Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

A chance to go to Indonesia came suddenly...... no planning in advance, no expectation and totally unprepared to go abroad for a holiday. Haha!! To cut a long story short, my sister and I went to Indonesia together in such an accidental chance on 16 December 2014.

Our first destination was Yogyakarta which is located at the foot of Mount Merapi in Java, Indonesia. It is one of the famous cultural centers of Java.

The day after we arrived at Yoyakarta, we had a lava tour on a jeep to Mount Merapi. Mount Merapi is an active volcano. I still remember the news about the Merapi volcanic eruption in late 2010. If I remember correctly, the large eruption claimed more than 300 lives and thousands of people were displaced. Therefore, it made me curious about this fierce volcano.

Mount Merapi  in Yogyakarta, Java

We rented a jeep with driver for about 500'000 Rupiah. It was an opportunity for us to experience a bumpy ride on a  rocky road. The jeep driver drove us to the mountain and drove around different sites included the cooled lava bed (lava flow area), the village that was destroyed in 2010 (It was turned to a museum), the "Alien Rock" and the bunker. Unfortunately，we didn't have enough time to take a motorbike ride to the crater top. Anyway, we were so lucky to be able to see the top of Mount Merapi. How majestic the sleeping Merapi volcano is!! I wish it would be a sleeping volcano forever ...... It would become fierce again once it awake.

We had a lava tour on a jeep.

On the way up to the mountain, we passed by a very wide lava flow area.  That area was turned into a stone and sand mining area. We saw a lot of lorries, trucks, excavators and workers there. To me, that was the most impressive site.

Lava flow area

When we arrived at Petung village, we saw a home that was converted into a museum displaying the relics from the destruction caused by the 2010 eruption and some pictures showing the history of Merapi volcano's eruptions. One thing that impressed me in this museum was the wilted clock that hung on the wall. It showed the exact time of eruption on 5 November 2010.

It was especially poignant as I imagined how the villages were ruined and claimed a lot of  lives when a large pyroclastic cloud flowed descending and caused a ruthless destruction. Here, I could felt how large the destructive force of Merapi's eruptions.

Petung village where a home was converted into a mini museum.

The wilted clock showed the exact time of eruption on 5 November 2010.

Later, we visited the "Alien Rock" which the locals said that the rock was ejected by the volcano during the eruption and it had a minor resemblance to human face.

The "Alien Rock"

Wonderful view on Mount Merapi from the site of "Alien Rock".

Our jeep broke down on Yellow River when we were on the way back to the downhill road. Why I said we were on the river?!  Yes, Yellow River was a big river before the eruption but it used to flow of lava when Mount Merapi was exploding, and caused the river bed became flat enough to drive on it . What to do then ......? Haha, while waiting for the other jeep to fetch us, we found that it was a perfect place to capture the most beautiful scene of Mount Merapi!!

View of Mount Merapi from Yellow River.

It was a great lifetime experience. Although it was a short tour, I could feel the pain and panic during the eruption in 2010.

Rabbit Fun Land, Semenyih

A few months ago, I heard that Rabbit Fun Land in Broga, Semenyih is the largest rabbit farm in Malaysia and it has been established for more than 20 years with total numbers of 30'000 rabbits, breed from different countries. I was curious about this place. After searching some information from the internet, I found that it has a rabbit petting zone where we can pet and hug the rabbits. At that moment, Rabbit Fun Land was included in the schedule of our one day trip to Broga on 14 December 2014.

On the way back from Broga Sak Dato Temple, we visited Rabbit Fun Land which located just opposite Broga Hill. When we reached the destination, we found that it was perfect for a family outing. My kids were super-excited when they saw the cute rabbits......

The entrance fee was RM5 per person but it was free for kids aged 2 years old and below. We bought two packets of ready-packed carrot slice at the counter before we stepped into the farm. The price was not cheap, every small packet cost RM10.

The entrance of Rabbit Fun Land.

The rabbit petting zone.

Cute rabbits.

Rabbit and me ......

This farm was quite big, apart from the cute rabbits, there were other farm animals. We strolled around the farm and enjoyed feeding the animals.

other farm animals

He was admiring the goats.

He was enjoyed feeding the horse with carrot slice.

She was petting the donkey.

monkey and geese

Broga Sak Dato Temple, Negeri Sembilan

Broga is situated about 50 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur. It is a small town that sits on the border of Negeri Selangor and Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia. Broga Sak Dato Temple is one of the famous attractions in Broga.  This temple is located on Broga Hill which is now officially known as Bukit Lalang. It is a beautiful temple which adorned with a lot of stone sculptures and statues. It is also very popular among many tourists and local 4D punters asking bet numbers from the Sak Dato deity.

