Angelic Pink
Pattern | Angel Lace Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn | Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in Peppermint Heather
Needles | 4.5mm circulars (very loose cast off by using 7.5mm needles)
Modifications | A sprinkle of beads here and there…

When I first started this shawl, it was with the intention of wearing it to a friend’s wedding, but after several days of frantic knitting, I realized that I couldn’t make it in time so instead, it became a gift to my mother. A sort of going-away present from me, you could say; this and the pair of socks that I’ve just completed last night.

Angel Lace Shawl was a new pattern that I purchased. I seem to have a fond liking for Evelyn Clark’s patterns and am looking forward to the opportunity to purchase her latest book, Knitting Shawl Triangles. The lady has a knack for coming up with very feminine yet easy shawl designs…timeless pieces, IMHO.

Now that this is done, I’ll have a little bit more time to concentrate on my own designs, stock up my library…and of course, how could I forget? The big move. Can’t you believe it? I’m leaving in another 20 plus days!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Les Bleus
Pattern | Wendy’s Generic Toe-Up Sock with a short row heel
Yarn | Sirdar Town & Country 4 Ply Sock Yarn
Needles | 2.25mm DPNs

The socks which I frogged and restarted last year is now finally complete!!!!

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Note: This entry is not aimed at insulting any one particular person, neither is it intended to reinforce negative stereotypes.

This whole wedding process has definitely taught me a thing or two about RSVPs and some Malaysians. As most people would know, RSVP stands for répondez s’il-vous-plaît, French for “please respond” and appears most often on invitations to functions whereby a headcount is needed for logistically reasons. The most common of which would be weddings.

RSVP works in this manner: irrespective of whether you are attending or not, you have to inform the host of your decision and by the specified date for logistic reasons - a headcount is the most important motivation for RSVPs. Problems arising from an incomplete RSVP list can range from seating issues to lack of favours and even insufficient food quantities!

However, it would appear that a number of Malaysians still have a long way to go when it comes to learning and practicing the habit of RSVP-ing. Bear in mind that I am comparing this to the pool of cards that my husband’s side received.

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To be honest, it wasn’t my best. I made a huge mistake by piping blue beads instead of sticking to white and my instructor wouldn’t let me graduate with just using Level II flowers. Hence the funny looking colour combination which made everything look oh-so…topsy-turvy. Yes, this is the trouble when you go with the “I’m just winging it” style.

Thankgawd it won’t be the same when it comes to the actual wedding cake! Speaking of the wedding cake, I need to get started on the royal icing filigree pieces now but suddenly with the lilies and everything else (fondant/royal icing bead bottom - red/gold - plus ribbon), I think it might be too much. Aiiiihhh…I can’t seem to make up my mind.

I really ought to blog about something but I’m too tired from the packing, cleaning and painting (plus getting all my other stuff sorted out like banking, etc) to actually bother putting my mind to getting upset over things that are not directly related to my move to Fondue-land.

Perhaps after tomorrow or the weekend, when I’ve come up with more things, and ultimately, more time to relax and actually come up with something meaningful.

Sorrweee…

Sometimes I have a love-hate relationship with baking. You see, I can never stick to a recipe and follow it to the T. I make modifications here and there, choosing to add a bit of this and a bit of that…it all depends on my mood really. Sometimes it turns out great, other times it’s just so-so.

This time, it turned out just fine…fine enough to become a wedding cake. The recipe is as per below:

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The fruitcake is now sitting in the refrigerator - all four batches of it!!!! Yes, I had to double up on the recipe because I felt one batch wasn’t enough. It was a nightmare mixing everything though. I’m just not equipped for double batch productions…especially of this magnitude. Well, lets just say that the fruitcake had 5 eggs, 1 cup of brandy, and nearly 1.5 kg of nuts & fruits in it! So imagine doubling up on that! @_@

As for the flowers, I’ve decided to stick with royal icing instead of fondant (remember what happened previously?) and fresh flowers. The little “blank” ivory templates were piped out several days ago and after a coat of pearl shimmer, they were ready for the paintbrush. I knew I wanted tiger lilies on the cake but I didn’t want to stick to pink so I search around the Net and come up with some dark red and very golden yellow looking lilies.

Now, you have to remember this - the last time I picked up a paintbrush was in high school. That would be like ten years ago! And even then, I wasn’t exactly a Van Gogh at it. I just followed the pictures I got and after about two hours of painting, break-time and more painting, I’m glad to say that it’s over.

The red-orange tiger lilies were painted with a mix of orange red powder, a tiny pinch of golden nugget powder and naturally, Wilton’s No Red icing colour gel. The yellow lilies on the other hand saw a coat of paint made with heaps of golden nugget powder and Wilton’s Golden Yellow icing colour gel. The dots are made by mixing a tad bit of Wilton’s Brown icing colour gel with the colours. I won’t even get into the technique but lets just say that it involved at least three coats of paint!

Now that this component is done, I’ve to get started on the side panels. Gawd, remind me please…how did I get myself into this?

I just love royal icing flowers! Clean-up is also easier too; no more greasy stuff to soap and wash! YAY!

Been busy churning out these delicate blooms since 8pm (and I’m continuing with a darker shade of blue tomorrow)…there are more though. I have a whole row of ivory lilies sitting pretty. Will be painting them once they are dried and hopefully all will turn out well. Otherwise, I have to resort to making sugarpaste flowers in my air-conditioned room. Bleh.

Just in case you’re wondering, these are for Dad’s cake. I thought blue would be nice for him and well, non-flower cakes didn’t go down too well with Mum. *shrugs*