearts belong to Tatting'. I still think the hearts on Tat-ology are way prettier here, here (my favourite) and here! Mine is tatted in Flora size 20 in Col. #207. I am using the Tsuru shuttle for the first time. It tats well.  

The Umi & Tsuru Shuttles from La Cossette

Just wanted you to see the shuttles side by side.

My precious girls!

Custom made by La Cossette.

The Tsuru Shuttle

I ordered this shuttle from La Cossette. This is a Clover shuttle and it is slightly smaller than the Aero shuttle but Tsuru's face still fits . . . , just a tiny bit smaller. I should try taking a photo of both the Umi and Tsuru shuttles together.  Thank you so much, La Cossette. I will try tatting with it soon.

Thank you so much for all your comments in the past posts. I have not had time to answer them but I will get to it soon, I hope.

Karen's Tischband

Tatted by Karen F

Tatted by Karen F

You may have seen Karen's Tischband on Tat-ology but I promised Karen I would post it here. Remember our Tat Along? Well, Karen joined us later so she said she had the advantage to work out some of the problems.

If you noticed, Karen tatted 5 sets of chains instead of 6 and note how the four leaves are joined. It fits perfectly. I love the colours she chose. Karen also explained why the first one is called Walt after a friend and that the threads used in that was Finca, a gift from Fox. I love how the Olympus variegated brown turned out with the turquoise.

On another note, if you have finished one repeat of the Tischband, do let me know so that I can include you in the special draw described here.

How does your Tischband grow?

WIP - Repeat Completed

This is only one repeat but it is done. It measures about 3.5 inches square.

Should I do the next square in the same colour scheme but mix the colours around e.g. grey centre, pink petals and lilac outer flowers. What do you think?

Lobak

This is a dish we call lobak (Malaysia) / ngoh hiang (Singapore). Mom made this for Chinese New Year and when I came home, I was craving for it so I made some and froze a whole batch so that I could have them whenever I wanted. Somehow it tastes extra good with salad - 'umamicious'

Mom swears by the above 5 spice powder so we must get this particular brand. Note it is from Penang. Anyway, she gave me only one pack as she has to go to a specific shop to buy it.

Lobak is actually marinated pork with chopped onions/water chestnuts wrapped in a thin soya bean skin and deep fried. Mom was teaching K, my youngest brother how it is wrapped, note the photo above.

Are you hungry yet?

Tatting from the Past 4

This is the last of the lot. And the pattern is called Green Vedallia doily from Roger AKA Freedman's site. 

Flame of the Forest

Early in the morning as it was not even bright yet, strolling along, I noticed this tree. It is called flame of the forest as you can imagine, so aptly named, seeing the red blooms in the forest. It was quiet, just pass 7am, so peaceful before the hustle and bustle of people and traffic.

Cakes

Beautiful cakes. I love how they used the chocolate shavings to make flowers on the top of the cake. The white one reminds me of a lotus or a magnolia. The chocolate looks like a large, large bloom.

Tatting from the Past 3

I don't think I did the onion rings right. They are just chains not rings. How do you like the colour combination? I think I have one more to show you. You can decide which you prefer of the four. Do let me know, for the fun of it.

Chinatown Hotel

These are old shophouses in Chinatown which have been refurbished into a hotel. I would love to spend a night here or live in such a shophouse. Some of these shop houses have also been converted to private homes. Look at the shutters. Glass has been added so that they can install air conditioning. I think the rooms would be quite small.

Link here if you want a little history on Chinatown, according to the Chinatown Hotel website. No, this is not an advertisement for the hotel.

Spinach Tofu

This is one of my favourite dishes from Hua Ting Restaurant. It is a spinach infused toufu (see the dark green and light green area) with a seared fresh scallop on a bed of spinach. We call it spinach here but it is actually Amaranthus.

WIP

Now it looks less drastic and drab. What a difference it makes with the lacier edge. I am playing with colours here so forgive the unusual combination. The grey petals are cupping a little and I hope it gets flattened out. I think it will.

Typical Local Breakfast

Although this is local breakfast fare, we do not have this very often. This is kaya (coconut jam) and butter toast, half boiled eggs and coffee at a coffee shop in Singapore. This is considered a light breakfast meal for us.

Most of the time on weekends, we have noodles, congee, roti prata, thosai or nasi lemak for breakfast instead. On weekdays, it is oats and coffee for me.

And occasionally, I will treat myself to home cooked egg, sausage, toast and baked beans, not necessarily for breakfast, just when I feel like it.

What do you have for breakfast?

Tatting from the Past 2

These were tatted using Flora Size 20. I tatted a few because I wanted to frame them in a double glass frame so that you could view it from front and back and hang them near the window. I bought the frames, plastic not glass from Ikea but have yet to put them in and hang them. It has been 5 years? How time flies.

Cathay Building - Art Deco Architecture?

Yes, in the car again, taken from my window. This building has the original building facade but a brand new one behind. Do you call this art deco style? Anyway it is quite unusual in Singapore. It was built in the 1930s and I was told, the first building in Singapore to have escalators in the 1960s. However this article on the building does not mention the escalators.

WIP

This Ruth Scharf's pattern is called Kreuzmotive found on page 11 of the Neue Blatter book. Now I am thinking, is this two much grey? These grey petals took slightly longer to tat than the leaves but it was easier to follow after you get the hang of the first one. Here it looks like a pinwheel.