Bagged a wild one!

Finally I completed the bagpack much awaited by Aiman! He was more than happy to model this for me. *smile*

I simply love the fabric motif on this one. Very wild looking, and just appropriate for an active child like Aiman who loves the outdoors and all the jungle animals.

The inside is done in the colour of the pocket and the flap. I think should ever I want to make another bagpack like this, I am going to make some minor changes to it to make it easier to finish off the bag.

I had some trouble putting on the straps because Gill only taught me how to put/sew on the straps after the whole bag was put together, which made it difficult for me as I has difficulty getting the thickness of the bag plus the straps through the pressure foot. I just hope that the straps will stay on the bag for the life of the bag, which I hope will be a long one.

What do you think? Does it look as good as the store bought one? wink* I think it was worth the trouble and difficulty I went through making this bag when I saw the twinkle in Aiman's eyes upon seeing the bag.

It was fun doing it up, and seeing it form before your eyes, and imagining the excitement on Aiman's eyes when completed. *smile* I hope Aiman will enjoy using it for a long time to come.

I have some extra fabric from the bag. What do you suggest I should make next? Make anotehr one? Maybe I should make another house tissue box cover. That should be wild, huh? *wink*

Another shopping bag would look good too, huh? *grin*

An attempt at machine quilting

Never never assume that anything is easy or looks easy until you try it out yourself!

Before I tried machine quilting, I always thought that it couldn't possibly be that difficult, especially when Kelvin from Sakura made it look ever so effortless. Well, for one, he has had loads of practice, and two, he's got a sewing machine that is in the same class as a Mercedez Benz, as June puts it, and all I have is just a Perodua Kembara! LOL!

Yup, I tried my hands at machine quilting last Saturday at Quilt Gallery. I bought this pattern at QG that has flower motifs on it meant for hand or machine quilting. QG has got several different motifs, priced at RM 100.00 a kit, containing the motif printed (with washable ink) on white or pink plain cotton, a piece of batting and a backing piece cut 2 size. I did the basting at home as instructed by Gill, so that I will be set and ready for the machine quilting come last Saturday.

I thought machine quilting would be easy and I could get it done sooner. Surinder showed me a finished piece done by Lauren, Gill's daughter, done by hand, and it was really nice, but, I thought it was going to take me longer to do, so, I opted for the machine quilting. Now I wonder if I had made the right decision. LOL! *grin*

I might just try out hand quilting when I am done with this piece should I have the mood to later. *grin* I think quilting by hand is a matter of getting your stitches to be even and of the same size. Probably doing by hand gives you better control of your stitches compared to machine quilting.

With machine quilting, you need to control the pressure on your foot pedal while, at the same time, you also need to control how you move your piece to give you that even tension. If you pull too fast, you get stitches that are too far apart, too slow, and your stitches are too close together, despite setting your tension already. You are also trying to move the piece in curves to follow the motifs, so it is all a matter of hand, eye and foot coordination. That is what is most difficult. I slept at 2.00am last night because I was determined to finish the machine quilting part, and ended with a backache. I did a lot of unpicking and re-sewing it to prevent the puckering, but when it gets past 1.00 am, your eyes, hand movement and foot coordination is simply out as is to be expected at such a late hour! LOL!

This coming Saturday, Gill will be showing me how to use the darning foot to do free motion quilting. I tried to do it on my own, but simply have not got the know how technique to get it right. My tensions are haywire. LOL! Wish me luck!

What will I be doing with it when done? It could be turned into a cushion cover, but the size is a little too big for my cushions - 16" x 16" motif to motif. By the time I add the edges, it might get bigger.

My cushions are 15" x 15", unless I don't mind a loose fit for my cushion, but I would need two pieces to make up a set. I don't think I want tp do another one! LOL! My wrist hurts from all the turning and controlling of the piece, just to get this one piece done! LOL! To do another one? *shaking my head*

I am also not too happy with my overall tension of the piece, this being a practice piece, with quite a number of puckering here and there. It is a lovely motif though, and it would be a waste to have it stashed into a closet.

