Waffle Stitch Scarf - First pattern of 2016

Namaste friends. January has flown by so fast. I am not really on the dot with my goals for 2016, but there are eleven months to go and I am sure I will bring things up to date by the year end. :)

January saw a visit by my sister-in-law with her husband, for ten days. We had a very good time with sightseeing, karaoke singing and eating out. One of the places we visited was the Auto World Vintage Car Museum at Kathwada, Ahmedabad. It boasts an awesome collection of more than 100 cars such as Bentleys, Chryslers, Daimlers, Rolls Royce, Mercedes, Cadillacs, Buicks and many more. I will share the pics in my next post.

Now on to my first project of 2016 - the Waffle Stitch Scarf with Ribbed Border. The waffle stitch is one of my favourite crochet stitches and I just love the texture it produces. This scarf pattern was a custom request and I am quite happy with the finished product.

The texture makes it an ideal unisex pattern. The ribbed border looks lovely, don't you think so?

The pattern for this scarf is available on ETSY and CRAFTSY. 

A few more pics:

The scarf is made with DK wt yarn and a 4 mm crochet hook. The scarf measure 60 inches by 6.5 inches and I have included instructions to change the length and the width of the scarf. 

I think I will make one more scarf with this pattern and attach a fringe at the shorter ends for a different look.

Which is your first project for 2016? I am eager to know.

See you soon in the next post. Happy Crafting.

Rolls-Rocyces, Bentleys, Daimlers, Langondas, Mercedeces, Maybach, Packards, Cadillacs, Buicks, Auburns, Cord, Lancias, Lincolns, Chryslers - See more at: http://www.vccci.com/vintage-car-museum#sthash.u3p55xba.dpuf

Rolls-Rocyces - See more at: http://www.vccci.com/vintage-car-museum#sthash.u3p55xba.dpuf

Free Crochet Pattern - Slant n Stripe Scarf

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Namaste, girls. I am sure all of you are busy getting ready for the holidays ahead. Some of you may be scrambling around for last minute gifts. Today I have something that is just right for you. An easy scarf pattern and it is Free too!!

Slant n' Stripe Scarf Pattern 

The pattern is very easy and requires knowledge of single crochet and double crochet only. The pattern is a one row repeat, yup that's right it is a one row pattern which can be easily memorized and worked up in a jiffy. Just right for those last minute gifts. :)

 The fabric produced is soft and flexible and has a lovely drape. 

Here is a close up of the pattern:

And another pic in a different colour:

The borders on the two sides are made by the pattern itself so there is no need of an edging.

I used a DK weight yarn (yarn brand: Shining Star) and a  4mm crochet hook.

The scarf measures 6.5 inches wide and is 60 inches in length.

The pattern is in PDF form consisting of 3 pages. The actual pattern is on one page with no pictures or colours so you can just print that one page and take it with you, if like me you crochet wherever you go. :D

You can download the pattern HERE

The geometric design should work out well even for a men's scarf in the right colours, don't you think so?

You can also get your free pattern in my CRAFTSY store. If you are not already a member of Craftsy, you will have to register yourself, which is very simple and Free. Once registered you will have access not only to my pattern but also tons of other free patterns and dozens of free videos for all kinds of crafts like knitting, crochet, painting, sewing, baking...you name it.

Please let me know if you face problems or are unable to download the pattern.

I hope you enjoy making this scarf. If you have any questions or find any mistake let me know at crochetkari@gmail.com.

Happy Holidays!

Crochet C2C scarf

Namaste friends. Thank you so much for you best wishes, lovely comments, emails and phone calls. It feels so good to know that I have friends who care so much, whether they are in the next city, neighbouring state or even across the seven seas. 

