Christmas Cakes

These were oh so yummy. 

Lots of butter icing but it was really good. 

Aren't they pretty. 

Yes, homemade by my cousin for a pre-Christmas cum reunion lunch that we had. Cousins we have not met in years came home to Malaysia for a visit. Many babies and toddlers running around too.

Stawasz Doily XVIII Completed

Lots of grey from Lizbeth 40 Charcoal Medium with splashes of pink from Lizbeth 40 Pink Marble. Only with a white background can you see the swirled petals. Only measures about 6.5 inches across.

If you tat it in a larger sized thread and in one colour, it would look more like the photo in the book. How would you tat it?

Hanky Sachet #3

I found more of these hankies. Bought 6 in a pack in 3 different colours.
Edged with this.

Folded the corners in and sewed four lines 0.5 inches in from folded edges.
Looped the ribbons through. 

Back View

Pull the ribbons on both ends and tie a bow.
Hanky Sachet ready for use.
Instructions for making the hanky sachet is found here. 

Snow Globe

It would be fantastic if you could go into the snow globe and have a photo taken. A life size snowglobe. Or perhaps if you stand behind the snow globe at a certain angle, it would look as if you were inside. It is all fake trees and fake snow here in Singapore.

Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas.

Hope you have a good one with family and friends.

A handmade pop-up card. 

Isn't it wonderful? 

It closes flat.

Christmas Lights in Orchard

Sorry for the bad photos.

Sally's 11.12.13 Snowflake

Sally of Tat's Heaven shared this pattern. I used Size 20 Milford white and red beads. I had to unpick twice, first because I made my picots too small for the seed beads, then I missed one vsp. 

The second snowflake was a breeze. 
Tatted with silver grey beads.
I enjoyed this great little pattern. 

Thank you Sally.

Christmas at Causeway Point

Instead of the usual Christmas decor, I found this simple and yet festive. 
It is a shopping mall (among many) in Singapore.

With the photo editor - sepia tone

With the photo editor - black and white

A Little Tree

Tiny tree but it took me sometime to tat. This is a Ruth Perry pattern which can be found here. I made the 3/4 inch one and added the beads. Thread used is Tat-ilicious Size 20 - a Messy Jessy. 

London

I love Iris Niebach's Tatting Fantasia 4 book. This book has patterns named after cities. They all look wonderful.  I chose London to tat first. It has twisted woven picots.

Tatted in Lizbeth 40 in Lime Green (#679) and Scottish Thistle (#175) 

Tatted in Lizbeth 20 in Christmas Delight (#116)

Size comparison and without the ribbon.
Somehow, the twisted woven picots come alive 
when the ribbon is inserted.

Vadai

We looked forward to the weekly pasar malam/night market in order that we could eat vadai. These days I can only afford to eat one, occasionally. It is deep fried and high in calories but so are cakes and sweet desserts. They do taste good. More about the vadai here.

Stawasz Doily XVIII WIP

A size 10 thread was recommended in this pattern but I used Lizbeth Size 40 in Pink Marble (#172) and Charcoal Medium (#607). The skewed rings were more pronounced in the book which was a nice feature but it is not so in mine. I wonder why - the smaller thread or the colourway?

Pot of Soup

A huge pot that is.

The man is putting a traditional charcoal stove into the large clay pot.

If you look carefully there are small pots of soup at the bottom with charcoal stove in the centre, The iron racks will be filled with more small pots of soup and the large clay pot will be covered. Soup cooked this way must be delicious. Must try it the next time we visit.

Coaster Edging

Where's the coaster?

I did not have one to edge so . . . .

I made 6 repeats, cut and tied.

Tatted in Milford Size 20 in black. 

This pattern is found on page 20 of 

Susanne Schwenke's Spitzen Kreationen book.

Coconut Tarts

I have been craving for egg tarts but this will do too. The coconut tarts were moist and oh so yummy. Same place I bought the kaya cake and carrot cake. It is not near where I live but we will drive there to get them on some weekends.

Pink and Yellow Pansy Edging

Another edging design from Occhi Schiffchenspitze Frivolite by Marianne Langwieser and Tatiana Scharowa. This one is on page 94 and I chose it for the play of two colour threads in the design. After tatting it, it reminded me of pansy flowers. 

The threads are Venus Size 40 in bright pink (#EM 498) and bright yellow (#546). I had them wound in the shuttles for the kissing minnows but that did not work out. So here it is. Placed it on a white hand towel to see how it looks. Will it work?

Cat Pose

She also did a cat scratch. 

Can you see holes in the yoga mat?

Schwenke Hanky Edging

This pattern is by Susanne Schwenke on page 6 of her book Spitzen Kreationen. This time I used Altin Basak Size 50 #3001. I love the subtle blues in this one. The block tatting in this pattern gives the flower motif an interesting touch. It was quite fun to tat. I am a fan of Susanne Schwenke's patterns. Now to attach it to the hanky. I am not a fan of that.

Seville Cathedral II

The cathedral is built on site of the Almohad mosque which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1356. What remained of the mosque and left incorporated into the Cathedral was the minaret - Giralda and the courtyard of orange trees.

Signage at Giralda before ramp to the top

We climbed the ramp all the way up to the top

Bells of Giralda

View of Seville from top of Giralda

Roof of Cathedral from top of Giralda

Courtyard of orange trees from top of Giralda

Ancient irrigation system for the orange trees

Seville Cathedral I

One of the other places we visited in Seville is the Seville Cathedral a UNESCO World Heritage site.

World's third largest cathedral after London's St Paul's and Rome's St Peter's

Two large Baroque organs face each other

Beautiful vaulted ceilings

Tomb of Christopher Columbus

One of many magnificent stained glass windows

Vision of St Anthony of Padua by Murillo