One Fine Day

Hello...

2009-12-30T09:39:00.004+08:00

Hello and Salam to everyone! I wonder if anyone is still reading this blog since there's been so few updates recently... Sorry about that, been busy with other things and even though I use a magnifying lens it still strains my eyes and I get a headache...so can only stitch sekejap2 aje!

Ada aje alasan kan.... padahal duk mengadap FB aje yang lebih....hehe.

Anyway this is something small that I finally managed to complete. It's a small piece but it still took me a couple of weeks to stitch. It's a present for someone whose birthday was at the beginning of the month. Biasalah asyik lambat aje kan nak bagi hadiah!

Enjoy the last few days of the holidays before your kids start going back to school again!

Wedding Sampler

2009-10-13T10:42:00.005+08:00

This piece is called Forever and For Always by Victoria Sampler. Stitched specially for Mus as a Belated Wedding Present! Haha belated betul kan Mus...

It's quite a small project and if you really concentrate it will not take long do. It's the first time I actually did bullion roses, so had to practise first before I stitched it to the sampler thus causing more delay!!

But I enjoyed working on this piece. I only used the recommended threads for the top portion. The rest I just used whatever I had in my 'small' collection of threads!

I have not started on any new project yet... penyakit M dah melanda hehe...

My new wall clock

2009-09-30T14:43:00.004+08:00

Salam semua! Selamat Hari Raya maaf zahir batin to everyone. Hope everyone had a good Ramadhan and Raya too.

Ni saja nak tayang my new Portmeirion Variations wall clock. Beli dari beautiful pottery. Cantik tak? Haha... Guess you could say that it's a raya gift for myself!

Ice Crystal

2009-07-27T09:16:00.003+08:00

This is called Ice Crystal. This pattern uses 2 shuttles. Tatted with Flora Thread no. 20.

My Garden is finally finished....

2009-06-25T09:12:00.002+08:00

I managed to finish this piece over the weekend...sorry gambar senget sikit! It was a lot of fun stitching this esp with all the specialty stitches.

They have come up with another SAL, it's 24 parts this time. I've downloaded the parts but don't know when I'll start!!

It's finally complete!!!

2009-06-02T08:25:00.003+08:00

I finished this yesterday... It took me longer than expected to finish this cos actually it's quite a small piece (158h x 81w) but it's finally done! The next step is to get it framed.....

Sorry....

2009-05-20T08:35:00.002+08:00

Salam semua...

Just want to apologize for not updating this blog for ages. I've been a bit busy lately...not much stitching being done. But I am working on finishing my PV.... tinggal nak buat back stitch aje. Hopefully I will be done soon and then I will finally have something to show...hehe.

Tatting

2009-02-20T08:28:00.004+08:00

Hello and salam semua...Lama sungguh tak update blog kan. Haven't been doing much, entahlah sekarang ni tengah case Ultra Malas!!

Sambil2 layan angin malas tu buat jugak tatting. Pilih design simple2 so that it's not too taxing on my brain ...hehe!

This is the first piece. Pattern ni from Sis Faizon. I plan to make it into a table runner. Still a long, long way to go.

This next piece is a doily that i started last year, lepas tu letak tepi and then I finally completed it. It's called The Miracle but as you can see it doesn't lay down flat. I read that kena buat blocking but with my malas mood I don't know when I will try it!

Anyway, thanks for dropping by. Don't know when the next update will be and yes Salmi I still have your tag to do!

Jom kita makan

2009-01-08T11:20:00.003+08:00

Yesterday buat dinner rolls cos nak makan home made burger for lunch. I used the recipe given by Noxxa. Well the burger is home made but not made by me! Ada cheese kat dalam...sedap. So this is the dinner rolls bila dah keluar dari oven. And the pic below is with the burger and fries...yum yum...

Tiba-tiba lepas makan ada pulak orang nak order chocolate cake for today. So kira yesterday me sibuk sikit kat dapur! Bubuh sprinkles aje on top cos me tak pandai nak hias cantik-cantik.

Ni pulak gambar cupcakes that my daughter buat. Maklumlah sekarang ni dia duk kat rumah kenalah cari something for her to do. Cupcakes ni ikut recipe carrot cake that I normally make. And of course the delicious cream cheese topping. I think lagi senang buat macam ni, cos bila nak makan ambik aje no need to potong-potong. Tak payah basuh pisau so can save water.....

My Garden....

2008-12-23T08:53:00.006+08:00

Hello and Salam semua.....

Lama sungguh tak update blog kan. Well nothing much to show and I haven't been in the stitching mood lately.

Anyway all I have to show is How My Garden Grows, Parts 9 & 10. Actually dah lama dah snap photo tapi malas nak upload kat sini!!! The final parts ie part 11 & 12 dah ada but I haven't started on it yet. Maybe next year hehe....

This next pic is up to part 8. For this sampler, we were asked to choose 2 greens, one darker and one lighter. For the lighter green I decided to use DMC variation, tapi from the beginning I didn't like the color I choose but I still used it hoping that it would grow on me. Tapi after many, many months I still didn't like it and it kinda spoiled the sampler for me. So masa buat part 10, I decided to unpick all the lighter green and replace it with another color. And finally I can say that I am truly satisfied with it! Maybe kat sini the color change is not so obvious but if u look carefully at the leaves on the sides of the sampler you can see the difference!

So I just put in this older picture so that you can see the before and after floss change! I know it's a bit dumb to wait so long baru nak tukar the color tapi when I thought of all the unpicking I was put off. But then after all the work that has been put in it, I might as well be totally satisfied with it right?

I'm on a roll.....

2008-11-12T09:52:00.003+08:00

Yup...I made another needleroll! Berangan betul baru buat 2 dah on a roll....

