2nd Blog Anniversary and Pattern Giveaway

Hi friends, yes it is me, still alive and kicking crocheting, and posting after almost a month!!!

Last month, that is the month of May was supposed to be one of celebration, fanfare, pattern giveaway, free pattern tutorials, book tours and many more things that I had planned, as my blog turned Two! Yes, that's right my blog is now two years old. What I had not planned for, was the scorching, searing and debilitating heatwave that swept through Ahmedabad. With temperatures reaching 46oC, most afternoons I had headaches, nausea, dizziness and I dare say a couple of bouts of disorientation!! A check up has now revealed that my blood pressure is a bit on the higher side, so I have been prescribed pills for the same.....blah blah.

Finally when I gather all my senses and decide to write a very overdue post you will not guess what happened!!!!  My blog had disappeared...yup that's right it was just not seen. A frantic SOS to my brother (my one and only 24/7 tech support) and a few days later, things were in place again. What a relief!!

So, here I am writing my first post in my second year of blogging. A big Thank you to all my dear readers for sticking with me. Of course I wish you would comment more, just because I love to hear from you. Since very few people (read that as exactly three!!) around me actually crochet, my blog is a way to reach out and connect with kindred souls or crochet sisters. :)

To mark my blog anniversary, I have decided to giveaway TWO copies of my very first crochet pattern PDF - The Cluster Stitch Cuffed Infinity scarf. :) 

Also check out my last post.

Here is what you have to do:

1) Become a follower of my blog.

2) "Like" my Crochetkari Facebook Fanpage.

3) Comment on this post below.

This giveaway will be open till  28 June 2014, so you have ample time. I will draw the two lucky names and inform you accordingly.

Here are a few more pics for you.

 

As you may have guessed I did not actually crochet all the infinity scarves above. I have added these pics just for fun, also you can get an idea of how it will look in different colors. Well, when Sonny boy is doing his Bachelors in VFX and Animation, Blogger Mom has to utilize it somewhere, right?

You can also get my pattern on Etsy and Craftsy.  :)

Hopefully I should manage all my unfulfilled blogging tasks of May, in June, ...fingers crossed  :)

Let me know what crafty adventures you are up to. I am working on a lovely blue baby blanket, as well as a delicate pastel shawl. But more about them in my next posts.

Take care and make time for craft  :)

My first PDF pattern...and my 100th post!

Finally reached the 100 mark...phew!!! Yes, this is my 100th post and it took me almost TWO years. That is bad,,,,very bad. Why? Well, during my school years if there was one remark I received unfailingly on my report card every year, year after year, it was "very talkative"!! And now to take two years to write 100 posts....pathetic!!

In real life too, I sometimes go yakkity yak, blah blah blah, but of late I feel I am becoming quieter. Maybe it has to do with the fact that after moving to Ahmedabad, I had nobody to talk to as hubby and sonny were busy with their respective work and I suppose I got used to sitting quietly and crocheting on my own. Or maybe age is catching up and I am finding solace in solitude. As far as blogging is concerned, you know how silly things like life, health and relatives can get in the way of important things like blogging, or Pinterest, Facebook, etc......LOL. Just joking  ;)

So, welcome to my 100th post. And now on to the next exciting thing.

My First crochet PDF pattern

Now if there is one thing for which I will remember the year 2013, it will have to be opening my own shop on Etsy. It took a bit of courage to jump in with both feet and decide to just do it and stop dilly dallying. Of course it did mean that I could no longer treat my crochet just as a hobby and had to get serious about treating it as a business. Which meant crocheting for the better part of the day, buying yarn in bulk and stashing it out of the way, taking care of packaging, shipping and other logistics. I did plan to eventually design and sell my own patterns, but for a start I was happy to just crochet and sell my items.

I have been crocheting for 25+ years now, and along the way I have designed some stuff, used stitch patterns from books to make bags and purses and modified patterns to suit available yarns and end purpose. But I never bothered to write anything down. And as I am suffering from OCD - Obsessive Crocheting Disorder I would crochet super fast as my main objective was to see how the final product would look. As a full time working mother staying in a joint family the only "ME" time I got was during the two hour commute to and fro from work. Most of the time I would be standing and crocheting in a crowded train and God forbid if I jostled my co passengers to get my pen out and make notes!!! If looks could kill I would certainly not be here writing this post.....haha.

When I designed my Cluster Stitch Cuffed Infinity scarf, as usual I was eager to see the finished product, therefore no notes were written. Imagine my surprise when I received a message on Etsy whether I was willing to sell the pattern. I was thrilled but apprehensive at the same time. Writing a pattern in the proper format is very different from sharing it on your blog or explaining it to your friend. It took me a couple of days to complete writing the pattern and get it in PDF format. 

