My Tinker Space

What I've Been Up To Post

2012-01-31T18:00:00.003+08:00

Hello!! I have been very bad in updating my blog lately. So many distractions! Anyway, I wish all my chinese readers a very Happy Chinese New Year! This is a cardigan I made this month. I just love this pattern! So easy!

And this is a blouse I made with bamboo yarns. I actually wanted to make it bigger but it turned out to be just the right size for Hazel, so it's hers now :p

A bag I made with cotton thread. This is an easy pattern I found on FB.

And I made some roses as well.

Ok! That's it for now. I'll try and post as soon as I can again. I'm working on a blouse right now. Hopefully it'll be finished by this week :)

Have a great week!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!

2012-01-01T09:57:00.001+08:00

Happy new year everybody!! For my first post on this happy and sunny new year, I'll show you what I've been making during these past two weeks. Based on a photo found on Facebook, I made up my own version of this shell cardigan/sweater. It's basically the same as most of the other cardis that I've made just changed a few things ;)

A shell baby cardi made using my new Nako yarns from Turkey. Love the colors!

Still the same pattern but made with Indonesian cotton thread. Love the colors as well!

Hat made with Ondino yarns from Ice Yarns.

Lastly, a beanie made with Flora Bonchuk yarns also from Ice Yarns.

My new yummilicious Nako Lollipop yarns! Love, love, love!

What I've Been Up To

2011-12-17T10:30:00.002+08:00

Hello!

Thiset of scarf and beanie were ordered by my loyal customer, Sus. I used Alize Superlana Klasik yarns in a soothing colorway which reminded Hazel and I of the beach.

And she also ordered this Boho slouchy beanie made with Ice Magic Light yarns. I just love the colors!

Lastly, here's a poncho requested for a swap from a friend from the Netherlands, Susan.

I'm making a dress at the moment and I hope to finish it in a few days time. So many things I wish to make but sometimes I get overwhelmed with too many patterns! What are you making at the moment?

Keep Your Jewerly Organized The DIY Way! - Guest Post

2011-12-12T10:41:00.001+08:00

Today’s post is fromJessi, a do-it-yourselfer who is passionate about jewelry. When she’s notaccessorizing or dreaming about a new project, she spends her time as aCommunity Coordinator for PartSelect, the ultimate online repair resource forhomeowners and appliance parts retailer.

If you’re atrue jewelry lover you’re always looking for ways to better organize yourcollection. I have boxes, bins and baskets in most rooms of my house,containing the many pieces I’ve collected over the years. Of course, the mostspecial ones I keep in a box, but I like the others to be out and free to grab ina hurry should the inspiration for a great outfit strike.

A wardrobestyle jewelry box isn’t a requirement for keeping your jewelry organized – infact, there’s really no reason to head out to buy a jewelry box at all. It’s veryeasy to create fun, practical and useful jewelry holders using items you likelyalready have around the home.

Nothing ismore irritating than going to grab the perfect necklace and realizing itstangled amongst the others. Avoid this problem by using shower curtain hooks tohang each one off a towel rack. While it’s probably better to hang towels onthe rack in your bathroom than jewelry, installing one inside your closet or behind a door is quick and easy.

Necklaces

If you’reinto repurposing items that aren’t in use anymore, an old metal rake also makesa great necklace holder and adds a lot of character to a room. Remove thehandle, keeping only the lower portion with teeth – a little spray paint in anycolor will hide rust and blemishes perfectly. Secure the upside-down rake toyour wall with a couple of nails and then hang your favorite pieces off theteeth!

(via a full measure of happiness and Enlighten my Heart)

Bracelets

Another item I have a toughtime organizing is bracelets. The small ones aren’t such an issue, but I havemany that are thick, wide and tough to fit into typical jewelry boxes. If youhave paper towel holder that’s not in use you have a quick and simple solutionto this problem. Don’t have one lying around the house? Head to your localdollar store and pick one up for only a few bucks.

(via The Adventures of VAMH)

Earrings

Depending on the style, it’soften nice to be able to display your earrings somewhere you can grab them onthe go. While many traditional jewelry boxes sometimes provide a space whereyou’re able to do this, it’s usually only for one or two pairs. Whether youhave a larger collection or are just looking for a cool way to put them on adisplay, cork board or mesh screens are a perfect solution. To fancy things upa bit, cover a large piece of the screen or corkboard in a printed fabric ofyour choice and then frame it! The cork acts like a pin cushion for the backsof your earrings, the screen gives you a secure place for a hook and the fabricadds a personal touch.

(via Cut Out + Keep)

If you put your mind to it,there are many different things that can be repurposed for jewelry boxes. Evena cheese grader can be made into a fun and unique earring stand! To getstarted, think about what you need, what you already have and how you can makeit work. Before you know it you’ll have everything perfectly organized and youmight even have some ideas cool enough to share.

Why pay for somethinglike this when you can make it yourself?

(via wanelo.com)

Cardi, Dress, Roses & Yarns

2011-12-10T16:19:00.001+08:00

Here is my latest baby cardi made with Ice Magic Light yarns. Love the colors! I bought this pattern from here. I bought several other lovely patterns from her and the're all easy to understand.

And I finished this dress yesterday. I'm loving the colors! I didn't want to make the dress in all that dark pink color as it was too bright so I toned it down with some pastels. I really like how it turned out!

Roses ordered by a customer.

And my newest yarns.

I'm finishing a poncho at the moment and hoping to get it done by this Monday. I can't wait to start more projects soon!

Have a lovely weekend!

Cardigan, cardigan & A Bag

2011-12-03T11:09:00.001+08:00

Hello! I made another cardi with Magic Wool yarns mixed with some Karisma yarns(the red one). It turned out very colorful! I named this cardi Autumn Magic ;) Interested? It's in my shop!

And this is my version of the Chevron Lace cardi found on raverly. I made it with the intention of keeping it as mine but it was too small!! So...Hazel is now the proud owner! I used Ice Yarns Kartopu-Flora Boncuk mixed with Nona yarns. Hazel requested red Sirdar Snuggly yarns as the edgings.

Look at her concentrating on her crochet project.

And here is the result! It was a granny bag she made as a gift for her niece's 2nd birthday yesterday. I helped a bit with the first 2 rounds and assembling the bag, the rest was all on her own. I'm so proud of her!

I'll leave you with a beautiful quote. Have a great weekend!

What I've Been Up To

2011-11-27T14:00:00.001+08:00

Hello!! There's been so much going on and I've done so many projects! Monsoon season is finally here and it's been raining everyday. This is another ripple cardigan made with our local acrylic yarns mixed with some Ice Yarns magic baby yarns. It looks brighter in the pic than it actually is but I love all the colors together!

This is a singlet made with organic cotton yarns also from Ice Yarns. I edged it with some of those Sirdar Snuggly yarns that I used before. I'm very happy with this one!

This dress was made based on a photo I found on FB. I used bamboo worsted yarns(dark pink), viscose premium(light pink) and soft pearl yarns(cream). It is very heavy but Hazel likes it :) We finally get to shoot some pics outside since it was sunny yesterday but just after that, it rained!!

And this is Hazel's cardi I made using 2 balls and a half of Magic Baby yarns. It's not perfect since I made up the pattern myself :p but as long as Hazel loves it, that's all that matters.

Roses ordered by my customers

My newest yarns!! All are Ice Yarns Magic Light and the one on the right is Magic Glitz. Beautiful colors all!

Magic Wool. I'm just finishing up a cardi made with these yarns. I'll post a pic in my next post.

Cotton threads from Indonesia. I love them!!

And finally, yarns from Vietnam which a good friend of mine bought while on vacation there.

I've got more projects to do and I'm so excited to make them all!

Happy crocheting and have a lovely week ahead!

Another Cardi & More Roses

2011-11-11T13:08:00.001+08:00

Hi! Here's another cardigan for a baby girl. I got the pattern from the Lion Brand website via raverly. Click here if you're interested in making one. I finished making it in just one day!(minus finishing of the ends and sewing on the button) This is an easy pattern for beginners like me :)

Order for 10 pieces of small roses and 10 pieces of large roses.

And 10 pieces of small roses and 10 pieces of cotton roses.

That's all for now. I'll post again as soon as I have more goodies to share!

Cardis, Hats & New Yarns!

2011-11-09T09:07:00.000+08:00

Wow! How time flies! I'm so sorry for not updating my blog as often as I should have. Been kinda busy! This is my first ever attempt at crocheting a garment! It's a vintage pattern I found on raverly. It's for a 1-2 year old gril and I used 2 balls of Alize superlana klasik yarns.

And this was my second attempt using this pattern also found on raverly. For this cardi I used 2 1/2 balls of viscose yarns. As for the bottom part I used Sirdar snuggly yarns. So soft and fluffy!

An aqua slouchy beanie made with bamboo worsted yarns.

The yarn has a lovely sheen and texture to it and they're just perfect for making slouchy beanies!

A mother & daughter hat set ordered by Elyne. The mother's hat is the Floppy hat while the daughter's is the Picnic Date which is my own free pattern.

Hazel posing the Floppy hat for me.

A more detailed look.

Last month was a month for splurging on yarns! I'll just let you look at them :)

Yarns bought from Daiso with some help from my lovely friend Lai.

LANA yarns ordered online.

Indonesian cotton yarns, ordered during a sale.

And a Red Heart Jumbo yarns swapped with a FB friend. See how big it is compared the normal Nona 45gm yarns!

I have some more orders to finish up. I'll post some pics of them soon.

Have a lovely week and see you all soon!

New Projects

2011-10-24T14:10:00.000+08:00

Hello! How are you all doing? It has been raining here on and off. Monsoon is upon us soon! Anyway, my regular and lovely customer, Sus ordered this scarf and hat set a few weeks ago. I was just waiting for the yarns to arrive from Turkey and they were done in less than a week!

The yarns were a joy to play with!

They are so light, soft and the colors are gorgeous! I'll be ordering more of them in different colors soon.

Another slouchy beanie ordered by her sister. This one I used Himalaya Mercan Batik yarns.

Lastly, a set of 4 coasters made with Indonesian cotton threads.

