Compensating

For some reason, July has been quite... melancholic so I tried to compensate by doing things I love.

I made mangoes and cream cheese muffins.

My Kindle Fire gave up on me after just nearly two years (yeah, too short a lifetime) and though Amazon Japan offered to give me a replacement at a discounted price, the discount was too small so I decided not to buy anymore. Suddenly, Fully Booked went on sale so I bought myself two new books. And though I love paper books a lot, I do miss Kindle's dictionary function and being able to read in the dark. I'll probably buy a Kinde Paperwhite once I have the budget.

I made a new bag for my shinai (the bamboo sword we use in kendo).

I bought a couple milk cotton yarn skeins and they're in progress of being turned into beanies. My hat-loving friend who lives in Japan recently came home for vacation so I'm making one for him as a gift.

The color reminded me of House Gryffindor hence the Time Turner and the Snitch

After not having held a paintbrush for more than a month, I made a new 8" x 10" poster.

I also made an attempt at painting a self-portrait. It's not good but I hope it's not bad for a first time lol.

Oh, and I colored some parts of my hair with blue dye! Don't be fooled by the photo-- they're just highlights. As much as I'd love to have a full head of blue hair, I don't have enough patience to maintain that.

I can't wait for July to be over and I hope August will be kinder.

Weekend Baking and Crocheting

It may not be a long weekend for me as I had review class the whole day of Saturday and Sunday. But that didn't stop me from enjoying my weekend.

I made mocha chiffon cake with buttercream icing last Saturday night for Father's Day despite being tired from review class that day and having another review class the following day. I just miss baking so much and Father's Day is a good excuse to bake. It tastes good but there was something wrong with the texture. And it was a bit heavy for a chiffon cake, not airy enough. Also, the buttercream icing was a little gritty. Next time, I'll use Swiss meringue buttercream instead. :) Nevertheless it tasted good. 

But because I felt dissatisfied by the mocha chiffon cake, I made banoffee pie today. When my mom told my dad "May ginawang banoffee pie si ate." My dad said "Ah, kasi hindi niya na-perfect yung cake niya." My dad was so right! Haha. It has always been a habit. Whenever I'm dissatisfied by my work, I repeat it or do something to make up for it.

However, there's something wrong again. It tastes really good but the "toffee" wasn't toffee but caramel instead haha. It was runny (I didn't cook it long enough) so I decided to freeze it but our freezer won't freeze properly. Nevertheless, I'm already satisfied with it so there's not much need to repeat immediately.

I also crocheted two beanies this weekend. The striped one is an overdue commission. I'm just glad they're both done. And my clients can wear them in this weather.

Back to Making Commissions

Crocheting mood finally got into me. I haven't held hooks and yarns in around two months. Or maybe it's just the guilt of having an unfinished commission for two months already? Well, I actually don't like having unfinished projects but I ran out of light gray yarn and the store I go to ran out too and hasn't restocked. I just excuse myself by thinking that my customer doesn't need a beret in this summer heat. But meh, not a good excuse for being irresponsible.

Weekend Flowers

I spent almost the whole Saturday writing my thesis and having a hard time making coherent sentences so yesterday (since it's already Monday morning), I tried crocheting flowers and succeeded. ^_^

I remember trying to learn how to crochet when I was in fourth year high school because I was (and still am) into making accessories and I wanted to make crocheted accessories back then. But no matter how hard I try, I never got past the chain stitch.

However, last November (almost five years after my first attempt), I tried learning again and thanks to the internet and lots of willpower (I didn't stop until I got the single crochet) I can crochet now. Still a beginner (well, I only learned two months ago) but at least I can make scarves and flower appliques already. :D

I also crocheted this piano thing last week. It's a sleeve for my planner, I just need to stitch the sides together. This one is so time-consuming and difficult (at least for a beginner like me) so matter how much I love piano, I'm not making this again... or maybe I will if I get paid a reasonable price or if I find a quicker technique.

And here's the trellis doily I made yesterday with a free pattern I saw online. I'll make another one so that mom can put them on the side tables in the living room. Mom and Dad actually likes my new hobby because it reminds them of my late grandma who crochets.

Books and Crafts

I got myself two new books last Friday (I wasn't feeling very well to attend fin swimming class so I went to school late and dropped by SM first).

I told myself before school started that I'm going to save money and that I'm not going to learn new hobbies until I become a bit better on my other hobbies (jewelry-making, cooking, baking, crocheting, hat and headband-making, etc) but I still bought the book on knitting.

Well, they were cheap enough for me to actually spend on them impulsively. Php90 each from Book Sale and you don't really get pretty books at that price. Also, I don't really mind buying books impulsively because I don't read books a lot (I only read textbooks for school, ugh).

Here's one of the scarves I've crocheted. Just a long, thin, white scarf that I can wear like a loose necktie while it's still cool here in Manila.

I'm currently making a piano-patterned sleeve for my little planner. I started it yesterday and it's almost finished. I just have to weave in the ends of the yarn (there's so much yarn-changing) and to stitch the sides together. I'll post a picture when it's done. And yeah, whatever happened to my supposedly thesis-making, laundry and room-cleaning yesterday. I was crocheting (and complaining about my burning lower back pain) almost the whole day. Fail.