The Woodpeckers, established by Meher Attari and Neha Taneja, transforms vintage wood into contemporary, stylish handcrafted furniture

At Ügam festival in Indiranagar, Bengaluru, potters celebrate mindfulness, craft, and community

The crew has produced five singles and three tracks collaborating with other artists, exploring themes varying from women’s rights to mental health issues

Guitarist Konarak Reddy returns to his roots with Madras 1968, an intimate music concert that journeys through decades of memories

A wedding portrait of his great grandparents from the 1920s, encouraged photographer G Venket Ram to contemplate nostalgia and contrast in his latest work

Kate's birthday was on December 22nd! She had a spend the night party on January 3rd which also was Miles' s first birthday. It was a very exciting and fun filled day. I never imagined that I would have a spend the night party because they are not my thing. However, we had a great time.

The best part of the night was the comment we overheard, "Kate's dad is actually funny!" Not surprisingly, Rick is open to have many more spend the night parties. :)

Miles turned 1 on January 3rd and I didn't even cry. :) His birthday was on Kate's birthday party night but don't worry, he still had cake and a bunch of little 9 year old girls to sing Happy Birthday to him.

Rick has been suggesting for years that we move our school room downstairs and we finally did it over the Christmas break! I LOVE it. Previously, we had everything in our dining room and while it was perfectly fine, I was shuffling stuff all day long. We eat every meal at our dining room table so we would eat breakfast, clean up, get school stuff out, clean up, get lunch out, clean up, get school back out, clean up, eat dinner, and then clean up. Whew! I know it is a luxury to have a separate place to keep our school books and work on our formal lessons and I am very thankful for it. I don't have a picture but the other side of this room is our playroom so I can have everyone down here with me and occupied. :)

A friend posted this quote earlier today on Facebook and I had to borrow it.

"To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time."
 -Clara Ortega 

Our children are all still young but it made me go back and look at the past 9 years. Here's what I found:






















So very thankful they have each other.

Well, I'm bringing the blog back to announce that we are expecting baby seven in October! I think most everyone who reads this blog already knows this, however, since this is mainly a scrapbook for our children, it seemed fitting to write this post. We are thrilled and so thankful for our new little baby. All of the children are so excited and ask daily when we will find out if this baby is a boy or a girl. :) Hopefully, we will find out ON MONDAY! :) I'm having an early ultrasound done and if the baby cooperates, we will know then!

I've mentioned before that the baby's heart rate at 14 weeks has correctly determined the gender of every one of our children. The girls' heart rates were both in the 170s and the boys' were all in the 150s. Well, I had my 14 week appointment today and the heart rate was 138! I'm going to assume that means BOY.
Another interesting predictor for us has been the year in which the baby is born. The girls were both born in even years and the boys were born in odd years. This is an even year so that suggests a GIRL. So, we're back to square one with the predictions. Maybe we will know on Monday. I'll come back with the results then.

Here's a picture of seven at 10 weeks:

a BOY!!!! We were all able to go to the ultrasound today, which is a first. Normally just Rick and I go but this time everyone tagged along. The room was huge and it had a few toys in in for the children to play with. Jack and Sims played with those toys the entire time. Miles sat with Rick and looked confused, and Kate, Claire, and Henry seemed pretty interested to see what was going on. The tech asked for last minute guesses and all of the kids guessed GIRL. We could tell right away that he was in fact, a HE and everyone was happy - even Kate and Claire. :)
We are thrilled to know and thankful to be having another little boy. That will make 5 boys, 6 and under! How fun will that be?? We will have our own boys' basketball team. It's a good thing I have Kate and Claire - they will help soften up our home. :)
We are praying the Lord will continue to knit him together and that we will be able to meet him in time.

