Razor Cami

Eh, another one?

Name: Razor Cami by Katie Marcus
Where to find: free knitting pattern in Ravelry
Yarn: DMC Petra Size 3 in Pink
Needles: 3.75 mm Addi Circular knitting  needles 32"

This cami took me about 2 weeks to finish. I started it first before making Una's baby shrug, realized that I made a mistake after 2.5" of ribbing so I frogged it then started knitting Una's shrug instead. After finishing that, I worked on this project again, with the right number of stitches this time. It's an easy pattern that I can knit and watch movies at the same time. But then again, my knitting would have been faster if I used a shorter circular needle, that is if I actually have it but I don't. I guess I have to invest on 16" circular needles in the near future. It would be great for making hats and seamless garments for Una. After this, a shirt or maybe a dress for Una. Wish me luck!

Been busy stitchin'

Uhm, hi?

I know, I know, I made promises of updating soon. You see, my hands are literally full with knitting needles and yarn. The uber long blog hiatus brought out the ehem creative side of me and resulted into something that made me so darn proud. Presenting my very first knitted garment.

Name: Confection Baby Shrug by Tonya Wagner

Made for: Una, fit for 18 months

Where to buy: free knitting pattern online. You have to be a member of Ravelry to access the pattern page.

Needle size: 3.75 mm Addi Circular Knitting Needles 32"

Yarn: Monaco No. 8 6 Ply - Undyed/Natural color

Warning: Knitting talk ahead

As a self taught knitter this project presented a lot of obstacles for me. I tend to have problems deciding which cast on method to use. I'm pretty sure it's because of my ignorance and not knowing which works best with certain projects. With that decision made, I was then again faced with another problem: seams. The pattern required seaming the sleeves and newbie knitter + seaming = problems. I hated seaming with crochet projects and still hated it with knitting. Guess, some things never change, huh? Lastly, I need a good eye in picking up stitches. It's kind of easy with crochet since you can easily differentiate each stitch but with knitted projects, ugh!

Despite all of the above mentioned difficulties, I made sure to finish the shrug and so giddy when I was putting it on Una. She wore it to bed without me washing it first. I'm just hoping that it would still look the same after washing. Crossing my fingers on that one.

Anyway, I've been thinking of moving my handmade projects to a different blog since I am starting fresh with these projects again for I have lost my previous works with Typhoon Ondoy. Can't decide yet what to name said future blog, in the meantime allow me to share some of works here.

A preview...

...for a new project.
This mom is busy running after the hyper munchkin then doing some crochet on her down time. Reading some books here and there. But mostly staying at home bonding over cartoons and trying to have some reading time with the little one. Trying being the operative word. We're getting there but for now, she entertains me with her babbles as she mimics my talking and pretend reading.
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Creating jewelry makes my heart melt

A couple of years ago, I stumbled upon a beading magazine on a book sale. I am not much of an accessory type of person but the thought of making something that I could wear and at the same time easy to make excites me. I bought the magazine and went directly to the local store selling glass and plastic beads and bought the essentials according to the magazines. I have made a couple of jewelry, even influenced my sister in making some and most of our finished projects went straight to her collection and for some that are left in my care were lost last September.

Just this evening, I was browsing my photo collection for something I could put up for the Photo Hunters week but what caught my attention surprised me. It's definitely not a theme of the week in the photo group but a definite blog worthy photo.

The photos above are just two of those creations I mentioned. A green beaded necklace with a leaf pendant and an anklet made of plastic pearl beads and leather cord.

Most of what we did are bracelets and earrings for they are really easy to make and can be worn everyday. I know my sister enjoyed her new stash of jewelry and these two are just some of those that are left in my collection.

Years passed and had a new hobby to get myself busy to, jewelry design lost my attention, until last October. You see, after Typhoon Ondoy, my daughter and I went straight to my father's home in Manila and only visited our house in Marikina a week after the great flood. I was shocked to see that my mother-in-law was wearing one of the bracelets I made. I actually stared at it for a long time and when she noticed me staring, she asked if I wanted to keep it. I just smiled but shook my head no. She told me that she found it just outside our door when they returned to our place the next day. She said that she doesn't know who it belongs to but the quality is nice because she wore it everyday since she found it and went through heavy cleaning and laundry washing and it is still intact. My heart swelled. I touched the beads one last time before returning to what I was doing.

The holiday passed and someone gave her a new bracelet but she still wear my bracelet. Though she still doesn't know that I designed it, my heart melts each time I see it on her wrist.

