Fats, Vitamins and Minerals

What a surprise - there’s a whole load of new Boutique-Sha magazines at National Bookstore today, and I found two crochet magazines to add to my collection. What luck!

The first magazine is Series no. 2666, March 2008, features Eco Andaria crochet and knit threads from Hamanaka Co in Japan. The magazine contains 39 patterns for bags and hats. The magazine normally costs 990 Yen (about 526 pesos), but here it’s only 85 pesos.

The second magazine is Series no. 2405, March 2007, includes 130 patterns for doilies, coasters, napkin rings and table mats, lace edgings, pillow covers, purses, table covers and other crocheted gift and home items. The magazine is quite a bargain with so many patterns. It costs 1,260 Yen (about 670 pesos) but only 85 pesos here at National Bookstore.

As I’ve mentioned before, these magazines are in Japanese language but the patterns are in diagram format. Thus, if you know how to read the diagrams, then it really is worth getting these magazines.

At the moment, I’ve busied myself with a new project after having finished the colorful wrap-around skirt I started making in India. As usual, this new project doesn’t know what it is going to be!  I’m using Monaco’s rayon crochet thread in cream (hex #FFFDD0 color (Taupe color in Monaco’s catalog)).

And at the same time, I have the Turkish mohair balls (hmmm…) sitting nearby. Honestly, I still don’t know what to do with them, ahah! But from what I read a long time ago about Inuit wood carving, the carver doesn’t really know what will come out of the wood. Only during the process of carving, will the wood tell the carver what it will become.

The next surprise this Year of the Cow is now I have US$70 for my yarn wish-list! My sister just gave me US$70 to get those lovely yarns! Oh dear! I should stop messing around with this website and work harder then! It certainly takes a lot of time building this website, taking photographs, writing the patterns - in fact, it seems that I spend more time doing these things than crocheting. Hmmm … And if I want to hand-spin my own yarn “blends”, there wouldn’t be time to eat!

Anyway, Crochetoloy.net wishes all crocheters and crochet lovers out there a healthy happy New Year of the Brown Cow!

Finally, my new crochet website - Crochetology.net!

I’ve placed some text and photos to get it started, and will surely build up as my crocheting progresses.

It’s a lot of fun going through my finished works and then trying to sort out the stitches to make the pattern instructions.

In a lot of cases, making the precise pattern is just impossible because the pieces were mostly made through improvisation.

Anyway, all the work on Crochetology.net help me clarify and reflect better my ideas about crocheting, about pattern and language.

I hope it is useful for others too.

Now I can get back to writing the posts about our stay in Malaysia - and the tour of Changi airport!!

Just a few months ago, I decided to work more boldly with color. Although earlier, I’ve made some color combination pieces, mostly purses and bag, they were all simple projects. Experimenting with color on clothes seemed much more daunting.

The first piece I made started as a long rectangular piece based on the triangle motif. At that time, I was only interested in exploring the motif and not really in creating any particular item of clothing or doing any work with colors. I used blackcurrant (hex #1B183F) raylon thread from Monaco Mfg Co handed down from my grandmother’s cousin.

Shortly, I decided to add a colorful upper bodice to the triangle-motif piece and straps built up with the fishnet chain motif. The colors I used are pink (hex #FFD1D1) and contessa (hex #C16682) mercerized crochet cotton from Monaco, and orange red (hex #FF4300) crochet cotton from Cannon.

Upon completing the piece (which I am yet to trim and weave in all loose ends), I decided to start work on another one using the blackcurrant, orange red and lipstick (hex #9E2950) color threads that I brought with me while traveling in India. Inspired by the colorful wrap skirts being sold in the shops along Kovalam beach I thought of making a crocheted wrap skirt. For this piece, I would like to use color in such a way that the skirt may be worn in both sides, with each side showing a different color pattern.

My new multicolor wrap skirt in progress.

The wrap skirt is fairly simple, the upper part consisting of single crochet double crochet, ribbed stitch, and raised treble and the lower part a variation of the shell pattern. An excellent source book on these stitches is The Complete Encyclopedia of Needlework by Therese de Dillmont. This book is now in the public domain.
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This hat / purse is an improvisation of “Number 2713 Purse”, a purse pattern originally published by The Spool Cotton Company, Book No. 219, in 1945. You can find the original pattern in the FreeVintageCrochet website.

THREADS: The purse was made from scrap yarn in hues of red and purple, green and yellow. For the body of the purse, two strands of yarn was used in red and purple color.

HOOKS: I used number 6/0 aluminum crochet hook (Tulip brand).

CROCHETING NOTES: I worked the front, back, flowers and leaves of the purse as the original pattern but decided to improvise on the handle. Instead of making rings to hold the strap of the purse, I made two 1″ wide strips: one to serve as a kind of ‘hook’ and the other to go into the hook and serve as handle.