Let's see, in the past 3 months, we:

1. Finished soccer season
2. Had 3 ballet recitals
3. Took the kids on a SURPRISE trip in Disney World
4. moved to a new city 50 miles away (4 days after we returned home from Disney)
5. unpacked our new home
6. drove back and forth between new and old home to get old home ready to rent out.
7. paid $$$$$$$$$$$$$ for a new A/C unit at our old home
8. started some of our schoolwork

So, we've been just a little busy. We have now finished our work on the old house so we're hoping things will start to calm down just a bit.

I'm currently 26 weeks and feeling good. I am starting to get heartburn at night occasionally, but it's not that bad yet. I cannot believe it's almost the 3rd trimester-this pregnancy has completely flown by. Hutch 7.0 still is nameless but hopefully not for long. I go back to the doctor the first week of August and then it's every 2 weeks until 35 weeks where I'll go weekly. Time tends to speed up at this point until about 36 weeks when it slows WAY down. I'll be interested to see how these last months go this time.

My next post (hopefully tomorrow) is going to be our new school curriculum/year.

 

This year I will have 4 children to teach:

Kate - 4th grade
Claire- 3rd grade
Henry - 1st grade
Jack - K4

I will also have:

Sims-3
Miles-18 months (right now)
Baby 7-due in October

I do a little for K4 only because I think it's good practice for both of us. I don't think K4 needs to be taught. However, most children, especially those with older brothers/sisters, are itching to start "school" like everyone else. It's good practice for me to slowly get used to teaching another child. I can see what it will look like and how it will effect our schedule. We do handwriting, phonics, and basic, fun math. I do also include them in our Science reading but do not require them to do anything and most of the time do not require them to sit and listen the entire time.

With that being said, here is what we'll be using this year:

Jack- K4

Math-Singapore Essentials
Handwriting - ABeka
Phonics/Reading - Reading Made Easy (I really love this book but obviously I did not pay $1000 for it at amazon-more like $5)

Henry-1st grade

Math-Horizons 1
Grammar-First Language Lesson
Writing-Writing with Ease
Handwriting-ABeka
Phonics-Explode the Code
Reading-Heart of Dakota Emerging Readers set and selections from Veritas Press
Science-Apologia with Claire
History-History for Little Pilgrims - we will just read through this together

I don't really start official spelling until 2nd grade

Claire-3rd grade

Math-Horizons 3
Grammar/Writing-Rod and Staff
Handwriting-Classically Cursive - Veritas Press
Spelling-Rod and Staff
Reading-Selections from Veritas Press Literature and History
Science-Apologia with Henry
History-Veritas Press self-paced online course-Explorers to 1815

Kate-4th grade

Math-Saxon 6/5
Grammar/Writing-Rod and Staff
Handwriting-Classically Cursive-Veritas Press
Spelling-Rod and Staff
Reading-Selections from Veritas Press Literature and History
Science-Apologia Anatomy
History-Veritas Press self-paced online course-Middle Ages, Reformation, and Renaissance

Together-

Bible-Veritas Press
Greek-Song School Greek, and other products from Classic Academic Press


We've made a few changes but kept our favorites too. We LOVE Veritas Bible and the reading lists. We also love the history but this year the girls are doing their own separate courses online. So far, they have been very interested in them and I don't have to do anything which makes me excited. They include map work, quizzes, tests, and outside reading.

Kate is becoming more independent which is why she is doing her own science this year. I let her pick it out and she picked Anatomy. I do love Apologia but was having a hard time combining children so I think this will work out well. She has finished up her first section and loves it so far. She reads by herself and then comes to me to narrate. After that, she works in her notebook to record what she has learned and does the experiments. I have had to help her very little.

I switched math for everyone this year and I think it will be a good switch. I haven't found a math I love yet but I really like the look of Horizons for K-3 so I think this may be the keeper. I then plan to switch the kids to Saxon at whatever level they place into. Kate placed into 6/5 this year. I almost pulled her back to 5/4 but I just decided to let her do 6/5 and slow it down if needed. It lends itself to independent learning as well so I think she will thrive on it. Rick and I both love math and so we're not afraid to "teach" it though.  And yes, I have looked at Teaching Textbooks but so far I am not interested in it. I might change my tune at some point.

