Waving, Not Drowning

Some days are more bearable than others. I know it's going to get better, that I'm going to be fine, so here I am, hanging on. :) I don't have a lot of close friends, but I am super grateful for the few I do have.

Craft-wise, I am in a limbo. I have six crochet projects I am working on, but I tend to frog and restart and on and on, with the result of not finishing anything at all.

I seem to want to just make and start something new every time. =/

Just Keep Swimming!

My boyfriend broke up with me. I won't talk about it in length, don't worry. :)

I was talking to my friend J – the only person I told about the break-up, and only because she was the only person to ask, haha – about the loneliness, and all this free time I suddenly have, and I mentioned how I was thinking of enrolling in some weekend classes to keep my mind busy.

In high school, I took up French language as an elective, and was lucky enough to be sent to Paris, France for a brief learning tour. My first course in university was BA in European Languages, with Russian as my major, minoring in French (don't question my life choices, lol). I did not finish that degree, switching out for an allied medical field (nursing and pharmacy, both of which I did finish).

J is learning Spanish on her own, which is all kinds of amazing, and she encouraged me to get back to learning languages again. I was actually thinking of basic mechanics thing or sewing, but she's made me realize I miss languages. I do not have the discipline for self-learning so I decided to look into non-degree language courses offered in the university close to my workplace (my very first university, as a matter of fact).

The good news is, they do offer them, 30 hours for each level. The not-good news is the class cycle is already underway and the next batch of classes would be on December or January. So J recommended that I sign up at Duolingo for now, a self-paced web resource for learning tons of new languages. I did, and have started with basics of Russian again.

People gym, I language. (After a heartbreak.)

The Dark Side of Crochet

Dramatic title for effect, lol. Maybe how crochet eats up yarn compared to knitting? XD

This is basically a post whining about crochet-related stuff I dislike, in no particular order:

Blocking. One of my WIPs is a skirt made up entirely of separate pieces, 16 pieces, in fact. It's driving me crazy figuring out how to get them all the same dimensions. I don't have any fancy stuff for blocking. I just bought a 10-pc set of those interlocking children's play mats and very ordinary pins. I'm thinking it's better to print a sort of guide but then I end up thinking of how exactly I can use it over and over, since I'm using wet blocking method (then drying it with my hair dryer, which is used for everything except actually drying hair, haha.) And the pins! They're ending up all decapitated, I'm running out fast.

Sewing. You know why I crochet? Because I cannot sew. I'm always sulky when I need to sew pieces together. I have lots of unfinished amigurumi, all parts completed except I lose all willpower when it's time to attach them. I power on with grim determination now that I'm mainly doing garments. But ugh, the pain and suffering every time.

My Adventures in (Ordering from) China

People have been tagging me of a lovely turtle ring on facebook. I decided to do a quick image search and check if any local seller has it; none does, but AliExpress kept coming up, and the prices were quite affordable, too.

The prices were so tempting I had to know if AliExpress was legit; consensus says yes, it works like Amazon and eBay, so just do as you normally do when buying online and exercise due caution. Investigate the shop you're buying from as thoroughly as you can, as well as the product you are buying.

Shop ratings are available. I considered only those with feedback score above 95%, preferably with thousands and thousands of ratings, if possible. XD And then I looked at the reviews of the products themselves.

My first order was a test, something cheap so if it fell through, I won't cry about it, haha. It went through but when I placed another order from a different shop, the transaction was blocked and I was required to send an appeal to have my credit card approved in their system again.

I read somewhere that it's one of their security features to flag suspicious activities usually associated with credit card fraud (ordering something inexpensive and if that goes through, start ordering more). Their requirements include bank statements for the credit card and valid IDs. I used a prepaid credit card so it was no biggie for me but phishing/identity theft is a real concern.

Since it's a prepaid card, I have no statement; I just took a screenshot of the last five transactions with minimal identifying info, available on the bank's site. For the copy of credit card, I blocked out the numbers except for the last four digits, the validity, and my name. I blocked out most details from my passport scan, as well as the main photo.

I think the appeal took a couple of business days to go through and be validated, so I went ahead and ordered again. :D

Since I chose the cheapest shipping available ($0.21 USD from the first shop and free shipping from the second), I was looking into one to two months of waiting. I did get a tracking number, but only for China Post, none for when it's left China.