Una's Christening Invitation

In my family, looking for a printing press when making an invitation is not an option. We have a lot of resources available online and definitely a lot of inspiration to perfectly match your style. Once we have confirmed Una's Christening date, I already had the perfect invitation in mind. I was once browsing the web for inspiration and I stumbled upon Moralia's Weblog. She made a diaper card for her scrapbook and I definitely love the idea. I do not have her diaper template so I searched for other diaper templates that are available for free. Lucky me, I found two sites generous enough to share these templates. The first one is perfect for Baby Showers while the second one is just the one I'm looking for. I found it in ScrapJazz though the poster said the template originated from Martha Stewart's site (not sure which one).

Envelope. These are printed 8 X 13 colored cardstock, cut through the lines, folded and glued to seal it off. Originally planned to use safety pins to fasten it off but didn't work as well as my inspiration.

Invitation. The invitation consists of 3 pages back to back. That maybe a lot and I mean a lot especially when you cut each one manually but the end product is definitely worth it. The first page consists of the Christening details while the back has the names of Godparents.

The second page is all about Una's birth details.While the third page comes with a map and directions are made with MS Office Visio.

Give-away tags. These are printed on 8" x 13" card stock with a dimension of 1" x 2" each. The front cover consist of Una's photo while the inside has a Thank You note and Christening details.

If you want a template of the give-away tag, leave a message here with your email address so I can send it to you with detailed instructions.

Download link now available: give-away tags

Coraline + Knitting

You may have noticed that there had been zero updates on teaching myself knitting and it frustrates me that all I can do is just drool over those knitted tees and baby clothes. Since all I can is just watch and drool, here's one cute video that I saw in SouleMama's sidebar and it involves on of my favorite books.

Look at those cute creations!

basic slippers

long overdue post. but better late than never.

don't you just love to cuddle up and think of nothingness on a cold rainy night? that's my favorite past time on rainy days, bum around. i love the cold but my feet doesn't share the same opinion about my infatuation with the rain. well, it gets cold a lot, even if the weather is not that wet. and i really don't like wearing socks all the time. mimi's version of crocheted slippers are just right, my feet can get all the warmth it needs and enough ventilation for my sanity. and i love it! too bad i don't do yoga or pilates so i can show it off mid-air, haha!

some details of my work in ravelry.

knitted washcloths wip

i can't believe that i am really knitting now. even if it's just a washcloth, it is still knitted and loving any minute of it! the tips of my fingers are no longer sore. also learned that i'm knitting the american/english way. i tried knitting the continental way but can't do it any longer, i'm already used to holding the yarn on my right hand with knitting. wonder how it would turn out if i pick up the hook again?

anyway, here's the very first knitting project that's keeping me busy now.

after this, i'll be holding the hook again, you know, just in case i forget how to crochet, haha, as if! plus i have a lot of crocheted wips and still not forgetting it. whenever i look at my projects page in ravelry, i always remind myself to work fast on the washcloth so i can move on with the shrug and the moon pillow. then knit another washcloth then crochet a blanket. whoa, it sounds a lot, well it is a lot but what else can a pregnant lady do but keep her hands busy. at least i'm not moping or anything, haha!

7DSB projects + Knitting lessons

I made another set of my pattern, this time in variegated orange color.

And here is Mimi's red version. (Thanks for the correction in the pattern!)


knitting.

I never thought that it would be sooner for me to learn how to knit. Thanks to Mona (a knitter buddy I met in Ravelry) for sharing some YouTube links about some great tutorials. I am happy to announce that I'm a self-taught knitter, LOL! Luckily I already bought a pair of knitting needles last year in Craft World. The bad thing is I don't know the size of the needles and it's only 7 inches long. I can only make washcloths with these needles but I don't mind at all, I think it's a great project for newbie knitters such as myself. I'm not sure if it's normal for newbies but I swear the tips of my index fingers are sore now because of the needles. Is it always so?

Free Pattern: 7-Days Summer Bracelet

Living in the Philippines is like living in summer your whole life. Except of course for the occasional rainy months when we’re bombarded with typhoons left and right. Other than that, and if we are lucky, we have a month of two of cold weather, thank the monsoon wind traveling from the Antarctic to Southeast Asia.

You probably all know what goes well with summer, less is more. So I made this accessory for your daily wear. All day, all night, in the whole of seven days, all year round! Do not fret, this is so easy to make, you can make dozens in a matter of time you can’t possibly think of. You can easily wash it if it gets dirty then you can wear it over and over again. You can make this in different colors to match every outfit you have in your wardrobe. Or you can wear two different colored bracelets at the same time for that extra spunk!

