Chinese Cooking

This September, I am going to focus my attention on Chinese Cooking. As a Chinese, I am very glad that many dishes can be easily cook as long as you put in the right sauce to blend the ingredients. As the Chinese saying, dishes should be nice in taste, look and smell. There are abundance of bilingual cook books in Popular Bookshops and they are selling between $5-$25. I have realised that to cook a dish well, you must have good seasoning and it is a sure-win.

Today, I am going to talk about Tofu and Tau Kwa. The difference is soft , firm or wet. Tau Kwa is best served fried with other ingredients. Tofu, is best served in soup. The pricing for Tau Kwa is about S$0.75/pc, Tofu is about S$1.00/pc. Frankly, Tau Kwa is definitely my cup of tea as it is firmer and tastier. Tau Kwa is best fried with mushrooms, meat (pork) or vegetables.

Basically, you have to pan or deep fry the Tau Kwa first, before stir fry with the remaining ingredients. That's simple.

Word of Advice

To avoid splatter of oil, remember to wipe dry the Tau Kwa or Tofu before frying.

Sockies-Kitty Love





Alas, I had completed this lovely kitty made of sock and polyester stuffing. It was really fun to make it except for initial hiccups like stuffing and making it to stand , re-do sewing on the nose to make it look even..

There are many other designs which one can create, just think out of the box or just run through pictures of cute animals and surely the bulb of ideas will light up.

Words of Advice

Always remember to mould the stuffing before inserting into the socks and the ideal shape will surface. Measure the exact site of the eye, nose and mouth to give the final look a polished face. Finally, use the right stitch to sew the appropriate parts.

Good Luck!

Stray Sock Sewing



These are the two interesting books that inspire me to use socks as craft. It is written by Daniel , an advertising personnel who indulged in using socks to make stuff animals. The books are well illustrated with step by step instructions and colour pictures to show you the process of making it. I tried to buy them from Page One Bookshop at Vivo City but they have no stock. Each book costs S$29xx according to OpenTrolley Online Bookstore. There is another book ( $20xx) written in Chinese by Taiwanese crafter and is available at Popular Bookshop at Nex but the problem is I could not understand the Chinese explanations. I realise many available craft books are mostly from China or Taiwan and they are very well-written with attractive colourful pictures and the prices are so much cheaper. I regret not able to read the Chinese words otherwise I would have bought them. If you are thinking of getting the above 2 books, try borrowing them from the public libraries. When learning craft, one has to be patient and learn from mistakes. What I gather is, craft is such a lovely yet challenging experience and journey...
Make sure you have spare yourself the time and passion to indulge in this world of crafts.



 

Sockies-Making Stuffed Toys

This month, I will concentrate on making stuffed toys using new socks I bought from Daiso. Although this is not a new type of craft, there's something we need to know before diving into it.

1. Must know a few hand stitches i.e.
    a. slip stitch - for hemming so the stitch cannot be seen
    b. french knot - for eyes and whiskers
    c. backstitch- for outlining the shape of the toy (hands, feets and ears)
    d. ladder stitch-for attaching parts together- apply small stitches to prevent stuffing from leaking
    e.straight stitch-for closing the gaps
    f. split stitch-for outlining mouth and eyes
    g. satin stitch-for nose area

2. Choosing the right socks :
    a. baby sock- for small creatures
    b. knee-lgth sock- for bigger creatures
    c. cotton sock - not ideal , as it is cluny
    d. cotton+polyester-ideal for making toys
    e. nylon -worst cos' too stretchy, can see the stuffing
    f.  woolly - the nice comfortable feel, best type for making toys

3. Materials required :
    a. Socks
    b. Stuffing - cotton+ polyester type
    c. Embellishement - buttons, beads, ribbons, satin cord, yarn, felt, sequin...

4. Tools required :

    a. Scissors - separately for fabric , seam & paper

    b. needles / pins

    c. thread esp upholestery type- strong holding

    d. colour pencils / marker

    e. measuring tape

    f.  tweezer- for stuffing 

Words of Advice

Like I said before, have the right tools , materials and learning the stitches correctly, you are surely on the right track to making the stuff toys. Next, think of the design and method of putting it to work.

Good Luck!