Jackie's la la za za

Bake 4 ..

2010-10-03T12:08:00.012+08:00

Jayne will be taking her Primary School Leaving Examination on the 6th October to 12th October, which is next Wednesday till the following Tuesday.

Other than being there for her, her daddy and I were thinking of what we can do to show her our moral support during this period of revision, before THE day.

Something that we loves to do as a family, one of our favourite "chore" in the kitchen is BAKING.

As Jayne loves to spread her bread with Nutella, we decided on the the Quick and Easy Nutella Walnut Cake recipe from I can Bake, written by Agnes Chang.

This time we baked her a twin-cake ! It means Double Happiness, and the Love for her from her daddy and me.

We wish her all the BEST in her forthcoming examinations and enjoys these 5 days just like any ordinary day in her life :)

Have FUN, Jayne. These are 4 you...........

Flower Shrug

2010-09-22T09:40:00.008+08:00

I like the construction of this shrug , a very easy follow pattern and the outcome is great !

Jayne loves it very much, wears it very often. I do not wish to knit something that is only wear once and being put away.

According to her, it is a must to wear in an air-con room, and is easily folds away in her sling bag when is not in use, this shrug doesnt take up much space in her sling bag.

Banana Blueberry Cake

2010-09-15T09:13:00.019+08:00

Over-riped banana is very common in our house, hence this gives me opportunity to read on baking blogs and Q&A food forums.

There are lot of help-tips available and so many banana cake recipes that i've copied down (and yes, i'm still using pen and paper to write down notes instead of print it out or the store-in method) along the way from many cake baking lovers (thanks for sharing :) )

I've baked banana cake before, it is the warm weather that keeps me away from my oven.

But this time, i baked on impluse !

There is this one baking blog that i like to visit - Bakericious. I like the moist and soft banana cake she baked, and a little "oh.....that's was so sweet of her husband" story behind it.

My banana blueberry cake looked different from hers, as i'd only self-raising flour in my fridge instead of the plain flour in her recipe (no baking soda and baking powder was added too), also i omited the vanilla essence and cut down on the sugar amount as those over-riped banana gave the cake its original sweetness and its own fragrant.

I reduced the amount for the salted butter too as to cater to amount of the self-raising flour that was left over from the last bake.

Meanwhile, i hope the weather will be less humid and not so warm for me to bake (again) i love to see Jayne and her daddy delighted smiling face when they eat the bite-sized banana blueberry cake snack last evening.

Besides knitting........

2010-09-04T09:21:00.003+08:00

With those knitting UFOs flying around, i love to have plants at home

Even though flowers dont last long

is this moment counts

Spaghetti with mentaiko sauce

2010-09-03T08:50:00.004+08:00

This was our dinner last night - Linguine with Mentaiko Premix Sauce. Jayne and her daddy loved this home-cooked spaghetti so much that they asked me to cook again. I was very happy to see them enjoying their food, and it never fails to bring a smile on my face !

I've to thank Erin for this, it was from her blog that i read about. She was so kind to tell me where to buy this premix sauce and how to prepare the dish. I copied down immediately.

I'll definitely have this for dinner again as is simple to cook, takes little time to prepare, and most of all, my famly loves it :)

This little birdie

2010-08-26T09:18:00.014+08:00

While i was busy counting the rows and stitches for this gauge, i heard chirping outside the window - this little yellow bird standing on one of the bamboo pole, cleaning his feathers, enjoying himself in his bird-eye view.

the next moment i rasied my head looking out of the window, there he was standing at the window panel.

Upon seeing this, i thought to myself, it might be the warm weather that made him went under the shade of the window, poor guy !

Hence i quickly removed a pot of plant from the glass container nearby, poured water in, thinking that this little birdie might need to cool down, and i think that he knew there will be a bird bath as despite that i was so close to the window, he doesnt seem to mind and was waiting for it.

True enough, he flew in, and settled himself there, oh my, i was so excited ! My DIY bird bath works :)

Slowing he made his way in, nearer and nearer .... guess he must be feeling so at home !

See he was again chripping away resting on the bottom of a standing fan, together with those reuse, recycle milk bottles containing rain water that i've been collecting on raining days, this sky water is a good supplement for plants.

Now he was on the table, on my knitting magazine, looking around.

I've so much fun watching and recording this little guy made his way in and out of my house. Jayne was happy to see the tape, however she is hoping that our little friend will come visiting again while she is at home.

A Surprise

2010-08-05T11:53:00.029+08:00

Received a package yesterday, truly a very surprise one for me as I was not expecting anything from anyone from anywhere. And yet these came in............My Birthday Presents !

With your busy house-moving event, most of your things being packed up in boxes, you were not so sure of my birth month, yet you still send these to me.

You made my day - with full of happiness, warmth and love.

I used to buy The Cross Stitcher but not anymore as I have stop cross stitching since, by looking at it now, there is a urge to re-open my cross stitch box, maybe in between knitting, a little cross stitching will be good.

.......and this lovely fob with my initial J, isnt it beautifully stitched with exquisite beads finishing ?

Thank you so much Mylene.

Damsel

2010-07-05T11:24:00.002+08:00

Damsel, a merino handpainted lace/2ply weight, from The Plucky Knitter came into my stash box last night. Oh, how i love the soft texture, the sweet colour, with yardage is 900.

......Happily

2010-07-04T11:57:00.013+08:00

Looking at these shoes, .. YES.. we are in the Ice Skating Rink,

While Jayne and her daddy happily enjoying their rounds, I am happily knitting away.......

This is a place that I'll knits without worrying of the warm air, not-so-good-feeling of holding the wool cotton yarn and the double pointed needles.

June to July

2010-07-01T09:23:00.027+08:00

Before it rolls into August, I've better update my blog.

Hello my friends, how is everyone ?

Baking and going to the beach has been putting back as the weather lately is at 35deg C most of the day - hot hot hot !!

We took a short trip on the second week of June school holiday to Gentings Highland in Malaysia to enjoy the cool weather - wonderful wonderful wonderful !!

I still do Ravelrying, queued items like the Drops pattern 101-31 Jersey with short sleeve, V neck and lace pattern in Muskat, a 100% cotton yarn.

Abi, a tunic length sweater with pockets and cables details by Berroco #303 (sorry, the copy and paste link is broken at the moment)

I'm going to knit Abi in my favourite colour - Green. Is a new colour tone, hence not in the store yet, coming soon.

I've the Evening Shrug by Whitney Van Nes, in Rowan Wool Cotton on my needle now, is a really easy shrug to knit, keeps me company, mindless knitting helps in way too in such warm days !

Just a while ago in Ravelry, Veera's lastest little green cardigan, Celery, caught my attention. She uses 2 skeins of Malabrigo 3ply light fingering sock yarn for the beautiful Celery. Oh how i love it :) I cant wait for the pattern to come.

Me and My Hey Teach!

2010-04-19T10:45:00.011+08:00

I am always wanting to take a self protrait picture standing in front of the mirror, so here is me and my Hey Teach!

Hey Teach !

2010-04-14T12:12:00.005+08:00

My #2 in the group , guess I am slow in this knit-a-long.

This is my second attempt on Hey Teach!

I failed the first time as I can't get the lace pattern nicely up on the left front and the right front piece.

I would love very much to find a comfortable aircon spot to take a good picture of me wearing this lovely Hey Teach! to "show off" as a reward for myself and to thank everyone who is so helpful to offer advice and tips on how to knit up the lace pattern.