PATTERN:

Yellow Roses Purse
An improvisation by Fatima Lasay

Bag–Front:

Starting at center, ch 5. Join.

Row 1: Ch 3, 14 dc in ring. Join with sl st in top st of ch 3.
Row 2: Ch 3, dc in joining st, * 2 dc in next dc.
Repeat from * around. Join.
Row 3: Ch 3, * 2 dc in next dc, dc in next dc. Repeat from * around. Join (45 dc, counting ch 3 as 1 dc).
Row 4: Ch 3, dc in each dc around. Join.
Row 5: Sc in joining st, sc in next dc, * 2 sc in next dc, sc in next 2 dc. Repeat from * around (60 sc).
Row 6: Sc in each sc around.
Row 7: * 2 sc in next sc, sc in next sc. Repeat from * around (90 sc).
Rows 8, 9 and 10: Sc in each sc around.
Row 11: Sc in next 2 sc, 3 sc in next sc, sc in next 25 sc (top section), 3 sc in next sc, sc in each sc to end of row.
Rows 12 and 13: (Sc in each sc to center sc of next 3 sc group, 3 sc in center sc) twice, sc in each sc to end of row. Sl st in next sc. Break off.

Back: Work exactly as for Front.

Gusset: Starting at short end, ch 11.

1st row: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. Ch 1, turn.
2nd row: Sc in each sc across. Ch 1, turn. Repeat the 2nd row until piece measures 17 1/2 inches. Break off. With right sides facing, pin Gusset around bottom of Front from 3 sc group to 3 sc group. Working through
both thicknesses, make sc evenly across long sides.

Join Back in same way.

Rose (Make 2): Starting at center, ch 5. Join.
Row 1: Ch 3, 11 dc in ring. Sl st in top st of ch 3.
Row 2: * Ch 3, skip 1 dc, sc in next dc. Repeat from * around, join (6 loops).
Row 3: In each loop make sc, half dc, dc, half dc and sc. Join.
Row 4: Ch 1, * sc on back of bar of next dc, ch 5.
Repeat from * around. Join.
Row 5: In each ch 5 loop make sc, half dc, dc tr, dc, half dc and sc. Join.
Row 6: Ch 2, * sc in back of bar of next tr, ch 7.
Repeat from * around. Join.
Row 7: In each ch 7 loop make sc, half dc, dc, 3 tr, dc half dc and sc. Sl st in 1st sc. Break off.

Leaf (Make 12): With 4 threads of Green, ch 8.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook, half dc in next ch, dc in next 3 ch, half dc in next ch, sc in last ch. Break off.

Sew 3 groups of 2 leaves at edge of 3rd rnd on each side of bag. Sew a Rose to each center on each side of bag.

Purse strap:

Ch 9. Dc in 3rd ch from hook. Dc across. Turn.
Ch 3. Dc across.
Repeat until strip is 12″ long.

For enclosure:
Ch 7. Dc in 3rd ch from hook. Dc across. Turn.
Ch 3. Dc across.
Repeat until strip is 6″ long.

Sew shorter strip to center of opening of the purse on one side, and the longer strip on the other side, as shown in photograph.

Visited my mom’s today and the other day to bring some gifts, and to pick up our own gifts. Also the chance to see Kitty. We brought some cat food and kitty litter. Seems that the folks at home are having a problem disciplining her. Toilet training is very easy it’s just that nobody at home has the patience or skill, unlike before, my mom had a maid who could discipline and train all the cats and dogs, she was even the one who castrated the cats - just tied the little things with an elastic until they dried and fell off!

But getting Kitty to behave like George and Fortun is going to be impossible. Kitty is still a kitten (maybe 3 months) and she is of course very playful, diving onto people’s feet, scratching and running about.

Kitty investigating our umbrellas.

Kitty still enjoys playing with Trevor. Her bites and scratches are no longer as bad as when she was a small kitty some 5-8 weeks back.

Soon, Trevor and I will need to bring her to the vet … or maybe the vet can come over to my mom’s house. I remember the vet who came to the NICA center in Burma, he operated on two cats (one was already pregnant) in one of the rooms. I learned later that it was tough trying to get a vet who was willing to do vasectomy and spaying (and abortion) in a Buddhist country.

Kitty and Edward on the chair. Edward got beaten up by Kitty, of course, just like old times.

It is nice to be back in Manila, although we often wish that we were living in Kerala. The food there really beats everywhere else. If I was vegetarian I would live there - it is a fantastic place for vegetarians where vegetarian food is not about TVP (textured vegetable protein) or mock meat.

There will be more chores to mind shortly - immigration, dentists, medical check-ups. And of course, the journey back to Baclayon, Bohol. Then finally, settling down.