I just had to make this sunhat with a ball of the Alize yarns that I posted about the other day.

The colors came out lovely and they're soft to the touch. And light, too.

And these small roses were ordered by Zam, 34 pieces altogether.

I have quite a lot of orders pending so I probably won't be posting any time soon :p But as soon as I've finish making them I'll post about them here :)

Do come and LIKE my FB page where I'm always posting a lot of tutorials and patterns to share with you all!

Have a great week ahead!

What I've Been Up To

2011-10-18T15:25:00.001+08:00

Hello everyone! I've really neglected my blog these days...time to remedy that! These are 200 pieces of small flowers ordered by a customer. That is the last time I'm taking orders for them since they're fiddly to handle.

These are my newest yarns from Ice Yarns, Turkey. They're amazingly soft and light! I just love them! They're both 50% acrylic, 50% wool.

I did a sample and I really liked it that i'm going to continue as soon as I finished making the one below.

They're actually scarves. I hope to finish making this one and a slouchy beanie soon so I can make something else! Can't wait for more yarns to come this week! What are you up to?

Newest Yarns

2011-10-05T15:20:00.001+08:00

Hello everyone! Just wanted to show you my newest yarns from all over the world! The ones above are from Turkey. They are GORGEOUS! I just love the colors! I hope I get to make something out of them soon. I still have some pending orders that needs to get done.

And these candy colored ones are from Malaysia, Cotton House Store. I'll be making flowers with them.

The yarns above(except the one on the left)were gifts from a lovely friend, kak Fida who visited our island recently. Thanks again, kak Fida! The big, colorful yarn was bought a couple of months ago from Crochet.Is.Fun.

And lastly, my newest yarns from UK, swapped with Jillian via Swap Workshop. They're Sirdar Snuggly and are so deliciously soft! Jillian has graciously included an extra golden yarn. Underneath those yarns are fabric tapes and a packet of cabochons.

So many things to do but so little time to do them all..

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T18:40:00.000+08:00

Roses Everywhere...

2011-09-27T13:17:00.001+08:00

Here are my latest work. 200 pieces of small roses ordered by a friend. It was an emergency case so I had to work fast!

It took me only 10 days to finish them all!

My shoulders are suffering now, so I'm taking some rest before continuing with the next order.

And these are 10 pieces of large roses ordered by Ana via FB.

I just received my orders for some cabochons and appliques from Craft DHearty today. She was having a sale in conjunction with her birthday so I just couldn't resist! I'll show what will become of them soon :)

And for the last customer to order, gets to receive a gift in the form of 100 pieces of buttons, cabs and appliques. Guess who it was?? Sometimes doing things last minute does get rewarded!

Have a great week, everyone!

Another Award!

2011-09-16T12:28:00.001+08:00

I got another award yesterday and this time it's from Saritha of Rainbow Bunting. Thank you so much, Saritha! She's a talented crocheter from India and do beautiful work!

Just look at this cute pouch!

And she has a tutorial for making this lovely granny bag.

I hope you all don't mind but I'm just going to leave with a quote instead of giving this award away. I have some orders to finish up and don't have enough time to do that. Have a great weekend!

What I've Been Up To

2011-09-12T18:34:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone! It's been almost three weeks since my last post. Been busy finishing up orders and lazing about after Raya. Above are 25+1 pieces of cotton roses.

25 pieces of small roses.

5 pieces each of XL & L roses.

And 50 pieces of leaves. All ordered by Sus, a lovely and very talented girl. She makes the most amazing felt crafts. An example is the hydrangea brooch below.

As soon as I saw it on her Facebook page, I ordered one. And she graciously made a smaller one for Hazel as well. The lovely yarns were swapped on Swap Workshop.

Look at Hazel posing with her brooch.

And mine looks perfect on my new green blouse. Do visit her store for ready made products here and her craft supplies here.

These 10 pieces of small roses were ordered by Yana a few days ago and since I was in the mood to make roses, they were finished in a day's time. If you look closely, they are slightly different from the small roses above(second pic). I accidentally added ch2 in between the petals and the petals closes instead of opening up. How come I never noticed that??

And I tried out three different patterns as well during my 'hiatus'.

I just can't get enough of buttons! And I ordered 100 pieces of wooden buttons recently. Anyone interested in buying some? Do send me an email.

Hazel on the second day of Hari Raya. We didn't take many photos so I can't show more. Sorry!

What I've Been Up To

2011-08-25T14:48:00.000+08:00

Hi! It's been awhile since my last post. Been lagging and mopping around...Anyway these are hairclips I made recently and have sent them to my friend's shop.

A brimmed slouchy beanie ordered by Balqis. I know, it's a poor pic but we didn't have any chance to go to the beach :(

And my newest yarns from UK, two skeins of Colormetry yarns via Swap Workshop. No ideas yet what to make out of them. I'm onto my third kopiah@kufi at the moment. I'll take a pic as soon as I have finished it.

Hari raya@Eid is 5 days away! I'll be busy in the next few days making cookies. Usually, I'd already have started making them two weeks before but the mood just wasn't there :p How are your preparations going?

Another New Hat Pattern

2011-08-18T15:08:00.009+08:00

PICNIC DATE HAT

Have you tried making my first hat pattern, yet? Well, here's another one! Inspired by another pattern found on FB. I have no idea what to name this design so I would appreciate any suggestions from anyone. I also thought of doing sort of a giveaway/contest, something to do with this hat and the previous one. I'll think some more about it and will let you all know what I come up with. So, here it is :

I used Nona acrylic yarn and a 6/0 gold Tulip hook(3.5mm). This hat will fit 1-2 year old girls. To make it bigger, add 1-2 more rounds after row 8 or use a bulkier yarn and larger hook.

Special stitches used : 2dc-cluster st(*yo, insert hook in st or space indicated, yo and pull up a loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook, rep from * once more, yo and draw through last 2 loops on hook)

3dc-cluster st(*yo, insert hook in st or space indicated, yo and pull up a loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook, rep from * 2 more times, yo and draw through last 2 loops on hook)

Ch5, join with a sl st to form a ring.

Row 1 : Ch3, 12dc into ring. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 2 : Ch3, dc in same sp. *2dc in next dc*, repeat from * to* around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 3 : Ch3, dc in same sp. 1dc in next dc. *2dc in next dc, 1dc in next dc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 4 : Ch 3, dc in same sp. 1dc in next 2 dc. * 2dc in next dc, 1dc in next 2dc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 5 : Ch3, dc in same sp. 1dc in next 3dc, *2dc in next dc, 1dc in next 3dc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 6 : Ch3, dc in same sp. 1dc in next 4dc, *2dc in next dc, 1dc in next 4dc, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 7 : Ch3, dc in same sp. 1dc in next 5dc, *2dc in next dc, 1dc in next 5dc, repeat from * to * around. Jion with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 8 : Ch3, dc in same sp. 1dc in next 6dc, *2dc in next dc, 1dc in next 6dc, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 9 : Ch1, sc in same st, *ch4, skip 3dc, sc in next dc, ch5, skip 2dc, sc in next dc, ch4, skip 2dc, sc in next 2dc, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to first sc.

Row 10 : Ch3, 2dc-cluster st in next ch3 sp, ch3, 2dc-cluster st, ch5, 2dc-cluster st in next ch5-sp, ch3, 2dc-cluster st in next ch4-sp, ch1. *2dc-cluster st in next ch4-sp, ch3, 2dc-cluster st, ch5, 2dc-cluster st in ch5-sp, ch3, 2dc-cluster st in next ch4-sp, ch1,* repeat around. Join with a sl st to top of ch3.

Row 11 : Ch1, *3sc in ch3-sp, 5sc in ch5-sp, 3sc in ch3-sp, 1sc in ch1-sp*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to first sc.

Row 12 : Ch3, *sk 3 sc, 3dc-cluster st, ch3 in each 5c, sk 3 sc, dc in next sc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of ch3.

Row 13 : Ch1, sc in same sp, *sc in ch3-sp, ch4, sc in next sp, ch4, sc in next sp, ch4, sc in next sp, sc in dc*, repeat from * to * round.

Row 14-17 : Repeat row 10-13.

Row 18 : Ch1, sc in ea st around. Join with a sl st to first sc.

Row 19 : Ch1, sc in same sp, *ch2, skip 1 sc, sc in next sc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to first sc.

*You have my permission to sell hats made from this pattern but not the pattern itself. I only ask that you link back to my blog if you sell them online.*

UPDATE: The hat has a name now! Thanks to Jo of my pangaloon.

Please let me know if you have any questions or found any mistakes with this pattern. And also do share your finished hat with us on my FB page. Have fun!

New Yarns, Hooks, Tapes & Buttons

2011-08-11T16:38:00.000+08:00

Hi! I'm taking some time off crocheting and things to show you some of my newest yarns that arrived yesterday from Scotland(the purple ones) and Belgium which I swapped for on Swap Workshop. I'm still figuring out what to make out of the fancy yarns. Perhaps a shawl would be nice, no? See the hooks?

These are KnitPro colorful wood crochet hooks(which I swapped for, too). They're just beautiful! I'm keeping them as a collection for now :) I can't bear to use them! I'm still waiting for more yarns and hooks to arrive from Scotland :p

And just to show you my new deco and fabric tapes in my newly bought container. I just love collecting them!

And my buttons collection. Hazel helped me to sort all of them by color yesterday. She loves playing with them! I still need more! Are you crazy about buttons, too?

So, I'm leaving you with this pic.

Have a fun, fun day!

A New Hat Pattern

2011-08-10T15:15:00.005+08:00

I made a new hat inspired by this pattern I found on FB. And I'm pleased to tell you that I've written my first ever hat pattern to share with you all! I used our usual Nona acrylic yarn and a 6/0 gold Tulip hook(3.5mm). I have no idea what weight it is but it will fit a 1 1/2 to a 3year old girl. If you wanted it to be bigger, just add one or two more rounds after the 7th row or use a bulkier yarn and a larger hook. As it is my first written pattern, do let me know if you run into any problems. Here goes :

SHELLS HAT

Ch5, join with a sl st to form a ring.