I totally forgot about my AliExpress orders, they took so long, haha. When I remembered and checked their site, I found out that the Buyer Protection thing for my first order was going to expire in one day! I contacted the sellers but after work ended, I decided to just go wait for the post office to open and inquire if there was any way to check if the packages have arrived (I work nights now).

The post office usually sends a notice that I have packages but I didn't get any this time. When I got there, the lady at the counter said that I need to get a tracking number, so I handed her my printouts but she said that they can't use the tracking number indicated there, and showed me a sample.

Sample of tracking page (number at the bottom)

I was at a loss, but then she asked me if they were mailed via ordinary mail. I said yes, and she said I could look up if my name is on their September logbook for ordinary mail. Yay!

For the record, I am appalled at how antiquated our postal system is. Everything was handwritten. There is no database where they can easily search and look up parcels.

I spent a good half-hour sweating my way through the log (it was hot and I refused to remove my hoodie). And finally found entries in my name! Apparently, I would've not received notice for the second package since my address written there was incomplete (I thought it was my fault or the seller's at first, but when I saw the package, the address was split between first and second lines, and only the second line was recorded on their book, so it was their miss); address for the first was correct and complete, though, so I don't know what's their excuse for that.

I paid Php 112.00 handling fee for each package, and so I have them now. Yaaaay!

I was disappointed with the cat pendant, since there are cloudy areas especially on the cat's face so you can barely see its eyes. The ring was a surprise; I was expecting it to look somewhat different being a knockoff and all, but it was actually quite good. I just don't have any idea if the black color will wear or fade (I had a The One ring, it was originally gold but there's no trace if the color now haha).

Cat pendant

Turtle ring and earrings (bought separately)

The earrings came in a small box, which was nice. The posts can be easily bent, but with the price, I'm not expecting anything else, lol. I've had more expensive earrings do the same.

Overall, aside from the wait time, exacerbated by our very slow PhilPost, I call my AliExpress experience a success.

Crochet or Die 2: Doomed to Fail

The challenge was off to a decent start. I managed to finish the bust part within a few days, spent the weekend doing and re-doing the filler, started one part of the lower torso. crashed and burned pretty much after that.

A week's worth of work (I am a *very* slow crocheter); the point where I gave up

I normally crochet for an hour or two most days, maybe three hours when I couldn't sleep yet, with frequent breaks for reading or playing games or surfing the net. There are times when I zombie-crochet, though, not stopping until my arm or back aches.

For this project, I crocheted for a minimum of four hours everyday, with almost no break. I developed a callous on my palm.

A week of this and I got tired. I got bored. I couldn't sustain the focus necessary to get this thing done.

I failed. It's not an utter defeat, since even if I did not meet the major challenge of finishing the project on the specified date, I have been mostly successful at interpreting and following the charts.

Weeks after the deadline, I am chipping away at the dress. Since the dress is made up of several pieces, the matching up part frustrates me so. The pieces are of different sizes, with fillers to connect them.

I am determined to finish the dress, but not so keen on being hell-bent about it now.

Yarnplosion!

(Late post is soooo late.)

I admit it - I have next to none self-control when yarns are up for grabs. =_= I also go on zombie buying spree, wherein I buy yarns and forget about them. How is that possible, you ask.

Try having only three working brain cells.

Anyway! On to the point of this post.

Last year, I ordered a bunch of Caron yarns from Yarnspirations (also weak to online discounts). After half a year of waiting, they finally arrived! (Why so long? It involves me being a cheap ass about shipping and putting my friend's relatives up to a great deal of hassle. I'm in their debt, yo.) My friend V brought it to the office in a sack, that was how bulky they were.

Caron Yarns

 The same week, I ordered from Crocheted by Carisse (the yarns I used for Crochet or Die! 2). I haven't tried their yarns before so I decided it was time. About the same time, Ashley's Crochet also opened their monthly yarn sale; I was eyeing a particular yarn gradient for Baba's set so even though I was supposed to be on yarn ban, I went ahead and played the mine game. In excess.

Yarns by Crocheted by Carisse

A few days after I received my yarns from Crocheted by Carisse, Ashley's Crochet notified me that my package has been shipped. So when I got home and they said I had a package, I excitedly opened it and was immediately bewildered when they weren't the yarns I was expecting.

