twin poncho

Ponchos almost do not appeal to me because it always reminds me of Mexicans and it seems unwearable here. But I have been seeing ponchos on sale in the stores lately and somehow, this is a non triangular design and hence not so poncho-ish looking.

I made this pair with my friend L and her daughter Z in mind. L is not a girly girl type of woman and will not be seen in anything frilly or pink (unfortunately, Z loves pink). This poncho design doesn't look too sweety yet retaining the cute factor (for Z).

Its fun to make mom and babe pair, I think I'm going to make something for H and myself soon.

Pattern: ISBN - 978-4529046060
Yarn: Bendigo Mills 8ply
Hook: 10/0

hoodie scarf

With the leftover yarns from my previous project, I managed to make this cute hoodie scarf I spotted from a book sometime back. I feel that there isn't many this kind of patterns available, especially for crochet, and it is such a useful winter wear too.

I made this with my second sis in mind, she should be able to use this during the cool autumn months ahead. The model in the photo is my favourite nephew (actually I only have one), he is such an angel *love*

Another cute project completed *happy dance*

hand mixed orange cake

I have been going on a orange cake hunt ever since I had a crazily delicious slice in Frasers Hill earlier. This recipe requires no machine and almost like any basic muffin recipes, you simply mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones. Ta-dah! You're done. I'm quite pleased with the results, except that I feel the crumbs can be more fine. I think next time, I will substitute the oil for butter and use creaming method instead.

Orange Cake

100g Self raising flour
50g plain flour
20g brown rice cereal (I used 170g plain flour altogether)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (I used 1 tsp each due to the above changes)
3 eggs
150g castor sugar (I used 120g)
120ml corn oil
50g yogurt
1/2 tsp orange essence
1 tsp grated orange zest
60ml orange juice

Combine the flour, baking powder and soda in a bowl.
Combine eggs, sugar, oil and the rest of the ingredients. Stir into flour mixture until well blended.
Baking in a prepared loaf pan in a preheated oven at 175C for 35-40min. Stand for 10min before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

手拌式蛋糕 - Kevin Chai

merry berry shrug

I made this specially for a friend, who is always feeling cold and snugging around with a shawl. I love the idea of a shrug - a mini cardigan without losing its cute factor. This design is taken from another of J's books, it was a love at first sight pattern for me (somehow, in life, the grass is always greener elsewhere) so I was actually waiting for an opportunity for me to work on it.

The only difficult part of this project was actually sewing the buttons, oh, I really dislike sewing buttons, especially on holely materials. But somehow, I managed to pull through, ugly but I cannot care anymore.

Pattern: ISBN 978-4834727975
Yarn: Sidar varigated
Hook: 5/0

fluttering butterfly

That is how I see it, a pretty butterfly fluttering amongst a bed of spring blossoms. I love how this pastel varigated yarn turns out, all thanks to J's generosity. I hardly work with varigated yarns, partly because I cannot visualize how it might turn out. But since this is coming from J, it has to be good, I trust her taste and judgement, especially in this department. I really love how it turns out, now, I'm having second thoughts, to keep this for myself. Heh.

Pattern: ISBN-9784277172301
Yarn: Baby Acrylic
Hook size: 4/0

happy children's day

Finally for once, I managed to bake something for T's children's day celebration in school. After pouring through a few cookie recipes, I decided on one from Nigella's How to Be A Domestic Goddess. This is a very straightforward recipe and the dough was easy to handle too. I love the buttery flavor but I will leave it in the oven it a little longer for better crisp. I was afraid of burning it as I always do with cookies. And oh yes, I finally get to use this cute cutters which I made my sis brought back from Hong Kong. They make cute cookies but removing the stamped dough from the cutter was very tricky.

And you think the kids would love them, the container came back untouched, none was eaten, guessed the kids had to much food and preferred games instead. Oh well, all ended up in my tum..yum!

spag top

I finally get to work on this top from a book I bought last year. I was making it for an ex-colleague now friend. She is those petite type, like the model in the book and this will look perfect on her. However, due to my own miscalculations, the shoulder strap came way too short and hence, the arm hole was a little snug. I can't re-do that part as it would mean, ripping the entire top part! The only hope is, to leave it hanging on a hanger and hopefully, the weight of the bodice will lengthen the strap :(

Sorry WC, hope someday, it becomes wearable.