Row 1 : Ch3, 14dc into ring. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 2 : Ch3, dc in same sp. *2dc in next dc*, repeat from * to* around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 3 : Ch3, dc in same sp. 1dc in next dc. *2dc in next dc, 1dc in next dc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 4 : Ch 3, dc in same sp. 1dc in next 2 dc. * 2dc in next dc, 1dc in next 2dc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 5 : Ch3, dc in same sp. 1dc in next 3dc, *2dc in next dc, 1dc in next 3dc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 6 : Ch3, dc in same sp. 1dc in next 4dc, *2dc in next dc, 1dc in next 4dc, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 7 : Ch3, dc in same sp. 1dc in next 5dc, *2c in next dc, 1 dc in next 5dc, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 8 : Ch1, sc in same sp. *sk 3dc, 7dc into next dc(7dc-shell made). Sk 3 dc, sc in next dc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to first sc.

Row 9 : Ch5, dc in same sp. Ch2, sc in 4th dc of 7dc-shell, *1dc, ch2, 1dc in next sc(V-st made), repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to 3rd ch of beg ch5.

Row 10: Ch3, 3dc in same sp, sc in sc, *7dc-shell in V-st, sc in sc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 11: Ch1, sc in same sp. *Ch2, V-st in sc, ch2, sc in 4th dc of 7dc-shell*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st first sc.

Row 12: Ch1, sc in same sp. *7dc-shell in V-st, sc in sc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to first sc.

Row 13: Ch5, dc in same sp. *Ch2, sc in sc, ch2, V-st in sc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to 3rd ch of beg ch5.

Row 14: Ch3, 4 dc in same sp, sc in sc. *9dc-shell in V-st, sc in sc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to top of beg ch.

Row 15: Ch1, sc in same sp. *Ch2, V-st in sc, ch2, sc in sc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to first sc.

Row 16: Ch1, sc in same sp. *11dc-shell in V-st, sc in sc*, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to first sc.

Row 17: Ch1, sc in same sp and in each st around. Join with a sl st to first sc.

Fasten off and weave in end.

*You have my permission to sell hats made from this pattern but not the pattern itself. I only ask that you link back to my blog if you sell them online.*

UPDATE : There was a mistake on Row 10 as pointed out to me by Sandra. I've corrected it now. Please let me know if you come across anymore mistakes. Thanks, Sandra!

Do share a photo of your finished hats on my FB page. I'd love to see them! Have fun!

What I've Been Up To

2011-08-02T21:27:00.002+08:00

Hi everyone! How are my Muslim friends faring after 2 days of fasting? As for us here, it's been very, very HOT! So it has been challenging. But as always, we'll all be okay after a few more days.

This headhugger was ordered by Ellani, one of my return customers.

And these are just some flowers I made for fun. Again, please ignore all those 'tails'.

My WIP. A Lacy Hat and another of Sarah's Slouchy Boho beanie. I received orders for flowers last night so I'll be busy making those. Do come and visit again soon!

Selamat berpuasa to all my Muslim friends!

Slouchy Boho Beanie & Flowers

2011-07-28T22:19:00.002+08:00

Isn't this slouchy beanie pattern lovely?? I came upon Sarah of sarahndipities' blog yesterday and signed up as a tester for the pattern. I made this beanie in one day. It was a real pleasure making it!

Sarah designs and makes beautiful items which you can see here. So talented!

Did you noticed the new background? This is our 'backyard'. See the building over here? That's where the jetty is.

I made the slouchy beanie with one ball(still plenty left)of this yarn. Very soft.

I wasn't happy with these pics but after taking lots of them, these are the okay ones.

And as I didn't really promise, the pattern for these flowers. I found them via Annemarie's Breiblog. Above are the large flowers except for the one in the middle. That's from DROPS Design. Please ignore all those 'tails'. I didn't have the time@energy to weave them in :p

And these are the smaller ones. I used cotton threads for all of them.

These cute stars' pattern I found on a foothill home companion via Pinterest. Real easy to make! I'll just keep all of them for future use. Now, it's your turn to make some! Have fun!

New Hats & Pricing Your Work

2011-07-27T21:18:00.003+08:00

GREY FLOPPY SHELL HAT

I made two more hats with cotton threads. This is a lovely grey one which is floppy hence the name. It doesn't hug the head, just sit on it. Perfect for those who likes loose hat. Both are meant for adults, that is why Hazel's face is not visible. Notice the flower? I'll share the link with you tomorrow. But no promises, ok? I may get distracted by other things.

And this blue hat is just pretty! I especially love the brim!

Another view of it. They'll be in my shop soon.

This is the slouchy beanie I was talking about made with one and a half balls of the sparkly yarns. It doesn't show in the pic, sorry. We(Hazel & I) decided to keep everything white.

The same Rainbow Candy hat I posted about, three posts ago. A bit snug on Hazel.

Now, about the 'Pricing Your Work' thing. Ery of Da'Knit requested me to share my thoughts on this issue and I found the perfect article a few days after here. It's perfect for sellers as well as buyers (so that they understand all the work that we have to go through just to sell even one tiny thing). Happy reading!

More Yarns!

2011-07-26T12:38:00.005+08:00

These yarns arrived yesterday and I just LOVE them! They're all Ice yarns from Turkey. Oh! We're having a promotion today as we do every Tuesday so do pop over to see what we have on offer here.

The smaller ones are actually in packs of 8 balls but they can't all fit in :p

I love this color! This yarn is 100gm each and is so fluffy and soft! You can see about them here.

Just look at the difference to our normal 50gm acrylic yarn. Huge!

And these white ones are sparkly! I'm making a slouchy beanie with one of them right now and will probably finish it by today. If you don't wish to buy them in bulks, I do sell them individually. Just email me.

I've made two hats recently but am only waiting for an opportunity to go shooting with Hazel then I can show you.

Do you 'Pin'? After seeing so many people doing it I finally joined in! It's great fun! You can follow me by clicking on the Pinterest button on the right hand sidebar. And I just love all the 'sayings' there so I'll leave you with one here and if I remember, at the end of every post.

Sunshine Award

2011-07-25T11:46:00.004+08:00

I won an award again! This time from the uber-talented and my dearest blogirl-friend(as she terms it!)Dawn of sew ritzy-titzy. Thank you, Dawn!

I have to tell a bit about myself so here goes:

* I LOVE books!!

* I now Pin. I could spend hours there without realizing it!

* I dream of going to Scotland and Ireland someday..

* I must drink 3 mugs of Nescafe everyday.

* I hate not doing anything.

Okay, enough about me. I now get to nominate 10 person for this award. They're all lovely ladies who do lovely and awesome work.

1. Yati

2. Lia

3. Zila

4. Ery

5. Sarah

6. Paula

7. Amanda

8. Hazel

9. Annaboo

10. Lovestitch

Come and get your award, ladies and do what you have to do!

More Mohair Slouchy Beanies

2011-07-22T16:23:00.001+08:00

Wow! I've been really productive these couple of days :p (Sorry but all these pics were taken indoors today as hubby went fishing) Look what I made. The above slouchy beanie was made using these yarns:

More reds than pinks but very striking.

And this slouchy beanie was made with these yarns:

Lots of pink hues. Both beanies were ordered by Lin, a regular customer.

And this simple beanie was made with one skein of Rainbow Candy yarns and a bit of purple slub bulky yarns. It's really soft and the colors are so sweet! Unfortunately, they've discontinued this yarn. I'm making a hat right now and my shoulder feels like it's going to drop anytime! But it's such a joy to make stuff!

P/S: If you're interested in buying 1-2 balls of the above yarns, do send me an email:

hazeleaf@yahoo.com

Have a great weekend!

Beanies, Hats & Yarns

2011-07-20T12:08:00.003+08:00

Okay, get ready for lots of photos! And beanies! Above is a Mohair slouchy beanie ordered by Jerry.

From the top.

I made an extra one, slightly smaller(by one round)and added a large rose.

Interested? Do send me an email :)

Another slouchy beanie for Jerry. I just love this yarn! Debbie Bliss-Rialto Aran, which I swapped for on Swap Workshop. It's so soft and the color is beautiful!

Another view(sorry for the messy hair). I don't have this yarn anymore so I can't remake this beanie :( But I did ordered a bundle of similar colored yarn from Ice Yarns.

A boy's beanie requested by Susan(same owner of the colorful hat and beanie from my last post).

I made it using yarns I got from Jillian of Swap Workshop.

It was quite fast to make as the yarns are chunky so I made another one! I alternated it with two stripes of burgundy yarn to make it interesting and because the main yarn wasn't enough :p

And this beanie was made using a ball of Slub Bulky yarn I bought from Hernik. Both these beanies are for adults.

Lastly, where hats and beanies are concerned this Lacy Shell hat for Jerry. The flower makes it much sweeter, don't you think?

Yarns I bought from Ery. The two yarns on the left are the Mohair yarns that I used to make the above slouchy beanies. The Rainbow Candy yarns will be made into beanies soon.

The yarns above and below are Mohair yarns which arrived yesterday. The colors are different but almost similar.

Yummy, aren't they?? I've started making a slouchy beanie using one of them. If you're interested in these yarns, they can be ordered here.

And look how pretty these scissors are! My lovely friend, Mieke of Belgium sent them to Hazel and I as gifts recently after I commented on her scissors and I just wanted to show them off here. How lucky we are!

Okay, I'm off to make more beanies! See you when I see you!

New Yarn Shop

2011-07-19T21:14:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I now have a shop selling Ice Yarns! We sell yarns in bulks so the price is way cheaper. We have a weekly Tuesday sales so don't miss out!

More Slouchy Beanies & A Hat

2011-07-12T21:58:00.001+08:00

I've been swamped by colors! A fellow swapper, Susan of Netherlands from Swap Workshop requested a hat, a slouchy beanie and a poncho. All in vibrant colors! I haven't started on the poncho, yet. Soon..

Do you recognize this hat pattern? It's a lacy hat! I've come to love all those bright colors!

And this is a striped slouchy beanie. I chose rainbow colors sequence except I just had to add some pink there. Hazel was all 'vogue' today! And it was very sunny! She had to turn her head the other side so that she wasn't blinded by the sun.