Sugar Free Yarns

Whose yarns were those? Were they mistakenly sent to me? Did I perhaps win a yarn raffle without entering one? (LOL).

Once I was past my initial waaahwaaahwaaah stage, it was time for logic! Those were Sugar Free yarns. Huh. I checked Sugar Free's group and the last yarns I remembered ordering were not those. I set the mystery aside and ate.

As I was checking my email connected to my bank account, I noticed that I paid Sugar Free a few days earlier. And theeeen it hit me that I did order from before I ordered from Carisse.

Crochet or Die: A Challenge

What, you ask, is Crochet or Die?

It's a challenge I created to, well, challenge myself outside of my comfort crochet zone and force myself to try out something new. There are no hard and fast rules, just that the project should be challenging.

My second Crochet or Die challenge! But where is the first one? It's Pumpkin-pats' graduation dress, which I shelved for now.


I'll talk about the graduation dress on another post, but its challenges have to do with creating a dress without a pattern/designing a custom dress, using Irish crochet technique.

For this project, I'll be using a pattern from Keito Dama 137, the dress on page 9. The challenges entail:

1. Interpreting a Japanese pattern - from what I've seen around, Japanese patterns are dependent on diagrams/charts (yay!) using international standard for the symbols (double yay! Unlike Russian charts T_T); so it's not so much as learning a new technique or a new stitch as working blind on measurements, haha.

2. Get the entire thing done within 10 days. This is, in Ms Venus Raj's infamous words, the major, major problem. I figured out the guide to the gauge, and some of the Japanese characters but I am  limited

• with the dress having to be a particular color (yellow - thank goodness I decided to try out a new-to-me yarn shop and ordered a set in this color just before learning that I need a dress in that color)
• being stuck with using only that yarn
• by not having hooks smaller than 2.5 mm

Instead of getting gauge, I have to get the right size by adding or subtracting pattern repeats. Not really a bad thing unless you gotta finish it in 10 days. I don't have the luxury of repeating from the start if it turns out I fudged the number of repeats so I only have one shot at this.

Guys, I am on day three and I still don't have the top finished! I am the world's slowest crocheter. T_T

FDA Philippines' eLTO Application: A Tutorial

Sooo. I was tasked to apply for LTO for the pharmacy we are opening (crossing my fingers!). Let me tell you right now, it was a stressful process (still is, actually), and I blame it on FDA's super outdated web site.

I am here to be your savior, and tell you the hows of the process, and save you most of the frustration of applying for a license to operate (LTO) a drugstore (and others, too) since the information isn't readily available.

First of all, a rant. I raise my middle finger to the people who are in charge of maintaining the site. They seem to have overlooked the pages for the new process of LTO application, which has been implemented back in 2016 (it's mid-2017, now, guys, please get your act together).

Second, I'm still not done with it, so this post is still a work in progress and will be updated accordingly.

-----

If you go search for LTO process in FDA's site, you will be directed to http://www.fda.gov.ph/industry-corner/downloadables/237-integrated-application-form-and-process.

WARNING: Do not follow this. Do not download the form.

Here's the actual process:

You will need to request for an account to access the FDA portal.

Prepare an authorization letter, have it notarized, scan (or take a really good picture of) it and convert it to PDF file, then attach it to the email you will be sending to pair@fda.gov.ph.

EMAIL SUBJECT: Request for eLTO User Account
BODY:
a. E-mail address (preferably company e-mail address) - I took this to mean as the e-mail being name@companyname.com but if your company doesn't have that, it's fine. I used the e-mail we made for our pharmacy in Gmail.
b. Name of the authorized company representative (preferably permanently employed and not merely a consultant) - it makes sense from a security standpoint
c. Position in the company
d. Contact Number
e. Company Name

The entire thing can be found here (just click the continue reading button), with a sample authorization letter you can use as a guide.

It says that turnaround time is within two days, and requests sent after 5 pm will be processed the next day. I sent mine past 5pm, and received the user details through e-mail before 9 am the next day. Fast!

Both username and password will be provided. The password will suck balls since it's a generated string of letters and numbers; I have not yet found out how to change it, if it can even be changed.

