Crafts: Crochet Brim Hat

My crochet mentor introduced me to a pretty useful site with lots of free patterns (crochet, knitting, etc). It is Ravelry[1]. All you need to do to be able to download their patterns is to register/sign up an account with them. Signing up for an account is free as well ;)

This brim hat[2] is one of the free patterns which I downloaded from Ravelry :) I managed to finish within one night. Hence, I feel that this is a pretty easy pattern to follow. On top of that, it requires only a few materials - Just yarn, hook, stitch marker and darning needle.

I would consider this a good project for beginners. It would be even better if this project motivated a beginner to learn how to crochet the magic loop. That I feel is a pretty useful crochet skill.

Here is the model QW looking pleased with her new hat ;)

Front view

Side view

Initially, I had wanted a fancier border. Hence, I ended the project off with scallop/shell border:

But, I quickly reverted back to following the pattern as I faced a problem with this pattern. Without fabric stiffener, the brim droops down because this border was too heavy. Hence, I redid the the border and ended off with reverse stitch border as suggested by the pattern.

To end off this blog post, I would like to share a silly mistake which I made for this project :P *Haha~* Well, here it goes:

The pattern called for 4 mm crochet hook. And so, I picked up a hook with a big "4" and crocheted happily. After I crocheted the body and band, I paused as I wanted to see if it fits my model ;)

Well, that is when I realised that... the hat is TOO tiny!!! *LOL!* Take a look:

Do join me in laughing at this silly mistake which I had made!! *HAHAHA*

Wondering what went wrong, I finally took a good look at my crochet hook and saw this:

Have you realised what I finally figured out back then?
No? Take a look at this next photo:

Have you figured out the mistake which I had made? *Lol~*

Yes!!! I took the wrong sized hook *Hahaha!!!*
The "4" was a 2.50 mm hook!!!
I should have been using the "7" which is the 4 mm hook as suggested by the pattern!!!

Such a funny mistake I made (which cost me 1 more night of re-doing this hat)!

Ah well, it was an interesting lesson learnt :) *hah~*

References:
1. Ravelry
2. Ravelry - Ruffled Brim Sunhat

Vegetarianism: Dinner at Ling Zhi Liat Towers (Part IV of Birthday Treat - Last Part)

Last but not least, the final instalment of my birthday treat is dinner at Ling Zhi Vegetarian - Liat Tower branch[1]. Perhaps because this is not my 1st trip to Ling Zhi, I forgot to take a photo of the food we ordered!!! I shall remind myself to take some if I ever blog about Ling Zhi again...

Well, the only photo I took while we were there was of QW playing with the SG50 balloon. As mentioned in my blog post on our Staycation at Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel, we picked up at the balloon station of "Pedestrian Night on Orchard Road"[2].

If you are an American Express Palate Card member, Ling Zhi is one of the restaurants of this Palate Dining Privileges. So, do enjoy the privileges while you are there!

Anyway, we ordered our usual favourites:
Sauteed Monkey Head Mushroom with Dried Chilli,
Vegetarian Curry Fish
Sauteed French Bean with Fried Enoki Mushrooms.

Just a note: This branch does not have buffet, unlike their other branch at Velocity@Novena Square. But the standard of the food remains the same =)

Well, the dinner sort of marked the end of my birthday treat =)
Had a great day thanks to my hubs for all the arrangements that he had made =)

References:
1. Ling Zhi Vegetarian
2. Orchard Road A Great Street - Pedestrian Night

Vegetarianism: High Tea at Raffles Hotel Tiffin Room (Part III of Birthday Treat)

I had no idea that he planned for a high tea next! Not just any high tea! But high tea at Raffles Hotel Tiffin Room! No wonder he told me not to dress too casually!

Lobby

I only got to know that we were going for our high tea minutes before we stepped into Tiffin Room. Do not just treat it like a place where you just pop by because you are around the area. Do make a reservation beforehand to avoid disappointment. Yes, it is that popular.

It being branded as "Raffles", the quality and variety of food is absolutely on spot. At the end of the room, you will be find the refills for some of the items on your tray and assorted beverages.

The usual non vegetarian menu

One of the sandwiches left a pretty deep impression on me. On top of the usual fillings such as tomato, egg mayo and cucumber, the shiitake mushroom filling was probably my personal favourite. I think the shiitake mushroom sandwich was a vegetarian's special (probably to replace one of the non-vegetarian sandwiches offered by the usual menu)~

As for QW, her favourite was the Mango pudding with lemongrass cream on the middle tray =)

Vegetarian tray

The service? Of course it was great. Not only do they take care of the adults' needs, children needs are also well taken care of. QW's high chair was already set up way before we reached. Also, she was given children utensils and bowl =)

The ambience? Fabulous especially with the background harp music.

I must say that it was pretty flawless. If you really want to find a thing to complain, it might have to be the price then. With good food, service and ambience, the price seems pretty reasonable~

Just ending this post with my favourite photo which we took while at Tiffin Room:

Reference:
1. Raffles Hotel - Tiffin Room
2. Tripadvisor - Tiffin Room