A pink pretty lacy slouchy beanie requested by another fellow swapper, Tracy from the US. I'll mail this out tomorrow. See that little pout? She was tired, hot and wanted to play.

Lastly, one of 6 hats and slouchy beanies(2 from my shop) ordered by Jerry. I've finished making a white lacy hat but it still doesn't have a flower and am awaiting yarns to arrive to make 3 more slouchy beanies. Plenty to keep me busy!

'What I've Been Up To' Post

2011-07-05T20:28:00.001+08:00

Lacy Shell Hat - Summer

I made some new hats recently meaning a few days ago. I was in a 'hats frenzy'. I especially like this hat. Do you recognize the pattern? It's the Lacy Shell hat but in a multicolored cotton thread. It can fit both Hazel and myself as I made it bigger than the previous ones, so this size fits almost all. (You'll notice soon that this is the best pic of all in this post. I took this last facing away from the sun. I know now the better angle when taking pictures when the sun is setting).

Butterflies Hat - Autumn

A new hat with small butterflies-like pattern using cotton thread as well. Hmmm, maybe I should take another shot of this hat..

It is meant for adults, that's why you can't see Hazel's profile.

Sideways Shell Hat

Another new hat with shells that are slanted sideways-hence the name. I just can't come up with a better name! Also for adults.

Brimmed Slouchy Beanie
And lastly, a brimmed slouchy beanie which I came up with by combining 2 patterns.

And yes, it is a bit big for Hazel. I need your opinions here, please. I thought about buying a mannequin's head as my model instead of Hazel. Just to look more professional. What do you think?

What Do I Want?

2011-07-04T13:08:00.001+08:00

That is a really good and fully loaded question. Today, we'll go philosophical.
I came across this article a few days ago and has me thinking A LOT. The article had something to do with the crafting business but applies to our daily lives, too.

Hmmm, I think I have almost everything I want in life. For now. I have a lovely family, a great husband who provides us with everything to his best capabilities, who spoils me(meaning he gives me slacks with the houseworks!) He's not demanding and lets me do my own thing. My 2 boys are independent individually and are now teenagers. Hazel is a special, independent(in some ways) and unique person. I thank God everyday that I married and had children early in life.

After much thinking and pondering, there are 3 things that are top on my list on what I want :

A healthy life

A new house

And more comfortable financially.

I don't ask a lot but when I do, I'll ask for the best that life can offer.

I'll leave you with a poem from one of Hazel's books which is beautiful and meaningful to me.

THE SECRET PLACE

There's a place I go, inside myself,
Where nobody else can be,
And none of my friends can tell it's there-
Nobody knows but me.

It's hard to explain the way it feels,
Or even where I go.
It isn't a place in time or space,
But once I'm there, I know.

It's tiny, it's shiny, it can't be seen,
But it's big as the sky at night...
I try to explain and it hurts my brain,
But once I'm there, it's right.

There's a place I know inside myself,
And it's neither big nor small,
And whenever I go, it feels as though
I never left at all.

-Dennis Lee

'What I've Been Up To' Post

2011-06-27T12:40:00.001+08:00

I've been quite busy these past few days finishing up some orders. This headhugger was ordered by Elyne as well as the slouchy beanie below.

This is a two tone wool burgundy/rose slouchy beanie. I do love the colors! And the rose just sets it off! It was a bit cloudy yesterday so the pics aren't so clear.

A blue mesh beanie to join the others in my shop.

Upclose.

And 100 pieces of small cream flowers ordered by Deja. That tiger cushion is Hazel's :)

A collage of Hazel in some not-so-perfect-cartwheel-actions. She likes to practice on the beach. Not so painful when she lands on her bottom :p

Have a happy week!

New Beanie & Hats

2011-06-18T22:56:00.000+08:00

I made a new slouchy beanie. An accidental one to be truthful. I wanted to make a bigger hat using the same pattern as the orange one below but it got too big and I figured it will work as a slouchy beanie and it was. Yay!

A view of the top. I named this slouchy beanie 'Pretty Lacy'. A 'creative' name, huh? Not.

This is the original pattern. It fits girls aged 1-3 years old. No model was available so I had to find a way to show it off using my jar of yarn ends(please ignore it, ok). And I forgot to take a pic of it sideways. Typical of me, right?

This is another 'Sweet Hat' I made right after the first one. I just love this design!

Happy Father's Day to all the men in our lives! Have a great weekend!

Slouchy Beanies & Yarns

2011-06-14T09:48:00.000+08:00

During my 'holiday', I managed to make a few slouchy beanies using Nona yarns(pic below) which I bought there.

And a mesh slouchy beanie. There's another blue one in the making..I made a hat for my mom but forgot to take a pic :p

While I was away, these yarns arrived from Scotland via Swap Workshop. They're gorgeous and so soft! I have no idea, yet what to make out of them.

And these are the yarns I bought in Sabah. There's only one shop that I know of that sells them. The name is the same as the one in West Malaysia but from another company. And the texture is different. I liked them so much I bought around a total of RM60! I've got so much yarns now that I'm overwhelmed! Bought any new yarns lately? I'd love to hear about them!

A New Hat

2011-06-12T21:31:00.002+08:00

Hi everyone! It's been sometime, huh? We got back on Monday and I have been quite busy doing housework(you know what happens when you leave the house to the care of a man!)and making beanies, some flowers for an order and this new hat above. And I'm still trying to get my mojo back.

Hazel asked to take a pic of her in the water. Mind you, we haven't been to the beach for a while.

And this is a pic my son took of Mount Kinabalu which is the tallest mountain in South East Asia(for more info on it click here). The best time to take a pic of it is at 6AM but the trip from home took about 3 hours and it was already 10AM when they reached there.

Our trip/holiday was fun but I'm not looking forward to going back there anytime soon as it was very tiring!

How was your holiday?
I'll try and post some pics of the beanies tomorrow but no promises!

Have an awesome week ahead!

'What I've Been Up To' Post

2011-05-24T18:17:00.000+08:00

I managed to make these items before we head back to our hometown tomorrow. Woohoo! A blue mesh slouchy beanie for a return local customer.

A white slouchy beanie for another return customer, Lin.

And a grey bag for me! It's a last minute project and the handles are off centered, which is frustrating and I didn't have the time to redo them. And I forgot to take a pic of the lining. The flower is actually a brooch and I have the choice of changing it's position or take it off. Hazel is not well, feverish since yesterday but that didn't deter her from sitting for exams. Poor her..and tomorrow we have a long trip to the airport. First by ferry then by bus. It takes a total of about 6 hours to reach the city where we're to take the flight and as if that's not enough trouble we have to sleep overnight as the only flight is in the morning. That's one of the reason we seldom go back. Did I mention the costs?

And this cute Matryoshka doll I won in a birthday giveaway on Swap Workshop recently.

Ok, I might not be able to post anything during this trip but I'll try.

Have a great school holiday to all Malaysians!

'What I've Been Up To' Post

2011-05-16T15:55:00.000+08:00

I've been really slow in updating my blog. Distractions, distractions. I managed to finished up a few orders. These two headhuggers were ordered by Nana who previously ordered the hat and beanie in my last post.

She requested for a red & chocolate and one of the Summer Rose yarns headhuggers. The red & choc one was surprisingly 'delicious' to look at!

And a black mesh slouchy beanie for Illa. It was too plain to be photographed so I accompanied it with one of the two cute notebooks that I recently bought from The Sticker Monster. You can have a look of the insides here. Unfortunately, they're out of stock. These two were the last ones that I managed to snatch up.

I still have some more orders to finish up before we head back to our hometown for the school holidays. Have a lovely week ahead everyone!

'What I've Been Up To' Post

2011-05-09T10:20:00.000+08:00

A hat with earflaps

an a multicolored slouchy beanie made with cotton thread

ordered by Nana for herself and her BFF. They were posted this morning and hopefully will reach her in a few days. See Hazel shutting her eyes tightly? Although when we took these photos it was already 6 pm but still very hot!

Some bookmarks I made the other day.

They're not in my shop but I listed them on Swap Workshop and the blue one is now with it's owner in Netherlands.

And some handphone straps. I made these first then figured they can be made into bookmarks, too.

Lastly, a couple of pincushions for a swap on swap-bot. They're on their way to my partners and I probably shouldn't have posted them here, yet, but I couldn't wait!

Have a great week ahead! You know how I love Mondays!

'What I've Been Up To' Post

2011-05-02T20:49:00.002+08:00

I've been busy making hats and slouchy beanies lately. And I know you like lots of photos so here are some.

Another mohair slouchy beanie ordered from a return customer.

Another one is in the making for another local customer. Each time I make one, they're different color wise.

And this one is also ordered by a repeat customer, Rovenna.

She requested it to be longer so that's why it looks big on Hazel.

I added a white rose pin so she has the option whether to wear it on the beanie or as a brooch.

Two spiral hats ordered by a mom for her daughters aged 9 months and 3 years old.

And another Lacy Shell hat for a 1 year old girl.

Here it is modeled by my niece's baby, Eysha.

Two balls of Debbie Bliss yarns, some lobster clasps and Sharpie pens I swapped on Swap Workshop with Jillian. As far as I know, there are no Sharpie pens sold here in Malaysia and I'm so happy to own these! I have a project for them that I found via Maize in Montana. What fun!
UPDATE : Apparently, they do sell them here(Sharpie pens). Oh! I've missed so much since staying on this 'remote' island!

And some cute buttons from Mieke of Belgium. She also sent along a lovely postcard and a crocheted flower.

Lastly, just to share with you some fish caught by my husband yesterday. He's a fishing fanatic! He goes fishing every other day and usually gets this many fish. We sell most of them. We can't eat them all and we get tired of eating fish all the time!

I hope you enjoyed the photos! I'll be posting more hats and beanies and stuffs as I finish them.

Have a great and productive week ahead!

More Flowers & Headhuggers

2011-04-28T14:27:00.001+08:00

At last! After almost a month, I've finally finished these 3-layer flowers.

All 50 pieces of them.

And two headhuggers as well.

