Tapestry Crochet Fascination - A pouch

Hello there..my lovely crafty hooky people!

Hope the weekend was a sunny side up one for all you folks..We had a long and tiring weekend.. Shopping is NOT easy with 2 little ones i must tell you :)  We spent less time in the shops and more time in feeding, cleaning, playing and entertaining them..But it was fun alright!

Now, coming to my crafty adventures..there are quite a few i am doing..But can only share this one with you as it is a FO.This project was such a joy to work...well that is a bit on the exaggeration side of things..To be true to myself and my dear friends..Tapestry crochet is NOT my cup of  tea/coffee..what ever you prefer! You need to be patient as it is mostly SC and we all know how slowly that progresses. Also the knots..the color threads keep getting entangled and it used to bug me :(

But the end result was worth it..

Want to have look??

Here it is..

Tapestry Pouch Ta-daaah!!!
(I am actually saying Ta-daah as it took long enough to deserve one)

Did you like my polka dotted zipper? he he...advantages of living in HK :)

A closer look at the hard work..

Anybody interested in doing this pouch can find the link to the free pattern HERE.

My little miss birthday is fast approaching and we are busy making a castle and decorations.. More of that soon..Hope you guys had a fantastic weekend and do let me know your hooky projects as i love to hear from you!

Love,
xxx

Pink and Purple and some Grey too

Firstly me lovely people, thank you so so so much for such kind words for me and my little man! He surely is feeling in the pink of health and i hope it remains so :)

My little princess is turning 4 next month. I had hooked a blanket for her when she was an infant and it lasted her this long. But now, its really short and she has been asking me for a new one. She is a BIG girl now and wanted only in pink and purple. How can I refuse her colors? Least she may not end up using it!!

 

You can find the pattern for the squares , the source that is in one of my previous posts HERE .

 Each block measures approx 6". Hoping it would be a 60 x 72 " blanket for her. I am sure it will not get done by Sept. But maybe by this winter for sure :)

On a more experimental note, have always wanted to try Tapestry Crochet. It looks so wonderfully mysterious to me...am trying this wonderful pattern from Crochet Today. Link HERE for the free PDF pattern..

In ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥!!!

What are you guys crafting??

Love,
xxx

Puff Flower Crochet Bag

Sometimes there gets an idea into the crafty head...

It stays there, getting bigger and bigger...

Until you HAVE to have a go at it..

The idea challenges you, daunts you, teases you and commands you...

You have to drop everything, pick up your hook and yarn scraps...

Hook away at it :)

Browsing thru Pinterest i found THIS and had to try it out..I saw this bag and i had to have a go..I combined the flowers from this bag with this gem of idea from Pierrot Yarns HERE.

The puff flowers are from Mollie Makes can be found HERE.

Altered it to suit my needs a bit..
So you can see, a real lot of mix and match to come up with something i really wanted :)

Stitched it all up to form a small blanket... Don't you think this would have looked cute as a little doll's blanket?

Lined it before making it all come together..

Added a bit of crochet lace to increase the girlie, handmade feel a bit..

And here is my proud, little, cute, handy, girlie, vintage-y, unique bag...

Ta-daaah!!!

Normally when i go out for small errands, pick up my girl from her school, or take the little man out to park in my apartment the only things i carry are my wallet, my house keys and my phone. These cannot all go into my jeans pocket, plus it is tooo hot here to wear jeans now!

So you can see, these things fit cozily into my new bag.

You guys want to have a look at my phone cover? He he he... Love the Russian dolls, aren't they too cute:)

A magnetic button for added cohesive-ness..

My (un)willing model.. She wanted to play with her brother's engineering kit.

 That's it she said and off she ran..

My heart sings tra-la-la-la-la...
When ever i look at my bag!!

Hope you are having a fab weekend and do write in as i love reading your sweet words :)

Love...

xxx

Sunburst Granny Bag

Hello my LOVELY people!

My morning cup of coffee, little people asleep, banker off to office, computer and house all to self, blogging and catching up - perfect morning i say! Hope you guys are doing crafty and good...

You know there are some patterns which just speak to you, call you, remind you and then you have to have a crack at it? Yes, THIS pattern absolutely falls into that category. Into my second year of blogging, i thought maybe i could write a pattern using this basic square to create a bag. Well, its not actually a pattern...its more of a how-to thing...Do stay with me...he he

 

For this bag you will need:

*12 crochet squares hooked together in 2 sets of 3x2 rows and columns.
*Base color thread of both cotton and acrylic in same shade.
*Lining cloth.
*Wooden handles/handles.

**Note**
1.While joining granny squares i used the SC method, but i changed the thread after every edge to match up with the square. So in the pic above, you see that the mustard square and red square are joined by mustard thread. The red square and the purple one are joined by red thread and so on....
2.I really need to line all my bags - for the only reason that good patterns have some gaps in them. Also i feel the durability of the bag increases.
3.Handles - They reeeeally enhance the final product and also the bag is easier to use. Have tried crochet handles but not like real handles i am afraid.