Building Our Dreams

2010-04-12T08:56:00.006+08:00

We were building our dreams with our hands on the beach on the Family-Get-Together Day organised by Jayne's school.

It was a bright sunny Saturday morning, everyone was excited and looking forward to use our hands on the sand and water.

Welcome to my castle

Labrador Nature Reserve

2010-04-04T17:38:00.010+08:00

We had a lovely Saturday evening in Labrador Nature Reserve.

Surrounded by hugh old trees

The Green

The Labrador Jetty

and the shore

A very beautiful place

100 - 1

2010-03-26T16:59:00.012+08:00

This box came from Japan on 25 March, Thursday, around 9.40am at my doorstep. I was expecting to receive my online purchase yarn from Pierrot Yarns 5-7 days after I placed my order on the 23 March, Tuesday.

I was surprised to see the box in just less than 3 days. I always believe in excellent service and fast delivery in any purcahse. I'll give a THUMB UP for Pierrot Yarns

When I received the box, I was so happy, To Open or Not to Open!!

I enjoys the moment of waiting. The joy of looking forward to and the joy of having it right in front of me is totally different. Even though i know what is inside.

What has to be open has to be open, finally after much struggling, I did this -

Jayne took the picture of me doing so - and here they are 99 balls of yarns.

Out of the 99balls, 7 balls are Ethnic Denim, 12 balls are cotton Neat and the rest are the Soft Merino Fingering yarn.

I was given a booklet of the 2010 Spring Summer Collection.

To Open or Not To Open

2010-03-25T10:11:00.001+08:00

HAPPY DANCING

FO - Tiny Striped Turtle

2010-03-23T09:18:00.004+08:00

Tiny Striped Turtle

It all started with the smallest turtle, aka Baby Kui, given to Jayne from one of her classmate.

She falls in love with Baby Kui and have it in her pencil case everyday.

Then one day, she came home with another one, aka Brownie, which is slightly bigger size. This time, Brownie was given to her by her teacher for being having good performance in class.

It's such so happening that these 2 felt turtles belongs to the "same" famly.

From that day on, Brownie and Baby Kui has been playing along with Jayne during her break-time in between her class lessonss orwhile waiting for the next teacher to come into the class or on the desk top while she is doing her homework.

Few weeks later, i happened to see a pattern in Ravelry.

Oh, such a cutie !! How can she not has it !!

My handknit turtle, aka Mama Kui Kui, is joining in the fun :)

CNY Bakez

2010-02-18T09:23:00.022+08:00

Jayne's favourite cookies

Choc Raisins cookies

It's nice to have someone loves to bake at home

She is enjoying every moment

Together with the CNY goodies

恭喜发财

Thank you gifts

2010-02-17T17:59:00.013+08:00

Nice cotton yarn *Happy Dancing*

A package of very artisic napkins

Jayne's favourite Hello Kitty Pinkies

She loves to draw and she sure can draw very well.

Look at the doodle by her 4yr old daughter on that cute postcard.

Like Mother Like Daughter

All these came in this morning from my friend, I. For thanking me for the thank-you-for-the-get-well-gift present that I send over.

She is so kind to do, we thank you once again.

新年快乐

2010-02-15T12:18:00.020+08:00

恭喜发财万事如意

Warmy

2010-01-13T10:01:00.007+08:00

This year the warm weather come earlier than before, I guess it must be the Global Warming thingy.

On the first week of the first month, look at the sun shinning and the shadow casting.

I know some places are piled up with snow, if your place is piled up with lots of snow, please visit here often so as to feel the warmth.

Enjoys and take care :)

New Buy

2010-01-12T09:20:00.022+08:00

This year, I have decided to join the IntSweMoDo2010 marathon in Ravelry . The rule is that to finish 1 Adult size sweater/top in every month, hence 12 sweaters in 2010.

With this goal in mind, I started to do some online purchase, and all the packages arrive safe on time in my letter box.

Elsabeth Lavold Hempathy

This was my second time ordered the Elsabeth Lavold Hempathy, as the first package went "missing in action", I don't know where went wrong, I never get to see my purchase.

It has been almost 7 months now, I really hope it will be return to me as a "returned post".

This time, after I send in my order, I was very uneasy, feeling "up and down". What if, this package MIA again !! Luckily this time, it CAME.

I like the 40%Hemp, 40%Cotton, 20%Modal Rayon in Pink Fauve, suitable for the weather now.

After this successful buy, I started my shopping spree again. This time is the all time favourite -the 100% Superwash Merino Wool, in Briar (purple tone) with a generous 225 yards per skien, enough for a cardigan
.

Madelinetosh

I am thinking of a summer top, cotton yarn would be great. So, the third purchase is the Pierrot Cotton Neat. in Drab Green.

Pierrot Cotton Neat

Pierrot Soft Merino Fingering

Last but not least, is the Grage Grey Pierrot Soft Merino Fingering, for another winter holdiay project.

Happy 2010

2010-01-01T14:08:00.003+08:00

It was such a fine day (or rather such i said the usual hot and humid day). We celebrated our last evening of 2009 with the sand, the wind, the wave and the rocks.

Here's our wish for everyone to have a wonderful, merry 2010. Cheers to our friendships :)

Lovely Christmas card with drawing

2009-12-30T11:17:00.014+08:00

See this is the most cutest christmas card we received this year. What a happy, playful drawing from a 3 year old girl. Thank you sweetie.

This is how the card look like, a very heart-warming Merry Christmas wishes from a good friend, I. She mailed it out on the 16 December 2009, believe it or not - I got it only yesterday. These long awaiting days makes my heart fonder :)

In the envelope, there is a piece of pattern attached

For this beautiful shawl/shrug that she crocheted for me as my birthday present

She know that we love this so much

HOHoHO

2009-12-27T11:56:00.002+08:00

Wishing you and your family a merry Christmas

Doodles and Waves

2009-12-24T11:46:00.013+08:00

These pictures were taken last evening, a day before 2009 Christmas Eve, we thought of going back today but it seems not a fine day to be on the beach as is a raining day !

Jayne's doodles

I can too

Show Off !!

Skies

2009-12-19T12:57:00.014+08:00

Our 2009 winter holiday in Japan came and gone

It was raining

The weather was cold

A week has passed since our cold vacation, back to the warm and humid days

Where we go cyling

Have fun in the park

Owl in Japan

2009-12-10T10:42:00.010+08:00

Owl in Tokyo Disneyland

Owl roaming in Universal Studios Japan

Hooting around in USJ

Owl is reading in Asakusa Kanmon Temple

In the oldest temple in Tokyo, Asakusa Kanmon Temple saying Hi Hi to all

Jayne's Day Out

2009-11-22T12:56:00.008+08:00

This picture was taken on the 14 Nov, Saturday, at around 630am, when my princess, Jayne was going to a 2 Days 1 Night Kampong Experience and Desaru Adventure organised by her school as a Brownies Education Trip.

This was the first time Jayne was travelling without daddy and mummy by her side to a foreign country. Her daddy and I were worried sick of her well-being in Desaru and counting down to the minutes and seconds before her call at at night (@10pm) waiting to hear her voice on the phone.

Beautiful Sunday

2009-11-15T11:17:00.004+08:00

Another Sunday......this is one Sunday that i m looking forward to because my darling princess will be home at around 5pm later this evening.