Next, go to https://www.fda.gov.ph and log in with the provided user name and password. Do it as soon as you receive it! I think it will expire after 24 hours. I did not risk knowing if this is true or not, haha, I logged in as soon as I got the email.

To start your application, click New Case, then License to Operate, which will activate Start Case button.

Voila! You can now start your application!

I'm sorry I don't have screenshots of all the steps after, but they're pretty self explanatory. If you're lacking in info, or do not have the necessary documents, just pause your case and continue the next day (or just logout if you don't want to pause, lol).

Be prepared with these documents for a drugstore, in PDF format, not exceeding 2 MB each (to be safe, I made sure the total for all my files were less than 2 MB):

- for single proprietorship, I think you'll need a scan of DTI license; for companies, your SEC registration

- AO 34 certificate of your pharmacist (since I don't have it, I used the e-mail sent by FDA Academy telling me I'm wait-listed for the seminar; I'm hoping that they'll accept it)

- pharmacist's PRC license

Upload your requirements and you're finished. You'll need to print the Order of Payment file. If, like me, you did not print it right away, you can still get it after. Just click on Participated link on the side, double-click on your case, then click Information, choose Generated Documents. Click the box beside Order of Payment, then you can download the PDF file.

They say you can pay online via BancNet. I couldn't find out how, and my bank wasn't on the list that can be enrolled there, so I paid through Landbank.

I don't know if it's the same for all Landbank branches, but here's how mine went:

The guard outside will give you 3 or 4 copies of the payment form, which you will fill out one by one (none of those carbon copy forms huhu). The account number for FDA drugs was provided there on the tables where you fill out the forms. If in doubt, ask the guards there, haha. You will need the account code provided on the Order of Payment file, and your company name as reference.

Submit the payment form together with the Order of Payment copy and pay the amount stated there PLUS Php 40.00.

Just think, you can actually get everything done in one day, from filling out the online application to payment!

Two weeks after payment, I got an email notice that payment has been verified and that my application is now for evaluation. I checked online, and the task has been updated from Payment to LTO Evaluation.

Binondo Food Trip Challenge AKA Hanggang Saan Aabot ang 300 Pesos Mo?

Putting this up first before our Singapore trip (two weeks ago already T_T) since this should be easier. Mainly because it's all pictures, haha.

What not to expect:
- Anything deeper or more meaningful that 'I liked it' or 'It was OK' haha nope, no debating on the merits of meat to wrapper ratio or whatever. XD
- Tasteful and carefully taken photographs
- Coherence or any kind of structure to my writing
- Suave knowledge of filters

Yes. It was an eat and go mission. *fistpump*

We all chipped in Php 400.00, which already included transportation fees. M handled the money, as well as our food itinerary. At each place, M was the one who ordered, so I don't know the exact names of the dishes.



First stop: Dong Bei Dumpling

Dong Bei Dumpling

They make their dumplings right there in the eating area so that's what I first saw through the window. There were only about six (maybe seven  or eight?) tables with just enough space to pass between. There were stairs leading up, not sure if they lead to more tables.


We ordered kuchay dumplings and kuchay pancakes (I THINK). Obviously, I'm not the most observant person in the world. They were good.

Little did we know that we would be in for a day of kuchay permeating everything we ordered. XD

They do not serve service/house water. Food arrived within a reasonable amount of time. They have frozen dumplings for sale, which I was very tempted to buy, since they're quite affordable; frozen kuchay dumplings were 27 pcs for Php 200, if memory serves me right (Baba would say my memory is quite terrible, but let's not listen to him).

Kuchay Dumplings. 14 pcs for Php 150

Kuchay Panckaes. 4 pcs for Php 150

Second stop: Quik-Snack

Quik-Snack

As it was lunch time, the place was filling up quickly; we were lucky to get adjacent tables at all. Orders were served quickly, considering the time (oooh, Quik-Snack lives up to its name!). They also serve service water (lemon water with ice) which is a plus.

Kuchay ah

First to be served was this empanada thing. I don't really eat empanada since there's something about fried bread that makes me nauseous, but I liked these! It contained kuchay. I think. Maybe that's why it's called kuchay ah. I'm not sure since the glimpse I had (because feeding my tummy trumps close inspection of things I don't like) was all brown and bits of orange. Anyway. I'm not even certain it's called kuchay ah. Haha.

