Pfft.

Guess who just came out of the hospital? That's right. After two weeks of fainting, puking and generally feeling awful, I'm finally back to normal and looking forward to resuming my busy busy life. I want to go back to work, read, draw, crochet, knit and sew in my spare time (see, this is why I'm more tired during my off days than I am during my normal work week. I do more during the weekends, but it's a good kind of tired) My doctor did tell me to take it easy, take my meds and eat well. I don't ever want to go back to the hospital again. I don't think my nerves can take any more needle poking, blood letting, rather flavorless hospital food and middle-of-the-night nursing student rounds where nursing students think they have the right to shake you awake in the wee hours of the morning and ask you if you've pooped and peed today. Geh. That was the lesson, I'm not going to get sick, not if I can help it.

Anyway, this is what I was up to while I was waiting to get well. They fortunately did not have to stick me with an IV, so the left both my hands free to finish my friend's variegated green halter top. I unfortunately do not have pictures of the finished product because I already gave it to Ross. Perhaps she'll model it for me one day. It turned out great and it was the greatest feeling to see her really happy when she got it.

This is my first attempt at doing "Marguerite," my Grandmother's unfinished bedspread. The flower turned out pretty nice and I'm rather proud of it. I'm a real doofus when it comes to reading patterns, but I was able to figure it out and get it right the first time. Yahoo!

This is proof that I have the capability being innovative (heehee) I was having a hard time crocheting with a spool of thread in while I was laying down (reclined more like), so I used one of the hospital bed posts as a holder for my spool. No rolling around, no hard pulling, just a nice even feed when I need it. Lovely. The staff didn't mind that I did it and they were even nice enough to ask me questions about what I was doing. It was great to talk about it with nurses who also knew how to crochet, so that made my stay even more cheerful. Nevermind the cons I listed earlier.

My little brother is the cutest thing. He's only three and he follows me everywhere I knit or crochet, wanting to learn it. So I gave him some leftover yarn from the Cataract doily and my shortes pair of knitting needles. He gets impatient when I try to teach him the way to do it, I think he enjoys seeing the movements and tries to copy what I do. I maybe teach him real knitting when he's older and still interested. Right now, it's enough that I have a very cute knitting/crochet partner who adores me just as much as I adore him.

I bought these balls of yarn in Hobby Lobby Evansville some time ago. It's called Sinfonia, a sportweight cotton yarn from Mexico. I completely adore this yarn and I bought loads of it (in cream and variegated green) though I had to leave most of it behind. There was a limited number of the variegated green yarn and the dye lots are different, so I've been thinking about the possible projects I could do with it. I decided to make something for one of my adored best friends (who celebrated her 26th birthday on the 15th of August: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROSS!)

It's a crocheted halter top for the next time she goes to the beach. I figured a plain bikini top would be too revealing (personally, anyway. I bet Ross has no such hangups. Heehee.) so I decided to make it into a sexy, not-quite-openwork halter. Hope she likes it (and actually gets to use it, but knowing her, it probably would be. She loves the beach.)

This blue thingie above is the Cataract doily I made for Deborah (wildthing1058 on Crochetville) She was assigned to make a doily for me, so I thought it would be a nice gesture to give her something back for her hard work. I already sent Madonna (tween on Crochetville) her two doilies, the champagne-colored one and the big purple people eater. I hope she likes it. I wasn't able to block any of the pieces as we have a set of three year olds running around, pinned doilies somewhere in this small condominium would be disastrous if/when they get to it. So I hope those lovely ladies don't mind.

And finally, a random photo of moi.

HA! DONE!

And guess what? I'm working on yet another one. Mwahahahahaha.

Today's my day off (oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I got a job. YAY.) and I spent the whole day watching DVD's and finishing a doily using variegated blue thread. Beautiful. The doily is called "Cataract" and I think the variegated blue thread is definitely a fitting color for it.

In other news, I miss my husband. He left for Evansville last Tuesday to take care of things back there. He'll be back this January for good, so it's okay. It seems so long, but I think with this job and all my hobbies keeping me busy, time will be pass quickly. He will be with me again and I can hug and kiss him all I want. I am definitely looking forward to it.

It's a beautiful, ovecast day today. It's definitely going to rain. I would have wanted to go out, but reading (while eating hot puto* smothered in butter) next to a window while the rain is pouring outside is also wonderfully appealing. I'm definitely done with the Champagne-Colored Doily, all I have to do is block it and post pictures. Now I'm working on this:

See, this is why gauge is very important. This purple "doily" is turning into a huge people eater. I barely started with it and it's already more than eight inches wide. I just hope the lady who gets this for the Doily Swap will like it and will have somewhere to put it. I mean, it looks fairly impressive (READ: hella big) from where I'm looking, but I would also want it to be useful. Form follows function and all that.
People always ask me why I'm so crazy about crocheting and knitting. I can't say I'm crazy about it, but I definitely see how amazing it is to turn a pretty ball of yarn into something complicated. By manipulating string using a hook; twisting, turning, building it stitch by stitch, you come up with something that showcases its beauty even more. This is especially true when you make doilies. Not to mention, crocheting doilies is an exact art. Each stitch has a purpose in the whole scheme of things. If you miss a stitch or you put even one extra, it won't look right.

