Liberty Rose

Finally, finally.. it's completed.! after so much of procrastinating.

 Pattern is from issue 65, Australian Smocking & Embroidery

 I love those roses... they're of bullion knots

Back of the dress. Who would be the lucky one to wear?

p/s : sayu hati tengok Ekslusif WalimatulurusYusry dan Lisa Surihani. ...... Semoga jodoh mereka kekal ke akhir hayat. 

Letter Z & A

My best friend back then in school hosted a birthday party for her princess and prince sometime last December. Nada and I were invited. We both were so eager to attend.

Being a self-proclaimed avid crafter myself, I knew the birthday presents must be a handmade. Ever since I was re-hooked with creating and sewing, I feel a handmade is the best gift, (and I mean – BEST) one can give and also receive.

To me, handmade is the combination of passion, thought, effort and abundance of love.

My Mami has always been making special handmade as gifts ever since I can remember. She sew beautiful tiny dresses complete with undies, booties, mittens, hats, blankets, bedding sets and many more as presents if she’s visiting a newborn. One gifted lady she is.

However, she also always say… “I don’t have much money, and the dresses sold on commercial racks are too expensive. I’d better sew myself to make presents……”

For my love to handmade, I totally disagree with her on that point. Not all on commercial racks are that expensive to buy, handmade on the other hand not all could be bought even though with copious money.

She’d taken her effort too lightly, when most people realize handmade are out love, someone’s precious time and carries so much value.

After considering few options, I decided in making a pair of matching towel bath robes for the siblings. Of course one in pink and one in blue, made out of less than RM 15 normal adult towel.

Since the girl’s name starts with Z, I tacked a self-cut letter ‘Z’ as initial and for the boy, initial ‘A’. How cute.

I finished making both robes the morning Nada and I were supposed to attend the party in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn’t have spare appropriate boxes to put the gifts in which kinda forced me to make pouch bags for each robes.

So, here how they look once done.

At first, I just stapler the birthday notes to the ribbon ties only to realize how ‘unprofessional’ it looks. Hence, on the way to the party, inside the car… I made a hole each to the notes and slot in the ribbons. Then it made sense! Too bad, I didn’t take any photo of the amended ties.

Nada envied the pink bath robe and I promised her that she would also get one, I’ve yet to fulfil my promise. Too many project plans…..

Beijing in Grey 4

Tonight's dinner - Olio-improvised. 

Photos by Nada

Our last day in Beijing is nothing to talk about as we headed to airport to depart home as early as 5.00am. On the second last day however, was an all day shopping. It may sound weird, but frankly I didn’t quite enjoy the day, I’ll reason out as I write.

I regard myself as a structured shopper. I usually only buy things that I want, I hardly get influenced by promotions or sales.  It is just me, may be also because I am not lavish with money.

Sometimes I feel pity to promoters especially at make-up counters when they do promotions and try to nail me. Many times, though I refuse to try their product, they keep nagging asking me to try on. I do wonder why would they want to do so because I don’t at all look like someone who is pretty much interested or heavy with make ups. It always came to a situation after all the trying, I cold heartedly say “No, I don’t want. Thank You” and walk away.

Such a stingy person I am……, but when we go traveling surely I would want to spend some budget on souvenirs items either for ourselves or for our love ones back home.

This bazaar shopping in Beijing however, upsets me. I hate the way traders mark up goods price ridiculously (I mean extremely ridiculous) and it all depending to bargaining factor. Price could start at 800yuan and ended buying at 80yuan. What kind of selling and buying would that be?   

‘Stupid’ bargaining is one thing, but due to this, I became more skeptical of the products quality and if it is worth buying at all? Is it worth my money? Would the sold 80yuan product is actually worth of 10yuan? I hate things like this.

Furthermore, the traders are cunning and rather arrogant. It’s normal for one to get scolded or even cursed by them if a bargain is not closed. Crazy ah.. I don’t like it. I am not saying all of them but definitely most.

I did bazaar shopping in other Asian places, Medan, Bandung, Jakarta, Bangkok, Saigon, Hong Kong or Pasar Siti Khadijah in KB for the matter – Beijing has the worst traders for me.

