MY FIRST BLOGIVERSARY !!
Yes , it's been a wonderful blogging year already. Can u believe that? It feels like just a couple of months to me :). Lol ! Speak about time flying! I wanted to celebrate this day but looks like I'll have to postpone it.
I'll be putting put a little contest soon...as soon as blogger is more cooperative with me ( hope fully within a couple of weeks). Besides I'm still wrestling with a horrible cold and cough to think straight at all.
And I'd like to thank all of my special blog friends who visit me here and and leave such wonderful and motivating comments. I've learn't so much from you all. Its been wonderful to find this great online family .

Within Me Meme!

I've been tagged by Kathy for this meme.

THE RULES:
Each player of this game starts with the 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly.
In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. I never measure anything while cooking , just put in the ingredients according to my guess....okay, I'm not a bad cook - it just sounds like that!

2. I always apply lipstick without the mirror and the same goes for my contact lenses too.

3.I always have 10-12 hairpins on my head at any given time except bedtime ofcourse!


4.We get the news paper home at 6:00 am but I always wait till midnight to read it. -Now this one really freaks out my friends , wonder why?

5. I dip my buttered toast in tea and eat it.- Dh is disgusted by this one.

6. I never leave a book incomplete- no matter how much I hate it !

Well, now I get to tag some of my friends. And I tag:

Pearlin

Kimberly

Vik

Ulla

Mimi

Tandi

The days go by soooo fast ....it's already been 5 days of working.Yay ! This is my first weekend. And I'm enjoying evey minute of it . I made an early start to the day , had breakfast and read the weekly magazine, crocheted for an hour and now here I am at the PC blogging. lol!
The day I returned from India I was greeted with a job offer. And in my holiday daze , quite apparently, I was not thinking straight. I had been considering going back to work sometime soon, but not immediately. I actually rushed off for the interview on the very same day. I didn't even stop to think how I'd handle home, work and my little trouble maker.Yes, I got the job and now I'm a kinder garten teacher! And to top it all , I agreed to off from the very next day.
Not surprising at all that I'm going nuts trying to juggle the home front , my kiddie & hubby ( who are both terribly used to having my full undivided attention) , unpacking, work and crochet !!!! But I must admit I'm enjoying teaching again.
Ofcourse, even though so much remains to be done , I'm back to crocheting from day one. No big project but just some simple towel edgings. I had not crocheted at all during my one monh trip except just once during a 10 hrs drive and was bored to tears. Dh couldn't take it more and needed to get some sleep ...so he actually begged me to crochet. lol!! He thinks that's it's the one thing that keeps me out of trouble ( if only he knew- how much I spent on supplies this time !!!!)
This year I decided not make any new resolutions....I'm sticking with the old ones- finishing off the remaining WIPs and Learning to Knit. Lets see how that goes.

Happy 2007 ! A good start to the year.
Wishing you all a wonderful New Year! I'm back from my vacation in India. New year brings new things and changes. I have a job now - and I'm happy that its going great. I'm teaching kindergarten and so totally loving it. I started work as soon as I got back . that's why I've not been able to be much on the pc.
We also have a newcomer in the family- a sweet sister in law - my brother got married last month. And oh we had so much fun......so many things to tell about that....I'll get back to it later. Meanwhile , I'll say that my new SIL is just so sweet and great fun . We had some good time together and yes, the best part - SHE CROCHETS TOO !!! Yay! Finally someone in the family who I can talk crochet with.
I have my bloggiversary coming up soon.It really is shocking how quickly a year can fly by. It's almost a year since I started blogging. Wow! A year of rambling on .....and so many projects . Makes me happy.
I hope all of you , my dear blog friends, have a great start to the new year. And it gets better each day.

Shower Curtain Valance
Lastly, the contest motif which has finally taken shape into the finished product.

The rest of the things

Toilet roll holder




The close up



The bathmat


Close up of the bath mat



Toilet tank Topper



Toilet lid cover



Toilet mat




And I 'd like to thank Shaheen and Sameeha ,without their support I'd not have completed this project.They actually did a crochet along with me throughout the entire project.

Arabian Bathroom Decor

This is the projects that has been keeping my hooks smoking all these days. It's a whole big set :
1. Dustbin cover
2. Soap dispenser cover
3. Trinket box cover
4. Towel Edgings
5. Bath mat
6. Toilet mat
7. Tank topper
8. Tissue box holder
9. Toilet roll holder
10. Shower curtain valance

More pictures to follow ...I warned you it would be picture heavy post :)

Tops for the Twins














As promised , here I am with the pictures of my projects. The internet server has been acting funny for the past two days so you are going to have picture heavy posts. The pink top , I call, Baby doll. It's not much of an original pattern but I made it withput following any pattern. Does that make it my own pattern, I wonder ?
Ice Ice baby is what I call the Blue top. This too is made on my own without following a pattern but inspired by so many tops I've seen online. So I can hardly call this one an original. I love the flowers on it. Now these are my original designs :).

And here is the close up of the tops so that you can see the pattern stiches and the flowers. The twins loved the top and their mom too. I used Anchor Knitting cotton thread and I must say that it's one of the best threads I've used for baby clothes . Really soft and lovely.