How to:

Step1: Assemble your 2 sets of the granny squares

 

Step2 : Holding a strand of cotton thread and a strand of acrylic yarn crochet the base and sides. I used Laura Cotton and Stylecraft DK - both in white shades. The base should measure as much as the length of the granny patch and the width is up to you...I used SC again as they form a thick and sturdy base.

 

 Step3: Once you are done with the base, do the sides in a similar fashion. Join the threads to any side edge of the base and SC along the side. Continue in this manner till you reach the height of the width of the granny square.. Maybe a pic is more useful than my gibberish!!

 

Step4: Attach the base+side piece to the granny patch with the white color cotton thread again using SC itself.

Step5: SC with double strands at the top to give a neat finish. I did 2 rows of SCs.

Step6: Now the difficult part..need to line it.. I am sure there are lotsa tutorials out on the net for this. But i really like THIS as it is explained with examples and i like such explanations :)

Now i don't have a sewing machine(yet) so i had to hand sew this part and it was pretty boring job. But had to get it done right...

Step7: Attach your handles again with 2 strands and SCs. Do this by YO the handle...

 You can do a zip too..but that's really out of my hands(literally) for now.

There you go, a perfect pretty sunburst bag!

Here's my favourite square:

 

Hope you guys could follow what i have blabbered! If you do need any more info please feel free to pop a query! 

Now i leave you with a riddle. What can you make out of the below picture? Fabric, paper rolls, or..let me know :)

 Have a great day ahead!!

Lotsa love......

xxx

Things to ♥

Hello my lovely dearies!

Wishing you a very Happy Valentine's Day. Hope you share it with your loved ones :)
A honest confession from myside.. i have never been a romantic person at heart, tho the banker disagrees, but i never have read the Mills n Boons or any other romantic books for that matter. Neither do i do candle light dinners or the romantic songs. Like the suspense and murder mystery genre more :)

But i am happy to be blessed with people and things to love. Foremost are my 2 little ones. They mean the world to me. A caring and loving tolerating and supporting(he supports all my crafty needs) husband, caring parents and in-laws. Also all my friends whom i have met thru this wonderful blogging adventure.

I am also blessed with the ability to be crafty(i think i am right?). My love for yarn and crochet, my paper crafting love and in general getting excited at anything crafty love.

Ok, now to show you guys some color love...

There has been a lot of this sunburst goodness going around the crochet bloggerland and you can find the famous pattern HERE. I have used Laura Cotton thread hooked with a 4.0mm hook. For the base n sides i held a strand of Stylecraft Special DK n a strand of Laura cotton together for additional thickness and firmness. But still i need to shop for handles and also sew in a lining....ahhh... more to do so much to do and so less time!

My second crochet love - blue ripple blanket. Coming along nicely...

Oops... when did she get in here..off i go now to bake a cake.
Do leave me a comment as i love hearing from you guys...

Have a LOVEly day my dearests!!

Love,
xxx

Bag IT

Helllo my lovely lovely people!!

How are you guys doing on a Monday? I have not been blogging as much as i would have liked recently, thanks to the domestic chores and the helper shortage! Boy i have missed it! Hope you guys are happy, hooking and having lotsa creative space and time in which ever part of the world you are in..

But, be it all the work from 6 in the morning till 12 in the night, the 4 odd meals, the 10 odd feeding sessions, the playing, fighting, cleaning, dirtying, school work, bouts of illness...i still cannot keep the hook down. My mother-in-law bought the lovely package of Laura Cotton which i had ordered from India. Looking at all the colors, the first thing that came to my mind was THIS bag. I am sure you guys have all seen it, admired it, hooked it - thanks to the lovely Lucy who is so kind and thoughtful in providing us with hooky delights and all  her lovely tutorials. Here's my version of it..

I wanted a market bag, being Eco-friendly is something which i am trying to adapt into my living style and trying to do away with plastic bags is a step in that direction. Tho the hubby feels otherwise about the yarn and the ordering and the postage and such money matters..tut tut..

.

I have modified the pattern to be a bit more broader at the base and tapering towards the top. To do this, after increasing in the base rounds, i decreased in the body rounds to get a more fall feel to the bag. Can you make out the way it flops over and has those waves like the other leather bags? I wanted that look rather than a plain A cut kinda look...

 Isn't the bed cover lovely? It s a gift from my MIL from India. Indian textiles, especially cotton, is well known all over the world. And Gujarat is one of the best states in India to go for cotton fabric shopping!

True to the Lucy style, i could not help but attach some flowers to pretty up the whole thing..

Stack of leaves and flowers. You can find the leaf pattern HERE and the flower pattern HERE.

 Attached to the bag and straps using some buttons from my stash...

 Love all the colors of this bag, the cotton thread is real value for money and i am already in a frenzy over what all i need to order and do next!! Oh i forgot, i have some 45 days more till my other pair of hands return...Waiting...it will PASS!!!

 The straps are just 4 rounds of SC in sober colors.

 Lining too for the bag as i cannot risk the spill of liquids with 2 toddlers in hand.

Parting shot of me with the bag. Can you see how good a size it is? Would be sufficient for all my day to day market needs :) I am very pleased with it! What are you guys hooking, sewing, crafting right now? Would love to hear from you, as usual your words make blogging worth it!!

Love and more,

xxx