Crochetkari

Thursday 17 March 2016

Have you found your CALing?

Namaste friends, so have you found your calling yet? Don't worry I am not asking about any deep life calling or purpose of life etc. :) What I mean is crochet CALs.

My crochet Word of the Year 2016 is CAL and there seem to be so many just CALing (ahem) I mean calling out to me. I am having a tough time making up my mind and choosing between them. Some of the projects are from 2015 and some are new while some are yet to be released but definitely scheduled for 2016. So here goes;

This one is not exactly a CAL but a new pattern just released by the lovely Dedri at Lookatwhatimade. It is a gorgeous granny square blanket and the rose border is to die for. I am in love with the border and i suspect that is what is spurring me on. 

crochet lydia blanket

This is an amazing project once again by the very talented Dedri. It is huge and will be the largest project I have ever attempted and completing it will be a challenge. I am not sure about my colour choices but I am also on a stash busting spree.

crochet sophies universe

3. Queen Mandala
This CAL is a gorgeous mandala for which you have to join THIS Facebook group. New instructions are released every week and the CAL is on week 10. I have just reached week 4. What do you think, do the colours go together?

crochet/hekel mandala cal 2016

Yarn: For all the above projects I have used a yarn brand called Ruby from Ludhiana. The yarn comes in gorgeous colours and has a mohair like feel but the yarn is thicker than DK weight.

Hook: I am using a 5.00 mm hook for all these projects.

Some more CALs I hope to do this year:
Sunny Log Cabin blanket by Attic24. I plan on busting my Stylecraft yarn stash for this blanket. You can see my stash HERE.

Lily Pond Blanket - Beautiful blanket by Jane Crowfoot, with huge gorgeous flowers. May have to order yarn for this one. Yay!...an excuse to buy more yarn. (Happy dance...happy dance)

AND a few more that are soon to be revealed!!
Frida's Flowers - once again by Jane Crowfoot, from 5th April. Once again with ginormous flowers and I am sure lots of new techniques. I am so curious about this one!
FRAN Mystery CAL - a manghan. Part 1 was revealed on 7th March. Maybe something special for sonny boy.
Mandala Madness CAL - a circular blanket with 18 weekly parts, beginning on 17th March '16.

In my next post I am going to list some more CALs 2016, which I came across while doing research for this post. So if you are tempted to start one but none of the above appeal to you, worry not. But do start something after all it is NatCroMo!  :D

Until then, ciao.


Tuesday 8 March 2016

How to follow crochet patterns and charts (Videos)

Namaste friends,

NatCroMo

Let's celebrate the glory, beauty and strength of being a woman. The celebrations don't end here as it is also National Crochet Month (NatCroMo).  Okay I know it is not NatCroMo in India but as they say "it is 5 o'clock somewhere in the world", so it is NatCroMo in the US and that is good enough for a celebration :) I am hoping to keep my posts crochet related this month, fingers crossed. 

Are you aware of "Word of the Year", this is something I discovered in 2016. On the personal front my word is Declutter and I have been pretty successful so far. You have no idea how difficult it has been as I am an extreme hoarder. Yes, I never throw away Anything! Which means I have all the greeting cards I have ever received, penpal letters, patterns saved from magazines etc., the smallest scrap of remnant yarn, CDs we don't listen to anymore, favorite clothes which don't fit my "slim" form and may never will, and everything in my kitchen has to be in multiples!! But I am very pleased that I am making good progress and I hope this continues till the end of the year.

In my crochet life, the word of the year 2016 is CAL (Crochet-Along). I have already started a few and more are on my list. Hopefully I should complete them all this year. More details about the CALs in another post.

Let us get on with celebrating NatCroMo. How about starting at the very beginning? So, tell me; 
  •  When did you learn to crochet? 
  •  Who taught you to crochet?  
  •  Do you dabble in any other crafts? 
I am a self taught crocheter and I bought my very first crochet books at the age of 15 and I have never kept my hook down ever since. Initially I followed written patterns and it was after I bought a Spanish crochet leaflet that I learned to follow crochet symbol charts. Today I am surprised that I managed it all on my own! Must be the spirit of youth. :)
Are you comfortable with written crochet patterns or do you find it easier to follow crochet symbol charts?
I found two wonderful videos that are going to solve the problem for both groups. The first video is by crochet designer Marly Bird, where she explains how to follow crochet symbol charts in great detail putting an end to any guesswork.
 

