A Fruitful Trip

I am feeling very happy because I had a fantastic weekend. By now, I am sure you know how excited I was to meet one of my blogger friends for the very first time.

On Saturday night we left Ahmedabad and reached my aunt's place at around 9.00 pm. We had a great time with lots of good food and long chats, with joking, singing and lots of laughter.

Sunday morning after a bit of sightseeing. I called up Aishwarya to ask whether it was a good time to visit. Dear Aishwarya had been waiting for us since morning! So I landed at her place with hubby and MIL in tow. The most unbelievable part is that it did not feel as if we were meeting for the very first time. Since neither of us put up personal photos on our respective blogs, we were actually seeing each other for the first time!! Would you believe it, that our friendship started in  Germany? It was my comment on According to Matt that led Aishwarya to my blog and well the rest is history.

I loved Aishwarya's family, especially her two lovely, beautiful daughters. The most incredible thing is that the two MILs and the two hubbies hit it off instantly and very soon everybody was talking nineteen to the dozen. Also, the fact that both families happened to originally belong to the same part of Karnataka(in South India) brought us closer. Since the visit was en famille the only thing we did not talk about was CROCHET!! Can you believe that... well, hopefully there will be a next time.

After a lot of chit chat and snacks we decided it was time to be homeward bound. BUT surprise, surprise, Aishwarya had a very cute, sweet gift for me. Would you like to see it? Yeah.... as if I need to ask! So, here it is:

Aren't they incredibly cute! Ever since I saw them on Attic24 I was in love with them and had decided that one day I would try my hand at making them. And now I have my very own two cute little babushkas. Thank you, dear Aishwarya.  

I have placed Sana and Vandi ( of course I had to name them) right next to my computer as a constant reminder of my lovely friend and her beautiful daughters.I hope she likes the knitting cotton I took for her.

So, all said and done I had a great weekend. How was your weekend? Do write in and share. 

I seem to have collected a lot of UFOs in the past few weeks and I hope I have something to share with you soon. Until then, have a lovely week, take care and happy hooking.

Love xxx

 

Stash Saturday

Hello dear friends, Are you looking forward to the weekend? I certainly am, because tomorrow I get to meet my bloggy friend Aishwarya.

Yesterday I spoke about another "first" that I want to share with you. From the title it must be obvious that it has something to do with my stash. But this stash is very special as it has come to me from across the seven seas from another  blogger friend, dear Debi at Dly's Hooks and Yarns.

A few days back I saw that Debi had put up some balls of size 10 crochet thread  for sale. Size 10 crochet thread is not available here so I immediately contacted Debi whether she would be willing to send the thread to India if I paid the cost plus shipping. When Debi replied very sweetly that not only would she send me the thread but that it was a gift for me I just could not believe my eyes. I read the email once again (well, actually thrice, lol) to confirm it and then I jumped with joy. [Okay with my "dainty" frame it was only a hop, but you get the idea.]  ;)

My folks, as usual, thought that I was finally losing IT due to too much crochet!!!

The thread arrived on the 25th. Six lovely balls of Aunt Lydia's crochet thread in delicate colours. Would you like to see my lovely gift? 

Well, here it is:

Aren't the colours just gorgeous. A lovely gift from a wonderful friend. Thank you Debi for this beautiful gesture. 

For a long time I had no idea what a Giveaway was. When I learned what they actually were, I did enter a few but I was never lucky to win any. So this is the first time that I am receiving something from a blogger friend, so I am rightfully and proudly very thrilled about it. My husband could not believe it that someone who has never met me has actually sent me a lovely gift. Well, if only he know the pleasures and perks of Blogdom!!

I am now planning on hosting a Giveaway when my Followers reach the 100 mark. So, come on readers, if you have been following my blog for some time, click the button and make it official. And don't forget to mention your blog name in the comments so that I can follow you too.

Have a rocking weekend. Take care and Thank you for visiting.

Love xxx

A Long Spell

Hello there, beautiful people. Remember me? Are you still with me or have you moved on to a more crafty, witty and regular blog? I wouldn't be surprised if you have. But I am hoping against hope that you are out there and that you have been checking my blog once in awhile. 

I know there has been a long spell of silence from my side. There is no particular reason for that. And thankfully, no "sick" stories this time, God knows I had quite a few of those in the past couple of months. Actually I was just a little bit distracted. I also think I had Blogger's block. (Is there such a thing?)  I did have a lot of things/stories to share but just could not sit down and put them in words! 

Another reason being that my dear mother-in-law accompanied us on the trip back from Mumbai and most afternoons are spent chatting with her. Or rather she reminiscing about the good old days and me making the right noises at the right time. No, I am not being rude. I do agree with her that the good old days were really good and uncomplicated and happy and of course so much cheaper. Not much I can add to that conversation! Also it seemed impolite to go clackity-clack at the keyboard while she was  so eagerly taking me on a "Golden Days" journey.