I think that's about it! I'll post about our schedule/routine on another post.

Our dear son Luke Everett was born on October 21, 2014 at 12:52 pm. He weighed 9 lbs and 8 oz and was 21.5 inches long. He has dark brown/black hair like Claire and Sims. His eyes are blue for now but I'm sure they will change. He is the sweetest little baby and we cannot imagine our lives without him now. He is so new but it's like he has always been with us.

The delivery was the hardest one I've had and he broke his collar bone but we are both on the mend now and feeling better every day.  But I would take the pain again and again to have Luke with us.


Luke means light in Greek and Everett means brave. Our prayer for Luke is that he will point people to the light of Christ and that the Lord will strengthen him to be brave in doing what the Lord has called him to do.




Thanks to our wonderful parents who have helped us tremendously with our other children during the past 9 days. We are all back together again and I hope to get a picture of everyone soon. And also, "Luke" was a character on LOST. :) He was an "Other" in 5 episodes of season 3. The LOST name streak lives on.

We went to the park back in November to enjoy the nice weather and because Rick took the day off of work. This is one of my new favorite pictures of the kids. Little Luke (exactly 1 month old at the time) was in his little car seat. Maybe he can climb on the slide with everyone this summer. :)

I really do want to try and post more frequently. This is meant to be a place of memories. Hopefully, I will write an update post soon. For now, I wanted to make sure I recorded the sweet names that Miles (2) calls everyone. He is the first child to have "nicknames" for everyone. I'm sure he'll start calling everyone by their real names sooner or later and I just don't want to forget this time.

Kate - TT
Claire - CC
Henry - Ree-Ree
Jack - Yack
Sims - Lolly for (Ollie)
Miles - Me
Luke - Luca

And here he is, sneaking cheese. :)

When Amazon announced the Echo, I immediately requested access to purchase one. I read some skeptical blog posts about it, but had high hopes. We received ours back in December and since then it has become increasingly useful.

I will not list out everything we love about "Alexa", but I wanted to highlight one thing we do that has proven helpful. We have one iPad to share among the entire family and that can be problematic with 7 children. My wife came up with the idea of having the kids set a 20 minute timer on Alexa each time they begin using the ipad. It is simple and has changed our lives. The constant questions, "Mommy, can I have the ipad now," stopped immediately. And the amount of time on the iPad for each child was reduced without parental intervention.

Children are happier when they know their boundaries. This makes parents happier too. Alexa was just the tool we needed to reduce the amount of time kids were spending on the ipad and to ensure everyone has a turn.

The kids have also had their eyes opened to how easy it is to stay on the ipad for a really long time without noticing. It's a win all across the board. Thanks to Amazon and "Alexa". And thanks to my wife for the ingenious idea.

I am 21 weeks now and amazed at how fast time is progressing. I still cannot believe we are having a GIRL!!! We gave away almost all of our girl clothes and one of our cribs when we found out Luke was a boy so I am currently going through what we do have to see what we actually need. I smocked several dresses for the girls when they were little (that was when I had more time) and thankfully kept all of those. I also have some gowns/dresses that Kate, Claire and I all wore as babies so it's fun to pull them out and know that little Charlotte Emma will be wearing them soon. My sister, Sarah, and another friend have already bought her a few sleepers and outfits which was so kind.

One thing I want to remember is how the Lord was extra gracious to me with my morning sickness. I always feel terrible for 6 weeks with every pregnancy and it normally lasts all day. This time I did feel sick everyday, but it was always after 2:00 in the afternoon. I was able to get our school work completed, some housework, and start dinner before it set in. This was a tremendous blessing.

Kate and Claire are beside themselves with excitement about a baby sister. For as long as Claire has been able to talk, she has been asking for one. She and Charlotte Emma share the same initials and that was partly to honor Claire. They ask me everyday about who will be able to hold her first - I'm not sure how we will decide that.

