Travel, Food, Applique and Swap Partner

April began with Tomb Sweeping Day, a day family members gathers and go to the graves to cleanup and offering prayers. It's a yearly affair . A week after, hubby decided that we should make a trip back  to my birth place;  Penang Island , nicknamed Pearl of the Orient. It's located way up North from where I lived now. Penang Island is connected to the main land by it's most iconic transit, the Ferry crossing the Straits of Malacca that was operational since 1894. Today we have two bridges connecting to the mainland and the third bridge with an underground tunnel is on it's way.

I missed the sea ! Simply can't wait to get my feet in the sand ,

smell the salty breeze and

listening to the waves.

Sunrise by the beach

A relaxing morning by the sea before we start our day food hunting 

and doing what needs to be done

The Reclining Buddha Buddhist Temple

This Thai Buddhist temple has a history dated back to Queen Victoria

To me, it has been there like forever

 It was a short trip of one night and two days, yet we managed to squeeze some time for an Afternoon Tea at Eastern and Oriental Hotel. Sweet of hubby who is not a fan of Afternoon tea was very obliging and not complaining. LOL

Sinful indulgence by the sea at a place called Tanjung Tokong is this platter

This restaurant has been in business for as long as I can remember and was badly hit by the 2004 Tsunami . How lucky were we when we were told that this platter is the last lot for the night since we did not make any reservations   

Crafting venture - Sue Bonnet Applique pouch began sometime late March.

I received this as a gift from hubby's classmate who now resides in Hong Kong when we first met on a trip years ago.  I felt intimated with the applique and thus it's been sitting at the bottom of my stash cabinet for a very long time

Having this as a kit made it all the easier. Actually I was initially very blurry as to how to begin with. It took me a day, thinking hard before I finally realized that the fabrics from the kit are actually  replica of the pattern on the photo with the template provided. Gosh! sometimes the brain is just not in the head. Anyhow, imagined that I applique on the wrong side of the fabric , TWICE !!

Froggy must be in the house somewhere !

Still full of doubts !

At this point I am not too sure if I am doing right since the size is rather small and fit only one hand. The kit is from Hong Kong is somehow written in Mandarin, a language I can't read and not much of a diagram as to how it was done up , so I ended guessing a lot  and look it up in YouTube on how to sew a pouch and ended up hand sewn the entire pouch including the zipper.

The sewing mojo must have been aroused , I made a couple of  'No Binding Coaster', when I stumble on Monica's tutorial while searching for the Sue Bonnet finishing know-how . It's really easy , a great way to use your 5" charm packs and I am pretty sure this will  make an excellent gift.

Link to the Tut : http://itsjustsewing.com/binding-free-coasters-hotpads/

MUG RUG - another sewing venture for a sepecial lady and a no binding coaster

Can you imagine meeting your swap partner ?

Call it chance or coincidence ! but we made it happen

Wren was my 10th Mug Exchange swap partner hosted by Stephanie .

It was a delightful afternoon meeting Wren over lunch and coffee.here in my homeland.

Two strangers from a swap, meeting for the first time

and chatted like we known each other for ages.

If we told the people at the next table that we just met for the first time,

I think they would not believed us !

Thank you Wren for a lovely afternoon.

Thank you Stephanie for drawing our names together .

The Birthday Exchange

Where Stitchers Gather (WSG) meet again, we are definitely a bunch of procrastinators , LOL . We are only a handful of ladies who shared, enjoy and supportive of each others creative endeavors and are much comfortable with each others antics.

So it has been decided that we are meeting in March for the 2017 birthday exchange. We are assigned to one "secret" partner by drawing a single name, unlike stitching for everyone like the years before. The highlight of the event is of course the pressie, it has been a well kept secret for over a year and I am pretty sure everyone is  excited that it is finally the reveal day

The exchange packages (top )with the bonus gifts below look  just like Christmas minus the tree

The Exchange Gift - Procrastinate I did, it was hard to decide what to stitch for my partner who is  a crème de la crème needlewoman, actually it was never easy to stitch for any lady in the group, its very stressing, cause whatever I had in mind, it had to be something special and it has to be perfect. Thus, visiting L'uccello on my trip to  Melbourne last July  was like hitting a jackpot. That was where my exchange items materialize and I am glad I could stitch something within my comfort zone for Margaret W

The Gift : ONE Handmade item

Vintage French Seed packet Needle Keep by L'uccello.

It's a decorative two-way folding needle keep, I called it the magic fold,simply because it opens both ways.  I have never done such finishing before, yes, I have seen it as a purse, Diane has one which she enjoyed playing tricks with her younger cousins.

Construction with the written instructions was excellent, but my mind kept playing tricks on me and I kept having this thoughts and doubts. The hardest was positioning the tapes, I resolved to whip stich to hold the pieces together after I fail to hold it in position with just  glue as per the instruction, yet it didn't quite aligned the perfect way.

