1000 Facebook Likes!

Woo hoo!! I have some wonderful news to share. Yes, that's right my Crochetkari Facebook page has crossed the 1k mark. I now have 1000+ fans...Yay!!!

I am absolutely thrilled about it. I know that there are pages out there with fans in 5-figures and 6-figures. But I am pretty pleased with what I have achieved.

While Facebook can be a time sucker, I think it also depends on how you use it. As far as my page is concerned, I find it is a fast and efficient way to announce the latest happenings on my blog, or share my newest project and also free patterns from other sites. And I use my personal Facebook account to join crochet related groups, pages belonging to craft suppliers like Pony and Deramores and also to keep myself updated about the latest news in the craft world. 

And while on the topic of social media, you can also follow me on:

Twitter

Pinterest   

Ravelry

By the way, do you like the poster above? I made it and the one below (to announce 800 fans) using PicMonkey, which is a site where you can edit your photos, make collages and create posters like these ... for FREE! 

It is easy and fun and the results are amazing. So go ahead and try it.  :)

I am working on the edging for the corner to corner blanket. What crafty adventure are you up to? Do share.

See you soon.

Crochet Mandala - Rising Sun

Hello friends, I am back with another mandala today. Yesterday I showed you the Rainbow mandala, today I have a sunny mandala to share. So let us have a look at it first:

If you have been following my blog and you think this mandala looks familiar, then you are right. I have made this mandala earlier in "cool" colours.

This time I thought I will go for warm colours. Happy colours that will remind me of the rising sun you know, red, yellow, orange and green.

After the mandala was done I was not so sure about the colour palette and felt it looked "weird". What do you think? Does it look like an explosion of too many bright colours in one place?

But regardless of the colours, I love this pattern.

Especially the row which has two colours worked into it.

So that is my Rising Sun mandala. 

 

If you would like to have a go at it, the pattern details can be found in my original Vibrant mandala post. It is definitely worth a try as it is a very happy design. I made the first mandala as part of a crochet-a-long and as you can see there were some really funky colour combinations. So go ahead and make it in your own favorite colours!

A few more pics before I sign off.

My serene Buddha always having to "model" my creations!!   :)

Once again I have used Laura knitting cotton and a 3.5mm hook. I hope you will try this pattern. And if you do make your own mandala, feel free to share your pictures on my Facebook page. I hope you are already a fan of my Facebook Crochetkari page, if not then don't forget to "Like" my page as I always reveal my latest projects there first, before I find time to blog about them. I find it a fast way to share my creations and then I add all the project details and pattern links in my blog post. If you have any questions about this pattern or crochet in general, write to me at crochetkari@gmail.com

You can get this finished mandala in my shop.

So until the next time, Happy Crafting and have a great week ahead.

Crochet Mandala - Vibrant

Hello friends, I hope you are enjoying the weekend.

In my last post I mentioned how I enjoy putting up my projects on Facebook. Well, I was not always a fan of Facebook. In fact I found the whole thing a bit weird and I had joined only because it was the "done" thing. I would log in occasionally and just see what my friends and relatives were up to, enjoy some good quotes and photos which were shared and log out. The idea of sharing my personal pics or writing a comment which could be seen by the whole world was just not appealing.

And THEN, I discovered  "Groups" and "Pages" related to Crochet!!! Now that was fun, joining like minded people, sharing your projects, sharing patterns, discovering new blogs, getting instant reactions to your projects. Yes, I was really enjoying this Facebook thing now.

I am now a member of many crochet groups and have "liked" many crochet pages. Recently I did something else for the very first time. I joined a CAL. Now a CAL is something very common in Blogland and even Ravelry, but I have never joined one for various reasons. Lack of yarn, project too big or uninteresting or being tied up in my own projects.

The CAL I joined was at Mandy's Craft Tales for a Crochet Mandala. The pattern Mandy chose is THIS one by the lovely Petra. In case you would like to join in the last date is 12th April which I think is ample time.

Here is my completed mandala......TaDah

Do you like it? I used Laura Knitting cotton from  THIS stash and a 3.50 mm crochet hook. The mandala turned out 12 inces in diameter. I did this in one night!!

My favourite part is this row which has stitches in two colours on the same row. Something I tried for the first time, quite simple actually.

I really liked this mandala and its Vibrant colour scheme. I plan to make a few more when I am in-between projects. Only not happy with the last scallop row. The stitch count seems to be a bit off. Will have to work it out the next time.

Mandy has made this beautiful collage of all the mandala submissions:

Mandala collage from Mandy's Craft Tales

Isn't it just super?!! (Can you find my mandala?) 

I thoroughly enjoyed the CAL concept. So guess what I did.....jumped right into another one. This one is by The Crochet Crowd and it is for this lovely Ocean Waves Afghan. Click the link for all the details, the last date is 15th May 2013. 

Here are my colour choices:

Will keep you posted about the afghan as I proceed. Anybody want to join me?

Enjoy your weekend and make time for craft. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Granny Square Baby Blanket

Baby Blues

Hi friends, how are you? I know I did the disappearing act once again. But there is a good reason for it. I wanted to post only after I finished the project in hand :) As I mentioned in my last post I had to very sadly unravel the baby frock I was working on as the skirt looked huge. The granny squares made for the yoke were too cute and I wanted to salvage them. So I made a few more and joined them to make a blanket.