Baby girl is due November 19th and Luke's first birthday is October 21st. Our babies have never walked before their first birthday so we will most likely have 2 non-walkers for a few weeks. :)

We are starting school on Monday, July 13th, to accommodate our newest little one (or really me.) This will allow us to complete the 1st semester of school by mid-November, when Charlotte Emma is due. It will be good to get back into our routine and I know we will all be glad in November when we will break for the remainder of the year.

We started our 2015-2016 school year today! I know July 13th is early but I wanted our first semester to be completed by Charlotte Emma's due date. We finished last school year mid-May so we have had a 2 month summer break.

I have a regular Elementary School this year. :)
Kate-5th, Claire - 4th, Henry - 2nd, Jack - K, and Sims - K4

And every school needs a mascot or two. Here are ours:
Miles - 2, Luke - 8 months
I'm sure they will provide plenty of comic relief to our days.

Today was probably the best first day we've had. Everyone was excited, worked hard, and there was still plenty of time to play all afternoon.

I am nearly 37 weeks now and baby Charlotte is still breech. She has been for as long as I can tell. I feel kicks in totally different places than I normally do and I'm not experiencing some of the late term pains that the others have given me. I think she just likes being up close to my heart. :) I will be admitted to Labor and Delivery early Wednesday morning and my doctors will attempt to manually turn her. Claire was also breech and I had the same procedure preformed with her. Since Charlotte and Claire have the same initials, I'm just assuming she's trying to be like her big sister.

The version was successful and Charlotte is now in the correct position. I checked into Labor and Delivery  at 6 and was discharged around 8:30. It was painful but quick. Now I feel like we are in countdown mode. Lord willing, we will be meeting Charlotte face to face in just a couple of weeks!!

I just returned home from seeing the doctor and sweet baby girl has flipped again. I guess she just likes being breech. So, we have decided it's best to have a csection. There were many factors I discussed with my doctor before making this decision. He delivered every single one of our kids and I'm so glad it appears that he will also be taking care of Miss Charlotte. We have our date and, Lord willing, she will be here end of next week. Hopefully, the next post will have a picture of our new little one!

Charlotte arrived quite unexpectedly and very early on Friday morning!!! Here are her stats and a couple of pictures and I will post her birth story once I get settled in at home. The boys are in Gadsden and have not met her yet. I'm posting these pictures from my phone so I hope it works!

Charlotte Emma-Faith
7lbs 15 oz
20 1/4 inches
12:50 am
11/13/15

Here are a few pictures from Charlotte's first week. I'm planning to write up the story of her birth in the next few days so I will not forget anything.

Things to know before reading:

1. Charlotte was breech
2. I had a version preformed to flip her
3. She flipped back


When I last left off, I was waiting on our planned c-section. I had a list of things to do and by the Thursday before her Saturday arrival, nearly everything was finished. All of our school work for the semester was complete and all of the laundry in my house was washed, folded, and put away. The only major family thing I had left to do was packing. I never got around to packing.

Thursday afternoon I noticed I was having about 4 contractions an hour. I paid no attention to these because in my previous pregnancies, I had weeks and weeks of contractions prior to actual labor. This pregnancy, I had NO "practice" contractions. I just assumed it was because she was breech and so there was nothing to get ready for. My cervix was also closed at every appointment in the last weeks which is also not normal for me. I normally am between 3-4 cm before I go into labor. So back to the few contractions, I just assumed these where the ones I had been without for the last 6 weeks.