She is away from home for a 2 days 1 night Brownies' Overseas Adventure trip to Desaru in Johor, Malaysia on 14 & 15 November.

Knitting is a sure a relaxing, mind soothing hobby :) while she is not at home, i knitted quite a lot which is good as it takes my mind off from thinking of her.

This is the first time she is away in another country , without her daddy and me.

She called last night in her hotel room after her Brownies activites that all the girls were having lots of fun in the day. She and the other 3 girls (quad-sharing) intend to have their mid-night snack party till 12pm - WOW !!

My Mini Sock Exchange is here

2009-11-04T11:11:00.009+08:00

Besides the wee tiny mini sock, see the great gifts i received from Margi.

There is a mini sweater matching the mini sock (now Jayne is asking for a tiny doll to wear the sweater and to play with.... where am i going to buy such tiny doll ....LOL !!) . You should see it - the workmanship is very really good and the stitches are even and neat, the colours matches very well. It got to be a knitting guru to knit such delicate piece of work !

A lacy purple bookmark, a stack of recipe cards, 2 pieces of lovely colour fabric and a friendship bracelet for Jayne from her daughter. (Oh, that is so sweet of her daughter :)

Thank you for being my exchange pal, hugs !!

October Finishes

2009-11-02T08:47:00.018+08:00

Owlings

My Summer Top

Wee Tiny Socks

Mini Sock Exchange

Owlings

2009-10-26T09:12:00.010+08:00

Owlings is my first project using the Premium 8 Inch Double Point Bamboo Knitting Needles from here.

These double pointed needles works WONDER ! I feel great holding them, knitting thru' with the yarn.

See how beautiful the yarn and the needles sit nicely on my palm :)

I have since finished knitting, however i m still searching for the correct size buttons to be sew onto the fingerless mitts.

I hope to find the "eyes" soon so that the owlings can start hooting.....

KP

2009-10-18T10:02:00.014+08:00

One of my KnitPicks cable joint came out, and after much checking around, with the good reputations from the company and good recommendations from fellow knitters, i would like to request for a replacement.

Upon hearing my plea, a friend of mine is willing to help me, and she even ask me whether do i need to purchase stuff from KP, she can mail them over at the same time.

Oh how wonderful !!

This box arrived at the time while i was out picking Jayne from the school, hence the Postman left a Delivery Advice slip.

With the DA reference, immediately called to check and was told that the package will be in the Post Office the next working day, and offered a few options for collection, i chose the one that to be delivered to my house again on the next next working day.

I have to wait for 3 days before i can see my goods. :(

At last, my box came :)

Jayne loves to be the one to open up, and she even helps me by doing the design graphic paint on the picture.

I bought a set of the classic straight 14" Harmony wood needle set and the 4" Harmony Wood Double Pointed Knitting Needle Set plus the 5 different length Options Interchangeable Circular Knitting Needle Cables.

Oh, how i love my KPs.....thank you so much, my friend.

Knit One....Lite One

2009-10-13T08:54:00.007+08:00

Nothing unusual, just another TV knit project.

Jayne is knitting this scarf for a girl from Beijing, China in an exchange school programme.

Now come the fun part - is knit lite needle :)

Some knitters might or already have this type of knitting needle at home, BUT is our first pair of "knit Anywhere...Even in the dark !" No. 13 (9mm) 14" (36cm) HUGE (kind-of-a-funny of holding them on our hands while knitting.

The FUN element we had during the process of "see mom....is lighted up ! wow, is heavy !! playing in a room, switching off the lights just to see how bright it is " is much worth than the price of $2.99.

We tried to take photo, there isnt any good ones to show how beautiful the needles move in the dark.

Her freind has since returned home, bringing this little gift from Jayne.

75 pieces

2009-10-10T10:01:00.019+08:00

These came in yesterday *Happy Dancing*

I don't knit with double point needles these day due to my knitting tension but how can I resist of not buying :)

I have a project in mind to knit using the double point needle *again*

It is raining now while I'm writting and posting this entry. I hope this heavy down-pour is able to wash away the dust that has been piled up on the ground, these days has been warm and humid and sincerely hope to have a cool day.

Have a nice knitty moment and a wondeful weekends, my friends.

Stitch and Scarf

2009-10-08T08:58:00.009+08:00

This is Stitch -

Jayne's cuddle soft toy bought from Hong Kong Disneyland while we were there.

Oh...... no no, Stitch doesnt come home with us wearing the scarf.

Jayne knits the scarf and put it on Stitch for a photo shot before giving it as a gift to her little mei mei (little sister).

Stitch is also the "bridge" connecting Jayne and her mei mei in their online webcam chat.

Mei Mei has a Stitch soft toy too, who loves to play Peek-a-Boo with Jayne and her Stitch very much.

Jayne picks this colour as she knows mei mei love to eat grapes and like Purple.

Yarn - Patons (Powder Puff)

Needles - 5mm Clover circular needle

Pattern - Jayne's mindless knitting of all knit rows.

Sweat-It-Out

2009-10-03T10:39:00.013+08:00

With my new pair of sneakers,

Walking hand in hand with daddy,

In my school canteen, waiting.....

Getting ready....

Helping each other to check that our gears were in the right place.

Watching the Instructor demonstrating first..

Here we go ...

This Rock climbling event was organised by the school during the September school holiday. It was an 2 hours course.

It was not as easy as it seems ! They enouraged each other while making their way up.

Jayne was using all her strength to climb her way up.

Steps by steps...they made their way up.

They told me the feeling was good when they managed to climb to the TOP.

Where was I ? As usual, I was the photographer, looking up, cheering for them on the ground.

Hello Hello Hello and Hello

2009-09-22T09:46:00.014+08:00

Lately i have been receiving Emails, SMSs, MNSs on -

"woman, how come there isn't any update in your blog", "do u know that your last blog entry was on 3rd August", "was i very busy?", "your blog was almost 2 months since the last entry", "am i doing ok", "am i still in the knitting world", "my friend, your blog is collecting dusts"...etc etc

Thank you to all my friends for your concern, kind reminders, and wishing me well messages. I am OK, doing well, UFOs flying around in the house......ahahahah

Goodies

2009-08-03T09:03:00.010+08:00

Another package with full of love and affections arrives on Thursday @ 12.18pm !!

There is a box of Macaroni gratin (with well written, neat handwritting on how to cook), a packet of Tofu crispy snack, a pack of Plum flavour sesame seeds, a cute looking box of biscuits, a sample pack of Shiseido Maouillage lipstick colours, two packs of wooden buttons and not forgetting the Hamanaka Flax K linen & cotton yarn.

I will be using these light-weight yarn, (25g per ball) for Hey Teach ! as a knitalong project with a dear friend.

A Little Twin Stars notebook and a all-in-1 pen (with black, blue, red and green and also a mechanical pencil as well) is in the sweet pink wrapping bag. These are the gifts for Jayne. She loves it very much.

Thank you once again, Izumi, for these lovely gifts.

Jayne's Splodge Cake

2009-07-19T10:08:00.003+08:00

These colourful splodge cakes are our afternoon treats. Jayne has this recipe from a children television show, Finger Tips.

I am not involved in the baking this time as I am happily chatting online with a dear friend. She baked the cakes by herself, I am so proud of her.

