Christmas

Christmas has come and gone. I hope you all had a wonderful time. For me, it was a quiet day in with Sean as all our families were overseas. We did celebrate, however, by making a special lunch... Christmas turkey ^.^

On Boxing Day, we decided to head to the city in the evening, not to shop, but to take piccies of the Christmas decorations before they were taken down. Since this is Melbourne, our first stop is the hourly fire show outside Crown along Yarra River.

 

I remember the wonder I felt when I first saw the display a decade ago. Ten years later, it still leaves me in awe.

After that, we made our way inside Crown. This was the very first Christmas Tree we came across. 

I have to admit the filigree hanging from the ceiling caught my attention more than the tree itself :P

Heading into the Atrium at Crown Towers, we were just in time for the musical display. This year, the theme is Fabergé-egg-like baubles that pop open to reveal Santa's friends. 

 

A relevant tune plays as they open up one by one. 'Frosty the Snowman' for the snowman, 'Jingle Bells' for the one-horse sleigh, 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' for the reindeer... You get the idea. My favourite was the snowflakes opening up to 'Let It Snow'. 

Last but never least was Santa himself. Obviously, the song playing is 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' :) 

 

Finally, we walked to Bourke Street to view Myer's Christmas Windows which tell the story of 'Santa Claus and the Three Bears' this year. 

I'm sure you can guess which story it's based on ;) All in all, it has been a lovely night out.

Looking forward to what 2015 might bring.

Lavender in Summer

Summer has arrived in Australia and it's getting pretty hot out. Last Sunday was a beautiful day. Sean and I decided to visit Warratina Lavender Farm.

 

It's a lovely place featuring a tea room serving lavender-flavoured ice cream among other delicacies. Lavender-scented sachets, lavender-flavoured honey and other goodies can be purchased there as well. 

 

We spent a fair amount of time goofing around amidst the shrubbery. Here I am, surrounded by sweet-smelling lavenders. 

 

Lavender is one of my favourite flowers. We bought a lavender sapling and planted it in our garden. It's doing pretty well thus far.

   

On the stitching front, there's been plenty of progress on Moment of Reading. 

 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Change

It's been so long since I've last posted that I'm unsure where to start. I hope everyone has been well. There has been a lot of changes in my life. I quit my long time job as a receptionist/assistant administrator back in September. I had decided that I wanted to go back to school. So I signed up for a design course, packed my bags and here I am now in Melbourne, Australia.

So far, I'm having the time of my life settling in again, looking up old friends and meeting new ones. I'm no stranger to Melbourne as not only did I visit here last year but I had lived here for a about a year a decade ago. Everything was just as I remembered, yet new and different somehow. Having Sean, my current boyfriend, here with me really helped too.

Monday was my birthday. Sean took me on a Horseback Winery Tour. I hadn't been on a horse since I was a kid of eight plus being led around a ring doesn't really count. It was an exhilarating experience. Besides, you can't top any activity that's involves wine, right? ;P

Sean, on the other hand, had other ideas up his sleeve. During our first winery stop at Mantons Creek Esate, he had the guide led our horses away to a secluded area among the vines and proposed!

Of course I said yes.

Isn't my engagement ring gorgeous?

 

It's a tanzanite (my birthstone) and palladium ring custom made by Eckart. The craftmanship is exquisite so if you need to have any jewelry custom made, I highly recommend him.

And here's my adorable puffer fish birthday cake courtesy of Alice and Kenny whose wedding I attended only just last month ^.^ Thanks, guys! 

 

Anyway, on to stitching... (Finally! I hear you say? :P) My stitching mojo has returned tenfold but since all my stash are still back in Malaysia, I had no choice but to pick up a kit. 

 

I chose Lanarte's Moment of Reading. I think it's a lovely adaptation of Vladimir Volegov's artwork. 

 

I started on 5 December and this is my progress thus far. 

 

I'm really enjoying stitching this. The colours are soft and romantic, almost like a watercolour piece which is a particular trademark of Lanarte. The only complaint I have is that everything is stitched with a single thread. I'd have vastly preferred to stitch with two to better cover the fabric. I didn't as I'm afraid I'd run out of floss. That said, perhaps that's the reason the entire Lanarte range possess that fine, delicate look.

