Pinkilicious Princess Dress

This is my latest baby dress designed for little princess to wear. I fell in love with all the girly pink of it. It is done in soft baby cotton yarn and the flowers are all handmade. Even the little hairband ! Working on thes eon more colours. Do let me know what you think. I displayed this one at the Craft fair in Al Ain Mall and was so happy to see that it was well liked and almost instantly whisked away soon after display.

Crocheted caps and little Ballerina booties

This seems to be a season for babies. We have many little ones joining our families lately and it's been a real joy to welcome these little angels.As those of you who have been reading my blog would know , I love making baby stuff. There is always some or the other baby project on my hooks at all time.so I do not really need a reason...I just cannot resist making them. These are a pair of booties made for a precious little baby doll.

A little baby bonnet for the wee little baby.

And a little baby beanie style cap with a silk crochet flower.

There is a whole bunch of more baby stuff I will be posting soon.

Quilled Maple leaf

I have always loved nature. Beautiful landscapes, plants, trees, leaves, flowers, waterfalls .....etc all mesmerize me. I wish I could paint! Maybe I should give it a shot. Anyways, that is a different train of thought all together :)Right now I want to show my latest ( weel not exactly latest but fairly recent ) work. A quilled maple leaf. Maple leaf is probably one the prettiest of leaves....the colours, the shape, it's somehow magical. Here is my take on it. I've used beehive to play with colors and loved it. I don't know whether you can make it out but the beehiving is really teeny weeny and took forever to complete. The outlining was fast enough. But the filling up with tight beehive was really tough on the hands .I actually ended up spraining my wrist! Until then I didn't even know that it is possible to get such injuries while quilling. Oh well, the things you get to learn!! For some of you who like to know how it is done ...here are a few pictures of the project as it progressed. At first the outline of the leaf: And then when that is done you can see how it looks ..... After that is done, I did the veins of the leaf ..I forget to take the pictures at that point :( , sorry ! So we are at the next step that is the filling in with the beehive in different colors. This is the most time consuming and tiring step. Don't be over zealous and try to rush this ....believe me , sprained wrist hurts like hell ( even brushing your teeth or picking up a spoon gets difficult), so be careful ! Luckily I can manage a lot of work with my left hand as well. So the family did not get left hungry. And finally when all is done take pictures like crazy ....before you get it framed . After framing the pictures don't look all that great and the work is hardly seen in the pictures. And finally after framing .....all set to display.

Little Princess Dress

Little Princess Dress I've been working on this little project for the last few days. I fell in love with it as soon as it was done.So glad it turned out exactly as I had pictured in my head. The bodice is done in soft cotton yarn and the skirt part is sheer soft tulle. As usual the photograph does no justice . I cannot explain it but nothing beats the cuteness of little hand made baby clothes. Or I just LOVE babies and all their cute stuff. I've just put it up on my facebook page too. If you are on FB ,you can check out the page ' Gift A Craft'. All my latest projects are there too.

Giveaway

Giveaway Alert : I've always loved Lin's beautiful work. And now she has a giveaway. It's a tad late for the giveaway but her blog is just amazing and the work is so pretty, I just had to share it.

Rectangular crochet doily

I am in the doily mode right now so here is another doily.This time a rectangle one. Worked by joining squares and a rounded off with a lacy border. There is no pattern just something whipped up. If only I had the patience of writing patterns!! The gold trim gives it a festive look. This is also a tray doily. With Eid approaching Table settings and servings are on my mind :) And hence such projects. Here both the tray doilies together:

Oval Crochet Doily

It has been quite a while since I made doilies.And this one was such fun to make. Its a vintage pattern from the celt's site and was breeze to work through. This is worked in Aunt Lydia's crochet cotton thread. A simple pineapple pattern is always a joy to work. This is going to be a tray doily. Something to pretty up the serving trays.

Crocheted Pouch

A crocheted pouch in cluster stitch made for order. It is worked with Aunt Lydia's crochet cotton thread. Love the strong and sturdy feel of it. And the best part is that it is so light.

Framed Camel

And finally here it is ...all framed and on display at the Rotana Hotel , Al Ain.

Quilled Camel

Live in a desert and you cannot stop thinking about the life in the sands. There are so many beautiful things about a desert Funny , though , when people speak about a desert it is usually in terms of heat, sand, dryness, lack of greenery etc... generally with a very dry and morbid kind of feel. Yes, I agree that deserts are not really easy . But I have seen the serene beauty of the landscape, the absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful sand dunes and spurts of tiny little desert plants here and there.It is so magical at sunset that you cannot look away. Anyways, this particular work is a tribute to the beautiful deserts of UAE - my quilled camel. I have grown up in UAE , been here most of my life and can relate to the traditions here and unique beauty of this country. It's my home away from home. P.S : Yes, this is the project that gave me all those horrible paper cuts. This paper has a very sharp edge but is beautiful to work with.

