Corner to Corner Blanket Edging

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.

Some time back I showed you the corner to corner blanket I had made. It looked quite good as it was...without a border, but when I came across a pretty neat border pattern I had to add it to my blanket.

Isn't that spiffy! I love the knit-like effect of the stitch. My lovely friend Susan at Felted Button has a PDF pattern for the the blanket as well as the edging and its FREE!!

Here's a closer look:

Teddy dear wants to sleep on the blankie  :)

The pattern by Susan is called Spring into Summer has detailed pics for the blanket as well as the edging.

I think the stitch is called crochet stockinette stitch (correct me if I am wrong). Mikey at Crochet crowd calls it the Camel stitch and he has a video which shows how to do the stitch.

So, how do you like my blanket? I think it is super cute. And so does BowWow!  :)

Did you like the edging? If you use this stitch in your project please do share your pics/blog post.

You can see this blanket in my Etsy Shop.

See you soon, Happy Crafting.

A small note: If you have any questions about patterns, hooks, yarns or anything else, please write to me only at crochetkari@gmail.com. This will help me to reply to you specifically and you will get faster replies. 

Crochet flower pen drive cozy

Hello, lovely ladies! Thank you for joining me here. I am glad so many of you visited and liked my last post about the crochet peacock feather pen drive cozy. Thank you for your sweet comments, they really motivate me.

Here is the second pen drive cozy that I made. I had some flowers and leaves that I had made earlier from a pattern by Lucy at Attic24. They were supposed to be used as decoration for a bag. But the bag never saw the light of day!! So I joined them together to make this....

While my second pen drive does have a cover I made the cozy just for fun.

The leaves and fruits (tiny balls) prevent the pen drive from popping out and are also used for pulling it in.

Do you like it? Here is a look at the other side.

Once again, here is the pattern link for the flower, and leaves and the little balls.

What crafty adventure have embarked upon...do let me know.
How many of you have already started making gifts for Christmas?
I am working on a cowl which is very pretty but involves a lot of color changing and weaving in of ends....grrrrr.....I hate weaving in ends(sigh)!!!!!

Hope you have a fantastic week ahead. Make time for craft everyday...it is the only stress buster you will ever need. See you soon.
Ciao  :)  :)  :)

A small note: If you have any questions about patterns, hooks, yarns or anything else, please write to me only at crochetkari@gmail.com. This will help me to reply to you specifically and you will get faster replies.

{This post contains affiliate links.}

The secret inside the feather

Hello friends, so glad to see you here. I am back after two short trips to Mumbai, which is the reason I could not blog frequently. So, thank you for visiting me in spite of my long absence. I hope I was missed. A warm welcome to new friends who have joined me via Blogger, Bloglovin, Networked Blogs and Facebook.

My latest trip to Mumbai was our annual visit for the Ganesha festival (Ganeshotsav). I love being in Mumbai during this festival as the whole city is vibrant, colourful, fragrant with flowers, noisy with music blaring out from loudspeakers, with huge crowds everywhere as everyone wants to catch a glimpse (darshan) of their favourite deity. And the Ganesha idols (!) in all possible  sizes, heavily decorated with flowers, themed decorations and sometimes even real gold and silver!! Yes, that's right gold and silver. I have lots of photos and I will show them as soon as I am done processing them. You might enjoy this post I wrote long ago regarding the Ganesha festival.

Now on to our favourite topic...crochet! Recently I came across a pattern for a lovely peacock feather and decided to give it a try.

Isn't that pretty!! Since my first attempt was fiddly I decided to make one more. Now I had two feathers and I thought they were too pretty to let them languish in my workbasket. So I was looking for a way to use them. While they would make beautiful appliques, I wanted to do something unique with them.

Now, before I continue I must digress and tell you a small story. I love carrying pen drives with me, in my bag, as they are small, handy and a good way to carry my photos and patterns and even ebooks with me.  Over the years I have "lost" quite a few of these as my son keeps "borrowing" them. Somehow the borrowed pen drives never came back to me. Once I even tried attaching a jingly jangly charm with lots of shells and bells to make it look girly enough to prevent the said "borrowing", but no use as he just removed the charm and made off with the pen drive!!! Ufff...these kids, always one step ahead of you.

The two peacock feathers gave me an idea...that I could make a pen drive cozy by joining the two of them. So first I checked whether they will enclose my pen drive properly.