I started cooking dinner on Thursday night and got about halfway through cooking when I felt the first painful and long contraction. It was at 5:15. From that point on, they were coming every 2-3 mins without stopping and lasting over a minute. They went from 0-60 immediately. I couldn't finish making dinner so I really have no idea what the kids ate that night. Rick walked in the door at 6 and I asked him to take Kate to dance and take all of the other kids with him. He asked if it was "time" and I said, "No, I just need to try and make them stop." I had 2 times with Luke where I had similar contractions prior to labor that lasted 2 hours and then stopped. I was assuming that's what was going on here. So from 5:15-9:15, I walked around my house, laid down in my bed, took 2 baths, but nothing was stopping them. It was the same pattern, 2-3 mins apart and lasting from 1-2 mins. I wasn't getting any relief or downtime in between contractions. At some point during this 4 hour period, Rick picked Kate up from dance, printed and folded the bulletins for Sunday, and took them to the church.

I told myself if they were still going at 9:15 that I would call my doctor. My doctor told me to come on in and get checked out and that they would probably keep me overnight to monitor me and decide what to do early Friday morning. I still wasn't sure if I was in labor or not and really didn't want to go and then get sent home so I was relieved that they were going to keep me and that Charlotte would probably be born the next day when my doctor was on call. (He delivered all 7 of our other kids.)

I texted my sister to come stay with the kids and started packing my bags. I always wondered why people packed their hospital bags early. I thought you would have plenty of time in between contractions to get what you needed. Haha! I ended up at the hospital with 6 shirts and 1 pair of shorts. :) I guess I really was in pain.

The ride to the hospital was horrible. Every bump magnified the pain. The contractions didn't slow down and that was when I finally realized that I was actually in labor. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the hospital. I think we arrived around 11:00pm and I was taken to triage to get things checked out. I had never actually been to triage so that was something new. They monitored me for an hour and I had to lay on my back that entire time. That was horrible. I'm pretty sure you are not meant to lay on your back without pain relief during labor. :) They also did an ultrasound to check her position and she was in fact, still breech.

Around 12:20am, Friday morning,  the doctor on call came in said it was time for Charlotte to be born and that we couldn't wait any longer. My contractions were not stopping and my cervix was opening.  From that point on, everything moved quickly and slowly at the same time. The anesthesiologist came in and said I would be getting a spinal because they couldn't wait for an epidural to work. He told me all of the side effects but I'm not really sure what he said. I had to sign about 20 pages of release forms and they I was wheeled off to the operating room while Rick waited in triage to be called back.

I remember the operating room being very, very bright and there were a lot of people in there - I think 10. I'm used to the quiet dark delivery rooms with just one nurse and the doctor so this was a change. I moved from the triage bed to the operating table and was given my spinal. I do remember the anesthesiologist saying that if the spinal didn't take for some reason that they would immediately knock me out and that when I would wake up I'd have a baby. I was hoping that didn't happen. He poked my arm with some kind of sharp object and then would poke on my stomach to make sure I didn't feel anything. The first 2 times he did it I felt it but by the third time, I couldn't feel anything. At that point Rick was let in the room and they began. They had been prepping and draping me during this time as well. Charlotte was born at 12:50 am. She was born toward the beginning of the surgery and it seemed that the bulk of the time was spent getting stitched back together.

She was immediately shown to me over my drape and then taken to get cleaned up a bit. About 2 minutes later she was brought over to me and placed on my chest and I held her for about 5 mins. She was then taken away (in the same room again) to be weighed, etc and Rick went with her. She was then brought back to me all bundled me for a few kisses and then Rick was able to carry her to the recovery room to wait for me. I was in the recovery room for 2 hours and during that time my parents came up to see her. I was able to nurse her which was great. I was also given a pump for my pain medication. The nurse sacred me because she told me to push the button every 8 mins and to stay on top of the pain. She warned me not to fall asleep because if I did and then woke up an hour later, I would not be able to handle the amount of pain I would be in. It was 2:00 in the morning and I was drugged up on morphine and she was telling me not to fall asleep! I guess it worked because I didn't sleep until later that morning, after the pump was turned off. :)

I was in love with her from the moment I saw her. My main concern with having a c-section, prior to having it, was that I would somehow feel like I missed out on the birthing process. I never felt that way. I carried her for 9 months and she arrived in the safest way possible for both of us. It was perfect. The only thing I was sad about was that my doctor missed delivering her by 5 hours. However, that was the Lord's will too. He was on call all weekend so he checked on me everyday while I was in the hospital. C-section recovery is painful. That's all I want to say about that. I just want to remember the hours and minutes before, during, and after her birth. I am thankful for every moment of it.