All ordered by SUS.

I also managed to make this handphone cosy. It'll be in my shop.

Which will fit a CSL handphone or an I-phone. That(hp) is not mine, mind you. I do own one(a different type) but I don't have any need to use it unless I'm travelling.

And I tried making a couple of motifs.

Sorry but I don't feel like saying much. The weather here is too HOT! The air, chair, sofa, bed are all HOT!

I'm off to buy an ice-cream now...

Keep cool, everyone!

Swaps on Swap Workshop

2011-04-25T20:40:00.002+08:00

Hello everyone. I have a huge headache since yesterday and haven't been crocheting much. I'm almost done with an order for flowers and headhuggers and hopefully will be posted to the owner by this week.

Isn't the above 'thingy' beautiful?? It's actually a crochet hook case/roll. I swapped for it along with some vintage buttons from Kim of the Netherlands on Swap Workshop recently.

I requested for a case that could hold 10 crochet hooks as well as chose the fabric. Kim also added a hook to hold stitch markers, a space for a pair of scissors and yarn needles. I just love it! If you're interested in ordering one, Kim has an etsy store, too.

And these are some of her grandmother's vintage buttons that I swapped for, too.

And..this is a Notebook Cosy by Marieke@The Little Forest which I also swapped for on Swap Workshop. It is absolutely pretty! So very soft!

It has spaces for holding a notepad/notebook and a pen. Marieke also has a shop at Twinkelstyle if you're interested. I'm still waiting for some buttons to arrive from Belgium, hopefully by tomorrow and more yarns and stuffs from UK. It is so exciting to receive such lovely things from all over the world!
P/S: I forgot to tell you that I was one of the two winners on things to make and do giveaway today! I'll be receiving some FQ's from Adaiha soon!

Pay It Forward(PIF)

2011-04-13T10:18:00.001+08:00

I was one of the three participants in Renee's PIF a few months back and I received my PIF yesterday. Thank you so much, Renee! I loved everything! Look what lovely goodies she sent me!

One of her beautiful Spring Garlands, a pack of wallpaper cutouts and 2 vintage crochet & knitting patterns! I'd love to start a collection of these kinds of books.

A closer look.

PIF is a RAK(Random Acts of Kindness). The idea is to send a handmade gift to the first three person who leaves a comment on this post requesting to join in this PIF exchange. I will send out the gifts to each participants within the next 3 months. And you have to pledge to do this, too, as soon as you've received your PIF goodies on your blog and link back to me. Sounds good? So, comment away!

Flowers!

2011-04-12T17:13:00.001+08:00

Do you remember me telling you about drowning in flowers in this post?

Here they are, with all their ends hanging out.

After more than 2 weeks, FINALLY! They're done and posted! Can you guess how many they are?

400 pieces!

200 pieces of colored petals.

200 pieces of white petals.

And here they are all together!

Now I'm taking the rest of the day 'off the hook'! I'm giving my fingers and shoulders the rest they deserve. My poor, poor thumb and forefinger!

'What I've Been Up To' Post

2011-04-11T17:14:00.002+08:00

These are two of several orders I received that are done. A headhugger and a mesh slouchy beanie. The colors were requested by the customers and I really like the red flower on the black and white headhugger.

I'm sorry for the glare but if I didn't lighten the pic, you won't be able to see the beanie clearly.

The combination of colors of this headhugger came out really well.

And I finished this bag last week but was just waiting to photographed it. And deciding how to line it.

Look what came in the mail today?!

My swaps from Jillian of UK via Swap Workshop! The yarns are really gorgeous! And so soft! And see my knitting needles? I don't know when I'll get to use them.

And these are stickers from my swap with Amanda of Canada. She even sent along a novel and some goodies!

Like all these stuffs? I didn't even spend money on them! Just swapped with credits! If you're interested, do come and join us!

Now, I'm off to finishing my other order. Have a great week ahead!

New Yarns, Fabrics & Buttons

2011-04-06T18:10:00.000+08:00

Great mail day today! My cotton crochet threads arrived! I ordered some plain ones..

and some multicolored ones. The colors are beautiful!

And three half-meter fabrics from Nana. Aren't they gorgeous?? And knitting needles? I finally decided to learn knitting so I ordered a pair of bamboo knitting needles from Ery. When Hazel saw them, she was so excited and wanted to learn, too! From me. Who had just tried knitting for a day. I taught her what I knew and so, one pair of needles wasn't enough. Incidentally, my husband went to mainland and I asked him to buy another pair. Everyone's happy! I've mastered casting on but not the knit stitches. Anybody willing to teach me? Here, by my side? I really need help.

Aren't these buttons lovely? I just love the owl ones and ordered them as soon as they were uploaded on Button Planet. The wooded ones are from Nana as well. The ones on cards were swapped on Swap Workshop and some more are coming soon. I just love buttons! And I found two blogs that are all about buttons : Button Floozies and Bonkers About Buttons.

I'm drowning in flowers at the moment. They will be finished by today and hopefully by tomorrow, all the ends will be weaved in, too. And I still have more orders pending, so I won't be posting anytime soon.

Have a lovely week!

A Trim Brim Beanie & Insect 'X'

2011-03-31T21:00:00.003+08:00

I love this new beanie pattern! I offered to help Amanda of Pardon My Chaos blog to test out her new beanie pattern a few days ago and I enjoyed crocheting it(minus a few hiccups)! I finished it last night despite being busy with orders but I just had to make it! I took a few pics but they weren't great. So, off to the beach we went! It's a really cute beanie! A boy or a girl could wear it even adults! If you're interested in this pattern, click here. Her other patterns are great as well especially this one!

View from all sides(well, except from to the top and back which I forgot!)

While hanging up the laundry this morning, I saw this weird insect which looked like a small branch of leaves. It had lost one of it's leaves at the neck and was a bit wobbly. I'm not sure if it lived or not 'cos when I went to look for it again later this afternoon, it wasn't there anymore. Anybody knows the name of this insect?

I'll leave you with this pic of myself and Hazel. Just the back is the best I can do and all you'll get :)

Roses, Brooches & Slouchy Beanies

2011-03-26T01:55:00.000+08:00

Finally, after crocheting more of these roses and making them into brooches the whole day yesterday, I'll able to put them in my shop later today. There are 2 choices for the type of leaves that my customers will be able to choose from.

There are 3 types of roses in the above pic. Customers will be able to select the type of rose, yarn and color. I'm thinking of made-to-order so that I have more time to do other projects.

And 2 more choices.

These are the colors that i currently have in stock. More will be coming next week.

I recently won a giveaway from Lolypop Shop which is an adorable mesh slouchy beanie. Hazel loves it and wears it all the time! As you can see it is a bit big for her but she loves it none the less. And mummy doesn't like to wear any kinds of hats :p Incidentally, I had a similar pattern and the same type of crochet thread(that's what it's called, I suppose)and I just had to make it! So, the day before yesterday I crocheted like mad to get it finished. Below is the result :

It turned out quite big but will fit an adult. I just love the feel and weight of it! And most importantly, it's suitable for HOT weather! I'll be taking orders for it, so do send me an email if you're interested.

Have a wonderful weekend!

'What I've Been Up To' Post

2011-03-23T16:00:00.003+08:00

I've been quite productive lately, I should say. I'm making these roses into pins/brooches soon. I'm participating in Swap Workshop swapathon and hoping to get them ready by then. Please check it out!

Last night, Saskia of Crafty Valley posted the pattern for her gorgeous bag. I have been waiting for it and now have made 3 pieces of the square which is fun to make once I got the hang of it. It's been awhile since I made a puff stitch. Luckily my neighbor(who's skilled in crochet) was around when I made my first square which I botched up! And instead of making a 3-stitch puff, we made a 5-stitch puff and it turned out perfect! Noticed the similar colors as Saskia's bag? Luckily, I had almost all the same colors, which I love! I hope to finish this bag soon so I can show it off! :p

Just for fun, I made this small bag which can be used as a pencil case or a make-up bag. I haven't attached the zip, yet. Couldn't wait to show you!

And as you know quite well, I can't just make 1 or 2 projects at a time. At the same time that I made the items above I'm also making these. I'll show you when(if ever!) they're done.

See you soon!

Inspirations!

2011-03-20T23:08:00.004+08:00

While googling for a simple tutorial for making my own fabric tapes a couple of nights ago, I found a neat one on the red thread. It's so easy! I'll be making some soon. And while browsing around her blog, I found this.

The home of Eline Pellinkhof

Isn't it gorgeous?? I'd love to recreate this in my own home! You can find out more about this artist's house on Bloesem.

And while visiting One Pretty Thing, I found this. Don't you just love them?? They're by Adaiha of things to make and do blog. Check them all out! I just fell in love!!

Wait! I'm not done, yet! I also found this soon after that on Beate's Blog colorful. I got her permission to post this pic here last night so you girls can be inspired by her use of colors, too!

Ok, I'm still not done, yet. While blogwalking this afternoon, I found this great tutorial for making a seamless end by Grietje of Pins blog. Lucky for us, she responded in just a few hours after I emailed her for permission to post about it here. I know you'll be very thankful for this tutorial so that now all your work will have seamless ends!

Last but not least, aren't these a cool way to use all you leftover yarns? And so colorful! I stumbled upon it on Heart Handmade UK just now and thought to share it with all you lovely girls!

Now, aren't all these enough to give you inspirations to last a lifetime?? I know I am!

Have a great week ahead!

A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose

2011-03-17T20:17:00.001+08:00

I've been busy for the past few days making these flowers. I LOVE making them! Mainly because of the yarns. These are pins that I'm sending to a friend's shop here. I will be taking orders for them in several choices: Rose A, B or C, color choices, with/without pearls, with/without leaves, as pins or as hair clips.

This is Rose B with a leaf.

A butterfly made with the same cotton yarns(I take orders for them, too) and Rose A with a leaf.

And these are 2-layer flowers. I forgot to take their measurements but if you're interested in ordering any of these, do send me an email : hazeleaf@yahoo.com

Headhuggers & Hats

2011-03-14T20:56:00.003+08:00

Sus ordered these two headhuggers from me last week, one in pink/white stripes and another in purple/white.

