Afghan Glory

Hello there my lovely friends.

So, did you have a enjoyable weekend or were you busy with household chores. Some weekends have to be devoted to the home, so its okay.

Let me start the week by keeping a promise I made. I had promised you a book tour - of the lovely afghan book I bought recently. So here it is;

The book is called "Join-As-You-Go Afghans" by The Needlecraft Shop

These are a few of my favourites from the huge selection. Aren't they just gorgeous? So tempting! Makes me want to start an afghan right away.

I can see my unfinished hexagon blanket beckoning me, so I guess a new afghan will have to wait. I hope you enjoyed these pics.

See you later, crocheters.
Love xxx
Sangeetha

Hi, I am back

Hello there, my lovely friends. How are you? Did you miss me? Well. I sure hope so, because I really missed all of you.

I am back from a two week trip to Mumbai for Ganeshotsav. We had a very nice time down there and caught up with a lot of our friends and relatives. But on a personal note, the trip was not very successful for me. More about that later.

First let me welcome our new friends;
           Angelique (please let me have the link, if you have a blog, dear)
           Sherin Deepu from Kuk's Kitchen
           Anna from Hindustanka's Sunny Indian Days
   and  Linda  from Linda Crochets (if you love thread crochet you must visit Linda to admire her perfect doilies).
 (A small note to all my fellow bloggers and followers: Please write a small comment when you join my blog and also don't forget to state the name of your blog, so that I can follow you too. Thank you.) 
 
Okay, now I have a little confession, I was back last Friday ie: 28th September. Then, how come I had not posted anything so far? Well. you know how it is sometimes, you have so much to say that you don't know where to start. 

So firstly, let me start by telling you why my trip was not so "successful". I had planned to use the second week of our trip to visit an ongoing book fair and the wholesale yarn and bag making supplies market with my brother. But, come Monday I was down with viral fever with high temperature and terrible bodyache. And even if I was ready to drag myself to the market in this condition, my brother got a huge swollen toe after stubbing it against some furniture. It was the same toe he had fractured some time back, so he was in real agony. So there went my yarn and book buying trips down the drain. (To the secret delight of my husband !!).

I was also supposed to meet a couple of my school friends for lunch, but that program too flopped because of the viral fever. I was really looking forward to that as it has been ages since we met each other. So, maybe next time :(

We had decided to start back on Friday, of course my hubby very sweetly suggested staying back for one more day so that I could visit the yarn market. But that would have been very selfish of me as it would have meant that he would miss the two days of rest at home before resuming duties on Monday. 

So, you see I was in a bit of a blue funk and sort of sulking in a corner. Sadly I could not blame anybody for this situation, which made it even worse!! He he... ;)

Secondly I wanted to start posting with a finished project. Yes my Rose doily is finally complete. But being the Queen of Procrastination that I am it took me two days to weave in the ends. 

But finally Ta-Da:

Rose doily

Don't you just love the colors on that rose! I think I will make a couple more doilies, maybe with orange roses or yellow? What do you say?

If you would like to try this doily, HERE is the link to the pattern I used. Have fun.

It feels so good to be back with all of you. My husband calls me an internet addict and I confess I am guilty as charged! I spent the last few days visiting all of you and I see that some of you have posted about some lovely things, crochet and otherwise.

That's all for today. Do write to me, I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Take care and Happy Hooking.
Love xxx

Rose Doily

Hello beautiful people,

I hope you had a great week. I did not have access to the internet therefore I am a wee bit late in welcoming Cristina from My world of wool  and Giodina from Con le Lenti Rosa.
Both of them have very colorful, lovely crochet items, so do visit them.

I finally decided on a pattern to start my tryst with thread crochet. I was a bit apprehensive as it has been a long time since I worked with such a fine thread. Since I had made a lot of flat doilies in the past, I wanted to try something 3D as in Irish crochet.

And this is the pattern I chose;

Progress has been slow, as I have still not visited my optician for my new glasses.

As of now, I can work with thread only if I take off my glasses. Well. glasses or no glasses, do you think the doily is turning out fine? Do let me know. I am anxious to see the final product and I am too impatient to weave in the ends.

I hope you are having some great hooky time too. I will be visiting all of you very soon. So until then take care, have a fabulous weekend and share your lovely times with us. And do keep writing to me, I will get back shortly.

