Crochet Viola Mandala

Namaste friends,

Hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. 😀

In this post, I have a wonderful mandala to share with you.

I found the free pattern for the Viola mandala a few months back but I did not make one, as my folks are not exactly the "Doily-kind" if you know what I mean. 😉😉

And then guess what! One of my regular customers wanted me to make one for her in the colours of her choice. I was overjoyed.

So here is the Viola Mandala Ta-dah!

The Viola mandala pattern is Free on the maritparit blog.

She has made the mandala in a beautiful pastel blue and violet combination.

For my mandala, I have used Laura knitting cotton which is widely available in India, with a 3.5 mm crochet hook.

Anchor knitting cotton would be a great choice too for this mandala.

The colours were specially requested by my customer. 

I modified the last round to add some scallops. 

Isn't it a gorgeous mandala pattern? I just love the final look.

This mandala has flown across continents to its new home.

I think I'll make one more in a different colour scheme for myself. :)

I am sure you will want to make one for yourself. Do give it a try.

* This post contains affiliate links which if you use for any purchase, may yield me a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you. *

Thank you for your time.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook to stay in the loop and also to contact me for private crochet coaching sessions from anywhere in the world! 😀

See you soon with a new free cowl pattern.

Mandala mania 4 - Pretty Pastels + Giveaway winner

Namaste friends. It is crochet month so a mandala post is a must, right?

But before that let me announce the winner of the pattern giveaway for the Cupid's Dilemma cowl. 

And the winner is:

Susan Guard

Happy crocheting Susan. Your pattern is on the way to your Inbox. :)

This pattern is available in my Etsy and Craftsy shops.

And now on to my Spring inspired Pretty Pastel Mandala.

This is the fourth mandala I made using the same pattern. This mandala is a wee bit larger than the previous three mandalas as I modified Round no. 11 (in yellow), and made 3dc clusters instead of puff stitches.

Here are the details of the mandala;

Pattern source:   Crochet Millan.com

Yarn:                   Laura Knitting cotton

Hook:                  3.50 mm

Size:                   16 inches diameter

Here is a look at all four mandalas:

Check out mandala 1, mandala 2 and mandala 3.

Crocheting mandalas is very satisfying and almost meditative. Do give it a try.

Keep Calm and Crochet On.

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!

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.

I got Twins!!!

A girl AND a boy!  Okay,okay...not the baby kind (sadly), but the crochet kind (YAY!!), which is almost the same. Don't you agree? Well, I just love my crochet babies. And there is pink and blue.....so...

Made these two cute mandalas using some nice cool and pastel colours. These twin mandalas are "same but different" because I have used the same six colours and the same pattern for both. Just altering the colour sequence produces a different effect so that each one now has a different personality.

Check it out;

They are so pretty and cute. 

You can get the pattern here.

Once again, I have used Laura knitting cotton and a 3.50mm hook.

You can get these mandalas in my shop.

Tomorrow my bloggy friend Aishwarya is coming over with her daughter, to spend the night. Looking forward to lots of crafty chatting. See you soon with my next project.

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.

Rainbow Mandala II

Hi friends! I hope you are having nice cold weather, or snow or whatever, but not summer because Ahmedabad is just blistering hot right now. Write to me about how you are snowed in with 'x' inches of snow and had to shovel your way out. Or how you got caught in a light shower of rain and how your kids are now jumping in the little puddles on the road. Because today it is a killing 45 deg C here in Ahmedabad, yup that's right it is 113 deg F here!! Combine that with the humidity of only 12% it is sheer torture. Wondering where that acrid smoky smell is coming from...oh that is just my brain getting fried!!! When I think about all the people out there because of their jobs, security guards, veggie vendors, construction workers, salespersons, bus drivers, traffic police and many more, I realize that I have very little to complain about.

So keeping all heat related woes aside let us move on to a more cheerful topic. Crochet...what else!! Thw sweltering weather made it difficult for me to work with acrylic yarn so I decided to switch to cotton. And what is the obvious choice of project for cotton? Mandalas....of course!

I decided to have a go at the Rainbow Mandala once again, as my previous one got sold in my Etsy shop. This time I had many more colors so the mandala turned out really beautiful and large too.

Soooo.....Ta Dah!!!

The yarn is Laura knitting cotton with a 3.50mm hook. The pattern details are in my previous rainbow mandala post. While this mandala has more colors I have also used a different edging this time, with shells instead of picots.

The bowl you see on the mandala is shaped like a peacock?...or swan?...or whatever was a Diwali gift and is supposed to be as a candy dish or nut bowl. I have mixed feelings about it, especially those huge "diamonds" at the edges.

Here are some more pics of the mandala:

Did you like this mandala? Do let me know.

I just love it so off I go to make another one right away. I love these round, circular, colorful, joyous, beauties. Also I need to do some serious stash busting as I am running out of space in my craft room.

Write to me and let me know what you are crafting and don't forget those stories about snow and rain!!!...hehe.

You can get this mandala in my Etsy shop.

My next mandala has a different pattern and I will be revealing it tomorrow, so until then Happy Crafting and Take Care.