Joint Venture

Being crafty is a joy and a pleasure to the craftier.To be able to gift a part of your time through hand made things with love is indeed not a joy which can be written about.

Imagine my joy when my mother-in-law also is equally, if not more, interested in all things crafty!
I have a lot to learn from her, craft being one of the lesser things. She knits beautifully and my children have been warm in her lovely hand knits. I should do a post about the sweaters she has knit soon. She is also into origami, sewing, paper crafts and anything else crafty :)

Apart from craft we also share a lot of common interests. When we are together we watch a lot of crime/murder mysteries series. Many a bleak and dull weather days in HK have been passed watching Monk, White Collar, Leverage, Castle and such other series. This entertainment always is fun when we have company right? Be it shopping eating mushrooms - much to the chagrin of the Banker - we do have a way to get to him!!

So when i saw this pretty frock i knew i had to do it. I have done the crochet part and now my MIL has kindly consented on do the sewing part.

The fabric to do the sewing bit is below. I am waiting to finish this WIP :)

 A joint venture for a very pretty girl who is loved more each day!

Yarn Crisis

I am out of yarn!!!
The last leg of my Blanket and i am out of the maroon shade. I have the last 2 sides of the last row of the blanket border to be done.

But in my race with yarn, the yarn has won and i have to go fishing for the color.
:((((

A look at what i have done so far.
Think it fits on a Queen Size bed nicely.

Tried a new border. Thought that this blanket deserves a special border as it is for a special person. A frilly and girly affair.

All folded and its now a WIP as i have to complete 2 more sides of the border.

Incase anyone is wondering about the beautiful spread below the blanket, it is a handmade sheet from Calcutta (city in India).

Its hand embroidered on cotton cloth. Since my childhood, there is this uncle who comes from Calcutta selling these sheets at homes. It is business by word of mouth. He gets georgeous stuff and i hope to be able to embroider once such sheet at some point of time in life!! Sigh!!

Meanwhile here's a look at what i am going to do next. I am already excited about this but yes i am out of thread and need to go to buy some very very soooon!!

3 Things

There is lots to love in life. But what is the use if one does not know the value of it. How can one understand the importance of what to love? I guess it is only when we don't have something that we cherish it and want it. Is all this going over your head?? Ha ha... Ok a simple list for the day.

3 Things i am loving right now :

 

1. Sleeping baby - makes them look sooo divine.

2. An almost complete blanket. I have done 64 stripes in all...Yieee!!!

3. Me being a stay-at-home mommy - Ample time with the little people when they need me the most.

What fun it is, to make such lists. Allows one to sit back and analysis the joys of life.

I  have been down with the bug so not able to progress much in all my other crafty pursuits.

Planned a border for the blanket. This is my own made up pattern. Hope it looks good on the blanket.

 

Happy loving time and Hooky time to all my friends and fellow bloggers :)

Tribal Art

A city can be famous for various industries which thrive in it - be it fashion, finance, films, food, the people, tourism - so on and so forth. But in India, in the state of Karnataka, there lies a city known as Channapatna which is solely on the map for its wooden toys! This city's toys are so famous that indeed there would be no child in Karnataka who has grown up without playing with these toys :) The toys are wooden, completely non-toxic, even the colors are vegetable dyes. You can find more information here and here.

 

Equally famous is the tribal art known as Warli Paintings from central India. These paintings are very attractive and can light up any wall or room.  I purchased a cute looking time piece inspired by this art.

Closer home, my Little Miss has been very busy painting on her own. A first of sorts, a look at her collection :)



What fun we will have if she also gets creative with time and age!

I also have been quite happy with my hooky progress made on the granny stripe blanket. Have completed 48 stripes that it 96 rows and colorfully, happily, hookily smiling at it :))

Here's my "on-his-own" infant, who was just soo recently not even able to sit. Now he is almost walking all over the house, climbing, pulling and being as active as a bee!! Here he is in various stages of pulling off the blanket for himself ;)

This is when i actually get some time, when the little ones are sleeping and time is still with me. The Me time. A rarity in this part of the world. But hey! no complains - I am enjoying every minute of this journey with all the wonderful art and hook to keep me company....

Putani Express

One of my fondest memories of Bangalore is visiting the Cubbon Park as a child. This used to be one of the favorite destinations for a school picnic and also a must do during summer holidays!

But the Park now is just a shadow of its former glory. It really needs some clean up. We took the boat ride and i was actually shocked to see that even the ride was allowed. One thing India needs is cleaning up. Otherwise we would have nothing to give to our children. I remember how fresh and inviting this park used to be.

The Toy Train aptly named "Putani Express" -,Putani meaning little or tiny, is made just for the tiny tots.The little miss had a fantastic time on it!!! :Fantasticccc - in her own words. Here she is after the ride, closing all the gates of the train.

 

Trying my best to get shots which can make up for my Nikon. Yellow flowers and floating balloons :)

Ended the day with a string of balloons - color, fun, sun, sand, boating, train, slide, more slide, swing and loads of fun in the sun.

Also a peak into the craft supplies I purchased the other day. It was not a very good day for shopping as the yarn guy in my favorite shop was out of stock and promised me more in the following week. Here's hoping for some more color then.

 Cannot resist flowers even though i have loads of punches

 Stickers for my scrap book which i think will forever be a WIP.

 These are zip pouches which when zipped up transforms into pouches, they are really cute and available at Staples.

One wall decor i could not resist buying. Kinda fits my job description to the T.

And some quilling papers.
Here you go, craft for me and fun for my girl. Hope you all are having as much as crafty fun as possible.

Past Forward - Part 2

Its been a busy week with visiting friends and family. Having a great time, eating yummy home food, long talks with people who really mean to me. Blissful holiday i must say!!

Coming back to my previous paintings, the below one is "Fall Wonder" in which I have tried to capture the colors of Fall through my favorite Maple leaves.

The best part of this painting is the paper on which it is done, handmade recycled white sheet. We get a lot of such fantastic paper in Bangalore, India and at a very good price.

 

Glass painting also had captured my attention for a while. Would love to resume it. Only thing is glass painting is not a good choice for people with small children. If your painting drops the whole house is covered in glass shreds!!

 

At this stage i really truly am missing my Nikon. What a click it would have been with it!!! Sigh!!!

Quilling also is a really fun thing to do. Best part of this is it gets over real quick. You can make amazing things with it like photo frames, pen stands, wall decor, scrap booking, cards and the list is endless..

My crochet hook has been busy with my granny-stripe blanket. Am on my 34th stripe now. I am waiting to reach the end as i have a good plan for the border ;)

Today me and my girl are visiting the local craft market. Will be back with loads of snaps and hopefully some good stash!!