And you can now get my pattern on Etsy and Craftsy.  :)

The infinity scarf has an allover cluster pattern.

A buttoned cuff adds visual interest. I have used two wooden buttons, but you can use any 2cm buttons.

The infinity scarf can be worn in different ways:

Join me in my next post as my blog completes two years and two lucky readers will get a free copy of this pattern.

I am working on a few more patterns and some of them will be free on my blog.

Have a great weekend.

Crochet Pineapple Neck warmer

Hello gorgeous people, how are you today? I hope the month of May has begun well for you. For me, this is a special month as today I complete 365 days of having a blog. Yes, my blog is one year old and Today is my Blog Anniversary!!

Seems like it was just yesterday that I gathered all my courage and decided to put my thoughts onto the blogosphere and share my crochet handiwork with the whole wide world. Of course there was a lot of apprehension and also doubts whether I would be able to keep it going. But now at the end of one year it all seems so easy and certainly lot of fun. Here is a link to my very first blog post, just for nostalgia. Sometimes when I go back and read some of my old posts I do laugh out aloud at some of the things I have written. But, you my friends have made it all worthwhile. What is a blog without its readers. So today I want to thank all my readers, followers, Facebook fans for your encouragement, comments and love. 

The best part about this one year of blogging has been the countless friends I made along the way, all over the globe, across continents, across language and age barriers. Bloggers are so generous, loving and warm hearted, inviting you right inside their homes, sharing their life, their lovely pics, their wonderful recipes and of course their gorgeous patterns.

Yes, a blog anniversary is definitely a milestone. But as we are busy planning and packing for our big vacation which was due for a long long time, all celebrations will have to be put on hold until the month end or maybe even the first week of June. Of course a giveaway is in order, and I hope to gather something lovely on my travels.

Even though we have been looking forward to this vacation for a long time, I am a bit apprehensive about how we will adjust to this place. You see, the present temperature in Ahmedabad is 43 deg C and this place has daytime temperatures in the range of zero to minus 4. Also as it is high up in the mountains (almost near the Himalayas) the air is thin and has low levels of atmospheric oxygen, so fingers crossed that everything goes well and we come back only with pleasant memories!! (Hehe....... yes I am still being mean, and not divulging the name of my holiday destination.)

What I am going to share, is this lovely pineapple scarf I made from a Portuguese crochet site. It is actually a scarflette or neck warmer. 

So, Ta-dah.....

Crochet Pineapple Scarf

I call it the Handsfree neck warmer because of its keyhole feature. 

Just insert one of the pineapples into the keyhole and your hands are free, to  ride your bike, hang on to your kids, hold your shopping bags, whatever....

This is not a new concept but I just loved this pattern. It is so feminine and delicate. The scarf pattern comes with a flower to hide the crossover, which I feel makes it look really elegant.

I used a regular safety pin at the back of the flower so that it could also be used as a brooch without the scarf. Next time I will hunt for one of those brooch pins which are actually used.

I love the shimmery cream rose. Looks cute...no?

The stitches between the shells are worked as Fpdc forming these two lovely 3D ridges.

My trusty Tupperware bowl has agreed to model the scarf for me, so drumroll.......

Hehe.... looks so funny....no?

That is all for now. I cannot really predict when my next post will follow as we will be leaving soon and I may not have access to internet. So until then buh-bye. I hope to have lots of lovely photos to share with you.

Take care and keep crafting.

Awards and Pies

Hello dear friends. How are you? I hope you are enjoying a fabulous weekend. We had a fun time celebrating the kite festival during the week, which is an important event in Ahmedabad.

My posts are getting further apart. And I can only plead TMI. TMI = Too much information. The internet gives us easy and quick access to so many things at a time. I have been flitting from site to site, greedily downloading patterns and wanting to do it all at once. The reason I have not completed any WIP or posted anything is that I seem to have my finger in too many pies.

This pic will give you an idea... :-)

So, as you can see, lot of things going on but nothing near completion.

I did say that 2013 has begun in a great way for me and now I have some more good news. I was surprised to see a message from Rajeswari at Diapermum nominating me for the Liebster Award. Now that made me very happy. It is these little unexpected surprises that bring joy to blogging. The fact that someone somewhere is thinking of you, liking your blog and also making the effort to actually pass on the award to you.

So, you can imagine my utter delight and amazement when within a few days I received another message, this time from Shikha at I Love Handmade awarding me the Liebster Award again!!!  :-)  I was thrilled, two awards in one week. 

Thank You, Rajeswari and Shikha. Then how come I was so quite up until now?

Well, you see "With Great Awards comes Great Responsibility". (Hehe...sorry, just could not resist slipping that in.) But the fact is that the awards come along with a list of tasks and as I was a bit scattered last week I could not do justice to it. But fear not I will be tackling them soon.