Another doubt I had was what and how to finish  the  seed pocket design cover. There is no specific given instructions how it should be done, basically no right or wrong and one can embroider as much or as little as you desire and any way you like it on it's pre-printed fabric.  Froggy visited me three times, before I finally came to terms with my embroidery. I did better with the last Zinia flower, not the first two as I was trying to imitate the colors on the pre-printed fabric, before OCD sets in. Actually I almost gave up on this thinking twice maybe thrice over.

One Stash - Antique Mannequin 

We are to include one stash item . This is another one from L'uccello. Unfortunately I didn't realized that this was not a kit and thus, I made this into a kit by adding the required item;  fabric and lace

An extra item -  An embroidery pinkeep from L'uccello, simply because I was sure that the second item can be  a stitched item or store bought ,  not just stash. I was wrong.  So since I have already bought the item meant for the gift, I might as well gifted it.

Exploding Box -  I made the Birthday girl an exploding box in lieu of a card containing a page of the birthday  month which dated back to 2017 where I am leaving it as it is and will not replace that  with current year since this is an exchange meant for that year .

Would you agree ?

We have agreed that we will take a break from an exchange this 2018 year so we may concentrate on what need to be done with or finishing whatever on our priority list. For me that will be my  Hexagons SAL and the Birthday Exchange quilt blocks from previous years. Let's see if  I'll manage to kick myself out of this stitching slump and get some progress done this year. We needed the break just to distressed too, just thinking about the exchange can be very tiring.

From my partner JUNE this is what I received.

FABULOUS little sewing kit, so intricately and elaborately stitched one over one with tiny little needle rest and thimble complete with a scissor's pocket. Looking at all the tinniest stitching left me breathless

The cutest turtle tape measurement and scissor is to go into the pocket on top of the sewing box and a FIRST DAY COVER in conjunction with the Dog Year

She also included in her package a fabulous rolling pin from Goody Woody with a pineapple print design. Think I am keeping it for display with my collection of wooden cookie molds.

The BONUS Gifts

A secret project from Margaret with little pieces of fabrics from each of us she requested

where it's incorporated into the spool and finished off as a pinpillow. 

How cleaver of her and gifted back to us.

Jess gave us each a pineapple scent soap 

From me to everyone
a little teapot ceramic teabag coaster for all
While June gifted everyone a crocheted tape measurement which I forgot to take a photo
but if you scrutinize  a few photos here you might have spotted some turtles crawling

A peek at what  the rest of the ladies received from the  exchange on that day and the photos said it all. We did not set any particular theme for the exchange and thus all of us went with our partnered favorite things or subjects.

June received from Barbara

Blue her fav color

Barbara received from Jess

Doll Quilt

 Margaret's from me 
Needlework accessory

Jess from Margaret

Mini Quilt with a PS cross stitch piece

Where we meet, food is always and never far from our thoughts.

Poppy seeds loaf

A little festive mood  still with  a platter of Yee Sang 

Blooming Tea

A very messy table only a crafter will appreciate, LOL

A little show and tell there
Conclusion, I am pretty sure everyone went home happily, I am indeed happy
It was a lovely day and a we laugh at our silliness, put up with each other's antics,  shared some crafty and craziest ideas and that the day ends amazingly
We even got to stash a little from the LNS where we meet

March 8 - Celebrating Women Day with the State Assemblyperson for Kuala Kubu Baru Madam KH Lee, (in White). She hosted a mini dinner for us and later gifted the ladies with aprons  while the men who took a piece home may give  it to  the women in their life .

Sorry the photos here look blurry, it's due to the lightings I supposed. 

Thank you to all who visited me in my last post and left comments. Glad you enjoyed my short break to Bangkok .

A little bouquet in March from Diane shall ends my post for now . 

The new begining

Happy New Year ! May you have a year that is filled with love, laughter, brightness and hope . Hoped all of you had a great start into the year too.

I spent the eve of the new year countdown with a group of friends over some coffee and tea and the New Year house cleaning. In just 27 days from the New Year I will be welcoming the Year of the Rooster and celebrating Chinese New Year. Like always it will be a mad rush to get things done both at work and home before the Chinese New Year holidays.

Today, it's exactly 2 weeks before the big day and I've not even started baking. It's been almost three months since I haven't been feeling myself; it all started with a bad sore throat that leads to a bad cough and feeling feverish at times that the Doctor was afraid it was dengue but no, thereafter a congested  and stuffy nose that went on for weeks that literally drives me crazy. As I am putting in the final words for this post, my sniffing and snuffling is no longer as bad, the coughing as somewhat subsides and that I believed is a good thing.

Secret stitching -  I teased the girls from my local group, Where Stitches Gather (WSG) on FB with the photo. None was even closed to guess what they thought I was stitching. I didn't reveal what it was then,  I wasn't sure as yet if this will turned out to be what I had envisioned it to be.

Pineapples

I was working on these pineapples applique finishing it just in time for the meetup.