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Books on Nyonya Kebaya, Batik and Nyonya Cuisine

Peranakan, Baba-Nyonya (????) and Straits Chinese (after the Straits of Malacca) (????) are terms used for the descendants of the early Chinese immigrants to the Nusantara region, including both the British Straits Settlements of Singapore, Malacca and Penang and the Dutch-controlled island of Java among other places.The word Peranakan is also used to describe Indonesian Chinese. In both Malay and Bahasa Indonesia 'Peranakan' means 'descendants'. Babas refer to the male descendants and the Nyonyas the female.Most Peranakan are of Hokkien ancestry, although a fair denomination of them are of the Teochew or Cantonese descent. Written records from the 19th and early 20th centuries show that Peranakan men usually took brides from within the local Peranakan community. Peranakan families also commonly imported brides from China and sent their daughters to China to find husbands. A small group of Indian Peranakans, known as the Chitty, do exist as well. LanguageTheir language, Baba Malay [Bahasa Melayu Baba] , is a dialect of the Malay language [Bahasa Melayu], which contains many Hokkien words. It is a dying language and contemporary use is mainly limited to members of the older generation; this is indicative also of the Peranakan culture at large. HistoryIn the 15th century, the city states of the Malay Peninsula often paid tribute to various kingdoms such as the kingdoms of China and Siam. In return for such tribute, a princess of China was presented as a gift to the Sultan of Malacca at that time. The royalty and servants who accompanied the princess eventually grew into a class of straits-born Chinese known as the Peranakan. The Peranakan retained most of their ethnic and religious origins (ancestor worship), but assimilated the language and culture of the Malays. They developed a unique culture and distinct foods. A lot of sources claim that the early Peranakan inter-married with the local Malay population. However, the lack of physical resemblances have also led many experts to believe that the Peranakan Chinese ethnicity has hardly diluted. The Peranakan often sent their sons and daughters to China to look for spouses. Also, the religion of the local Malay population was Islam which forbids inter-marriage with other religions without conversion first. In the early 1800s, new Chinese immigrants to the Straits Settlements bolstered the Peranakan population.By the middle of the Twentieth century, most Peranakan were English educated, as a result of the British colonisation of Malaya, and the natural propensity of these people who were able to easily embrace new cultures. Because the Peranakans readily embraced English culture and education, administrative and civil service posts were often filled by prominent Straits Chinese. The interaction with the British also caused many in the community to convert to Christianity. The Peranakan community thereby became very influential in Malacca and Singapore and were known also as the King's Chinese due to their perceived loyality to the British Crown. Because of the interaction of the different cultures and languages that Peranakans had, up to the mid-1900s, most Peranakans were trilingual, able to converse with Chinese, Malays and the British. Common vocations were as merchants, traders, and general intermediaries between China, Malaya and the West; the latter was especially valued by the British, since the Babas also enjoyed good relations with the Malay community and served as advisors to the royal Malay courts. In fact the term "Baba" is a honorific term in Malay; probably derived from Hindi/Sanskrit [Baba: literally means grandfather or father, and is used as a term of reverence and affection for an elderly gentleman]. CultureHistorical and cultural items from the Baba culture are displayed in cultural establishments on Heereen Street and Jonker Street in Malacca and in Penang in Malaysia, and at the Peranakan Museum in Singapore. There one can find museums displaying furnitures, foodwares, and even traditional clothes of the Baba and Nonya. There are also a small number of "Nyonya" restaurants in Singapore, Penang, Malacca, and the West.The Peranakans were partially assimilated into the Malay culture (especially in food, dress, and language), while retaining some Chinese traditions (religion, name, and ethnic identitity), thereby creating a fusion culture of their own. For instance, from their Malay influence, a unique "Nyonya" cuisine has developed using the spices of Malay cuisine (examples are Chicken Kapitan, a dry chicken curry, and Inchi Kabin, a Nyonya version of fried chicken). The women (Nyonyas) have taken to wearing the baju kebaya (a Malay dress, seen most notably as the uniform of Malaysia and Singapore Airlines' female flight attendants). However, most of the Peranakans are not Muslim, and have retained the ancestral worship tradition of the Chinese; though some converted to Christianity. The wedding ceremony of the Peranakan is largely based on Chinese tradition, and is one of the most fascinating wedding ceremonies in Malaysia and Singapore.The cause for their cultural extinction is largely due to racial politics and economics brought about by nationalism in Singapore and Malaysia. Without colonial British support for their perceived racial neutrality, Peranakans feel pressured to assimilate back into the mainstream Chinese culture in both countries following independence from the British. In Singapore, the Peranakans are classified as ethnically Chinese by government policies, and because second language instruction (so-called "Mother Tongue") is decided based on ethnicity, this requires them to learn Mandarin Chinese instead of Malay in formal education. While in Malaysia, the standardisation of Malay [Bahasa Melayu Malaysia] -required for all ethnic groups- has led to a disappearance of the unique characteristics of Baba Malay.

