Post Family Day - Om's Kaya

WOW! Ever since that Saturday, 6 December my brain was bombarded with memories from my past. I remembered those times I spent at Rapat Setia, Ipoh during my school holidays. Walking to the nearby shop to buy pickled mango, or playing "masak-masak" with my cousins in the hut which my grandfather built.

My brain was also bombarded with the memories I had of my aunt, Om. One of her lifetime legacies was her kaya (coconut jam) which I enjoyed eating on toast with butter. Sometimes I would sneak into the kitchen just to have a scoop of kaya on a teaspoon (only recommended for children not adults).

I thought I could share Om's kaya on the Family Day. After making several batches I learned that there is a reason to the name kaya. Not just having rich ingredients, it is also a labour of love. The cook should be willing to give and not and not expect anything in return. Unconditional love, which was what Om was "kaya" (rich) with.

Kaya needs time to cook on slow fire. You have to focus on making the kaya and do nothing else. I was not able to invest in the hours involved in cooking the kaya. I was not able to keep stirring and stirring and stirring and stirring. To make my life simple, I decided to use a very useful machine called the Thermomix. Without sweat, I was able to produce delicious kaya in two hours!. No mess, no pain and very fast. But was I able to duplicate Om's kaya?

I was deluded into thinking that I can enjoy that kaya I had many years ago on toast with butter made by Om. Kaya needs time to be kaya. Kaya needs love and attention from the maker, not by a machine. You can't get Om's kaya from the supermarket simply because they're made by her hands. Machines can't give love.

I'm not sure if I want to try to make kaya in the future after his experience. I hope I'm not all "kaya-out" because I want to share the good feeling of eating kaya with my kids. Om left a lifetime legacy when she looked after us. She will always be part of us and that part of us we share want to share with our families.

Om (centre) with my Mom (left), my sister (right) and my cousin (bottom left)

Please try the recipe below, either with a machine like the Thermomix or on double boiler to see if you can reproduce Om's kaya and let me know if you stick to the recipe or made your own alteration. 

Om's Kaya

5 eggs
150 g gula kabung
250 ml coconut milk
3 pandan leaves - tie in a knot
A pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients in the machine. It takes about two hours to cook in the machine but please check the consistency after one hour and a half.

Family Day 2014

Crochet has always been close to my heart just like my family. I see my family like a granny square. The centre is my family and link to this are my projects.

Next weekend, my family on my mother' side will be organising a Family Day. There are almost 500 members. We're taking this opportunity to raise money for our family fund. The fund is very usefull rain or shine. Never know when there is a sudden need to use money out of the blue for medical bill or any emergencies.

Members have the chance to shop, engage in outdoor activities like futsal, playing golf at the driving range, driving go cart, telematch, treasure hunt. At the same time indoor activities should be exciting for those who like to take it easy with their kids like rainbow loom, decorating shopping bags, batik painting, making balloon monsters and accordian fish. All money spent will go to the fund.

About six years ago were a family in need. Our son, Ali was born with a conginetal condition called fistula. An operation needed to be done immediately after he was born to connect his oesophagus. The operation was necessary or he would not survive.

If it weren't for the family fund, we would be one of the people asking the public for donation on television to help save our son. Thank you so much for your prayers and kind gestures. with the help from our family members, Ali's operation was a success. He is now healthy, alhamdulillah and all he is talking about is now going to school.

Now, the chance for us to replenish the family fund has come. My kids and I are all geared to get our hands dirty (so to speak) to make this event a success. Come one, come all. Let's join hands and remember the spirit of our mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers. Their sacrifice and unconditional love for us. Let's share our heritage with the younger generation. See you all there!

Ali as you see him now

Summer Circle

WOW! This is my first attempt to make an adult size cardigan and it's....... wearable! The free pattern is on this link http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/pattern.php?id=5501&lang=en

I was a bit hesitant in the beginning thinking that the project would be too big for me to handle. Last thing I need is an unfinished project stashed away.

Thankfully I did not walk away. Besides, I had 3 balls of Fine Cotton from Cotton House Store that I could not wait to get my hook around them.


The pattern starts from the back, worked in circle. From there the sleeve holes were made. I crochet the two sleeves and attached them to the holes. The border was made and the project was done!


