Bread making workshop

2009-07-17T16:58:00.009+08:00

My family love to eat bread very much, with the intention of baking my own bread for them, i went to a breadmaking workshop this morning, learning the art of bread making.

We are introduced to bread making, what are the basic ingredients and how to make a sweet dough.

Using the sweet dough recipe, we make Cinnamon Raisin bread, Curry Potato Tuna Donut, Coconut Flat Bread, Chicken floss Bun, Red Bean Bun and Hotdog Roll.

Coconut Flat Bread

Clockwise - chicken floss bun, curry potato tuna dount, hotdog roll, cinnamon raisin bread and red bean bun.

The Cinnanmon Raisin bread is the product of using a bread machine.

My favourite is red bean bun with sprinkle white sesame seeds. Jayne loves the hotdog roll and her daddy prefer the curry potato tuna dount and the hotdog roll.

I am very happy that Jayne and her daddy enjoyed eating my first batch of handmade bread.

My first package from Japan

2009-07-14T08:16:00.022+08:00

My package from Japan arrived yesterday around 6 in the evening, moment after we came back from Jayne's school field trip to Chinatown. I did not expect the Postman will come at this hour, in fact it was the first time i had my package at this "odd" hour. Anyway i am very happy to see him, thank you, Mr Postman.

These are in the box -

4 balls of nicely wind up Sawayaka Cotton #15 ( a bery sweet light Pink).

2 balls of Cotton Neat

2 balls of Hamanaka Kawaii Akachan Pure Cotton

These are the Pierrot brand cotton yarn that I want to knit in such a hot and humid weather, thanks to my dear friend in Japan, for sending it over to me. There is a very cute green key chain too.

Arigato gozaimashita, Izumi.

Big Big Vesper

2009-06-28T09:33:00.028+08:00

My Vesper is doing fine (actually) but somehow or rather, inside me, i m not happy with the size it is now even though it is a loose fitting top.

In order to make the Vesper not so baggy-looking, i need to overlap the pleats more, i have to rip off many rows of stockinette stitch.

It is the first time i use a life-line on my knit piece, i m glad that this life-line method comes handy.

Jayne enjoyed winding up the yarn for me, and at the same time, i taught her the use of the life-line and how it works.

Mr Frogging isnt not as bad as everyone thinks !!

Jayne's crochet granny square

2009-06-23T11:00:00.006+08:00

Jayne was crocheting granny squares at the same time as I was crocheting mine.

I've help her to learn crochet, it was a pleasure to teach her, passing on my love of crochet to her. I'm sure she will in return pass her passion to her children too.

While looking at some of mine Crochet Today! magazines, I can tell from the look of her eyes and her sweet comments that she loves the adorable blanket for baby, beautiful granny square throw, classic afghan for the home.

I know what I will be doing next for her.

You may see her works in her Little Jayne's flower crafty corner .

Crochet granny squares exchange 2009

2009-06-22T16:24:00.010+08:00

Make something using an unlimited amount of granny squares (and include 2 stash for your SECRET partner) was theme of the NNC Crochet Granny square Exchange 2009.

I've received my granny squares from my exchange friend, Usha from Malaysia. She crocheted 2 table mat, a pin cushion and gave me a roll of ribbon and a crocheted flower.

My exchange items were a set of table mat and 4 coasters. I put them all in a drawstring bag with a wooden crochet needle.

Hope she will like it.

Good morning Sunday aka Happy Father's Day

2009-06-14T09:42:00.009+08:00

A sunny (as usual) hot, humid Sunay, the Daddy is teaching the Princess how to clean the bikes.

She is in charge of cleaning and polishing while the Daddy is in for the fixing here and there.

The Princess is dripping some oil to the chain to enable it for a smooth ride.

With a few repair tools and cleaning aids, our bikes are as shiny as gold.

We will be heading for the park later this evening to ride our shiny bikes.

I love....

2009-06-07T14:11:00.011+08:00

I love sunset, these photos were taken on Friday's evening, from my bedroom's window.

I love plants , they brighten up the room.

I love to stand by the window watching sunset.

I love Evening, as night fall, it will cool down the heat wave.

K2 Skate

2009-06-02T09:51:00.011+08:00

We were at the East Coast Park last evening buying new Skate.

jayne chose the K2 Athena Alu and the daddy chose his K2 Moto.

Both of them are gliders, be it on the ice or on the land.

It is a good thing that my husband and my daughter like the same sport.

Where am I ? I was on my bike, behind them taking pics and enjoying myself, watching them play.

See that red sign board there, that is our favourite fast food outlet. We had our dinner there.

Hot Hot Vesper

2009-05-31T15:22:00.019+08:00

Today's weather is high at 33deg, a hot and humid early afternoon. These are taken from my kitchen window.

See how my clothes swaying in the hot wind.

I must be crazy to cast on Vesper in such a hot hot humid weather.

I guess love wins !

I love the loose fitting, simple top down with a pocket design. Pleats are hand stitched after the knitting is complete. I think this will be a big challenge for me as i have never done pleats before, and would like to see how my hand-stitching skill is on a knit top.

This is the first time I have 360 cast-on stitches on a 32" circular needle. I have to tie short stash yarn (left over from the crochet granny squares and other projects) to mark every 50 stitches.

For those who like to knit Vesper, a kind reminder - please leave long enough yarn.

As this is a long-tail cast on, i started off with my 5 arm length of yarn, thinking that it will be enough, but alas, I am 100 or so stitches short. Oh boy !! this is the first time that I cast on 500 over stitches at one time!! I can feel the numbness on my left hand fingers.

This is so far my work-in-progress looks like. I hope to finish as soon as i can before my love for it "dies" out due to the heat wave even though i m in an air-con room.

From egg to coaster to pencil case

2009-05-25T09:17:00.004+08:00

Granny Square can be big or small, single colour or mulit-colour, and will not stop at just one square.

I crocheted 8 granny squares at one-go, thinking of using them as coasters. However, my daugher loves the colour very much, so i took 4 pieces, a zipper and hand sewn them into a pencil case for her.

Another happy "customer" !

From egg to coaster

2009-05-22T09:56:00.011+08:00

I joined NEEDLESnCRAFTS and signed up for Crochet Exchange 2009 recently. I cannot show the project that I have completed till my partner has received it.

However, I can share some of the coasters that I crocheted.

Remembered the Sunny side up egg, these coasters were the continuity from the egg. Jayne wants me to make something out of them instead of using them as coasters. She loves the combination of the colours very much !

Let me see what I can do with them, and gives Jayne a surprise !

Sunny side-up

2009-05-18T11:15:00.009+08:00

Jackie's kitchen menu - sunny side-up egg for breakfast.

Ingredients needed :

Thorobred 8ply Acrylic

Clover soft grip crochet hook H

Scissors Fob

2009-05-15T11:25:00.002+08:00

This is a very simple crochet project, using only chain, single stitch, double stitch and slip stitch. One that i love very much, I can find my craft scissors easily just by fishing the fob out from my knitting bag without being prickled by the sharp-point tip of the scissors.

I use my all time favourite 100% cotton yarn and Clover soft grip G hook crochet needle.

April May

2009-05-14T09:40:00.005+08:00

No, is not that cute yellow face there that i m going to talk about. Ok, maybe just a little note on Pooh, the Nintendo Lite DS cover. My sister bought this for Jayne from Hong Kong while on her holdiay in April (see April is one of the month in the title, coincidence?). Jayne loves it very much.

