Reversible Beach Bag

i found the tutorial somewhere. but i didnt save the link (i'll provide the link when i get across it). i struggled with the reversible factor.

sturdy cloth (polyester?)

floral linen

yay! sorry, the pictures were taken before i ironed out the bag. thus the bagginess.

to Popong,

astaga, nowonsoi ku noh anam baris do crochet dit scarf nu kaka, obulou. nga miagal oniba. porilit-riliton nopo lah id liou kio. ingaa dih tikuw... alallalalalala.. wansaian ku koimbagu lah. inopudan dih monguyad koimbagu. 300 mala gia om awasiw nogi. 220 noh id dika.

ai! asampin mala gia kasari yawan diri do mengija.. suai-suai di bahasa tokito ku id written form. wakakakkaka... nadalan auh koilo. bah!

i thank God for friends

who put me in the mood to do and finish my crochet projects.

who give me enough reason to start a new crochet projects.

because now, i have Jen's green-brown, Fread's black and white, Popong's blues, Dawn's and Juvi's and my scarves on the list to crochet for our winter travelling. did i typed WINTER? o my! hati ada banyak bunga!

Cpt. Hook

my one and only crochet hook went missing. i searched for it hi and lo yesterday. but no, it refused to be found. usually, it's safely tucked in the yarns bin. and i completely have no idea where it might be. or? ada hantu kali rumah sia

ooooo.. Cpt. Hook, where art thou?

Diamonds

diamonds for jen's stars

diamonds to stitch to make stars. still a long way to go. but then, its for retirement. i'm confident to finish it in given time.

Attempt

crochet

macam kek lapis

my first attempt at crochet. the colours riot. i know.

hexies in progress ii

upside down?

close up

done but not finished. the stitched up top cover is a tad smaller than a single size bed. so, i have to add 3 inches along the perimeter. calling up for more hexies. sigh!

Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving

The story ran over the course of Danny (Daniel) Baciagalupo’s life. From his 12 years old self at a logging camp in Coos County, New Hampshire, as a son of a cook in the camp to him being a famous writer in Iowa and towards him being alone, old and finally find his Lady Sky (his angel) in Toronto.

Being on the run after Danny accidently killed his father’s lover, who happened to be ‘crazy’ constable Carl’s woman. He and his dad (Dominic) became a fugitive and try to stay low and safe by the help of their old friend, a former river driver, Ketchum.

But, staying low and safe was hard when Danny became a famous writer and his dad, an accomplished Italian chef. They shifted town a few times, first from Boston to Vermont, then to Canada, just to avoid being tracked down by the constable. They decided to migrate to Canada when Danny’s son Joe went to college in Colorado. Joe died of a car accident when he was 23.

Over the course of the story, myriad of characters were introduced in their lives. Many interesting circumstances were thrown together. Enough to make one questioned the meaning of fate.

In the end, the constable traced them up through Ketchum’s Christmas Holiday visit and managed to kill Dominic. Danny gunned down the constable. Ketchum was devastated and hold himself guilty not only for the demise of his old friend but, also because of Danny’s mom (Rosie) long time ago. So he killed himself by cutting off his left hand and bleeds himself to die.

My verdict: expect to read a long and detailed novel. The only resentment I have for this book is Irving’s repetitious entries. But, if you’re devoted to Irving (like me), you’ll never let the resentment dampen down your love for the book. Owen Meany and Garp are still my favourite Irving’s, but Twisted River comes really close.

Rating: 9.5/10

Price: RM 39.00 (paperback)

p/s: Kowalski (also a favourite author of mine) wrote a very interesting review of this book here. i wrote of him (slightly) here, of his book Eddie's bastard.

for retirement purpose

jane's stars

This is a perview of Jane's 'retirement' gift. muahahhahaha...

9-patch block kick start

just look at these gorgeous colours and patterns!

IKEA's carpet

mosaic pattern on a building in Putrajaya

mosaic pattern on a wall of a building in Putrajaya

this is just too inspiring to ignore. but, i'll stick to the easy and traditional block to start my 'end of the year' quilt. i'm starting a 9 patch block quilt. 80 blocks in all. guys.. encouragement needed

sickly project

stitched.

squares

one of the project in my 'in progress list' projects. the top cover was sewn together last month. i took the other half for our little sister's blanket in Ranau (after i changed my mind to make a single size instead of queen size blanket, as initially planned). The top cover need basting (something i never did before) before i can haul it off the list.

you wont believe how many sewing projects i have in the list. i hope, somehow, i'll ended up completing one of those piled up sickly projects.

the blanket's name? Dawn's (she's in my mind the whole lot of time me doing this)

TAPAI - HISHAMUDDIN RAIS

TAPAI is a collection of articles, Rais wrote for Off The Edge magazine (dec 2004-nov 2009). 40 witty and hillarious articles rooting on food assambled in this RM45 book. the book is easy on the eyes (lots of interesting pictures- my personal favourite is on pg 204), not so easy on the conscience. his keen observation on his surrounding and his sharp interpretation of whats going on was clearly transcribed in those 40 articles, dishing food for thoughts (and literally doing it by writing about good food). all 40 articles are related to food, save for 3 articles (#8, #15 and #32- but the latter got a mention of wine and dinner) which, gives this book a real context and perspective- by staying in the theme.

My verdict: grab this book, savour it in one sitting (if you're a hungry reader like me) or go easy, enjoy it, the articles are meant to be read individually and let it simmer. 2 thumbs up!

Rating: 8/10.
Price: RM45 (paperback)

hexies in progress I

so, i've changed the layout. and having a hard time correcting my header. i want the box size to be smaller. what should i do? suggestion? anyone?

as promised, a peek of my hexies progress. this was taken about a month back. i'll try to finish stitching it up and upload the finished top cover. i actually am very excited to see the finished result. i might ended up making this one as a quilt.

o.. sorry, the heels at the corner has nothing to do with the hexies