At first I wanted to do hemstitch for the edging but then I decided to go the safe way and stick to

Blanket Stitch or is it called Button Stitch?

This is also a freebie, it's called Stitching Days. I completed this a couple of weeks ago but malas nak update kat sini!

Thanks to Alyaa, who took time off from her studying to choose the colors for me...hehe

Hellooooo....

2008-10-21T08:40:00.003+08:00

Lamanya tak update blog kan! Mula2 masa bulan puasa dulu memang kurang aktiviti menjahit ni. Lepas tu dah Raya, then maid cuti...now dia dah balik bolehlah sambung hobi yang dah lama tak usik!

Remember this piece? I started it a few months ago and this is my progress so far. Hopefully sempatlah habis by the end of the year tapi kena tengok mood jugak kan.....

Love Blooms

2008-09-03T09:45:00.004+08:00

This is my first needleroll. The pattern is a freebie from Victoria Sampler. I used 32ct DMC linen (beli kat Haby). The hardanger part was quite challenging cos this was the first time nak buat Buttonhole Bars. The first few tak kemas but I got the hang of it eventually. Nak cut threads pun takut jugak cos takut tersilap potong... Instead of using nun's stitch for the edging I opted for the buttonhole stitch instead using DMC Variations.
Why... well I thought it would look nicer!

Aktiviti di dapur....

2008-08-26T09:26:00.003+08:00

Lately ada a few requests for cakes, so me kenalah rajin sikit masuk dapur!

Mula2 Alyaa kata teringin carrot cake, so I baked one the week before school closed. Since we cannot finish one whole cake by ourselves, I cut it into small pieces for her to bring to school and share with some of her classmates. The recipe is in a previous posting...

Then ada pulak someone else teringin nak makan Black Forest CheeseCake. So it was back to the kitchen for me.... This cheesecake is a favorite in my family, kalau ada buat makan2 kat rumah I will make this. It's easy to make (very important criteria for me) and tastes good too

This is the recipe for the cheese cake:

250gm Plain chocolate biscuits, finely crushed (I normally use Digestive aje, Marie pun ok jugak)

125gm butter, melted

3 tsp gelatine

1/2 cup water

250gm cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice ( I normally don't put this)

300ml thickened cream

425gm can pitted black cherries

TOPPING:

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tbsp caster sugar

1. Combine crumbs and butter ub bowl, mix well; press over base and side of tin. Refrigerate for 30 mins.

2. Sprinkle gelatine over water in cup, stand in small pan of simmering water, stir until dissolved; cool. (I just out it into the microwave)

3. Beat cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice with mixer until smooth and creamy.

4. Whip cream until soft peaks form, fold into cheese mixture; fold in gelatine mixture. Drain cherries, reserve syrup for topping.

5. Spoon one-third of mixture into crumb crust, top wiht half the cherries, continue layering, ending with cheese mixture. Refrigerate several hours until firm.

6. Spread topping over cheesecake. Refrigerate until set.

topping: Blend cornflour and sugar with reserved syrup in pan. Stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens, cool 10 mins before using.
Source: Women's weekly cookbook: Sweet old-fashioned favourites

Selamat mencuba... I didn't take a photo after cutting cos it wasn't for me! This recipe is enough for 2 x 22cm pie tins. So for the rest of the mixture, I added rasberry filling instead of putting in the cherries... sedap jugak!!!

Ni gambar after cutting. Sapa2 yg suka warna pink tu sukalah kot cheesecake yg ni!!!

A little bit of this and that...

2008-08-13T09:36:00.002+08:00

Hari tu Mus kata dah lama tak nampak masak-masak kat sini.... Well maybe it's because me dah lama tak masak2 anything special. But last weekend my sis-in-law had a birthday party for 2 of her kids so I decided to make this pudding :

Rainbow Pudding

I like to make this pudding, kira senang jugaklah and can main-main with different colors. If I make it for the family I just do half a recipe and put it into small containers... so senang budak2 ni nak makan, tak payah potong.

Kali ni I used safe colors ie pink, yellow and green. Jangan tak tahu, the last time I made it, I used pink, purple, yellow and blue. I accidentally poured too much of the blue...so jadilah macam
cartoon SMURF tu!!!

Latest Project:

Ni pulak my latest project. It's called Violet Vignette by my favorite designer of course! I started this on 01/08, as usual my progress has been slow. It's a small project, not too many half stitches and quarter stitches. I hope to finish it by the end of the year....yeah right!!

Tatting pulak!

This doily is called the Miracle... hmm I wonder why that name was chosen!

Dah lama dah start. It has 4 rows, I'm now working on row 3. I had to redo row 2 cos just as I was about to finish that row I noticed a mistake that couldn't be hidden.

Brillante Weblog Premio - 2008

2008-08-09T09:32:00.003+08:00

Me dapat award lagi... agaknya sekarang musim award kot!!! This time it's from Mus..... Thank you very, very much Mus

So, here goes the rules..
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blog.

So, here are my nominees.. Spread the award friends..

ummmm kalau tak bagi kat sapa2 boleh tak???

Garden - Parts 6,7 & 8

2008-07-30T08:28:00.002+08:00

My Garden is now up to date! I've done parts 6,7 & 8. Quite easy to do but somehow the frog still comes to visit and I find myself having to annoyingly unpick some stitches cos I didn't count properly or I used the wrong color floss....

Part 9 will only come out in September so that leaves me plenty of time to start something new...

I've decided what I want to do next but I just don't know when I will actually start it!!!

Another Small Project

2008-07-24T10:04:00.002+08:00

This time buat Pinkeep pulak. The last pinkeep I made was for an exchange...however I was not too happy with the finishing cos the stitched piece was not centered properly (Sorry to my exchange partner Salmi!!)