I'm really sorry for the blurry pic. I didn't realize until I uploaded it. Hazel, as usual was constantly in motion even while standing straight.

A local customer ordered this Dania Hat in pink for her 3 year-old daughter. Just for fun, on the last round I used my pink eyelash yarn. It looks so cute! And the rose was crocheted using one of my new cotton yarns. I really like the texture and will be making more soon.

See? I found a victim to model the Lacy Shell Hat from the previous post! Who else but Dania! I had to be quick 'cos she doesn't like to wear hats. The background and the pic itself was not ideal but it'll have to do. I was wrong about the size. It's suitable for 1 1/2 to 3 years old girls.

Yesterday, we took the kids along with two of their cousins swimming on the other side of the island. Hazel had lots of fun. The boy in the white t-shirt is my second son, Afnan Damien, who's 13. I didn't swim 'cos I can't swim and I don't like being in sea water. Weird, huh?? After living on this island for 20 years, I still can't swim. I have a phobia, actually, of sharks coming my way when I'm in the waters. Silly, I know, but that's me. And there really are sharks, big huge ones, in our waters though no one's been hurt by them before. This is just for your info and not trying to scare anyone ☺.

Have a great week, everyone!

New Yarns From Indonesia & A Hat

2011-03-10T20:38:00.000+08:00

I LOVE my newest yarns!! I ordered these cotton yarns from Nik of Jari Jemari blog. I will be ordering more colors soon as I just love how easy it is to work with them unlike the local ones which are slippery. I haven't tried the multicolored ones, yet, at the back.

These are flower samples that I managed to make yesterday and today. They came out smaller than the normal yarns I use but they are very neat. Noticed the kite on the left-hand side? Very cute! The pattern is from the very talented Maize Hutton. I did have a bit of problem with the kite in the middle but after a few trial and errors, I did it. She did show how it is done but I didn't get it at the first 2 tries. Have a go!

A new hat pattern which I named 'Lacy Shell Hat'. It's for a 9-month to a 2 year-old child. The pattern will really show(which is very pretty!) if only I had a model. No worries, I'll find a victim soon ;)

See you soon!

A New Bag & Two Slouchy Beanies

2011-03-07T21:36:00.001+08:00

I made a new bag which I just finished today(please ignore the hand holding up the bag and Hazel's foot. Hazel was supposed to hold the bag while I took the pic but before that happened, she got sand all over her hands and so I had to hold it while hubby became the cameraman). I didn't really follow any specific pattern. As for the handle, I was inspired by a bag I saw awhile ago(I forgot where). I just winged it and luckily it came out perfect! I actually wanted to make a small pouch with a zipper but it ended up too big.

Another slouchy beanie made with the same Mohair yarn to replace the first one which I swapped for points at the Swap Workshop. Here, artisans and hobbyists connect to swap their handmade, vintage or craft supplies. No item is for sale, no money is exchanged between members and no trade is ever turned down! It's a way to promote and at the same time it's a fun, inexpensive way of acquiring the things you love by trading. It is NOT a direct swap between two people but rather an exchange of an item for so many points (swap number) so you never have to say "no" to a trade request because you are not obliged to choose something of theirs in return! When you send your item you receive a swap number (points) as a reward instead which then allows you to choose something for yourself. The site is run by a unique points system where a ($) value of an item equates to a certain number of points. If you do join, please mention my name aisyahelga as your reference. Thanks!

It was still very sunny when we went to the beach even though it was already 6 PM so all the pics came out either too dark or too bright. Hazel smiling not very sincerely..

And the sun was so bright that I couldn't see the camera screen. I just snapped away and didn't check 'cos I was eager to escape the heat.

This one I took indoors. I tried to catch the colors as accurately as possible to the real thing.

A customer ordered this slouchy beanie for her 2 year-old daughter using these sweet colors.

I didn't have a model that small so these pics will have to do.

Hazel making something on the beach.

Have a great week ahead!

More Slouchy Beanies!

2011-02-28T21:00:00.000+08:00

I've been quite busy making more slouchy beanies lately. Here's Hazel modelling one looking serious. It fits her just nicely. Noticed the change of scenery? Hubby complained that I always 'shoot' at the same location and he suggested here. 'Here' is sort of an esplanade. We like to come here and exercise(I really mean walking but it sounds better saying exercise)or just sit at the gazebo and look out to the sea in the late afternoon.

This is the same Sand & Sea slouchy beanie. I just added a flower.

A pink and white stripe beanie ordered by a neighbor as well as the head hugger below.

This is my first headhugger. The pattern is from Vallieskids which I adjusted a bit. I actually made another one(I did tell you about it in a previous post) using chunky yarns but it was weird and very stiff. This is a nicer version. I'm making another Mohair slouchy beanie to replace the first one. I hope to finish it by tomorrow.

We didn't really celebrate my birthday the other day. Just a small dinner by ourselves and hubby surprised me with a cake. So sweet of him! How old, you ask? I'm proud to be 38. I'm not one who's ashame of telling my age. In fact, I always tell people because they usually don't believe me. And I have loads of gray hair to prove it! I usually leave them 'au naturel'. I don't have the patience to dye them! What are your opinions about gray hair? To dye or not to dye? I'd love to hear your views.

Have a great week!

The Winners!

2011-02-26T09:55:00.000+08:00

It's been fun having this giveaway. Thank you to everyone that wished me happy birthday/blogoversary.

And now, the winners are :

1st : bobbeez-8r1id

2nd : Missz

3rd : Paula

4th : Marie

5th : Hana Kirana

Congrats! I will be sending an email or contact you through your blogs soon. I wish everyone could win but no worries as I will be doing this again! And thanks to all who participated.

Have a great weekend!

Two Bags & A(nother!)Slouchy Beanie

2011-02-21T22:33:00.003+08:00

The two bags I mentioned here are finally done. I'm really not happy with the photos today AND the weather. It was sunny this morning and afternoon. In fact, it was blisteringly HOT! I planned to take photos of the bags and beanie yesterday but it was gloomy and rained a bit. So, I decided to do it today. As I needed to wait for my 'model' to return home from school, it had to be after 5:30PM. By that time(and after waiting for her to finish eating her ice-cream), it rained. Heavily! But luckily, only for awhile. As you can see from the photos, some are dark some are lighter. And it was windy.

Enough about the weather! I crocheted this bag using Acrylic chunky yarns which were bought with the help of my blog friend, MisFyd. Both of the bags were sturdy enough without lining them.

And this bag was crocheted with ICE 'Mesh Wool' yarns. It took 5 1/2 skeins to finish it up.

Windy, see?

This was actually my very first slouchy beanie that I attempted to make a few months back. I abandoned it after realizing it didn't turn out right. So, after successfully making 2 previous slouchy beanies, I picked it up again. After frogging half of it and adjusting here and there, it was done.

It is a bit big for Hazel but just right for my head.

I like the color combination. Reminds me of the beach. That's why I named the bags and this beanie 'Sandy Beach Bag', 'Sandy Blue Bag' and 'Sand & Sea Slouchy Beanie'. Not so creative, huh?

They will be in my shop soon. And you still have time to enter my giveaway.

Have a great week ahead, everyone!

New Slouchy Beanie

2011-02-19T18:39:00.000+08:00

Another slouchy beanie I made but this time using Mohair yarn. I really love this yarn! It's lightweight and very soft. And I love that as I crochet, all these beautiful colors come appearing. See for yourselves.

Hazel being demure...

And looking happy!

A view from the top.

The yarn is called 'Polo Mohair' bought from BenangKait.Com.

All together now!

Hazel having fun drawing on the sand. It was a dragon but I didn't take a pic :p

One of the hearts she drew which I think is cute!

Have a lovely weekend!

Just Sharing...

2011-02-18T22:20:00.002+08:00

What do you think about this?! I absolutely love it! Wouldn't it be great if that was my stash? Oooh...how I wish! I found this post while bloghopping on Craftzine. The original post is from here. And I found out that there are 'yarn stash' photos on Flickr!

Since I don't have anything to show, yet, I thought I'd share some free amigurumi patterns with you I found online.

Valentine Teddy by All About Ami

Chinese New Year Doll by All About Ami

Crochet Tiger Kitty via Craftzine.com

wee Lil Hearts on WhipUp.net

I also found these three websites that are really interesting and I'm sure you'll enjoy reading through them as I did :

Craftzine

WhipUp.net

Craft Leftovers

Enjoy & Have a great weekend!

My New Header & Background

2011-02-17T15:14:00.000+08:00

I had a lot of time to ~~waste~~ today so I gave my blog a new look! What do you think? I really loved *Cute n Cool* Blog Stuff@Itkupilli new backgrounds especially this one. But it clashed with all the photos :( So, I settled for the current background instead. And I made my header using an easy tutorial by Life {Sweet} Life using Picnik.

P/S : I found the tutorial and this post for small business owners on One Pretty Thing.

Pleasant day ahead!

My New Wallet & Giveaway by Tote Boutique

2011-02-16T17:07:00.003+08:00

Isn't my new wallet just cute?? I just got it today along with a free coin pouch(sorry no pic). I ordered it from Cik As of Tote Boutique. She makes really lovely stuffs there mostly wallets, coin pouch and such. Incidentally, she's having a giveaway!

There will be 4 winners and each person will get :-

1 passport sleeve

1 coin Purse

& a RM30 voucher

To enter :-

Post about this giveaway and the above photos on your blog/Facebook page

Link your entry to the giveaway post

Leave a link of your post in the comment section

Winners will be chosen by random.org

Last entry date will be on the 18th February 2011

Good luck!

Slouchy Beanie

2011-02-15T22:20:00.002+08:00

This is my first ever slouchy beanie! Yay! I'm so proud of it. It is a bit big for Hazel's head but I didn't have any other model☺. I added a flower with a pin attached so the owner can remove or change it. And the flower can also be used as a brooch.

She also modeled the cloche I posted about yesterday. As you can see, I used the same yarn. I've been quite productive today. I've almost finished the two bags I showed yesterday. They just need handles then they'll be complete. IF I don't get distracted!
Don't forget to join my giveaway!