Yay...it was a perfect fit. Another reason I wanted a pen drive cozy is that I had a San Disk pen drive which comes without a cover and are non retractable, and throwing them in my purse made them scratched and dirty. So... two birds with one stone it was! :-)

So I joined the two feathers together leaving an opening just wide enough, then inserted the pen drive attached to a thread. I used a ring from an old keychain. This ring prevents the pen drive from popping out of the cozy and was also handy for pulling it back into the cozy.

So what do you think? Do you like my crochet peacock pen drive cozy? Do let me know.

Yes, yes, I know the question you are dying to ask... the pattern for the feather. So, my dears, here is the LINK at Living the Craft Life. I think these feathers would be perfect as appliques, jewellery, key chains, purse charms, baggage tags and more.

I also loved the article she wrote about the birth of a crochet pattern... do read it. 

I don't know whether this cozy will prevent further "borrowing" of my pen drive but I enjoyed making it and that is all that matters!!  :) After all any excuse to crochet is a good excuse...isn't it?!

Hope to be back soon with some beautiful photos of Lord Ganesh and my next project which again happens to be a pen drive cozy. Yes, I can be crazy sometimes..hehe. Can you hear hubby in the background yelling 'What do you mean sometimes?'......LOL

Until then. Happy Crafting. And do write to me gorgeous ladies, I am really missing you.

If you sent me any questions by email and I have not replied, please send me a reminder. I am having some trouble commenting on other blogs, my comments are just not appearing, so while I have been visiting all my favourite blogs, I am sorry I could not leave a comment. Please bear with me. Maybe there is some error from my side. 

Roses are Red, Waffles are Blue...

Sugar is sweet, my love
But not, As sweet as you.....

A beautiful song by Jim Reeves that brings back lovely childhood memories of lazy Sunday mornings. Especially memories of my wonderful Dad bringing out his Grundig tape player and his huge collection of tapes. I think it was his great love for music that taught my brother and me  to appreciate and love music of all kinds, right from Bhimsen Joshi to Michael Jackson. Last month (July) saw his fourth death anniversary and not a day goes by without me remembering my Dad, his zest for life, his belief in the "goodness" of people, and the fact that he was great at maintaining friendships (without Facebook!)....he was still in touch with his kindergarten friends even in his seventies. 

In case you are interested here is a wonderful link I found, to the song mentioned above.

Okay, okay, I know that you are dying to point out the typo in the title. But don't fret as it IS my Waffles that are blue. And if it is me, then the waffles have to be crocheted right?!!

I fell in love with this stitch as it is so true to its name. Also because it produces a lovely thick textured fabric. This scarf was the first item I tried using the crochet waffle stitch. The waffle stitch is excellent for scarves, bags and baby blankets or even afghans. 

As I am a big fan of matching sets I decided to make a matching waffle hat. But while the scarf is worked in rows ie: to and fro, turning the work when you reach the end of the row, a hat has to be worked in the round to ensure a seamless construction. Also as I hate seaming I decided to have a go at modifying the pattern to work in the round.

I am very pleased with the result. What do you think?

The waffle stitch scarf above was sold before I could blog about it, so I decided to have a go at the waffle stitch again. This time I decided to make a cowl as I had already succeeded at modifying the pattern to work in the round.

So here is my very own crochet waffle stitch cowl:

The waffle stitch seems ideal for unisex items. No shells, pineapples or fans...the perfect stitch for men's items!

I am working on the written pattern so watch this space as I will be calling for testers.

The blue waffle cowl and hat are available for purchase in my SHOP. And the pattern will also be available soon.

And, just for nostalgia, here is a picture I found,of a player that very closely resembles the one my Dad had;

Pic source: audiovisualmuseum.blogspot.in

See you soon. Do let me know what crafty adventures you are up to!

A small note: If you have any questions about patterns, hooks, yarns or anything else, please write to me only at crochetkari@gmail.com. This will help me to reply to you specifically and you will get faster replies.

Pattern Giveaway Winners

Hi Girls, a quick post just to announce the winners of the pattern giveaway I announced a few weeks back. I know I am late, very late, but things have been a little topsy-turvy on the health front with very little that I could do about it. I am sure you don't want any of the boring details so on to the announcement.

And the winners are.......TaDa...drum roll please......,

Anna from Annasimplecrochet

And

Ruth from Rose Hill Collections

So, lucky girls, please write to me at crochetkari@gmail.com so that I know which email id you want me to send the pattern PDF.

Both the lovely girls above have pretty blogs and they show off some really wonderful crochet creations, so do visit them.

For all my other beautiful friends out there, if you did not win this time do not despair, I have a few more patterns lined up and I will be showing them off soon... health permitting!!!  :(

A small note: If you have any questions about patterns, hooks, yarns or anything else, please write to me only at crochetkari@gmail.com. This will help me to reply to you specifically and you will get faster replies. 

