Rose Doily

Hello beautiful people,

I hope you had a great week. I did not have access to the internet therefore I am a wee bit late in welcoming Cristina from My world of wool  and Giodina from Con le Lenti Rosa.
Both of them have very colorful, lovely crochet items, so do visit them.

I finally decided on a pattern to start my tryst with thread crochet. I was a bit apprehensive as it has been a long time since I worked with such a fine thread. Since I had made a lot of flat doilies in the past, I wanted to try something 3D as in Irish crochet.

And this is the pattern I chose;

Progress has been slow, as I have still not visited my optician for my new glasses.

As of now, I can work with thread only if I take off my glasses. Well. glasses or no glasses, do you think the doily is turning out fine? Do let me know. I am anxious to see the final product and I am too impatient to weave in the ends.

I hope you are having some great hooky time too. I will be visiting all of you very soon. So until then take care, have a fabulous weekend and share your lovely times with us. And do keep writing to me, I will get back shortly.

Love xxx

Welcoming Lord Ganesh

Hello friends, come join me in the celebrations to welcome Lord Ganesh also known as Ganapati.

Today 19th September is Ganesh Chaturthi, it is the Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Lord Ganesh, the son of Parvati and Shiva. The festival lasts for ten days ending on Anant Chaturdashi, during which the Lord is said to shower his devotees with blessings.

Lord Ganesh is considered to be superior to all the other gods and He is also the lord of wisdom, learning, prosperity and good fortune. He is considered the remover of obstacles. Any new venture like house warming, a new business, start of travels, marriage or any other pooja(worship) will start with a prayer to Lord Ganapati.

During the Ganeshotsav (utsav means festival) lots of goodies are made as offerings. The main offering made everywhere without fail is the Modak known as the Lord's favourite. The modak can be a steamed rice flour dumpling filled with coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and cardamom OR a deep fried wheat flour dumpling having the same filling. Of course in a vast country like India, every region has its own completely unique version of the modak.

This festival is celebrated in homes or on a larger scale in public places in which case it is open to all and anybody can visit the venue. Festivities start with bringing the idol which can be of clay or plaster of Paris. After celebrating with much pomp and splendor, on the last day the idol is immersed in water- lakes, rivers or the sea, to mark the end of the festival.  The idol is taken through the streets for immersion accompanied with song, dancing and merriment.

The immersion is said to signify his return to his heavenly abode and also the never ending cosmic cycle. 

Reams can be written about Lord Ganesh, the legends, significance of his forms, his 1000 names and so much more. At a recent visit to a book fair, I got a book about the Lord and today I will share some pictures from the book with you.

Front Cover

Back Cover

Siddhivinayak at Mumbai

Ganapati at Titwala

Three headed Ganesh

Five headed Ganesh

Idol being taken for immersion

You can imagine the size of the statue by seeing the tiny people in the crowd!

I hope you liked these photos of my favourite deity.   Now I have lots of places to visit and pay my respects, and lots of goodies to taste. I will see you soon with my next thread project.

Do keep writing to me.

Have a lovely week. Take care.

Love xxx