My Hot Valentine Date

2010's day of hearts is about to close. At least for us here in the Philippines. It's about 8:30 PM here. I just finished my hot date! :)

Want to get more juicy details?

I saw the classic Gone With the Wind. For the first time! Soooo romantic, I know...



...With my mom and dad. At home. :D

You see, every year, Valentine's Day is not just the day of hearts for our family. It's also my mom's birthday. We had a lovely family lunch, caught up with each others' lives, and went home. My eldest brother went home to the seminary; my elder brother and his wife to their home; and my parents and me to Scarlet and Rhett. :D

I fell in love with the movie... :)

Why can't we still wear those huge gowns every day? And the ladies doing needlepoint together, how lovely. Then again, they didn't have Ravelry or Craftster. Neither did they have internet or TV. :| I guess that's why their homes were crawling with doilies and afghans and pillows and bedspreads and blankets.

I really like the picture of the South that the movie painted. I mean, sure there was slavery and all... But chivalry was still alive there. And did I mention that all the ladies were well-versed in fiber arts? I can still remember my delighted shriek when I spotted Mammy holding a ball of yarn. Haha.

Hope everyone had a great day of hearts! :)

Sorry...

So I logged in tonight just to delete my last post about the giveaway. I received some feedback that some people were not able to post comments on the album. So in fairness to them, I just took it out of Facebook too.

Boo. Me. Boo.

I've just been busy at work with a new project for our client. Combine that with writer's block and laziness and you're going to come up with the laziest worst blogger ever = me.

Boo. :(

On the other hand, my crafty life is not dormant (as my blog would make it seem). I have a lot of projects that I haven't uploaded here and even at Ravelry. There are no pictures either. Dry spell much for digital creativity? Sigh.

The big news I haven't shared is that my mom bought me an awesome insanely cute little sewing machine. :) I hope I get around to blogging about it sometime in the near future.

Victorious!

Let's flash back to the first ever shrug I made. It's the Shells and Flowers Shrug by the wonderful Mimi Alelis.



Perfectly lovely, soft, pretty, nice, beautiful, yarnlicious. The only problem -- It didn't fit me.

I always thought of this shrug as the one that got away... Yes, that was how much I loved it. It hurts, putting so much effort into something so pretty, and eventually ending up not having it. So I promised myself that I would make another one and make it right, demmit.

But then other patterns got in the way, and it got shoved in the back burner of the crochety part of my brain. ... Until I came across this lovely beige shade of Monaco Raylon. :D So last December, in the midst of my yuletide mass production frenzy, I hunkered down and made this.




Hurrah! Success! Altered the pattern by adding more repeats and changing some things here and there... Forgot exactly how I did it, but here it is! It came out a little loose in the back. But I do love that I can wear it with both light and dark tank tops. And that it gives me modest coverage, but is still very open. I absolutely love Monaco Raylon for wearables -- they always feel fresh to the skin, light but drapey.

I apologize for the poor photos -- I took them myself. Never mind the bizarre lighting -- I never know how to arrange myself harmoniously while posing for the camera! :|

I felt like a hardcore DIY-er for life today, wearing this shrug with a necklace and earrings that I made too. I can't believe that I'm that girl--the one who makes her own clothes and accessories. :) Just last year I never would have thought this possible.

Crafting has really changed my life... *sigh* :)

New year, new threads (yarns?)

What were you doing while you were waiting for the new year?

I was crocheting. Working on this quick project. Here in the Philippines, Christmas and new year are big events–specially for kids. They parade their brand spankin’ new outfits on Christmas day and new year’s day. I remember always having new outfits for these special days in my childhood.

On the first day of the year though, it’s popular belief that wearing polka dots will bring luck for the whole year. LOL. My grandma never failed her tradition of wearing her red and white polka dot house duster, reminding me of clowns… I miss my lola…

Anyway, since I didn’t buy new outfits for either Christmas or new year’s, I made something! I love this pattern, turned out so well and so quickly. It's Doris Chan's Anisette Vest from her book Amazing Crochet Lace. Made this with yarn I bought in Baguio by the kilo. Unlabeled, of course, the vendors simply called it “velvet.” It’s a little furry, kinda bulky. Came out feeling like terry cloth in this vest. :)

I love that it gives me coverage, but is still breezy. I made it in S-M size width-wise, but made it in L-XL size length-wise (it wouldn’t cover my chest if I made it shorter :|).

I so love Doris Chan’s designs – they are almost always very flattering for most women’s bodies. And I love that her patterns almost always come with a diagram. Other crocheters find her patterns a little difficult to understand, but I don’t. :) It helps that each of her creations has a story behind it. It makes every garment not just an ordinary project, but a journey taken with her.

Happy new year everyone! :)

Handmade Gifts Fail

I promised myself that I would personally make all my gifts for this year's holiday season. I happily saved patterns I found that I thought useful. I even purchased acrylic yarn by the bulk (I planned to give home accessories, hats, and small bags).

But then... the orders started pouring in. My mom requested 15 snowflake doilies for her corporate clients. My sister-in-law asked me to make ten hats and ten bookmarks. I crocheted all of those in less than two weeks. By the time I finished them all, I didn't know if I had the perseverance to finish everything for everyone else on top of the massive orders.

And in between these, I made a triangle scarf, a shrug, and a beret for myself (yes, I put my needs ahead of others >:D). I haven't even managed to take pictures in the holiday rush. :|

So... In short, my family was able to gift hand-crocheted items to their friends. While I had to sneak to the mall to buy myself some mass-produced 2010 journals. :|

Here are some of the items I made (I wasn't able to take pictures of everything):



I hope everyone has a happy new 2010!