So I decided to try another one.... I think the finishing is better this time but it's not as neat as I would like it to be. For the front I stitched a freebie from here.

I used Carries Threads - Blueberry Pie and Olde World Red... the colors are gorgeous and stitching without having to change floss is soooo fun. I added a pocket to the back and put some edging that I tatted.

My personal opinion tho.... I still prefer Mattress Pincushion.... so much easier to finish!!!

Kreativ Blogger Award

2008-07-23T09:23:00.003+08:00

I got this award from Min, whose work has always impressed me. Me creative??? hehe....anyway Thanks Min....

Ok, here's the rules :

1. The winner may put the logo on her blog.
2. Put a link to the person you got the award from.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to the blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees

There are many talented and creative bloggers out there so it's no easy task choosing 5.

Ok, here goes :
1. Ain
2. Asmahani
3. Musliha
4. Salmi
5. Cik Dak

Pocket Book

2008-07-10T08:49:00.004+08:00

Every month bila dapat TGOS mesti ada some pattern that catches my eye but time and energy does not permit me to stitch everything that I want to! But after finishing my PV, I told myself that I won't start any big projects yet, want to try and do some smalls. So this is the first one. It's from TGOS, January 08. Took me about two weeks to stitch and a few more days to complete the finishing.

The problem with me is when I finish the stitching I'm soooo lazy to do the finishing.....

I made two small changes to the pattern, the first cos I didn't count properly and didn't want to do any frogging. The second was because I thought it looked better that way!

Anyway this is the finished product, I used good old DMC instead of the recommended silk threads...

Garden - Parts 4 & 5

2008-06-19T08:43:00.003+08:00

This is How Does Your Garden Grow - Parts 4 and 5. I was a little behind so had to do both parts, I also put in the beads.
Part 4 was easy. Part 5 had new specialty stitches as well as french knots....hmm I'm not a big fan of french knots but it's getting easier to do!

Don't u just love the butterflies?

Part 6 is already out but I want to take a break from this piece first...

Finally....

2008-06-09T09:00:00.004+08:00

Yes! It's FINALLY complete!!!! I proudly present Purr-fect Patterns, stitched on 32ct Belfast Linen, 188 x 153 stitches and about 80 colors.

I finished it yesterday, June 8, 2008 at 4pm...hehe leganya.... I started this early last year so it took me nearly 1 1/2 years to complete. It's the longest I have taken to complete any project but I was sidetracked along the way!

This has to be the hardest PV I have stitched. The many, many floss changes did not help... I could spend 2 hours working on it and then bila tengok balik secipot aje yang dah siap.

But at the end of the day it was worth it....

Thanks to all my stitching buddies who gave me such encouraging comments whenever I posted a progress pic!!!

Happy Teacher's Day

2008-05-16T08:43:00.003+08:00

Normally for teacher's day I will just buy cards for Athirah to give her teachers...ni kira kes malas le ni. Tapi tahun ni
terlebih rajin pulak... I told her that I would bake cookies for them!!! I thought she only wanted
to give a few teachers, so told her to kira how many teachers dia nak bagi... she told me 9...
Terkejut jugak....hehe

So since dah janji terpaksalah buat kan... put the cookies in nice container for her Std 1, 2 & 3 class teachers (ni kira kes ganti cos tak bagi hadiah dulu!!!) and the rest I put in a bag...

Jenuh jugak nak pack and seal the bags...had to do the old fashioned way...guna candle!!!

So the past few days I have been busy with this and have had very very little time and energy for cross-stitch...hmmmm

Anyway Happy Teacher's Day to any teachers who read this blog.... uhmmm ada ke?

Same pattern, same thread but....

2008-05-06T08:59:00.004+08:00

Look at the difference...

Yang herot-herot tu was the bookmark I made when I first learnt to tat... Then I decided to try and tat the same bookmark again....
Then I put the bookmarks side by side...well malunya...and to think I was so proud when I managed to do the first bookmark... haha!

This was two weeks ago, haven't done any tatting since then. I'm trying to finish something that I started loooonnng loooooong ago.....

This is the link for the pattern:

http://www.tatsall.ca/patterns/linkedring.htm

Cake anyone?

2008-04-28T10:31:00.003+08:00

Got nothing to show in terms of cross stitch or tatting, so sajelah tunjuk gambar birthday cake
Athirah when she had her birthday party a couple of weeks ago...

Actually dalam buku kek ni 3 tingkat but me rasa tak sesuai pulak bday cake 3 tkt so just asked my aunt to make 2 layers. Nanti kalau 3 tkt macam wedding cake pulak!!!!

Ni pulak gambar cupcakes yang di decorate oleh anak dara dua orang tu... biarpun comot and tak secantik yg pro buat yang penting is they had fun decorating it!!!

Garden Update

2008-04-17T09:36:00.002+08:00

I finally managed to do part 3 of How Does Your Garden Grow....

In the center is lazy daisy stitches with beads. I used gold beads.... don't know whether I will use

the same beads for the rest of the sampler...

My First House

2008-04-11T09:58:00.004+08:00

Dah lama dah teringin nak buat rumah ni.... I finally got around to doing it and finished it into a
key chain. Kecik aje and quite fun to do....

The pattern is a freebie from:
http://www.leschroniquesdefrimousse.com/

Loads and loads of nice patterns and all sorts of houses to choose from!

Split Ring Flower

2008-04-04T08:39:00.005+08:00

This is a small flower I did to practice the split ring technique. Along the way I forgot which

was Shuttle 1 and which was Shuttle 2, (oh dear... signs of old age!!) since the thread was the same color on both shuttles.

