Cough, cough...

Awal Ramadan tahun ni bermula dengan batuk (penangan ikan selayang yang aku bedal masa berbuka dengan nasi urap), melarat sampai minggu ke-2.

Ni dah masuk 4 hari missed terawih...selsema punya hal, membawa ke batuk...suara pun dah celam-celum.

Cepatlah sembuh...janganlah sampai ke hujung Ramadan yang dah tinggal tak sampai berapa hari je lagi ni, huhuhu~ 

Intricacies

This is actually one of my all-time interests: cross-stitching.  Rasanya dah tak ramai yang berminat dengan hobi ni...mungkin disebabkan kos bahan (harga benang sekarang dah RM1.40 satu, compared to back in 80s when it was only 50sen) dan kekangan masa. Tapi, kalau dah namanya minat, tak kira...


Some of my friends were quite surprised  when I placed the pics of finished patterns at FB.  Tak sangka agaknya aku berminat dengan benda-benda rencam macam ni.  Masa belajar dulu pun memang tak pernah cuba buat sendiri, setakat perhatikan Mak buat...dia pun tak pernah offer untuk tolong whatsoever. Tapi minat tu memang dah ada.


“Kemaruk” bermula masa school break end of 2007, kalau tak silap.  Masa tu Mak dapat banyak new patterns from her colleague.  Balik dari sekolah, dia terus tunjuk pada aku.


“Duduk-duduk masa cuti sekolah ni, kita buat nak? Ajak Shidot (my wee sister) sama.  Nanti kita pergi beli benang ngan kain kat Kedai Lily.”


Balik dari Kedai Lily, dan-dan tu jugak terus mula buat.  Bersemangat! Tak susah mana pun sebenarnya…yang penting tekun and perseverance nak siapkan.  Kalau tersalah kira petak, kenalah bukak balik stitches yang silap tu.  Boleh je kalau nak tetas, tapi sebab sayangkan benang, takut membazir…bukaklah balik jahitan tu satu-satu.


Bila dah mula buat, seriously…memang hooked up! Excited punya pasal, nak tengok macam mana rupa dia bila dah siap. Sampai tak tidur malam pun pernah.


Ayat Mak: “Baru kau tau…”


Hahahah…


Bila dah siap, masing-masing pun excitedlah nak tunjuk kat Mak hasil kerja sendiri.  Bukan setakat jahitan sebelah atas, belakang kain pun dia tengok jugak (jangan marah Shidot, part nak puji diri sendiri ni, hehehe…), macam mana kitorang matikan benang.  Kalau dah namanya orang kerja “beralus” tu, tak boleh nak kata apa dah la kan…. =P


And these are the finished results of our co-project:

There are a few more...will upload the pics soon.

Sejak tu, memang sentiasa mencari new patterns untuk dibuat.  At least bendanya dah ada…bila-bila teragak, boleh je terus buat.

Here are amongst the patterns which I've done so far:

Originally, these two babies had wings, but I did some alteration.

I got these two patterns from my wee sister.  She did the baby boy pattern for the BF as a birthday gift.  Now, she has none but I have TWO! =P

Las Frutas

This one was really a heck of “berani mati” project.  Measured 31.2cm x 38.1cm, using 46 different colours of threads, I took approximately 2 years to finish it.  Satisfied indeed with the result. =))


Why don’t I send these stuff and get them framed?


Well…dah tak ada space nak letak.  My mum started doing cross-stitch lama dulu.  So, banyaklah jugak dia punya personal touch.  And she shares the hobby with her twin.  But since dah berumur ni, diturunkan ilmu kat kitorang pulak.


Mentioning about my mum’s twin, Cik Pah, teringat ayat dia when Mak showed the finished fruit pattern to her.


“Benda ni tak busuk…buat je dulu.  Boleh guna untuk rumah kau jugak nanti…”


Rumah aku? Ngeeee… =P


Ok, ok…back to the subject…

Roses

Currently working on this one.  Began during end of last year’s school break.  Measured 17.0” x 13.0”.  Not as difficult as the previous one, but back stitch will definitely consume time.

Already have a few patterns in waiting: tulips in a basket, cottage, view of mountain peaks with waterfall…dalam kepala dah terbayang-bayang nak buat yang mana dulu. =)

Oh ya…to anyone who is interested to look around or feels like getting started, you may click here: DMC (also accessible under “Links”).  A number of downloadable free patterns under many different categories are there.  Enjoy!

Will update you guys with this once I get the roses pattern done.

XOXO

p.s. If there is anyone yang berminat nak swop patterns, you are mostly welcome…just let me know ya! =) 

Waiting list (and the top rank goes to...)

It’s been quite some time since I last gave a thought on this matter. Cumanya malas nak ambil pusing sangat...as it was not my priority since then.  Until now, perhaps? =P

Sambil menunggu waktu berbuka tadi, saja menconteng-conteng and I came up with this list of SINGLE cousins (ranks are based on age):

On Abah's side:

1) Me

2) Big John

3) Mukmin

4) Along

5) Kodik

6) Cda

7) Adik

8) Gina

9) Erein
10) Sara
11) Hadi
12) Ameer

On Mak's side:

1) Me

2) Big John

3) Mukmin

4) Deda & Cda

5) Nena

6) Bobo
7) Nisa

8) Nabil

9) Hani

10) Fathin

11) Syafiq

12) Hanis

Obviously from the list, I'm the ELDEST amongst all, including those who are still studying.  Omitting out the latter, the list is shortened to this:

On Abah's side: 

1) Me

2) Big John

3) Mukmin

4) Cda

5) Adik

On Mak's side:

1) Me

2) Big John

3) Mukmin

4) Deda & Cda

5) Nena

6) Adik

Tak banyak beza pun antara dua tu, as Abah is the 2^nd child in his family after Mak Ngah, and Mak is the eldest (even her younger twin sis pun dah bermenantu 2).

