Hooks And Laces

Round and round

2012-01-31T20:47:00.000+04:00

Wow! I have been here in such a long time !! The end of one year and the begining of another .....too busy a time to blog , I guess. So many new things in life and crafts :)
Let me first show you one of my latest projects: A round crochet cushion for a dear friend made on request. This was easy enough to work but the part about attaching a zip to a round cushion lining was so tricky. This could be due to my ( almost absent )sewing skills.So without further ado ...

Quilled flowers

2011-12-14T16:43:00.000+04:00

I've been quilling away randomly...no projects as yet but yes a few elements are getting ready. So hopefully I'll have some finished projects to show soon enough. These a re afew flowers I made for a very dear friend Susan Lee, who is an amazing artist herself. Do drop in at her blog and be charmed with her lovely art work.
And now for the flowers :

and finally , all together ...

A duck pond quilled !

2011-12-12T07:36:00.001+04:00

And finally, my last piece of quilling for the exhibition....

There were such beautiful amazing quilling works done by different artists in UAE and from all over the world. It was a really humbling experience and got to learn so much too.

Happy 40th U.A.E National Day !!!

2011-12-02T12:09:00.000+04:00

Wishing all my friends and family of U.A.E a very Happy National Day !

This is one of my art works that had been displayed during the Quilling Exhibition. Ihis is a traditional dance performed by the children of UAE. Many ,like me , who grew up here would relate to this and enjoy it. I consider this piece my tribute to the spirit of the U.A.E's 40th National Day.

First Exhibition of Paper Quilling in UAE and the Middle East.

2011-11-24T02:09:00.000+04:00

Sharing my joy and happiness with my friend in blogland!

We had our first Pqper Quilling Exhibition in UAE and the Middle East yesterday on 22nd November 2011. And what a grand affair it was! The Exhibition is the first ever of its kind in the Arab world, under the patronage of His Highness the crown prince of Umm Al Quwain, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saud Al Mualla.It is hosted by the Centre of the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Community Development in Umm Al Quwain, with the support of Abu Dhabi Music & Arts foundation. It featured amazing Paper Quilling art from the artists in UAE and from all over the world ! There is also the display of the attempt at world record by Amna Al Fardh - the founder of the Emirates Quilling Guild and a truly gifted artist. She is the lady who managed to make this event happen.
There were such lovely works of Art ...I'll be posting many pictures over the next few days :)For now , I will just show you some of my entries for the exhibition.

This is a simple wreath done in the colours of the UAE Flag.It is done completely with 10mm Quilling paper strips. Made in loops and then joined together to form the wreath. I have used more than 1000 paper strips for this project. It looks daintier than it is. It is very solid and heavy piece.

Here is my favourite...the Gazebo. This is one of my dream projects.For the first time , I have a piece which turned out just as I had planned and visualized. I did not have to make any changes at all to my ideas. Except for the little top roof ( I was thinking of skipping that part ) but my brother insisted I include it.It took hours and days of work....even though it looks fairly simple...this one is a deceptive one. I made it from scratch....even the template was made by myself. But I was so hppy with everybody's reaction to it. It was so well appreciated. Even the Crown Prince was impressed :D .As you can imagine I'm so thrilled.
More pictures to come .....

Crochet flowers and appliques

2011-10-13T19:29:00.001+04:00

Just a sneak peak .....This is what I've been busy with ......making lots of flowers and appliques in crochet. I've just taken pictures of a few of these .wouldn't these look just too cute om scrapbooks and altered boxes, cards, etc? I hope to display them at Arte tomorrow.

For a new little baby

2011-09-29T17:48:00.001+04:00

Closer look ...

This week my friend, Shaheen ,got a sweet little baby girl. Congratulations to the proud parents. And ofcourse I'm super excited. She has , Masha-Allah, the sweetest little girlies I know.They actually call me their own friend rather than mommy's friend. I'm so happy to welcome another lovely little angel.
Here is just a little dress for the tiny sweetheart. It's in new born size. I came across this pattern on Sarah's amazing blog. There is some really beautiful crochet in there and many patterns as well.
I loved working on this dress....so simple and fast and the baby yarn is just amazing. I used the Bernat softee baby yarn for the dress and for the cap , I used King Cole Smooth Dk yarn. This yarn is really smooth and amazing to work with the result is such softness.
Some random projects going on and some custom orders too. I'll put up more pictures once they are all done.

Happy Independence Day !

2011-08-15T17:34:00.000+04:00

Wishing all my fellow Indians a Very Happy Independence Day !!

A post long overdue

2011-08-13T22:22:00.000+04:00

This is a post long , long overdue ...about the the last ATC we had at the Emirates Quilling Guild. At the time blogger had some issues and uploading pictures was nearly impossible !

Anyhow, here are the pictures of my cards without any further delay.

And now for those of you who like to have a closer look ..:D

And some more .....

And more.......

These are just the cards I made . Wait till you see the ones i got - they are so beautiful ! They took my breath away. Mine are really simple in comparison , but then luckily there is be no such things ...it is strictly for the fun of it.

And in the next post, I'll show the gorgeous cards that I received from all the amazingly talented artists in the Guild. So much to learn ....such inspiration.

Itty bitty baskets

2011-08-02T21:09:00.000+04:00

Well, not exactly itty bitty - they can hold about 3 - 4 candies atleast. These some of my paper quilled baskets. I wanted to embellish them but then I think they look better plain.

I feel so blessed and lucky !

2011-07-31T18:18:00.000+04:00

And this is thanks to all my wonderful friends and family who have been so supportive of me following my heart and crafting away!
I got a very special gift the other day. It's a picture frame adorned with paper quilling by Atiya Rehman.

Thank you so much Atiya dear. This is the best gift for me. I'll take great care of it. Your work is really good for a beginner who started learning on her own. I'm so proud of you. Insha allah , hoping to see more of your lovely quilling.

Another beautiful gift was a comment on one of my blogpost by Kavya.

This is what Kavya said:

Hi yasmin!!!
I just love your works and quilling... I just created some quilled dolls using your works as inspiration...I love quilling but no time as i am in middle school in dubai...I have made some quilled tulips recently.....thanks a lot!

So here is a little message for KAVYA :

I'm so proud of you , Kavya that you are already making dolls. Thank you, Kavya.It is so good to hear that you are quilling too. I feel so happy and blessed that I can inspire you. This is the best news for me. Kavya, I would love to see your quilling. I have no means of reaching you so please get in touch with me:)I have a little 'surprise' for you!!

Any one for a cuppa?

2011-07-30T12:24:00.000+04:00

Most of my friends know that I have soft spot for making cups and saucers. All this time I was crocheting it. Then I had to try it in my quilling as well...so here it is . My quilled set of cups and saucers ...I think they would make great gifts as trinket holders? What do you say?

Yay!!

2011-07-27T23:46:00.002+04:00

I'm so excited to have won this amazing giveaway at Benzi's blog. I've been visiting this blog and enjoying all her beautiful creations all this time - such lovely work. And today i won her amazing candy...I cannot help but share the news:) Here is a peek at the goodies :

And while we are at giveaways ....there is another amazing cricut give away. Click Here. Check it out.

And another lovely candy ...at Craft Emma's Store

More candy to be won at Cheryl's Blog.

Knots of Love

2011-07-12T11:48:00.000+04:00

That is what I call this shawl- Knots of Love. I had made this shawl some time back but never got around to posting about it. There were internet issues, then blogger issues and then so many other things....Finally I took the pictures today before packing it up to send it to my dear friend.
This is made for a dear old lady with lots and lots of love. This is a very special person to me because she has inspired me so much with the beauty of her knitting. I actually decided to learn knitting after seeing her gorgeous works.

This shawl is called ' Midsummer night's shawl ' and is designed by one of my favourites designers Lisa Naskrent of Crochet Garden. The deisgn has a lot of fine details but as usual the pictures don't show it. I hope my dear friend likes it.

The funny thing is that we never met each other, yet there is this strange bond of love. She made a little book of pattern hand written and even put in actual swatches of the pattern stitches for me. This time she even sent me her own book of knitting patterns - something she had compiled and preserved for many years. I had no idea ...when she heard my sister was visiting us she just gave the package to her for me. Can you imagine ?...I was totally astounded!!! Got a bit teary too :)

I am so touched with her kindness and love. I feel very lucky ! Some people are truly 'kindered spirits' (in the words of Anne of Green gables). Now that it is rainy and cold in Bangalore , I hope she enjoys using this shawl.

Some more pictures :

ETA : the rest of the pictures are not uploading ...maybe later .

Another award for me !