Maybe machine quilting, with the exception of the stitch in the ditch and channel stitching, which I have done numerous times, and my tension is not too bad *wink*, is simply not for me. I salute and admire those who can machine quilt a whole king size quilt. I had loads of trouble manouvering my small 16" x 16" piece! LOL!

Kelvin from Sakura did it with such ease, but of course, when you have had loads of practice, and doing it on a BERNINA, that has an even tension guide control that no matter how hard you press on the foot pedal, your tension will still be the same and even, so all you need is to concentrate on moving your piece. Even if you pull your piece too fast or too slow, your tension will also remain even.

Am I hinting that I will be buying the BERNINA soon? Nope, not just yet! *wink*

A bag, a little stitching and some crocheting

We went on holiday to Bukit Merah Laketown Resort last weekend. A great place for very active kids like my son who just couldn't keep still, even for two minutes! LOL!

I will write more about the holiday in another posting, but first, I thought I would update progress on the crafts that I have been doing in the last two weeks.

As usual, I wouldn't leave the house without my stitching, so, for the holiday to Bukit Merah, it wasn't any different, only I had to bring something that would be easier to carry, take out and do, and also quick to keep/pack up. I decided to bring my crochet piece and also my Ice Cream Sundae project with me.

I never took out the Ice Cream Sundae project throughout our 3 day stay at Bukit Merah, because of the many colours of threads involved, and most of the places we went to wasn't condusive for stitching. Crocheting was the better option, so here is my progress so far.

I am already up to the 20th row. It's got another 5 more rows to go. I can't wait to get it done so that I can spend my time doing, maybe another tissue box cover? *wink*

I have also been doing some stitching on the Ice Cream Sundae piece, though not much progress, as I seem to have very little lunch time breaks lately to do any stitching, with most of my meetings running right through lunch.

Another project I completed some time back, but could not find time to upload the photo is my 3rd bag I learned from Quilt Gallery. This is one tough bag to do, with a lot of hand stitching to put the many thick layers together to ensure that it stays in place before machine sewing. I pricked my finger countless times before I finally completed the bag.

I don't think I want to do this style of bag again becuse it was a tough one to do, especially with all the pricking of the needle into my fingers. I might only do another one if I can find an easier and less 'painful' way to do it.

I am now in the midst of doing Aiman a bagpack. I will definitely put up photos of it once it is completed. Aiman can't wait for it, and has been asking me when is it going to be done.

I've got it covered!

Yup! Definitely it's covered! You wouldn't know it's a tissue box cover if not for the `smoke' coming out of it's chimney. *smile*

I finally completed my tissue box cover, and now my tissue box has now been housed! *grin* It took me two classes to complete it at the Sakura Sewing Shop in SS19, Subang Jaya. I had fun doing it, though I pricked my finger twice doing it! Yeah! There were some portions where I had to push my needle hard to get it through the layers, and the needle just went simply right into my finger instead, causing blood to spurt out! yewwww!!! LOL! *grin*

It's a lovely tissue box cover, don't you think so? *wink* Kind of cute and sweet! Heheh.....again it is in pink! LOL! Well, actually, I had to buy the kit, and it came in only 4 colours - blue, pink, yellow and brown, so naturally I chose PINK! LOL!

I kind of like the brown because I thought it would make it more like a real house, but I did not fancy the motif/pattern on the fabric. I might make another one in brown. In fact, I think I might make more than one in other colours as well. I presently have a tissue box in almost every corner of my house. That way, whenever I, or my hubby or son needs to sneeze, we wouldn't need to go running around looking for a tissue box. LOL!

It does make such lovely gifts too, and I get to use leftover fabrics from my other big projects. Heheh....an excuse to buy more stash if I use up as much of my present stash as possible! LOL! *wink* Opps! My mum is going to be shaking her head again, saying that I am buying more trash! LOL! *wink* Kidding, mum! BTW, we miss you here in Malaysia. Raya isn't the same without you here with us.

Sakura has more classes planned for 2008, among which, I heard would be placemats, zippered pouch and many more. I also saw a cockerel tea cosy on one of the walls of the classroom, which I am tempted to take the class, but I will have to see how my schedule is for next year.