I am so disappointed at having missed the "Grow your blog" party at 2 bags full. It would have been a great opportunity to make new friends and of course increase my own readership. But I will certainly visit most of the 400 bloggers who DID participate.

Now off I go to do my award duties ie: draw up a list of my award nominees and frame eleven (hopefully sensible) questions. I have moved the awards to a separate page in a bid to keep the homepage tidy. As far as answering the questions posed by Rajeswari and Shikha, I am thinking of doing that on an "About Me" page. After eight months as a blogger I also think it is time for my readers to know a little more about me. Do you think that is a good idea? Do let me know.

I would love to know what you have been up to during the weekend (only the crafty things of course and not the naughty ones...hehe)   ;-)

Take care and happy crafting.

Love xxx

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

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

 

Keep the change

Hello, Beautiful people! 

It feels so good to be back with you after a long forced break. What started as a slight cold with a painful throat quickly turned into a full blown viral fever with bodyache, sleepless nights due to bouts of coughing, watery eyes and high temperature. After hoping that it will subside on its own, on Thursday I gave up and went to the doctor for meds. Since Sunday I am feeling quite better, of course the fact that dear hubby was home, may have something to do with that :)

A big thanks to all of you for your kind words and get well soon messages. Dear Aishwarya thank you for the magical recipe.

A warm welcome to Autumn Thyme and Boo from Boocoos Blogthingy.

Dear friends I am so happy to tell you that I have now reached 50! Not in years of course but in Google Friends. Isn't that just fantastic. When I started this blog I was hoping that a few people would actually read it and that eventually over the months or years I would also have friends. But to reach 50 after just 3 months into blogging is just super cool. 

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL MY DEAR FRIENDS!!!

The last few days were dry in terms of blogging and crochet but I did manage to complete a few WIPs. One of them was to add the finishing touches to this cute little purse to be used for ... yes, you guessed it - Keep the Change.

It is from a free pattern on Ravelry called Floral Pouch. The purse has a small doily as its flap.

I used a pearl as a button for the flap. I think it is a cute purse and a nifty way to keep your change in one place. It will also make a lovely purse for a little girl to keep her hankie and some sweets.

 

The pattern is from a Japanese site and relies more on diagrams with only a couple of written instructions. I was stumped when the pattern called for a decrease in the number of stitches at the mouth of the purse and it took me a while, but after that it was smooth sailing. I am thinking of making a few more purses with different colour combinations.

So, do you like this cute little Change Purse? 

Another WIP I managed to complete was to read "STILLWATCH" by Mary Higgins Clark, who is my current fave author. A gripping plot with a really surprising turn of events at the climax. 

A very enjoyable read, I like murder mysteries. Due to crochet fever the books in my library are gathering dust. Pity!!

And while on the topic of murder mysteries, my current fave TV serial is "The Mentalist". I am not really sure whether it is the gripping storylines, the crisp editing or the dishy Simon Baker (as Patrick Jane) that is keeping me glued to the TV. All three reasons are good enough but especially the last one ....he he. I am a big fan of mysteries being solved "mentally" rather than by using DNA, fingerprints and ballistic reports etc which is why Agatha Christie is my all time favourite author. Don't you sometimes wish you could meet your favourite authors?

And now off I go to visit your blogs and keep up with the things you were doing in the past few days.

So, see you later and a Great Week to all of you.

Lovexxx

Giveaway at Crafty in the Med.

Hello there, I have some good news for all of you.

My good friend Amanda from Crafty in the Med is having her First Giveaway and she has some absolutely gorgeous stuff.

Click HERE to read all about it. It is fun and it is easy. I love her blog and I am sure you will too.

Bye, Take care.
Lovexxx

Lavender Stars

I am so excited, Amanda from Crafty in the Med has awarded me the One Lovely Blog Award. 

 This is my second award and I am thrilled that she likes my blog as I just Love hers. It is certainly a warm feeling to know that somebody so far away is thinking of you! I will soon get down to nominating my favorite blogs.

A warm welcome to Goty and Daiana from El Crochet de Daiana. Daiana has some lovely dainty crochet items on her blog.

Don't you think Google Translate brings us closer to each other?  It is fun to translate and read blogs in so many different languages.

And now...continuing with my favourite topic - coasters. As crockery is available in different styles, colours and shapes, I thought why not use an unusual colour and design for my coasters. So ta-da, here are my Lavender Stars!

I have used Bliss Knitting cotton again.

I think they look kinda cute.

The five-pointed star was my favourite doodle during boring college lectures. It can still be found in some corner of my diary, my recipe book, even my grocery list. Give me a pen and the star is the first thing I doodle. Maybe that is why I liked this pattern.

Do you like them or do you think they look quaint?

Have a nice day!
Lovexxx