Malaysia's 56th

In June we visited Bukit Tinggi which is about 1 hr from Kuala Lumpur. Temperatures there are a few degrees lower but not as cool as Genting Highlands. This was what greeted us at the entrance of the hotel resort. These horses must be a gift from the Selangor Turf Club. 

The top photo has Malaysia's national flag and the lower photo has batik incorporated with the rest of the flag. Today is also Malaysia's National Day - 56 years of independence. 

Happy Birthday Mom

Windmills Set 13-15

Set 13

Chose my colours to repeat after Tsuru stepped out of the picture. I want to spread out the darker, more contrasting colours e.g. the dark brown should be the in the centre of the last row and maybe the dark green should be the next repeat on this row.

Set 14 & 15

Edgings for Guest Towels

On page 84 of 'The Tatter's Treasure Chest' is an edging pattern which was simple and very fast to tat. After tatting it, I thought it would look lovely in two colours but I have run out of hand towels to edge . . . maybe a hanky? 

This is the last of the lot I bought. Wanted to keep it simple and in a subtle colour - Lizbeth Size 20 in Silver (#605).

Four Angled Bean Plant

This is the plant that produces the four angled beans. The flower is a lovely shade of lilac. It is a climber, easy to grow and produces numerous bean pods. You can save the older pods for seeds. One of my favourite vegetables. You can eat the young beans raw or sliced and stir fried with sambal belacan / chilli. See this post. 

Pear Shaped

Another sweet pendant pattern by Victoria Clarke from her book 'Tatting the Stone'. This time I not only used a larger sized stone but a Size 20 thread. This blue stone is 20 x 15mm in size and the thread is a HDT from Tat-ilicious called French Country. I think the large Delica beads was a better option here. Perhaps, I should have added one more Delica bead in the centre picot for a more pear shaped pendant. This shape is also pretty. The whole pendant measures about 2.0 x 1.5 inches.

Nasturtiums

Mom wanted these for her garden but I think they were grown for salads. How do they taste in salads? I have never tried them. They are not usually found in our supermarkets. If they do well in mom's garden, I will pinch some from her.

Watercress is sold and I love it in soups but it does not store well in the fridge so I seldom get them. We go grocery shopping once a week so I have to get vegetables that store well.

Season 5 Dinner Course

1 Otoushi

Slow cooked egg (onsen tamago) with truffle sukiyaki foam, sea grapes and water shield.

You first smell the truffle foam.  It came in a double walled glass cup and you would expect it to be hot. But the first mouthful was a surprise. The egg was cold but runny. Then came the surprising texture and flavour.

2 Sashimi

Three kinds of seasonal fish with pumpkin, red radish and daikon

Love the presentation and the delicate flowers. What I ate were 2 types of fish and scallop. 

3 Grill

Kagoshima Wagyu Beef, Eel Teriyaki, Kyusu Sea Snail, Baby Crab Ginger Myoga, Sweet Potato and Tomato

There was a charcoal grilled foie gras which was not mentioned in the menu and it was delicious. The crab was a surprise. Love the crunch of the shell. Eel was a little fishy for my taste but the beef was the star.

4 Rice & Soup

Deep Fried Sakura Shrimp Rice and Kyushu Aosanori Miso Soup

Someone mentioned sea urchin in the soup but I did not taste it. Shrimp rice was lovely.

5 Dessert

Passion Fruit Creme Brulee

The passion fruit was really sour but the seeds had a nice crunch to it. The burnt sugar wafer added a nice flavour. The serving cup reminded me of a Thai crockery. 

Treasured Edging

This pattern is found on page 90 of The Tatter's Treasure Chest book edited by Mary Waldrep. It reminded me of lotus flowers. Tatted in Lizbeth Size 20 in Cotton Candy (#111). A soothing colorway for this pink hand towel. It tended to curve but blocking straightened it out.

Starfish

If the colour scheme looks familiar, it is because it is from Fox. The threads were sent to me to try out.  It is Finca Size 8. Thank you Fox. The starfish pattern is from Nancy Tracy of Be-stitched. Thank you Nancy.

These two starfishes will be added to the collection for my quilts. Well, yes, where is it? No, I have not started and the number of nephews are growing. I believe that when I do get started it will be quick to piece four quilts together. What do you think? 

You see, I need to re-organize the sewing machine space and move it into an air-con room. We practically live in two air-con rooms and leave the rest to dust.

