Mandala mania 3 - Variegated violets

(This post contains affiliate links)*

Namaste friends, are you a television buff? I am a big fan of TV but I wouldn't call myself an addict as I can switch it off at will and also survive for days without it if required. But I am partial to English programs whether it is serials, documentaries, cookery or science shows. TLC and Nat Geo are my favourite channels. As far as Indian television is concerned I prefer Marathi channels for their superior content, and wide variety of topics. Hindi programs with their melodrama, unrealistic stories and slapstick comedy are too jarring for the senses.

Wondering where I am going with all this. I have no idea... LOL

Okay, as a teen I was a huge fan of Three's Company, an American sitcom about three roommates. I liked everything about it, the cast, the theme song, the stories. And that is exactly the phrase that came to my mind when I thought my two mandalas needed one more companion. After all "Three's Company, too"...right? Haha

Yeah, I know I can be bonkers sometimes :) :)

Next question - Have you ever purchased variegated yarn because it looked gorgeous and then wondered what to do with it? It happens to me all the time! But the allure of variegated yarn cannot be avoided.

For my latest mandala, I decided to use a variegated violet cotton yarn languishing in my stash. Here is the result:

Those petals look so cute. Using variegated yarn for the whole mandala or doily would be pointless as the intricacies of the design would be lost.

This pattern is simply gorgeous and I urge you to try it. Check out the details in this POST.

Some more pics (with no jibber jabber from me)!  😊

All pics were taken with my Lenovo A7000* phone camera. One of these days I must get down from my ivory tower and get my camera repaired!!! Pity the repair centre is miles away 😩

Which camera do you use for your blog photography?

See you soon. Happy Crafting

Mandala mania 2 - Aqua n orange

Namaste friends, did you like the mandala in the last post? I loved it so much, I thought One good mandala deserves another, isn't that right?

So I went on to make another one. I decided to use totally different colours, absolutely different from the previous colour choice.

Here goes Aqua n Orange:

Isn't it gorgeous!! Even if I say so myself ;)

While I'm loving the mandala as a whole after completion I had doubts about the "sunflower" in the center. What do you think, does it go with the colour scheme?

I like the way the white stands out and makes the other colours pop.

Just changing the colours produced such a dramatic effect. It looks like a totally different pattern! Only on close inspection do you realise that it is the same pattern.

All materials are same as the last mandala and you can check out the details HERE.

Okay, only two more pics :)

Can you tell I am in love with it!! 

I can't wait to see what you'll have been up to. So I will be blog surfing for the next few hours.

See you later, crocheter :)

Mandala mania 1 - Peachy brown

(This post contains affiliate links)*

Namaste friends, How has the new year been unfolding so far? I hope you are enjoying it.

Time to start talking crochet in the new year. I came across a lovely mandala pattern and felt I just had to make one. Crochet mandalas are beautiful, useful, provide instant gratification as well as room to play with colours.

The mandala in the original pattern uses pink, mauve, violet and lavender. I decided to go for a peach and brown combination and I love the way it has turned out. The red adds a pop of colour, while the beige highlights the darker colours.

Isn't it gorgeous!! I am loving it. :) 

I adore mandalas for their beautility... no don't hunt your dictionary, I just invented that word. :) It is a combination of beauty and utility!! 

And now before you get ready to grab my neck and shake me :) here is the link to the Pattern at crochetmillan.com.

The website has many beautiful patterns and I will be going back for more.

Materials

Yarn:   Laura knitting cotton

Hook: 3.50 mm*

Dia:    15 inches

This yarn* will give you similar results plus it comes in a range of vibrant colours.

And yes, I have omitted the last two rounds which form the edging of the mandala as I found it a bit lacy for the "solid" body of the mandala. So I just went for a round of scs with picots.

What would be your colour choices for this mandala? 

Happy crafting!

Ahmedabad Flower Show

Namaste friends. The New Year began for Ahmedabad with two wonderful events.

1. Ahmedabad Flower Show and
2. International Kite Festival.
Both are held at the Sabarmati Riverfront, Ahmedabad.

So, on Sunday I dragged a very reluctant hubby to the Flower Show. Here are some pics from the show:

As it was a Sunday, the crowds just kept swelling till it got unmanageable. There was a lot of jostling and security personnel were having a tough time! Also, we had a twenty five minute walk back to our car 😞 !!

