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

Crochet Pencil Cases

Hello my dear lovely crafty people!

Hope you guys had a great weekend...else i hope you will be having a great Monday :)
Thank you guys for such sweet words on my Blue Ripple post. Really made the effort extra special....Again, i am so grateful to this blogging space as it really lets me be creative and showcase it at the same time. Sure way to beat the stress and much cheaper than many other options !!

You remember THIS post where i chatted about my new love for Rico Creative Cotton? I could not wait to get my hands on it and started this crochet project...Oh the joy of instant gratification..projects hooked in a couple of hours...B-L-I-S-S-SSSSS!!!

 

 Little Miss had been asking for Rainbow cupcakes since ages..but i am not for food coloring and tried to coax her with this Rainbow Pencil Case..Seemed to work ..Tho i am sure just for now...She is not going to forget the Rainbow cupcakes any time soon :)

The stitch i have used is the extremely simple, but delightful "Woven Stitch/Moss Stitch" - with just SC and chains you can whip up this wonder...

 

Added her name for bonus points and as usual i HAVE to line my crochet purses/cases.

The second case id made for my delightful niece who is very talented and crafty girl  herself. I also assembled the Pretty Doll accessory by using bits and bobs from my craft stash and gluing it on the wooden heart with heat gun.

Ok! This is the FIRST time i worked with zippers and was terrified of how the result would be. In-fact i spent lots of time searching for the perfect method to hand sew a zipper. I hit jackpot at THIS video.
Basically it works best when you crochet the front and back separately and then attach the zipper on the wrong sides...If you don't have a machine to sew and have never tried hand sewing a zipper...PLEASE i recommend this video. This the edges came out pretty new and i am very proud of myself :) he he he

 

The third case is for my space ship adventurer Nephew! Hope he likes the Buzz-light Year themed case and i still need to find some aliens to fit on the case..

Can you see the zipper beginning here? Any loose ends..Thanks to the video :)

Leaving you with a close up of the Woven stitch. Can't get enough of it. The colors just blend into each other and i am one HAPPY colorful person today :)

How was your weekend ? Did anything crafty? Do write it, love to read all your adventures and looking forward to your crafty ventures too :)


Edited to add : You can now find a link to a tute to make these cuties HERE. Go ahead and get yourself some color play and do let me know if you guys need any more info as i am sure i have goofed up the tute..he he!!
Love,
xxx

Bloglovin...Hope we are going to Love it!

Hello my dear friends..

Just a quick note today..i tried this Bloglovin ...After seeing so many of my fellow bloggers using this tool i decided to have a look at the same. But, honestly for a person like me who reads posts from her dashboard - it really does not matter i think!

You can find more information about this at Preeti's post HERE where she tells you about a very useful link regarding this new confusion. You can read about the link in her post or you can skip to it HERE.

Some more links on how to use this new front end tool HERE.

My honest opinion is that it is not needed to press the panic button, but you can always "claim" your blog in "Bloglovin" :) I am old fashioned in terms of my technology usage ( but anyone who is blogging is OF-COURSE tech savy i hear you say..he he) and do not like changing how i see things..so i am going to stick with my "Dashboard" - for now at least!!

Have a happy weekend and see you guys on the other side of this small 2 day breather...

Love,
xxx

Blue Waves Ripple - Ta-daaah!!

Hello my dear lovely readers!

How are you doing? Today i am really pleased to show you my Ripple Blanket. I have been in awe of Lucy's Ripple for ages..But somehow the ordinary ripple did not strike me as very special...I need a twist in everything i think..so when she did her Interlocking Ripple i knew i had to hook it..Thus began the process of deciding the colors for the blanket. After doing my Giant Granny Patch Blanket i was not very keen on this multicolor design in any form. It was at the same time that our guest room needed a new blanket as the old one was getting too ..uhhmmmm OLD! Then i decided that it is going to be a Ripple. I decided on this color palate.

Then started the process of rippling along..I began late in January.

 

and then here it is in February..

 

I have loved every moment of it!! It is very comforting project, everyone must always have a ripple on their hook i feel :) Sometimes it gets a bit boring as it is not much of a challenge but hey we are mothers, wives, working professionals, multi-taskers - sometimes we do need easy things to chill with.I used to plan my 10 rows in advance and just refer to my picture for reference.

So are you guys ready for the big moment....

