Crochet Update

Here is a hat, hot and fresh from my hook. I found a very cute free pattern from Crochet Garden.
The reason I was looking for a hat pattern is that my sister ordered one from me. She's going to send it to her boyfriend's sister, who has a darling daughter. Now the one I made for them is on its way, its a different color. But I couldnt resist making another one, since I've changed the pattern at the brim (simplified it) and wanted to keep my version of it. I made this one with my Anchor size 8 cotton thread in two strands. (I also made one in orange see here)



Another hot item I would like to show is my soon to be halter top design. Here's my first attempt at it, the top part is like a bikini. This turned out big, its probably a large size. I'm not sure yet how I will continue after this. I'll just experiment some more.

What I've been crocheting...

Hi! I looked at my last post and wonder, why its been more than a week and I dont have anything to post about! But I've been crocheting everyday at least 4 hours a day, maybe even more. And some of that time is spent writing out the pattern. So as much as I would like to show you all my WIP or my finished designs, I couldnt. But I'm just so happy that I could say its all coming soon (or maybe, later)...
I will now dig up pictures of projects that I've not shown in my blog yet. These were already in my archives ;)



This is a top I made with Cannon threads, in natural color. I gave this one to my sis when she was in college, so this one was washed several times already. I didnt have a pattern for it, I just winged a pattern design I saw on a cover. I really didnt like the sleeves, I wasnt good in figuring out those before, so there wasnt much shaping on this top.



This is another item I made for my sis to wear in school. I think she wore it a couple of times... I got the pattern from this book, but I wasnt able to make it as nice as the model because I had a diff. gauge.



And here's a mesh hat and bag that I did for my sis too, it matches her colored beach outfits. Both were made from free online patterns, just couldnt remember where :P




Lastly, here's a toddler top I made I think it was from a Crochet Fantasy magazine. This was made more than 15 years ago! My son liked it, but I think I made the sleeves too tight, so he only wore it a few times as we struggled to put it on and take it off!

Proud Mommy

This doesnt come often, and ever since I've been blogging, I seldom have these proud mommy posts.
Last week, my son in high school gave me this medal, he won it in a team event. He said it wasnt much, because the team that they beat wasnt all that good :p Anyway, I told him that he put a lot of effort being in the team and representing his school and that in itself, I'm proud of :D

Crocheted in Purple

The other day I saw Kathy's doily done in purple for A.A. shown in this post and I liked the color so much! And I also liked Mary's purple pincushion on this post.
So I picked Cannon MB106 (lavender) and MB083 (purple) and I made another bullion stitch pincushion, since I needed to practice more on the lovely edging. I couldnt wait to finish it in purple, here it is:



Another item in purple is this shawl I made several months ago. I had not posted about this, I modeled it before I sent it to my Autumn Secret Pal. She disappeared halfway through the swap, but I sent it anyway, since I didnt know if she just had a temporary problem. Unfortunately, she did vanish and of course, I wish I had not sent this purple shawl. Even if it was just a simple shawl, I liked it so much in pretty variegated purple. I've been crocheting another one, but it has remained in my WIP stash, and I'll get back to it when the weather starts to get cold...

Bullion Stitch Pincushion

Yesterday, I made this lovely pincushion from Kathy's wonderful pattern. I saw her lovely creation at the forum and immediately asked her if I could test it. I was a bit scared because I had never done a bullion stitch. I tried before, but had only gotten frustrated. Now, with Kathy's pattern and words of encouragement, I gained some confidence and was surprised that I could actually make it with my regular hooks :) Also, I used only small amounts of size 8 threads and scrap fabric.
My bullion stitches look quite different, but I know its because of the hook (I used size 2 IMIA steel hook). Learning the technique is what matters and this was surely a wonderful learning experience :D



To see more of Kathy's creations and purchase her lovely designs, visit her website.

Crochet Stuff

I got these from a private swap with Barb from Canada. (Sorry for the late posting...) Thank you Barb! I love the cotton yarns, the dishcloth and the card you sent :D I love the soft, natural look of the cotton and also its lovely variegated shades!


I bought this Japanese crochet book in Hongkong. I wasnt able to find other crafty stuff except this, when we chanced upon a Japanese bookstore :p
This had several crochet tops and a few knitted ones. A bit outdated, but I could use it for inspiration in coming up with my own designs ;)



Here's a sleeveless top with crochet trim I bought in HK. I intended to buy a crochet cardigan or bolero, but the ones I wanted were too pricey, and the other ones were made from itchy yarn. We really didnt have much time to go around and shop, so this was the only crochet item I got. This was made from fine thread.(For a closer view of the stitches click here.)




I got this skirt from a store which sells mostly handmades. There were a lot of crocheted items, but as I mentioned, were too pricey. This skirt was handwoven from India.
I talked a little with the storeowner, I asked her if she might be interested to buy my crochet pieces. I'm not really sure she understood me well as she doesnt speak english fluently. I got her email and intend to show her some pics of my finished items.



This is the 4th necklace of the same design from Rachel's patterns. I gave another one out today, to my friend Jeng, when she came over. She picked the pink one too!

Hongkong Pics

The pics here were from my brothers. The photo above, though, was taken by me, at home :)
There was a roving photographer at Ocean Park and they sell the photos mounted on the ceramic plate and 2 extra copies for quite an expensive amount. But of course, we couldnt resist...


First day, just outside the hotel at one corner, we were all looking at a map and my father and brothers making sure that mom and me dont get lost shopping :p

On the second day, we went on tour to Ocean Park. This was the day that I enjoyed the most!

The first picturesque site we saw:


Then, we had to go up the hill and it wasnt really easy even with this very long escalator. We had to go up on four of these!


All rides are included in the entrance fee, but we werent crazy enough to ride any...


Before lunch, we watched the sea lions and dolphins show.




Somehow, we got unlucky picking a place to eat there, the buffet was all reserved so we had to walk downhill to another restaurant. I think this is just a small fraction of what we traveled on by foot, or maybe because I was too tired and hungry, I felt it was endless...



After eating, we went to see the jellyfishes and went around the biggest aquarium.
One of the sharks we saw up-close.




These are the cable cars at Ocean Park, we were inside one when this pic was taken. Not a pleasant ride at all!


On the third day we went by bus and ferry boat to Lantau island to see the big Buddha. It was raining hard, so we werent able to take much photos.



At the pier, with my brother:



Last day, more shopping (and by shopping I mean looking at all the wonderful things there is to buy, but hardly able to buy anything)! Then we had to go home.
After checking in, we had a lot of time to view the HK airport. It was marvelous!