Evangeline Doily Aborted

This is the second time tatting the last round. The first time, I misread the pattern. I cut that off. The second time tatting the last round and at the last repeat, I realised I had been carrying a mistake from the very first round. It should be an even number of 24 picots in the first round. I did 25 and it did not matter until now. Cannot ignore the mistake as it affects the subsequent rounds. Therefore, it ends here. I may start another Evangeline but maybe not now. Sigh . . . . . .

PS Cafe @ Raffles City

I have not had a chance to dine here yet but each time I visit this mall, I feel drawn to it. It feels so inviting right in the middle of the atrium. Peaceful, green, airy and cool.

Olive Green Bracelet

I made a few stretchy bead bracelets last weekend. This is the first one. I bought the beads years ago but never used them. The enamel beads are from Bangkok. They are paired with olive jade and serpentine beads.

Pandora Black & White Flowers

From left to right: Primrose silver clip with clear cz and white enamel, Openwork enamel flower (mystic floral) charm, Black bubbles murano glass charm, Openwork pave flower charm, Nautical pave lights charm and Primrose silver clip.

Besides clips and spacers, I have hesitated on getting a repeat charm. Although I like the symmetry, I also love the variety that Pandora has for charms and I cannot bring myself to get doubles or triples for each charm. I wish I could.

Cornelia Doily 1 Completed (LHO6)

This is complete. Tatted in Lizbeth Size 40 in Col.706 Sunkist Coral. The doily is about 8.5 inches across.  This pattern from Lee Hye-oon's book Lovely Tatting Doilies for Spring and Summer can be found on page 49. You could continue and add another 7 rounds and end up with Cornelia Doily 2, but I am leaving it here for now. Now back to the other doily - Evangeline.

Evangeline Doily WIP 3 (LHO5)

Finished a few more rounds. It is getting larger and 7 more rounds to go. It is measuring about 11 inches in diameter now. It looks lovely on the dark brown table. The Cornelia doily with only two more rounds to tat, will be done before this one.

Custom Woven Labels

I ordered these woven labels when Abby of Dutch Label Shop reached out. I had no clue how the labels should look but after using the options available on the shop website, I went with these 3. The cat, heart and thread spool graphics were chosen from a variety of readily available on the website. Same goes with the font. Very easy to use and you can view the label as you change your options, which was very useful. I ordered all 3 size options and both sew on and iron on. Minimum order per design is 30 labels.

I wanted to get the woven logo labels and incorporate a tatted motif but my graphic skills are limited. Perhaps next time with some help from the experts at this label shop.

Which is your preferred Umi & Tsuru label design?

Cornelia Doily WIP 2 (LHO6)

The orange has evolved into a basket. Two more rounds to go and it will be done. Lavi thought it reminded her of an orange. While it was being blocked, I asked AAA what it reminded him of, he said a basket. Maybe because I left it on top of the laundry basket to dry. I guess he meant a basket weave pattern.

Many patterns from Lee Hye-oon requires a ring to join to a chain without a picot. I found it a little unusual but if you like, you could always add in a picot for joining. For example, the middle of the three rings is joined to the previous round's chain without a picot. The joining thread just goes round the whole chain.

Evangeline Doily WIP 2 (LHO5)

I love it. It is coming along. Tatted another 4 rounds since the last post. The centre is not difficult. They are chains with sets of first half and second half stitches of the double stitch. You just need to carefully keep count. I am sure the chains are not equal in length but it is not so obvious in this design.

Pandora Rose Gold Hearts

All the charms here have hearts. But I did mix in some silver between the rose gold charms.

From left to right: pandora rose pave open my heart clip, pink sparkling heart spacer, embossed hearts safety chain, pandora rose cubic zirconia love all around charm, safety chain, spacer & clip.

Bracelet is the 18cm silver with pandora rose clasp.

Cornelia Doily WIP 1 (LHO6)

Yes, I did start another pattern by Lee Hye-oon. I am not liking the part where I climbed out to the next round. I did not leave enough thread space for that false picot. Maybe if I pull it a little, it will work. Anyway, this looks simple. The same for the next couple of rounds before the next design element kicks in. I am using Lizbeth Size 40 in Col. 706 Sunkist Coral.

That reminds me. Since it has been so hot these past weeks, I have been enjoying cold watermelon cubes and Sunkist navel oranges. Kept in the fridge and enjoyed when you need something refreshing. Must shave some ice and make some ice kacang too. It has been very hot and humid. Temperatures reach 35 degrees C and with the humidity, it feels like 40 degrees C. When will it end?

Evangeline Doily WIP 1 (LHO5)

Started another in a cream colour thread. It looks pretty simple for now. Next round, Josephine rings will be incorporated. This was good practice for the split chain.

I may want to start another and alternate tatting both patterns. Yes, maybe I will do that.

My Princess

Do cats cool themselves and pant like dogs? I think they do but she isn't panting. Maybe it is the sweltering heat and humidity because she has been sticking out her tongue more than usual. 

My princess is getting on in age. She needs potassium tablets otherwise she has problems with her hind legs. She rarely jumps on the bed now instead she sleeps on her pillow on the floor. Otherwise, she is in good health for her age, as the vet says. She eats well and now weighs 4.1kg.

Anya Doily 2 & Anya Doily 3 (LHO3)

Both are completed. The larger one is Anya Doily 3. You can clearly see the thread colour changes in the second photo. These patterns are found on pages 27 & 31 of Lovely Tatting Doilies for Fall and Winter by Lee Hye-oon. I took some time to finish this because as usual, I was busy online shopping and watching Korean dramas that took time away from tatting. 

What happened to the ombre effect I was hoping to achieve, you might ask? Well, I did not think I would have enough thread for the last round so I had to switch to the medium pink as I needed the darkest pink for Anya doily 2. I do like the outcome. Tatted in Flora Size 20 threads in dark (Col. 224), medium (Col. 211) and light pink (Col. 207).

Roasted Pork

At this restaurant, serving roasted pork has become a culinary art piece. Thin layer of crackling and perfectly seasoned. Not too good for the old heart but perfect for the senses.