2011-07-11T18:16:00.000+04:00

I feel lucky to be honoured with another award. This time , it's from a new friend and fellow blogger Santosh Bangar. Thank you Santosh for the appreciation!
Santosh had amazing blogs herself. Her recipe and food blog has some really lovely stuff. I know where I'll get my recipes this Ramadan!

I would like to share this one with all my visitors- those who take the time to drop in at my blog and sometimes leave such kind and wonderful words.

An award for me !

2011-07-06T16:07:00.002+04:00

I had a lovely surprise waiting for me at Aruljothi's blog. I'm getting this award for the second time...which makes me very happy but also means I have keep getting better :)
I'd like to pass on this award to :
1. Anastasiasia
2. Arline
3. Paula
4. Mimi
5. Rima
Some of these are old friends who have always inspired with their new and beautiful creations. And some are new friends in the world of paper crafts who are really good and I feel I have a lot to learn from them. There are many more who I admire and get such inspiration from. Thank you , ladies !

Framed in Flowers

2011-07-04T16:12:00.002+04:00

It's summer vacation season for the schools ....so it the time to handle bored kids who are happy either playing out ( way too hot for that now ) or play station games! So I have been busy trying to make arrangements for a boredom free vacation.Or at least a week !!!
In the meanwhile , not much crafting is getting done. I get so distracted with all the beautiful crafts I see online that I drive myself nuts. I feel like I have to try and make all the crafts - so many lavely crafts with paper, fabric, polymer clay, wood, paints, beads, glass ....get so tempted to try all different things and I end up trying at least a few. Does this happen to everybody or am I getting crafty mania?
Anyways, I have finally finished assembling and framing my quilled flower bunch.
I have seen so many lovely flowers and designs done with this technique. I decided to make poppies ( poppies are such pretty flowers because the colors are so pretty). So here is my take on it...

My husband thought that the flowers have a carved wooden look about them. He wouldn't believe me when I told him it was paper. I had to ask to see for himself.I guess this paper gives it the look and strength.

2011-06-27T15:42:00.002+04:00

Crocheted Bag

My latest bag ....just off the hooks. I can never get over how nice these bags turn out and that they can actually hold a lot of stuff. You wouldn't think it's so roomy when you look at it but it hold more than expected. I could make more and more of these but weaving in the ends is such a task ....ugh !
The last pictures shows a close up for those who like details. This bag is made for a friend who requested for these colors. It's done in washable cotton yarn and lined with pretty off-white satin. I hope she likes it.

2011-06-25T12:55:00.000+04:00

Some Yummy Candies and giveaways
I've been so busy lately that I haven't had the time to check out all of the blogs I love. This morning I decided to to catch up and saw a few lovely giveaways. Check them out :
Scrap with Stacy : Amazing giveaway ends on 1sy July

Two Pink Peas Huge Give away :Another amazing blog candy giveaway ..check it out -

2011-06-21T12:52:00.000+04:00

Ducks in a Pond
Little ducklings and ducks all enjoying a swim in the pond.
What do you think? I know ..so many pictures ...but I have to improve my photography skills in order to get it all in one nice picture. More quilling to come ...

I really don't know how to show the little details like the grass and the tiny flowers growing around in the rocks and the grass. If you click the pictures, maybe you can see it.

2011-06-19T01:34:00.000+04:00

Quilling ...flowers, birds on frame
This is a frame made for daughter of a friend. It's her favorite colours. I hope her little girl likes it.

I've been quilling and trying out different techniques as well. The flower here is very popular among the Malaysian quillers. I loved it and tried my hand on it too. It's not bad ... but I guess there is room for improvement.

Another thing I've been enjoying is 3d quilling. I have a few things to done and ready to be photographed. Will post them here real soon.

2011-06-16T21:05:00.000+04:00

Coasters in Crochet

There has been constant crocheting as well as quilling in my house these days. So many pictures to upload ...but until then - here is the latest stuff.
I've been dabbling with designing motifs...and loving it. These are a couple of my designs. I've made them into coasters. They are pretty fine ...more like lace since I've used size 20 crochet thread in cotton. I put in a lot of picots ...I love the dainty look picots give to any crochet lace.

2011-06-15T08:37:00.000+04:00

Feeling Good !

I had a nice little surprise waiting for me at my blog. Thank you, Kavitha for this lovely award!
And now ...the random things about me :
1. I love music but cannot sing for the life of me.
2. I actually enjoy having guests and doing all the work.
3. I love watching TV shows on my lap top rather than the nice big television.
4. Weird thing- little babies get to sleep almost immediately when I hold them. My own baby was the only exception so far !!!! He would take hours :D
5. Erma Bombeck is my favorite author and has been since I was 16.
And now it's my turn to pass on the award. Here are just some of the blogs I really love the creativity and enjoy reading.

1. Khushboo
2. Lekha Justin
3. Hussena
4. Farah Muzaffar
5. Amna

2011-06-13T19:15:00.000+04:00

Tea cup and saucer sets in crochet.

Hello friends! Remember me ? I do wonder if I have any readers left in here at all ...I've been away for so long. Well, where have I been ? Been going all around the country visiting everywhere and everyone with family and friends. I'm not complaining ...had loads of fun. Just barely any time to get crafting done.
I did manage to get some crochet and quilling in the late hours ...when finally everyone was in bed. But then that left no time for blogging. Anyhow, now that everything is back to normal and routine I hope I'll be more regular.
Here are a couple of cup and saucer jewellery holders done. I'm so enjoying making these. More to come in many different colours :). Well, I put these up during the craft fair and they were gone instantly !It's such a wonderful feeling to see someone appreciate your creativity and work.

2011-04-27T13:05:00.000+04:00

A Handmade favor or gift box

Yesterday I came across this post and saw Khushboo's amazing work. This little bag looked so cute, I just had to make one. And ,of course, Khushboo gave a little nudge as well to start working on it.
I used whatever I had on hand at the moment ...I just had to make it right then and didn't want to lose anytime looking for stuff:D. I know , lazy crafter - I am ! What I liked about it is that it is such an easy and simple project and you don't really need any tools for it. I used simple white card card paper and used some punched flowers to colour it up.
I'm going to make many more of these little goody bags and try out variations as well :)

2011-04-26T11:29:00.000+04:00

Dolls...Another quilled one.

I've been quilling these cute little dolls and I just can't stop:)The ideas are coming in faster than I can process...how can I keep track? It is such a joy to see simple strips of paper turn to so many different forms and designs. Just amazing that all it takes is twirling paper strips and gluing it!

2011-04-18T12:59:00.000+04:00

Quilled Doll

Paper quilling has been such fun that lately I have been spending a lot of time on it. From simple quilling to dimensional work - it's all so fascinating. Here is another one of my latest paper dolls. And here are the little details of her hair etc. More dolls coming up.

2011-04-07T19:47:00.000+04:00

Something new with Paper

This little Arab guy is made of paper. I first saw one made by Farah Al Fardh and was so inspired that I had to give it a try. Paper quilling is turning out to be so much more fun as time goes by:)
More little paper people to come .....check back soon to them.

2011-04-04T10:30:00.000+04:00

More Crochet Jewellery

Yes, some more are done .I just love these flower upon flower designs...they look so feminine when worn. Yes...more of crochet jewellery to come yet...the uploads take forever!! Silly internet issues!

2011-03-31T15:57:00.000+04:00

Jewellery in crochet
Recently I've been working on some crocheted jewellery and am enjoying it so much:) I'm also enjoying wearing these and the best part is when people actually want to know where you can get them.

There are more to show but haven't taken the pictures yet to upload. time flies when you are busy with crochet as well as quilling....

2011-03-03T13:59:00.011+04:00

Paper Quilling ATC

In the last post you saw all the lovely cards I got from my friends. And now here are the cards I sent :)They are simple cards and I had such fun making them. When you think of cards , the general idea is the usual standard size or maybe sometimes the differently shaped ones. But one thing that never comes to mind is 'tiny cards'! And that was the challenge with these.The cards are all 2"x3" in size. It was difficult at first to find ideas to fit into such a small surface ...but then once I started working on it ,the ideas began to flow.

2011-03-01T11:41:00.002+04:00

Paper Quilling ATC Swap
I'm thrilled and excited .....feel like a kid with new candy :)This is my first ever ATC and as you can guess by now I enjoyed it very much. These are the beautiful cards I received from the friends in the swap. Aren't they just so pretty? They are now proudly displayed in my living room.

I love each and everyone of them...Each one is different in it's own way.

