Manila Ocean Park

This can never rival the Ocean Park in Hongkong. But if one cannot go to HK, but would love an Ocean tour, this is the place to go.
Owned and operated by China Oceanis Philippines, the Manila Ocean Park at the Manila Bay area, features 20,000 exotic tropical fish, including small sharks and stingrays.
We went there last week, but it was so crowded we could hardly breathe. It was not worth our P400. each entrance fee. Anyway, we had to make the most of it.
Here are some of our pics:





















































This is one of our favorites, we named it Adidas fish:


Another cute fish photo:


You can also know more about the place by watching these videos. However, its narrated in Filipino :p

More cotton yarns!

A while back last month, Deneen was destashing yarns...I told her I would love to buy some of the cotton yarns. She was surprised but understood why I'm willing to spend $10.+ for the shipping alone, so she just RAOKed me the yarns instead :D To my delight, she packed in as much yarny goodness as can fit into the small package. When I took out the yarns, I was amazed how much yarn was inside!



I love it all, thanks so much Deneen!
I plan on making a felted hook case with the Caron Felt-it. With the other yarns, I have yet to look at project ideas on Ravelry ;)

Projects: 205 Crochet, 9 Knitting

...as of last count on Ravelry. It really isn't much since some of it were made a long, long time ago.
Only recently did I took notice of the number of my projects when I saw the Prolific crocheters were shown on this page. So I realized, having a lot of crochet projects buried somewhere doesn't get you on the list, but posting it on your Ravelry notebook does.
Some of the projects I have just posted, were from a decade or two ago. Either I scanned an old photo, or I still have the project tucked in someplace. And not ever imagining that I would someday share the project in the future, I had a lot, more crocheted and sold or gifted projects without a photo :(

Here are some of my favorite old projects:

This one isn't really pretty, but its kinda cute and I love my sister's photo modeling it ;)
(I think this was in 1992)

I think this makeup purse is cute, but I don't remember using it :p



This simple mesh Toys hammock was very practical for my son no. 1 who loved animal toys. (1990)



Lastly, this top I made and wore in 1991:

WIPs and yarny stuff

Haven't been doing much crocheting as I planned to... So after a while of not posting, I only have these to share:

First of all, I finally got the goodie box that my sister sent me all the way from London! In it were all the crochet-related wishes that she granted me, plus some vanity products and yummy treats. (Thanks again, Sis!)

A while back she sent me some yarns called Lustre, which I used to make some keychain purses. I like the softness and sheen of the yarn, so I requested some more of the purple color, which I plan to make a shawl or shrug. Again, she surprised me with more yarns :)

Then I got very interested in the Hilos La Espiga nylon cord, which was used by designer Mary Jane Hall for her keychain purse design. So I tried to buy some online, and was able to order it from Mona of CrochetStyleETC, based in Ohio. I asked her to mail it to my sister in UK. She was very nice and accommodating, and the products she offers are wonderful and her prices are so good. I ordered two rolls of size 18 nylon.



She also sent me some snippets of the other sizes of nylon cord. I'm sure I'm going to order again from her, though its so hard to choose what to order...there are so many things I want from her shop to make various projects.


Meanwhile, I'm working on another of my cropped cardigan design. This will be for my sister if she likes it ;)



Lastly, here's a Baby Newsboy Cap I made. This is sized for about 16" head circumference. I'm working on other sizes so I could offer the pattern for sale.

Snap Shots is back here

A while back I removed the snap shots feature here in my blog. I haven't figured out the new features and it was a bit distracting to me already. I really didn't like it having ads put in there. Also, I'd have to deal with figuring out the new "cool" features.
Nevertheless, the benefit of having snap previews of sites without having to click on the links far outweigh the certain irritation one gets from unwanted ads.
So, my dear readers, I installed snap shots back in my template.

If you aren't familiar with the features, here's pretty much what you should know:

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you "look ahead," before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

Crochet Booties

These days, if I'm not making shrugs I'm making baby booties! I started out with this white and yellow pair, using a pattern that I adapted from an old magazine. With the same pattern I made the following two pairs. And instead of using satin ribbons, I crocheted ties.



Both were made from size 8 cotton threads, using 1.5mm hook. Estimated size is for 0-3 mos. baby.
I made the ties with a crocheted "bead" or flower at the ends so that it won't slip out.

An appeal to my Ravelry friends

I know there's paid advertising on Ravelry...but as of now I can't afford it yet:p
So whatever I can do to promote my designs I will have to try do it. I hope you don't mind me asking...Maybe you have a project, that you have made from my pattern, but haven't posted yet. Then please, share and post it on your page on Ravelry. While you're at it, perhaps you could then link it to my pattern ;)
Trust me, I would appreciate so much your help and thoughtfulness...but if you forget to do it, its totally fine with me too... Thanks everyone!

And of course, I want to share this. Here is the latest project that has been posted and linked to my design.
Thanks Jane!