Prickly Little

One-nighty quick project done on Sunday. Saw it on Urban Debris last year. This hedgehog pincushion is fun to make. Just have the materials ready : felt, embroidery flosses, some stuffing/filler & pins; you could start it right away. And voila ... your very own stitching corner's pet.

I did it with some slight differences - seed beads for the eyes and lined the ears with cotton print.


* hedgehog is not a porcupine - click here to learn more.

Around the World Mail Art for Naomi

The mail art has finally reached its destination - Naomi in United Kingdom. I stitched a traditional motif on 28ct jobelan using Anchor multicolour floss. The pattern is an adaptation from one of 'songket' motifs.

Songket - a handwoven cloth made from gold/silver and silk/cotton threads, usually worn to certain ceremonial functions. This fabric is also popular for the Malay traditional wedding attire (bride & groom). It is a bit uncertain of the origin of 'songket' but it has been a treasured textile throughout the Malay archipelago since many centuries ago. Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia are 'sharing' this Malay heritage & art of weaving and have been producing 'songket' with distinctive motifs ever since.

The postage stamps are from 'Visit Malaysia Year 2007' commemorative stamp series.

The background fabric in the above picture is a 'sampin songket' from my dear hubby's personal collection. 'Sampin songket' is an additional sarong-like cloth to Malay men's traditional attire.

The inside envelope is fully-lined with 'batik' fabric and I also 'showed off' the same fabric on the back of the envelope. I stitched my address on a small piece of jobelan before attaching it onto the flap of the envelope. I used a black velcro strip for the closure and embellished with 'vintage looking' buttons.





* Around the World Mail Art Exchange - we were required to stitch something about the place where are we from or where we live

Mr. Posto knocked on the door...

On Saturday morning, Mr. Posto knocked on the door to deliver this:


Yippe! I had been eyeing this special issue for quite some time and asked my hubby to look for it when he was in Paris, unfortunately his numerous visits to the bookstores and magazines kiosks were fruitless. Thanks a lot to a dear stitching friend, Aw, who kindly brought in some French cross stitch magazines (hors serie - special issues) for us.

Mains et Merveilles L'art Postal - special issue on cross stitched Mail Arts. It is a worth purchase for art mailers like me. 17 charts from various designers including Isabelle Vautier.

To cross stitch art mailers/mail artists or anyone who is interested, you could also read an article on mail arts in Quick & Easy magazine issue October 2006 and this month issue of Gift of Stitching online magazine.

Needlecrafter RR 2007 - another progress

Just to show a picture of mes croix on my own Round Robin (RR) piece. DMC Sunshine Flowers is a big chart and for this Round Robin each person is required to stitch merely the maximum stitchcount of 60X60 on 14ct aida (approx. 4.25" X 4.25") which is equals to 3600 stitches. I determined to use the pattern as my RR pattern b'coz I really like it, furthermore I've never stitch a big ones. It made me actually stitched one third of pattern and the rest is equally divided into 5 portions. Other participants have to stitch approximately 3600 stitches ea.

However, I couldn't finish stitching my portion before sending it out to the next participant, there is another 20% to complete. I have to resume stitching and finish it off soon after the RR piece comes back to me - which is I'm really looking forward to.


* Needlecrafter RR 2007 - 6 participants Round Robin

Mail Art from Penang

I received a mail art from Penang nearly two weeks ago. Initially I was puzzled to receive a mail art (MA) from Zarina coz we hadn't arranged any personal swaps for the month of April. We actually had done 2 personal swaps before.

Finally it came to my senses that the MA is meant for Around the World Exchange. A note in the envelope had confirmed it. I called Zarina up and we giggled over it. She really knows how to keep it a secret!
For this exchange, we were required to stitch something about the place where are we from or where we live. Zarina stitched a butterfly and a pair of cute flutterby buttons on the front of the envelope. Penang Butterfly Farm is one of many attractions in Penang.
And she stitched a row of starfishes on the back of the envelope. What do you think about when you see a picture of starfish? ....You are right! It reminds us of beaches and sea. A strip of beaches is simply another Penang attraction. Batu Ferringhi is one of the famous beaches - look closely at the postcard in the picture.

Thank you Zarina for the Mail Art and giftie. To receive a mail art from you had made this exchange is more like a 'surprise me' themed exchange to me... hehehehehe

Currently Stitching...

Apart from working on the two stitching obligations which are going to be sent out by end of this month, I have another four stitching projects on my rotation - one is a stitching obligation to finish by May deadline and the rest are stitching smalls for me to keep.

Here are some progress pictures of stitching smalls, I took earlier this week.

I love Ladybug - SanMan Originals

petite envelope : De Fil en Aiguille

Quaker teaser

Take a peak at the Quaker motif I've finished stitching on Monday. Yet to start on the finishing part. It is going to be mailed out by end of this month as the Quaker Pinkeep Exchange which is organized by Mona in Malaysian Stitchers Group.