Now back to Arpil May (this is the month of May (another coincidence ?) wristwarmers. Who needs a wristwarmers in such a hot and humid weather. Beat me !! Anyway, i knit this for fun cos of the beautiful colour yarn, and something small that i can knit-on-the-go.

Pattern - Here

Needle - Size 4mm and 5mm (Double Point Needles)

Yarn - Bella Baby Cloud

On second thought, I am thinking to wear it to the Ice-Skating Rink.

I used to wear a long sleeve T over my short sleeve T there, and have to take it out once we step out of the Rink. It is kind-of-a-hassel to me !! i dun like it !

It is 16" long, covering my arms to keep warmth. Just pull them off when we leave the place.

Ice skating is just not my cuppa-of-sport, I will sit there and watch Jayne and her daddy having fun ice skating. Who says is boring by just sitting and wathcing, i m enjoying myself too, i m knitting in a cold place - what more can i ask ?

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-09T14:05:00.002+08:00

A hand-made card from my beloved princess, Jayne, wishing me a Happy Mother's Day.

I would like to wish all mother's a Happy Mother's Day....enjoys !!

Warming...

2009-05-07T10:21:00.003+08:00

A bowl of chicken porridge for dinner, imagine to eat warm porridge in such a hot and humid evening......LOL

Scalloping again

2009-05-03T11:26:00.034+08:00

This is my first piece, it sits under Jayne's papa cup just right. She calls it "papa cup" because this cup is much bigger, hold more water than the usual one.

Scalloped Potholder is very addicting ! You can bring it out to crochet any time any where. An easy remember pattern, super convenient project to bring along of all time !

I gave some away as swap gifts, and some to my mother as scrubbies for her pots and pans.

With Jayne's idea as she knows i am always into 'bag" bussiness, big or small, i simply love to have more. And again, she knows that i cannot handle a sewing machine well, i hand sewn the linning and a 7" zip. Even though, after many hand sewn projects, i still get pricked by the sewing needle many times.

But whenever, i let out a "ouch", she will come running to me, hold my "wounded" finger and blow into the "boo boo" and said "is it pain ?"

Thank you Jayne, you are mummy's dearest.

Round Robin Cloth

2009-04-20T08:57:00.017+08:00

Hand towel for the kitchen.

I joined a Round Robin Cloth Swap organised by Friends that Swap

The rule of the swap is the organiser will knit and put a number of cloths in an envelope and be sent out to the first person on the list. You may take as many or as little as you like, and put back the number of pieces you take, send it out to the next person on the list. Also post a picture to the thread showing the cloths you are keeping and the ones you replaced. The package will then go round the world, back to the last person, which will be the organiser herself.

Things so small...

2009-04-16T10:15:00.017+08:00

I knit this set of bunnies family before the Good Friday, something for the Easter Holiday.

They are small, oh yeah, half of my palm size, and the baby bunny is only the length of my middle finger. They are made from the odds and ends stash leftover yarn, with 3mm KnitPicks 6" double pointed nickel plated needle for the Papa and Mama bunny and 2.25mm KnitPicks 6" double pointed nickel plated needle for the baby bunny.

It is Jayne's idea to knit clothes so that she can play and change for them. Her favourite is the baby and her diaper.

Rat Noodles

2009-04-06T09:56:00.021+08:00

I love to cook simple one dish meal on weekends.

This noodle is called "Rat Noodle" (老鼠粉) commonly known as Mee Tai Bak in Singapore, as per the name, it is shaped like rat's tail . But i dont see any similariy to it. It is short, about 5cm long and 5mm in diameter. It has a white semi-transparent colour. The noodle is available in most of the wet markets and supermarkets here, the price is not expensive. For my family of 3, it costs only 80cents.

After boiling the noodles in a pot of hot water, i will drained dry so as to let Jayne scoope up the portion in in each plate. In the plate, she added 2 tbsps of Maggi Tamato sauce, 1 tbsp of light soya sauce, a little bit of sugar, a dash of pepper, and some drops of Sesame oils. I will use these ingredients to make any type of dried noodles.

Mixed well together again, she loves and enjoys doing the preparations of food

See this is how her Sunday's lunch looks like ! She has 1 Chikuwa roll as the nose, 2 Konnyaku prawns as the eyebrows, a flavoured crab stick as the mouth not forgetting some mixed vegetables for the eyes.

This is a bowl of minced pork egg soup to go with our dried noddles.

Soup base is made from dried small scallop and dried ikan billis. These 2 dried products are commonly used to boil soup. The sweetness of the soup required no more MSG. I boiled the soup for 1/2 hours, then switched off the electricity. Let the hot temperature simmer the dried ingrentients in the pot. Add in the beaten egg and minced port once the soup is done, eat while hot.

Scalloped coaster

2009-04-04T11:28:00.013+08:00

I was reading Oiyi's blog that i came across this patten.

and thanks to her explanation of how to to do a Front Post Double Crochet, and show me here

I crocheted with some leftover Hayfield DK cotton yarn and with a 3mm hook, it is smaller , more-like a coaster than a pot pad.

Let's masak...

2009-04-03T09:32:00.021+08:00

Bits of Taste has a beautiful picture on Seafood Baked Rice that caught my attention. I like the way that she baked the rice in an aluminmium foil instead of a baking pan. It is like the way i play "masak masak" when i m a little girl.

*Masak Masak is a Malay word, for playing tea party*

Most of all, Jayne and her daddy enjoy eating baked rice directly from the foil, hot from the oven while the cheese is still swizzling !

All it takes is a few slices of pinic baked ham, a small piece of threadfish fillet from NTUC (a local leading supermarket)sliced into 2 portion (seasoned with dash of salt and pepper), a packet of shredded Mozarella cheese.

I will cook the rice much earlier than our dinner time, as accordinly to my mother, a housewife cum expert cook, that the cooked rice needs to "stand" first before eating, for a better rice texture.

After the rice is cooked and has been "standing" keeping warm, (thanks to the warmer device). Scoop rice into the baking foil. I bought the 15cm by 12 cm a.foil from SKP Pte Ltd, 10 pcs with lid for S$4.50.

Oh i almost forget, (thanks to Jayne's reminder) i added a can of Campbell's Condensed soup - Mushroom Seafood into the rice (mix well) before i scooped the rice into the foil.

I will preheat the oven (depends on your oven temperature, 150deg. is just right for my oven) while Jayne arranged the ingredients on top of the rice.

This is the fun part, we can put in whatever we like to eat. No restriction,it is masak-masak time !!

Now send them into the oven for sunbathing till the cheese melts.

Jayne's ham and chesse baked rice.

Daddy and Mummy's ham and fillet baked rice.

Weenie tiny sock key-chain

2009-03-31T08:53:00.046+08:00

I have asked myself a question before, when i started to knit socks. Can i knit or rather am i capable of knitting a very tiny, not Jayne's baby socks or booties that i had done before ? Doll's sock, maybe ? I told myself i cant yet as i m a novice in the world of sock knitting.

Few days ago, Jayne came asking me why am i not knitting sock anymore ? I told her that it is getting warm and humid to knit sock, and also (i think) my sock knitting mojo went wandering away from me . She answered me that is is not true ! as she can see that i am still knitting. Why cant i just knit socks again like last time ! Or how about knit a tweenie tiny sock toy for her instead of normal feet size sock.