Well, I hate posts that have no pics so here is one just for you;

I found this on Facebook, if you are aware of the source please let me know.

This is my surefire way to solve all problems in my life especially health issues as crochet works like meditation for me. Hehe... it also works as an excuse to avoid any other form of exercise...LOL. Now you can't crochet on the treadmill...can you?!

Until my next post, which might be a while, as I am off to Mumbai for a short trip....see ya. Make time for craft everyday.

1000 Facebook Likes!

Woo hoo!! I have some wonderful news to share. Yes, that's right my Crochetkari Facebook page has crossed the 1k mark. I now have 1000+ fans...Yay!!!

I am absolutely thrilled about it. I know that there are pages out there with fans in 5-figures and 6-figures. But I am pretty pleased with what I have achieved.

While Facebook can be a time sucker, I think it also depends on how you use it. As far as my page is concerned, I find it is a fast and efficient way to announce the latest happenings on my blog, or share my newest project and also free patterns from other sites. And I use my personal Facebook account to join crochet related groups, pages belonging to craft suppliers like Pony and Deramores and also to keep myself updated about the latest news in the craft world. 

And while on the topic of social media, you can also follow me on:

Twitter

Pinterest   

Ravelry

By the way, do you like the poster above? I made it and the one below (to announce 800 fans) using PicMonkey, which is a site where you can edit your photos, make collages and create posters like these ... for FREE! 

It is easy and fun and the results are amazing. So go ahead and try it.  :)

I am working on the edging for the corner to corner blanket. What crafty adventure are you up to? Do share.

See you soon.

Crochet Corner to Corner Blanket

Hello friends, Hope the week has started well for you.

First, I have a question for you. Do you have any favorite crochet teacher whom you follow on the internet?

Actually I follow a lot of crochet "gurus". I am a self taught crocheter and for many years i.e. until I discovered the joys of internet, books were my teachers. But now with the internet, there is an explosion of information on any topic under the sun, including Crochet. So while there are tons of free patterns available, there are also crochet videos galore, to learn any crochet technique  you want to - Entrelac, Tunisian, bobble stitch, crocodile stitch, ripples, or even crochet bags, blankets, hats, scarves and what have you!

One of my favorite crochet gurus is Mikey of The Crochet Crowd. Last year I made my very first Ripple Blanket (also my very first large project!) by participating in an Afghan challenge. According to Mikey the corner to corner crochet technique was "hot trending", so I decided to give it a try.

What do you think? Isn't it lovely?!! What is unique about this technique is that it starts out as a triangle and then you can modify the size as you crochet along. Which means you can make it a square or rectangle and even decide the size after you have started crocheting it.

Here is a link to Mikey's video for the corner to corner technique where he explains it in great detail.

I had not decided on a size for the blanket as I was hoping to get the two opposite corners to match each other. So two corners have the variegated yarn...

And since I had started with a blue triangle I was praying that I should be able to get blue again in the last corner.

I am sure that there must be a way to calculate and get precisely matching corners, but for now I am very happy with the results.

The yarn I used was "Fine" or yarn weight 2 and with a 3.5 mm hook, I was afraid that it will take me ages to complete the blanket. But this pattern is so simple and easy that once you get the hang of it you can do it while chatting with friends, watching TV, or even when waiting at the doctor's or the bus stop. Yes...it is that easy! Believe me you don't even have to look down at it.

So if you have never tried this technique, give it a go with this free pattern from Redheart.com. Redheart also has tons of other free patterns for any crochet item imaginable, so browse around while you are there.

If you don't have time to try an whole afghan, no problem, try your hand at the crochet corner to corner technique with this video for a C to C scarf. You will be amazed that such an easy technique can produce such beautiful results.

I have to weave in the ends!!  :(

Do you think it needs an edging? Maybe you could suggest an edging pattern.

And before I sign off, a reminder about the pattern giveaway on my blog which is open till Saturday 28th June.

On my telly: Homeland. What about you?

2nd Blog Anniversary and Pattern Giveaway

Hi friends, yes it is me, still alive and kicking crocheting, and posting after almost a month!!!

Last month, that is the month of May was supposed to be one of celebration, fanfare, pattern giveaway, free pattern tutorials, book tours and many more things that I had planned, as my blog turned Two! Yes, that's right my blog is now two years old. What I had not planned for, was the scorching, searing and debilitating heatwave that swept through Ahmedabad. With temperatures reaching 46oC, most afternoons I had headaches, nausea, dizziness and I dare say a couple of bouts of disorientation!! A check up has now revealed that my blood pressure is a bit on the higher side, so I have been prescribed pills for the same.....blah blah.