LHN/CCN International Mail Art

This mail art exchange organized by Rachel in Pennsylvania is one of Little House Needleworks/Country Cottage Needleworks Yahoo Group's 2007 activities. We were partnered with stitching friends abroad and required to stitch any LHN or CCN patterns on the mail art.

I stitched LHN's "Star Light, Star Bright" on 32ct lugana for Rachel. Lined the mail art with 'golden stars on navy' cotton print. I used the black velcro strip for the closure and embellished with some little star buttons on the flap.

I put a sticker (on the lower part on the back of mail art)- picture of traditional dancers and people in traditional costumes. The sticker is actually part of 'Visit Malaysia Year 2007' miniature stamp sheet. You could see the stamp on the front part of mail art - the one with a picture of Petronas Twin Towers and building in Putrajaya .

close up on Star Light, Star Bright

I've been away...

I've been away from the internet & blogging since my father has fallen sick last Thursday. He is admitted and will be discharged in a day or two. I really hope that he will be getting better as soon as possible as he, himself, couldn't wait to get home. Nothing compares to your own home sweet home, right?

I was in the middle of a rare occasion - smoking needle, when my sister-in-law told me that my brother is sending my father to the hospital. Being a slow stitcher, there are certain times you could stitch much faster than usual due to nearing deadlines and long list of stitching obligations. I hardly pick up a needle since Thursday. Anyway, I've got back to stitching on Sunday evening and have downloaded pictures from the camera. I will blog about them in the next few postings.

Meanwhile, I would like to share a picture of recently acquired Dip&Twist overdyed flosses.






p/s : to Ann Lee, I still 'owe' you something. I'm so sorry and please bear with my procrastination. I hope to finish it by middle of May.

Places where I want to go

Adam tagged me with another meme - places where I want to go

Proposition : Where do you want to go Next, OUTSIDE OF YOUR COUNTRY, for tourism, work, study, whatever.

Requirements: Find some info about the place, itenary etc, pics if possible so you get MORE Traffic coming in, and maybe some people can find somewhere to go to. Excludes your NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOUR, i.e., a country that borders yours.

I could think about 4 places that I really want to visit - New Zealand, Amsterdam, Dubai and Paris.

New Zealand - I've always heard the nice stories from people who have visited this beautiful country. Their historic & cultural heritage, nice weather & natural environment, unique Paua shell and Mount Cook are among the attractions. I need to get myself down to NZ just want to experience a 'Kiwi' holiday!

paua close-up : photo by Peter & Lynda Harper

I would love to revisit these 2 cities - Amsterdam and Dubai.

Amsterdam needlecraft shop : photo from personal archive

Amsterdam - is more than just Amstel River and canals. I love the centuries old houses and mansions. Being the best planned city of the northern Europe, their public transportation system works smoothly - I'm looking forward to seeing something like this in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Flea markets, tulips in April, canal boat rides, museums and riding a bicycle are among not-to-be-missed Dutch experiences. I wish for some trips to the needlecraft shops if I got the chance to revisit the city.

buildings along the Sheik Zayed Road : photo from gtjeddah webshots

My reason to revisit Dubai is purely an architectural & engineering interest. This city dubbed as 'Asia shopping haven' by some people. East meets West. And some said it is an artificial city. I've seen lots of Dubai city recent photos - many tall buildings, large shopping malls and hotels with distinctive architectural features. I simply want to see through my own eyes , these rapid changes made over the years in the most recognized Middle-East city.


Paris - I would love to visit this city one day, not only because of the famous tower and romance. The ultimate reason relates to my great passion for needlecraft. Trips to the needlecraft shops are simply irresistible. And I wish to meet a fellow stitching blogger, Isabelle in Paris.

Eiffel Tower : photo from personal archive

Needlecrafter RR 2007(round 1) - WIP (ii)

Another picture of my Needlecrafter Round Robin taken on Sunday morning. I've stitched quite a big area later that day.

Stitching Blogger's Questions

Do you have a system for organizing freebie charts in your stash? If so, what is it? Do you print out copies of all of the freebies that you find on the web (that you think you might actually stitch) or do you maintain electronic copies of them until you are ready to stitch them?

I usually will save the internet freebies in the hard drive and will print them out when I am ready to stitch. And will delete the freebies from hard drive once after I've print them out. I regularly 'weeding out' the I-don't-fancy-it-anymore patterns as I could find lots and lots of internet freebies every month.



How do you decide which stitching blogs are worth repeat and/or regular viewings? Are there certain things you look for in particular? Are there things you wish there were more of? Less of? Is your blog a good example of what you like to read?

I prefer stitching blogs with mostly craft stories. I also keep a list of my needlecraft buddies from Yahoo Groups I joined on the sidebar. I always wish for more crafting stories, tips, magazines & books reviews, beautiful pictures and regular updates of course. My blog is far from a good example of what I like to read as I do not update regularly and never do any magazines/books reviews (so far).