Beautiful Cappuccino

A beautiful iced cappuccino with whipped cream and a rose stirrer. Perfect for an after lunch tenzaru soba which I forgot to photograph. It was a hot afternoon and cold soba noodles with fresh tempura was just the thing to fill your stomach. I hope you had a good lunch today.

Frances Doily WIP1 ( LHO4)

While blocking Anya, I was itching to start a new pattern, so I did. From Lee Hye-oon's book Lovely Tatting Doilies for Spring and Summer, this pattern is found on page 37.

I did not care for this Lizbeth Size 40 Col. 699 Harvest Gold thread so I wanted to use it with another colour. Here it is tatted with Col. 667 Orchid Green Medium.

Cactus Galore

There is a section in the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay just for succulents. My phone battery was dying and I could not take more photos but here is two interesting ones.

Because of this, I finally went to the service centre to take up the replacement battery offer. It is slightly better but it still needs to be charged every night.

Anya WIP2 (LHO3)

It is a good idea to check what you have tatted ever so often. You can then correct a mistake before it gets too monumental. I was about to finish this round when I realised I missed joining to one ring. I spent two hours unpicking for which it only took 15 minutes of tatting to reach back to the same point. Sigh!!

I looked at the pattern correction which Hye-oon mentioned in my previous post. As I had already tatted round 3, I did not want to re-do it. But I thought that the original pattern in the book looks correct and corresponds to the photo in the book. 

Anyway, I decided to keep this in one colour which is tatted in Flora Size 20 #224.

Eu Char Koey / Chinese Crullers

Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. Soaks up your coffee but still crunchy. We eat this on its own, dipped in coffee; or dipped in your congee or bak kut teh (herbal pork rib soup). It is savoury not sweet.

As you can see, the dough is cut up, and he will indent the rectangular dough in the centre lengthwise using a chopstick before sliding it into hot oil. The large wok is filled with puffed up dough. In Chinese this breakfast treat is called youtiao. You can read more about it here.

Cherry Blossoms at the Flower Dome

I thought the other flowers were more interesting than the cherry blossoms this year but the miniature torii gates and traditional dolls were a nice change. There was also a tea house with the Japanese tea ceremony taking place inside. 

Dog Lanterns and Dragon Dance

I finally passed by Chinatown last weekend and managed this photo for you. I am glad to have seen it before the decorations were taken down.





There was also a lion and dragon dance at the Toa Payoh market and hawker centre when we were there for brunch. 

New Mugs

Can you have too many mugs? I have different mugs for different drinks and I can use a few at the same time. One for coffee, one for oats in the morning, one for honey and lemon kept cold in the fridge, one for ginseng for mid afternoon. And these two new ones, oats and milo for supper. I could not resist the cherry blossoms.

Anya WIP1 (LHO3)

I thought I would photograph this with the book cover. Since my Flora pink threads were out of storage, I decided to do an ombre pink with the darkest pink in the centre, or not. Come back to see how this develops.

Rose Gold Crazy

This is the Pandora Rose Dazzling Daisy Chain Ring. It all started with my search for more rose gold jewellery. I seem to be addicted now, wanting to stack more rings on my fingers. Pandora Rose is rose gold plated and this one is set with cubic zirconia.

Kueh Pie Tee Shells

This lunar new year, I made these shells in two sessions, a week apart. Last year I did not make any. I may need to get new moulds as the handle of my current one broke. I guess it could be fixed but if I can find a new one, I should get one or two. It might become obsolete one day or very difficult to find like postcards.

Serafina Doily Completed (LHO2)

Yes, it is done. This pattern is found in Lovely Tatting: Doilies for Fall and Winter by Lee Hye-oon on page 69. I used Daruma Lace Cotton threads in Size 30 Col. #3 (cream) and #10 (brown). In the book, this doily was tatted in baby pink and baby blue. 

I am tempted to try another bicolour pattern from the same book but perhaps before that I should try an easy pattern first.

Whatcha Doing?

Watching my princess sleep.

Tsuru knows when you are up to something.

She hates being photographed.

Serafina WIP4 (LHO2)

All ready for the last round. This is an interesting pattern and is not as difficult as it seems. Quite the contrary. Just need to pay attention to the instructions given in the pattern. After the first repeat, it was a breeze. Do try it, if you have the book.

It is reminding me of a dream catcher.  On the blocking board, it looks quite pretty but I still think it would have looked much prettier in Size 40 Lizbeth. This Daruma Lace Size 30 is like a Perle thread, a little fuzzy.

Light Fixtures

These light fixtures of lotus flowers were found in a Teochew restaurant where we had family lunch in Petaling Jaya. I think they are pretty.

You need a high ceiling for these. Unfortunately, most apartments in Singapore have a ceiling height of 2.5m or 8.2 ft. That will not work.

Elephants in Little India

Last year there were peacocks at this very same spot. This year elephants. These are decorations specially put up for Deepavalli last November, but I think they will leave them there till next Deepavalli. The peacocks were taken down just before these were put up.

I have not gone to Chinatown to see the lunar new year decorations. If I do, I will take a photo and post it. Try to imagine dog lanterns.

Serafina Doily WIP3 (LHO2)

This is how much has been tatted since the last post which was exactly a month ago. Yes, it has been a busy time and I was trying to finish the other doily quickly. 

Looking at this now, I wish I had chosen a size 40 thread instead.

Maybe it will be completed by the next tatting post, maybe not.

Fortune Cookie

I was given a fortune cookie. 

You might not believe in it but you would still unravel and read it.

Change my thoughts?

Change the world?

Maybe!

Alice Doily Completed (LHO1)

From this view, the cuts and knots where I corrected the mistake are not so obvious. I am glad to finish it. Thanks to all your comments, cheering me on. Otherwise, I might have given up on this.

The pattern is from Lovely Tatting Doilies for Spring and Summer by Lee Hye-Oon on page 61. I used Lizbeth Size 40 threads in Lime Green Medium #677, Sea Island Citrus #161 and Honey Drizzle #180.

Shall we start another? Maybe after I complete the other Lee Hye-Oon pattern Serafina doily I started earlier.

Wave Architecture

This is the newer building of Mohammad Mustafa store. I never noticed the facade before this. This store is open 24 hours 7 days a week and it is filled with all sorts of merchandise. We visit whenever we go for breakfast in that vicinity.

Food Art

We were having Saturday lunch at Prego in Raffles City and I was flipping through the Epicure magazine when I saw these. These photos do not do them justice. Are they not just beautiful? A feast for your eyes, . . . . and maybe your palate too.

Alice Doily WIP5 (LHO1)

I am tatting Round 12, about half way but not done yet and there is one more round. 

I hope it still looks presentable after I corrected the mistake at Round 6. I made cuts and joined. After that, I was not too keen on it except that I had to finish the pattern.