Yarn Addiction

Hello. My name is Janelle and I am a... yarn addict this time. 

I was obsessing on yarn all of last week. I don't know why... it's not like I have any major project to use them for lined up. Aside from more hats and baby booties (the only projects that are within my skill range at this time), I don't really feel confident about making anything else. I guess part of what's fueling this obsession is the fact that good yarn is so hard to find in Metro Manila! So when I do find some... I HOARD!

Here are a few of my precious finds:

I got these from Craft World at Megamall. They only had 3 balls of this type and color so I got all 3 balls. They have another 3 balls of this type in beige and I've been thinking of getting those too (if they are still there). Each ball costs P250 (approx $5.77). The lady at Craft World told me they got it from Thailand and after buying it, I was seriously considering a quick trip to Thailand early next year to buy yarn. Who knows... I might be able to get away with it if I don't tell my husband exactly why I suddenly and desperately want to go to Thailand.

The labels for this yarn doesn't really tell me much about it: what weight it is, made from what, etc. I just bought it because I thought they were pretty, and different from the usual yarn I see around. Here's a close up:

Does anyone know what type of yarn this is? I tried searching online and I did find this site... only Google Translate doesn't fully translate it to English so I can't read it. I did see though, that is is available from that website for only $2.83! Darn it, I had to pay 2x that price. 

I also remembered that they make knitted and crocheted hats and sweaters in Baguio. So I contacted one of my friends who lives there and asked her about it. She said you can buy yarn by the kilo in Hangar Market in Baguio City. Each kilogram will cost around P180 (approx $4.15). One big ball of yarn will only weigh a few grams, so 1 kilogram is a lot! She bought some and sent them to me... yey!

All pink, she knows I love pink, haha. They're a little thinner than the yarn I can get from the mall. I'm not sure if they are made of acrylic too, all the yarns I got from Baguio didn't have any labels, but when I held them against my cheek, they don't feel as itchy as the acrylic ones I can get at the mall.

More yarn from Baguio. The yarn on the left and on the right are crochet thread. The one in the middle looks different... not sure what kind it is, but it is thin and stretchy. And yeah... this made me want to go to Baguio immediately! Maybe in January.

I still haven't made it to Dreams Yarnshoppe in Glorietta 5. I was at Glorietta 3 yesterday over lunch but I didn't have time to go to Glorietta 5 to check it out. Maybe next week. And I still haven't had a chance to check out that place that also sell yarn by the kilo at Rosario in Pasig. I hope to stock up on yarn so I can bring them to the province when we go on vacation over Christmas so I'll have something to do.

My Weekend Discovery!

This is a quick sharing post to let you guys know that I'm still here. I'm sorry for the lack of craft posts since this is a craft blog. It's just that there have been so much stress and negativity along the fringes of my personal life that  I haven't really been in a creative mood for a while. And the weather here is not helping. After being terribly hot all day... it suddenly started raining hard... AGAIN. Rain always puts me an... errr... melancholy mood. And somehow I found that funny. Anyway I hope to get over this creative slump soon. And I just discovered something that will help me with that.

I discovered a new fabric store that sells cotton fabric in various prints that I LOVE! And plus plus PLUS points... they have a branch at the mall I always go to. *giddy* *giddy* *giddy* If you're wondering why this is a big deal, well... I remember my professor in one of my graduate classes told me that the Philippines textile industry is dead. We don't produce fabric anymore... we import. And there are very few mainstream stores that sell fabric.There are a couple of big chains that have branches at the mall but choices are always limited. Very very few choices for printed cotton... and in our humid climate, cotton is my fabric of choice for my daughter's clothes. If you want to hunt for good fabric... you have to endure traffic and brave the crowds at one of the streets in Quiapo, Manila... Ylaya Street. I haven't been there yet... I passed by it once... I didn't realize it was a street because it was so crowded and full of people. Maybe one of these days, I will try to go there. 

So anyway, I remember passing by this new small fabric store at an out-of-the-way area of the mall after if just opened a few months ago. When I first visited the store, it didn't make a good impression because it was small... and initially, their choices were limited. Last night, I decided to make a quick check because I needed white and red polka dot fabric to finish a dress for Andrea and couldn't find any anywhere else. Am I glad I did. 

