Crochetkari

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. 


 


Friday 5 February 2016

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.

Crochet waffle stitch scarf pattern



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

Crochet waffle stitch scarf border


The pattern for this scarf is available on ETSY and CRAFTSY

A few more pics:

Crochet waffle stitch pattern

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. 

Crochet waffle scarf pattern

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

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