In the mean time, I am going to be making more tissue box covers and bags! *wink*

Bowled over! *wink*

heheh....that sounded like a great game, didn't it? LOL! *wink*

Two Saturdays ago, on 8th December, June, Janet, BJ and I decided to meet up for some stashing and chat up at Cottage Patch, Ampang. I have not been there in almost 7 years, and thus could not remember how to get there although I do know where it is located. OK, the truth is, I am hopeless when it comes to driving at places where I am unfamiliar with, and besides, I have a hubby. Aren't hubbies supposed to drive you around? LOL! *wink*

Thank you for driving me there, Dear, despite the bad traffic jam that you had to endure. I was just looking forward to the stashing trip! *wink* I really appreciate it! I love you!

Anyway, as June, Janet, BJ and I were busy enjoying ourselves stashing away at Cottage Patch *wink*, my hubby took our son across the street to Ampang Point to explore the place. When I called them more than an hour later to find out where they were so that I can meet up with them, I was told that they were in queue waiting for a bowling lane to be free. Yup! My son wanted to try his hands at bowling!

So, I made my way there on the fourth floor of Ampang Point, not long after which they managed to get a lane to play. My son was jumping up and down in excitement. You have to know that it was his own initiative that he wanted to try out bowling. My hubby never asked nor encoraged him to try it out. He was just amazed seeing how people played and think that it is an easy game - just throw the ball and the pins will fall! LOL!


Well, as you can see from the photos, the one immediately above shows the coach (my hubby, of course!) showing him how the game is played. From the next set of photos, you can see how excited my son was trying his hands at bowling. But, of course, the ball went right into the drain! LOL!


How did the coach fair on that day considering that he has not bowled for some time? Err.....I think I shouldn't embarass my hubby here! LOL! *wink*

The important thing was that my son enjoyed himself and has already made plans for the next bowling session/boys out with his dad. He has asked me when I am going shopping with my friends again! LOL! Now, isn't that understanding of my son............LOL! *wink*

A quilt for my son

Wow! Has it been really that long since I last updated my blog?

Yup, it’s one of those times again when work is simply hectic, not up to my neck, but way above my head! Help! I am drowning in work! LOL! *wink*

Wanting to destress myself from the hectic work schedule, I decided to sign up for a few more bag classes at Quilt Gallery. I also signed up to make a house tissue box cover at Sakura Sewing Shop in SS19 Subang Jaya. I thought this would make lovely gifts should I need one. *wink*

I initially planned on signing up for the chenille bag class at Sakura, but decided not to, at least, not yet. I needed a break from making bags since my bag class at Quilt Gallery is still running for a few more classes. I am now in the midst of making a bagpack for Aiman.

Anyway, I thought I’d update my blog and `show off’ *wink* the quilt cover I made for my son by recycling my old queen size quilt cover. Just my little teeny weeny contribution to saving the environment. *wink* It was completed close to a month already, but I simply could not get around to putting up the photos. But, finally, here it is….


A closer look at the fabric and you will see that the motifs are cats! Yup! My son chose the fabric himself. He also chose the yellow fabric, which, coincidentally has cat paws on it, but is not clearly visible in the photo. Time for me to get a new camera too like BJ’s? *wink*

I decided on an orangy red fabric backing to complement the majority of reds on the cat fabric. I like the combination, and the way the quilt cover has turned out - simple but nice! *wink* The only problem now is that my son complains that the quilt is too heavy for him, although he does love the quilt. *smile*

I think the weight is due to the fact that I only cut the old queen size quilt to fit into a single size quilt cover, but sewed on the ruffles into the old quilt. I was too lazy to cut it off because then I would have to bind all the 4 sides. At the moment, I had only bind the side that I had cut to make it into a single size quilt. I think the ruffles added weight to the quilt. But, I must say that the quilt is really warm and cozy. *wink*

Thread catcher done!

I am pleased to show off *wink* my newly completed thread catcher! As usual, it has to be in pink, but this time, in combination with turqouise. Nice, huh? LOL! *wink*

Thanks again, Jo, for teaching me, and thanks, June for the pieces of carpet tiles for the platform piece.