Have a great day wherever you are!

'What I've Been Up To' Post

2011-02-14T12:28:00.006+08:00

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the glare in all the photos. It has been especially bright and sunny here these past few days and that means the monsoon season is finally over! I'm not complaining or anything but it could be nicer if it's not THAT hot! Anyway, this cloche was ordered by Diane from the States. I ordered the yarns from Ayza which arrived a day after these yarns.

She requested for burgundy color and I like the texture of this yarn. Chunky and soft.

There were 4 skeins in the package and it took 11/2 skeins for the cloche and the leftovers I'm making this slouchy beanie. It's still not finished yet, maybe later today.

You know I can't just make ONE project at a time. There usually are 3-4 projects going on at the SAME time. I made a Head Hugger yesterday and had finished it but it looked kinda wonky. So...I frogged the whole thing! Really annoying, that!

These bags are in queue and will get finished depending on my mood :p Hopefully I don't start on a new one!

And these are some of the fabric samples I ordered from Fabric Fanatics last week. They are really cute!! Hazel and I oohed & aahed looking through them! I'll use them as lining for pouches and such. I need to get motivated doing these things but I always get side-tracked by other things like reading e-books, watching tv etc.

And just for fun and to celebrate Valentine's Day(which we don't), the FIRST person to comment on this post will get this Red Heart Garland!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Giveaway by Plushka's Craft

2011-02-11T09:10:00.003+08:00

Plushka's Craft is having a giveaway with lovely prizes to be won! Below are the details :

*1 yards of linen/cotton/rayon ribbon of your choice.....

*half yard of Japanese fabric with Russian dolls and a cute fat quarter with cakes

*1 set of little vintage sewing machines and scissors bronze charms to create "I love sewing and crafting" neckless:)

The rules are simple:

blog about this giveaway or mention it on your Facebook page with a link back to her post and leave a comment.

Winner will be announced on Friday 18th of February.

So, what are you waiting for!

P/S: You have to go to her blog and comment there,ok? Click here

Newest Yarns

2011-02-09T17:37:00.003+08:00

Yay! My yarns are finally here! They arrived today but should have been earlier. Due to the long Chinese New Year holidays and because the person in charge of the mail on mainland didn't send them on Monday or yesterday, only now they are here. How I hate it when this happens! Aren't they gorgeous?? The blue ones are Mesh Wool 50g(8 skeins) and the variegated are Polo Mohair 100g(4 skeins). All yarns are ordered from Ayza of BenangKait.com.

I exchanged postcards with Ingrid recently and the above are what she sent me. I love the postcard! It's really cute and those cranes are, too! They symbolizes health and happiness. Do give her a visit. She always has interesting things to say, swap and give!

What do you think of the above sketch? I'm not an artist and have always been terrible at drawing but I think that flower is passable :p Anyway, while browsing around Genine's Art Blog yesterday, I found this very interesting link. Do try it. Don't be intimidated or surprised with a blank page but play around and you'll get the idea.

Have a pleasant day! And don't forget to join in the giveaway.

GIVEAWAY! CLOSED

2011-02-08T13:06:00.005+08:00

CLOSED

Ok, I can't wait or hold it anymore! The 'surprise' is.... the loooong awaited GIVEAWAY!! Yay! There are a few reasons for it. First, this month is my blog 1st blogoversary! On the 13th actually. Second, my birthday is this month as well! And third, my blog has reached more than 300 followers!
Everyone from anywhere is welcome to join!
Just leave a comment and let me know where you're from. And please include your email address so I can notify you if you're one of the winners.
That's it. Easy & simple!
They'll be 5 winners.
This giveaway will end on the 25th of February(that's my birthday!)midnight, Malaysian time.
Winners will be chosen by random.org and I'll annouce them as soon as possible. Here are the prizes:

1st : A large basket and a heart garland

2nd : A medium basket and a heart garland

3rd : A coin pouch and a flower handphone charm

4th : A small basket and a mini bag keychain

5th : A heart handphone charm
Good luck!

New Handphone Pouches & Hats

2011-02-08T12:41:00.000+08:00

My new handphone pouch series: The Garden Series. I have only managed to make two so far. More will come...soon I hope ☺!

And two simple ones.

A frilly hat which I really like the pattern. Should I add a flower, do you think?

Hazel modelling it for me.

I've always wanted to make this Butterfly hat found on Vallieskids. So cute!

A beanie ordered by a neighbor. She wanted it to be longer than usual so that's why it looks a bit weird.

And now, read carefully...there's going to be a new post coming right after this, so don't go anywhere. Don't even blink!! Just kidding but do wait for it.

Another Starburst Bag

2011-02-02T18:56:00.002+08:00

I finished making this bag this afternoon. It's the same Starburst Bag but made with 2 strands of another variegated thin chenille yarn. It rained again today so I had to take this pic indoors. Please ignore the background ☺.

Isn't this hedgehog CUTE?? I found this photo on little-z blog two days ago and couldn't help sharing it with you. Of course, I had Lisette's permission to post it here. She has a lovely blog full of her gorgeous work! She also shares with us lots of free patterns ranging from printables to accessories. Do go visit her!

And I'd like to wish all my Chinese friends a 'Happy Chinese New Year'! It's quite sad for us not being able to go back to our hometown to celebrate it. Maybe next year..We'll just make do with a little dinner tomorrow by ourselves. Enjoy!!

New Bag & Kerchief

2011-02-01T14:15:00.003+08:00

*UPDATED PHOTOS*

I wasn't satisfied with the photo of the bag below, so we went to the beach for a few minutes to take some pics!

I made a new bag! I call it the 'Starburst Bag' 'cos the stitches forms into flowers that looks like...stars! It's quite hard to see because of the variegated yarn. I actually used two strands of thin chenille yarns held together. One in blue and the other variegated. I just love how it turned out! I'm making another bag at the moment. I'll show you when it's finished.

And this kerchief uses the same pattern as the previous one. The only difference is I used a 4mm hook instead of 2.5mm(you see, now I know the sizes!). The texture is so soft! I used the same blue thin chenille yarn as the bag above. They'll both be in my shop.

Okay, now I have to get off the laptop so I can finish making that bag!

P/S: Just to let you know that after more than a week of heavy rain, we finally can see the sun again today! Yay! And now I have TONS of laundry to do, too! Yucks!

'What I've Been Up To' Post

2011-01-29T14:35:00.000+08:00

I made a bag for Hazel to bring to KAFA classes(something like Sunday school except they don't have them on Sunday)to replace her old one. I just finished it today. She requested for blue and pink colors and it was just my luck 'cos I ran out of the blue yarn :p

A closer look on the pattern.

And she requested another kerchief(I forgot to take a pic of the other one) so I made one using one of the thin chenille yarns. You can't exactly see the pattern because of the yarn.

And just for fun, I'm showing you how hard it was to take a decent pic of her wearing the kerchief!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Blog Hop

2011-01-22T08:18:00.002+08:00

Come and join Annemarie of Annemarie's Breiblog blog hop!

My Jar Cosy & New Pins

2011-01-21T11:07:00.000+08:00

After seeing so many cute and lovely jar cosies on other crocheters' blog, I wanted to make one, too. So, this is my jar cosy. I didn't plan on the colors, just used those I fancied and some picked from the multicolor yarn. I followed the step-by-step tutorial by Carina's Craftblog and tweaked it a bit. For other tutorials, check out tangled happy. And my favorite jar cosies has to be these from Coffee 'n' Crochet.

I crocheted these flowers a few days ago. They're going to be made into pins to sell in my shop but I may make more as it is or make some into hair clips.

Another new flower which I've made into a pin. I found the pattern here. I just added another small multicolored flower at the top. She has a lovely blog with some free patterns.

Have a nice day!

Hearts Garland

2011-01-20T16:45:00.001+08:00

Hearts garland for someone...

Just a short post today. Do you like 'Glee'? Yes, Hazel and I are Gleeks! Can't wait for Season 2 to start showing on tv soon( it's only now that they're going to air in Malaysia :p ) Here's one of my favorite clips.
Enjoy!

@The Beach

2011-01-20T00:25:00.001+08:00

As soon as Hazel came back from school yesterday, we dashed off to the beach to do some photography. I'm an amateur photographer but I'm trying my best although Mr Hubby is the real photographer! I wanted to take some pics of the Grandma bag but only 2 came out okay.

It shows the true colors of the bag, that is why I like to take pics there.

Hazel posing with the bag. We asked her to pose naturally but she always ended up being too stiff and funny!

And those are Hazel's footprints and to make them a bit deeper, I asked her to jump. We call this beach 'Treasure Beach'. We like to come here after a storm where we can find all sorts of treasures. I found a bottle and a jar a few weeks ago and I'm making a cosy for the jar at the moment, taking time off making items for my shop. We always come here in the late afternoon when the sun is just settling down(the beach faces the west). It's just lovely being there and take some time to stretch my legs and letting Hazel have fun making sandcastles, cartwheeling or just rolling on the sand.

Ahhh...life. We should take time to smell the flowers as they say.

Have a lovely day!

My Version of the Grandma Bag

2011-01-19T16:15:00.000+08:00

This is my version of the Grandma bag with the how-to by The Royal Sisters. It's supposed to be one of the secret gifts to someone but I was so excited to show you that I just can't wait! I started making it last night and had just finish it just now. I had to try making the lovely granny square as soon as I saw it here. It's called the Waterflower Granny. I did have some trouble reading the tutorials but after looking through all the photos and the graph it was quite easy.

And I lined it with felt. As I had no magnetic buttons, I just left it as it is. I'm not sure if I'm going to try making another one, but if there's a request I might just do it :)

What I've Been Up To Post

2011-01-18T14:57:00.000+08:00

Here are sneak previews of what I've been doing for the past few days. I always ended up making a few things at a time that nothing actually gets done!

And these are some things that I've made for the 'surprise' which will be coming very soon(I hope!).