I did say in my last post that 2015 was just not my year. Well, a couple of days later my computer just wouldn't start and then followed a few frantic days of SOS calls to my brother and our local computer guy to get it up and running. Phew!! So used to my computer and the internet, my husband teases me that I just might go berserk without them. Thank God for crochet which keeps me sane and calm. Do you know I had actually packed a project in the bag I took to the hospital! But the dengue fever (see last post) really sapped our energy and the weakness/body pain was too much to even think about crocheting or even staying alive for that matter.  :)

Variegated hues

Have you ever fallen in love with a ball of variegated yarn at the store, only to come home and realise that it just does not suit any project? Or that the colour effect is not playing up the way you had imagined? It has happened to me a lot of times. I am sure you are wondering why I still keep buying. Well, variegated yarn has a charm, a romantic appeal all its own, which makes it hard to resist. And I have the balls to prove it....haha.

The pastel hues, the jewel tones or ombre shades are irresistible. Never mind that you end up crocheting and frogging till you get the exact effect you want :) After trying out a few patterns I decided to follow my friend Ashlesha and crochet a corner to corner scarf with this ball of variegated yarn that had gorgeous shades of denim, aubergine and forest green. A wonderful colour combination for a man's scarf....methinks.

The yarn brand is "Peacock" and is from Ludhiana. I have used a 4.50mm crochet hook. 

Corner to corner or C2C as it is popularly known is a really simple stitch. I would even call it a beginner level stitch. The fact that it works diagonally might seem confusing but you get the hang of it pretty soon. In the case of this particular yarn it produces these lovely diagonal bands of colour almost automatically. 

 I have now learned that for variegated yarns to give good results the colour changes have to be atleast a few feet apart. Any closer and the result is just a hotch potch of changing colours. So while this yarn produced these beautiful bands of denim, aubergine and forest green, an earlier project with variegated yarn - the C2C baby blanket shows how short colour changes just produce a mish-mash.

 But for the blanket I got the exact effect I wanted i.e. stripes of blue, white and mixed colours.

The scarf measures 65" by 7" and used up about 160 grams of yarn. I am quite happy with the way the colours have played out. I am thinking of trying some other pattern using this same yarn. What do you think? Do you like my C2C scarf?

If you want to try your hand at C2C HERE is a wonderful video by Mikey at The Crochet Crowd.

Have you made any projects using variegated yarn? 

Happy Navaratri to all my dear readers.  

Navaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated for nine nights (nava means nine and ratri means night), dedicated to the nine forms of Shakti the Mother Goddess. As with all other festivals in India, this festival too is celebrated in different ways in different parts of India, but always with great pomp and splendor involving a lot of color, lighting, music and dance. The tenth day is known as Vijayadashami or Dussehra which marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura as well the victory of Lord Ram over the Demon king Ravana.
Click the links in the above passage to know more about the festivals and the deities.

  

 See you soon.

PS: I was having some trouble with the fonts in this post so please bear with me. :) 

Crochet Chevron Infinity Scarf

Namaste Gorgeous! Thank you for joining me here today. You may be wondering at my cheek, just appearing out of nowhere, after being away for so long. Hmmm...guilty as charged! Well, you know... life happens...with its bits and bobs...some good, some bad. 

One good bit that I just cannot resist sharing is that we went on our very first overseas vacation!!! Yippee :)  :)  In the month of May, we went on a 10 day trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Yes, I have lots of photos and tons of things to share...you know me - blah, blah, blah. But I will control myself for now. The main reason is that for a blog named "Crochetkari" I have been sharing lots of stories about moving, travelling and vacations and very little crochet! So my next few posts are going to be about crochet, hopefully :) 

The ripple pattern is one of my favourites, so when I came across this pattern for an infinity scarf I just had to try it. 

The pattern is called Rolling in the Deep infinity scarf by Cre8tion Crochet.

I love the three different sections in the scarf and you can decide which colour you want to play up depending on you mood for the day.

While I made this scarf with orange and white, I like the designer's suggestion that you should use two colours which are opposites on the colour wheel. Maybe I will make one more scarf using that idea. 

I am still working on finding the "best" spot for photography in my new home. I am missing my swing so much ...boohoo.

Nevertheless, here are some more photos:

The pattern was free for some time on the Cre8tion Crochet site, but you can still get it HERE.

Do you like my infinity scarf, do let me know.

As my crochet hook is attached to my arm, :)  there are tons of finished projects waiting for their Ta-Dah moment, so do come back.