And finally, what bigger joy is there to know that you are capable of creating something beautiful with humble materials, that you speak and understand a code only a limited number of people in this world can know, and that you are helping carry on something that is thought to be a dying art? The knowledge is satisfying and wonderful, I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.
*Puto is a kind of steamed cake made of rice flour. It's usually eaten in the morning with cheese or butter or both. It's wonderful with coffee or hot chocolate. Just thinking about it makes me gain five pounds. Mmmmm.

Current Work In Progress: The Champagne-Colored Doily

I found this beautiful Champagne-colored thread while browsing at my favorite craft store. It's the color of old parchment (or natural linen) with a gorgeous sheen. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. I got the pattern from (again) Madonna Crochet Magazine Number 6. The pattern was fairly easy and I whipped through it like nobody's business.

It's obvious where I like to work, no? Now you can see what my sheets look like.

I'm going to work on another doily, or maybe a larger centerpiece after I'm done with this. This could be for the doily swap, or I might decide to keep it, who knows? The larger doily is definitely for the swap. The lady I'm making the doily for likes purple and I found the perfect shade of purple in my stash. It's the closest thing I can get to Cadbury purple, only the thread is a little richer in tone.

In other news, it's so HOT! I'm planning to frog the Klaralund sweater I did back in Evansville. It's too large for me (wow, who would have ever thought that was a possibility?) and I spent too much money on the Kureyon for it to be shoved in a closet, never to be used.

So much to do, but I'm definitely not complaining!

Hot Pink Halter: DONE!

After a week of non-stop work, it's finally done! It was better than I thought it would turn out. I'm so happy. Special thanks to my sister Nuniko for modeling it. (It's really for her anyway... heehee!)

Materials:
Four Balls of Monaco Crochet Thread in Shade B34,
Size 7 steel hook (Imia)
Yarn needle to weave in ends.

Pattern derived from lace pattern found in Madonna Crochet Magazine Number 6.

Update!

I'm almost done with the halter! I'm still not bored with the lace pattern, so that's good. Phew!

In other news, I just joined the Doily Swap at Crochetville and I'm so excited! They coordinator still has to announce the person I'm sending the doily to, but I can hardly wait! My first swap! :D Tee-hee!

I'm already planning on the colors I'm getting in case the person wants a multicolor one. I think I may have a pattern for it, but who knows? I still have to look.

My Current Work In Progress: The Pink Lace Halter

This is the diagram I based the lace pattern of the halter on. It was originally a pattern for a pillowcase, so I might do that project for real. The book is called Madonna Crochet Volume 6, published by Goodwill Bookstore, in 1968. I'm extremely lucky to have found copies of it. I remember Mom and Grandmama having magazines back in the day and I also remember leafing through it without having any idea what the diagrams meant or what it was for. I think I was about three or four years old (I'm twenty-six now...gah. How ancient.)

This is where I started. I was taking the babies out to the mall and I found mercerized cotton thread in the cutest hot pink. My sister and I adored it, so I bought two balls (enough for a bikini top) and started crocheting the first half of the bikini in Seattle's Best while waiting for Daddy to pick us up.

One half done! Have I mentioned how much I adore this color? I'm not a pink person. In fact, my closet is just a huge blob of black. This pink is too cute to pass up, though. This is perhaps the first (and maybe the last) pink project I'm going to be working on. I might change my mind about working with pink again, who knows?

The lace pattern is showing up quite nicely. I thought it would be a complete bore to do. I don't really like repetitive patterns, but this one changes often and it's not too confusing, so I like it. I can do it while watching TV and my hands would be on autopilot. I would look down on what I've done and I would see that I would have made a four inch progress. Coolness. It is to me anyway. :D

*_*_*_*_*_*

Reminder: go dig up your old spools of Cannon Crochet Cotton. The Marguerite Project will take about (gulp) 25 spools to finish.

OMG! OMG! OMG!

I was in Megamall the other day with the two babies and I found a small craft store (it's called Craft World, I think) next to Megamall's large toystore. Being one to never ever pass up an opportunity to browse a craft store, I looked through their stuff and I found a crochet booklet with this pattern:

It's a pattern for my late-grandmother's Marguerite Bedspread!

The one my grandmother had originally is gone forever and I resigned myself to trying to decipher the stitches in the only hexagon motif I inherited. My two aunts (her two daughters) have one finished bedspread each, but she was working on my Daddy's blanket when Grandmama died. I can finally finish Grandmama's bedspread for Daddy.

Damn, I'm so happy.

First Post!

This brand spankin' new blog is for me to document my adventures in crocheting, knitting and general crafting. I also gush about yarn. A LOT. You have been warned.

My name is Lyra (lye-ruh). I'm a visual artist, interior designer (not decorator, mind you), auntie to two three-year-olds, wife to the wonderful (and long-suffering) TJ and yarn freak (this explains why TJ is long suffering). I am currently obessessed with my wonderful husband, the two babies, crocheting, knitting, sewing and the avaricious acquisition of spun fiber and all its related objects.

I am also very interested in the revival of Philippine dying arts, architecture and design. I love travelling the Philippines and exploring regional cottage industries and taking note of local designs made according to location, religion and materials. My lovely Philippines is a very diverse place, so I have my work cut out for me.

Any questions? Feel free to e-mail me at lyra_kristine@yahoo.com

All flames will be used to grill steak. Thanks.