Fresh lumpia

This was just OK for me. Perfectly edible, but not something I'd order again. Well, Ar did not like it that much, since there was some green vegetable that almost made her gag. And it contained kuchay, too. Sauce is in a bottle, so you can put as much or as little as you want. Good for sharing with somebody, especially if you have other food ordered. It was served sliced in three portions, not really seen in the picture above.

Fried lumpia

This is just the same as the fresh lumpia, only it's been fried. As the name suggests. Haha. M asked us which one we preferred, and yep, as you guessed, we were all, whatever you think is good so we ended up with one of each.

Since this was just the fried version, I gave Ar the part with none of the green stuff. Funny thing is they served the accompanying vinegar in this tiny saucer. Yes, miniscule amount of vinegar for a big lumpia. I don't get it either. We could have requested for more, but why not serve more than one saucerful in the first place? Inquiring minds want to know.

Pancit

Are those kuchay pieces? Haha. I didn't get the name of this dish, too. I only got enough of it, but I didn't like it since it was spicy for me. They said it tasted like curry; I wouldn't know, since as Baba can attest, I eat without analyzing what I'm eating. :P Can only be sharing if you have other stuff to eat, otherwise, just a biggish serving for one.


Third stop: Sincerity

Sincerity Restaurant

As it was the hour most precious to us (eating time!), it meant that we had to wait for quite some time to get in, as all tables were occupied.

They have a chandelier. Not expected, but not unexpected, either.

By this time, most of the group was beginning to feel full, but mostly thirsty, haha. We ordered chicken and kikiam, and with two small plates of not-plain rice thrown in. They serve iced water, yay. I ordered black gulaman drink (paid out of pocket). For Php 40, it was totally not worth it - not that it wasn't delicious, but that it was expensive for a regular glass of the stuff.

Chicken

Chicken is Baba's field of expertise, so I couldn't even say if it was exceptional, only that it was passable for me, as I prefer roast chicken, if I'm to have chicken at all, haha. The part I stabbed had bones bones bones, and stripping chicken meat from chicken bones is not one of my skills.

Kikiam

We also ordered kikiam. It had kuchay, naturally.

Not-plain rice

And the rice. Yes, yes, blurry and all. I was lucky I even found I had a pic of it at all.


Fourth stop: Lord Stow's Bakery

Welp, no picture of their signage as we were in a hurry to get back. Space is cramped inside. We got egg tarts for dessert. I wanted to try their Japanese cheesecake, but as they had no display of it at the time, I wasn't willing to fork out money for it.

Egg tart. Php 42 per piece, Php 460 for a box of 12

Fifth stop: Shanghai Siopao

Apparently, there were hounds of hell after us as we had to walk really fast to get there. I have a poor sense of direction so I don't know where the store is located. We had this to-go since we did not want to get caught up in traffic on the way back. No siopao sauce was provided.

Fried siopao. Php 20 per piece

So, that was that. I think that was well worth the trip. Even the prodigious amount of kuchay I ingested, haha. Quota na ko sa gulay for the next three months, ahahaha.


Side trip: Eng Bee Tin

Oh, we also made a side-trip to Eng Bee Tin, a Chinese deli store (this is where our company buys the tikoy they give away on Chinese New Year).

My haul from Eng Bee Tin

- 2 packs of sesame tikoy rolls, so sad, I meant to get just the regular flavor :(
- 1 tube of jumbo hostia hawflakes this brings back childhood memories haha
- 2 packs of mochi, chocolate and orange chocolate flavors
- 1 custard hopia, quite delicious, so they tell me


Expense Report

All dishes were x2 since there were

BINONDO TRIP	EXPENSE	CASH
11 PAX - 400/PAX		4400
GRAB - PW-BINONDO	530	3870
DONGBEI	600	3270
QUIK SNACKS	920	2350
SINCERITY	1100	1250
LORD'S STOW	460	790
SHANGHAI SIOPAO	220	570
GRAB - BINONDO-PW	528	42
TOTAL CHANGE		42
		42/11
INDIVIDUAL CHANGE		3.81

(My) Yarn Sources in the Philippines

(List in progress, since I don't really have the energy to finish in one go.)