I have not been commenting much, but believe me I have been keeping up with all your blogs and thoroughly enjoying your posts. But please don't be like me and do comment below. A strange thing I noticed while blog hopping was that many of my blogger friends have been away from their blog and most of them are resurfacing now, just like me.Weird coincidence!

While the internet connection in my new home is very fast, it keeps getting disconnected. So frustrating! 

Here are two more ripple patterns I tried earlier:

The Ocean Waves Ripple Afghan

The Serenity Ripple Scarf

What is on your hook, right now? I would love to know.
See you soon.

Crochet Serenity Ripple scarf

Hello friends, Time is just flying and we are already into the third month of the year!

I am going to share one more item from my project collage. This is a wonderful ripple scarf and yes...it is a Free pattern. This scarf is made from the Serenity Ripple Scarf pattern at The Crochet Lounge. So, here goes:

This is my second ripple project, the first one was this beautiful ripple blanket. But the scarf has a ripple pattern which is very different from the blanket.

The pattern is shown with gorgeous pink and purple but I quite like this combination of red and white too. Here is the stitch pattern in detail:

I added a fringe just for fun, the pattern has a different edging. The Crochet Lounge has lots of other free patterns for hats, cowls, wristers etc.

See you soon, until then Happy Crafting. And before I sign off, here is some interesting information I found on Facebook;

Well, it is definitely reason number 4 for me!!  LOL

Ciao,

First crochet project of 2014

Hi friends, I have a new project to share with you today. My first crochet project of 2014.

Last time I mentioned that I will going to Mumbai as my mother-in-law was supposed to undergo an operation for a tumor in her uterus. The surgery went off very well and my MIL had a speedy recovery. While most people hate "hospital duty", I usually see it as a time to catch up with my crocheting. My projects finish faster as I am mostly undisturbed in the hospital, and other than feeding and fetching for the patient, I am left to my own devices for the rest of the time. So whenever any relative is hospitalized I am on "duty". As my yarn and hooks go with me wherever I go, I managed to finish a beautiful infinity scarf which I was longing to make. 

The pattern is free on Mooglyblog.com and is called the Autumn Sunset Infinity Scarf. Here it is:

I had this deep salmon colored yarn in my stash and I think it does give an autumn feel to the infinity scarf...what do you say?

Here is another look at it ...

I have used a 5.5mm crochet hook and medium worsted weight yarn. I just love the pattern detail and I agree that they do look like 'sunsets'. 

As my yarn was thinner I started with 198 chains instead of 180 chains. 

The scarf measures 60 inches in circumference and is 6 inches wide. 

I love this pattern. In fact I am now a Big fan of all Mooglyblog patterns. 

I know I promised to show you a lot of other crochet projects in THIS post and I have not forgotten it, but the first project of 2014 has to be shown first...right?!

See you soon with lots of new crochet projects. Until then .... happy crafting. Have a great day.

Cowl Inspiration

Hello friends,

~*~*~*~*~  HAPPY THANKSGIVING ~*~*~*~*~

And Thank You, Yes YOU, my lovely reader. The person who makes me want to write and share a teeny weeny part of my life. The person who visits me even when my posting is erratic, sarcastic and ungrammatic (!) and also says polite things about my crochet projects. :) And especially You, who take a few precious moments from their busy life to write to me, words which feel like raindrops on parched earth, to me. After all a conversation with oneself is only a monologue and not a dialogue...or a blog!

In the last post I shared the "family picture" and then I kept wondering which of my babies (crochet!) should I introduce first. I decided to start with this gorgeous cowl, which I made inspired by a free pattern.

Now, most of my internet sessions start with Google and "free crochet patterns". While the patterns may not always be the ones you are looking for, I see it is a good way to find some lovely blogs and make some beautiful friends. One such blog, and one of my favorites is Mooglyblog.com.