Love stream's simple and elegant card with a subtle colour and beautifully fringed flower - the intricate design below the flower peeking out - like saying there is more between the lines :

Khawla's Bright and cheery card with such warmth and sunshine to it. I love the flower with tiny little petals and perfect scrolls :

Shaheen's perky delicious quilled strawberry card brings a smile....Love the colours - it's berrylicious !

Shaikha's summery card ....such bright and bold colors. These cards have a dynamic look about them Like they say ...I'm here so you better cheer up!!

Susan Lee has brought in soft romantic poetry with her serene and feminine card. Mmmmm...sweet and dreamy like a fairy tale !

Roopas's sheer lacey card with stamping background and intricate butterfly ....so many different things come together in perfect blend and harmony.

Amna's cards ... What can I say ? I'm so awe-struck to see such attention to details. Amna's work in not just intricate and beautiful but the finishing is perfect. I cannot stop admiring the evenness of her work. The tiniest details like the little pink paisley petals are shaped to perfection !

This swap was such fun and learning experience. I have all these gorgeous cards made by very talented ladies - So much to learn from these and improve my own work. Thank you all for making this swap so wonderful and Thank You, Amna for organizing it.

2011-03-01T09:53:00.000+04:00

Spring is here !
There are signs everywhere......Beautiful red roses in my balcony ...yay! This is the reason I'm going to spend most of the day in the balcony crocheting away and enjoying the beautiful breeze and lovely plants.

2011-01-21T12:34:00.009+04:00

Blog Award

My blogging has been taking a back seat these few days but thats because a lot of crochet and quilling and card making is in the fore front. Yes, the pictures will follow soon .
I was so pleasantly surprised with a Stylish Blogger Award by Melinda of MoCrochet. Thank you, Melinda!

Rules are that I have to reveal several fun things about myself:

1. I love to read on various subjects. Fiction, non- fiction, politics, history, self help etc....I am a romantic by nature...the roses, music and cards kind of person, but I do not enjoy romantic books - although I am a total sucker for romantic movies!

2. Crafts is a passion for me. I'm constantly thinking of different ideas and patterns etc. Day and night - I even dream of it.

3. I used to believe in fairies and elves until I was quiet big.Blame Enid Blyton, my favourite author while growing up. I was often spotted by Mom, looking for fairies in the garden and flower beds. Yes, I did get many insect bites in the process.

4. I used to love dancing in the kitchen. I still do .......... it's my favourite dance floor!

5. When I get angry or upset my ears actually turn red! My son calls me Mommy Red Ears.

6. I always apply lipstick without looking in the mirror and it turns out perfectly fine

Now that I've let you in on things about myself, I'd like to pass on this award to the following blogs:

1. Knotty hands
2. Made to treasure
3. Knots and crafts
4. The city of crochet
5. Doting on doilies

Rules for the winners: pick 3-5 blogs you admire and pass on this award linking back to the person who gave you the award (in this case, me). Reveal several fun facts about yourself. Make sure to leave a comment on their blog that they have won. Happy Hooking!

2011-01-20T20:05:00.002+04:00

Crochet Bottle covers

These are a couple bottle covers made for a friend in cotton thread. I love how these can make plain old mineral water bottles all dressy and cute. Makes a nice addition for outdoor entertaining, what say?

2011-01-16T09:45:00.003+04:00

Beaded Coasters and Jug cover set

Bright and cheery set of coasters with a beaded edge - was fun to make and has a kind of formal look to it. The beads on the edge make it heavy and good for covering the glass as well. So it's a coaster/ galss cover. It has a matching jug cover too. I made this as a custom order for a visitor at the craft fair and I was happy to see that she loved it.

There is such a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when your hand-mades are appreciated :) It makes all the time and effort worth it.

2010-12-25T17:56:00.003+04:00

School Project
Last week was full of things happening and this week seems to be nothing easier. Wonder how the end of the year can get busier by the day? This post is for my son ...he insisted that I show off his project for creative festival ,last monday. So here goes...My son ( the little one on the left ) and his classmate holding up their class project ' The Atlantis , Dubai' . It's just a gate but you can imagine the eight year olds ...to them it's the whole island!!
They were so helpful and managed to carry it to and back from school without breaking it . That I say is a huge achievement!!!

2010-12-22T14:25:00.003+04:00

So Beautiful

I came across this blog post today and was so touched and inspired . Being an expat away from home , the love and attachment to your home country never leaves your heart despite all the comfort and facilities available. Farah has shown her love and pride for her country in a beautiful and touching post. It's so refreshing to see such beauty in a country that has been hidden behind all the focus on the ugly political situation.

Click here

Enjoy !

2010-12-21T21:17:00.005+04:00

Quilling ....Paper jewellery

Warning : Picture heavy post !

I've been so smitten with paper quilling lately that I'm forever surrounded with paper strips these days. It's been such fun. I have a couple of big projects underway but not yet ready to show.
In the meanwhile Pretty little quilled jewellery sets are getting done one after another. I love the colours and love the simplicity of it.Actually, it's quite surprising that these dainty looking jewellery sets are pretty strong. I've been using a couple of sets for quite sometime now and they are still as good as new!!
I made a few of these for the Arte fair this time and also for gifts to some of my friends. They were so appreciated and well received. Now I'm working on more designs.
Until then ...

and all together ...

2010-12-20T08:11:00.007+04:00

December Arte Fair
It's been crazy busy last few days......with the general holiday season, the UAE National day and the Muharam holiday ..etc. It's just been a mad rush.

The Arte Fair was on for two days this time 11th and 12th of December. We met some really wonderful people and saw all kinds of different handmade things. It was pure joy to see so many beautiful crafts and crafters together. It's amazing that people are so creative and talented - all in all a wonderful experience and total inspiration!
Here are some pictures of our craft booth at the December Arte Fair. It was great fun to set up , display and the best part- seeing people appreciate the work we put into crocheted objects.

And more pictures of the different things on display. And a cute little baby girl who is wearing a hairband I made.

2010-12-06T08:35:00.000+04:00

A wonderful Giveaway - Check it out!
This is an amazing and generous give away by Scrapcollector . Do check out the blog candy here . These goodies look so tempting.... The last date to enter is 10th Dec.

2010-12-03T10:05:00.003+04:00

Happy 39 th National Day - UAE !
This post was supposed to come yesterday but I guess Blogger too was enjoying the National Day like the rest of us and was totally off duty. Here is what I had made with my latest craft - Quilling.

Yes, I have been trying different things and paper craft has been real fun. Quilling is turning out to be one of the fovourites.Who would have thought twirling paper would create wonderful intricate and beautiful peices. I have a lot to learn yet but I'm enjoying the process way too much. So as you can imagine I'm surrounded with strips and coils of colourful paper.

2010-12-01T14:28:00.003+04:00

On the go Pouch
As I've mentioned before I'm trying out all kinds of crafts and enjoying myself thoroughly. Maybe crafters are a blessed kind of people who can find a whole world of crafts and be so happy content with it anytime.
I've been trying my hand at sewing lately. I'm happy with the progress so far.I have been trying different projects and these are a few pouches I made for the craft fair.

I love how these have turned out.They are roomy enough to keep the basic cosmetics and fit in most purses. I have been using mine for the last couple of months and am happy to see that they are pretty practical. Actually, I use it more like an 'easy to change bags accessory'. I just put in all my essentials in it and whenever I need to change bags I don't have to keep organizing things ...just put the pouch in the Purse I intend to carry for the day. For some one like me who is a Bag / Purse lover I keep changing them according to outfits:) and these are so handy to save time.

2010-11-22T18:30:00.011+04:00

Pink Ice Booties
I'm so totally crazy about this pink right now....talk about being hooked onto something! I've actually put it at the back of the closet and taken up other colors to work with.
These booties are the last project with pink thread. They are for my neighbor's pretty little baby girl.

I made a few more pocket tissue covers for Arte Craft Fair in different colors ( notice- no pink ? ) These were very well appreciated and a lot of people bought it for gifts. I'm planning on making more in other colors. Something Christmassy maybe ....

2010-11-17T23:39:00.003+04:00

All in pink
A few pretty pink tissue covers for a baby shower. I just love how they look all together in a basket.

2010-11-09T19:20:00.003+04:00

UAE NATIONAL DAY - Flowers and Flags
Its not yet the day ....the National Day is 2nd of December. But I'm showing my collection for the event. There are different hair accessories and brooches etc. These are a few of the pictures. The remaining can be seen in this Album. I'm making these for custom orders and and so happy to say that I'm getting more orders too.

Yes, ofcourse, there are crocheted ones as well. Those pictures will be uploaded soon too. Just gearing up for the Arte Fair this friday. So much to be done ...so little time. Same story goes on and on .....