We went to Broga on 14 December 2014. That was the first time we visited this attraction. Anyway, our purpose to go there was not for the bet numbers but to visit the temple and pray to the god for blesses. Of course we wished to visit the places nearby the temple too.

The entrance of Broga Sak Dato Temple

The cave next to the main temple houses the 

altar of Sak Dato deity.

There was another flight of steps led up to the entrance of the "Good Karmic Fruit Orchard". I found that it was also called " The Orchard of the Fruits of Kindness". Anyway, it was called "Shan Guo Yuan  - 善果园" in Chinese.  According to the title of this orchard and the antithetical couplet on both sides of the entrance, it seemed to tell us that "A good thought reaps good karmic fruit - what goes around, comes around". Walking up the steps there was another beautiful scene, we were attracted by the landscaping depicting the characters and scenes from Chinese custom and folklore.

The entrance of the "Good Karmic Fruit Orchard"

Dragon gate

Giant dragon head tortoise with golden nuggets which 
symbolize riches and wealth.

Statues of Chinese zodiac animals.

I love these giant durians!

We admired the surrounding scenes......

Behind the temple there was a suspension bridge connected to the Monkey God Hill. The bridge was quite long, I felt a little bit anxiety......When we looked ahead on the suspension bridge, we saw a magnificent Monkey God (Sun Wukong) statue standing on the hilltop. After the bridge, we walked up a short sloping paved trail that led to the statue of the Monkey God. Ha ha, we really enjoyed a great cardio exercise with its enchanting scenery on the paved trail!!

The suspension bridge.

We felt the bridge began to wobble in the middle of 

the bridge....

The Monkey God statue

We enjoyed a spectacular panoramic view of Broga from the top of the hill.

Later, we visited Sak Dato Broga Temple Gallery which was located just a few steps from the temple.

Sak Dato Broga Temple Gallery

The interior of the gallery.

garter diagonal intarsia

It is a bit different in the way that we make an intarsia diagonal design in garter stitch. I had tried the methods which I applied on the intarsia vertical in garter stitch but I couldn't get a neat and clean looking diagonal intarsia. I won't say that they are not nice because those methods would create small bars on the line that look nice at the both sides of the knitting pieces respectively. I take it as a unique pattern for an intarsia design in garter stitch.

Anyway, I use another method to create a nice and neat looking diagonal color blocks which without showing any bars at the right side of the work. With this method, I don't increase color in every row. I will only increase one color every time I knit at the right side of the work. This is a  non-reversible knitting work, therefore we have to make sure of the both right and wrong sides when knitting because the way we change colors on each side of the work would be different.

  Right diagonal

1. Join in new color (light green) at the last stitch of the right side row by holding the tail of the new color yarn and wrap the new color counter-clockwise around the right needle that you put into the last stitch of the left needle.

2. Turn your work to the wrong side. Knit the first stitch. Hold the tail of the light green yarn with your left hand when you knit the first stitch. Then, gently pull the running yarn to snug up the stitch on the right needle.

3. Then, bring the light green yarn to the front between the two needles. Drop the light green yarn at the front, pick up the dark green yarn (this way the two yarns will be twisted) and bring the dark green yarn to the back. Knit to the end of the row with the dark green yarn.

4. & 5. Turn your work to the right side. Knit to the part where you have one dark green stitch left on the left needle. Now, insert the right needle into the dark green stitch and then pick up the light green yarn from under the dark green yarn. Knit to the end of the row with the light green yarn. Here you have increased one color. By referring photo no. 5 you can see the second last stitch - a light green stitch is above the dark green stitch, this is the added color. You have to increase one light green color every time you knit at the right side, so the light green will be increased gradually to create a left diagonal intarsia design. 

6. Turn your work to the wrong side. Knit to the color changing point and repeat the step 3 to 5. Photo no. 6 is the sample of right diagonal intarsia.




Left diagonal

1. Join in new color (light green) at the first stitch of the right side row by holding the tail of the new color yarn and wrap the new color counter-clockwise around the right needle that you put into the first stitch of the left needle.

2. Pick up the dark green yarn from under the light green yarn. Knit to the end of the row with the dark green yarn.

3. Turn your work to the wrong side. Knit to the color changing point (the stitch before the light green yarn). Bring the dark green yarn to the front between the two needles and drop it at the front. Pick up the light green yarn from under the dark green yarn (this way the two yarns will be twisted) and bring it between the two needles to the back of the work. Knit to the end with the light green yarn.