Lastly, you might have noticed that I've changed the name of my blog. Since I've been showing more than just stitching and with me learning design next year, I believe the new name is more suitable :)

Here's to a Very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

Coaster Exchange

Back in June, NNC had another exchange. This time, it was a coaster exchange. I received this gorgeous set of coasters from Bee Ee. 

 

Her handiwork is so fine. Absolutely exquisite!

She also included some lovely items in the package. 

To my chagrin, I had completely forgotten about the exchange. Hence, it wasn't until July that I sent my exchange to Usha.

I made her these coasters. The tutorial can be found here.

   

As you can see, these coasters can be either used the traditional way or put on the base of wine glasses. 

 

I made each of them slightly different to enable the owner to identify their glasses. No more wine glass mix-up :)

Included in my package are also some random craft goodies.

 

I hope Usha likes them.

Until next time, Happy Stitching!

Plethora of Bookmarks

23 April aka World Book Day... Yup, another long overdue post.

To commemorate this occasion, NNC had a bookmark exchange. I had previously picked up these two kits from Japan and I took this opportunity to put them to good use. 

 

I bought a selection of Japanese origami paper from Daiso in case I messed up with the materials provided. I shouldn't have worried. 

 

The instructions given in both English and Japanese were surprisingly easy to follow. I ended up making five shiori ningyo (Japanese Dolls). 

 

Here they are with front and back details. 

 

So happy I learned to create a collage in Lightroom :) 

 

I think they're so delicate and pretty. 

 

As usual, they differ a little from the samples in the kit. A flaw of mine - I can't help changing things up. 

 

Two were given to Zarina, my bookmark exchange partner. 

 

I presented them in printed origami envelopes. 

 

I think they turned out pretty well. 

 

It's my strongest belief that presentation counts. 

 

The other three were given as lucky draw gifts during NNC 7th Anniversary Meet.
The NNC 7th Anniversary Meet was held on 12 April 2014. I wanted to contribute to the door gifts. I experimented to make a butterfly bookmark as shown here and ended up with this prototype. 

 

Encouraged, I folded more using double sided origami paper. 

 

Packed them into sealable plastic bags. 

 

Tada!

   

We had tons of fun that day. Here's a group shot of all who attended. 

 

And the haul everyone brought home with them. 

 

I was also given my bookmark exchange by Sally. 

 

Which comes with a book to boot! Close up of the pretty tatted bookmark. 

 

And the book-matching peony bookmark. 

 

It had been a really great day!

Snow Friends

Short and sweet update on 6 Fat Man which hasn't seen the light of day since May 2012.
This was supposed to be a SAL... Oops!

Progress, finally. Snow Friends is now complete.

Design: Snow Friends

Designer: Lizzie Kate

Fabric: 32 count Picture This Plus Tarnish Belfast linen

Fibers: Hand Dyed Fibers silk

Next up, Snow Fun ^.^

Another Goodbye...

I'm truly saddened today that a good friend from our NEEDLESnCRAFTS Yahoo Group lost her battle with cancer early this morning.

Last month, members of our group decided to make her a quilt to show her we care. Luckily, with the efforts of all who contributed the blocks, not to mention Zarina's quilting skills, the quilt was finished and delivered to her just this past Saturday.

Not a moment too soon either :(

Words escape me at the moment so I'll just let the pictures do the talking... Janet's Quilt.

My blocks were not on the front of the quilt though due to unforeseen delays. They were sewed onto the back instead.

Paul's remark that the teddies can personally keep Janet company under the quilt when she snuggles under it warms my heart. Giving Janet comfort and company was precisely my thought when I hit on making teddy bear blocks.

We were asked by Mel to take photos of the making progress of our individual blocks so she could compile it into a photo book for Janet to look at in bed while she's recuperating. Sadly, that was not to be.

However, I figured I'll show them here anyway in remembrance of Janet as these were taken for her while thinking of her.

For me, the blocks started out as crude sketches of teddy bears I saw online.

Then they were traced onto a 12" x 12" white/cream based fabric.

We were told by Nik, organizer of Janet's Quilt, that the colour palatte is red, green and blue.

Sewing up the applique pieces...

The bears soaking in the bath.

Red Teddy Bear 

Blue Teddy Bear

My pair of applique teddy bears.

Janet, you will be sorely missed along life's way, quietly remembered every day.

No longer in our life to share, but in our hearts, you're always there.