Here is a photo of the thread catcher next to my faithful 15 year old SINGER sewing machine. I could not quilt the way Jo did her's as my machine is not equiped with the nice wavy stitch. I only have the basic straight and zig zag stitch and a few other stitches which I am unsure if it can be used for quilting. Oh well, bought it 15 years ago......it has been my faithful sewing friend......

Crocheting, stitching and sewing.....

Each time I look at the beautiful works of Faizon, it makes me want to crochet! LOL!

Faizon is a very talented lady and testament to that can be seen in all works at her blog. She does really very fine tatting and crochet work, and I can't help being in awe of her works each time I look at them. Each time I look at her works, it would inspire me to try out something new. *smile*

So, when I saw such lovely snowflake pieces during the recent NNC Anniversary Meet and also Anna's sweet set of coasters, I knew I had to do some crocheting to see if I can come up with the very same fine work. Of course, my work is a far cry from Faizon's very fine works, but still, it did not deter me from starting on a small crocheted doily.

This crochet piece will be my 'in front of TV' piece as I do not need to look at the chart that often. I have a piece for my travels - the CCN Ice Sundae, and a piece for stitching at home, but not in front of the TV, and that is my Drawn Thread (DT) Gameboard Sampler.

I think I pretty much got things planned for the next few weeks in terms of keeping my craft going. Only now, I want to try and fit in to do a few more bags, a pouch and maybe another thread catcher.

Yeap! I just learned how to do a thread catcher from Jo yesterday. I am so pleased with the results, but I can't put up photos of it yet until I have completed my pincushion as I plan to change the shape of the pincushion from rectangular as in Jo's original design to one in the shape of a square to suit my sitting platform. Keep a lookout for the posting with photos of my thread catcher, OK? *wink*

BTW, Jo, thanks for taking time to teach us (June and I) how to do the thread catcher. I sure appreciate it. Can we do more projects together in the future? *wink*

Cakes and buns, anyone?

Looks good to eat, huh? Or, are they simply too pretty to be eaten? *wink*

Well, they sure look real, but, unfortunately you can't eat them. They are actually sponge cakes. Ooopps! I mean cakes and bun made out of sponge or foam.

I got excited when I saw the 'cakes' and 'buns' at SSF Jalan TAR yesterday when I went in search of some craft items, and thought that they would make good pincushions. Now I don't know if I want to start poking my pins and needles in them in case my son mistakes them for real ones. *shudder!*

Maybe I shouldn't just leave them lying around then.......

Got a job?

You think you could consider offering it to Aiman? He wants a job! LOL! *grin*

Aiman wants to make money to buy himself a transformer toy. I told him I won't be buying him any more toys since his present toys are still good. If he still wants a new toy, he would have to earn it by coming up with the amount himself, and the amount is? RM49.90.

He spent almost all night last night trying to figure out how to come up with the amount, all the while looking longingly at the Toys'R Us catalogue that dropped into our mailbox last evening. He actually did not bother about what was showing on TV last night as he was engrossed in his thoughts to figure out a way to make money.

After a few hours, he went to our loose coin caddy and started counting. He had trouble initially counting because he kept losing his count as the amount got bigger. It was only when I showed him how to count by putting aside ringgit by ringgit did he finally figured out the amount in the caddy - a mere RM5.05. He sat there thinking before he disapperaed for while and came back with more 10sen and 1sen coins. When I asked him where he get the coins from, he said they were coins left on Tokmi's dressing table and my dressing table. *grin*

Next, he asked me if he could see my purse. I told him I am not giving him any money. He sat there thinking again and he was deep in thought, when he finally asked me how he can come up with the balance amount.

I told him he can earn it by doing things for mummy and abah, which is not part of his everyday chores. I am not about to teach him that he can make money by doing chores, because I do not want it to be a habit that he will only be willing to do his chores if he gets paid.