7-Days Summer Bracelet
Design by: Gennie Pascual - Corbito

Level: Beginner

Size: 2cm x 15 cm

Materials:
cotton crochet thread size 8
2.50 mm crochet hook
button
blunt eye needle
stitch marker

Abbreviations:
ch = chain; sc = single crochet; sk = skip

Directions:
R1: ch 51 (mark the 5^th ch); leave about 25 cm. tail to be used for attaching the button later; turn.

R2: sc on the 2^nd ch from hook and in each of the next 4 ch; ch 40; sk 40 ch; sc on the 5^th ch of R1 and in each of the next 4 ch; (10 sc 40 ch)

R3: ch1, turn; sc on the 1^st sc and in each of the next 4 sc; ch 40; sk 40 ch; sc on the 5^th sc of the previous row and in each of the next 4 sc. (10 sc 40 ch)

R4-R7: repeat R3

Button hole: working on side of the rows, ch 1; sc on the end of R7; ch 5 (make adjustments according to the size of your button); sc on the end of R1; fasten off.

Attach the button using the 25 cm tail threaded into the blunt eye needle. Make sure that the button is placed in R4.

Adjustments and Fitting:
Ideally, the fitting should be the size of your wrist around plus enough space for a finger. To make adjustments, you may increase or decrease the number of chains in the middle of the bracelet.

You may follow this simple equation for adjustments:

5 chains + 40 chains (may be adjusted) + (5+1) chains

Designer Notes:
This is a free pattern by Gennie Pascual, also known as Gene of gene + experiments blog (http://gene-experiments.blogspot.com.) I reserve the copyrights to this pattern and/or instructions which mean you cannot reprint or distribute this elsewhere without my written consent. You can make lots of this bracelet and give as gifts but you cannot sell it. In short, the written instructions, photograph, design and pattern are intended for personal, non-commercial use only.

If you have questions regarding this pattern or violent reactions maybe, feel free to contact me here. If you love my work, please let me know, I would love to see it!

Have fun!

More details in Ravelry.

Julie Cuff + Shrug WIP

After a 10 minute bi-monthly checkup with my OB, I met up with my sister Gena and his son Kurt in Gateway, Cubao. My sister and the discriminating nephew had lunch in World Chicken while I went ahead and ordered some nachos and cheesy potatoes in Taco Bell. Nope, those ain't my lunch, they are my first batch of snacks. Then we headed to Dairy Queen for a dose of DQ Sandwich, which reminded us of Funwich minus the chocolate coating in our younger years. I think Kurt got so bored with the adult talk, he busied himself looking at the construction site going on outside of the mall so I decided to give him a ride and redeem a prize for him in Timezone. And yep, I got him a construction truck set which he really adored because he started talking to me after giving him the toy! Oh, kids!

I feel so inspired after going out with them, I immediately worked into a small project by Robyn Chachula, Julie Cuff as soon as I got home.

I'm out of buttons so I made a crocheted tie to use as an enclosure.

my version in Ravelry.

I just love making small projects and was so inspired by my little discriminating nephew (because I'm pregnant) who only calls me by my first name, I finally made a decent pattern of my own! But you dear ones have to be patient with me, as I've said I'm out of buttons and this particular pattern of mine will be needing at least one as a closure.

Enough of the small projects, the biggest item in my WIP box is this lovely shrug by Mimi Alelis. I love the lace work of the pattern and it's really not that hard. This is what keeps me busy most of the time.

Shell Bag

Something I made over the weekend...

This is by far the most difficult project I've ever done. But that won't stop me in finishing it. Spent my weekend nights finishing this little cutie and it's all worth the exhaustion over the edging. This is a pattern by Mutsuko Kishi from Keito Dama Spring 2008. I think this will be my favorite bag from now on. It's spacious enough for my Moleskine pocket planner, pre-natal record book, bulky wallet, cellphone, keys and pens. My only regret is not lining it. The lining should be made before doing the edging but working mostly at night doesn't give me enough daylight time to go to the store and buy some fabric but I love the bag, lining or no lining.

When I showed this baby to my brother's girlfriend, she wanted it herself! There's no way she's gonna make me give this to her, haha! She always wanted my bags anyway, like my tote bag from TeamManila so I offered if she really want it, she'll have to buy the yarns. She said yes, so I think I'll be needing another visit to the craft store to buy some yarns/threads in her choice of color.

