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.

 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. 

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.

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.

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 :)

Some bikes for a change.

And some horse drawn carriages. (Love those puppet horses).

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. 

 

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

Hello 2016!

Namaste friends. I hope 2016 has begun in a wonderful way for you. Time seems to be flying and I cannot believe we are already on to the sixth day of the new year!

I am going to open Blog 2016 on a beautiful note, or maybe I should say floral note :)

On Sunday hubby and I visited the Ahmedabad Flower Show which is an annual event. In spite of the fact that we have been in this city for five years this is the first time we went to the flower show. It was a wonderful experience and we are going to make it a point to attend it in future.

Please note this post is heavily laden with photos and may take a while to open. On the bright side, I let the pictures do the talking which means very little jibber jabber from me...haha. (Okay, okay...I heard that sigh of relief.)

The highlight of the show - a Beetle decorated with exotic orchids, carnations and chrysanthemums.

The Beetle turned out to be the favourite of the kids participating in an on the spot painting competition :)

Pots and vases for sale.

Succulents and cactii.

Black Petunia - now that seems to be rare. First time for me.

Red chilli plants for sale.

Bonsai and miniature gardens.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures. Hoping to be back soon with some crochet goodies. Until then...Bye and keep crafting.  :)

*~*~* HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016 *~*~*

Wishing each and every one of You a Wonderful and Happy New Year 2016.

May your new year be blessed and bring you good health, prosperity, 

loads of happiness, and tons of creativity.

 

Crochet Honeycomb Washcloth

Last project of 2015

Namaste friends. The year 2015 is coming to an end. And like any other year it came with its ups and downs. The downs this year were pretty drastic, like losing a favourite aunt to cancer, and being hospitalised, alongwith hubby, due to a horrible bout of dengue fever. On the other hand the ups were quite good with the year beginning with moving in and decorating our new home, my very first trip overseas (phoren tour!), and sonny boy passing his IELTS test with a great score. Overall, a year I am not sad to see it go. And I am hoping 2016 is going to be a fantastic year where I am more successful working on my goals for my blog, my Etsy shop and my weight loss! :)

Now for the last project of 2015 - a crochet honeycomb washcloth. With winter setting in and the dry climate of Ahmedabad, it was time to get the shower cremes out. But shower cremes work best with washcloths or poufs. Did not want to use a plastic pouf therefore the cotton wash cloth :)

I wanted to try out this honeycomb pattern and the 3D texture seemed ideal for a wash cloth. I assumed it would provide the light exfoliation needed without being too rough or plasticky. I used thick knitting cotton yarn and a 4mm crochet hook.

Here's a look at the texture:

After working the square in the honeycomb pattern I worked a row of DCs around it. Adding 3 DCs in each corner gave it a nice, neat rounded finish.

A loop to hang it up to dry after use.

Sometimes textured stitches produce a really uneven surface on the wrong side but this stitch gives a neat, smooth look on the back.

Let me know in the comments, if you would like a pattern for this wash cloth. I am working my rough notes into a written pattern. This stitch would also work wonderfully for a clutch or cowl. I wouldn't recommend this stitch for a hotpad or coaster as the texture might cause the mug/bowl to tumble.

Well, that's it for the last project for 2015.  

Wishing you a very Happy New Year. I hope 2016 is a fantastic year for all of us and that success crowns all our endeavours and that we are able to achieve our goals - personal, professional or crafty. :) See you next year.