Aiman has always had trouble finishing his meals. On certain days it takes him close to an hour just to finish a simply meal of fish and chips or rice and it's accopaniment. So, I told him that from tomorrow (today) onwards, each time he finishes his meal before mummy and abah, I will give me 50sen. He went like, "ooohhh! That's RM1.50 a day!". LOL! *grin*

Still, that was not enough for him to make the RM49.90 he needed in the time that he wanted to buy the toy (he wants to buy the toy next week so that he can play with it with his cousins at Tokmama's house).

All of a sudden, as I was putting him to bed, he came with this brilliant idea to have a yard sale where he could sell his old toys so that he can buy the transformer. When I asked him who is going to buy his toys, he said that he can sell Barbie dolls to Rini and Kak Ida (his cousins). I told him that he has no Barbie doll! "Oopps!", he said! LOL!

He said never mind, tomorrow morning he will ask abah for a job. *grin*

Abah's job for him today? To look out for the old newspaper guy and sell off the old newspaper. If he succeeds, all monies from the sale will go half to his Yippee bank (piggy bank), and half will be added to his collection for the purchase of his transformer. I have heard the old newspaer guy twice already this morning but Aiman has been so engrossed in the catalogue that he has yet to realised that he had missed the guy.

BTW, he finished his meal way ahead of us today *grin*, so I gave him 50sen. I also gave him RM10.00 which was an overdue reward to him for completing 30 days of fasting during the month of Ramadhan. RM5.00 has gone into his Yippee bank, and the other RM5.00 has been added to his collection. That was the deal. He now has RM12.40. He needs another RM37.50. The story continues........

He is now downstairs still engrossed in the catalogue......

A productive week

No, I am not talking about last week, but the week before that - the week of Deepavali. The week that I took my son out on an all day outing.

It was a good break for me and the weekend had been quite a productive one for me. Apart from taking my son out on a all day outing, a stay at a hotel in town, I managed to complete two bags, 4 pincushions (1 was done before the Deepavali holidays), finished my small linen piece, almost nearing completion on a bookmark, worked a little on the DT SGB and started on another small-medium size project - CCN Ice Cream Sundae.

Yup! I finally completed my small line piece! I think I deserve a pat on the back for finally attempting to stitch on linen and completing it *wink* , thus joining the pack of linen stitchers, though I can't say I am a linen lover! LOL! Aida anytime, and evenweave on some occassions. Linen only when I really need to! LOL! *wink*

My eyes went bonkers on some nights when I was stitching this in the hotel room in Terengganu as the lighting in the hotel is definitely not condusive for stitching.

Anyway, I must once again thank Jean for gifting me the linen piece. I am sure it will not be the first and last time I will stitch on linen, though it won't be too often. It will definitely have to depend on the designs I choose and the purpose.

Back to my new project, I know I should finish my bookmark first before venturing on another project, but since I travel a lot, and the bookmark is almost completed, I needed a project that will sustain me on my travels and not bore me to death! LOL! The Country Cottage Ice-Cream Sundae (CCN ICS) is an easy project since there are no backstitching, and the size, though bigger than most of my travelling projects, isn't too big anyway. It is kind of longish - height wise. Only, I have to carry more threads as it calls for more colours. However, I like the colours of the CCN ICS. Stitching it is a joy so far.

This will probably remain as my travelling and lunch time stitching, as I hope to stitch more on my DT SGB when I am at home. I also want to try to do more pincushions. I hope Mel will put up her tutorials soon so that I can master the technic of the pincushions better. *smile*

On the bags, I finally can put up the photos now that I have finally hand delivered the bags to my mum and sis last Sunday, 18 November. I just hope they like it, if not love them! *wink*

The first bag in green and yellow is for my mum. I made it quite similar to the purple shopping bag I made for myself with a change in the position of the pocket and added a ribbon. I did not embellish the bag much because I needed to complete the bag in a hurry as I wanted to give it to my mum when she was in town last weekend. I wanted her to be able to take it shopping with her when she goes travelling. I hope it will serves its purpose in life and give my mum many hours of happy shopping time, filling the bag to the brim.