The store is called Cotton Stuff and it's located near the left side entrance of SM North EDSA (Hi Kelley! I remember you once asked me where I get my fabric in Manila :). They just sell cotton fabric but they have a wide range of selection. Price is pretty standard too. P150 - 180 per yard (approx $3.50-4.50). Not sure if that's supposed to be cheap or expensive... but whatever. Good enough for me. I wanted to buy them all!! If I didn't have my husband with me, I'm sure I would have run up quite a bit of credit card debt. But since he frowns at credit card purchases... I had to keep my spending within my cash on hand.

It took me a while to choose which ones to get.

Daddy and Andrea patiently waiting for mommy to pick something.

I had to keep reassuring myself that I can always go back when I need more.

Here's a little preview of the project I finished using one of the fabrics I bought.

Details and more photos of the dress on Monday! Happy weekend everyone!

Bargain Finds

Last night, I started cutting some fabric to make a dress for my niece. So while we wait to see how that turns out, I will share some of my thrifty finds here in Manila.

My mom and I went shopping for accessories last weekend. I took her to Quiapo, where I used to buy my materials to make jewelry before and accessory pieces at really, REALLY low prices. I limited by shopping budget for this trip to P1000 (US$23). Please excuse the quality of my photos... my SLR camera went on vacation so I had to use my camera phone for these photos.

Stainless steel Dragonfly pendant, P160 (US$3.75), 18-inch stainless steel chain P120 (US$2.80)

A closer look at the pendant.

Let's start with my favorite purchase... a stainless steel Dragonfly pendant. When I saw it, I fell in love with it immediately! Stainless steel is a cheaper alternative to silver. They do not tarnish and when they do... they are easy to polish. In the past couple of years, I began seeing stainless steel jewelry being sold at malls for around P400 - P700 (US$7.00 - 16.25). Although still cheaper than the price once it hits the international market, nothing beats the price of getting it direct from the source. Sophie Fashion Jewlery, a store in Villalobos St. in Quiapo, has a wide array of stainless steel jewelry (bracelets, pendants, rings, bangles, chains) at affordable prices. The catch? They're a wholesale store, you need to buy at least 6 items (any item) from their store to be allowed to purchase. But once you're there, it's actually not hard to find 6 items you WANT to buy. I always hit this store first when I go to Villalobos and I blow half of my budget on this first stop. Luckily, since my mom was with me, 6 items was a breeze. There were other pendants there, like the puppy and the elaborate butterfly... I didn't buy them because I didn't want to spend a lot of money on accessories... I already have enough, but now, I can't get them out of my mind! I also bought gold-plated stainless steel star studs for Andrea but forgot to take a photo. I think they were around P120 (US$2.80).

Jewelled Peacock cuff in emerald green, P100 (US$2.32)

details of the Peacock

My second favorite. I forgot the name of the store I got this from... but it's about 2 or 3 stores away from Sophie's. They have several designs for chunky cuffs like this and I had a hard time choosing just one. All cuffs from that section cost P100 (US$2.32).

Pucca stud earrings for Andrea (she loves Pucca!) P20 (US$0.50)

I bought 2 pairs of these Pucca earrings: one for Andrea, and one for my niece. I got them from the same store where I bought the Peacock cuff.

Carved Coral Roses bracelet, P180 (US$4.20)

This is another favorite... ok I seem to have a lot of favorites but seriously, I just love everything I bought last weekend! I was shocked when I saw this. Because I've been looking at necklaces with one carved coral pendant at a store selling Filipiniana items at the mall and the cheapest one was P1400 (US$32.50). Maybe because those necklaces use real silver. But still, I just wanted the pendants anyway so when I found this bracelet at Pot of Gems with lots of carved coral roses, and at that price, I got really excited. I plan to pry them out of their silver-plated metal parts and use them in some accessories I plan to make. This is also available in cream... and I am now kicking myself for not buying that too.

By the way, my mom wanted me to add that she still thinks those roses are made of plastic and not coral *rolls eyes*. I asked the store owner's son who was assisting customers and he told me they were made of coral but my mom doesn't believe him. When I got home, I compared the texture of the material of the roses to the texture of some carved coral bangles I already have and they feel the same... I'm no expert though. You know, maybe I'll just sacrifice one of those roses tonight and hit it with a hammer to see how it looks like when it shatters.

