Spring Bunting Ta-daah!!

I have been waiting and wanting so much to show you guys this little piece of crocheting from so many days. There was not much of light fit for photographing these little triangles...

Without much ado..here i give you my Spring Bunting..

Ta-daaah!!!!

 The pom poms and the flower beads are "extra details" on request by my little miss..

The buttons...oh my...love love the buttons :)

There it is, one lovely bunting on the wall of my room ... It adds a great dash of color to my room. The kids love it and have fun naming the colors.

The crochet granny triangles are from a pattern HERE.

Here's wishing you a happy Spring 2014. Cheers to summer, salads, mock tails and lots of fun in the sun!!

Love,
xxx

Cosy Times

Today is officially the start of winter here in Hong Kong. It is very windy and there is a chill in the air. Not so cold but a very pleasant chill which makes you want a cuppa, a book and a blanket.

Few things keeping me cozy and comfortable these days...

A new project..a crochet shawl for me...

 

A cozy corner i planned for months and finally executed! Stuck lotsa stickers with my little miss on rice paper lanterns and hung it up. Also did up a stream of pictures of our family and precious and silly moments together :)

 

 

Forgive the crappy clicks as there was literally no light. All the light is thanks to Picasa !

Created a custom banner for my blog. Had a fun morning playing with all my crafty bits while the little ones were off to school :) Bad mommy...!! he he

Did you guys like my new banner?

Also did up a pinboard made of thermocol and fabric sometime back to display the arts and crafts of my little ones..

Whats keeping you cozy and comfy these chilly days?

Love to hear from you as always!

Cheers,
xxx

DIY Yarn Lights

Ok my friends!

I have officially lost it. Can you find it anywhere? Any store where it is  available at a discount or a buy 1 get 1 free offer?? Any advice on how to regain it back? Have you lovely people been in this position before? In case you are still with me.. and want to find out what I have lost.. here goes nothing..

and also I do not understand what my kids want anymore..
I always knew raising 2 small kids would be a challenge, but now a days my little man is in his terrible two's and my little princess hasn't yet grown up from her terrible two's! Its been so frustrating for me as a mother. I really don't know sometimes if I am doing the right thing. Is it more important that they follow rules or eat their food? I am trying to get my girl to eat on her own and that is requiring a lot of effort. My son just refuses to sit in one place even for 5 minutes!! Why are their batteries always fully charged?? Uff!!

 Anyways, I remember to take a deep breath and imagine that they will grow up and I will laugh about this post :) SO coming back to my crafty pursuits, I had done this with all the spare yarn. More specifically cotton threads with me.

I followed this link HERE and a bit of my own research and experiments to make this lantern lights. Added a string of lights inside to complete the picture.

This was done for my son's school - DIY Lantern from Recycled materials. It is a very VERY messy affair to do it. But the results are just amazing. Go ahead and have some fun, try to include your kiddo in this process, I am sure they will have a blast!

 

So I am off to set my house straight...It really looks like a hurricane crashed into it ..he he!

Hope you have a pleasant weekend ahead. We have a long weekend here for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Did I say long weekend, yes 3 days of 3 (2+ 1 hubby) kids all the time in the house...ahhhh.. wish me LUCK!!!

Love,
xxx

Finally I am here & a Nana Square Cushion

My dear people!

How i have missed this blogging world!! I have been gone away a long time...a bit too long a time. Hope it is not a reason for all you lovely people to forget me. I have hardly had the time to do anything these past few weeks...

If you want to know what kept me and my hook and my blogging separate, read on...Else skip to just read my last hooky adventure!

All was going fine, until disaster struck in the form of an angry young man - my little man - my son! He slammed a heavy door on his hand and there was a deep cut, along with a mad dash to the hospital. The doctor put on 5 teeny tiny stitches and told me again and again that everything will be back to normal. They had to remove his nail but he said that the root is intact and it would all seem the same in 2-3 months time.. But i was scared, the most i have ever been, and fell ill with a viral fever.

Till the stitches were removed, i used to baby sit him like he was a month old infant! In between this, we had lots of traveling to do, visiting my mother-in-laws place. On a more tragic note, she lost her mother to a paralytic attack and had to travel to her home town for the last rites. I was at my sister-in-laws place and then again we moved to my MIL's place... So in short, it has been a hectic, worrisome, tiring month for me!