 Click HERE if you have any problem watching the video above.
The next video is by Kristen at GoodKnit Kisses where she explains crochet pattern reading in wonderful detail literally reading it word by word.
 

Click HERE  in case the video above does not play.

I hope you enjoy both the videos. While I am addicted to crochet, I also like to knit, paint and dabble a bit in embroidery, sewing and macramé. What about you? Are you multicraftual? (Yes, it is a word...haha)

See you soon. Keep crafting and revel in being a woman.

Friday 19 February 2016

Vintage Car Museum, Ahmedabad

Namaste friends, How is the weather in your neck of the woods? In Ahmedabad, winter is on the way out and temperatures are rising. Which means we have very weird conditions like very hot afternoons, cool nights and freezing early mornings. And that means getting up many times at night to adjust the fan speed. So as you imagine, sleep is not restful and I am groggy most of the day. 

Not much has been accomplished on the crochet front. My yarn stash which was packed away for my sister-in-law's visit last month is still kept packed as my mother-in-law is visiting us along with my son, from Mumbai. Today is my son's birthday and since we could got go to Mumbai we asked them to come to Ahmedabad. Staying away from your kids is really so difficult, but I guess I have to get used to this as he now wants to pursue his Masters which means he will be away for some more time. 

A bit of good news is that sonny has cleared his Bachelors in Animation and Multimedia with distinction. So there are two good reasons for celebrations today. :)

Auto World - Vintage Car Museum, Ahmedabad.

As promised earlier here the pics from our visit to The Vintage Car Museum. It is situated in Kathwada at Dastan Farm.

Vintage car museum

Vintage car museum ahmedabad

Vintage car museum crochetkari

 The entry charges are Rs. 50/- per person (less than $1) and you have to pay Rs. 100/- more for your camera.  The cars belong to Mr. Pranlal Bhogilal and the collection is wonderful and very well maintained. 



Vintage car museum

Vintage car museum kathwada

Vintage car museum auto world


The museum is spread out over a large area as you can imagine from the sizes of these cars. There is a placard on the ground next to each car describing its model and whether it belonged to any royal family before being added to this collection.

Vintage car museum

Vintage car museum

Vintage car museum ahmedabad

One of the museum employees followed us around narrating little anecdotes about the cars, or pointing out the special features or custom details on some of the models. It is a gorgeous collection and even though I have zero knowledge about cars, I was awestruck.

Vintage car museum auto world

Vintage car museum

Vintage car museum

One can admire the cars only from a distance which helps in keeping fingerprints away and maintaining the mirror finish. As I mentioned earlier the collection is well maintained and transports you to a lovely bygone era. Long velvet gowns, white gloves, high heels, dainty hand held fans, little golden purses, movie premieres, gala dinners, valets, chauffeurs, debutante balls, wishful suitors......Ahem! Okay, okay, just give me a second to float back to earth :)

Vintage car museum
Some bikes for a change.

Vintage car museum ahmedabad
And some horse drawn carriages. (Love those puppet horses).

Vintage car museum


Vintage car collection



I hope you enjoyed the pics of these gorgeous beauties. All I can say is that there's more where that came from! So if you plan to visit Ahmedabad or India do add this place to your to-visit list. You will be delighted.

At Dastan Farm, the Auto World is  on one  side and on the other side is Vintage Village where they have alfresco dining arrangements (both lunch and dinner are available). Traditionally dressed waiters serve you an unlimited Gujarati Thali, constantly refilling your bowls of dal, kadhi, sabji, farsan, jalebi, and many other items. The setting is rustic and you have a choice of seating arrangements - traditional sitting cross legged on the floor or the usual table and chair. Privacy is afforded by bamboo mats separating the groups. Charges for lunch are Rs. 240/- per person, while dinner costs Rs. 340/- as there is folk music and dance as well as a traditional puppet show at night. As it was a weekday we chose to go for dinner. The place is lit with antique lanterns and lamps so my photos of the village and the dinner were not very clear...alas.

Did you enjoy this post? Please write and let me know. I will be back with some crochet news next time. 

If you have not yet downloaded the FREE Slant n Stripe scarf pattern hop over right now and get it. 


 


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