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.