The truly talented Tamara at Moogly has some gorgeous patterns AND they are all FREE. Tamara's patterns use a lot of lovely colours and there is something for everyone at home. You feel that you have to make them all!! The pattern that inspired me for this cowl was the Moroccan Market Tote. While I thought that I may not have the patience to make the complete bag, I was desperate to try the stitch which was producing such a wonderful texture. So I decided to make a cowl (a side effect of my trip to ladakh).

Isn't it gorgeous!! I simply loved the texture. The white yarn envelopes the plum yarn from both sides and it looks almost like a woven fabric. 

Have you ever visited the Taj Mahal? While this pattern is inspired by Moroccan tiles, the ruby jewels peeping through the white filigree reminded me of the beautiful marble inlay work at the Taj Mahal.

Image source: Wikipedia

Don't you agree? And if you have never visited the Taj Mahal you must add it to your list of "Places to see before I..........". 

There is also a pattern for an afghan using this same pattern at Moogly with instructions for different sizes. It is accompanied by a video tutorial for the stitch pattern. I had a slight problem at Row 3 so I urge you to watch the video if you are going to try this pattern.

For my cowl I used yarn from THIS stash and a 4.00 mm crochet hook. The cowl is 60" in circumference and 6" wide. 

Such cowls are also known as "infinity scarves" as they have no ends. So you can wear it like a scarf, thus:

Or wrap it around your neck twice so that it looks like a cowl, like this:

The photos are a bit messy as I was trying my hand at some photo editing with (as you can see) not so good results. But I know you will excuse me.  :) I used the two different colours for the two edges just for visual interest.

Do let me know what you think of my cowl? 

I will be back soon with another cowl and another one of my favourite crochet blogs.

Until then Happy Crafting. I am anxiously waiting to see what my bloggy friends are going to make for Christmas - either for themselves or as gifts.

Ciao,

Snow Capped Orange

Hi friends,

Yes, its me! Still alive and playing hooky as usual. I know I am writing after many, many days and that is because I was busy with some "behind the scenes" activities. More about that later.

For a change I actually remembered something that I promised earlier and that is, to show you the matching hat I made for the orange and white scarf. So here it is:

Cute, isn't it? It does look like any simple crochet hat but I am very proud of it. Why?  Because I made it without any pattern. Something which I very rarely do as I am a slave to the written word and also because I just do not have the patience. But this time I had to rack my brains as I wanted a matchy matchy set.

 

The trick was in adapting the scarf pattern to the hat. While the scarf is worked by crocheting back and forth the hat is worked in the round. But I managed to do it without any gaps showing in the pattern. 

I will discuss more about adapting patterns in my next 'scarf and hat' post. I chose white for the crown as I thought orange would look too bright and even kiddish. So the white cuts through the orangey-ness. But I kept the cuff orange as that is the part which is handled the most while putting on and taking off and white may get soiled quite easily.

The set looks just lovely. What do you say?

Here is a closer look at the stitches and cuff

And here is some unknown model wearing it.....   :)  LOL

Now, about those "behind the scenes" activities, you may have seen the advertising banners and links on the blog. I know that they are a bit irritating but please bear with me. Recently I came across many articles about monetizing your blog and I thought I should give it a try. Also the real reason is that I am hoping in the long (looooong) run it will help me pay for my yarn acquisition disorder without feeling guilty when I stock up. Since Adsense, for reasons unknown to me, does not want to be my friend I had to hunt for other options. Also fear of html is a big handicap.

Another activity is that I have now joined Twitter. I have not really got the hang of it yet but it is an easy way to "follow" your favorite bloggers, crochet designers and experts. Hoping to be active and tweeting soon. PS- Any tips are most welcome.  :)

This has been a hurried post as I am leaving for Mumbai to celebrate the Ganesh festival with my friends and relatives there. Last year I wrote a small post about this festival and you can read it HERE. I hope I have some good pics to share with you from Mumbai. 

I am also planning to buy some yarn in Mumbai, so wish me luck. No, not for buying but for camouflaging and stuffing it into my suitcase so that nobody is wiser!!  LOL The things one has to do just to keep your hobby alive.

So that is all for now. Can't resist one more pic of my orangey matching set!  :)

Happy crafting and Happy Ganeshotsav