...

.....

Here it comes!!!

Blue Waves Ripple Ta-daah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How hard it is to get a shot?? I stood on  a stool for this...yet could not manage a 100% shot

The border is something i am very pleased with. Simple and yet very elegant. I did not want any girlie finish..No shells or not frills. Something boyish but not just granny stripes..The border is from Border #42 from the book Around the corner by Edie Eckman. A must have book and you can read more about it in THIS post. Can you see how NEAT the corner is?? Thanks to Edie!!!

This blanket also has a lining. Honest recomendation - Line your blankets!! They are soo cosy and also i feel less chances of those toes getting into the crochet stitches..Especially the granny square ones..I used flannel blankets from Ikea for the same. They are very light and the washing instructions are same as the Stylecraft yarn. But do a test wash and then only stitch it. I used a simple hemming stitch to attach the flannel to my blanket..

Cannot get enough of this border!

My favourite stretch of ripple!

Some rippling facts for you :

Yarn :: Stylecraft Special DK
Colors ::

 

In order of appearance top row - right to left :)

1.Sherbet

2.Cloud Blue

3.Turquoise

4.Aster

5.Denim

6.White

7.Cream

8.Silver

9.Camel

10.Aspen

 

Hook :: 4.0mm Polymer Hand  made hook :)
Pattern :: Neat Ripple Pattern of Lucy's Attic24.
Starting Chain :: I started on my new adventure with 17 ripples. ie 17 * 14 + 3 = a foundation chain of 241.
Rows :: 169 + 2 more to straighten the ripple
Measures :: 62" x 77" (It is a single blanket, but my boys roll over so i wanted a bit wider one :))
Weight :: approx 2000 gms
Balls :: approx 22 - have a few left overs..
Time :: 1 hr for 2 ripples so that's 170 hrs + 5 hrs for the border + 10 hrs for finishing & sewing = ~8 days of continuous crochet i mean 24 x 7! But hey! it took me just under 4 months... ha ha

Phew.. that's a detailed post!

Thank you my dear friends for sticking with me on this wonderful journey and all your lovely feedback and comments on my previous ripple posts. Do let me know what you think of this rippling waves..

Till then..c u and happy happy hooking!!

PS: I have decided not to touch my hook for 2 days.. a break sorta..lets see hha ha ha

Love and more,

xxx.

 

Vibrant Cotton and a Must-Have Book

Helllo my LOVELY people.

Hope you ladies are fine and all that...

Today, its a bit of a rush post as my hands are waiting to hook - i have an almost 99% finished ripple to show off and yummy delicious cotton threads waiting to be made into something fun, useful and decorative!

I had to show you guys my new yarn. Its the RICO Creative Cotton ordered from Deramores. Link HERE.

 

The colors..oh the colors...they are toooo good to be true...Yummy, colorful and delightful. Every crocheter's delight! For my readers who are in India, the thickness is very similar to the Laura Cotton you are familiar with. But the texture, it is very different.

Very soft and very thin threads not so split y as Laura but it is much softer than Laura. The color shades are much wider here and have a great finish to it. But the similarity is that both are fast colors. I tested the usual suspect - Red and Purple, first wash of the strand yielded a bit of color bleed, the second time not much. So guess the first wash has to be at the dry-cleaners :) Recommended for home decor projects, mandalas , buntings, purses and such stuff. Not recommended for use on clothing.

Now, as i promised earlier - A Book Review of Around the Corner Crochet Borders by Edie Eckman.
A must have book for any one who loves making blankets and adding a touch of crochet to home items.

Doing the border from my ripple using the Border #42.

 Best part of this book is how she has told us to do the corners. I now have a perfect cornered blanket :)
2 more rows to go and i will have a Ta-daah for you very soon!!

 The hand towel is done with Border #73 and Rico Cotton.

A few more on my to-do list..

 This would look great as an edging for any girl's dress, what say?

There you are my lovelies... New yarn, new projects, new books - a world of possibilities i must say :)

Finally, a dear fellow blogger Nata from Nata's Nest gave me a pleasant surprise and passed on a sweet award to me HERE.

Thank you so much dear for this appreciation! She is very creative and you must pop over at her place for a visit and wont be disappointed!!

So off i am dearies, got to get busy with the border and be done with it.
Till then, have fun, be crafty and stay happy :)