So main hentam ajelah.... ada some parts when the instruction says do not reverse work, I had to RW otherwise the picots would be on the wrong side. So kalau nampak benang belit2 tu

faham2 ajelah.... any comments cikgu??

Coffee Menu again

2008-03-27T08:54:00.003+08:00

Saja aje nak tunjuk gambar this piece again after framing. Normally when I frame something the

guy will recommend cream and brown border. So this time I told him that I want something

different, so he used dark green instead of cream...

What do you guys think? Ok tak border ni?

Going to give it to my friend this morning...hope she will like it.. and I hope that this piece will be

happy in it's new home! (oops sorry... mengarut jap!!!)

Coffee and Onion Rings

2008-03-24T10:50:00.003+08:00

This is Coffee Menu by LHN. It's a birthday present for a friend who loves her coffee. I just finished it and will send it
to be framed soon. It's fun to stitch, there's no backstitch, no half stitch and no quarter stitches!

Butterfly ni sebenarnya kecik aje tapi bila dah scan nampak besar pulak! Me jealous tengok butterfly Ibu_sara, so I tried to make one too. So now dah boleh jugak buat onion ring... False picot, false chain tu tak cuba lagi...my poor brain cannot absorb too much...have to take it slowly!!

Oh no....not another one!

2008-03-19T11:20:00.002+08:00

As you can see I am totally hooked on mattress pincushions! Why? For me the finishing is easier to do compared to a pinkeep. Yes it's more tedious, there's more sewing to do...u have to count and recount as many times as it takes until you're satisfied that you haven't counted wrongly. But if you're very, very careful the finishing is a breeze. No need to worry about centering the stitched piece, fingers don't get messy with glue.....

This time I was more rajin....siap jahit kat tepi tu lagi!

Took this chart from TGOS June, 07.

Some tatting and stitching....

2008-03-04T09:59:00.004+08:00

Huhu...I finally managed to finish this doily! Berpeluh jugak nak menyiapkan satu doily ni...
This doily uses one shuttle, one thread. It has 6 rows. Rows 1,2 and 3 was relatively easy. Masuk row 4 I started making mistakes but still boleh cover lagi. Then when I was tatting row 5, I kept making mistake after mistake so in the end I had to snip, snip row 5 and do it all over again! I was very, very careful when I did row 6 cos tak nak buat mistake lagi... I still need to work on the chains to get the tension correct tho....

Jangan tengok close up tau...hehe!

This is How Does Your Garden Grow - Part 2. Relatively easy to do, tak banyak and can finish in one day...now I'm patiently waiting for part 3....

Another WIP

2008-02-21T09:08:00.004+08:00

This is my latest project... It's a freebie that comes with the newsletter from Papillon Creations called How Does Your Garden Grow...

I decided to do the version with the specialty stitches.

It comes in 13 parts. This is just part 1...orang lain dah siap part 2 but biasalah me slow and steady!!!

Another mattress....

2008-02-18T08:30:00.003+08:00

Mattress pincushions are quite fun to make... So I decided to do another one! This time I added
another layer of sponge so it's quite gebu...

This pattern is a freebie from the Drawn Thread called All You Need is Love.

Bookmark...

I also managed to tat this bookmark over the weekend. Guna one shuttle, one ball and Anchor no 20.

Tatting lagi...

2008-02-14T08:54:00.002+08:00

This is my latest try at tatting using one ball one shuttle...

Picot still tak sama size hehe! I think it shouldn't curve right...it should be straight...so sifu tolong bagi comment but remember me still a beginner haha!!

A Productive CNY!

2008-02-11T09:23:00.000+08:00

I finally did it.... instead of just lepaking at home, I drove all the way to Ain's

house for a tatting session!

So now dah faham sikit2.... balik rumah practice and this is what I managed to do..

Just ignore the picots yg macam2 size tu... ada S, M, L and even XL... Tapi right now I just want to concentrate on getting the technique right... haha...

Athirah says they look like rabbits' ears.... ok ok I know they're big.... looks like I need to practice more.....

Here's the carrot cake recipe. Sorry takde gambar, gambar kat blog Dania!

1 cup oil

1 1/3 cups brown sugar, firmly packed

3 eggs

3 cups coarsely grated carrots (about 3 medium carrots)

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup chopped raisins

2 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 teaspoons mixed spice ( I just use cinnamon powder)

Cream Cheese Frosting

30g butter

80g cream cheese, softened

1 tsp grated lemon rind

1 tblsp lemon juice

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1. Grease and line baking pan

2. Beat oil, sugar and eggs in small bowl until thick and creamy.

3. Tranfer mixture to a large bowl; stir in carrots, nuts and raisins, then sifted dry ingredients.

4. Pour mixture into prepared pan, bake in moderate oven for 45 mins.

5. Cover loosely with foil; bake about further 45 mins. Stand a few minutes before turning onto

wire rack to cool. Top cold cake with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Beat butter, cheese, rind and juice in small bowl until light and fluffy; gradually beat in sifted icing sugar.

My first mattress pincushion

2008-02-04T08:46:00.000+08:00

Well I finally made a mattress pincushion! Took this pattern from Ackworth Friendship Book - With My Needle. Quite fun to do but oh so many backstitches....
Instead of batting I used sponge, but maybe I should have put in another layer so that dia lagi
gebu!!!

My Daughter

2008-01-25T09:36:00.000+08:00

My Daughter.... turns 17 today....uwah...I feel like crying! They grow up sooo fast...It seems like only yesterday when she was born....I can still feel the labour pains. haha...

Last year when she turned 16, people asked me... how do u feel? She's 16... so I replied biasa aje! But somehow this year rasa sedih pulak.. maybe cos it's her last year in school.... or maybe cos
she's old enough to learn how to drive....but no no no....only after SPM!!!