I preferred the last year's show and you can check out the pics HERE. 

The Flower show is on till 13th January 2017.

I hope this experience has not put off my husband, as I plan to drag him to the International Kite Festival, next Saturday (which is also the last day) ...hehe. 

Did your new year start in a good way? I would love to know.

See you next with some crochet news.

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays

And Life Goes On...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Namaste friends. Feels good to get back to blogging. I know it has been a while. 
Thankfully, this time my absence was due to happy reasons. 

Birdie has flown the nest:

My little birdie, has flown all the way across the seven seas. Sonny boy  joined the college of his choice in the US, in the first week of September. We are so proud and thrilled. And now we are left with our empty nest.

When people tell you that their child has gone to US/Canada/Germany/Australia for higher studies, it all seems so simple. But now I know how exhausting it can be! Uff, the running around for the transcripts, visa, bank loan, followed by the shopping. Also the feeling of being emotionally drained. Being separated  from your only child is tough! Especially because sonny is my confidante, my best friend and also partner in crime when it comes to demolishing pizzas and ice cream. Not to mention wolfing down yummy vada-pavs before Dad got home from work, to escape the lecture about junk food and obesity.  ;)

My dreams about being a free bird in my "empty nest" came to nought. While I thought that I will now be crocheting and blogging to my heart's content, that was far from the real scene. For the first few weeks I lost all interest in blogging, Etsy, internet and even crochet (!!). There was a little bit of joy in the second week of September but very little.

Celebrating the Half Century Mark:

On the tenth of September I celebrated my Fiftieth Birthday. 
Yes, the big Five Oh! 
The half century mark!
I was thrilled, excited and scared at the same time, if that's even possible :)
Thrilled that I had made it so far. An achievement in itself!
Excited about  what the future might bring.
Scared, and also a bit sad that the downhill journey had begun, and that the wear and tear on the body will now begin to show.
But then again, why worry. After all Age is only a number. And Life Begins at Fifty, right!?
(What? Life begins at Forty...never heard that one....LOL)

The fact that sonny was so far away did dampen my spirit, but hubby took me to Patang - a revolving restaurant in Ahmedabad, and that did help to lift my mood. It was a lovely experience and the food was good. We took a lot of pics, unfortunately Ahmedabad does not have any spectacular views/vistas to capture from above.  A wonderful experience, nevertheless.

I got a ton of goodies as gifts, but my camera needs servicing, so I'll be sharing them with you at a later date.

A blog post without a pic is a strict no-no. So here is a collage of the mandalas I made, once I finally got over myself and picked up my hook (Thank God!). Details about the mandala will follow later.

Usually I don't share personal photos, but I cannot resist sharing this one (this pic was supposed to accompany the big Birthday post which never got written). 
So go ahead and please take a slice of my birthday cake. Don't worry its a virtual slice, so its still fresh :)

Are you shopping for Christmas gifts, or making them yourself? Do let me know.

Instant gratification and a cross-country trip

Namaste friends, did 2016 have a month called June? Well, it whizzed by so fast I couldn't catch a glimpse of it! :)

Instant gratification:

In an earlier post, I shared all the large crochet projects that I had started inspired by the CAL calender. If you have not had a look at the crochet calender, I urge you to do so as you will definitely find something you will like. Just hop down to my previous post.

While large projects are fine, sometimes you have a craving for seeing a project reach completion and that too...fast. So here is a project I managed to squeeze in, in between working on my huge blankets.

Crochet Newborn coat.

Isn't it super cute?! 

Maybe it is nature taking its course. Or, menopausal grandmotherly hormones kicking in. Or, maybe just the desire to leave some little thing for the new generation yet to come, I suddenly find myself wanting to make lots of items "for my grandchildren".

My family thinks I am crazy, but what is the harm I say. Life is unpredictable after all.

This item is one of the many I am working on and of course I will be sharing those too, upon completion. :) 

The free pattern for this coat is available at www.justcrochet.com, where you can also get dozens of more kiddie patterns.