The second bag in black and white is for my sis. She, being a lawyer, had hinted that she wanted a black and white bag. I take it, that it is so that she can take it to court. I hope so. I hope that I had been able to fulfill her requirements. I hope the bag too will see many days in court to win cases. *wink* I hope you like it, sis!

By the way, both bags are reversible. The inside of the green and yellow bag is all yellow with a pocket too, while the black and white bag is all white on the inside, also with a single pocket.

Jackpot!

It sure feels like I had just hit the jackpot when I received this huge box in the mail two weeks back! LOL!

I was like going....."Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" LOL!

I just could not believe that this huge box arrived safely in my mailbox, knowing the reputation of Pos Malaysia, at the office, and I did not even know it was coming. All I know was to expect an envelope of stamped images for an image swap I was doing at the Stamping Addict Group.

I could not believe what was filled in the box! It was like as if I was receiving a birthday present. Yes, definitely a very belated birthday present!

Thank you so much, Mary Jean! You really made my day! No, make that my WHOLE WEEK! I kept going through the stash, I felt like bringing them to bed with me! LOL! Only I don't think my hubby would be too happy! LOL! *wink*

What a great show!

Move over Beyonce, welcome the talents of Sri KDU Primary School!

Yeah, in my humble opinion, it was not a loss at all to Malaysians when Beyonce decided not to perform in Malaysia recently, because she refused to adhere to Malaysia's dress code to cover up. If Gwen Stefani can make changes to her wardrobe, I can't see why Beyonce can't. If she can't make changes to her wardrobe so that she can perform in Malaysia in appreciation of her fans here in Malaysia, than she is not worth idolising, not that I was ever interested in her in the first place. I can't say if I know any of her songs. Maybe her songs just aren't my cup of tea, and neither are her dressings.

If you want to see talents that will keep you entertained for almost 3 hours, attend one of your kid's concerts, and you will not be disappointed. No revealing clothes, and yet, everyone had a great time! Sure, I might be biased, but, I can bet with you that you will have a great time too if you were there to see it for yourself.

We had a very entertaining time at Aiman's school concert recently, held, for some reason, right smack in the middle of the week, forcing me to take leave, despite having a very important meeting at work. Families always takes priority, and I wouldn't want to miss Aiman's concert for anything.



A short speech by the principal kicked off the concert at precisely 9.45 am. The hall was packed to the brim with proud parents eagerly awaiting their kids to perform, snapping photos non-stop. At the rate the cameras were flashing, you'd think you were at a concert of a great celebrity! LOL! And they were! At least to the proud parents. I shed a tear or two and had to swallow my saliva several times during the concert, especially during Aiman's Dikir Puteri, as I watched the kids perform, as I was overcomed with feelings of excitement and pride.

In my excitement to take as many photos of Aiman as possible for keepsake, I did not actually get to appreciate the Dikir Puteri in total, but my hubby managed to take a video of the performance which I watched again and again, each time, with more pride.

This Primary 3 boy did a break dance that got the whole hall clapping in excitement, almost bringing the roof down. Would Beyonce have been able to do this and still look cute? LOL! *wink*

An all day outing

Aiman has been complaining of boredom lately since finishing his final year exams more than 2 weeks ago. Nothing much has been taught in school since the exams. They are just doing worksheets to pass the time away and practising for their school concert (will report more on the concert in a later posting

So, during the recent Deepavali holiday, my hubby and I decided to take Aiman out on an all day outing in town. First, on Wednesday night, we checked into Royale Bintang Kuala Lumpur, so that we can stay up late and enjoy the night life along Jalan Bukit Bintang. We had wanted to check in even earlier after work, but, as always, last minute things tend to crop up, and I ended up having a meeting that ended late, and with piles of letters to clear, we only checked into the hotel close to 9.00pm.

Anyway, after dinner, we took a walk along Jalan Bukit Bintang, and I was amazed at how many small shops lined along the road were offering foot reflexology services. There were also many open air foot reflexology services offered - they just put up chairs and that's it!

My feet was killing me, but I was not comfortable with the open air concept, and the small shops did not look inviting, but scary, in fact, LOL!, and thus did not go for it, but my hubby did. Aiman and I decided to walk back to our hotel as he was eager to play with the new toy I had just bought him - a mechanical buffalo that moves and makes a mooing sound.