2010-10-29T00:57:00.015+04:00

Amazing Blog give-aways for Paper Crafts and more!

Since I'm trying out various different crafts I come across such gorgeous blogs and really generous and amazing giveaways. It would be a crime not to share these links are these blogs have some truly beautiful work of paper arts.
As you would have known by now that we don't really get craft supplies out here these blog candies and give aways are my dream for now. Things like stamps, die cuts, pretty punches and different papers and the works are not even seen out here. Do check out these blogs and their amazing works.

Scrap with Stacy - giveaway ends on 31st October 2010

http://tiddlyinks.blogspot.com/2010/10/blog-candy-continued.html - Give away ends on 4th November 2010

Sentiments 4 you giveaway end on 31st October 2010.

The Stamping Boutique winners announced on 20th November 2010.

2010-10-11T23:40:00.000+04:00

Stir- fry Squids
On a cooking spree these days besides the bag fever. This is a recipe I whipped up after having a stir fry sqid dish at a restaurant recently. It was well received and praised to no end but I think it will not be a regular dish ....too much of coconut and butter !!! And I have to watch my weight , health , nutrition ....etc.

Squid marinated in {salt, soy sauce, ginger-garlic paste, vinegar, red chilly powder} and stir-fried in butter / olive oil - your choice. Keep aside.

The grated coconut and finely diced onion being well roasted with a little butter, green chilly and curry leaves in a kadhai.

Then added the squids into the above mixture and stirred around for a while( abt 10 mins) ....no water to be added. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

And Voila ! Here you go ...easy-peasy yummy treat all ready !

It's a quick and easy recipe ...as you can see I'm no good at writing recipes. I just whipped up this one and had to share.

2010-10-03T18:45:00.000+04:00

And More....
Told you these are addictive! Just a couple of more book covers. I've added a matching pansy bookmark to the blue and yellow one. These make such cute little gifts.I was wondering if my son will approve of these as gifts for his teachers....he can be very choosy for an 8 year old!

I'm going to make some more of these ...so many colours and ideas. I love these small and quick projects.

2010-10-03T18:17:00.006+04:00

Bag it- 10

In the meanwhile , the bag making continues. This is one big bag that can fit way too many things- even my 14" laptop along with the usual bag stuff. The best part is that it happens to be pretty light considering the size of it.
As for the other crafts , I'm working on loads of flowers. Will post pictures soon.

2010-09-29T08:33:00.003+04:00

Crocheted Book cover

Taking a break from big projects that I'm working on right now. These book covers are quick and easy to make. Just whipped them up with any colours and designs and it's impossible to stop at just one. There are two more of these on my hooks right now.
I'm also trying to polish my sewing skills which at the moment are probably close to nil. I can manage to sew in neat straight lines so far. Lets see how much I learn of this but I'd love to try. I'm so inspired by all the beautiful sewing projects made by my friends online.

2010-09-27T12:17:00.005+04:00

Bag it - 9 ! Lacy Flower Bag

Like I was saying the last time , more and more bags are turning out by my hooks!I'm crocheting loads of other stuff too but the bags get done before anything else! I have been crocheting for as long as I can remember and the dear hubby has accepted the hook as a natural extension to my arm ( that's what he calls it).

This bag has been on my ever growing ' to make ' list for a long time now. With all the various distractions it always got side lined and the prospect of weaving in so many ends was terrifying. Well finally, I mustered the guts and plunged in. Yes there are a whole lot of ends to weave in and that part is no fun.It was so tiresome that I needed a little change - I thought a little matching coin bag would go so well with it.
I've been trying around other crafts too too much inspiration out there not to give a try to the various crafts. The funniest reaction was from the hubbs, when he saw me ot crocheting for 2-3 days , he was shocked and thought I was giving up crochet to pursue other interests....he actually tried to convince me that crochet and I had a strange unbreakable bond. My son wanted to ry out the new stuff with me but soon got bored of it all- except for the paper quilling - he loved that! We have a few paper quilling projects going on too and a little sewing as well....So I guess I'm turning out to be a multi-crafter after all. I've always found this word strangely fascinating....

2010-09-20T12:41:00.003+04:00

Bag it 8 ! Shimmering Lilac Elegance

Another evening bag off my hooks. I love the look of this bag and it is big enough to carry all the girly essentials, I think. I hope to display it during the craft fair next month.
The thing I like about this bag is that it is very verstaile. It would go with most black outfits and it would looks great with Abaya as well. I'm still in the bag mode ...seems like it is an obsession. Does this happen to you ....like you try to sleep and all these wonderful bag ideas and designs keep you wide awake and excited? This is like an every night story for days now ....
But I'm making different things as well. I'll blog about it soon.

2010-08-19T01:18:00.012+04:00

Other crafts - QUILLING.

*** Warning : Picture heavy post ***

I had long forgotten the beautiful art of paper quilling. Luckily I met this very talented lady, Amna Al Fardh , who was promoting this craft. Looking at her gorgeous works I was absolutely hooked on.
I was so inspired with her beautiful projects that I just had to learn this once more.I had tried it sometime back but because we do not get the supplies locally and lack of beautiful coloured paper discouraged me from pursuing this elegant craft.
These are some of my very first attempts. Nothing great yet, but I enjoyed making these pieces. When I was surfing online I came across such wonderful resources , tutorials and projects. It would be a crime not to try it out.
This Quilled Snowflake tutorial was very helpful. This is my first attempt at quilling.

And some of the other things I've been playing around with. Maybe I'll use this on my son's scrap book.

And then finally this poppy flower. This was my second quilling project. I found this amazing tutorial by Inna Dorman ,which was very helpful. She has some amazing creations in her site- truly talented. My ' to make ' list is growing by the minute.
I just love poppy flowers ...they are my favourite flowers to make even though I've never seen a real one all my life! Now Roses are what I get to see most and I'm not much of a rose person ..... Find them pretty but not really fond of the smell.
Anyways, here is it is ! I have to seriously take some better pictures.

2010-08-18T12:48:00.005+04:00

Bag it - 7 Shimmering Beige
Looks like lately I've been working on so many bags. It's like every night I get haunted by ideas for bags , designs, patterns, colours etc. Or else, how to improve a particular style or pattern. Seriously, I have another bag to show in this post.

This one is very similar to the Silver Bag I had made sometime back with just a few modifications and a shoulder strap added. And ofcourse the rose with gold trim added for the bling factor !

2010-08-11T20:46:00.005+04:00

Bag it - 6 Shimmering Black Elegance

Hello after a short break. Yes, I'm back from my 'little ' vacation. It seems more like a dream. Anyways, still settling down into normal routine and finding it so boring.
And ofcourse catching up with various wips and different crafts. I'm having a good time learning new stuff too.
Here is the latest FO to show off!

I guess one of the most common accessory with every girl is a black bag. Yes , I have yet another bag to show :). What can I say ....it's a crazy bag mode. It looks like all I'm doing id making bags. There are two more going on at the moment ....will post when done.But for now lets focus on this one.
It's done in shimmering black and gold thread. I like the look of the crocheted fabric. This bag is surely much better to look at in person than in these pictures. I know my photography skills are way off from any decent level but in this case I think it's the black that makes it difficult to capture a good picture. I've always found it difficult to get any decent picture of my projects in black.
I'm thinking of more stuff in this thread and combo. Loads of ideas but lets see what materializes.

2010-07-03T20:13:00.005+04:00

Granny the great

Yes,'The Granny Square' strikes again. It is often the simplest patterns that make the look of really pretty things. I fell in love with the little granny pouches I saw online and couldn't resist making some myself. I love the fact that these are so simple and yet very functional. They work great as business card holders, jewellery pouches, even little goody bags.

Sweet Pea Patterns Guest Giveaway

2010-06-29T12:44:00.000+04:00

Sweetpea Pattern's guest giveaway

This morning I came across this really cute giveaway. The little baby shoes are sooo pretty. I really want want to make atleast one of these with the new hello kitty fabric I got for my niece.
Even if you don't sew , these are just too cute miss. Have a look:

Sweet Pea Patterns Guest Giveaway

2010-06-20T22:10:00.006+04:00

Rustic Tatting n Crochet Doily
Have I mentioned before that I do a little of tatting as well? I don't do it as much as I'd like to but I keep at it from time to time. I simply love the dainty look of the art of tatting. Maybe I should fish out some of my tatted projects and put the pictures up.
As always , doilies tug at my heart so I wanted to make a tatted doily too. But I need to make a big doily and so i decided to add crochet to it. If I had to tat the whole thing I'd take ages and this project would be hibernating in my WIP bundle.
The centre is all shuttle tatted and the rest is done in crochet. The table topper measures almost 40 inches in diameter.