Thanks to her "encouragment" and the as usual "Oh-So Pleasey Please look", i started looking for pattern in Ravelry.

I found Wee Tiny Sock pattern.

I joined the Wee Tiny Sock Swap - Little is more. All it takes is a little amount of stash yarn which i have plenty leftover sock yarns and a short time to create some fun wee tiny socks that i can trade with new friends. One can’t help falling in love with all the wee tiny socks.

I knit this for fun, to please my daughter, at the same time i m challenging myself since now that i had completed 4 sets of baby sock/booties and recently 5 pair of sock. Can i do it now ?

Ever since my second pair of sock, i know how to knit 2 @ 1 Time method, i had stopped using the double point needles to knit sock. In order to knit this small version, i had to go back using again.

I use the leftover yarn for the Spirogyra Socks and Fingerless Mittento knit this tweenie tiny sock, with 2mm (size 0) 5" wooden double point needle.

Many a time, i noticed that my working needle is slightly bent and i have to adjust it gently or swop to another needle or change to the other side to continue knitting.

I enjoyed knitting this very fast finished (just 2 hours or so) project last night. How i wish a normal size sock can get it done within 2 hours. Most of all, I am delighted to see Jayne is very happy to have it hanging on her school bag this morning.

Stack-O-Cookies

2009-03-21T09:50:00.020+08:00

Yes, it has been a month or so since my last post (thanks to my dear friends, for your encouragment). I am learning on how to deal with my new-bought laptop, and guess what, i think i know how to do it, do i ?

There are many stuff to write about. Let's do it from the lastest happenings.......the last 3 photos in my digital camera is the Chocolate Chip Cookies.

My cookies always ended spreading into the size of the baking tray. I had to cut it into bite sizes.

I love to see how Little Corner of Mine and Leslie stacked up their home-made cookies.

Jayne & me baked cookies on Friday again. This time, we got it right, a stack of cookies!!!

We used Betty Crocker Chocolate Chips cookie mix. All it takes is to mix the flour with one egg and a stick of butter. (I did not follow in using a whole stick of butter, just a tablespoon.)

This is how i like my cookies to look like - pieces by pieces.

Why there isnt any new posts ???

2009-02-20T10:52:00.002+08:00

Hi to all friends,

Thank you for visiting my blog, you must be wondering how come there isnt any update recently, where has all the cookies and cakes gone to......LOL

The reason being my desk top (the hard disk) has gone holiday and not being home, since then DH bought a laptop, with the Window Vista version, to replace, or rather, it is for Jayne.

She has been doing her school projects using WS Window, PowerPoint and her teacher has been requesting the class to use the worksheets/assignment papers from some educational websites.

I m still learning how to use a laptop (please dont laugh !!), it's true, i am learning how to type properly using the 'slightly" curved keypad, i mean, i have to remember to position my fingers in a slight curved outward position in order not to touch the mouse pad in the centre and how to handle the "mouseless" mouse and no more side number pad, all the numbers are at the top row now....

Oh gosh !! It is soooo not easy for an old monkey to learn new tricks !

Banana Chocolate Chips Cake

2009-01-20T09:34:00.016+08:00

My family loves to eat banana very much. However, we cant finish the whole bunch of banana, there bound to be 1 or 2 or 3 over-riped banana to be thrown away !! After reading Hugbear, a full-time working mum to 2 boys, who enjoys baking and cooking, sharing her tips and advice in the world of baking. Since i have the ingredients found in her recipe, and with the help from Jayne, we decided to bake one ourselves. We made a few changes from the recipe.

125gm of butter only which is the left-over from the Chococlae Chip cookies
150gm of castor sugar
As per my girl's request, i added 2 tbsp choc chips
2 normal size eggs ($1.80 per tray type of size-egg)
3 riped (not over-riped) Del Monte banana
No dairy whip cream added as i do not have any in the referigrator

Before - After -

In-Between - Gone by Now !!

Ingredients:

125 gm Butter ( soften in room temperature)

150 gm Castor sugar

2 Eggs

250gm Cake flour (sift)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. Bicarbonate of Soda

2 Del Monte ripe Bananas - mashed

1/2 tsp. Banana essence

1 Del Monte bananas- sliced for decoration on top of the cake

Method:

(1) Preheat oven at 170C

(2) Cream butter and sugar till light and creamy

(3) Put in eggs one at a time and beat together with (2) till creamy.

(4) Add in mashed bananas and banana essence and mix well

(5) Add in cake flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda - mix well again .

(6) Pour into a lined 22cm baking tin, arrange sliced bananas on top.

(7) Bake for about 50 mins or until cooked

Pumpkin Cake

2009-01-18T11:42:00.008+08:00

Another first bake of my life - Pumpkin cake. I have been "bug" lately, spending the afternoon in the kitchen to bake.

This is Jayne's snack box with our home-baked pumpkin cake, sharing it with her friends.

Isnt this snack box cute ? She loves the picture on the cover very much, and it comes with a fork and a spoon.

This is the recipe that i got from Little Corner of Mine, a blog of a SAHM sharing her cooking and baking experiences in her kitchen. She uses cup to measure her ingrendients, hence it is also my first time using the measure cup. Since there isn't any cinnamon powder (i bought a bottle from a supermark yesterday), I did not add in the 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and she uses the All Purpose flour with baking soda, while i use the Self-Raising flour that i still have, and instead of 1 can (15 ounce) pumpkin puree, i use 1/2 of a small-sized pumpkin, i try to use whatever i can find in my cabinet and only 1 cup of castor sugar instead of 2 cups.

Ingredients :

(A)

3eggs

1 cup canola oil

1/2 the size of a small pumpkin, cut into cube size and microwaved till soft

1 tsp vanilla extract

(B)

1 cup castor sugar

2 1/2 cups self raising flour

1/2 tsp salt

Method :

1. Preheat oven at 170 deg C, for 10 mins.

2. In a big mixing bowl, whisk together A, then add in B, mix well with a spatula.

3. Pour into a round baking tin, lined greased paper, bake for 1 hr.

4. Inverted to cool on a wire rack.

Pineapple tarts

2009-01-14T09:58:00.016+08:00

This is my first time baking the Pineapple Tarts, a Chinese New Year cookies, symbolic Prosperity. As a newbie in baking, i have no confidence in baking this type of cookes, and have been doing my homework, checking around and asking a million and one questions before i start.

There isnt any pics on Jayne helping around in the kitchen like usual as my digital camera's battery flat at that moment and upon realising, i quickly put it to charged, only in time to take pics on the pastry in the oven.

This is our first tray of the Pineapple tarts, with our imagination runs wild, it has different shapes and sizes !!

This is the 2nd tray, the traditional shape of the Pineapple tarts that are in the market. We dint bake much as it is only a try-out experience, we will bake again next week for the CNY's sake. (The Chinese New Year is on 26 and 27 Jan 2009).

I actually bought a baking book from a local bookstore to bake the Chinese New Year. However after reading Peony, i decided to follow some of her portion on the ingredients.

Ingredients :

(A)

250 g butter

75 g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

¼ tsp salt

sift together

350 g plain flour

50 g cornflour

(B)

2 eggs yolks (beaten)

For filling :

500g pineapple filling (ready made, roll into small ball at app. 6 g each)

For glazing :

1 egg yolk (beaten)

Method :

1. Preheat oven to 170°C for 10mins. Line baking paper on trays.

2. Combine ingredient A in a mixer and mix very briefly. Add in ingredient B and mix to form a soft dough.

3. Place some dough of #1 into the pineapple tart mould or Nastar mould (i dont have it at that moment, instead i use the traditional type - flower shaped). Press out pastry paste(strips if using the Nastar mould). Repeat the process and wrap each piece of pastry with 1 ball of pineapple filling. Leave pastry on lined baking tray. Glaze surfaces.