But now, my son is fine, his nail is actually growing. The scar of the stitches is long gone and he is back to his naughty days.. In-fact he was back on the day his stitches were put too!! Also i am back in Hong Kong now.. Back to my sweet small home, and more importantly kids are back with their daddy dear and i am back with my helper! So all is well now :)

Ufff.....sorry for the long explanation.. Before all this happened, i had completed a cushion for my mom's house and had even clicked the snaps. But am posting it now, after more than 1 month..

A few details :

Yarn used : Stylecraft Special DK
Pattern : Nana square from The Royal Sisters HERE.
No of squares : 7 x 7 = 49
Joined using SCs holding RS together.

I joined the squares together and then when it was a 7 x 7 blanket i sewed it on to an existing cushion cover! Clever na, in that way i did not have to hook the back, the zipper on the existing cover provided a closure method and i also re-used an old item :)

Gosh, i missed blogging and more than that i missed visiting other blogs and reading about your crafty adventures :) I promise to cover my back log and set off on a blogger-land spree!! Do write in always and all ways, i love hearing from my lovely friends...

Love,
xxx

Crochet Rainbow Clip Organizer

Can a girl have enough clips?

Can she...no never...Being in one of the fashion capitals i feel there is just too much accessories in HK, heck people even accessorize their accessories here!! Do you know what i mean? Like they buy a smart phone case. And then they decorate it with bling, then they add more cartoons and such stuff to the case. Add some sparkles. They they put the mobile in a pouch, then they add some stuff to the pouch..and then the pouch goes into a LV/Prada/Gucci/Coach bag..!!

But having girls as your kids is so much fun, there is a street in HK known as Fa Yuen Street where you have more than 100 shops just selling clips and hair bands and what nots for girls.. I scumb to temptation and go there once in 2 months ...cos i know i ll just go crazy there and buy too many things..This weekend i had been there and ended up with dozens of hair bands and even more clips..All of them by the end of the day were lying scattered all through the house and my daughter even managed to put allll the clips on her head once!!

I decided to CLEAN and get organized and that's when it struck me! Why does she throw all her clips? She is a girl, she needs to see the entire store before she picks an item :) So i thought, why not make a clip organizer for her clips?

Wanna see it...

Rainbow clip organizer.. Ta-daaah!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me tell you girls...I had so so so much FUN doing this..

It is pretty easy..will let you know how to whip up one in a few hours!!
Get your hook and make your girl this organizer. She will love it :)

My girl says, "Mamma, this is for my clips?"
I say, "Yes, sweety!".
She says, "Wow, its so beautiful, now i can select my clips on my own!"

Ha ha ha..Hurray for small independence :)

My accessories for decorating this piece of joy..

Want to know how to make it??


Yarn :: Rico Creative Design in rainbow shades and cream. But you can use any cotton yarn. I feel cotton is better as it is a decor item.
Hook size :: Matching to your yarn, gauge is really not important here, its more of a fun thing right?
Lots of buttons and beads and cute animals
Some ribbons/ Ric-racs
Sewing needle and thread.

Warning :: A bit of simple sewing is needed. Just to attach the ribbons to make the racks for pinning the clips.

How to make this color blast clip case:

1. Start with a simple chain of 48 stitches. You can do any other width to suit your needs.
2. SC in second chain from hook and SC throughout.
3. Turn, chain 2. SC in next chain and throughout.
4. Repeat step 3 till the piece measures about 1.5 inches.
5. Turn, chain 4. TRC (triple crochet) in the next stitch and through out.
6. Turn, chain 2 and SC throughout.
7. Repeat step 6 till piece measures 1.5 inches.
8. Repeat step 5 again.

Continue this till you get to the length you desire. Its all very simple and flexible. Treat this as a guidline and do your own fun thing basically. I used a row of TRC's in between to loop my ric-racs. Can you see it below? This way, i stitch the ends of the ric racs or ribbons if you wish and i get a row of band to clip the clips! Hope i am talking sense..Else let the picture guide you guys :)

I even made to pockets and added them for storing rubber bands.
Clipped on my clips at the end..Cheeky mommy - thats me for sure!

Hooked bands of SC's and added a button hole on the last row.
Stitched some buttons on and used a hanger to hang it all up!!

Decorate it as you please.
Use other color combinations and stitches, maybe granny squares too..So many options..Sigh!!