Batik or batique is an Indonesian-Malay word and refers to a generic wax-resist dyeing technique used on fabric. The word originates from Malay word for dot or point, "titik" and the Javanese word "amba", meaning ”to write”.It is found in several countries but most popular in Indonesia and Malaysia. The island of Java in Indonesia is famous for its batik. Melted wax is applied to cloth before being dipped in dye. Wherever the wax has seeped through the fabric, the dye will not penetrate. Sometimes several colors are used, with a series of dyeing, drying and waxing steps.Thin wax lines are made with a canting, a tiny metal cup with a tiny spout, out of which the wax seeps. Other methods of applying the wax onto the fabric include pouring the liquid wax, painting the wax on with a brush, and applying the hot wax to a precarved wooden or metal wire block and stamping the fabric.After the last dyeing, the fabric is hung up to dry. Then it is dipped in a solvent to dissolve the wax, or ironed between paper towels or newspapers to absorb the wax and reveal the deep rich colors and the fine crinkle lines that give batik its character.The invention of the copper block, cap, developed by the Javanese in the 20th century revolutionised batik production. It became possible to make high quality designs and intricate patterns much faster than one could possibly do by hand-painting.As compared to the more Indonesian Batik, which are mystic-influenced and carry illustrations of animals and people, Malaysian batik have brighter hues and more versatile patterns. Kelantan on the eastern coast of Malaysia is the home of Malaysian batik. ProcedureHeat the wax in a tin can sitting in a pan of water. This makes sure the wax stays an even temperature and does not begin to smoke or burn. Dry the fabric bone-dry before waxing or the wax will not penetrate the fabric. Use cattle urea tablets to give the dye a real bite in the fabric. This produces rich colors. Some people use vinegar and salt instead. Use paraffin wax if you want lots of crinkle lines. More beeswax if you want less crinkles.