Love xxx

Welcoming Lord Ganesh

Hello friends, come join me in the celebrations to welcome Lord Ganesh also known as Ganapati.

Today 19th September is Ganesh Chaturthi, it is the Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Lord Ganesh, the son of Parvati and Shiva. The festival lasts for ten days ending on Anant Chaturdashi, during which the Lord is said to shower his devotees with blessings.

Lord Ganesh is considered to be superior to all the other gods and He is also the lord of wisdom, learning, prosperity and good fortune. He is considered the remover of obstacles. Any new venture like house warming, a new business, start of travels, marriage or any other pooja(worship) will start with a prayer to Lord Ganapati.

During the Ganeshotsav (utsav means festival) lots of goodies are made as offerings. The main offering made everywhere without fail is the Modak known as the Lord's favourite. The modak can be a steamed rice flour dumpling filled with coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and cardamom OR a deep fried wheat flour dumpling having the same filling. Of course in a vast country like India, every region has its own completely unique version of the modak.

This festival is celebrated in homes or on a larger scale in public places in which case it is open to all and anybody can visit the venue. Festivities start with bringing the idol which can be of clay or plaster of Paris. After celebrating with much pomp and splendor, on the last day the idol is immersed in water- lakes, rivers or the sea, to mark the end of the festival.  The idol is taken through the streets for immersion accompanied with song, dancing and merriment.

The immersion is said to signify his return to his heavenly abode and also the never ending cosmic cycle. 

Reams can be written about Lord Ganesh, the legends, significance of his forms, his 1000 names and so much more. At a recent visit to a book fair, I got a book about the Lord and today I will share some pictures from the book with you.

Front Cover

Back Cover

Siddhivinayak at Mumbai

Ganapati at Titwala

Three headed Ganesh

Five headed Ganesh

Idol being taken for immersion

You can imagine the size of the statue by seeing the tiny people in the crowd!

I hope you liked these photos of my favourite deity.   Now I have lots of places to visit and pay my respects, and lots of goodies to taste. I will see you soon with my next thread project.

Do keep writing to me.

Have a lovely week. Take care.

Love xxx

Stash Saturday

If wishes were balls, then....

I meant balls of yarn of course, what were you thinking!?  ;)
If wishes were balls of yarn, then I would fill up my room with yarn. My birthday wish for loads of yarn has come partly true. But with crochet thread and not yarn.

I had ordered for some size 20 crochet thread by mail order and it has just arrived. Here is a look at some of the lovely shades.

Greens, Oranges and Purple

Reds and Mints

Blues, Pinks and Yellows

Ombre and Variegated

Since good quality crochet supplies are not available in Ahmedabad, this is my way out. It does mean that I have to stock quite of lot of yarn or thread, but the cost of going to the business district of the city to buy yarn costs me three times as much.

I can't wait to start working with this thread. But before that I will have to get new glasses as working with thread is somewhat tedious, especially after getting used to working with yarn.

I am planning on a few doilies with flowers or butterflies. And then some lovely bookmarks. 

So, what have you been up to? I hope you have some rocking plans for the weekend. This weekend we will be traveling and I may not have access to the internet. But I will find a way to keep in touch.

Have a lovely weekend. Take care. Cheerio.

Love xxx

International Crochet Day

Hello dear friends,
I hope you are having a relaxed Wednesday.

A big thank you to all of you who liked my tutorial and sent me your encouraging comments. And thanks for the birthday wishes too. 

Let us meet our new friends;

         Jee Q from Learning to Write (some lovely crochet projects here)

         Chiflu at  La mi cocinuca ( yummy baked goodies and crochet too)

         Girlie de los reyes  from Girlie's Crochet (lots of crochet patterns, tutorials and stitches)

  and Moush ( please send me link if you have a blog,dear).

Welcome aboard.

Today I don't have any finished projects to show. But the actual reason I am here is to tell you that today September 12th is International Crochet Day ! I just learned about this at Petals to Picots. So do pop over there to know more. 

Go ahead and celebrate - start a new project, buy a new book/yarn or teach someone to crochet.

I am working on my very first baby cardigan and bonnet with a lovely Watermelon color yarn. 

I have never crocheted anything that can be worn and I am praying it turns out okay.