The next day, after breakfast, as Aiman and my hubby went swimming in the pool, I came down with my laptop and stitching things, and stayed by the poolside, reading my emails which I have not been able to do so for the past 3 days. I only manged a little stitching though, but I did managed to complete my linen piece! Hooray!

After checking out of the hotel, we went for lunch at Sushi King, where Aiman tried his hands at using the chopsticks. He managed OK for a first timer, but there was a time when it got him really frustrated that he decided to just poke the chopstick into the sushi! LOL! Smart boy! *wink*

Here's our spread of the ala-cart portion. We ate some other items too from the kaiten belt. Aiman had fun picking out his food from the belt and wouldn't stop. He was worried that the food would not come back to him once they passed him. LOL! *wink*

After lunch, I managed to make a quick visit to a cross stitch/craft shop at Sungai Wang Plaza, after getting very specific directions from Margaret. Thanks, Margaret! I just bought some zippers and laces for some projects I intend to do some day. After that, we headed on to Kuala Lumpur City Center (KLCC) as Aiman wanted to play at the water park. Alas, when we got there, the clouds turned dark, and Aiman only managed about a half hour of dipping in the wading pool.

In the mean time, I headed on to Kinokuniya's japanese craft section which has now moved from Isetan to within Kinokuniya itself. It is now a much larger section, but, I could not locate the craft books that I have been eyeing for months. Instead, I found some books on bag making and a book on small crochet laces. I bought them, of course! LOL!

The day ended with an early dinner before we headed home close to 8.00pm. I was tired, and so was my hubby, but the 7-year old boy was still as active as ever! LOL! He didn't sleep until close to 11.00 pm! Well, I'd rather have him active anytime, rather than sick. That would get me all worried and anxious.

It was a good break for me too and I think Aiman had a great time too, though he still simply just can't have enough of activities! LOL! We will just have to wait for the school holidays before we plan anything else.

BTW, Royale Bintang has a comfy chair just perfect for stitching! I might want to get one too, if only I could find a place to put it.......*grin*

A slice of cake, anyone?

I received a really sweet and lovely hostess gift from Mel that came in my favorite colour - PINK! The box is really sweet, and the things inside it were even sweeter! I just couldn't help looking at it, holding it and admiring the work put into it, and the talent that Mel has, to come up with such lovely items.

I especially like the slice of cake pincushion. It gave me inspiration to try to make one myself, and I did not do one, but 4 pincushions! LOL! I made two slice of cake pincushions, and, craving for more, I browsed the internet and chanced upon this site - http://medievalbeads.com/content/view/32/1/ - and I ended up making two more round/barrel like pincushions!

My hubby thought that they look like real cakes too! That must be a compliment, coming from him! LOL! *wink*

Now that is what I call pincushion crazy! *grin*

BTW, notice the red flower on the second cake slice pincushion? That's a yoyo flower I made after buying the template at Sakura Sewing shop in SS19, Subang Jaya recently.

Such lovely gifts!

I received so many lovely gifts during the NNC Anniversary Meet held recently, saying thank you is just simply not enough!

First and foremost, I received a lovely tatted bookmark from Faizon, a crocheted bookmark from Usha, a wrist pincushion from June, and an oblong hanging ornament from Margaret. I also received some very lovely hostess gifts from Usha (another crochet piece), a Dimensions piece from June, and some lovely DMC frames from Emily.

Mel gave me a really sweet pink set of hostess gifts in a pink box consisting of a pincuhsion and a small pouch/bag (will elaborate more on this lovely gift in a later posting), and I got 2 magazines from Lody.

For the Anniversary Gift Exchange, as luck would have it, I received 2 crocheted pieces from Usha to complete my earlier crocheted pieces I have been receiveing from Usha in several other exchanges done throughout the year. My house is now furnished with quite a few of Usha's lovely pieces! *smile* It's like a complete set, almost! Now to get some coasters from Usha to match! *wink*

Thank you, ladies, for all the lovely, lovely gifts! I love them all!