A sarong is large sheet of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn as a skirt by men and women in southeast Asia and Pacific islands, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia. The fabric is often brightly coloured or printed with intricate patterns, often depicting animals or plants, checkered or geometric patterns, or resembling the results of tie dying. Sarongs are also used as wall hangings and other forms of clothing, such as shawls, baby carriers, complete dresses or upper body clothing. In North America, sarongs are often used by women as a cover-up over swimwear.Sarongs are also widespread in the South Indian state of Kerala, where they are called mundu. Unlike the brightly coloured Southeast Asian sarongs, the Keralan variety is more often plain white. Mundu are generally worn only by men in this region (women are more likely to wear a sari).North American sarongs may have decorative fringing on two sides. They may also have ties, which are long thin strips of fabric used to assist the wearer in holding the sarong to his body so it does not fall off while moving around.If a sarong does not have ties, a pin may be used, or the fabric may be tightly tucked under itself in layers to hold it in place. Numerous tying methods exist, in some cases customarily differing between genders of wearer. A belt may also be used to hold the sarong in place.In North America, the fabric of the sarong is generally quite light, often rayon. Modern sarong users, especially in North America and Europe, are women and the item is associated as a swimwear accessory or a cover-up. For current modern uses, there are several popular instructional pages that teach how to tie a sarong or how to tie a pareoThe sarong making process is most commonly known as ‘Batik’, which, in Indonesia, means “to ‘dot.’” This process is highly artistic and very technical. Hand-drawn designs are converted onto fabric with wax (this is the part of ‘batik’), then the fabric is dyed, scraped, and dyed again color by color until the design is complete. The Sarong is then air dried. Only the strongest natural fabrics such as silk, cotton, and rayon, will endure the blistering water temperatures and the Batik process and remain resilient and strong enough to be a ‘wash and wear’ sarong product.Another method of sarong making includes hand painting images onto silk using a “gutta resist” technique. These images are then re-produced on silk screens and hand printed on to each sarong. The final product is a beautiful tropical sarong.

The Kebaya can be shipped Locally and Internationally via Poslaju National Courier and tracked here. A single packaged Kebaya will weigh less than 500gm.

All prices are quoted in Malaysia Ringgit (MYR). For your convenience, you may use a currency converter tool here to estimate the shipping cost in your country's currency.

1. Your left side fold 1/4 of 'kepala' 2. Your left side fold 3/4 of 'kepala'. 3. Bring right 'badan' fold across your front and slightly higher. Pleat excess fabric and tuck at side tightly. 4. Bring left 'kepala' fold to front - about 3/4 way across. Temporarily tuck in edge at waist. Secure with metal belt. Fold excess fabric over belt and neaten.

1. Wrap sarong into half around waist. 2. Bring one corner to the back with a twist (anti-clockwise). 3. Thread the other corner through a large brooch as far as possible, forming cascading folds. Alternatively, twist it (clockwise). Bring to back. 4. Secure both ends with a reef knot. Neaten.

- Kebaya Fastening -Traditional kebayas are fastened using a set of 3 brooches attached to chains called 'kerosang'. I have modified this by sewing plastic press studs. This makes it easier for the wearer.

- Care Instructions -All nyonya kebayas are to be hand washed separately. A little starching is best for those made of voile or cotton. Warm iron for voile, cotton and cotton mix. Cool setting for chiffon, georgette and silk.

- Kebaya Embroidery -All kebaya embroideries are specially machine made by individual craftsmen. Variations are natural characteristic inherent during the process.

Kebayas are made in standard sizes of Small, Medium and Large. Sizes are according to kebaya measurements and not body measurements. Nyonya kebayas are meant to be body hugging. If you wish to wear it looser, choose a bigger size.

Method 1 : Cash and Cary
Method 2 : On-line Order

Kebaya - Self coloured embroidery on kasar robia / speckled voile.

Kebaya - Colourful floral embroidery on kasar robia / speckled voile.

Kebaya - Beautiful pieces in plain voile, kasar robia / speckled voile, patterned cotton and cotton mix.

Simple self-coloured embroidery on plain voile in the traditional style. Fabric length sufficient for 'Small' and 'Medium' sizes only.Price : RM350

Beautifully embroidered designs on plain voile fabric in the nyonya style

Kebaya - Colourful flora and fauna on plain voile in the traditional Nyonya style.

Kebaya - A selection of unique pieces in voile, silk, chiffon and georgette.

Authentic Nyonya Kebaya in Blue Swiss voile cut in the traditional style of a narrower back piece for a slimming effect. Special 'handkerchief stitch' with perforations on the princess cut French seams.

All over sprinkling of tiny blue flowersCut-out work on embroidered crescentsPrice : RM800