Lastly, I added a button. The pattern uses DROPS yarn but I could not find a supplier who can ship to Malaysia. So, I used Fine Cotton 184 Blush. Check it out at http://www.cottonhousestore.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=73_146

I'm already working on another cardigan. Will post it soon.

Barefoot Sandals

I loved making these barefoot sandals for kids. It's a wonderful project for little feet. I got the pattern from Inside Crochet magazine. The pattern was meant for adults but I used fingering yarn and a smaller needle here. I was able to come up with these sandals for kids.

The best part about this pattern is that the kids can watch me making them their sandals. Within 30 minutes Their sandal is ready.

I would love to make them again but in my business, I misplaced my magazine. I am still looking for it in my house.

Emmy's Cardigan

I've always loved crochet ripples and when I saw this pattern on Ravelry, I just had to try it. My motivation were my nieces. I made these cardigans in pink and turquoise for them.

The pattern was very easy to follow. This pattern is suitable for beginners who wish to embark on making cardigans. You don't have to worry about joining around the sleeves. Although the designer was able to make it in one day, it took me three days to complete one project. Of course I had to crochet in between work. To be able to invest my day on crochet is a dream. Hopefully, it will come true soon.

I added the embellishment as a contrast. The flower is pinned to the cardigan with a button. Only the collar has edging and it's quite simple using chains.

Yarn ni, yarn tu. What can I say. Apart from the ripple effect, the highlight of this project is the yarn. I used Fine Cotton 193 Robin Egg Blue and Fine Cotton 183 Jazzberry Jam from www.cottonhousestore.com. I used one ball each.

If you would like to try this pattern you can find it on www.ravelry.com. If you do get to try it, please let me know your progress.

Seamless Crochet for Me

When I bought Inside Crochet issue 51, I fell in love with the cover. I thought to myself that I should make the top for me. I was on the right track when I checked my yarn stash, I have a couple of balls enough for this project. Yes, I know I have my reservations with the colour purple, as stated in my previous blog but this isn't really purple but eggplant ;).

Pattern by Rosella Tinn called New Dawn

The pattern was designed by Rosella Tinn. She made a symbol pattern which was very easy for me to follow. It's just a repetition of six rows. The tricky bit in understanding her instructions was when it comes to joining the sleeves to the body. I couldn't make it out. I had to turn to Doris Chan's instructions in Crochet Me where she shares her method on creating seamless crochet. I assumed that this was what Rosella meant. 

I made a few adjustments like making the length of the sweater longer. I love that this pattern hides my curves. I like to keep my dressing modest. Rosella calls this a sweater but because of the lace and the cotton yarn I used, the sweater is very comfortable to wear even in warm weather. 

I used cotton yarn from www.cottonhousestore.com in the colour eggplant. I used needle size 5 from Tulip.

Fine Cotton 178 Eggplant from Cotton House Store

I believe seamless is the way to go for projects like this. The absence of join around the sleeves make the garment look like it was made in one piece. I made a pretty cardigan designed by Joanne Sarace which uses the same technique. Her pattern was easy to follow and the project..... treble all the way.

I used yarn from, again from Cotton House Store which was called Daisy Baby Wool in green. I used Tulip's needle number 7. In her pattern Joanne crochet strawberries around the neck and bottom of cardigan. I only had green wool to work with so I omitted the strawberries but created bumps instead.

Petite Fraise Cardigan designed by Joanne Scrace

I am so happy that I managed to crochet something for me to wear. Thank you to Rosella for creating something great for "humble me" to wear. I look forward to trying new patterns and learning new techniques in the future.

   

Crochet and Weddings

I have to say, organising a family wedding is tiring. Apart from my daily responsibilities as a working mom and a wife, I have added wedding duties to the list. This time around is my cousin's wedding which took place today. My MO from day one has always been to help my aunt. At least there is a small contribution from me which will help make this wedding a success.

Every weddings (I don't know why) seems to revolve around a theme. This wedding's main theme is the colour purple (not the movie). Everything is purple. From what the family members will be wearing to the flowers adorning the stage.

I love all colours but I have a thing about highlighting only one particular colour. Hence, a colour theme. My duty was to crochet some embellishments for the flower girls who will be escorting the bride and groom into the hall.