The idea came from the girls themselves, primarily BJ who was coaxing all of us into a Pineapple Quilt. I didn't plunged myself into the Pineapple SAL, quilting is not really my cup of tea at the moment.  Here's a peek of the  6 pineapples applique before I size it down individually.

At this point, I thought my pineapple applique would make a nice table runner.

Why the Pineapples ?

The pineapple is recognized as a traditional expression of “welcome” throughout the South and in areas along the Eastern Seaboard. Appearing on all sorts of décor – from door knockers to quilts – the fruit symbolizes those intangible assets we appreciate in a home: warmth, welcome, friendship and hospitality. Whereas, Chinese like playing with words and symbols. The symbolic meaning plays an important part during the Chinese New Year festivity.  Often homonyms (words that share the same pronunciation but have different meanings) are gladly used. Names of dishes and/or their ingredients which will be served sound similar to words and phrases referring to good wishes are  expressed during the Chinese New Year, while other foods hold a symbolic meaning.  The pineapple is placed in homes to bring wealth luck and excellent fortune .The Chinese pronunciation "wong-lai"  (pineapple) means "luck had arrived". 

Pots of Tea & Coffee - We are a small group and we like it that way. The girls from the WSG with  Mr T, minus Jackie who was camera shy; had an  Afternoon Tea at the Harrods of  Kuala Lumpur last weekend. It's our first meet of the year. A joy to have Jess & Mr T who travelled all the way from up North to meet us. We were each gifted with a Light Planner  from BJ, thank you so much BJ . I dare say we had a wonderful time catching up; we talked so much and laugh so much and even drew names for our Secret birthday Swap due for end of this year. It's going to be as hard to decide what the item will be for one as is for four .

The surprise :  My Pineapple applique pincushion and a hand made & hand painted Rooster mini bowl. Mr T received a mini bowl minus the pin cushion. I wasn't thoroughly happy with my choice of fabrics, prim fabrics would definitely be the better choice, sadly,  I was caught in a time of not having any desire to go fabric shopping and thus, everything came my stash. 

I want to thanks all who had commented in my last post, all of you have not heard from me individually yet, but do be known that I read everyone's comments which I appreciate a lot for leaving me your thoughts .

I am not certain as yet if I will be back for another post before the Chinese New Year holidays begins, but in case if I don't , wishing all happy stitching

and to all who celebrates Chinese New Year

Wishing all good health, good fortune and abundance of luck

2017

Road Trip by Where Stitchers Gather

Girls from the Where Stitches Gather made another trip to a charming  little town at the foothills of Fraser's Hill known as  Kuala Kubu Bahru (KKB for short). The town began life as mining colony in the 18th Century. The original town situated by the Selangor River had a massive flood in 1883 that wiped out the entire town and claiming 33 lives including the then District Magistrate and Revenue Collector Sir Cecil Ranking.  The town was then rebuilt to this present hilly terrain surrounded by lush valleys.

Our journey's first pit stop to refuel before we embark on our journey was a venue sort of midway point between Kuala Lumpur and KKB. It's  a sleepy little village that comes alive during the weekends where food enthusiasts townsfolks come hunting for a good bowl of  their signature hand knead noodle,  Ulu Yam Loh Mee (UYL) . It's cooked in a  thick black broth of soysauce with an overpowering of black vinegar .

Thereafter, we headed to the World of Phalaenopsis, the moth orchids and be swoon over by the sea of blooming orchids in a variety of colors

 A little welcome sign at one of the Showroom entrance.

These orchids are housed in air conditioning showrooms. I have blog about this place before, each time I re-visited, there are something new, either with the deco, new pots or some new color orchids.

 A groupie for the album

Wall painted look so good with the potted orchids

Teng Wun Bakery, a small bakery on the main road are well known for their light fluffy sponge cupcakes and  Kaya puffs, a must stop for some takeaways, the cupcakes was unfortunately all sold out when we got there but the butter sponge cakes and kaya puff saves the day. Here's a slice of my butter sponge for afternoon tea.

By the five foot way 2 doors away from the Bakery, these kitties are in deep slumber, oblivious of all the noise we were making as we walked by.

 I have completed my pincushion from my last post.

It's the Nathalie Bird pincushion from her Red Home

This pincushion has a bit of everything; stitchery, applique, hexagon and even a little blue bird of happiness. I have added with a cross stitched red bird replacing the fabric bird which was the original design and a handmade fabric button with my initial on it.

The assembly part is a bit tacky for me. I had to undo twice before I got it right or rather fit the bottom square and it didn't look quite right or perfect as I had hoped for. I didn't filled it walnut crushed either, just some polyfiber and I am having some doubts over the button of my choice too 

On the drawing board now is an exchange for the Christmas In July hosted by Kim

The exchange calls for three handmade items with a specific theme.

This is my first of such exchange, so it's very interesting and exciting.

Reveal day will be sometime in the last week of  July.

Thank you all who came and took time to comment in my last post.

I appreciate your visit so very much.

Weekend is here soon and here's wishing all a wonderful weekend.