Finally when I gather all my senses and decide to write a very overdue post you will not guess what happened!!!!  My blog had disappeared...yup that's right it was just not seen. A frantic SOS to my brother (my one and only 24/7 tech support) and a few days later, things were in place again. What a relief!!

So, here I am writing my first post in my second year of blogging. A big Thank you to all my dear readers for sticking with me. Of course I wish you would comment more, just because I love to hear from you. Since very few people (read that as exactly three!!) around me actually crochet, my blog is a way to reach out and connect with kindred souls or crochet sisters. :)

To mark my blog anniversary, I have decided to giveaway TWO copies of my very first crochet pattern PDF - The Cluster Stitch Cuffed Infinity scarf. :) 

Also check out my last post.

Here is what you have to do:

1) Become a follower of my blog.

2) "Like" my Crochetkari Facebook Fanpage.

3) Comment on this post below.

This giveaway will be open till  28 June 2014, so you have ample time. I will draw the two lucky names and inform you accordingly.

Here are a few more pics for you.

 

As you may have guessed I did not actually crochet all the infinity scarves above. I have added these pics just for fun, also you can get an idea of how it will look in different colors. Well, when Sonny boy is doing his Bachelors in VFX and Animation, Blogger Mom has to utilize it somewhere, right?

You can also get my pattern on Etsy and Craftsy.  :)

Hopefully I should manage all my unfulfilled blogging tasks of May, in June, ...fingers crossed  :)

Let me know what crafty adventures you are up to. I am working on a lovely blue baby blanket, as well as a delicate pastel shawl. But more about them in my next posts.

Take care and make time for craft  :)

My first PDF pattern...and my 100th post!

Finally reached the 100 mark...phew!!! Yes, this is my 100th post and it took me almost TWO years. That is bad,,,,very bad. Why? Well, during my school years if there was one remark I received unfailingly on my report card every year, year after year, it was "very talkative"!! And now to take two years to write 100 posts....pathetic!!

In real life too, I sometimes go yakkity yak, blah blah blah, but of late I feel I am becoming quieter. Maybe it has to do with the fact that after moving to Ahmedabad, I had nobody to talk to as hubby and sonny were busy with their respective work and I suppose I got used to sitting quietly and crocheting on my own. Or maybe age is catching up and I am finding solace in solitude. As far as blogging is concerned, you know how silly things like life, health and relatives can get in the way of important things like blogging, or Pinterest, Facebook, etc......LOL. Just joking  ;)

So, welcome to my 100th post. And now on to the next exciting thing.

My First crochet PDF pattern

Now if there is one thing for which I will remember the year 2013, it will have to be opening my own shop on Etsy. It took a bit of courage to jump in with both feet and decide to just do it and stop dilly dallying. Of course it did mean that I could no longer treat my crochet just as a hobby and had to get serious about treating it as a business. Which meant crocheting for the better part of the day, buying yarn in bulk and stashing it out of the way, taking care of packaging, shipping and other logistics. I did plan to eventually design and sell my own patterns, but for a start I was happy to just crochet and sell my items.

I have been crocheting for 25+ years now, and along the way I have designed some stuff, used stitch patterns from books to make bags and purses and modified patterns to suit available yarns and end purpose. But I never bothered to write anything down. And as I am suffering from OCD - Obsessive Crocheting Disorder I would crochet super fast as my main objective was to see how the final product would look. As a full time working mother staying in a joint family the only "ME" time I got was during the two hour commute to and fro from work. Most of the time I would be standing and crocheting in a crowded train and God forbid if I jostled my co passengers to get my pen out and make notes!!! If looks could kill I would certainly not be here writing this post.....haha.

When I designed my Cluster Stitch Cuffed Infinity scarf, as usual I was eager to see the finished product, therefore no notes were written. Imagine my surprise when I received a message on Etsy whether I was willing to sell the pattern. I was thrilled but apprehensive at the same time. Writing a pattern in the proper format is very different from sharing it on your blog or explaining it to your friend. It took me a couple of days to complete writing the pattern and get it in PDF format. 

And you can now get my pattern on Etsy and Craftsy.  :)

The infinity scarf has an allover cluster pattern.

A buttoned cuff adds visual interest. I have used two wooden buttons, but you can use any 2cm buttons.

The infinity scarf can be worn in different ways:

Join me in my next post as my blog completes two years and two lucky readers will get a free copy of this pattern.

I am working on a few more patterns and some of them will be free on my blog.

Have a great weekend.