My animal spirit must be part-dragon, since I have a tendency to hoard the things I've taken a liking to, haha. Yarn hoarding is somewhat expensive, especially if, like me, you don't make money off the finished objects. Aside from the expense, it's a bit difficult to source them, because Philippines, haha.  For smaller amigurumi, sure, you can get ahold of enough yarns in bookstores and markets, but for larger pieces like garments, choices were quite limited.

It is with great pleasure that for the past couple of years, yarn crafts are steadily getting more popular (or popular again, I don't know ^^:;;) and more and more sellers are popping up, offering not just international, well-known brands, but their very own variations. :) I tend to go for online stores because, well, I believe that if you can shop it online, then that's the way to go, haha. Except for shoes, anyway.

As I've discovered, we may not have those scrumptious yarns seen in those with cooler climates, but we do have our own local yarns! Baguio cotton, Baguio kulot, Vigan yarns. I hope to find out more!

Here's a list of stores I've bought from, online and/or physical. I've come across other sellers, but I'll be focusing on ones I've had actual experience with. (I think all of them also carry other products such as hooks, needles, notions, etc.)

I'm still a baby at yarn-hoarding, but I hope to expand this list. My BFF may think otherwise, since he says I have no self-control and spends too much on yarns (and food).

NOTES ON ONLINE SHOPS: Most of these shops are on facebook, which is pretty neat since the sellers are accessible through messaging. A lot of them also sell using the mine game. If you're not familiar with that, it works like this: the first to comment "mine" would get the item. So for very limited quantity yarns, it gets kind of frustrating since you gotta be fast. Also, for sellers who don't give a preview of what they'll be selling, there's a chance of saying mine to a yarn you only like a little and not really like-like, just in case you don't get a crack at other yarns. Or if you're slow, you'll be left with the leftover yarns.

From the pages I follow, they do announce the date and time when they'll be selling; most are in the evenings, usually coinciding when I'm at work (night shift) or on my way from work (day shift). :( My mobile internet also gets spotty at times, huhu. I think it's better to be on a desktop computer for these things. I prefer pre-ordering, if you can't tell. :)

YARN SOURCE MANILA
Online: Yarn Source Manila @ FB
Physical: By appointment, I believe. Located somewhere in Taguig (this was from before; I'm not sure if they still do this)

I believe this is my first foray into acquiring not-acrylic yarns, lol. When I first found this store back in 2013, it used to be that they would announce when new yarns would be available, then it's kind of a feeding frenzy, except it's yarns we're after. Now that I think of it, this must be the first iteration of the mine game. I've bought a lot of their hand-dyed 8-ply cotton yarns (also available in 10-ply, I think) in solid and variegated colors. The colors are pastel (something like that? Not bright and intense, anyway) and had cutesy names, which might have been inspired by My Little Pony. Quantity is limited and used to go quite fast, so sometimes I ended up buying colors I don't really like or need. Because I'm a sore loser and I just want yarns, OK.

Transactions are done through facebook (I used their site before; they don't have it now. You order on their site, then wait for their email for your total amount, since they need to compute for shipping. Mode of payment was through bank deposit). I haven't bought from them in years, but as I remember, the owner was quite nice and responsive to questions. I got a freebie the first time I ordered.^_^)

The yarns are quite sturdy. I prefer to use them for slipper/shoes.

Shoes worked using Yarn Source Manila's 8-ply hand-dyed cotton yarns in Cinnabelle and Beauty Brass

Update! I will have to contact the seller to verify, but it seems to me that you can still get the same yarns from Buffy Sibayan's facebook page (owner of Loony Looms Crochet, which I believe is affiliated with YSM). And since I've already mentioned her page, might as well talk about her shop.

As I've said before, Buffy Sibayan's yarns look remarkably similar to YSM's. I haven't tried hers yet but most of her products are hand-dyed cotton yarns. They come in solid, variegated, and gradient colors. Bright, cheery colors for the most part; no deep jewel tone colors as far as I've seen. From the comments of past buyers, her yarns are lightly scented and smell so good!

I'm not sure if she sells them individually, but from what I know, she mostly sells sampler lots which cost Php 350 (I think sampler lots are, as the name implies, yarns in reduced amount, so one sampler lot may contain as much as six cakes).