But they do grow up so fast.... so spend the time that you have with them the best that you can, so that you won't have any regrets later on...

So to my dear daughter.... Happy Birthday..May all your hopes and dreams come true....

I managed to finish the sampler on time and got it framed too. I'm quite pleased with the end result and I love the frame...

I also included 2 close up photos.... kalaulah nak tengok haha!

Siapa RJ?

2008-01-17T09:02:00.000+08:00

That was the question people were asking last week after reading blog cik adik manis kita...

It's me, it's me.... haha....

When I first read the entry in her blog I naturally assumed that the cushion was for her abang
fedex... Then when people started asking siapa rj, it suddenly occured to me that that was my
initials! Lepas tu start le perasan... could it be for me... and it was...yay!

Thank you very, very much Mus...I really,really like it... the workmanship is marvellous, pandai Mus jahit zip tu, tak macam beginner pun.

My favorite...

2008-01-13T12:26:00.001+08:00

This piece is called a Heartfelt Invitation... It's taken from the book Quilts of the Garden. I did
this a few years ago and it is one of my favorite PV pieces!
The pattern is not too hard cos there are not too many floss changes...

Yesterday pulak buat Karipap Pusing.... me memang suka karipap pusing ni. Masa dulu2 selalu tolong my grandma buat... tapi dia tak ikut resipi.... main campak2 aje! So after many many years I decided to try and buat.... this is what it looks like...

Masa canai tu frust jugak cos tak nampak sangat dia punya line2 tu... but after digoreng baru nampak...happy sangat cos menjadi. Tak rugilah duduk dapur berjam-jam! Me also ambik kesempatan to ajar kakak kelim tepi karipap tu...oklah dia buat for a beginner!

This is the recipe....from cari.com

Spiral Curry Puff (Speedial)

Ingredients

For water dough:

200g plain flour

125ml water mix with a pinch of salt

1 tbsp shortening

For oil dough:

200g plain flour

100g shortening

Method

To make water dough:Place flour in a mixing bowl. Rub in shortening and add in the water. Knead into a smooth dough.leave aside to rest for 10 minutes. Divide into 24 equal portions.

To make oil dough:Rub shortening or margarine into the flour to form an oily dough. Divide into 24 equal portions.

To combine into pastry:Wrap oil dough inside water dough. Flatten the dough and roll up. Repeat the process. Cut the rolled-up dough into two. Use a rolling pin to press it flat. Shape into a circle. Add filling and seal the sides. Pinch the edges to form a scallop design. Deep fry puffs in medium hot oil.

Slow and Steady...

2007-12-26T08:23:00.000+08:00

I thought I could complete this by the end of the year but at the rate I'm going memang tak boleh.... My next target is end of January!

I managed to get some backstitching done and filled in most of the white spaces on the house...Can you see the other cat?

Hopefully the next time I show this piece it will be complete...wish me luck!!

Jom makan lagi...

2007-12-17T09:28:00.000+08:00

Yesterday terlebih rajin...buat apple crumble.... makan with custard...yum yum!

This is the recipe...senang aje nak buat!

Apple Crumble:
Source: Women's Weekly Cookbook - Sweet Old-fashioned favourites

5 large apples ( I normally use 10 green apples)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Crumble:
3/4 cup self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
80g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1. Grease ovenproof dish. Peel, core and cut apples into cubes.
2. Combine apples, sugar and water in large pan, cover; cook over low heat about 10 mins or until apples are tender.
3. Drain apples, discard liquid. Spread apples into prepared dish; sprinkle the crumble mixture on top.
4. Bake in moderate oven about 30mins or until golden brown.

To make the crumble:
Combine sifted flour and cinnamon in bowl; rub in butter. Add sugar, mix well.

Custard tu pandai2 le buat sendiri ok...cos me just main agak2 aje!

Recipe...

2007-12-12T09:47:00.000+08:00

Ni recipe Blueberry Cheese Tart....Source Cari.com
Selamat mencuba....

TAT KEJU BLUEBERRY
Bahan
125 gm butter
125 gm majerin
100 gm gula halus
1 biji telur B
500 gm tepung gandum

Filling
250 gm blueberry filling
250 gm keju kerim
50 gm butter 50 gm gula halus

Pukul semua bahan dan masukkan dalam tat

**Bahan keju krim ni Za gandakan sebab nanti tart base kita boleh dapat dalam 50 biji kalau tak gandakan nanti tak cukup untuk masukkan dalam tat**

1. Pukul butter, majerin dan gula sehingga kembang.
2. Masukkan telur dan kacau rata
3. Masukkan tepung sedikit demi sedikit dan kacau rata.
4. Pamkan adunan dalam acuan tat dan bakar dalam oven pada suhu 170 selama 12 - 15 minit.
No.4 ni Za tak pamkan tapi ambil sedikit adunan dan tekan dalan acuan tat.
5. Keluarkan tat dan masukkan blueberri filling dan keju kerim.
6. Bakar semula selama 5 minit lagi.
7. Angkat tat dan sejukkan.
8. Hidangkan.

Pinkeep Exchange

2007-12-06T11:49:00.000+08:00

I received a package on Monday afternoon... however due to some technical difficulties i am only able to update my blog today... hehe sorry for the delay.

Inside this package was a lovely pinkeep from my partner, Index.

See I can also gantung it! Nice kan?

I've noticed that whenever Index takes part in an exchange, she will always add something extra and this time was no exception. She also made a lovely doily for Cik Noxxa, my hardworking maid! When I looked at the doily it crossed my mind that even though she must have been very very busy packing at that time, she still took the time and trouble to make that something extra for me.... For that I am very grateful.... thank you my dear Index.