If you're in Ravelry, please visit my page for more info regarding this Shell Bag.

Baby Mittens

While Baby Ichi is busy kicking mommy's ribs painfully, I finally decided to let go of re-reading (for the nth time) The Twilight Series and pick-up that dusty hook and new ball of white cotton thread to make something for the little kicker.

These mittens are based on Mimi's free pattern and the same goes for the star appliques. I chose red, a unisex color, as a contrasting color because we still don't know the gender of the nudger.

The pattern is so easy you can whip up this pair in a short span of time and actually make lots of it. I think I'll be needing more practice again with the hook, my stitches are a bit too tight for me. If you have Ravelry account, do check out my page for more details about this project.

Mimi's Breezy Shrug

I did it! The very first ever wearable that I finished for myself.

The pattern is by my crochet buddy Mimi. This is supposed to be a pattern test for her but I was so slow in making progress with my project plus I had trouble mixing and matching the appropriate hook to perfectly match the gauge. But once I got hold of the perfect hook, nobody can stop me in finishing this project. For a beginner like myself, you can finish this project in just one day. Well, in my case, I have work and lack sleep all the time so I finished most of it in my one day off work.
What I loved most about this pattern is it's flexibility to match your size perfectly. One can easily make adjustments for custom fitting. In my case, I have to add four more rows in the back area so the shrug can fit on my broad shoulder. Of course, it helped a lot that I have Mimi just an email away so we keep our correspondence so frequently I think she got annoyed already because I have so many questions, haha!
Another good thing about this project is I learned a lot about myself as a crocheter. For one, I was able to finish this because I really like the pattern. Second, realizing that I need to work on the uniformity of my tension, I started this project with tight stitches but finished it with loose stitches on the other arm. Third, my keen eyes was able to point out some things or make clarification with some parts of the pattern because as I've mentioned I'm still a newbie in the crochet world so I have so many confusions and have to clarify things. Lastly, I was inspired to make something with the stitches I learned from this pattern which I think is the most important thing, to be inspired to create.

I give my thanks to Mimi for entrusting the pattern testing to me. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot from you, Mimi-sensei!

To know more about the designer, visit Crochet and Other Stuff where she keeps you updated in her ongoing projects and pattern designs. Or you may visit her Google shop and Etsy for ordering this wonderful pattern. Just perfect for the summer season.

*I am giving the designer Mimi Alelis full permission to publish my photo for any blog post or gallery updates relating to the above mentioned pattern.

Ribbed Wristwarmer

An FO for the the first month of the year!

I'm so glad. I finished this easy project for K-kun. K-kun is actually my partner Kris but I feel like calling him K-kun because I find his reactions so animated recently, haha! Anyway, I woke up early last Tuesday and made him this wrist warmer. The pattern is by Alexandra Lockhart through Ravelry. I used Lion Brand Cotton-Ease and my favorite 4.00 mm crochet hook. I was able to finish the project in just one day which is a record breaker in my history because I tend to stop on my tracks and surf the net instead. And he loved it so much that I want to learn how to knit fast and make him a sweater.

Anyway, the pattern is free so you feel free to visit Hip Vintage Crochet so you can make one for yourself or for your loved one.

Fan Bookmark

It's done! My first ever bookmark! And yet I am saying goodbye (already?!?) to this lovely bookmark and already on it's way to California together with the Christmas card.

I saw this first in Mimi's blog months ago, the pattern that was shared by one generous Crochetville member named cupcake. She's a very talented mom from Australia and just by looking at those colorful bookmarks made me want to create one myself, and I finally did it. Just in case, this pattern was a total hit in C'ville that I think, almost everyone in the forum made this and now making it's own noise in Ravelry. But if you're not a member of these two wonderful groups, you can go ahead and visit the creator's blog and say thank you after you've made one. I just did it myself.

Pattern: Fan Bookmark by Crochetroo

Well, if you can't crochet but would like to see and have her wonderful creations, go visit her Etsy shop and you might want to add one or two of the items that she have there.

For this project, I used Monaco Cotton Thread Ombre size 8 and 1.75mm steel hook. Most of the bookmarks (like this) are actually required to block with fabric stiffener but we don't have that locally. So I asked my ever dependable crochet buddy Mimi for suggestions and she said that it would work using a mixture of water and glue but the lazy me didn't do that but I found a cheaper alternative. The technique that we all used when we were kids when we found this wonderful flower and want to preserve it, yes, that's it! I lay it flat between the pages of a hard book then add another hard book on top of it, let is sit for a whole day and viola. It's flat and the texture is still soft and nice to touch.