Its Mine!

Need a size comparison. Here's one. 

Tsuru has called it and claimed it. It was so natural for her to come into the room and put her butt down. She sat on it for quite some time. I left it to her, but only for a while. I had put it on the floor to look at the colours and to decide which colour to use next. She was saying - 'leave it to me'.

Thank you for all your encouraging comments. I will finish it but perhaps with more distractions.

Windmills Set 12

I have been distracted with other tatting projects but I think I am also losing motivation with this one and there is still a long way to go. Do you get the shape I am aiming for? I need 7 more repeats. 

What? 

s..e..v..e..n..

Wall Climbing

Nephew #2 is wall climbing while Niece #1 is trying to take a photo of him. The day before they all went for the flying fox and canopy walk. Can you see how far apart the planks are for the canopy walk. No money back if you decide to chicken out. Somehow they all managed it.

Filigree Edging

This pattern is found on page 91 of The Tatter's Treasure Chest book edited by Mary Waldrep. Tatted in Milford Size 20 in black. Could not decide to put it on a white or pink hand towel so I photographed them both and will sew it in once it has been decided.

Oxalis from Mom

This is the Oxalis plant that mom gave me sometime back. Love the white flowers. If you are wondering what is that strange leaf, it is a Kaempferia. The tuber was dormant when I planted the Oxalis and now they co-exist. 

Below is a variant which I just poached from mom. The leaves are green and the flowers have a slight purple tinge. 

Sorry S, the tubers you bought have not sprouted and it has been a month since I planted them. Notice the leaves of these plants are 3-leaf not 4-leaf.

Windmills Set 10 & 11

The brown seems too dark but hopefully the contrast works. I got bored so I tatted both sets 10 and 11 simultaneously. 

Maybe one more new colour is needed. The rest will be repeat colours scattered around.

Simple Dimples

A pattern by Victoria Clarke from her book 'Tatting the Stone'. If you have this pattern book and have hesitated because you did not have the right size bead for it, don't.

This pattern called for a 18 x 14mm puff oval bead. This blue lapis lazuli that I used is 15 x 10mm and it works just as well. The other alternative is of course, to adjust the number of stitches to fit your bead or stone. This was tatted using Lizbeth Size 40 thread in Honey Drizzle (#180) and Miyuki Delica beads (DB1210).

Tat Along With Margaret - Complete

It is completed and measures about 7 inches across. The last round was tatted in Lizbeth 40 Herbal Garden (#179). I did mine in 3 different colours and it looks quite different from Margaret's. View hers here.

This pattern is by Anastasia Maltseva. Thank you for this interesting pattern. I especially love Round 1.

Margaret, thank you for tatting this with me. It was such a nice change from tatting Windmills for me. Hope you had fun too.

Gloria Butterfly Edged Hand Towel

Finally, I dug out this edging which I tatted and posted here. Decided to edge this white hand towel with it. It looks pretty delicate and plain. Add more butterflies? No, decided to keep it simple.

Happy 48th

Singapore is celebrating her 48th.

It is also my father-in-law's birthday. His son always jokes that a parade is always held in his honour. He will be smiling.

Selamat Hari Raya

Some Raya goodies at a friend's house.

We gather every year at Ruz's.

Windmills - Set 8 & 9

8 sets

9 sets

It is coming along. 

Getting the hang of joining them together 

but running out of green shades to use. 

Will need to repeat them soon.

Tat Along Round 2

Margaret and I are having fun with this pattern. Do go by her blog to see hers done in Lizbeth Autumn Apple Pie. 

Mine is tatted in Size 40 threads Venus Pink (#498) and Lizbeth Elderberry Jam (#177). Also decided to tat Round 3 in a different colour - maybe in green. Sorry the chains got over-stretched during blocking. 

Painting

 

Almost done!

Bravo to the brave men who do this job.

See previous post.

Petai

I have been craving for this for quite some time now. Finally decided to cook it myself and have it with nasi lemak.

It isnt  everyone's cup of tea. Petai or the smelly bean is a dish you either like or you avoid. Just like durian. I love it. 

This is what I had it with - my version of nasi lemak - steamed coconut rice with peanuts, ikan bilis, egg, sambal petai and grilled chicken.

Overtaking Vehicles

It was a 2-lane highway on an incline climbing. The sign specifically says no overtaking for heavy vehicles. But some drivers like to test  the capability of their vehicles.