Did you notice that I've added my 'shop' link at the top right-hand side bar? I finally made a new one since I can't access the old one. Do check it out! I'm trying to put more stocks up there but I need more time in a day! Somehow 24 hours is not enough for me! I sleep late every night, around 1AM and wake up at 6 something to get Hazel ready for school. Housework is competing with my craft time! And I need to get off the computer, too! But I've found some really lovely blogs recently and have added their links at the left-side bar to share with you all. Some even has free patterns.

Enjoy!

More Shell Coin Pouches

2011-01-15T12:28:00.000+08:00

Finally, I've finished making these 10 coin pouches today! Now I can start new project,s although while making them, I was doing 3-4 projects at the same time :p I'm getting some things ready for a surprise soon, so watch out!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Yay! I Won A Giveaway!

2011-01-12T12:01:00.000+08:00

Photo taken from The Royal Sisters

I was so happy to see that I won the Grandma Daisy pattern from Michelle of The Royal Sisters when I visited her blog last night! I will be making this gorgeous cushion cover as soon as I can. I still have to finish an order and the dateline is 3 days away!

Thank you again, Michelle!

A Fluffy Pouch & New Yarns!

2011-01-09T12:37:00.001+08:00

Here are my newest yarns which arrived yesterday. I ordered them from Ayza's Yarns Store. Three packs of them are Thin Chenille and the fluffy ones are Eyelash Yarn-Soft Twist. I've tried crocheting a flower with one of the chenille yarn and is very soft and I'll try making a pouch soon.

As soon as my sister-in-law saw this yarn, she ordered a pouch. I started yesterday and finished it this morning. It was frustrating at first since it's my first time crocheting with fancy yarns. After looking up for tips on crocheting with this type of yarn, I managed to make it. I used two strands of yarn, one is the eyelash and another a white normal yarn so that I could see the stitches!

I lined it with a red trellis-like pattern cotton since she likes red and it coordinated with the rose bud in front.

This is the yarn I used. The texture is a lot like terry cloth or maybe it is. Some of my relatives were amazed that I crocheted the pouch 'cos it looked like I made it out of a towel!

Have a great week ahead!

Two Awards!

2011-01-06T16:56:00.001+08:00

I'm so happy!! I received this award yesterday from Clara of Clara's Crochet Room but unfortunately she has quit her blog yesterday as well. She's a special and lovely lady :)

And today, I received the same award from Angie of Le monde de Sucrette's blog. This is my second award from her. Her works are gorgeous and she has lovely free patterns on her blog.

Thank you, both!

A Potholder

2011-01-04T22:22:00.001+08:00

A pretty pattern that I liked immediately upon seeing it here and knew I had to make it. She has a link to the tutorial there, and to make it easier for you, here as well, Acrochet.com. If your browser doesn't automatically prompt you to translate the page, you can try right-clicking your mouse( I only knew about this recently!).

This is the back of it using the same colors as the front. I think it looks cute! And after crocheting loads of things after all these years, this is my FIRST potholder! LOL! I'm not going to use it but will start a collection so that I can hang them as a grouping on the wall :D

'What I've Been Up To' Post

2011-01-03T11:16:00.000+08:00

Hello everybody! Happy new year! School re-opened again today! So, I have 5 mornings of peace out of a week. And I have the computer all to myself in the AM again. Now I can update my posts in the morning rather than late at night. I'm in the hat & bag mood now. The above hat is a spiral hat which I loved making!

Hazel posing with it. I'm going to make it in other colors soon.

And a baby beanie with a lovely design.

Two card holders. I didn't follow any pattern, just did them as I go. The one behind was crocheted using two strands of yarns held together.

And a coin pouch.

Lined with candy-stripe cotton. I find it easier stitching zips and lining now, after making several pouches and they make me happy to have accomplished them! I received orders for 10 of the shell coin pouches and am now attempting to start making them( I'm always distracted by new patterns!). I hope to get them ready by the 15th. If you're interested in any of the above or previous items, please email me :)

hazeleaf@yahoo.com

My New Coin Pouch

2010-12-29T23:26:00.001+08:00

Introducing my new coin pouch! To replace my old one(below). I'm really proud of this pouch. It kinda has the 'zakka' look. It took me about a day in total to finish making it. And I added a wrist loop as I need to use both my hands when we go to the bank/post office if we walk there. One hand is for holding Hazel's hand, the other to hold letters and packages.

It's time for it to retire :p

I lined it with a light pink floral linen I bought last year which was just perfect with the purple. I hand-stitched cotton lace around it, as I did everything else! And it didn't need any other embellishment to make it perfect. I just love it!

Hair Clips & A Pouch

2010-12-28T23:44:00.001+08:00

While crocheting some small flowers today, I decided to make hair clips with the small 3-layer flowers I made a while ago(below).

And I made another simple hand phone pouch. I'm just about to finish my new coin pouch which I'll show you tomorrow.

P/S: Hazel said the pouch color looks classic :)

The weather was bad again today, very gloomy :( It rained from the middle of the night until late this afternoon and is still drizzling. I couldn't take nicer and brighter pics like yesterday and the day before. Hopefully tomorrow will be sunny, so I can do the laundry! And go to the bank and post office!

Coin Pouches

2010-12-28T00:00:00.000+08:00

Another two coin pouches of the same pattern as yesterday's pouch. I made the yellow one slightly bigger.

I just love using vibrant colors!

The zippers and inner linings were hand-sewn by me and they did take sometime. But I love the results! I think they look better and neater than machine-sewn. I just hope that people realize how painstaking it is just to make one of these pouches.

Okay! I'm now moving on to crocheting small flowers. The hat-making bug has gone off a bit as well as the bag-making :p . You'll get to see the stuff I am and will attempt to create as soon as I can.

Pouches & A Bag

2010-12-26T22:21:00.000+08:00

Handphone cosies that I did yesterday and today. As you can see, there are 2 types of closure and I can't decide which one is better.

A closer view.

The first of a few coin pouches that I made with the same pattern. I'll show you when they're all done.

All together now!

And this is a bag I made a few months ago but somehow always forgot to take a picture of it. I'm trying to make as many stuff as I can to stock up my shop again. I'll try to post about them as I make them.

Have a great week ahead!

Hat, Hat & Hat

2010-12-24T20:28:00.001+08:00

I''ve been making hats yesterday and one beret in the making right now(though I'm not sure if it'll turn out ok). Three hats, actually. The one above is the same pattern as Dania's hat but I striped it with my new yarn.

This is Hazel's hat. She loves blue so I crocheted it using two yarns held together, blue and as you can guess, one of my new yarn. It was quite loose so I threaded a green ribbon around to make it snug.

Another view.

This last one was requested by my husband, to be worn while fishing! That's his number one hobby. He usually goes in the late afternoon when it's still hot and the ear flaps will prevent his ears from getting burned.

I'm really in the mood for making hats and beanies at the moment. I don't know how long it'll last so I'm making as many as I can now! And I'm trying out a pattern for a coin purse which is almost done. I'll show you tomorrow.

A Very Merry Christmas to everybody who celebrates it!

Multicolored Flowers, A Beanie & A Hat

2010-12-22T21:02:00.000+08:00

These are the small flowers I made with the new yarns and I couldn't resist using Hazel's book as the background. We just LOVE the Pigeon books! We have 2. The Pigeon Wants a Puppy and Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late. We always have a good laugh when reading them even though we've read them a hundred times! Anyway, about these flowers I do take orders for them ^o^

And these 2-layer flowers. There are 4 color choices.

A hat I made the other day using one of the new yarn and modeled by my niece's daughter, Dania who's one year old.

And a beanie I made today, modeled by the owner, my other niece's daughter, Eisha(8 months). The father ordered a beanie a long time ago and I just had the time to make it. Been busy, y'know!

I'm making another hat now and hopefully it'll be finished by tomorrow.

New Yarns

2010-12-21T22:23:00.001+08:00

As I promised yesterday, here are my new yarns that I ordered from Ayza's Yarns Store. It took 10 days to reach here from Turkey and I just LOVE them! They're so soft and colorful! I made a 2-layered flower from each of them. I also made small flowers but haven't taken any pic of them, yet.

I made a small rose as well with this yarn and made it into a pin for Nanako. Hope she likes it.

Here are the yarns still in their packages. I'm sorry for all the awful pics but it's been raining cats and dogs for 3 days now and the lighting in the house is terrible.

And just for fun, here are some of my yarns collection. They're just the usual acrylic yarns and I like to use this brand. I'm still missing some colors, though. That will be fixed when my hubby goes to mainland next week!

I'll post about a baby hat I made today using one of the new yarns tomorrow, so do come back!

'What I've Been Up To' Post & A New Leaf

2010-12-20T17:27:00.002+08:00

Hi! It's been sometime since I last posted. I've been busy finishing up some orders.

Rose(I) pins along with 2 small rose pins with leaves. These pins were ordered by Nana. She's a very loyal customer of mine. Thanks Nana!

And these are Emilia's order. 10 small roses and 10 large rose buds.

15 medium rose buds(5 were not included in pic) and 30 small rose buds.

20 pieces 2-layer small flowers.

40 pieces small flowers(II) on top of 130 pieces of mini leaves. Both orders will be going out tomorrow.

These are a new leaf pattern and in the center is a small rose made with my new multicolored yarn. I'll post about them tomorrow. I'm so excited about them and trying out various patterns to see how they turn out.

I made these chocolate chip cookies a few weeks ago. Hazel wanted big ones so I made them as big as I could. They were yummy! I got the recipe from here.

And lastly, Apam Aiskrim Soda I made last week. They taste like normal cakes though a bit fluffy and are steamed. They were delicious! I got the recipe from the net and if you'd like to make them, here it is:

2 eggs(B)

250gm Caster Sugar

1 tsp Ovalette

150ml Ice-cream Soda

200gm Plain Flour

Food colorings of your choice, papercups, salt(optional) and vanilla essence.

Beat the eggs, vanilla essence, sugar and ovalette until light and fluffy(preferably with an electric mixer). Put in the flour, mix again. Lastly fold in the soda with a wooden spoon.

Divide into several bowls and mix with the food colorings. Pour into papercup lined moulds in layers.

Steam on medium heat for 10 minutes.

If you make them right, you'll be rewarded with smiling apams!

Have a lovely week everyone!