Instant gratification and a cross-country trip

Namaste friends, did 2016 have a month called June? Well, it whizzed by so fast I couldn't catch a glimpse of it! :)

Instant gratification:

In an earlier post, I shared all the large crochet projects that I had started inspired by the CAL calender. If you have not had a look at the crochet calender, I urge you to do so as you will definitely find something you will like. Just hop down to my previous post.

While large projects are fine, sometimes you have a craving for seeing a project reach completion and that too...fast. So here is a project I managed to squeeze in, in between working on my huge blankets.

Crochet Newborn coat.

Isn't it super cute?! 

Maybe it is nature taking its course. Or, menopausal grandmotherly hormones kicking in. Or, maybe just the desire to leave some little thing for the new generation yet to come, I suddenly find myself wanting to make lots of items "for my grandchildren".

My family thinks I am crazy, but what is the harm I say. Life is unpredictable after all.

This item is one of the many I am working on and of course I will be sharing those too, upon completion. :) 

The free pattern for this coat is available at www.justcrochet.com, where you can also get dozens of more kiddie patterns.

The yarn is called Shining Star and I have used a 4mm hook.

From Mumbai to Meghalaya:

I was away from home for almost two weeks in the month of June, which may be the reason it seemed like a very short month to me. (No internet, no crochet...boohoo)

I was on a crazy errand which took me and sonny boy right from the west coast of the country to the North East! A totally unplanned and may I say a totally unnecessary trip :(

My son completed his Bachelors last year, with distinction, may I add, (feeling so proud), and expressed a desire to pursue a Masters in his subject. So we applied for a transcript and then we waited...and waited... and waited!! With the transcript showing no signs of arriving even after three months, and our phone calls to the Univ going unanswered, hubby decided that sonny boy and I should go and collect it from the University personally. Except, there was a small problem. The University was only 2500 Kms away... in Meghalaya (North East India)!   

I was unhappy about the trip as we had never visited that part of the country. Also I was worried that the University may be closed for the holidays. Fortunately, all went well and we got the transcript, phew! Silly people, if only they had sent it on time. We would have saved the ton of money spent on flight tickets and hotel rooms.

On the last day of the trip I blackmailed cajoled my son into accompanying me to the Kamakhya temple (Guwahati, Assam). This temple has great religious significance and is one of the 51 Shakti Pithas.

Here are a couple of pics from the outside of the temple. Photography is not allowed inside most Indian temples.

On my Telly: Madame Secretary and Masterchef Australia. What about you?

See you soon.

The Ultimate Crochet Calendar

Namaste friends. How are you today?

If it is vacation time for your kiddies I hope you are enjoying the vacation. Summer holidays mean picnics, movies, water parks and best of all ice cream...loads of it! Can you tell I am a big fan of ice cream ;)

On the other hand, for us mums it also means more cooking, more laundry and more cleaning-up, right? Nevertheless it is still fun. Holidays are all about the kids which means very little time for crafting for the mums. So here is something just for you.

CAL Calendar 2016

I was browsing the net to make a list of the CALs going on, when I came across this fantastic calendar. It is chock full of crochet projects for the whole year! It is a CAL calendar for 2016. While I have no idea who has filled in the details or even how it is done, a million thanks and hugs to the person/s who has done this. It lists all the crochet-along projects for the year and clicking on the name will take you to the relevant page or blog post where you can get all the details. 

HERE is the link to the Calendar. 

A few pointers;

• Most of the time the crochet-along patterns are free forever, but sometimes the patterns are free only for the duration of the CAL, after which they are listed as Paid patterns on Ravelry or the websites. So if you like a project be sure to download the pattern right now and keep it for future use.
• Go through all the details of the project carefully. Some projects require purchase of the pattern or a magazine, or may be available only as a kit.
• For my Indian readers:- While we cannot get the yarn brands mentioned in the project (sometimes we cannot get any kind of branded yarn!!...terrible, I know) pay attention to the hook size mentioned in the project and just find a yarn that is suitable for that hook size. 
• Gauge is not  important for items like blankets, scarves or cowls etc, but if making a wearable item like sweaters, gloves or hats, buy a small quantity of yarn first to test the gauge using the hook size mentioned in the pattern. It will save you a lot of time, lots of frogging and heartache. :)
• Bookmark the main project page on the blog so that you can easily visit the page and download the updates as and when they are released.
• Use the "Week" view on the calendar to get a complete list of projects for that week - day-wise, especially when there are more than 3 projects on that particular day.
• The events are listed as per Eastern time (US) so consider the time difference with your time zone when looking for updates. I usually visit the sites on the day after the CAL update, as we are around 10 hours ahead.
• If you missed any project in 2015 you can also find them via this calendar.

I am sure you will find a project to your liking and this calendar ensures that you will have something to work on all through the year.

I am extremely delighted to have found this CAL calendar and I hope you benefit from it too. Do let me know if you find anything exciting.

I have started one more project - Mandala Madness which is simply fantastic. If you want to take your crochet to a totally new and advanced level this project is for you. More details and pics in my next post.

Until then, Happy crafting.