Another little baby dress in Pink

Another little cute baby dress. This one is for a sweet little 5 months old princess. I'm sure it will look lovely on her. There is also a matching hairband to go with it.This dress is based on the pattern of the lavender dress that I posted last week. The client wanted it made in pink and in specified size. I hope she likes it.

Crocheted Slouchy hats

I like wearing slouchy hats and beanies but unfortunately the weather here just does not allow it. It never gets cold enough !!! But then why wouldn't I make them? So there... I made a few. This one is in beautiful grey yarn with specks of orange and blue pink and yellow. I just love the look and feel of this yarn. It is lovely black soft and smooth with a bit of sheen to it. The picture just doesn't show it. I tried to take good picture but this is all I could do :( And finally a cream coloured slouchy with a brim. This one has faux cables. This is done in soft mohair yarn and it so warm and cozy. Maybe the next time I will make actual cables.

You need to click on the pictures to see them full . I wonder why the whole picture is not showing !!!

Lavender cuteness

In the all the rush and flurry of the last few days, I did manage to squeeze in a little bit of sane time - the me time to crochet. It is funny how just holding that little hook and crocheting away can make me feel so calm and rested. This little dress and hat are the latest off my hook.

Quilled Frames

I am in love with my Martha Stewart scoring board. I just finished making 8 boxes and it was a breeze. They turned out perfect ans it felt like such a treat.A life saver really. I made these frames for an order as gifts for teachers. It was a mad rush order as I was busy with so much happening and visitors , guests etc.I has only 3 days to do it all. I was hoping that it would be liked .I was very happy when my client was thrilled to bits to see them. Makes all the efforts worth it.

Black Belt !!

It's been a little over 5 years....I remember the when day we sent Jibbs for his first Karate class. He was just so little , not even 5 years old. It felt strange and scary. What if he was hurt? what if he hated it ? what if there were fractures etc? But then seeing him enjoy his classes and his very dedicated and caring teacher put all the fears at ease. Jibran has been very lucky to have a most wonderful teacher. We are so grateful and thankful to Mr. Savad for all his hard work and patience. Here is the little champ! Surprised to see his celebration cake. He had come home from the test and told us he didn't pass. Little did he know that his teacher had already called to congratulate us. So when Jibran told us that he did not clear his test we were very encouraging and supportive, saying all the appropriate consoling stuff etc. And then at dinner he was shocked to see the cake at the table ! We are so very proud of you, Jibran. Keep up the good work , Baby! It is a huge achievement to pass the black belt test at age 10. You make so proud!

Crocheted baby flip flop sandals

It's been a while since I made any baby stuff. This morning there was a sudden and a very strong craving for it. And so I just had to stop everything I was working on and crochet these little sandals. I thought it was my grand idea ...until I stumbled upon so many similar ones online :(. Hmmm....but then how original can baby sandals get ?? But I loved making these and want to make them in many colours.Here is another picture ...just because :)

Wise little owls

I just love these little guys. My son grabbed the first one off the hooks:)There seems to be a craze of Owl-y things these days.Everywhere you look there are owl cushions, bedsheets, cards, door hangers , wall hangings etc...How can one avoid such cuties? These key-chains are not my own patterns but are inspired from so many crocheted owls online. You can see that the pattern varies slightly from one to another ...

Spring and flowers

April showers are already over and the pretty little blooms can be seen everywhere ! I love this time of the year. There is a beautiful fragrance in the air especially in the evenings and through the night. The whole of Al Ain smells like a bouquet of fresh flowers. This kind of weather inspires me to make flowers...Here are few ponytail holders and clips I have been working on. Yes, more flowers to come ...will post post pictures later. A few more pretties ...

Crochet candle holders

As usual this space has been quite for a while now. But that is because so much has been happening both in the crafting front as well as life. There is so much to tell and share ....I hardly know where to begin! So I guess I'll begin by sharing some of my projects. These are tea light holders with ruffled edges that are a bit glittery. I love the way the it sparkles when the candle light hits it. And because it looked so cute I went ahead and made another with a golden edge. This too looks very pretty when the candle is lit. Pity the pictures don't do justice. Or maybe I just need to improve my photography skills. And then finally a candle holder without the frills, with simple lines. it is white with silver specks.

Card with Quilling

This is the first time I joined a card swap....and it was such fun. The theme was fancy folds feminine card. I realised that getting those tricky folds is no kids play. The importance of right measurements and precise cutting has finally dawned on me. I tried to make a card with a some sophisticated folds and how I crashed. After ruining plenty of good cardstock ( yup, dumb of me not to try it first with some scrap papers) I finally gave in and decided on a simple one. I have to admit I was not happy about it. Waiting for my scoreboard and then I will try afresh !! This is the card I finally made. I hope my swap partner likes it.