yuummmm...yuummm.. want some dessert? :)

I have to confess, I like watching people making dessert or snacks also like watching those on shelves in bakery stores, but thanks's God not really like to eat it.. he.. he.. I also love the idea of sewing. Before I knew about knitting, I like to collecting sewing patterns, mostly are clothes (I made some for craft classes back to school time, it's like a home-economic class)

If you have 2 hobbies like that, perhaps this can be a good inspirations. This calorie-free and no expired date.. ;)

I got these pictures from work-mate, no info about where it came from, but my guess, it's from japan or taiwan. Those 2 places are well known to creating something like these.. ummm... so how about having nice tea time tomorrow afternoon? (bring your yarn and needles and hooks too! ) :)

sneak peak from my 2005 trip (more yarns!!) - part 2

some pictures from my trips to japan and singapore end of year 2005. if you are knitter that have seen knitting bok from japan, you probably familiar with puppy yarn. while i was there, this store was one of the "must visit" yarn store.
the store is very nice, large collection, from cheap to novelty yarn, but other than the yarn i like their logo too...the puppy playing with skein (that's why they called their store puppyyarn..i think... :p)

the closer look of the cute puppy!!

and here are the result from my Japan S.E.X (Stash Enrichment Xperience) trips :

the green one i got from a supermarket near Fukiage (i think it's called itoya), the small city about 1 hour 30 min by train from Shinkoiwa-Tokyo. My friend (I called her Auntie Kim Soan since she much older than me but younger than my mom) brought me there since she knew that this trip theme was "hunting the yarn store". So, when i was there, the have the fukubukuro, it's like boxing-day sale. She the one who seen this yarn first on the shelves. Can you guess the price? It's 1000 Yen (one thousand yen for 10 skeins for 1 package)!!!! Each skein is about 84m, suggested needle 6-8 (japan size, or about 3.25 - 4.5 mm). But should buy 1 package, there's only left 3 colors green, blue and pink. i choose the green (look like sage green for me). Materials is 70% wool and 30% acrylic.

the white - boboli yarn were from puppy yarn also the purple mohair from filature di crosa. for the boboli yarn, the store owner gave me free shawl pattern!! yippe!!

and these are from Golden Dragon Singapore on my 2nd visit from 4 days I stayed. The white skein and red-black yarn are brand from Greece, which hard to speeling. But based on my new-friend, Wendy from singapore-knitters, those yarn are one of her fave too because it's nice to knit, not piling and have great length and economic price. The Breeze Sirdar are also her fave too :) Same here Wendy!! :)

dont asked me the damage cost from this yarn trip..it's a lot but i love it!! :-)

here are the cushion cover i made before i went to japan. made from kitchen cotton thread and i dyed it myself for the blue color using dylon. it turn out like baby blue when i use cotton, but it would turn brighter when i use acrylic.

this was also my first attempt working on granny squares (yes people it's crocheted..) and using crochet needle to assembly the square... not too bad.

and now I am working on this. Using Schachenmayr Catania 100% cotton, dark brown, on 3.25 mm inox circular. The pattern is from Let's Knit Series - Spring Summer 2005.

This also my first attempt working circular. I am starting from half way up. and now reach the row to shape the armhole. I put on hold for awhile since I need to make some calculations since the gauge is different between the real pattern and yarn I am using and feel too lazy to do the maths.. :-p

something from chinese new year

finally we closed the chinese new year season for this year!! the festival was celebrated for 2 weeks, the final closing is the Cap Go Meh Festival (Cap Go means 15 in Hokkian, one of the most common chinese dialect using for chinese overseas).

i was bought this when i was in japan. this is a green tea with gold dust..seems it's a good idea.. and a little present for my parents too.. so do you see the small gold envelope ?
that is contained this one:

that is the gold dust.. don't asked me about the carat.. he. he.i think it's like 22 carat.. but mom said it may be about 24 carats.

the tea itself is green tea, just normal one, with the leaves. so i put it a tea spoon full of tea leaves and put the boiling water and wait for a sec, then put the gold a bit.

and if you wondered about the taste.. it taste like .. green tea.. hot green tea.. he.. he.. he.. since the gold dust is tasteless. btw, this was the tea that my mom really care with the rest of the tea leaves. she did not want any gold dust left in the pot!! he.. he.. *kidding*...

and on the day 8, we were having another prayer for chinese new year. it is held by chinese who came from Hokian etnic.

during this prayer, we should have a pair of sugar cane, fresh from the soil. the story behind this prayer (as far as i remembered- sorry if it's not exactly like the right story), long time ago, during hard time in mainland china, there was war in a village. near to end of year, the enemy was attacked the village and all people was ran away with their families and left everything on their home. they were finally arrived near big empty land, without a place to hide themselves from the attackers. so they prayed to God and then suddenly there were thousand sugar cane trees erected from the soil, for they place to hide.

so they hide there, and after few days they came out and when they back to their village (off course they made sure there was no attackers left.. he.. he..) they realized they already missed the new year's eve for about a week. but they still managed the new year's eve prayer but now they add the sugar cane tree as symbol the kind and love from God that already saved their life.

as for chinese, lots of symbol also using too.. btw, on this prayer all are vegies or fruit, no animal contained. the fruits are banana, apple, oranges, chinese pear (Xiang Li), then white bread and sticky rice pastries (nian gao) plus the flowers and for sure a pairs fo sugar canes!!

the white bread are shaped in peach or called shian tao (God's fruit) filled with sweet black bean paste. the next one is made from sticky rice with brown sugar. the white bread symbol of "HUAT" means growing bigger.

and the brown one means harmony..coz it sticky.. it bring the family closer and make a good bonding..;)

we waited until about 2 am or around that then went to sleep..

btw.. i will find out more about the exact story and mean while i am apologize if the story i have here not exactly match with you.