So here is Cik Noxxa with her new baju...as Index says we must keep our hardworking maids happy! Btw the doily is very neat and nicely done, you wouldn't know that it was done by a beginner.

And this is another pic of the goodies that I got... of course one can never forget the surat cinta! To my dear friend Index...thank you for everything.... hope you are settling down well in your new place and will be very very happy there....

Mari makan lagi....

2007-11-24T08:14:00.000+08:00

Yesterday buat cheese tart pulak... bubuh blueberry and rasberry filling...

You are supposed to pipe the cream cheese filling into the pastry but i just used a spoon, that's

why tak cantik and smooth.... but tak kisah janji sedap dimakan!!

Recipe from cari.com

Mari makan donut...

2007-11-19T10:12:00.000+08:00

I have always wanted to make my own donuts but never did....until last Friday. After reading Lindt's blog me pun naik semangat to try...thank u Lindt!

I took the easy way out and had the breadmaker do the hard work for me....

My kids helped out too...si kakak dipped the donuts in chocolate n si adik decorated it...

Memang sedap and lembut. Dapat 15 donuts n yg extra tu buat sausage roll cos dah malas nak canai dough tu lagi!

PV update

2007-11-15T08:44:00.000+08:00

This is what I've been working on while hibernating! Since my SAL is complete I can now concentrate on this but progress is slow cos there's so many 1/4 stitches and floss changes!
But I think the result is worth it..

If u notice there's a cat on the ground...beside the quilt. That's the only backstitching I've done for this piece...couldn't wait to see the purr!!

SAL - as of 5th November

2007-11-05T12:34:00.000+08:00

Yay....my SAL is complete.... I finished it at about noon just now and immediately snapped a
photo!

Had to work hard to complete it. While I was halfway through the backstitching for the border
I realized that I had used the wrong color. I used 471 instead of 470, so had to redo that part.

But now I am happy cos dah siap!

Projek Bulan Puasa....

2007-10-20T10:40:00.000+08:00

Didn't manage to do much during the fasting month, but I did complete two small projects.

The first is a scissor fob - Heart Throb from the Drawn Thread. It was a joy to stitch and took only one day to complete.

The second is Four Little Strawberries. When I started it, I planned to finish it as a scissor fob also but it was a little too big. So a mattress pincushion came to mind (who wouldn't be influenced after reading Min's blog huh!). But thinking of all the BACKSTITCHES that had to be done totally put me off!

So I opted for a pinkeep instead... So this is my first Pinkeep

I still want to do a mattress pincushion tho!

SAL - as of end Sept

2007-10-04T11:24:00.000+08:00

This is what I managed to do last month. At least my SAL dah tak rongak! I still have fill in all the white spaces, n the backstitching needs to be done before the second shelf is complete...

Projek Suka-suka

2007-09-28T10:40:00.000+08:00

Before:

After:

There's a few empty boxes lying around the house so I decided to decorate one of them. Furthermore I bought some Carrie's Threads lately so I have been wanting to use it for some time n this was the perfect opportunity to do so. I used a different color for each motif.The three motifs was taken from the magazine Mains n Merveilles. It was fun to stitch cos I didn't have to worry about changing the floss!!

My Latest Purchase

2007-09-19T08:58:00.000+08:00

This is what I bought a couple of weeks ago...

Yes...it's a magnifying lens - Daylight Flexilens!!! I purchased it from Jean of Needle Little Love. It's just what these poor old eyes of mine need... And this must be my best purchase so far!

Selamat Berpuasa

2007-09-13T09:27:00.000+08:00

Selamat Berpuasa to all my muslim friends. Semoga kita memenuhi bulan yang mulia ini dengan amal ibadat dan kerja-kerja yang berfaedah. Dan moga-moga amalan kita diterima
oleh ALLAH....

Purrfect Patterns as of end August

2007-09-09T11:43:00.000+08:00

I totally ignored this piece for 2 months...but finally last month I managed to work on it a bit more... N this is my progress so far...

I had to do some frogging at the bottom right-hand corner, so now dah merajuk sikit with this piece, so kena tunggu mood datang balik to continue working on this!

SAL - as of 31/08/07

2007-09-03T09:51:00.000+08:00

This is what I managed to do last month. Dapatlah buat banyak sikit kali ni. Kalau boleh nak siapkan cepat2 cos nak start project baru, but me don't have turbo power!

Another PV

2007-08-23T10:13:00.001+08:00

Sorry guys got nothing new to show.... So tunjuk yg lama-lama...

This is another PV that I did back in 2003. It is called A Fruitful Life. Time ni I was still using Aida.

Another PV

2007-08-08T09:09:00.000+08:00

This is called Waking up to Spring....I did this a couple of years ago.

If u look closely at the picture... on the top left just above the flowers, u will see the spot where I accidentally tore the linen!!! Masa tu guna ram, so tarik punya tarik nak bagi kain tegang.... langsung terkoyak.... Wah I felt like crying at that time, but luckily it tore at the place where there was no stitching to be done... So I repaired the kain by doing my version of 'weaving'...

After this accident, I went out and bought the superframe!!! I try not to use the ram anymore but if I have too then I am very, very careful not to pull too hard....

Cuci mata

2007-08-03T10:02:00.000+08:00

This is specially for Da...some of the projects inside the magazine I bought...
Happy Looking....

SAL update

2007-08-02T08:36:00.000+08:00

I managed to finish the first shelf... stitched all the white spaces and did the backstitch.....

Now for the second shelf!!

Another wedding, another sampler

2007-07-30T09:12:00.001+08:00

There was another wedding in the family recently, this time it was my nephew... N since I was in the giving mood I decided to stitch another wedding sampler. Yes it's the same pattern as the one I did for my cousin, I didn't have the time to look for another pattern!!! Excuses, excuses huh...