At a kiosk, I had the intention to buy for Nada a set SMART GAME that I was interested with. It was definitely an imitation by the plastic quality. Nada has few sets of original ones so I knew how they should be. I bargained a price of 50yuan from the offered price at 400yuan.

The trader in a very stern way said to me “50yuan? Just now I heard you say 60yuan. I can understand English. You think I cannot understand English? You say 60yuan!” She really wanted to intimidate me, like I care.

I looked straight to her eyes in disgust - “No, I said 50yuan…” and walked off.

We hadn’t even pass the next kiosk and she shouted for me : “HEY LADY! HEY LADY! COME BACK, come back, come back, sell your price !”

AHHHHH… BLAH LA KO. Tak hingin aku!

Really pissed me off.

It’s rather frustrating, there were so many choices of cute children’s boots, shoes that caught my eyes, but I just don’t have the heart to buy. Nada didn’t even have a T-shirt!

I told Harris, never mind.. hope to go to Hard Rock Café and grab t-shirts for us later at night. Things however didn’t get the way we planned. No trip to HRC, so really Nada has no T-shirt from Beijing.

Kesian dia, getting cold in Beijing not even for a T-shirt.

Besides a feather art work, I only bought this bag during the bazaar shopping.

A dress and A game

Another dress in the making. Almost... almost..

My big family made a trip to Skudai for an engagement do recently. And I selected this photo shot by Harris as my favorite photo taken during the trip we made.

* Family

*Cousin nephew - Skinny-dark eldest of siblings, Aqil

*Cousin - Chubby-fair youngest of siblings, Zarif

*Kids = play is their job

*Love

*Happiness

*Game Fight

*Traditional Game - I used to play too

* OOOOO-Som! or Jusss!

*Bird, Stone, Plank, Water & Scissors. 

(Both Zarif & Aqil showing birds signs in this photo, so they are tied...)

Tie the Knots Dress

I made this dress for Nada Aidilfitri wear last year. It was a simple construction which of course the pattern I just "belasah" myself. Named after the knots on the shoulder, I call it Tie the Knots Dress.

For the love of it's easy tailoring, I whipped up not one but three more pieces Tie the Knots Dress for my cousin nieces, all sharing name of Damia.

This is the youngest Damia by far in the dress and I tell you, if you want to find a pretty clan, the three of them are the perfect score. 

Still, I went crazy and amused by the time taken for each dress and results of each. I made one more dress for Mentibang Family's only princess, Izz.

I love all of them five. The dresses and the dresses' owners.

Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss Flying Kick

Have you watch The Big Boss movie starred by the legendary Late Bruce Lee? I am not quite sure if I had watched or otherwise. I should have watched many donkey years ago when I was small for I think I have vague images of the movie scenes here and there.

Anyway, National Geography channel has been repeating in airing the documentary about Bruce Lee during the couple of weeks as we entered new Lunar Year of water dragon. So happened, Bruce Lee was also born the in year of dragon.

The Big Boss movie was one of his successful movies and of cause I am attracted to his flying kicks. I wish I could the same, but my overweight BMI would need thousands hours of work-out for me to be able to do so, which seems definitely an impossible.     

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harris and I are now in the process of procuring a property in Bukit Indah, Ampang. Securing a property is a total head ache and heart ache!

In my experience, I have never experience a smooth sailing process. It had always been a total mess.

Hence, would I known how to Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss Flying Kick :

1. In 2003, when procuring our first property I would  Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss Flying Kick THE DEVELOPER for they are the biggest ASS-HOLE-STINKING-LIAR.

2. In 2007, when procuring our second property I would  Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss Flying Kick THE CONTRACTOR for being SUCH-INFURIATING-NO-BRAIN-CREATURE.

3. In 2010, when procuring our third property (an auction) I would  Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss Flying Kick THE VENDOR for causing all the delayed in documentation security and spread stories around the apartment I’m living that I am the one who have problem with Credit Facility. *swearing*  #%&^#@(^^^%$##$@&^  *stop*   @#$!&^%#()$$%^^#$%?????@#$%^<%%& *continue swearing non-stop*     

4. NOW in the midst of procuring our fourth property I would like to Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss Flying Kick THE SOLICITORS !!!!! for being SLOWER-THAN-THE-SLOWEST-WALKING-SLOW LORIS.

Ah….. Lega sikit dah merapu macam ni.