GANTSILYO GURU SELECTIONS
Online: Website | FB
Physical: Unit 306 Emerald Place 604 Shaw Bvd., Bgy Kapitolyo, Pasig City 1603 (please see their site for directions. Or you can just take an Uber there, like me. Or if you're commuting, here's how I did it, coming from North: your MRT stop is Shaw Blvd. Go down on the opposite side (don't use the southmost exit! You should exit right on Shaw Blvd, with Shangri-la across. No need to cross here, just ride a Rosario Palengke-bound jeep; depending on how strict traffic laws are being enforced that day, you can hail a jeep near the corner, or walk a few meters ahead. Once you see a Caltex station on a corner to the right, you know you're almost there, so get ready to tell Manong to let you off. Their store is in the building right before Hong Kong Noodles & Dimsum House.)

I first became aware of this shop when I was looking for bulky yarns. I didn't buy from GG then because their products are just a bit more expensive (their Red Heart With Love costs around 30 to 50 pesos more than in Divisoria). That was when I was into acrylics, as I suspect most people are when starting their crochet journey.

Last year, I was looking for bulky yarns again, this time for the Psyduck hat Baba requested. The shop at Divisoria where I bought the big Red Heart acrylic yarns did not have the colors I needed. That's when I found GG again. I ordered from their own line, Gantsilyo Guru Bulky Cashmere Blend.

It was the wrong type for the hat, of course. In my defense, all I've ever had were acrylic and cotton yarns, and I don't think I have any clothes made from cashmere, which is why I had no idea of its texture and feel. So I decided to go directly to their store so I can personally see what yarns are available, feel them, marvel at them, haha.

I was a bit nervous at first, but as soon as I saw the yarns, it felt like heaven. GG carries different brands like Aunt Lydia's, Caron, Hamanaka, Ice, Lion Brand, etc. They also have their own Gantsilyo Guru yarns. It was a treat to see them all lined up, in differing colors and textures. I spent some time just going from yarn to yarn, touching, bouncing, comparing, smelling.

Here are some of the yarns I bought:

Bulky Cashmere Blend - true to its name, it *is* bulky. It is also smooth and shiny~ I love my skirt made from this (formerly a Psyduck hat, reworked into a skirt, haha)

Vanessa Montoro-inspired skirt made using Gantsilyo Guru Bulky Cashmere Blend

Light Cashmere Blend - soft, also shiny, does not fray easily. I crochet tightly so I think that's the reason the dress did not have any ease. I put on weight before I finished this dress which is why I ended up giving this to my cousin. I have no idea how it's holding up now. ^^;;

Lace dress made using Gantsilyo Guru Light Cashmere Blend

Dapper Dreamer Bamboo Cotton - I haven't used it, haha. The yarn has bright stuff wound into it. I gotta find something to use it for soon, it's so pretty.

Dapper Dreamer Bamboo Cotton

The owner, Ms Trey, is super friendly and available for questions you may have, or if you just want to talk, she's up for it. I've seen some customers hang out there and work on their projects for a while. On subsequent visits, I've gathered my courage and attempted small talk with her. I've told her that I was glad for the variety her shop offers and she said that she hopefully expands her stocks even more.

TL;DR I like Gantsilyo Guru because it's a no fuss shop, online or physical (no mine game!), with several modes of payment available (I once went without cash, thank goodness for online bank transfers).

GINANTSILYONG NILIKHA
Online: FB | Shopee

Currently, my only source for Vigan yarns. I can't actually tell the difference between Baguio and Vigan yarns. Anway, Jo, owner of Ginantsilyong Nilikha, sells both on FB and Shopee, She prefers that her buyers use Shopee since it frequently offers free shipping for set minimum amounts, favorable for the buyer. I've taken advantage of the free sf every time, although sometimes it may take a day or two longer for a purchase to go through since every transaction undergoes a verification process. Win-win in my book, well worth the delay since it guarantees safety for both of us.

Her Vigan yarns come in lots colors, and compared to other local yarns, are a lot cheaper.

Slouchy hat using Vigan yarns in magenta and pecan colors

Granny cocoon using Vigan sushi cake

Next:
Sugar Free Fiber Arts
Gwendoline-fergus Crochet
Crocheted by Carisse
Ashley's Crochet
Michelle's Ribbon and Lace Center

Everson Modiste
Pacific Textile Traders