It's guaranteed super easy and fast plus the result is really really amazing. Just look at it for yourself. I think I'll make more using the new threads that I recently purchased.

Please look forward to it.

Past and the Future

An FO, hear ye, hear ye!

I have been working on this starghan for two months now and it's finished! I am so proud of myself! My eagerness to finish this cutie is because of the fact that another friend of mine just gave birth to a baby girl and soon to be my third inaanak (godchild) for the year. What I am excited about is the other gift that I'm going to make for her. If my eagerness permit me to make a set of hat, mittens and booties then I would gladly do so. The baby has been through a lot while she's inside her mother's womb so this is really good news that she's healthy, alive and kickin', yeah!

Notice the two new cotton threads that I bought, they look so yummy. Unfortunately, the brown one (lower left) isn't really nice to work with, it's so tough and I just learned that it has been discontinued. Gosh! Christmas is fast zooming in and I have been slacking of with my projects, bad Gene. If only I could find some sort of motivation or inspiration. Anyway, the Christmas Tree is up and all I need is to write Santa for my wishlist, yoohoo, Santa!

My Christmas (Short-term) Wishlists are 1) all the yummy and soft yarns in the world; 2) different types of hook that can work with the lovely yarns I wished in #1; 3) pattern books with wonderful wearables; 4) Super yummy, all organic lip balm; and 5) very effective skin moisturizer.

These are the things that I so wanted ASAP and yet so out of reach. One good way to cheer me up is look at the wonderful Japanese craft books that I just had and daydream on the projects while sipping my coffee.

I am such a Queen of Unfinished Business.

Small Things

I love doing small things.

Some may be hard to finish but I like finishing small projects. One can easily find the result if it works well or not and you can even do it for a short period of time, but this doesn't apply to everything small, you know.

Well, it applies to crocheting and I am loving it. I have three big WIP projects and working on it according to my mood isn't really helping. But doing something small according to my mood will definitely result into a finished object.

Here you see a coaster I finished last month. It's a four inch square coaster using two strands of cotton thread held together in two shades, natural and chocolate brown. I just the color combination! The reason why I didn't make it a set because of the fact that the house I am currently in doesn't use coasters. Weird but true. So this particular coaster will be kept for referential purposes once I already have a home that would implement using coasters because a dreamer such as myself is aiming for a glass dining table, unless, of course, my money could afford a high quality dark wood, regardless of what kind of dining table I acquire, I will still make use of my very own coasters (and probably almost anything that I can make for my home.)

Next is my very first snowflake! Yeah, yeah, ours is a tropical country and snowflakes are non existent here but to hell with it. I want to at least experience making one. And snowflakes are simply amazing. But I still need to work on my blocking and I have to properly do it this time.

And I'd like to apologize to Mimi because I have been so out of myself lately, wasn't able to contact you in one of the most special day in your life.

Happy Birthday Mimi!

Old Craft

It's nice going back to a house you grew up with found the things you do when you were younger. I have learned crochet and embroidery in grade school but doing something you worked on your own is something special.

Really special because I tacked it on my cabinet and now it's so dirty and dusty. (Look at the rust in the tacks) I wouldn't dare touch it!

I feel so bad. Why it never occurred to me to frame this pattern and why didn't I keep the pattern itself! Especially the patterns for the alphabet.

Seeing these designs brings back memories back when I was in high school. My friends isn't really into crafts then while I love writing. Keeping some letters in between their books when I borrow it. Or stashing some notes in their ball pen. I think I'm the only person who started using gel pens in our classroom then. My notebooks are filled with Stabilo marks and colorful inks. I'm not that old and yet it feels like its been so far away. So far that I can't even imagine myself going back there.

It will never be the same.

The school has been renovated. Lost communication with some friends. And a classmate lost her life.

We have lost our youth and we will never be the same again.

Lip Balm Cozy

Something to accompany my wallet.

I just love lip balms and its just hard to have your wallet, cellphone and lip balm all in your hand during those times that you're not in the mood to bring your purse or bag. Though I already made a Cellphone Wristlet before, there's still the lip balm that ends up tucked in my pocket.

But what happens if I don't have a pocket?

Inspired from Mimi's free pattern, I made my version of a Lip Balm Cozy using my left-over Monaco cotton thread size 8 and 1.5 mm steel hook. I did this working in rounds with a single crochet ending it with 6 chains for the loop where I connected my key chain.