The yarn is called Shining Star and I have used a 4mm hook.

From Mumbai to Meghalaya:

I was away from home for almost two weeks in the month of June, which may be the reason it seemed like a very short month to me. (No internet, no crochet...boohoo)

I was on a crazy errand which took me and sonny boy right from the west coast of the country to the North East! A totally unplanned and may I say a totally unnecessary trip :(

My son completed his Bachelors last year, with distinction, may I add, (feeling so proud), and expressed a desire to pursue a Masters in his subject. So we applied for a transcript and then we waited...and waited... and waited!! With the transcript showing no signs of arriving even after three months, and our phone calls to the Univ going unanswered, hubby decided that sonny boy and I should go and collect it from the University personally. Except, there was a small problem. The University was only 2500 Kms away... in Meghalaya (North East India)!   

I was unhappy about the trip as we had never visited that part of the country. Also I was worried that the University may be closed for the holidays. Fortunately, all went well and we got the transcript, phew! Silly people, if only they had sent it on time. We would have saved the ton of money spent on flight tickets and hotel rooms.

On the last day of the trip I blackmailed cajoled my son into accompanying me to the Kamakhya temple (Guwahati, Assam). This temple has great religious significance and is one of the 51 Shakti Pithas.

Here are a couple of pics from the outside of the temple. Photography is not allowed inside most Indian temples.

On my Telly: Madame Secretary and Masterchef Australia. What about you?

See you soon.

The Ultimate Crochet Calendar

Namaste friends. How are you today?

If it is vacation time for your kiddies I hope you are enjoying the vacation. Summer holidays mean picnics, movies, water parks and best of all ice cream...loads of it! Can you tell I am a big fan of ice cream ;)

On the other hand, for us mums it also means more cooking, more laundry and more cleaning-up, right? Nevertheless it is still fun. Holidays are all about the kids which means very little time for crafting for the mums. So here is something just for you.

CAL Calendar 2016

I was browsing the net to make a list of the CALs going on, when I came across this fantastic calendar. It is chock full of crochet projects for the whole year! It is a CAL calendar for 2016. While I have no idea who has filled in the details or even how it is done, a million thanks and hugs to the person/s who has done this. It lists all the crochet-along projects for the year and clicking on the name will take you to the relevant page or blog post where you can get all the details. 

HERE is the link to the Calendar. 

A few pointers;

• Most of the time the crochet-along patterns are free forever, but sometimes the patterns are free only for the duration of the CAL, after which they are listed as Paid patterns on Ravelry or the websites. So if you like a project be sure to download the pattern right now and keep it for future use.
• Go through all the details of the project carefully. Some projects require purchase of the pattern or a magazine, or may be available only as a kit.
• For my Indian readers:- While we cannot get the yarn brands mentioned in the project (sometimes we cannot get any kind of branded yarn!!...terrible, I know) pay attention to the hook size mentioned in the project and just find a yarn that is suitable for that hook size. 
• Gauge is not  important for items like blankets, scarves or cowls etc, but if making a wearable item like sweaters, gloves or hats, buy a small quantity of yarn first to test the gauge using the hook size mentioned in the pattern. It will save you a lot of time, lots of frogging and heartache. :)
• Bookmark the main project page on the blog so that you can easily visit the page and download the updates as and when they are released.
• Use the "Week" view on the calendar to get a complete list of projects for that week - day-wise, especially when there are more than 3 projects on that particular day.
• The events are listed as per Eastern time (US) so consider the time difference with your time zone when looking for updates. I usually visit the sites on the day after the CAL update, as we are around 10 hours ahead.
• If you missed any project in 2015 you can also find them via this calendar.

I am sure you will find a project to your liking and this calendar ensures that you will have something to work on all through the year.

I am extremely delighted to have found this CAL calendar and I hope you benefit from it too. Do let me know if you find anything exciting.

I have started one more project - Mandala Madness which is simply fantastic. If you want to take your crochet to a totally new and advanced level this project is for you. More details and pics in my next post.

Until then, Happy crafting.

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;

1. Lydia Blanket

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. 

2. Sophie's Universe

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.

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?

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.

How to follow crochet patterns and charts (Videos)

Namaste friends,

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.