4. Bake # 3 in the preheated oven at 170°C for 15-20mins or until golden.

5. Cool well and store in a airtight containers.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-01-14T09:05:00.008+08:00

Jayne's afternoon tea break - a cup of banana fresh milk, and few pieces of our home baked chocolate chip cookies.

I do have any fancy baking applicances, this hand-held mixer is from my mother, a very old fashioned type of mixer whereby one can feel the virbation after holding on for a while. Jayne is always the one who enjoys holding it, nothing beats the fun of it ! I cant find any big enough bowl to use, hence i get this plastic bowl ? No, is not a bowl, is actually a type of mesuring "pail" as there are the "cc, ml, gm"printed on one side of the "bowl" I bought it long time ago and cant remember where.

'T was sticky at first, she has to use a chopstick to "dig" out the mixture, and later it becames not like the pic on the receipe, as firm as "play-doh".

When i put in the tray, the shape was nice and round but then, after a while it spreaded and becames flat.

I wondered why ? It must has something to do with that "watery" mixture (i guess).

Overall, the taste and the crunchy was there. I put the cookies in a air-tight tupperware container, and let Jayne bring it to school to share with her friends. Guess what - everyone was asking for more.....

Ingredients :

(A0

125g butter

150g soft brown sugar/ 125g fine sugar

______________________________

(B)

180g plain flour

20g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

________________________

(C)

1 egg - grade A (beaten)

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

_______________________

(D)

100g chocolate chips

50g walnuts (roasted, chopped)

_________________________

For deco :

50g chocolate chips

_____________________

Method :

Combine ingredient A and B together in a mixer. Blend well, add in ingredient C to mix into a dough. Add in ingredient D.
Scale the dough at 7g per portion and shape into rounds. Leave on lined baking tray, spaced apart. Press cookies lightly to flatten and press some chocolate chips on surface.
Bake cookies in a preheated oven at 150°C for 10-15 minutes. Cool and store in airtight jars.

Strawberry Cheese Cake

2009-01-09T10:45:00.010+08:00

This is my first blog in 2009, my first time baking a Strawberry Cheese Cake, my first time understanding what is a Steam-Bake method, and my first time using a Cake Emulsifier.

80gm of plain flour for Sponge Cake base of the Strawberry cheese cake.

Sift plain flour is as easy as ABC.

Look at these small hands, whisking the sponge cake ingredients at a high spped until fuffy. A very old fashioned type of hand mixer handed down from my mum.

Baking is always a family-get-together kind of activites for us. I need strong hands to stir and mix the cream cheese with the strawberry mixture well while double-boiling and at the same time taking note of the fire and the only person who can do well in this task is my dear hubby.

The sponge cake base freshly-baked from the oven.

This is the Stream-Baking method that i learned while baking my first cheese cake.

Strawberry Cheese Cake anyone ?

Multi-purpose scarf from Jayne

2008-12-25T13:11:00.004+08:00

It was -3deg C in Korea, very cold, and these scarfs came in handy. It was a scarf, neck warmer and as a ski mask covering our nose and mouth against the strong wind.

All thanks to Jayne for knitting these 3 scarfs for us, they were such a comfort to wear.

It was her idea and her own pattern, using the Sidar Spree Cotton Rich Chunky 100g yarn which were laying in my stash box for quite a while since i bought them. With a 6.5mm circular needle, she knitted these mindlessly fast. As there wasnt any blue tone (her daddy's favourite colour) found in the Sirdar Spree, she choose the Patons Powder Puff 100% Nylon(very soft, very cuddling).

The O.K. gloves

2008-11-29T11:45:00.020+08:00

I am OK , are you ?

with the open tip on the thumb and index finger, makes it easier for me to text and use the keypads.

Jayne calls these are The Robot's hand.

I did it - my first pair of glove - i can't believe it !! It is always in my mind to knit a pair of gloves with "fingers" but never had the courage to start, mainly because i m so afraid of the structions on the "fingers" parts.

And also gloves is not a necessity in Singapore, not like socks (OK socks is also not a must to wear for keeping warm in such hot and humid weather) but i do, in an air-con bedroom, of course on the expenses of the high electricity bill.

Is this an excuse to knit socks ? Yes, to me, but such a lousy one !!

I can easily buy a pair of machine-made socks at S$2 or spend a slightly more for a better pair of branded socks. A hank of sock yarn costs more than that and not forgetting of the moment of grr ....and ....the frogging....and....the awaiting for yarn to arrive after the online spree.

Ok let come back to my glove story - what makes me want to knit gloves now ?? Simple - we are going to a Wonderland Snow Ski in Korea. Korea is cold now, and will be much colder in the later part of the year. Gloves and hats are a MUST there.

Thank you Kerri, she made the Cigar gloves for her husband who "I really only need three fingers to smoke, why should my other fingers have to suffer?". O how romantic !

I modified it to become a full-fingered gloves to keep my hands warm at the same time with the opening slip on the thumb and index finger, allowing me to use them freely.

Pattern : Cigar (free download pattern from Ravelry)

Yarn : Moda Dea Silk'n Wool Blend, color 4232 Wasabi

Needle : 5" dpns - size 4mm and 5mm

Size : Small

Ski hats

2008-11-21T12:40:00.006+08:00

Another holiday project - a knitted ski hat for DH. A simple, easy and quick to finish, takes me only 2 days. You can't really see the pattern from this photo. It is a very beautiful pattern here, so much so that Jayne asks for one too.

These 2 hats are of different brim and different type of yarn. I will show more photots of them wearing their hats in Korea ski restort after our holiday.

The Bumpy Bee Girl

2008-11-13T08:33:00.005+08:00

I am so proud of Jayne for sewing up this bumpy bee girl (that's what she calls her) all by herself, from matching the colours, find the correct size beads for the eyes, cutting out the felt, sewing the pieces up, crocheting a plait for her tiny doll (6cm) and a scarf, and her eyes onto the face and take photos too !!

orange and blue and red and grey

2008-11-09T11:57:00.004+08:00

This is my purse using 2 strands of acrylic yarn, hold together and knit, with a bright red zipper.

Do you think.....

2008-10-14T13:46:00.003+08:00

While SMSings with a friend, my hands were not totally holding onto the mobile phone. I was playing with a crochet hook and yarn at the same time. In no time at all, this came out. I think it looks like a heart-shaped FO, do you think so ??.......hmm let see what i can make this into ??

I am a bag girl....

2008-10-14T11:19:00.003+08:00

I will never complain of too many bags, big or small, it always fun to make these little knit-knot from my stash basket. A 4.5" by 3.5" coin purse need not use up a lot of stash yarn, with a handsewn 5" zip, no linning needed as single crochet is used throughout.

Material - stash yarn, 3mm clover crochet hook, a 5" zip.

Finger puppets

2008-09-29T17:50:00.004+08:00

Say Hi to these little guys. They are my lastest creation.

Using 5" (3mm) double point needles to knit these less than 1.5" finger puppets is a challenge task for me but i am glad that i did it as it brings SMILE on Jayne's face and to the other kids in her class.