2010-06-10T20:18:00.002+04:00

Tissue covers
On another new craze, tissue covers! This is ofcourse, own design and once again worked on a whim. It was fun to work this as a crochet along with my friend S. It's aways such fun to crochet along. Designing along is great fun too.These are a couple of such projects.

2010-06-10T19:40:00.002+04:00

Better late than never

This lovely pattern was a giveaway by the very talented Nima at her post here. Her blog is very enjoyable and inspiring too.
There are many beautiful versions of this pincushion. Its inspiring to see how everyone works giving their own special touch. It is fast pattern and was done in a couple of hours but it took time to get the fibre fill for stuffing ( I live in the out skirts ). But here we are finally - a bit late but here anyway.
This is the very first crocheted pincushion I made. Wonder why I never got around to making pincushions even though I find them so utterly cute and I use them like crazy. I use my one and only pincushion which was crocheted by a friend and gifted to me.

2010-05-26T01:52:00.002+04:00

'Give Away' alert !
A heads up to my friends here. Pammy Sue is hosting a lovely give away at her BLOG.
It's a nice blog and I quite enjoy it. Some yummy food talk as well and recipes too.

2010-05-24T13:29:00.007+04:00

Bag it 5 ! SILVER BAG

Yet another bag ! I know , I know . it seems like I have a fixation for bags. It's true that I do. I seem to be making loads of bags big and small. More to come when blogger is friendlier. Right now the pictures are being posted like they are drunk!!! Seriously, I'm frustrated almost beyond the limit. but I will blog:).

ETA : Yay ! Finally the picture showed up okay.

2010-05-05T21:22:00.001+04:00

Tissue box covers

Now these are the kind of things that I actually use and feel the need for. Somehow a tissue box cover looks so bland, right ? Okay, maybe not those with pretty designs on them but seriously how many of those do we get to see? I like the way it gives a personal touch to anyplace.
Here are two of my latest designs. I'd love to hear your opinions on these. I'm working on more and would appreciate any input or suggestions for my future designs. Say, what do you look for in a tissue box cover?
I gotta tell you this , right now my son and dh are giving me odd looks for asking this question. Boys!!!

2010-04-25T18:57:00.003+04:00

Appliques Frenzy !
It was a craze.....making appliques, most of it was flowers. And now it's time for flowers so here are mine:

Appliques are my favourites because they can be as versatile as you like. You can use them to pretty up almost anything! I used so many to make these little girl clips.

It was fun working with these little flowers and having instant gratification projects.

2010-04-13T19:08:00.001+04:00

My bad!

I can remember starting my posts with apologies more often than I'd like to keep count of. Looks like it's become a very common feature here - probably more common than the posts themselves.
So this time I just want to say that even though I'd love to keep this blog going and be regular here too, life more than often gets in the way. Not that I'm complaining , I've been having some really wonderful times and things happening around me. It's just that these things leave very little time for blogging. I really do respect and appreciate those of you bloggers who manage to handle it all so well. As for me , I'm still juggling various roles and duties and fun times. And a special thank you for those of you who still have the patience with me check out here from time to time.

2009-11-29T10:15:00.003+04:00

Waves candle holder
A votive candle holder with a ruffled doily base. Yes,this is my own pattern too. But then again I cannot take much credit for it as it is not really all that original an idea. I used a ruffled edging to a simple doily and and made a cover for the votive candle holder addind beads to the edging. All in all, I'm happy with the result but I don't think I'll make many of these. The ruffled edging was just a bit tedious. Maybe next time I'll make it a little simpler .....well, it's always a learning experience !
So here it is :

I'd love to hear your views on it. Please do comment and suggest improvements too. I'm looking forward to improve on this project.

2009-11-01T18:45:00.002+04:00

Sunshine Baby Halter
There is always an attraction towards the baby clothes! And halter tops for the little ones are probably the cutest things ever besides the baby sandals. This little set is another such inspiration.

Another Baby Halter

It's my own design and was very easy to make. I have few more ideas floating around but haven't found their way to the hooks yet. Hopefully, someday, I'll turn up a whole new baby collection!

2009-10-26T09:02:00.004+04:00

Beach Babe

A wee halter top and matching head scarf for a little beach babe. Out here it's still quite nice to spend a day at the beach- yes still warm enough outside!!!

And then there is more - flip flops for the pretty little feet as well.

2009-10-22T15:33:00.006+04:00

Bag it - 3

Another bag to show off. This time of course it's based on the ever popular "Fat Bottom Bag". Ofcourse since the required yarn is not available out here I had to make some modifications to the pattern in order to get the size and depth that I wanted. I used some purse yarn from India and I'm very happy with this yarn. The picture does no justice to bag at all. In person it is very delightful and eye catching.

The toughest part about this bag is perhaps the lining. I had heard almost everyone complain about the difficulty of lining this bag. But the magic solution was provided by a very talented online friend KEL in her post here.
Thank you, Kel, for your very ,very helpful tutorial. It made the job extremely easy.

2009-10-18T00:30:00.005+04:00

Bag it! - 2
Is it just me are all women bag crazy? It's been a bag crazy time for me....either buying one or making one! My son call it 'the bag fever'. Seriously, I wonder if there is such a thing.
Sometime back , in one of the crochet groups we had a little 'fun' contest. We were given a free online square pattern and asked to design something, anything but we had to use this square pattern in our design. This is what I came up with. I call it the Inspiration bag.

This is one my own designs and this bag has given me a lot of inspiration to design various bags - hence the name. I'm still working on most of them. More big and small bags in the works:)

2009-10-03T13:35:00.004+04:00

Crochet Cradle Bag

Sometimes you just have to make something just because it so cute, you can't resist.Well, that was the case when I saw all the cute little cradle bags all over the cyberspace. I was inspired by the bags here and here.I had to make one ....so I made three ! Just that each one was claimed almost off the hook. This is the only one that spent a short time with me before it was too claimed by a friends little girl.
I'll make a few more of these , I just know it. I love how the little girls get all excited to get them- they make great gifts!

2009-09-07T14:57:00.000+04:00

BAG IT !

Haekelbeutel Bag
Not a recent FO but long overdue pictures of the famous Haekelbeutel pattern. So here it is all done and lined - ready to go !

2009-09-03T16:25:00.003+04:00

That's my Little Beach Babe !

ETA: Wondering why there are more than one post in a day ? Yup, gotta make up for lots of lost time. I've been a bad blogger :(. But for those of you who have not given on me and still been visiting me here I have a lot to make up for! Thank you for being so supportive.

I had made a scarf for a friend a while back and had fallen in love with the yarn. This halter was made with the leftover yarn. When I saw it I knew I had to make a little something with it for my niece and what better than a halter for the summers out here? the best part was there was still some more left over which was just right for the head scarf and ties for her little flip flops. This was one of those quick projects which I had managed to finish during a 2 hours drive from Abu Dhabi to Dubai.

2009-09-03T16:05:00.003+04:00

Broomstick Lace
Learning new techniques or old ones actually , but which are new to me. Some of my dear crochet friends are afraid of losing me to knitting , so this post is specially for them. (This and the next few posts too.)I have been crocheting away non- stop. Especially more since I"ve started knitting. Whenever I have problems in my knitting and get a low morale crochet comes to my rescue. I find peace and solace in old familiar territory. Like coming home.

I enjoyed this technique and I am looking forward to doing a few more projects in this method. Maybe a baby afghan.....lets see. As usual I did not have the tools required and improvising has become a necessity. This time I used my sons Jumbo pencil. I made a smilar scarf earlier too when I was learning the stitch but that was way too uneven and amateur. I'm happy with this one.

2009-08-26T14:36:00.006+04:00

Is this lace I'm knitting ????

Yay ! Finally managed to knit lace. My very first lace knitting .....I'm so thrilled. This was a project which was a through and through learning experience for me. Now ofcourse for those of you who are accomplished and pro at knitting his would seem like a joke. But this one had me frogging constantly at the lace part. No matter how hard I tried I messed it up. Something, somewhere always went wrong and mostly it was the counting. I've never had such a complex before.
Anyways, persistence pays and I kept trying, hoping , frogging on and on. Finally , I think even God felt bad for me ..lol! I was at this Book shop and I came across a little packet with a row counter. I had never seen one but I thought maybe it would help. And believe me it did. Once I slid it on my knitting needle and started working on my lace it was a breeze! Not once did I have to frog it out and I didn't even use a lifeline.
Most important of all , I lost the fear of knitting lace- I'm on my next lace knit project.
I learnt how to use circular needles- even though the pattern calls for straight needles , I had to use circs because thats the one that worked best for the yarn.
I learned to seam the knitted sleeves- which I was not very good at .
I learn't that persistence pays off.