Necklace made of wood beads and beads made from coconut shells, P50 (US$1.15)

Elastic cuff made of wood beads, P25 (US$0.60)

I forgot the exact store in Villalobos where I got these last 2. I just remember my mom bought several bead necklaces and I was enticed to pick up a couple.

Brass tone cage pendant ( pack of 2 pieces), P40 (US$0.90

I also wanted to buy some materials for making jewelry but my favorite store to buy those things from was closed on Sundays. I visited another store, Chains, Beads and Components (store name is so specific don't you think?), and was able to buy these the bird cage pendant. The bird I just included in the photo... I already have it :)

Total cost: P815 (US$18.95). I did not exceed budget!!! :D

By the way, Villalobos Street in Quiapo is a great place to buy accessories and beading components when you want to buy in bulk.  I don't think it's worth the effort to go if you only plan to buy one or 2. You have to be ready to brave this:

Villalobos Street in Quiapo. Photo from Metro Manila Revisited . To see more photos of Villalobos, click here. Go on, check it out before you go if you are planning to go.

The stores I'm talking about are on both sides of this street which also doubles as a street market where vendors sell fruits, vegetables, shoes, dried fish... and a whole lot of other things. The crowd is worse on Fridays (because of the Black Nazarene mass at the Quiapo Church? I'm not sure... I'm not Catholic... but believe me there was a time I didn't know and went there on a Friday. Never again) and Sundays (because of Sunday Mass).

I found a map of stores in Villalobos Street from Bead Snob:

To get there, if you have a car, we usually park at Isetann Recto. And then we walk to Quiapo church. Behind Quiapo Church is Plaza Miranda and Villalobos Street is the street directly in front of Plaza Miranda. If you have to commute... I usually take the LRT, purple line and exit at Recto Station. Recto Station is directly in front of Isetann Recto.

The hunt for scrap fabric in Manila

I briefly mentioned that I bought fabric which I never got to use. Thing is, there are times I only needed a small piece for something like a patch, but the smallest dimension you can get in my part of the world is half a yard. Which is pretty big when all you need is a 4" x 6".

I've read other bloggers (from halfway around the globe) advise that you can get scrap fabric from some fabric retailers. I really didn't know how that works because the only fabric retailers I know about are at the mall (I know about Divisoria... I just don't get to go often and I usually have other things to buy when I do so I never really had the chance to check out the fabric sellers there) and I have never seen anything like a "scrab bin" anywhere. Anyway, since I've been on a craft kick since last week, I've been frequenting the fabric and craft stores again. And last Wednesday, I was over at Carolina's at Megamall when I noticed a box piled high with different types of fabric near the entrance. It looks like a scrap bin to me so I asked one of the clerks about it. They were scrap fabric they were for sale! Any piece on the box for P50 (approx $1.10) only! It's not as cheap at the $0.25 I read about but it's cheap enough for me.

Their "scrap" are samples they are working on which had flaws... tears, discolored areas, wrong stitches. Fabric choices are limited to organza and tulle at the time I was there. I dug around the box for a while (forgetting that my husband was waiting for me to meet him at another mall!) and came up with 2 items:

Ok... you might not see the "pretty" in my choices but the truth is, I bought them for the flower appliques. There were a lot on those 2 pieces! The first one had about 3 dozen purple satin flowers, and strips of purple and gold ribbon I'm sure I can rip out and re-use running the entire length. And I'm sure I can find use for the purple organza and tulle base. For the green one... we need a closer look to start what I found:

I don't think those squiggly string-like thing running from the middle of the flower will be of any use to me, but those green flowers are actually appliques and the scrap I got had a LOT of them. Those I'm sure I can use, as well the green organza and tulle base.

Carolina's also carry more expensive "scrap" for P500 each piece. Those pieces are bigger and those do not have flaws on them. They were used as samples for the stuff they export. They look like big pieces of fabric lace with embellishments. Some are really pretty but a little expensive for me (who just wanted to make ONE little tulle flower for one of Andrea's dresses, that's why I was there). Maybe when I have a really nice project on my head, I'll spring for one.