4. Turn back to the right side. Knit the light green stitch/stitches. When you meet the first dark green stitch on the left needle, knit this stitch with the light green yarn in order to increase one light green stitch. You have to increase one light green color every time you knit at the right side, so the light green will be increased gradually to create a left diagonal intarsia design.

5. Now, drop the light green yarn and pick up the dark green yarn from under the light green yarn. Knit to the end of the row with the dark green yarn. Then repeat step 3 to 4.

6. Done.



                                  Right diagonal                                                                       Left diagonal

Intarsia color change on vertical line for garter stitch

We create garter stitch by knitting or purling every row. It is an easy pattern in knitting. I like garter stitch because it is soft, cushy and reversible.  Anyway, when we make an Intarsia color work in garter stitch both sides wouldn't look exactly the same. In garter stitch, one side is clear-cut and the other not. If you knitted a vertical stripes in garter stitch, you can see the broken line formed between the two vertical stripes. Though it is not a reversible stitch, to me, both sides are equally attractive. How to change color on the vertical lines in garter stitch? Let's take a look at the steps below. I found that this is the most common and easier method which many knitters like to apply it on their knitting projects.

When changing color at the right side of the garter stitch knitting work, first of all, knit to the part where you want to change color. Then, insert the the right needle knitwise into the new color stitch. At the back of the work, drop the old color and pick up the new color from under the old color. Now, knit the next stitches or knit to the next color change with the new color.

When changing color at the wrong side of the garter stitch knitting work, it is worked differently. First of all, knit to the point of the color change and then bring the old color to the front between the two needles. Drop the old color, pick up the new color from under the old color and then bring the new color between the two needles to the back of the work. Now, knit the next stitches or knit to the next color change with the new color.

The photo shown above is a sample of  intarsia vertical stripes in garter stitch knitting fabric. Do you think both sides are equally attractive?




I had been thinking about how to knit reversible Intarsia vertical line in garter stitch for my project like a scarf. I had been searching from internet but it seemed nobody to do so. If many knitters believed that it was impossible to do reversible vertical line in garter stitch or it was not an good idea?  Why not have a try? Yes, I had tried several methods but I couldn't get any method that can be used to create a reversible vertical stripes in garter stitch. What I got only an almost reversible look on both sides. Why I said so? The reason is when the two different colored yarns being twisted would interlock with one another in an opposite direction compare to the previous row. As a result, the vertical stripes in garter stitch make a broken line and the broken line on each side is in different color. Here show you the way how I knit this almost reversible vertical line in garter stitch. Let‘s look at the photos and steps below.

1.  Knit to the part where you want to change colors. Drop the old color, bring the new color up between the two needle and to the back of the work.
2.  Insert the needle knitwise into the next stitch and then pick up the new color that you brought from the front of work just now from under the old color. Knit the next stitches or knit to the next color change.

• Repeat the steps in every row, you will see the result after a few rows.

The above photos shown is the sample of my garter vertical stripes knitting fabric. You can see that the color of the two broken lines at both sides are different, one is blue and the other is brown.  Can you differentiate the two broken lines?

Although this method couldn't create a look that exactly the same at the both sides but it is good enough for me ......

Intarsia color change on vertical line or diagonal line for stocking stitch

A knitting style called "Intarsia color work" is very versatile and common. This is a style of knitting where you are making blocks of color and each block with their own ball or bobbin of yarn. To make this kind of work, basically we have to know how to cast on multiple colors of yarns, how to change colors on a vertical or diagonal line and how to join in a new color yarn.

Straight vertical stripes in multiple colors is the simplest Intarsia pattern. Before we start to make a vertical stripes for the knitting, we have to know how to cast on different colored yarns for each vertical stripe on the needle.

Today, I would like to show you the way I  do the above mentioned methods on stocking stitch (stockinette). There are some methods of doing Intarsia color work on garter stitch. I will try to post the methods later.

Casting on two colors

Here is a simple way on how to cast on two different colored yarns in order to create two straight vertical stripes in different color respectively.

1. Cast on a few stitches with blue yarn by using the long tail cast-on method.
2. Make a slip knot with white yarn and place it on the needle. Twist the white and blue yarns as shown in the photo.
3. Now, pull the both ends of blue yarn backwards and start to cast on a few stitches with the white yarn.
4. Done.

Changing colors in a vertical line

When changing colors in a vertical line, the both yarns must be twisted on every row so that they interlock without leaving a hole.

1. At a vertical color change on the knit side, drop the old color and pick up the new color from under the old color. Now the two colors are twisted. Then knit the next stitches with the new color (or you might knit to the next color change according to how many color blocks you have).
2.  At a vertical color change on the purl side, drop the old color and pick up the new color from under the old color. Then purl the next stitches with the new color (or you might purl to the next color change according to how many color blocks you have).