My crochet hooks has a new bag

2008-09-24T13:11:00.002+08:00

A crocheted bag for the Clover soft rubber grip hooks. I have divided into 1' individual pockets and hand sewn a 13" X 6" linen fabric onto the crocheted base as i am not good in handling a sewing machine. Sewn a pearl-like button for closure.

See ...... I even cross stitched my initial onto it.

A tiny Angel

2008-09-20T10:13:00.007+08:00

A no-seam Angel pattern that requires small amount of stash yarn, the height of this knitted angel is 2.5", The pattern can be found here. This is going to be one of the Christmas ornament this year.

A Simple Meal

2008-09-19T08:35:00.005+08:00

A bowl of porridge, stir-fried shredded carrot and french beans, a slice pan-fried red snapper in light soya sauce and a few drops of sesame oil - a simple meal always make us happy !

Knitted round dishcloth

2008-09-17T08:36:00.004+08:00

A fun project to knit, and each time when a scalloped edge along the perimeter appears, i feel very excited about it. Silly me !!
See what i mean - it grows !!
Although it is a dishcloth, it might just be too pretty to use in the kitchen.
How about in the bathroom ? The cotton texture makes it good as a scrubbies.
A great gift, manageable project that help me become familiar with the process and rhythm of knitting and give me a sense of accomplishment.

Mid-Autumn Festival's Night Out

2008-09-15T10:32:00.005+08:00

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar . Eating Mooncakes and carrying lit Lanterns are a joy for the children.
We spent the Sunday together, with lovely footwears.

She picks seashells at the seashore

2008-09-10T15:11:00.004+08:00

Going to the Beach, picking seashells and bring them back is becoming part of our Sunday family activites lately. We love it very much, especially Jayne. These are her lastest collections.

Barbie doll's knitwear

2008-09-08T09:35:00.007+08:00

While playing dress up for the Barbie Dolls, Jayne and I decided to add more clothes for them, we knitted these few pieces. This is Barbie wearing the Beach Wear knitted by me.

Since now that Jayne knows how to knit, she was super excited with the idea of knitting for her dolls, she designed and knitted a Headband and a Wrap for them too. You may read more in her blog

Spring Forward

2008-08-26T09:33:00.014+08:00

I am very happy to be in the 2008 Beijing Olympic. No, i am not in any of the sport events.

I am taking part in the Ravelrympics 2008, in the Team Sock Put, a challenge that is to start and finish a project during the 2008 Olympic Summer Games.

I choose Spring Forward, a lace sock pattern with twist and turn design.

Material :

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight (100% Superwash Merino), Colour : Footzey-Foo, Addi Turbo 32", 3mm circular needle.

Method :

Turkish Cast On, 2-at-1-time Toe-Up socks, Short Row Heels, Sewn Cast Off.

I really love knitting in this yarn, and the colorway is beautiful, wonderful feel and is the perfect colour for me - Green

One for you and one for me

2008-08-25T10:42:00.006+08:00

Jayne's 10th birthday cake at Sakae Sushi @ Parkway Parade last night.

No kiddie theme arragement party, nothing special, but a well-spent-family-dinner together.

Sunset

2008-08-15T11:23:00.003+08:00

A beautiful sunset view from my home's window in Singapore.

A stunning sunset view from Marriott Courtyard Hotel, Brisbane QLD, Australia.

A little something for him

2008-08-04T14:02:00.002+08:00

A little something for him, simple and super fast handphone pouch using stash yarn and a pair of Clover 4mm circular needle.

BYOB

2008-07-27T10:55:00.005+08:00

This is my version of BYOB (bring your own bag) from Knitty Summer'08, great for carrying heavy items home from the supermarket. The bag has a wide shaped base which makes it easy to load, and the lower striped Seed Stitch section ensures that small items will not drop out.

The Invisible (Provisional) Cast On method is used for the hand grips. I use 8 ply Acrylic and a 32" circular needle as there are 165 stitches all round. I shortened the length on the Openwork Panel section as it will be my knit-on-go bag. Of course minus off the wooden straight needle.

The World of Living Colours

2008-07-14T08:25:00.020+08:00

Waterfall Aviary

This two-hectare Waterfall Aviary remains as the world’s largest walk-in aviary with the highest man-made waterfall standing at over 30 metres. It is home for some 1,500 free-flying birds from Africa and South America

Hornbills and Toucans

Birds ‘n Buddies Show

Parrot Paradise

The Pink Flamingo

The world's most complete collection of pelicans in the world at Pelican Cove, where all 7 species of pelicans can be found.

There are currently 2 chicks on this island, bred and raise there.

Get close and personal to the Pelicans

Once Bitten, Twice Not Shy.....

2008-07-08T10:03:00.003+08:00

Spirogyra is a very nice pattern to knit with, and plus the "oh -so" soft and pastel sweet colour yarn makes it a perfect combinations !! I SIMPLY can't resist not knitting it again.

My second time using the pattern for my 2-at-1-time on a 32" Addi Turbo Circular Needle, with my own calcuations and design, the slanting shell stitch pattern only starts to sprials around in opposite side on the leg.

Spirogyra

2008-07-04T09:18:00.012+08:00

I love the slanting shell stitch pattern as it spirals around in opposite directions of the fingerless gloves. There is always something being added to my knit wardrobe for our holiday. This pair is one of the June holiday project. The yarn is very soft, makes it very comfortable on my hands.

Pattern : Spirogyra from Knitty.com

Yarn : Bella Baby Cloud

Needle : Clover 4mm circular needle

Tufty

2008-06-12T11:44:00.003+08:00

There is always a new knitwear for the holiday. This is what I knit for our June holiday in Gold Coast, Brisbane, Australia - a cardigan. I love the eye-lash yarn, although the fibers is nylon, but the feel is soft, light and it's silky looking hence Jayne loves it very much.

Yarn : Sirdar Tufty
Needle : Clover 5mm circular needle
Pattern : By JL

Dust-cloth

2008-06-11T11:44:00.009+08:00

Super fast and easy to knit dust-cloth. My little helper loves it.

Yarn used :

Panda Spark Plug100% Acrylic

Clover 4.5mm dpns

Not the Japanese rice

2008-05-29T09:48:00.006+08:00

My home-made lunch - Teriyaki chicken, broccoli, and rice balls wrapped with Yaki Nori, baked seaweed.

These rice balls are not cooked from the Japanese rice grains, it is the Thai rice grains that i uses to cook everyday. I am so surprised that the Thai rice makes such nice Sushi.

Cupcake

2008-05-21T08:54:00.003+08:00

My first cupcake - Seamless !! with a knit cherry on top, bits and pieces of felt cherries on the icing. It becomes a key-chain that hangs on my daughter's school bag.

We were here

2008-05-19T10:59:00.006+08:00

Strategically located in the heart of Singapore, Swissotel The Stamford is where we were on the 17/5/08, Saturday. As Southeast Asia's tallest hotel, the hotel offers panoramic views of Singapore. These were the night scene taken from our 55th floor room.

A spectacular view of the city in the day.

Pink Eye

2008-05-12T09:11:00.003+08:00

Hi, I am Pink Eye, nice meeting you. I am in the world of story-books.
Seaching, seaching and searching... Shhhh........i am enjoying a quiet moment now.
Catch up with you guys soon. Bye.