Little Black Dress FO

This was the black tunic I posted just the other day. Thank you so much for the inspiring comments!
After I finished another ball of thread, I think I already have the right length to call it a dress. However, I have one more row of sc edging to do, and then weave in the ends before its completely done. But now I'm declaring it finished since I can't wait to show it off ;)

The size of this tunic/dress is not custom made to my own size. I wrote the pattern for small, medium and large size. This one is medium size and fits from 32" - 34" bust and the waist part adjusts to the figure. Among other reasons, I like this design because it shows how versatile crochet can be. Also, the resulting garment is somewhat stretchable...although not as much compared to a knitted fabric.
And as I mentioned before, I'm so pleased with the way the cap sleeves turned out, since it is the first time that I made one. I've not been able to come across a pattern with a similar kind of sleeve. This is crocheted directly on the armhole edge. For my previous designs, the sleeves are crocheted separately, then sewn on to the armhole.
Btw, I'd like to thank Lily for the idea and inspiration to come up with a sleeve crocheted directly.

CrochetMe

I have just found out about this new Crochetme website, and of course I had to join in to see what it has to offer and what I can contribute as well. I haven't posted anything yet...still trying to find my way around. Why don't you join in too?

Black Tunic

As of last night, the little black dress WIP, is now a black tunic. I have already used about 7 1/2 balls of thread. I think I need 1 or 1 1/2 more ball of Cannon thread before I can finish it off as a dress.
As you can see, there's a bit of see-thru effect in this tunic...just have to wear black underneath.

Garnstudio - new crochet patterns

Head band with ear flaps in Silke-Alpaca
Beret in Alaska
Hat in Eskimo
Another hat in Eskimo
Elegant heart in cotton viscose and glitter
Hat with ear flaps in Silke-Alpaca
Waistcoat, hat and mittens in Eskimo
Bag with heart, and bag with stripes in Alaska and Vivaldi
Scarf in Alpaca and Vivaldi
Head band in Eskimo
Star ornament in cotton viscose and glitter
Cone with lace edge in cotton viscose and glitter
Bauble with little flower top in cotton viscose and glitter
Scarf with shell pattern in Fabel
Jacket in Highlander

It's Friday already?

What have I done the whole week except rest, eat, crochet and pay attention to the broken toe? Not much, but yesterday morning I drove my younger son to school, since the older one didn't wake up early. I should not have dared to drive my car, since my left foot is still weak, and my broken toe hasn't fully recovered yet (bad move) so I came back very tired and took a while for me to get back in a relaxed mode.
I should take it easy, I know...it takes much longer to heal as you get older. Initially, I was told to rest the foot completely for one week, and the injured part was immobilized with the slipper they gave me. I have taken the slipper off, since its been a week, and my whole leg is suffering because of its weight. I have read in several forums and sites that a broken toe heals from 6-8 weeks. I will just be a good girl and stay home for most of that time.
Anyways, also yesterday, the two ladies from Coats (Jackie and Jenny) visited me. They didn't know about my toe injury, but since they have been here before, they decided that we talk here in my place than meet somewhere else. They are also going to the mall nearby to check on the sales of Coats supplies.
We had a nice chat and I served pansit, puto and coke (thanks to my helper, who does the cooking and most of the chores here).
They admired my tunic design and took it already to show to their boss. But you'd have to wait later to see it, and that would take a while before it gets into the printed stage.
Btw, I still didn't get the royalty fee for the sale of my previous patterns, but that's just ok so I still have something to look forward to for later. I also anticipate payment for my latest design, plus several boxes of threads and some hooks...coming very soon :D

Can you believe its almost October?

ETA: I looked for pancit recipes and picture of how the pancit (or pansit) looks like. Pancit means fried noodles, and there are different kinds. We had the first one, pancit bihon.
Puto, is rice cake...and there are different kinds of puto also. We had a similar one, to the last pic shown on this page.
As for the Coke, that's what we call the Coca-cola bottled softdrink. I usually avoid it, but still serve it when I have visitors.

I'm back!

Well, you didn't even notice I was gone...but we didn't have internet connection for 48 hrs.! I don't think anyone missed me...hehe...but I'm back now.

Thanks for the well wishes for my broken toe, I think its going to be ok now. I am going to get back on my own two feet (literally and figuratively) by tomorrow.
I'm going to be meeting with the Coats Manila Bay in-house designer, and hopefully she has some good news for me regarding my designs.

I don't have anything new to show her except the finished tunic top (that I havent shown here on my blog)...

Meanwhile, I am still working on the same project now, kept working on it the past few days and not begun anything else. I think I'm 80% done:

WIP , little black dress

I am working on a black, sort of mini dress, as part of my pattern testing for my tunic design. The pattern can easily be used to make a dress, just by increasing the pattern repeats for the bottom part. I'm hoping I will be able to finish this up in a few weeks, then I will also be making a shorter top version.


I'm only 1/3 done and just finished up the sleeves. I'm happy with the way the cap sleeve turned out →
This pattern is taking me too long to finish, but already I'm proud of it. Even if I turn out only a few designs in a year, at least its something that I can wear myself.
A few more details can be viewed on my project page on Ravelry.

Crochet Saturday

What else is there to do when it seems to be a rainy day today and I've got a fractured toe? I know its a stupid accident, since it happened in my own room and there was no one else but me to blame...