So here it is my first lace knit project : Elizabeth Zimmerman's February baby sweater.

2009-04-05T17:58:00.002+04:00

My first ever knit baby sweater ( part 2)
Remember a while back I was talking about my first knit baby sweater in this post? Well and then in this other post I showed pictures from the book ? Well, for those who have not yet lost their patience with me , I finally have the picture of the sweater I knit.

The rolling edges was a problem with the stockinette stitch and yes the crocheted edge solved the problem. So the finshed version is here.

This sweater was esy and fast enough to make but the part that got me stumped was seaming the different pieces together and the rolling did not help! But well, I'm glad I have my knit sweater done and out of the way. Now to tackle other projets on my list. Did I mention that I'm leaning toward lace knitting? I know it's crazy but I love the look of it and who knows how long a knit lace projects will take. I'll take me forever to get it done .....But I'll brave it anyways.

2009-03-22T20:20:00.002+04:00

Winds of change
There has been a significant change in the temps around here and it feels like Summer is Officially begun. It's getting hotter by the day. Ofcourse it also means a shift in the crafting medium. It's more of threads and cottons rather than other yarns.
The evenings are a bit cooler and it's nice for walks in the park and kids have a great time playing outdoors. Sadly this might last only for a couple of weeks and then it gets too hot to even step outside.
On the knitting front , things have been sort of adventurous. I had started out the February lady sweater as a KAL along with my online UAE knitting group and made a huge mess of it. The lace part was totally ruined in my hands and had to put it away. But then I decided to do the baby version of it - hoping it will help. So I'm already working at it. It's an Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern called 'Baby sweater on two needles' from Knitters
Almanac. I'm still at the yolk part and scared of the sleeve separation row. But I've had some really good advice and support from my online friends and hopefully I can tackle this one.
No pictures yet......just busy knitting and frogging !

2009-02-15T21:42:00.004+04:00

For my little boy
who loves Spiderman. This was his request and granted! Jibbs loves it and loves to lay on top of it picturing himself as the Superhero!

I used up every bit of Red Heart yarn that I had- we do not get it out here. And now I'm really sad ! Yarn is not available out here- I've said this like a million times and everytime anyone mentions yarn -it's the same thing that comes to mind.
I've been hearing about a yarn store opening out here. I hope it's true , truly hope so.

2009-02-15T18:56:00.007+04:00

The promised pictures

They are late in coming and this time round I'll totally blame the virus that is so loyal and kind of sticking with us indefinately. Its like a crazy circle .... Anyways, luckily all of us finally over the fever, cold , cough round ! I've been waiting for days to post these pictures.
The sweater I'm making :

My pieces all done and being blocked- note to self: Acrylic yarn does not block : confirmed and praying that the crochet edging will change the look!

See the rolling - proof that blocking does not work for acrylic yarn. I have been reading about this but this is my personal experience.

This book has been one of mentors and I've been working my beginners projects from here

It's a great book , a very nice size to carry along and has projects which ate simple with good and clear instructions and illustration.
These are my projects done from this book . I'm sorry that I cannot show the pictures of the ones I knit as they were grabbed almost as soon I finished them. A baby overload presently in our family and freinds circle.

This has been my knitting venture so far...okay I know I'm not showing some of other stuff but thats just because I'm trying to protect my friends so that they are not put off with knitting for life!
I'll put up the pictures of my finished baby sweater real soon and also show you my latest knittting project - This time I'm being very brave! You'll see ...what I mean , soon enough! But I really appreciate all the encouragement and cheers from my frinds in blogland. It's what makes me keep trying.

2009-01-25T17:24:00.002+04:00

My first ever 'KNIT' baby sweater- An advenure !
I've been dreaming about this for long enough and so finally decided to take the plunge. Since natural fibres are not available out here I went ahead with the acrylic yarn that I had in my stash.
Did I tell you that I'm fairly new to knitting? I picked up a simple beginner pattern from my current 'mentor' book. It's called vogue knitting beginner basic. Great book and this is my fourth project from this book.I've tackled two hats and a pair of booties so far from this book.
Okay, so I'm in the learner stage and learning a lot. Some of it I love and some I totally hate. I loved the new techniques, the different textures in knitting and that so far I've noted that knitting takes up lesser yarn than crochet- ( is this true???) What I hate is my lastest lesson: when you work stockinette stitch in acrylic you are stuck big time with a rolling mess!!!
I have knitted the back , the left frpont, right front and the sleeves and I have ended up with five peices that are all rolling in!!! I'm trying to figure out how to block it. I pinned it and sprayed it liberally with water until it is almost drenched. Lets hope it is blocked when it dries up ...or else ....I'm thinking I'm going to kill it!! I'm lost .
I was reading up on blocking and everywhere it says acrylic doesn't block. If it doesn't block how will I stitch the peices together? Any suggestions??Please? I try and post pictures of my effort :( .

2009-01-18T11:44:00.005+04:00

Remember me?
Won't be surprised if you don't! I've been missing in action a long enough time now and I've had my wonderful and caring blog friends being so understanding, loving and supportive. Thank you so much for your caring messages and support. It's why I want to keep blogging.
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year !
Lets hope this year is better and prosperous for each one of us.

Looking back ......
The year that was 2008. A lot happened. Some wonderful and some truly sad. The greatest moment being the birth of my niece at the start of the year and the most painful being the losing my father in law at the end of the year. good and bad go hand in hand , I guess and accept it too. Then I guess the next step is to move on forward. Which I hope to do and I'm trying to!
So maybe I should say looking forwrd ..... to the days ahead. As usaul I first think of repairing the messes I make. I've been a bad blogger all year and that's the first thing I want to change!! Lol..I hope this year will be more bloggered (? ) Are we allowed to make up new words? I really don't know whether I have any readers anymore! And I cannot blame them ....who likes to read a blog where no one writes? If I do have any readers left (I'll be very grateful for their patience with me !)I promise to show my latest projects.
First of all I want to catch up with reading. Lately I've been trying to get back to it and it's just not happening.I miss reading.There are talks of a book club out here and I'm hoping so much that it materializes. Books here are expensive and I cannot afford to keep buying each one .
But seriously,on the crafts front, I do intend to make more progress and learn a some more on knitting. I've been knitting and have actually braved it out to knit a baby sweater on my own.Wish me luck friends ...I'm so excited and scared too. And I'm so proud to have learn't a few knit techniques like picking up stitches, and a little bit of shaping etc.
I've been toying around with the sewing machine and though I don't seem to be too neat , I'm starting to like it. No my attempts tell a totally different story , I know. But I think this is another craft I'd like to persue.
There are so many things and I really don't want to make this too long. So I'll keep updating you with my many interests and hobbies and hopefully some projects too.

2008-11-10T15:45:00.002+04:00

Life Will Find A Way
It's strange how things turn out totally different from what we expect, what we plan and what really follows. Life teaches you so many lessons by just pushing circumstances on you and catching you so unaware that it takes a while to simply recover from the shock and actually feel the impact of our experiences. Anyways, its a good thing that God has given us a nature to bounce back and catch up with our lives and our usual activities. I do not want to be too specific ..... ( I still am not upto talking about it ) but there has been a turn of events .I'm in Bangalore right now on an emergency leave until probably the end of the month.
All I can say is that I'm doing a lot of growing up and learning ...and I think 'growing up' was sure over rated when we were kids lol !!! All the gramour of the freedom of adults was what made sense ...the responsibilty factor was hiding far behind in the shadows. Ok...I know I'm going on and on ...sorry about that ..just letting off some steam, venting ..etc.

2008-10-20T07:51:00.003+04:00

Many many doilies
This was the special projects I was talking about - these are doilies and coasters and of various sizes and shapes with fabric and fine hand embroidery. It had crocheted edging.
This was a gift for a very good friend who really appreciates and values handmade things.I'm not going to make this a huge picture heavy post so I've just put up a few pictures only and a picture with all 12 pieces.

These were fun to make. And my friend loved them.
As of now, I'm working on various small projects and working towards making stuff for the craft fair. It'll be my first one and I'm all excited. Hardly any time left to go and so many ideas and so many things to make. I'm making stuff with all of my original designs and so enjoying it. I hope I end up selling at least a bit:).Wish me luck !

