Fiber Freak

I am so sinful!

I know I cursed all the local yarns made of acrylic but when I saw this, I just couldn't resist! It's a Red Heart Soft Baby in Powder Yellow Twinkle (Sorry for the bad photography) and I'm making a Star Afghan right now (see pattern here by yarn-diva). It's made by the same company but this yarn is imported (I wonder if it would cost me less if I order online, any idea?)

Oh, forget about the Ripple Afghan I posted weeks before. This yarn is love and I just couldn't resist holding it. It's soft and smooth I so want it for myself and I can't afford to buy another skein of Red Heart because this cutie is so darn expensive!

I'll finish my afghan first with this lovely yarn then Ill try the peppermint thread from DMC, its so yummy I would have bought it then if I haven't hammered the work broke into my head. Yes, my experimentations cost a lot and I don't have sufficient income to cover the expenses. Darn it!

This is another surprise. Remember my previous post about yarns sold per kilo. Kris brought me to the store his aunt was telling me about and we bought a grab bag of threads! Whoa! That's one kilo of thread and I just couldn't comprehend!

I didn't buy yarns because I hate 100% acrylic that are made locally because its so tough and rough and difficult to work with. The red thread is for a dear friend Kathy whose birthday is in the coming 19th and I haven't started my project yet.

Way to go with your organization Gene!

Anyway, there's ecru/cream, gray, black and the two grayish thread in the bottom are actually military green but the camera flash spoils the color. The small ball in the side of the brown big ball is a free thread from the sales person. Though some thread have stains, I think it would be fine once washed so I'm really, really looking forward into making gift items for my friends. Now I still have to find a way to embellish my soon to be projects.

I just love to be loved. Thanks very much KC!

Ice cream anyone?

It's so hot recently and I want some ice cream fix but couldn't go out to the store because no one's gonna drive for me. So I spent my hot lazy afternoon crocheting spare yarns that are too tough for the project I'm supposed to be doing.

Who wants some Vanilla?

Coffee Crumble maybe?

How about Chocolate and Coffee combo?

It's the first time I see white cones with pink lining. Well, to tell you the truth, it's supposed to be a cake but figured that the pattern doesn't work for me because I don't want my cake with seams, would you? And I really don't like acrylic yarn because they're hard to work with. But I'll have the pattern as inspiration instead and make one with my own pattern.

The ice cream are some of my favorite flavors and the only useful threads I have in my stash right now. I know I have to work hard to improve my thread/fiber collection. It's hard making something and find out that you cannot continue with the project because you have a not so dependable stash of items. I still need to buy buttons embroidery stuff and felt for my swap this October and I still need to go back to my father's place to get my beads. That also gives me reason to visit my old man. I miss my father so much and it's been almost a month since I last saw him and my favorite pal with four legs, Popeye the sailor dog, haha! I miss my father's cooking. I just couldn't get him to write down his recipe, he uses rough estimates but it work well with him but not with me. Heck!

Stripes and free pattern link

When I decided that I'll reconcile my relationship with a crochet hook, I went blog-hopping and pattern hunting for free patterns that would be perfect for the beginners. Finding someone in the same country that offers free patterns is a big help because we really don't have many craft stores here in Manila, so I can get ideas as to where I could buy some items that I would need for the future projects.

To make it short, I stumbled upon Mimi's blog and learned that she offers free patterns that are easy to finish. Not only that, she also sells threads and hooks that are not available here and even surprised to learn that she also design for Coats Manila Bay. Wow!

Anyway, before I learned all that, I tried one of her free patterns, I was a lurker in her blog then. :D And only recently (err, just today) that I got the chance to take a photo of what I made.

It's just 1" X 1.5" and I used Cannon Multicolor Cotton Thread size 8 and Imia size 9 hook size. You can find the pattern [here]

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Here are the pictures of the two lovely kittens in the compound.

Kit and Kat. I just love their stripes!This is Kit. The one on the left above. Her fur is darker and the stripes are really prominent and she dodges every photo I take. She must be tired here. Haha!

Cozy Crochet Kit

I was so glad to find out that National Bookstore has an ongoing sale for imported books. So I took advantage of the 20% discount for a new crochet book. I bought this wonderful kit Cozy Crochet Kit by Melissa Leapman and was glad to know that it has not only patterns but also set of crochet hooks in different sizes (in plastic) and a yarn included for the first project. It has 25 projects best for beginners.

Also, went to Maning's in Farmer's Mall to buy some threads and yarns. Unfortunately, Red Heart by Coats Manila Bay in white isn't available so I took Monaco yarns instead and cotton threads in wonderful chocolate color.

I'm planning to make cozies or motif for these threads but I'll talk about it in another post. This week's project is a Classic Ripple Afghan from the book that I bought.

Will post pictures later.