Yesterday,(as I was engrossed again - looking for new patterns at Ravelry...) I was in a rush to get out of the room, realizing it was already late and I needed to attend to marketing chores - I tripped on the foot of my bed! I almost crashed on the floor, but was able to do a balancing act while I held on to a chair nearby. Then, when I composed myself, I saw my smallest toe on my left foot was obviously broken, pointing to the left, and it was painful. Now, even a minor injury like this cause me to panic - not outwardly, but just within myself. But my two dear sons wanted to be sure I'm ok... so we went to the hospital, had it x-ray and was diagnosed with fractured proximal phalanx fifth digit, left foot...

Now I ask myself how did this happen, but I know. My room is cluttered...everything is here in my room: bed, office desk, bookshelf, computer table, computer ware, clothes, craft supplies and merchandise.
I promise when my foot is ok, I will rearrange and de-clutter my room. How many times have I said that before???..hmm...but now that I have learned a little painful and expensive lesson, I really have to do it.

More Baby Crochet Items - Free patterns

I found some more free crochet patterns for baby items
There are several on Adriafil site from Ditto & Rovescio no. 42
I have already made one hat from the above magazine:


...sorry, I can't remember if I used 2mm or 2.5mm hook for this. If you look at the baby projects page on the above link, you'll see two baby hat patterns which look similar. I used both patterns, I think I used the Hat "Formentera" for the top of the hat and the Hat "Giava" for the brim. Since I did not use the suggested yarn, the hat turned out small...I don't know if it is appropriate for a newborn.
Here's how it compares to my baby hat, which is size 0-3mos.:

And here are two more online patterns from Martha Stewart website:
Baby Booties
Crocheted Baby Blanket and Ball

Meow, meow...

This is too cute not to share to all you cat lovers ;)


Ever wondered what your cat is trying to tell you? A Japanese company hopes to solve this conundrum with a new toy that seeks to interpret your pet's meows.


read more...

Crochet Online

My latest discoveries on the web:

* There are several lovely shawl (crochet patterns) online, many are free. I have seen some diamond patterns, but this one is the prettiest. Best of all, its also a free pattern!

Simply Diamonds Shawl

* Have you all known that there are numerous free crochet videos online?

Josi Hannon Madera probably has all the crochet stitches demonstrated in videos. Take a look in her Art of Crochet website.

There are also plenty of crochet videos available on YouTube.

How about learning to crochet a beaded wire necklace?


Or drooling over this lovely crochet dress?


More crochet fashion projects on my crochet fashion blog.

Crochet hobby, crochet buddy

Today I met Gene, a new Crochet buddy in real life! She found me through my blog, and sent me an email. It was quite fortunate that she lives near my son's school, since she was very much interested in buying crochet supplies from me. Eager to get back to her crochet hobby, she bought a lot of materials and supplies in different stores, and she also bought some hooks and a cotton thread with metallic from me. I would love to see what Christmas project she will make from the metallic thread.
And here's one of her cute projects, made from my pattern:
Striped keychain purse

By the way, I would like to thank Carol in Illinois, for sending me some handsome yarns and lovely threads. I thought I had posted about this...I totally forgot, but I posted it on the wishlist thankyous at Crochetville. I just remembered this since Carol's husband is Filipino too, and they have plans to visit the Philippines.
I just thought how wonderful it would be to meet a crochet buddy from abroad ;)

Finding inspiration for designs

Other than what I see online, I sometimes find inspiration in my designs from the clothes I wear. Usually I take the form and shape from it, then I imagine the crochet stitches that could fill up that shape. I cannot purposely do this...sometimes I stare at a piece of clothing, wanting so hard to envision it in crochet. It doesn't work that way. So I just forget about it, and weeks past and even months past, and still I don't have any new design!
Sometimes I panic and think I might not be able to live up to the name of crochet designer, or that I might not be able to keep earning to support myself and this hobby-business of mine. But surprisingly, it is when I almost give up that an idea, or a vision of a design comes up. I know I have to work on it right away and make it come alive, otherwise I would forget the idea and lose the inspiration that goes with it. So it is with my new tunic design. I cannot show yet the finished piece, but I can show you what led to its creation.


I have been wanting to make a tunic since several months ago. I started on one, but somehow I knew it wasn't what I wanted. I kept going with it though, till it was almost done. I liked the color when I started it, but later realized its not that good. (When I can finally show you my finished design, I think you'll agree that the color is wonderful.) I couldn't decide what kind of sleeves to add, and I also knew that it had to be longer on the body for it to be a tunic. Anyways, I totally scrapped this one. I came to the realization it wasn't going to work out, even if I added length or sleeves to it. Also, I did not intend for it to be as see-thru as it turned out.

Before I completely lose hope, I went out to do some clothes shopping at one of my favorite neighborhood store. I saw this P200. ($4.30) brandless tunic, I liked the color, and the soft fabric. I thought it was a bit like lingerie though. I don't know exactly how it inspired me, but because of it I was determined to create my own tunic design. What I was sure of was that it was going to have cap sleeves, and it was going to be shapely at the waist. I proceeded to work on my new tunic design. For the stitch patterns, I leafed through my notes and books, studied some patterns, and adapted it to my design. For the sleeves, I made up my own style of cap sleeves crocheted directly on the armhole. In less than two weeks, I'm finished and content with my new design :) I have yet to finalize the pattern, and draw up diagrams though...

If you're looking for a crocheted tunic pullover style, with cap sleeves and waist shaping, then you would surely love my tunic as I do ;)