Well this time I did manage to finish it on time... the reception on our side of our family was last Saturday, the 28th and it was already ready and framed by then!

Stash....

2007-07-24T10:25:00.000+08:00

Bought this stuff from Needle Little Love a few weeks ago.... i just love the pattern on the cover of the magazine...

Another selingan....

2007-07-19T11:30:00.001+08:00

hehe...saja aje... got nothing to show on the stitching front.. so decided to show u what's happening in the kitchen...

I've always wanted to make my own bread.... but the thought of the kneading process totally put me off. Then my friend demo this bread maker to me n I was hooked. So now I can make my own bread, buns n pizzas....

Multi-purpose Hoop

2007-07-14T11:46:00.000+08:00

Ini saja aje buat selingan cos dah lama tak update blog!!!

See what my dear daughter came up with...she decided that my new hoop would make nice looking bracelets.... hmmm doesn't she have enough accessories already??

Nothing much done in terms of cross stitch.... Still trying to finish the first shelf of SAL. Haven't made much progress on that. I'm also working on another wedding sampler. Well it's the same

design as last time but for a different couple! I have two more weeks to go n I should be able to finish it on time this time around tapi I'm soooo not in the mood. Looks like I'll just have to force myself!

Sachet Bag

2007-07-05T08:55:00.001+08:00

Haven't done hardanger for some time, so I decided to do this sachet bag. Below is a photo of the hardanger heart after cutting n weaving. My weaving has improved n I am happier with the result this time. However out of the 3 dove's eyes, only one turned out well... As they say practice makes perfect... so looks like I have to practice more!

This is the completed bag....

hmmm.... i wonder who this bag is for.....

Another SAL update

2007-07-02T10:17:00.001+08:00

This is what i managed to do last month. As usual I'm not as fast as others...

My XL cube

2007-06-28T08:57:00.000+08:00

While I was still trying to decide what to stitch for my partner, I received my cube from Mus.
So I curi2 the idea from her n decided to stitch my partners' initials on each side of the cube. And since my partner likes sunflowers, I went with the sunflower alphabet! That left me with 2 other sides... inspiration struck when I was looking thru a mag.... cats!

So below is a photo of the cube while still in the sewing process...

And this is the XL cube....

It's quite big...48x48...malunya...haha

Cube

2007-06-21T08:53:00.000+08:00

This is the cube I received from my cube exchange partner ie Cik Adik Manis Mus. I was pretty surprised to get my cube so fast cos at that time I hadn't even started on mine! But Thank God I finally finished it yesterday.. Thanks Mus for the sweet n lovely cube...

As u can see the cube is enjoying her new home....This is the cube posing side by side with it's new found love Pumpkin.....

Pin Cushion

2007-06-20T09:03:00.000+08:00

This is a pin cushion I made for a Cyber(tron) friend...hehe..

I used dmc variations thread which i bought some time ago but have never used!

Holiday Project

2007-06-13T08:46:00.000+08:00

This was my projek cuti sekolah... a birthday pillow for my daughter's good friend... These 2 girls have been friends since std 2, so they've known each other for 8 years, n since they're only 16 they've known each other for half their lives!!! Hope they will be good friends for many many years to come...

btw, pattern from JE Sentiments n Sayings

SAL... as of 31/05

2007-06-01T12:08:00.000+08:00

This is all I managed to stitch for the SAL, as usual didn't get to do as much as I wanted too...

hopefully can do more this month!!!

Thot i could finish the teapot but still need to fill in the background, shouldn't be too hard tho since it's only one color...

Purr-fect Update

2007-05-25T10:01:00.000+08:00

It's been awhile since i've posted a progress pic! My progress is kinda slow but then again that's nothing new....

Finally....

2007-05-18T11:16:00.000+08:00

Yes! I finally managed to complete this last night.... I know, I know the wedding was last week but I've already made my excuses to the newlyweds n told them that their present would be waiting for them when they get back next week! Couldn't finish it last week, there was so many other things to do n if I had stayed up to finish it I probably would not have been able to make it to their wedding.... As my daughter said...look on the bright side.... they have another present to open!!!

Anyway I wish them all the best n many many years of happiness together...

Now it's time for me to get back to my poor PV... I've been neglecting it for too long....

Inside the box

2007-05-14T08:35:00.000+08:00

My partner has received the box.... so now I can show the contents! Nothing much tho but I hope my partner likes it....

Only managed to stitch 2 items for her.... thot that this caption would be appropriate for a Mother's Day gift. I'm kinda proud of this one cos I managed to do the knots!!!! Ok it wasn't exactly a French knot but a Colonial knot but it's still a knot... haha

The other item is a daisy scissor fob...

Gifts from Ana

2007-05-09T08:30:00.000+08:00

This is what arrived from Penang last Friday. hmmm looks like I've been getting a lot of things from Penang lately!!

To my partner Ana thanks very much... The bookmark shall be put to very good use...I'm now reading Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes, so I'll have fun with my new bookmark!

My daughter loves the cube keychain, now she wants me to make one for her...n the buttons r real cute too.

And I also got a handmade card... thanks ana for taking the time to stitch all those things for me..

Oh well

2007-05-08T14:03:00.000+08:00

Looks like I won't be able to finish this wedding sampler in time for the wedding on Friday...

Oh well it's my own fault for leaving it to the last minute...

But I will make sure that I finish it by this week, then send it to the shop for framing n beg him

to buat cepat2 so that I can give it to them before they go for their honeymoon!!