Feeling angelic

I finally made the angel. :)


I was depressed yesterday. Just from watching the news. So I wanted to make something to remind me that there still is beauty in the world. And that no matter how bleak everything starts to seem, I can help transform it with some yarn and a hook.

So, let me rant now. :D

1. The Maguindanao Massacre

I cannot believe that I actually live in the country where such a horribly evil tragedy happened. The day I read about this, I actually felt tears burning in the back of my eyes, from anger, from helplessness.

It's not the number of deaths that depressed me (although it is quite large -- 57 casualties discovered to date). It's the way the whole thing was staged. And how very brutally violent their deaths were. And how maddeningly rich the Ampatuan clan is -- when they live in one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines. And the fact that they have their own private effing army. How could this all have happened under everyone's own noses?

2. Martial Law in Maguindanao

I think this is a good call from PGMA. Suspending the writ of habeas corpus enables the Philippine army to go about the region without further delays. I don't think the evidence against the Ampatuans would amount to much today, if it weren't for this.

The only thing I don't like about this is its name. Saying "martial law" here in the Philippines amounts to the same thing as saying "Voldemort" in Harry Potter world. Anti-administration officials and lawyers are all shooting their mouths off, saying that this is clearly another power trip on PGMA, and that this could lead to proclaiming martial law in other areas, or even for the whole country. These people are only encouraging more fear in the term.

Martial law, in today's Constitution, is not the same as it was in the Marcos regime. I'm confident in this. I mean, the media is covering the movements of the Army in Maguindanao. In the Marcos regime, media reports were heavily censored -- some stations and newspapers were even forced to close. But today, the media run alongside the government's forces as they uncover evidence concerning the massacre.

So, while there are some who reasonably question the legitimacy of the President's call, I support it. Given the way that the legislative government operates, the Army should be able to go in and out of Maguindanao by the time all of this is sorted out *crosses fingers*.

3. The 2010 elections

Amidst all the sadness and outrage that the Maguindanao massacre created, candidates in the upcoming elections are still busy campaigning. Why can't we all just set down our personal agenda, and unite against this? I mean, if all the money these politicians spent on advertisements and commercials, were spent on protecting the massacre witnesses, I bet a lot more will come forward. And people can hold all the prayer rallies and demonstrations they want, but that won't directly help bring justice to the victims' families.

I mean come on, our country's been disgraced enough. We've become the crime scene where most journalists were killed in one day, in the same place. Add to that a former president (who was ousted for corruption) seeking reelection. And the family of the man who put the nation under dictatorship for more than 20 years, all seeking office as congresswomen and vice-president. And a current president running for congress in her home province. What's happening to us? Is the nation just a carnival to these people?

So. I'll go back to crocheting now.

Ondoy's Wrath

Our country is no stranger to strong typhoons. We're desensitized to images of streets and lands submerged in water. But typhoon Ondoy, which hit Metro Manila last Saturday, literally took us by storm. It's the first time that floodwaters entered homes in our area.

I took this picture from our front door. Night was about to fall, Saturday. This is the last I saw of our first floor, before I took refuge in the second floor of our home. No proper light because authorities turned off the power supply for our own good.


The two pictures above were taken Sunday, from inside the house. The water partially subsided, and we were able to wear rubber boots to protect our legs from the murky water.

We sought shelter in Grace to be Born, a shelter for pregnant women and abandoned babies. We helped build this halfway house about a year ago. Ironically, we're the ones seeking shelter there now. We packed a week's worth of clothes and supplies, and braved the waters outside our home to get there. It's only knee-deep inside our house, but outside, the flood reached up to waist level. Farther away, whole houses were swept away in Marikina and Cainta. I still feel fortunate even after all this -- all of my family are safe, and we were able to save most of our belongings.

I specially appreciate my brother Michael, for coming to Grace to Be Born last Sunday:


He had to brave the muddy wake of Ondoy in Marikina, just to get to us and make sure we were safe. He panicked because we were unable to respond to calls and text messages (all mobile and landline service providers were down). Note the remnants of mud on his backpack. :|

I had to leave all of my accessories back home. And all my yarns and books. :( I feel... orphaned without them. I bought some relief yarn and hooks yesterday, and made this for myself:

Crocheting keeps my mind off my worries. I worry about Ate Vita, who stayed back at our house to supervise the cleaning and to take care of our pets. I worry about my dogs, who I left shaking with fear... :( I worry about everyone who lost their homes-- much more about those who lost their loved ones.

This calamity is bringing out the best and worst in everyone. Reports of selfless heroism appear side by side with reports of looting. If there's anything I can count on, though, it's the cheerfully resilient spirit of the Filipinos. We'll get over this soon.

Baguio Bagyo

In Tagalog, the word "bagyo" means typhoon. Something that occurs in our country a lot. Even though we've been through countless typhoons, a lot of disasters still happen, unchallenged and unprevented -- flashfloods, soil erosion, heavy flooding.

Which describes our trip to Baguio City quite well. :|

I was so excited to go up there because my parents and boyfriend all need and deserve a break from work. And we're celebrating my birthday! What better place to be than Baguio to kick back and relax, right?

WRONG.

Everything was going okay. We found cheap lodging, and knew our way around the city well enough to know the good places to be and eat. On the second day of our trip though, my mom slipped near a grotto/fountain... Her back was sore and she had gashes on her right elbow. My boyfriend caught a dreadful cold. My dad had to go back early.

And THEN the worst thing happened... My camera got stolen!!! :(( I cried. People stared. I didn't care. All of our memories, gone...

On our way back, my mom, my boyfriend and I had to go on different buses because of the number of commuters.

We bought two kilos of yarn. Wonderful.

But I can't effing post effing pictures because my camera got effing stolen.

:((

I cry.