This is a free pattern from Free Patterns.com. You can find it in the widget in my right sidebar if you scroll through it.

Wish me luck for my first baby project.

See you later, crocheters. Ta-ta

Love xxx

Potholder pattern and Tutorial

Hello beautiful people, I hope you had a good week so far. Here in Ahmedabad, the rains are just not relenting with heavy downpour, thunder and lightning in the evenings. And in the daytime it is dark, cloudy, hot and sticky. But on the crochet front all is bright and cheerful as I have managed to complete my first ever crochet tutorial! 

Let me begin by welcoming 

          M. J. Joachim from Lots of Crochet Stitches by M. J. Joachim

(she does have lots of crochet stitches with patterns and tutorials, a must visit site for any crochet enthusiast)

and    Linda from Linda's Crafty Corner.

Now on to the potholder pattern. For those of you who only need the pattern, here it is:

Materials:

Your favorite cotton yarn

Crochet hook which is appropriate for your yarn.

Chain 18, join with slip stitch to form ring. 

Rnd 1: Works 24 sc into the ring.

This forms the loop used for hanging your potholder so you can make it as small or large as you like. (For example you can do Ch 12, join with sl st to form ring and work 18 sc into ring for a smaller loop. This will not affect the pattern.)

Rnd 2: Ch 1, Turn, 1 sc in each of next 5 stitches, 3 sc in next stitch, 1 sc in each of next 5 stitches (13 sc)

From round 3 onwards work in the Back loop only. The Ch 1 at the beginning of each round does not count as a sc.

Rnd 3: Ch 1, Turn, working in Back Loop only, 1 sc in each of next 6 stitches, 3 sc in next stitch, 1 sc in each of next 6 stitches. (15 sc)

Repeat round 3, making 3 sc in the center stitch each time so that each round has 2 more stitches than the previous round.

Continue till you reach your desired size. Fasten off. Weave in the end and your potholder is ready.

Ridged potholder

 And here is the tutorial:

I have used White Rose knitting cotton and a 3 mm crochet hook.

Chain 18, insert hook in first chain,

Join with slip stitch to form ring

 TIP: Hold the "tail" end of the yarn alongwith the ring so that it is woven into the project as you     work. This applies to all crochet projects.

Rnd 1: Work 24 sc into ring.Join with slip stitch.

Rnd 2: Ch 1, Turn the ring

      1 sc in each of next 5 stitches, 3 sc in next stitch and 1 sc in each of next 5 stitches (13 sc)

From round 3 onwards work in the Back loop only. The Ch 1 at the beginning of each round does not count as a sc. 

Usually stitches are worked by inserting the hook under both loops of the previous stitch as seen in this photo

Here is a better picture of working under both loops

 

To work in the Back loop only, insert hook in the loop which is away from you as shown in this pic

And also in this picture

Working only in the back loops gives you the lovely ridged texture seen in the potholder.

Rnd 3: Ch 1, Turn, working in Back Loop only, 1 sc in each of next 6 stitches, 3 sc in next stitch, 1 sc in each of next 6 stitches. (15 sc)

See the ridge formed due to working in the back loop, in the pic below

Repeat round 3, making 3 sc in the center stitch each time so that each round has 2 more stitches than the previous round.

TIP: To make things a little easier, when you make 3 sc in the center stitch, insert a marker into the second sc, so that in the next round you know where to make the 3 sc.

Continue till you reach your desired size. Fasten off. Weave in the end and your potholder is ready.

That's it, you lovely square potholder is ready. Enjoy.

Phew, my gosh that was a bit of hard work. It is a long tutorial for a small project, I know. But I am secretly hoping that my friends who don't crochet, will read this and be tempted to take up the hook.

I would like to take a moment here and sincerely thank all those who have put up any kind of tutorial (crochet, cookery, sewing or anything else)  because it does take a lot of time and effort. (Especially since my assistant cameraman ran off to college and refused to click photos for me .... he he.)

As this is my first virtual tutorial I will be anxiously waiting for your comments. Feel free to send in your suggestions, opinions, criticisms.... because I know there is room for improvement.

To learn the basic stitches you can visit Lots of crochet stitches by M.J.Joachim and also look up videos by Crochet Geek and bobwilson on Youtube.

So, cheerio until next time. I am waiting to hear from you.
Love xxx