I miss my buns....

It's been awhile since I did any baking..except with the breadmaker.Miss the homebaked buns...yumm. Baked these ......October ....last year!

Okay,time to take out the baking pans! (I'm posting the photos to motivate myself to get back to baking again :p )

Lotus again

A second lotus bloomed . Had to post the pictures. Just too beautiful..need to share them.

Remember this?

Stitched this piece sometime back...

Have to find something to do with it...

...so yesterday cut up some scraps of material and gave it a home.

I really mean scraps.Look at how many 'joints' there are.

Not bad eh?

I think I'll make another green bag with it.

Getting others to save the Planet Earth

Stitched another green bag.This time I'm giving it away so that others can help me keep those pesky plastics off the landfills.I've since declined many plastic bags.But once those plastic bags I have are depleted from my cabinet,I'll start 'collecting' them again. You see,I 'need' them to throw my rubbish! Alam Flora will not collect the rubbish if it's not in plastic bags.Anyone have any ideas on how to make Alam Flora pick up my 'unpacked' rubbish?

Anyway, here it is... the 'Charlie Reusable Grocery Bag from Burdastyle.It's made from strips of scraps.

I used one of my Redwork to make it 'one of its kind'!

Best of all it can be folded neatly to be stashed into your handbag.

There's a pocket on the other side of the bag.

All you need to do is to lay it flat with the Redwork facing up....

fold it inwards like so (follow the width of the pocket)...............

..............and then fold toward the center...................

...then put your hand into the pocket and turn the bag out.

REMEMBER : Put it into your handbag ! [Actually, you can use it as a handbag !]

It's very roomy....room enough for lots of shopping !


Get the pattern here.

Saving the planet from more plastic bags

Remember my Go Green bag ?


Was going thru my collection of bags and I found this.




That's a reusable canvas shopping bag,right?But I don't want to carry that ! So, I used some of my english paper piecing patchwork and gave it a makeover !

Ta da!

One more to my collection

Finished this last night.

Was a bit restless.My hands were itching..., so took out my fabric,cut,stitched and here it is......

I love the shape.Will be making more of this bag with some embelishments .

Thanks to by Rebeka Lambert of artsycraftybabe.typepad.com. You can get the free pattern here (Look for the free pattern on the right column).She's the ever generous designer of this bag( Phoebe Bag)

Lotus

Finally,a real lotus..fresh on the stalk in my garden.I'm a proud owner of a lotus flower !

Isn't it beautiful? So pure.According to
religionfacts.com ....

"The lotus (Sanskrit and Tibetan padma) is one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols and one of the most poignant representations of Buddhist teaching.

The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies pristinely above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment."

buddhanet.net ......

"The lotus flower symbolises the complete purification of the defilements of the body, speech and mind, and the full blossoming of wholesome deeds in blissful liberation."

buddhism.about.com .....

The lotus is rooted in deep mud and its stem grows through murky water. But the blossom rises above the muck and opens in the sun, beautiful and fragrant. In Buddhism, the lotus represents the true nature of beings, who rise through samsara into the beauty and clarity of enlightenment.The color of the lotus also has significance:

White: Mental and spiritual purity

Red: The heart, compassion and love

Blue: Wisdom and control of the senses

Pink: The historical Buddha

Purple: Mysticism

My home is blessed by my pink lotus.Sadhu

Redwork

REDWORK is a term used to describe a style of embroidery done using one color. It originated in 17th century Europe when red-colored floss was all that was available for fine stitchery. Eventually, other colors were adapted and became known as "redwork in black" or bluework.
Read more about redwork here.

I used to do redwork using multi colours,blue or brown. Then I got a pack of red floss from Daiso( you get eight in a pack for only RM5 whereas DMC is RM1.50 each !) Now I know why it's called REDWORK ....




It's so.....beautiful in red!

A bag in a bag

I like handbags..totes..purse..shoulder bags..call it what you like.They are all the same.And I like to change bags to suit my mood or where I'm going.
If I am going shopping, I would go for this one......(I've made one for myself already!)

If I'm at the Hilton buffet...

then I would go for a small one like this .....(so that I don't have to leave my bag at the table and have my hands free to grab the food !)

So, to make changing bags easy,I stitched a small bag..enough to put in my purse,mobile phone and a reusable shopping bag...which is what I always have with me wherever I go.Unlike the purse organiser (like the one you see in Oprah) that you roll up to fit in your handbag....which makes taking and putting back things difficult.....

I saw something like this at the Curve Flea Market..selling for RM30 plus!

I made this cutie from scraps of material and some embroidery.(Help! I'm running out of scraps.)

That red thingy sticking out is my mobile phone.

So these days,I just grab my Blue Lady bag when I'm off to send or fetch my girl from school.And when I need to use another handbag,I just need to pop this Blue bag in .It's super light weight and you won't even notice it.

Pretty maids all in a row

Remember this ......

I finally finished seven skirts for the rest of the baskets.

Ta da! Pretty maids all in a row.

My garden is green

I like gardening ...minus the weeding. It's very destressing watering the plants.Sometimes you may even catch me watering my plants at night !

The latest addition to my garden is the much anticipated lotus. Took quite a while for the bud to come out of the water.



Now waiting patiently for it to bloom.

Then there's the green pepper aka capsicum.My mum gave me the seedlings.Never thought it would fruit.Can't wait to cook it !

Go Green

I made this today.Looks like a regular plastic bag,right ?That's because I used a regular plastic bag for the pattern!

I used one of my embroidery pieces to make the pocket.

This is what it looks like when you fold it up and and tuck it into the pocket.

(It's now residing in my handbag!)

It's made of scraps of material.Talk about recycling !
If you would like to save the planet too,then click below and make this reusable bag and look good using them when you go shopping !

Embroidery

I like to keep my hands busy when I'm watching tv or waiting in the car for my daughter.So I knit,quilt and my latest craze...embroidery.

I cut up my scraps into squares,traced the pictures and start stitching!

These are what I've stitched so far.




Now,I've to think of what to do with them :)
Here's what I did with two of them.....

Skirts for my baskets!

See those baskets on the kitchen cabinet shelf?

Got the baskets from Ikea .

And as usual with time on my hands, I made a skirt for the basket.!

I love that cute little flower I made.

Looks much better now,don't you think? Now I have seven more skirts to make. ;) (Yes, I made those microwave oven and toaster covers too...long long ago.)

Update : Checkout the complete set !