No one can hook just one...

..No i really mean it.

Do you guys have this world famous book? 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton? If you do, then you know where i am coming from.. You simply CANNOT ,for the love of dear god ,settle down on a single square!!

Here is my list of hooking fun from this book :

Oooppssss!! Not this one.. This is the Sunburst Granny from Priscilla's crochet with a great photo tutorial HERE. This is one of my all time favorite and i had to include it!!

This one below in purple shades and the one below it in plain single color..

 #113 Wisteria

#137 Criss Cross

 #16 Waterlily

#81 Sunshine and Showers

African Flower - Another personal favourite from dear Barbara of Made in K-town. Find the great pattern HERE.

#117 Granny in the middle

 

Now my hands were itching to make a blanket again... The temptation is too great. I have to have a big project going on else i feel restless and the small projects do satisfy my creative urge but i spend hordes of time browsing and then even more time regretting that i browsed so much instead of hooking/crafting!! After many trials and errors i decided i am going to do a sampler blanket. But not an ordinary total sampler blanket. Because i need to have order even in chaos!!!

I need a plan..

I need to know how each square will look..

I need to lay them down and test the combinations..

I need to know which block looks good next to which and in which shade..

I was limited in colors and this is for my princess and she wants it only in PINK N PURPLE!! 

I do not want patterns which are too complex and which need a reading after every round and a counting after every few stitches..

I concluded that i am a crocheter from diagrams and NOT FROM WRITTEN PATTERNS!!

I threw out the idea of a hexagon blanket in muted shades with spots of red, blue, green amidst the greys and browns n tans...

I finally decided on a gingham kind of sampler with 1 row of purple blocks and 1 row of pink blocks, alternating the dark pattern blocks with simpler mostly single shaded blocks..

The pattern squares are below:

The simple , mostly single shaded squares are below...

The pinks are on order from the store..and i am eagerly waiting for my mail!!

These are my favourite blocks for a sampler afghan.. There are n number of pretty blocks out there, but i did not want very holey or lacy ones..at the same time not too solid ones..

I have modified each pattern in the book so that my block measures 5" instead of the 6" in the book.. Again a silly quirk of mine in which i feel a 6" block looks too big for the blanket and i wanted only a max of 5 " block..

How is your crafty space? Do write in as i love reading from you guys :)

PS: Love all of you for such sweet words on my Puff Flower Bag.

♥

♥

Thanks Kara from Petals to Picots for the feature too..You can see it HERE .

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

Divine Hat and then there were none :(

Good morning my beautiful lovelies!

How are you this Saturday? My world is just grudging on. Kids-house work-cooking-kids-sleep-home work-cooking some more-cleaning - kinda sums up my life these days :)

Autumn is here, atleast in the blogger-land. I am seeing Fall pictures, pumpkins and maple leaves on most of the blogging sites. We do not have any specific Fall season in India. Neither do we celebrate Halloween and general autumn festival spirit. But after moving to Hong Kong i am loving the weather and the entire atmosphere it brings along. An expectant feel, a longing for the celebrations ahead, waiting for the festivities to begin i assume. Be it Christmas or more specific to Hong Kong - the Chinese Lunar New Year. Well, i am waiting for one thing - the SALES!! Let the shopping begin. The best thing about the season is the food and the shopping!

Now for some crochet stuff :)

Keeping in mind the coming winter months i hooked up this hat for my princess. It is very simple pattern but with beautiful results. Also a good pattern to practice your FPDC's and BPDC's.

 It is very sunny still over here and i am not complaining. I am a very sunny person and personally hate the colder months. But being a crocheter its good as i can hook so many stuff for the kids and the home too :)

You can find the pattern HERE.

If you remember i started on my Giant Granny Patch blanket. You can read about it HERE.
Now i am done with 14 colors ie 504 little 3 round squares :)

Here they are, all stacked up and neated sitting, waiting to become a lovely blanket.
The bad news is i am out of yarn. No more StyleCraft DK. I have ordered 4 more colors to make up the magic 672 squares.So till the mail man comes with the precious parcel i am left on tender hooks - literally!! I have not thought of a new crochet project. I have also ordered Laura Cotton Yarn in India which my MIL has kindly consented on getting for me. So till then, I HAVE NO YARN!!! How did i get into this mess....:( I need to up my stash ASAP!!!

So my lovely people, hope you all have a great weekend. Looking forward to hear your lovely words as always!

Keep smiling, stay calm and hook along:)
Love,
xxx

Superhero DreamCatcher

My two little ones are having a splendid summer so far. Lots of fun, bubbles in the park, walk by the waterfront and such summer activities. A few more weeks till my eldest little one is off to school and thus begins a life long journey of schooling, studies, exams and more schooling. I thought she deserves a few weeks of non rule days before the routine sets in!

You may remember that i showed you my very first blanket which i made for my daughter. When i was expecting a second time around i was lucky enough to know if it was a boy/girl before hand. Advantages of being in HK i guess. Since i was expecting a little boy i thought of hooking a blanket for him. I wanted something simple which i could hook up even in later stages of my pregnancy, at the same time it should be something special. I dint want to do another granny square as i had just done one. Searching on Ravely gave me a very good option. The Superher Dream Catcher for my little superhero :)

You can find the Ravelry link here.

And here is my superhero on his new blanket.

 

Best part about this blanket is its super duper easy peasy. A good project to do while watching your favourite sitecoms. Or while being pregnant. You can do it in rainbow colors or pumpkin colors for a Halloween Blanket.

 

Two blankets for my two precious little ones :)

Its really so wonderful to be at home with kids and count your blessings :)

A look at my new project. I am not sure what i am going to do, just hooking up a few blocks from a book.

I think the pink is too bright. This is the all famous StyleCraft DK yarn. It really is wonderful to work with. Acrylic at its best i guess. After seeing only Vardaman Yarn in India, StyleCraft is truly a luxury yarn to work with !!

Hope to come up with a few more blocks soon.

Have a good week ahead all my lovely people!!

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!!