2008-10-09T18:26:00.004+04:00

An interesting Contest
check it out here . The blog is very enjoyable and the projects inspiring too. There is some great sock yarn and all you have to do is comment . Does it get any easier ? And don't forget to mention that I sent you over:).
Gotta run ...busy days again. Lots of new stuff to show...I promise to try and make it soon.

2008-10-07T22:57:00.004+04:00

Instant gratification

Thats the charm of these little projects.I just love them because they are so fast, help use up the scraps and usually very useful in destashing. Not that I have a great yarn stash! But still it's nice to use up leftover yarn. My next few projects are all based on the same motto. I'm going to make a number of little projects and reduce my leftover yarn / thread.
This a flower and hand tawashi pattern by Mimi.As usual a very nice and easy to follow pattern. I love Mimi's patterns - they are very creative and well written too. I made these tawashis with brush yarn as I did not have the required rug yarn. And I am happy to find out that they work good with brush yarn as well. I'm using these to clean the glass ware. They clean well and no scrathes either !

And then on the knitting front too, there has been progress. This is a dishcloth from a free pattern called Circle Cloth by Hakucho that I came across at Ravelry. I fell in love with the lovely cloth and the beautiful yarn used in the pattern . Ofcourse, I just used my scrap yarn left over from previuos projects as I was afraid to use my good stuff- I'm not at all confident about my knitting abilities.

2008-09-13T21:19:00.006+04:00

Showing off !

The last few crocheted items. I'm happy to see that I managed to finish off all the items from the list I had posted in this post last month.
1. A lacy scarf- (done)
2. beaded coasters- (done)
3. pillow cover- (done)
4. Oval Pineapple doily CAL ( done)
5. My monthly WIP doily (done)
6. Special project (can't disclose yet)- but this is a long one!- done
7. Baby sandals for my little niece-( done)
8. Sleeves edging for SIL - (done)
9. Baby afghan for gift (done)
I've shown the pictures of most of the projects . So here the remaining projects.

Baby sandals for my neice:

Once the sandals were done I couldn't resist making a little scarf - a head kerchief actually.

and of course wouldn't the little one need a cute halter to go with it???

.......and so a halter top - and before I knew it there was the whole set done!

And yes...I'm so mad at myself for not having my camera around with me when she wore it and looked like such a doll.Anyhoo, I'll get her picture in it and show it here.

Another FO is this Baby afghan for my Cousin's little boy.It's based on the spider web pattern and inspired by a pattern from the Leisure Arts booklet on baby afghan.I saw someone at Crochetville had done this afghan and decided to use the same stitch pattern.

And this one finally , is the a lacy scarf for my friend's teenaged daugther. She picked up the colours by herself and the pattern is based on sooo many fan- type bookmarks and scarves I've seen online. I hope she likes it.

Although I'm posting this now,I'm so happy that my whole list is done and I managed to finish it off before September except for the special project- which went alom=ng until half of September. I'll post those pictures at a later post. This post wouldn't get published for the last two weeks....:( ! I have more FOs to show by now. I guess soon enough I'll do that .It's been a busy month of Ramadan and now there will be some free time only after Eid.
I hope to pop in before that but until then take care and have a great day all my friends.

2008-09-13T21:05:00.001+04:00

International Crochet Day

Wishing all crocheters on INTERNATIONAL CROCHET DAY. It was yesterday on 12th September and I'm sorry about being a day late in my wishes.Since yesterday was friday and it being the holy month of ramadan -it was impossible to find time to blog.
In honour of this day I contributed atiny share to spreading the love and art of Crochet.
1. My first batch of crocheted charity items for the homeless in India was delivered and from what I hear was well appreciated too.
2. I did a little crocheting in the local mall and got a couple of ladies interested enough to want to learn crochet from me. Hoping to get to start classes with them soon.
3. Taught a couple of my neighborhood kids and my own kid finger crochet- they loved it and I enjoyed it so much!
I know it's hardly a drop in the ocean ( but I'd like to think it's at least a drop after all !)but then since crochet is hardly known out here let alone crocheters ...it's nice to know that there are people who are interested . And I'm happy that I can spread the art of crochet a little.

2008-08-27T17:11:00.005+04:00

It feels so good to appreciated. A nice warm and fuzzy feeling. I have very special blog friends and I'd love to be able to honour each one of them. Hence I put off posting about the blog awards for so long.

This first blog award was given by Vik . Thank you, I'm so touched. I known you to be one of the sweetest gals with a really generous and warm nature. You inspire me to keep trying my hand at knitting without giving up. You rock , girl!

Thank you so much

Since I have forward this award to my choice of deserving bloggers, I would like to present these to Mimi, VJR , Kimberly, Nima and Cindy.

This next award is from Mimi. One of the very talented and really sweet person. Thank you , Mimi,I've known you as one of the most helpful and kind online friend. Don't even get me started on you immense talent in crochet and your beautiful designs. I hope and pray that you always keep up the good work.

And I'd like to pass this award to Pearlin, Vik, Preeti, Shweta and Ulla

And finally,this award from my very new friend VJR. Thank you so much , I really appreciate it. VJr is so talented , her doilies are so intricate and beautiful that it is amazing that she only began crocheting recently. Truly talented and has a keen eye for beauty. I love your work and you make me want to go back to doing more doilies.

And I'd like to pass this award to Charmaine, Ummeyusuf, Lulu , Swapnae,Stacey ,
and Deneen

ETA : Sorry about the wrong picture earlier. I'm having internet problems and couldn't correct it earlier.

2008-08-26T09:48:00.002+04:00

Small projects
Lately I'm crocheting more and more stuff to gift to friends. And funny part is they ask for it. Makes me wonder whether people out here have finally begun to appreciate crochet. I only hope this little interest to own crocheted stuff results in the interest to actually learn to crochet. It's a rare treat to find any crocheters or knitters out here.
My next finished project is a set of beaded coasters for a friend. I call these bead edged blush coasters. It's a simple design with a flower centre. It just a pattern I made up - I used Omega crochet thread in size 10. Easy and quick to make. I enjoyed it. Hope my friend likes it too.

This is a little dress corner bookmark. I fell in love with it when I saw it on one of the blogs- for the life of me I cannot remember which on. If any of you know please feel free to let me know. I saw it and just had to make one for myself. There was no pattern given but none was needed. The idea in itself is so cute. I can just imagine making many more of these- especially as fridgies.

The same story goes for this coin purse/ pouch. I'm using it carry my jewelery when I travel. I've a nylon yarn I got from Bangalore during my last trip to India. I was told this yarn is used for making bags. I think it would make very pretty and sturdy bags. I have remember to bring more of this in my next trip. But the yarn is a bit heavy- so maybe it's best to make a clutch or a small bag out of it.

2008-08-25T15:18:00.005+04:00

Oval Pineapple garden doily

Another FO and a project off my list. This doily was done as a CAL at one of my crochet groups. It was nice to work it with so many other friends. This pattern is from decorative crochet magazine. So here it is in stages. I wanted to blog about it as I was working on it but uploading the pictures was difficult for a few days in between. So here are some of the pictures now.
This is the first few rounds:

After many more rounds....

And finally ....

It's done in Aunt Lydia's crochet cotton thread , size 10 in ecru. It measures 30"x18" and now I realize that I do not have a single table at home to display this beauty. the tables are either too big or small and square. I was hoping to use it for my dresser but the cannot due to the size. I guess, this doily , like many others will end up being a gift to my friends or family.
This pattern was simple enough to work but I kept getting it wrong in certain rows ( actually , in two specific rows) - not because there was any error in the pattern but only because I wasn't paying enough attention.Maybe because I have too many projects on the go at time. So I learnt my lesson ? Well, I hope so!
Many more FOs almost done . Will post them asap since photo bucket is being friendly today.

2008-08-20T19:50:00.005+04:00

So many things
have been happening around me ..with me ...but all good so I'm a happy camper! Had a little break and a mini vacation. Well, it was not much of a break as I spent most of the 3 days shopping around , trips to the tailor etc. But it fun .And I got to spend sometime with my little niece. Already 5 months old! Time sure flies.....and babies grow so fast. My little fella is already 6 years old and I haven't even gotten over the labour trauma yet!!!
They are so right about Dubai being a shopper's paradise. It's like you can find stuff to cater to all kinds of tastes, be it clothes, jewelery or food. It's so exciting to see the variety! It makes me wonder why this doesn't apply to craft shops and yarn stores. There is not a single yarn store out here- merely a measly small corner of yarn with a pitiful variety. Anyways, that is something I never tire of complaining about.
So for the crocheting news, I have been at it as usual. Most of them are small projects. I love making these and are really quite easy to carry around during all the long drives to and from Dubai. Knitting ,is on a break right now. Let's say at resting stage.Here the list of things I'm working on:

1. A lacy scarf
2. beaded coasters ( done)
3. pillow cover
4. Oval Pineapple doily CAL ( done and being blocked)
5. My monthly WIP doily
6. Special project ( can't disclose yet)- but this is along one!
7. Baby sandals for my little niece.
8. Sleeves edging for SIL
9. Baby afghan for gift ( just started this evening)
OMG ! This list looks scary to me and intend to finish off these by the end of the month. Okay, it's more like I 'hope' to. I still can't make myself to stick project at a time. I truly admire people who can.