And Ta-Da........

Crochet Baby Blanket

Isn't it super cute!! Okay, I know it is only a small baby blanket, no reason to jump with joy. But for someone like me who is notorious for starting new projects and then just adding them to the huge pile of WIPs this is really something great. The fact that I actually finished a project and a large one at that!

I love "instant gratification" projects, you know purses, coasters, pouches, bookmarks, they give you Ta-da moments very soon. Somehow gathered up all my patience and plodded on through this project, granny square after granny square.... 63 in all, phew.

To keep myself from getting bored I decided to make half of them in reverse combination ie blue with white. 

Okay, confession time, do you know why I actually managed to work non stop and complete this blanket. Because I desperately wanted to try this lovely border!

I just wanted to see how the border would work out and I love the way those aqua jewels peek through the white snow. The stitch is known as Block stitch, I think. I had to unravel the border a couple of times as the corners were not turning out right, but finally it turned out quite nice and neat.

Well, what do you know! A couple of days after I struggle and get the border right, a lovely tutorial was put up by Cherry Heart. If you want to try this border you might want to look it up first.

I just love this blankie, my first actually big project. I wish it was an afghan so that I could snuggle under it. What do you think?

Granny Square Baby Blanket

Bitten by the blanket bug, I have suddenly become ambitious and I have jumped right into making  another baby blanket. This new blanket has a lovely thick texture and practically no "holes". Hope to finish it soon and share it with you.

Another reason I am late in posting this is because I have just discovered the joys of sharing on Facebook. A few clicks and you are done. 

The difference is almost like the one between theatre and cinema. Confused?? Okay  :) Let me explain, as a teen I would watch these movie star interviews on TV (yes, a confirmed TV addict right from childhood) and if they were theatre artists as well, they would go on and on about how theatre is so much more fun, thrilling, how the audience reaction is instant, you don't have to wait till the movie is released to know your fate, how you cannot afford to make mistakes,  and how you instantly know whether your audience is moved or not with your acting.................. Well, now I know what they meant!

Putting up my projects on Facebook was just like that!! Likes and comments follow soon and you can also reply to them soon. And with that done I just forgot to write about it. But I won't let that happen in future  :)

Over the last few days I have been answering a lot of queries regarding the Floral pouch, on Facebook, on the blog, by email, so I am thinking of doing a tutorial for the purse. What do you say, people? Raise your hands for aye. Okay just joking, don't raise your hands just let me know in the comments.

See you soon. Let me know what you have up to. 

Have a smashing week ahead.

Birthday Bonanza

Hi friends. Aren't you glad that it is already Thursday? We are on the right side of the week. :)

Let me begin by welcoming our new friends;
          Ana from Tejedora de Nanduti,
          Beck from BECK to Vintage,
          Nilgun from Nilgun"den guluckler,
          Kamoni (Dear Kamoni, please let me have the link if you have a blog),
          TehSoune fromHooks and Yarn!,
and    Kevser from Kevser'in Penceresi.

It was my husband's birthday on Tuesday the 28th. The celebrations started at midnight (27th) where we kept up with our usual tradition of waking up the birthday person with the Happy Birthday song followed by cake cutting. This year my son decided to choose the gifts and the cake for Dad. So, this is the cake he bought:

We debated for a long time about the gift. It was difficult because what can you get for someone who already has most of the things. (My husband would have loved a ticket to Switzerland.... but as you imagine... way way beyond sonny's and my budget - LOL). After searching  the internet for some time we decided to get a few practical items. And these are the items we got,

A Nokia Bluetooth Headset.

And a set which included a Polo watch, a belt and a wallet;

I have my eye on that Polo tin. Would make a nifty storage for buttons and stuff. This set came with a pair of formal black shoes and a pair of Lotto sports shoes, but one disgusted look from my son prevented me from clicking photos of said item ... ha ha. (Secretly both my son and husband think I have gone bonkers, going around the house with a camera and clicking random objects, birds, books and balls of yarn!) If only they were aware of the pleasures of blogging. ;)
The day ended with a movie (not so good) and a visit to KFC (very very good.... definitely finger licking good). I was given strict instructions not to take the camera along. (He he)

And now for a Ta Da moment.....
Yesterday my brother did some techno tinkering with the blog (he is my 24x7 tech support for the blog and all other computer related stuff) and now my blog is in its own domain!! I think it is wonderful. Thanks dear Bro.

Friends, if you have not yet visited my Facebook page, please do and give me a "Like" there. I know it does not have anything much on it yet but I am working on it. Hmmm... I think I should start that right away. So see you soon.

Have a lovely day. Buh-bye.
Love xxx

Facebook Page

Hello friends,

Just a quick note to inform you that I have managed to create a Facebook page for Crochetkari. I have not yet decided whether I will be linking it to the blog or just upload my projects on to it.

Please visit my FB page (link on the right sidebar) and don't forget to "like" it.

And I would really appreciate any tips about the page you might have for me!!!

Saturday has arrived...yay!! There is a Book Fair in town and I just might venture out in the afternoon to visit it. Shhhh.... all in secret of course as DH gets annoyed when I get bagloads of books home. Can you believe it, I have almost 900 books tucked away and he has never seen me bring them home......he he.

Have a lovely weekend!

Love xxx