MDSE

2007-05-07T09:52:00.000+08:00

This is the box I sent out to my partner for this exchange... I sent it out last Friday, so hopefully she will get it some time this week. Contents can only be shown after dia dah terima box itu...but then again I don't think she reads this blog... haha....

Of course contents tak sehebat yg dibuat oleh sis Index....

I have received my box from my partner.... thanks ana. Tapi gambar tak upload lagi...maybe tomorrow....

Pumpkin Pie anyone??

2007-04-28T09:32:00.000+08:00

I received this pumpkin pincushion on Monday from Cik Adik Manis in Penang.... thank u Mus, I really really appreciate it... tak pernah lagi dapat Mother's Day Gift from someone other than my kids....

Linen oh linen

2007-04-17T09:10:00.000+08:00

I did this piece in 2004 n it only took me 3 months to complete... wow... I must have had a lot of time on my hands then. I probably didn't have to do so much running around then!

This was my first piece that I did on linen...it's called Delightful Daffodils. Do I even have to mention the designer hehe...

Why did I convert to linen? Well at that time it was sooo hard to find the smaller sized aida. When browsing the internet I noticed that most of the 'mat sallehs' stitched on linen n the finishing looked so nice, so I decided to give linen a try...

N I haven't looked back since.... somehow the feel when stitching on linen is different, I just love it!! It hasn't helped my eyes tho.... who knows i might just have to go n buy a magnifying glass next!

Another busy weekend...

2007-04-17T08:42:00.000+08:00

It was another busy weekend for me... but it was fun!
Friday afternoon we packed our bags n went to Awana Kijal. We got there around maghrib, unpacked, had a shower n headed for the restaurant near the pool to eat. This place serves the best pizza n we were looking forward to it (my husband is not into pizza but even he can say that it's nice)...but the place was closed for maintenance....
So we did the next best thing n headed for KFC kat the shop houses in front of the hotel... haha we were hungry n needed food real bad...
Then on Saturday we headed to Cherating... of course we had to stop for roti bakar at Kemaman n not forgetting the delicious otak-otak. Ooh the food is so good... that's why we love going to these two places....

From this day forward...

2007-04-11T11:13:00.000+08:00

Didn't get much done last week but I did mange to start this wedding sampler. This is taken from Joan Elliot's Sentiments n Sayings. I plan to give it

to my cousin who's getting married next month... oh no... sempat ke ni?? Looks like my

Purr-fect PV has to be hibernating for a while. MDSE pun tak start lagi....

My little one...

2007-04-10T09:35:00.000+08:00

My little one is not so little anymore... she turned 8 on Sunday...
Normally we just have have some makan2 n invite family over but this year she wanted to invite her friends... she is such an undemanding child that i could not say no to her.

So last week was busy busy busy. Had to look for stuff for party packs, decide on what games to
play n when there's games there has to be gifts. So there was a lot of running around last week but at the end of the day it was worth it when the birthday girl was all smiles n happy...

Sedihnya....

2007-03-30T11:22:00.000+08:00

When i created this blog it was solely for the purpose of my stitching hobby.... but something happened yesterday n i just have to write down my thoughts...

I wasn't feeling well so when moth offered to pick up daughter no 2 from school of course I said yes. Then it started to rain , he didn't want to get wet cos dia senang demam kalau kena hujan. So I said I would go too, he drives n I go down at the school.

Keluar rumah, belok kanan.... baru nak belok kiri.... along came this Kelisa n banged into us...

Why oh why? This is the 2nd time in 6 months... my poor car. But I cannot complain, ini semua
kehendak Tuhan, it's just that I can't help feeling sad.

Want to see the damage?

So now poor car is in the workshop again for who knows how long. Tapi syukur alhamdulillah we were not hurt...

Not too bad...

2007-03-28T11:13:00.000+08:00

I thought I didn't get too much done last week but after comparing the 2 photos all I can say is not too bad for a slow n steady stitcher like me....

Somehow last week was not a good week, too lazy to do anything... trying to make amends this week but it's soooo hot.... yeah yeah blame it on the weather!

PV Trilogy...

2007-03-23T08:53:00.000+08:00

Haha...bukan Star Wars aje yg ada trilogy... PV pun ada trilogy jugak...

This is picture one, From Mother's Hands...

The dress is being sewn.

This is pic 2... Hopes n Dreams. The dress is ready n hanging proudly in the closet.

Btw this is the very first PV that i did.

Pic 3...Hopes n Dreams.

Many years have passed n the dress cannot be worn anymore so it is being kept in this chest of hopes n dreams....

Lucky Me...

2007-03-22T09:04:00.000+08:00

Wow! What can I say... I took part in this Pendibule exchange n instead of just getting one pendibule...i get two. On top of that I got a needle book too....

So to my friend in Penang...Thank you very, very much... I just love it..n don't worry about the finishing, it was just fine....

Romance of Flowers

2007-03-20T08:35:00.000+08:00

This pendibulle is for an Angel in Labuan!! I'll be mailing it out today... hope she likes it!

Purr-fect Patterns

2007-03-19T10:54:00.000+08:00

This is my current project. In all honesty this quilt was so so so HARD to do. So many colors n so many quarter stitches. I had to put it away for a while after getting all the color parts done. But i picked it up again yesterday n have started on the chair...

One Fine Day

2007-03-19T10:08:00.000+08:00

I've actually done it...created my blog! Step one is complete. That was the easy part...
I've been stitching on and off for a long time but patterns were hard to come by back then...haha.

Then one fine day in the year 2000 I came across this book Preserved in Time by Paula Vaughan, I fell in love immediately... n haven't stopped cross stitching since.
Now I've discovered sewing accessories n specialty stitches... they're fun to stitch n faster to complete and I've taken part in a few exchanges too and made stitching friends along the way.

So welcome to my blog....