Crochet Pineapple Pouch

Wishing all my lovely friends a wonderful, happy and prosperous New Year. I hope 2013 will bring you a lot of joy, peace of mind and more importantly good health.

The first day of the new year, so a blog post is a must...isn't it? Okay I will admit that I am a little superstitious about this first day thing. I believe that things you manage to do on the first day of the new year sets the trend for the year ahead. It can be any little thing like getting up early, reaching office on time, cleaning my cupboard, calling up my parents, or even not popping that cupcake into my mouth, or not getting into arguments with anybody. It is silly I know but then its also fun.

So here goes, my first post for the new year.  :)

Over the years I came across a lot of patterns for sachets/pouches on the internet. But I just could not picture my "boys" appreciating dainty little sachets filled with potpourri hanging around the house. They are already doing me a big favour by leaving my doilies undisturbed. :)

Recently when I was busy hunting for the earphones for my mobile I realised that a sachet would be perfect for keeping them. They wouldn't get lost or damaged in the deep, dark recesses  of my handbag. 

I decided to try a pineapple design with a drawstring. I like this pattern as it is crocheted in the round and there is no seaming involved, the whole sachet works as one piece. It was a chart only pattern with no written instructions and did involve a few calculations to get it right. Also the pineapple motif is usually surrounded by shells but in this pattern it was flanked only by a set of dcs.

Have a look:

I have inserted a tissue so that you can see the pattern. The thread is Bliss knitting cotton crocheted with a 2.00 mm crochet hook. For the drawstring I used a spring loaded drawstring closure (no idea what they are called).

In goes the consignment! :)

Here it is with the drawstrings pulled.  I thought a tassel will complete the look. Do you think I should add a fabric lining so that nothing pops out or does it look okay?

This pouch will work well for lipsticks, prayer beads, keys, pen drives or even "unmentionables". In short, for anything small enough to get lost in your purse. What do you think? So, that is one project I can strike off my to-do list.

 Talking of lists, I do have my usual bunch of New Year resolutions: lose weight, cook healthy, less internet, more Pilates, less TV, more crochet, less sweets, more walking etc, etc. I would like to share this picture with you which sums it all up.  Haha.

via Facebook

See you soon. Take care. Happy crafting. Do let me know your first project for 2013.

Love xxx

Crochet Rose Basket

Hello beautiful people, I know you are feeling wonderful. How do I know? Well, these last few days as I toured thru Blogland, I saw beautiful pictures of warm family gatherings, lovely decorated trees, snowmen, scrumptious goodies to eat, little children enjoying the festive season...some of them for the very first time and of course lots of gorgeous gifts. So I can safely say... a good time was had by all  :)

It did make me feel a little lonely as we are practically friendless here in Ahmedabad. But not to worry as I have all of you, my dear friends out there. Blogging really brings friends right into our homes doesn't it? Along with pictures of our crafts we share pictures of our homes, our children, pets, grandkids, kitchens and occasionally even bathrooms. Which is sometimes more than what we share with our non-bloggy friends...no? Hmmm, I love Blogland.

Now first of all let me welcome some new friends who have joined us;

Elisabeth from Elizy Art

Salete from Sacroche

Anna from Annasimplecrochet

Andreia Santos from Refugios dos Pontinhos

Aishwarya from Aishwaryas World

Roos from Freubeldingetjes

Yufang from Hollywood Cerise

Isha from Keep Crocheting

Beena from Beenascreations

Maria Nazareth from Maria's Creations 

and Lakshmi Kumar.

A warm welcome to all of you. If I have not mentioned your name please drop me a line with the URL of your blog.

I know I have not been posting much.  Actually I have been very busy with my hook but not so busy with my camera...(what with my recent hospital stint making me realise that life is short). While in hospital my thoughts kept running back to the loads of yarn at home which I had not yet opened from the packaging or ...fondled enough...hehe. As you all are aware one good photo on the blog means ten other photos taken in different places and light conditions, and I did not want to put my hook down to do that. I have been crocheting like crazy and I hope to share a few projects before 2012 comes to an end. Of course there is always 2013, now that the world has decided not to end itself  ;) !!

Today I want to share this lovely crochet Rose Basket. The pattern is from a Japanese book and I have been wanting to try it out for a long time. As you can imagine there was a lot of guesswork involved but I finally managed to get it done. It may not look like the pic in the book but I am quite happy with it. So here it is;

 

I have used Laura knitting cotton from THIS stash and a 3.0 mm hook. Initially I planned to click step by step photos to show how it was done, but along the way I realised that it was quite simple. And you can make it without a pattern actually. 

So here goes;

Just choose your favorite granny square with or without flowers, join six of them together.

 

 

Now crochet a circle as big as the ring formed by the granny squares. This is the pattern I used from the original pattern.

 

Then attach the circle to your granny ring with slip stitches. 

There your lovely basket is done! You can use it to keep your cosmetics, keys, jewellery, etc.

How do you like it? So, do you think I am going to use it on my dressing table?

Nah... of course not, I am going to use it as my crochet work basket... hehe.

The colors are a bit boring but this was also a way to reduce my stash. Next time I am going to try different colors and also a thinner thread. 

Did you like the basket? If you do decide to make it, please do send me the link to your blog post or atleast send me a picture of your basket. I would definitely love to see it.

Lots of other FOs to be photographed so off I go.

Right now I am following "Grey's Anatomy" (love it) and "Packed to the Rafters" (like it very much) on the telly, what are you watching?

Looking forward to your comments. Take care and Happy Holidays.

Love and hugs xxx