2008-08-06T18:00:00.005+04:00

Winter blooms Pillow

My latest design and project. I have to cross this one out from the list. YAY !!! Nice to do that.
Anyways, I loved working this pillow cover and not just because the design is pretty but because the yarn is so gorgeous! Amazingly pretty and soft yarn.It is Schachenmayr nomotta Micro big shine. Wow! love this yarn! The pity is that there was so little of it that I had to make loads of changes to my pattern so that I did not run out of yarn as I know that there is no way possible to get my hands on this yarn anywhere out here.
I made this for a friend who had got the yarn from her trip to Australia. She requested me to make a cushion cover for her. Lets hope she likes it.

2008-08-06T12:42:00.005+04:00

It's not about food!
We had a dinner party at my place last thursday. It was a one day notice and I went almost crazy getting stuff done. We had Beetroot Raita, Russian salad, Ceasers chicken salad, Sewian (vermacelli ) biryani, fried Quail, Bhagare baigan ( egg plant ) , Khumb Akbari ( Mushrooms) and masala papads. And for desert - Ras malai and Trifle. Needless to say It was a long weekend!
This is the Beetroot raita. I just loved the colour! And this makes a good dip too. The kid had it just for the colour.

I loved the way this looked. You know - the colour looked just too good to eat and it tasted nice too. Now photographing food is a complicated business. Safe to say that everything looked just delicious but the pictures tell it differently so those other pictures are canned.
Anyhoo, we also had a last minute cancellation and three people couldn't make it. I was not too upset - lazy 'ol me was happy to have enough leftover for the next day which meant that I could get some much needed rest and peace! Hey, I was being positive, not lazy !!
This weekend I went to the Magrudy's Book shop in Dubai Festival City. Nice place and a good collection of books. Even the reading area was very cozy. I was pleasantly surprised to see a craft section there. They had quite a nice collection of crafts books too - although a very few crochet books. There was some nice yarn and thread too different types ( mostly sirdar and UK yarns), really pretty but not much of a colour range - even finding such types of yarn available out here is such a treat. Even if it is just eye candy! I found the prices way too high- all the yarn and the books too. But it is worth visiting.

2008-07-21T12:16:00.003+04:00

Knitting ! I'm working on it
It sounds unbelievable but yes, I have been knitting. Actually trying out various stitches and making swatches. I've done cables and even a bit of lace knitting. It all seems pretty easy when I'm doing it in the swatch sizes. I wonder if I'll be able to follow through it on a bigger piece. I sometimes just mess up the stitches when I'm working on it long enough- funny though , I thought when you work at something longer it is supposed to get better not messed up. Hmmm......I have to figure this one out!
My latest projects is a baby hat called Tiny Topper From the Vogue Beginners knitting book.

It's my first ever knitted piece measuring exactly as the pattern says. I even worked a little swatch to check the gauge. I also learned to measure the stitches.

Now to pick up something a little more challenging. Maybe a simple baby sweater next - until I get the courage to do it! Knitting scares me a little : there I said it! Now that it is out in the open ,I have to get over my fears and move on with until it scares me no more.

2008-07-21T11:57:00.003+04:00

Catch-up time!
So happy to finally have this UFO moved out of the list . It id now officially a new Finished Project. It's such a wonderful feeling to have it done after putting it off for a year or so. This is a dupatta edging for my aunt. For those of you wondering what a 'dupatta' is - let me explain- It's like a stole ( a little bigger and wider )worn over the traditional Indian / Pakistani outfit called Shalwar Kameez. It's a very classy, modest and preety outfit. The Dupatta is the essence of the outfit. Lets say, like the topping on a chocolate sundae. So usually this particular part of the outfit is accesorised with lace, motifs, beads etc.
This dupatta is done for one of my favourite aunts - more a friend to me . I could not find threads to match the embroidery work done on the dupatta so I decided to use the black thread and multicoloured beads to match the work.

I like this folded version better ...all the beads together look good , don't you think?

And here is the close up of the stitches. It's more like a fan style stitch with beads included . Really simple and easy.

Now after looking at this you might wonder why it would take me more than a year to finish a simple thing like this. Well , all I can say is that I'm not sure either . It may have been the 1200 plus beads to string in , crocheting with size 20 black thread on black fabric, a monotonous design ( can't blame anyone for that , it's my own design!! ) or making 12 yards of lace edging!!! Anyways, I'm glad it's done and over with. But seriosly , I liked the end result. So I guess it was worth the pain.

2008-07-07T22:10:00.004+04:00

And...........More Doilies!

This is a doily that I first saw at Swapnae's blog and quite liked the shape of it. It's a charted pattern and quite easy too unless like me you lose track while listening to music and talking/ playing with the kiddo during a long drive and skip a couple of rows and then realise the mistake at the second last round! Yes I had to frog out 8 rounds !!! And anyone who knows me knows that I hate to frog out my work. I try in any way to work around my errors...laziness? , I suppose! This doily is done in a nameless silk/ rayon blend thread that I got from Bangalore last year. The thread is very slippery to work with but the end result is so worth all the struggle with thread. The finished peice has a very polished and classy look to it. The pictures don't show but it looks very classy in person.

This is also a charted doily I saw in a Chinese pattern book. There is no name for it , just a chart given with the doily number.So I decided to call it Peach star Chinese Doily.This was a surprisingly fast to make doily. It took about a day of working on and off. It's done in size 10 omega crochet cotton thread. My favorite part of the doily is the outer portion which forms the peaks. I like that mesh like look of it.I had toyed with the idea of adding beads to get away with the picots business but decided against it as I felt it would draw attention from the pattern stitches as beads invariably do.Don't you think?

2008-07-06T18:28:00.003+04:00

5-Hours doily
So I had promised last time about my next project that it wouldn't be a tissue box cover again.It's my ever favourite doilies. Yes, I'm on to making doilies once again. But don't you worry , I have many other projects on the go. This one is called the 5-hour doily. Seriously, it takes lesser than that much time and is a simple and quick to make project. I was watching a Hindi movie and I had this one ready by the end of it. It's not one bit surprising if you are familiar with Hindi movies- they are very long , like 3+ hours. And it looks like lately the movies are getting longer and longer !

I've seen this doily done by my other friends ( a group project ) in a combination of colours and it looked very pretty too. But I could not resist white -there is something about white doilies ...the simplicity and the elegance , maybe.
The other day I saw this lovely recipe at Pearlin's blog.It's nice and quick recipe and makes lovely side dish. Thanks for the recipe pearlin- you were right it made a great sandwich filler.
This was supposed to be along catch up post with al ot of show and tell but Blogger is really slow today ...hey the internet is slow too since yesterday! So watch out for more pictures, maybe tomorrow. You all have a great day !

2008-07-01T12:26:00.003+04:00

A Blog Contest

Give you a heads up - Check it out! I came across this contest today and it seems very interesting. All you have to do is comment on the post and mention that I led you to the contest.
But besides the contest , I quite enjoyed the blog. She does great work and has some lovely projects done.

2008-06-24T18:51:00.011+04:00

Another tissue box cover

Okay , I know I tend to get obsessed with making stuff of the same kind sometimes. First it was doilies, baby stuff , bags , coasters and now it is tissue box covers! I hope this is the last one for now. This is also my own design based on a stitch pattern that looks like a mesh. I loved the stitch pattern and the look of it and had to apply it in something! So there you go - the cover had a solid dc base cover and this is just decorative over cover. I liked making this and have to hold myself back from making more. I'm also planning on using the spider web design on something ...can't decide yet !
It's been long since I have made doilies. I got one done yesterday. And now planning to start another one this evening. Hopefully, I'll post the pictures on Saturday.
I've been trying different knitting techniques too. Last night I learn't to make the i-cord on circular needles. It was easy and I loved making it.Then I tried working further on circular needles to make a basic cap and messed it up totally! I guess I need to check out more sources and get some help for this.