Okay, okay I know excuses, excuses! Maybe I should just admit that I was lazy. But of course I was very much online and in these past few days I visited most of you out there and even gave my "valuable" comments on some of your posts.

In the meantime, a lot of new friends have joined us, so let me begin by welcoming them;
           Onilda e Maria Isabel at Cantinho do artesanto Nina e Bel
           Cat at Through the Eyes of a Domestic Goddess
           Bobi Jensen at Western Warmth
           Maven at Fiber P*rn
and    Mitzi Christian

Now for the real McCoy, the pansy doily was not working out as I would have liked so I frogged it. Now I am searching for another Pansy doily pattern. To cover up my disappointment I made a lovely yellow/mustard doily. Only two more rounds to go so I shall be sharing that with you soon.

Since last week, I have a young girl coming to learn crochet in the afternoons. At age 25 she is an associate professor at CEPT Ahmedabad..... Wow!! She teaches History of Architecture and comes over to my place in the afternoons during her lunch break.  She is not regular but I like her dedication. I love teaching crochet and I am hoping that more and more women in India will take it up as a hobby and also as a stress buster. 

And now for the news that I am dying to share. On Sunday the 28th, I shall be meeting one of my blogger friends, for the very first time. Isn't that just super!! After commenting on each others blogs for a few weeks we realised that we stay in the same state. We kept planning to meet each other some day and now after months of waiting I finally get to meet her on Sunday as we will be in her city to visit my aunt. I am sure that bloggers do this all the time. But this is a first for me, and I am soooo excited. I hope the meeting goes off better than expected and we have lots of stories to share. I will certainly tell you about our get together, wish me luck.

A picture-less post. Nah...that would be boring. So I am going to share this doily I made a long time ago. I am sorry I do not have the link to the pattern.  :(

I love the way the petals overlap each other.

My MIL says it is too pretty to be used as a hot pad.

So, finally THE SPELL has been broken. ;) Maybe for a change I should try a Wordless post. Hmmm..... a post without my jabber jabber. Very difficult but I will try it someday in the future.... distant future you see.

But until then, I will be back with some more exciting news, a "First" of another kind, soon.
So take care, happy hooking or knitting or scrap booking or cooking or whatever makes you tick. Enjoy life, you only live once and Thank you for visiting me.

Love xxx

Sand or Tan?

Hi Girls! I hope the week has been treating you well so far.

Lets begin by welcoming our new friends:
          Weaver Birdie at I Love Handmade!
          Susan Carlson at Felted Button
          Archana at Things I do ... in my World
          Maree at Mareelovescolour

Okay now tell me, did you read the title and think this post was about a weekend at the beach. Sadly there is no beach in Ahmedabad. Well, it is so true that you realise the value of something only after you have lost it. My parents' home was just two minutes away, yes that's right only two minutes away from the beach. As kids my brother and I spent most evenings walking to the beach with Mom and making sand castles, filling our pails at the water's edge and eating roasted peanuts. After marriage I moved to an area that was kilometers away from the nearest beach. And now Ahmedabad! But not to worry, as recently, the banks of the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad have been endowed with the Sabarmati Riverfront - a unique project that will handle water management while creating a public promenade, that has soon become a tourist attraction. Definitely on my must see list.

So, what's with the beachy title? Well, the title refers to my latest project which is this square doily.

Upon completing the doily I was stuck for words when it came to describing the colour of the doily. I mean, gone were the innocent school days when colours were red, blue, green and yellow. And any variations were just light blue and dark blue, light green and dark green and so on. 

But today these definitions are not enough. No siree! Today we have True blue, Baby blue, Bahama blue and Avocado, Pistachio, Celery and Cornsilk, Goldenrod, Tangerine and what not. So what the heck do I call my doily. Sand? Tan? Beige?  After some Google research I chanced upon "Fawn" and felt that, that is the right word to describe the colour.

So here are my Fawn coloured square doilies. I had enough Bliss knitting cotton to make a set of three with a 2.00 mm crochet hook.

Now if you have been wondering why my projects are always photographed on this two colour background, here is the secret. Well, no big secret actually but just the swing in my balcony. You would think that with this unbearable heat and scorching sunlight, I would get good pictures indoors. But no, the swing is the only place where I get good photos. Or maybe that speaks a lot for my "skills" as a photographer! Anyway here is my multipurpose swing adorned with a few of my projects.

What prompted me to reveal this today is the question "Where is your favourite place to take pictures?" by Susan at Felted Button. Do tell me your answer.

Now here is the real secret. The swing is a part of the furniture we got along with the house we have rented. I don't use the swing as a swing as I am sure my "delicate" frame will crack the poor thing! Ha ha. 

My next project is a beautiful thread doily with pansies. Hope I can share it with you soon (as I have still not bothered to get new glasses!).

Thanks for visiting me. Take care and happy hooking.

(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.)

PS: If you are a die hard Sridevi fan like me, you must watch "English Vinglish". Great movie, fantastic performance and superb direction.

Love xxx

 

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