On another totally unrelated front, the summer holidays are here and i am SO HAPPY to be going to India!!! Yahoooooooooo... India calling!!

No more cooking...

No more getting up in the mornings..

No more attending to what is missing in the house...

No more wifey duties...

No more running to school to drop/pick up

More of eating my mom's yummy food..

More of sleeping late and just playing with kids..

More of friends and family...

More of shopping..

I am travelling to Bangalore tomorrow and i am yet to start packing... Let alone the cleaning i need to do...So i better rush!

Stay creative, stay happy, feed your family!

Have a great weekend...

Love,
xxx.

Overlay Mandala

My lovely people, thank you all for your wishes for my little girl, she is doing fine and is finally rash free and itching free!! Yahooooo!!

There are times when you see something floating on the internet and know that you should get going on that...Such was the time when i wanted to do a crochet mandala. I looked and looked at many pretty colorful circles, vibrant blossoms and oh so pretty mandalas. But my mind would always come back to the Overlay Mandala by CAROcreated. Somehow nothing measured up to it, in color, in design and in the look of the overlay layers.. So i got myself a little present and purchased the pattern online!!

Mind you a spoiler here :: IT IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED!!!
I found it to be a pattern for an experienced crocheter as you had to read charts and being good in maths is a plus point. Also you should know your FPs and crocheting in back loops very well. Else there will be no place to crochet the overlay layers. And frogging it when a mistake occurs only worsens the situation..

But all said and done, i  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ the pattern!!
It is the single most challenging bit of crochet i have ever done and i am very very proud of it :)

So are you ready for the colorful ta-daah..
Here it comes...

Overlay Mandala Ta-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 ♥ IT!
This is the back of the mandala, all threads weaved in.

 Managed to catch a glimpse of the ever eluding sun-light..

My favourite part of the Mandala. Such color bursts!

Blocked it with steam iron and framed it and it is now sitting pretty and colorful on my living room wall :)

To make this Mandala Magic :

Pattern :: I purchased the pattern from HERE. The pattern is written very well with step by step pictures at every round. Charts and worded instructions are there for every round. I preferred the charts as i could not read a single sentence spanning 5-6 lines :)

Thread :: Used Anchor Knitting Cotton in shades of rainbow.
Hook   :: 2.5mm (as suggested by the pattern)
Size      :: 20 cms approx.
Time     :: 3-4 hours of concentrated crochet, absolutely no distractions :)
Difficulty :: 3.5/5. Should know how to read crochet charts and being good at maths is helpful!
Me       :: In love and planning another one with other color combinations v v soon :)

Hope you are having a colorful crafty time.
Take care and be good, be fun and keep well...

Love,
xxx

Marigold Garland

Hello my lovelies!

How z your weekend going on?? I am really excited this weekend as my college friend is coming over to Hong Kong. We are planning on a girls out weekend filled with shopping and eating and relaxing and in general letting our hair down :) Something about school/college friends right? They are very special and cannot be replaced by the new friends we make. They know us for who we were before we became wives/mothers. They don't know us as xxx's wife or xyz's mother and it is so VERY *important* to connect to that woman in you too...

'Torana' means gateway in Sanskrit. A garland made of Mango leaves and Marigold is used as a torana in Hindu homes. In other words, the garland is tied to the frame of the main door of the house. The marigold flower symbolizes auspiciousness. The saffron/orange colour signifies renunciation and hence is offered to God as a symbol of surrender.

I have been wanting to making such a garland for a long long time...very long time.. Finally got down to it and using the flower motifs #9 and #10 from "BEYOND THE SQUARE Crochet Motifs" i came up with this...

Inspiration came from the above flowers... I did not do a traditional marigold per say, but i loved how these turned out, don't you?

Any Hindu garland is incomplete without mango leaves and i had to add them to my crochet garland too..

There it is!!
Marigold Garland Ta-daaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you guys liked it :)
Have a fab weekend and what are the crafty/baking/cooking/hooking plans for the weekend? Spend the time wisely as it is precious, spend it with your loved ones and spread love and fun around!!

C u on the other side of this short breather, hopefully, i will have embarked on my next "big" project soon.. I am searching for patterns for a new blanket. No ripples, no granny squares and no stripes! I officially blame Pinterest for giving me soo many options that i am not doing anything new!!

Have a happy weekend! Keep calm and stay happy :)

Love,
xxx