While still too tired to cook, we’ve been eating out lately. Much has changed at the mall - there is now the new annex building. Much of prices has also gone up.

We saw the regular bomb-sniffing dogs and their friendly handler, and greeted Happy New Year! One of the bomb-sniffing dogs was behaving strangely though, he had his ears to the floor and his butt in the air. It was so funny. Some people were looking and chuckling, others took photos with their mobile phone camera. The dog’s handler was visibly embarrassed. Too bad I didn’t have my camera then. Anyway, below is a photo of Edward imitating the bomb-sniffer dog.

Happy New Year!

This purse is a sampling of an edging from a vintage pattern “Number 2714 Purse” from FreeVintageCrochet. The pattern was originally published by The Spool Cotton Company, Book No. 219, in 1945.

THREADS: I used brown yarn for the body of the purse and two strands of yarn (blue and yellow) for the star.

HOOKS: I used number 3 steel crochet hook.

PATTERN:

A sampling of edging from a vintage pattern “Number 2714 Purse”
by Fatima Lasay.

Materials:
Brown yarn
Green yarn
Yellow-green yarn
Steel crochet hook no. 3
Sewing thread and needle
Small green glass beads
One large wooden bead
One golden glass bead

Purse:
Use brown yarn. Ch 41. Turn.
Dc in 3rd ch from hook. Dc across.
*Ch 2. Turn. Dc in each dc across. Repeat from * 24 times or until purse is of desired height when crocheted piece is folded in half.

Begin purse flap as follows:

Rnd 1: Ch 1. Turn. Sc in first 3 sc. * Ch 3. Skip 2 sc. Sc in next sc. Repeat from * across ending with 3 sc in last 3 sc from previous row. Ch 1. Turn.
Rnd 2: Sc in 3 sc. *Sc in each 3-ch loop, sc in next sc. Repeat from * across. Ch 1, turn.
Repeat from rnd 1 two more times or until purse flap is of desired height.

Fold crocheted piece and with sc join the front and back sides of the purse. Weave in all ends.

Star:

Use two strands: one green and the other yellow-green. Use Steel crochet hook no. 4.
Ch 8. Sc in 2nd ch from hook, half dc in next ch, dc in next 3 ch, half dc in next ch, sc in last ch.
2nd arm: Ch 10. Sc in 2nd ch from hook, half dc in next 2 ch, dc in next 3 ch, half dc in next 2 ch, sc in last ch.
3rd arm: Ch 7. Sc in 2nd ch from hook, half dc in next ch, dc in next 2 ch, half dc in next ch, sc in last ch.
4th arm: Ch 8. Sc in 2nd ch from hook, half dc in next ch, dc in next 3 ch, half dc in next ch, sc in last ch.
5th arm: Ch 7. Sc in 2nd ch from hook, half dc in next ch, dc in next 2 ch, half dc in next ch, sc in last ch.
Sc into first ch of first leaf. Break off.

Sew wooden bead with golden glass bead as button for purse flap, then sew star over the bead as shown in photo below. Make a loop of small green glass beads of size fitting the wooden bead.

The purse measures around 7 inches wide and 5 inches high. If you wish, you can make a larger purse, and if it is too soft for putting things in, you can stiffen the purse by crocheting more stars at the back. Or, of course, by using thicker yarn.

Again, this purse is made from scrap yarn left in our apartment hundreds of years ago by the previous owner. As with the Green star purse, this purse’s flap is sampled from the edging of a vintage pattern “Number 2714 Purse” from FreeVintageCrochet. The pattern was originally published by The Spool Cotton Company, Book No. 219, in 1945.

The body of the purse is worked first, then the beading, followed by the flap. Select an appropriate bead or button for the enclosure of the purse. In this piece, I used a wood bead.

Beaded Olive Purse
by Fatima Lasay

Ch 41. Turn.

Sc in 2nd ch from hook. Sc across.

*Ch 1. Turn. Sc in each sc across. Repeat from * 42 times or until purse is of desired height when crocheted piece is folded in half.

Begin purse flap as follows:

Rnd 1: Ch 1. Turn. Sc in first 3 sc. * Ch 3. Skip 2 sc. Sc in next sc. Repeat from * across ending with 3 sc in last 3 sc from previous row. Ch 1. Turn.

Rnd 2: Sc in 3 sc. *Sc in each 3-ch loop, sc in next sc. Repeat from * across. Ch 1, turn.

Repeat from rnd 1 two more times or until purse flap is of desired height.

Fold crocheted piece and with sc join the front and back sides of the purse. Weave in all ends.

Use glass beads, needle and thread to make the flowers and leaves design shown in the photos.

Use a wood bead or button for the enclosure of the purse. The loop was made of tiny glass beads.