The organiser requested that I use only one colour, which is purple. If you look at the colour chart above, it is the middle square on the first row. It's quite dark and really uninteresting. Furthermore, I had to attach the embellishment on a hair clip. The end result was again uninteresting.The girls' had black hair and when I placed the clip on their heads, the clip disappeared. Thankfully, they saw the predicament and quickly changed to placing the embellishment on the girls' shoes.

Everyone went ooh and aah but personally, I don't like the colour. I love the pattern by the way. I found it at www.bonittapatterns.com where they give out free patterns and some lovely patterns for sale as well. I would have added some pink or yellow for the centre and green for leaf. I would have crochet beads or pearls as well. But I had to follow instructions.

Apart from that, I enjoyed making the embellishments and I learned to make crocodile stitch. I foresee that I'll be making more from this stitch in the future.

Crocheter on a Holiday

Last school holiday, my daughter, Sofia wanted to learn to crochet. I found a pink, 8 ply cotton yarn from www.cottonhousestore.com and I gave her one of my 5 mm hook. I taught her how to hold the hook and yarn. Of course the first stitch anyone has to learn is the chain. Initially her chains were loose but as time goes by it got better. She got better at it real fast. She got quite bored by making chains only.

The chain is a simple stitch but you have to master this stitch before you move on. I wanted to instill her love in the craft. So, she has to learn to be better than good (not just at crochet though), she has to master even the simplest stitch like the chain.

Time passed, just a day or so, as well as her interest. The longest chain she created was about two metres which now adorned around her teddy bear's neck. I'm left thinking that the window of opportunity to teach her the next stitch will appear in the next school holiday or not.

I have an ongoing project for this holiday too but being me, I forgot to bring an extra ball of yarn. So that's that. I can't imagine going through the next five days without a hook and yarn in my hands. But than of course, Sofia's yarn is available. Yeah! Now all I need is a pattern. Mental check. Before you go on a holiday, always bring:

1. Your crochet project
2. Extra ball of hook and yarn
3. Pattern book
4. A pair of scissors
5. Measuring tape

I found this pattern book at www.cottonhousestore.com. It's a Japanese book translated to Mandarin. I don't read both languages. When I first started to crochet, I looked for pattern books at the bookstore to satisfy my hunger for the craft. There were plenty of crochet books from Japan by Ondori Publication. The Japanese made reading patterns so easy using symbols. It was awesome for someone who is just starting out. I made table runners, doilies, cushion covers which are still being used at my mom's house. I created those some 15-20 years ago.

This pattern book features dresses for babies and toddlers.

I don't even know what the title is but you can check it out at www.cottonhousestore.com. Anyone who cannot read Mandarin should be able to follow instructions from this book. The symbols are universal. But I suppose you have to develop some skills first before embarking on this book. 

The pattern I ventured in making ia a cardigan. I called it the Pink Cardigan (since the name is in Mandarin - so I made one up). This is my first cardigan and it turned out to be fabulous!!

My first cardigan

Button holes made easy.

I tried making cardigans before but the end result was an eye sore. I always have a problem with my stitches. They're not even. I don't know why this pattern worked for me. Maybe this time I used the right yarn weight. I didn't try to cheat the number of stitches. Maybe....... I have mastered crochet! Hah! But whatever it is you have to try out patterns from this book. Even a novice like me can produce a masterpiece like this.

Borders made from same basic treble clusters.

Border goes all around the neck of cardigan.

Crochet + Fabric = CroFabulous

CroFabulous

I found a pattern by Thomasina Cummings, "Little Kisses Pinafore Dress" from Inside Crochet magazine May issue 41 into this dress. I decided to embark on the challenge. I chose the yarn DMC Petra (again!) simply because of its lovely colour as always. However, the yarn is too thin. I couldn't re-create the kisses effect that Thomasina did in her lovely pattern. Hence, I adapted. I crochet the bodice according to pattern and at the bottom of the bodice I crochet shell to create a bit of lace effect. My mom in-law helped sew the fabric to the bodice. The end result is a product of fabric and yarn.... CroFabulous!

I used fabric buttons here.

I added matching fabric buttons to this dress. I loved using these buttons. It gives a personal touch to the dress.

It was really a fun project to do even though I started out to do something else. Isn't life the same. You begin your career as a lawyer and ended being a baker. You were a brilliant student in chemistry and biology, and you have a masters degree to proof it. Yet, you're happy being a stay at home mom. To me, what's important is charting your own journey. The end result is much satisfying that way.

It come in pink too!