Amongst my siblings, Big John dan akulah yang “belum kisah apapun lagi” (quote ayat Mak, heheh…).  Kalau ditanya kat aku kenapa, jawapannya senang je…

“Kalau diletak pengantin lelaki kat sebelah aku, kat muka dia tu terpampang besar tanda soal.”

Hahaha…

Memilih sangat ke?

“Makcik, orang pergi pasar pun tau nak pilih ikan segar, yang elok.  Kalau dah tak ada sangat ikan, takkan nak ambil jugak yang dah pecah perut, merah mata?”

Itu belum lagi aku jawab, “Ni tengah memilih udang, sotong, ketam…”

Hahahah…

So far, I’m happy with my life…even my schoolmates pun ramai jugak lagi yang happily single, so it’s not a peculiar thing.  Masing-masing ada komitmen sendiri kan... 

Mak dah keluarkan statement, kalau ada rezeki, nak langsungkan majlis sekali 3 @ 4 orang anak dia.  Sekali-sekala tu, terdengar jugak plan2 lain yang dia nak buat untuk hari langsung tu.  Aku pun apalagi, siap tokok-tambah lagi idea kat plan Mak tu, heheheh...
  
Fuhh...meriahlah family sebelah Mak dan Abah, anak-anak buah yang lapis-lapis atas ni sekali langsung satu majlis!

Persoalannya: Menunggu akukah? Hmm...

Good night all...selamat bersahur! =)


XOXO

Eureka! (^__^)b

Disebabkan kekangan yang tak dapat dielakkan, yesterday became my 1st terawih for this year...dan memang tenang jiwa-raga (despite my non-stop unproductive cough due to salah makan during breaking fast on 1st Ramadan).  Macam dah lama sangat rasanya tak jejakkan kaki ke masjid.  8 rakaat dan 3 witir pun macam sekejap...

Hmm...what did I miss during last year's Ramadan? 

Last whole year wasn't a good one for me, either.  Jiwa kacau, interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts, yadayadayada.... But looking on the bright side of it, I learned quite a lot about myself and people around me. And the most important lesson: mum's instinct is always right.  Taubat aku! Huhuhuh....

Balik terawih, online sekejap sementara menunggu mata terkatup lepas makan ubat.  Actually I've been searching for seorang hamba Allah ni  for a couple of weeks already, I guess, but to no avail...until last night.  Ilham yang tak terjangka tiba-tiba datang.   Macam manalah aku tak pernah terfikir?

And "who is this hamba Allah?", you might be asking.  Just a friend whom I got to know from far and from other people who shared stories about this fella (good ones, believe me). We talked only once, itupun sekadar berbasa-basi.  Heheheh...

Back to the unexpected ilham story, did I manage to find the person? 

Yes...and networking always works.  Always.

And surprisingly, what I'd been searching for all this while was just there, right under my nose.  Only me not knowing (again, better late than never, right?)...

One question: am I considered stalking? 

Hurm...

Goal: To search for the profile as this fella implicitly asked from a VERY reliable source for mine (unluckily, the effort was somehow futile...ngeh ngeh ngeh...).

Result: Goal attained, period. Weehoo~ =))

Good night all (that includes you, friend)...have a good sleep and selamat bersahur! 

XOXO

No more...

No more glimpses of you to catch

No more stories of you to listen to


Will there be a next time?

Not for me to tell...

Quotes on Writing

When I am writing I am doing the thing I was meant to do.
~Anne Sexton

You can't sit around thinking. You have to sit around writing.
~David Long

I'm one of those people that believes you should start writing before you think you're ready.
~Joseph Ellis

Writing is a kind of free fall that you then go back and edit and shape.
~Allan Gurganus

The imagination is always searching in us and trying to free what we really think.
~Brenda Ueland

You must travel at random, like the first Mayans. You must risk getting lost in the thickets, but that is the only way to make art.
~Texcatillipoca

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.
~Rudyard Kipling

Source: Judy Reeves a Writer

Hi all!

Image courtesy: inspiredspirit.ca

Currently building a blog of my own (finally!).  Masih menokok-tambah di sana-sini...thus, it might seem so simple.  Baru mencuba-cuba, sedang orang lain dah berpuluh, even dah cecah ratusan entries on theirs.  Hmm...better late than never, aight?


Starting this post pun makan masa almost 1month+.  Have to admit that I'm not that good at putting words together into writing.  Sangat kagum dengan member2 yg pious with their blogs...dapat tulis berjela-jela for each post...keep it up guys!   :-bd


Don't even have any idea what to write in this maiden post...hopefully you can share ideas on what to add on to make this blog lebih menarik untuk dibaca.  And for me, guess I need to gather more interesting stuff eh (and be more observant?).  So far, I have gone read through quite a number of blogs, generating ideas based on those blog features and writings...thank you guys very much! =)


And my baby steps begin right here...