This is a sample piece of my vertical stripes knitting fabric. Stripes in stocking stitch make a clean line on the knit side and a broken line on the purl side.

Changing colors in a diagonal line

When changing colors in a diagonal line, the both yarns must only be twisted on every other row.

1. When making a right diagonal on the knit side, insert the needle knitwise. Bring the old color over the new color, pick up the new color up from under the old color. This will twist the both new and old yarns as shown in the first photo. Then knit the next stitches or knit to the next color change with the new yarn.
2. On the purl side,  insert the needle purlwise. Pick up the new color from under the old color and purl the next stitches or purl to the next color change with the new yarn. The both yarns shouldn't be twisted.

1. When making a left diagonal on the purl side, insert the needle purlwise. Bring the old color over the new color, pick up the new color up from under the old color. This will twist the both new and old yarns as shown in the first photo. Then purl the next stitches or purl to the next color change with the new yarn.
2. On the knit side,  insert the needle knitwise. Pick up the new color from under the old color and knit the next stitches or knit to the next color change with the new yarn. The both yarns shouldn't be twisted.

The first photo shown is a right diagonal line on the knit side; the second photo shown is the left diagonal line on the purl side; the third photo shown is a right diagonal line on the purl side and the last photo shown is a left diagonal line on the knit side.

Joining a new color 

I only use one method to join a new color for my Intarsia color work. It is easy, I use it to join a new color at the beginning or in the middle of a row.

First, insert the needle through the desired stitch on the left needle. Wrap the new yarn around the right needle and leaving a tail of yarn about 4 inches long. Normally, I will insert the needle through the stitch knitwise at the knit side and insert the needle through purlwise at the purl side. Then hold the both ends and pull the yarn out to create a stitch. Don't worry about the tail, just let it hanging there because you will finish off the tail by weaving it into the knitting piece after the piece is finished.

I use another method to join in a new color from the beginning when I make the horizontal stripes for other knitting patterns. Please click here  to visit the relavant post.

Taiwan Buddhist Tzu-Chi Foundation Malaysia (KL & Selangor Branch)

Last two weeks, we had a short visit to Taiwan Buddhist Tzu-Chi Foundation Malaysia (KL & Selangor Branch).

Taiwan Buddhist Tzu-Chi Foundation Malaysia (KL & Selangor Branch) is located along Jalan Kepong, KL. According to one of the volunteers there, the KL Jing-Si Hall was designed as a green and eco-friendly building due to global warming. She also said the hall was specially designed in a way that it could get natural air and direct sunlight to brighten up internal space of the building in order to minimise the usage of air-conditioners and save electricity.

The volunteers there were so nice. A nice volunteer brought us to visit the whole building and patiently explained to us the histories and stories of Tzu-Chi.

The entrance of Taiwan Buddhist Tzu-Chi Foundation Malaysia (KL& Selangor Branch)

KL Jing-Si Hall

Outdoor scene

There were many huge posters hanging on the wall along the ramp walkway that led to the other floor.  The posters there gave us the information about the histories and the missions of charity of Tzu-Chi. I was interested in the histories of "The founding of Tzu-Chi" and  "The spirit of the Bamboo Bank Era".

According to one of the posters there,  in 1966, while Master Cheng Yen was visiting a patient at a local clinic, she saw a pool of blood on the floor. Master Cheng Yen was told that the blood was from an indigenous woman suffering from labour complications and could not afford the deposits. The overwhelming sorrow prompted Master Cheng Yen to make a great vow and establish Tzu-Chi in Hualien, Taiwan.

Another huge poster mentioned that Master Cheng Yen established Tzu-Chi with the concept of self-support, diligence and frugality. It began with Master Cheng Yen and five disciples, each producing an extra pair of hand sewn baby shoes every day; and thirty housewives each saving NT$0.50 (about RM0.05) from their grocery money in a bamboo bank daily. This was the charity fund to help the needy. This is how the spirit of the "Bamboo Bank Era" began.

Interior of Taiwan Buddhist Tzu-Chi Foundation Malaysia (KL& Selangor Branch)

Beside the Jing-Si Hall was the Jing-Si Books & Cafe. The interior design was modern and the decorations were beautiful. We enjoyed sitting there and having a cup of coffee, what a comfortable feeling!

Jing-Si Books & Cafe

Interior of Jing-Si Books & Cafe

Tzu-Chi Continuing Education Center

I have a feeling that the world is full of goodness and beauty of mankind....