Update !
I don't think I have crocheted so much and so fast all my life .....but this deadline thing gets you moving ! My deadline is 11th Dec. I have to finish off the assigned projects and hand them over to the recipents and be off to my vacation! Wow! I can hardly wait ....I need a beak !
OFF MY HOOKS :
1. Little Girl dress for a friend's daughter.
2. A diaper bag
3. A tissue box cover
4. Soap dispenser cover
5. Toothbrush holder cover
6. Trinket Box cover
7. One top for twin girls
8. Mesh cap
9. Project for Christmas competition
10. A top for the other other twin girl
11. Dustbin cover
12. Bathroom mat
13. Floor mat
14. Toilet tank topper
15. Toilet lid cover
16. Toilet Roll holder
17. A scarf and hat set


ON MY HOOKS :
1. Edgings for towels
2. Motifs for a shower curtain
3. Cushion covers


ON MY MIND :
1. Beautiful coasters by Mimi
2. Fat bottom purse - only if I can manage to get the handles

I hope too that like Pearlin , I too can step into the New Year guilt free of any UFOs lurking behind.
I know , many of you would like pictures here but believe me with all this race against time , I haven't taken any pictures yet. But I promise you a whole load of Picture posts very , very soon!

Contest Winner

And the winners are : Kimberly and Judy B.

Congratulations to the winners ! The motif is for curtain valance. Actually it's for a shower curtain. Kimberely ( no, you don't stink at guessing at all - see?? ) was first to guess that the motif for a curtain and then just after her , Judy guessed the shower curtain accurately. So I think they are both right and both winners.
And I'd like to thank all of the wonderful ladies for visiting my blog and being such good sports. I actually got see many more bogs and enjoyed everyone of them. Thank you all for making this so much fun.
I'm still working on the shower curtain valance. I'll post the picture in a couple of days as soon as I finish it.

My first Blog Contest !!!


I have been working , crocheting on a whole lot of projects simultaneously. Hence I do not have the pictures of all the projects but a few are working up really fast and will be over in a couple of days. So for those of my blog friends who are eager ( that is ,if anyone is ..lol!) to see the pictures of my work...here is a little teaser for you......




This is a motif from one of the projects. It's done in cotton thread and is about 9.5 inches in size. Can you guess what I'll make using this motif ? C'mon, it'll be fun , make your guess.Okay ,say I'll give a 'little gift' to the first correct guess. There goes ....I have my very first blog contest !!! The contest end on Sunday, 2nd Dec 2006.
I'm sorry but this contest is not open to Swapnae, Jaishree, Pearlin and Shaheen as you gals already know what this is going to be.

Yipppeee Yay !!
Another finish off for me and this wasn't even on the list ! This is a CAL from FIBRE FREAKS. It's a really nice forum and this is the Winter wears CAL. This scarf and hat set is a gift for my cousin. She wanted it made specifically in this yarn and colour.I hope she likes it. As you can see in the picture it's a very simple scarf and ofcourse , I didn't follow any pattern. And here Mr . Garfeild had graciously agreed to pose with the scarf and hat. My refused flatly - He said it was girl stuff!

Sweet Shari
Sometime back I had seen somebody post in C'ville about a layette made from the book Tender touch Layettes from Leisure Arts. That book just got stuck on my mind !!! I had posted about it some time back HERE .
This morning I had a lovely surprise in my Mail....the same book sent to me by an online 'angel' Shari . Thank you so much Shari . It's real sweet of you. I can hardly wait to start working on the layettes. All the layettes are super duper cute .

It's Raining , It's Pouring ......
And my Dh is snoring !!!! Seriously , it's raining so hard and the weather is so cold and lovely. It's been a looong time since we had rains here. And this is serious rain....there's water collecting on the streets.Okay, I know a lot of you would wonder what's the big deal , but to me it's a celebration. The summer is going and lovely winter is just around the corner.
The smell of first rain ....mmmmmm...lovely earthy fragrance all around. I've put on some lovely music and have all the windows and balconies wide open ...( yes I'm going to mess up the house !!! ) ...and it's such fun. With some coffee and crochet to go with it..... I feel like it's some part of heaven right now.And I had to share it here.
Today Jibbs and me are going to the park to walk in the rain...ofcourse when it slows down to a drizzle.
And on the Crochet front : I have updated the list

OFF MY HOOKS :
1. Little Girl dress for a friend's daughter.
2. A diaper bag
3. A tissue box cover
4. Soap dispenser cover
5. Toothbrush holder cover
6. Trinket Box cover
7. One top for twin girls
8. Mesh cap
9. Project for Christmas competition


ON MY HOOKS :
1. Edgings for towels
2. Kitchen window curtain
3. Dustbin cover
4. Two tops for twin girls
5. Motifs for a shower curtain

ON MY MIND :
1. Beautiful coasters by Mimi
2. A pair of cushions
3. Fat bottom purse - only if I can manage to get the handles

As you can see , a lot of little projects are done. I have yet to take the pictures. I'll have it up for you all to see real soon.

New and Improved !




After blogging about the diaper bag last night , I kept getting a nagging feeling about the bag. I liked it but then quite honestly ,I liked only the little ballerina booties and the colours used ! Some how ,I could not get myself to be satisfied with it. It was missing something ........and then , late at night , it struck me - sunny days -- sunny look ! So here is the new and improved version of the diaper bag. Finally I'm satisfied with it - A little change goes a long way ! I think it looks better now , what say you? And in the picture you can have a better look at my favourite buttons closure:).
Another couple of things are done too. But I just have to give the finishing touches and upload the pictures. More pictures to follow.Lol!

Hot Off My Hooks

Like I said in my previous post , I've been crocheting away . And here is the proof. My FOs.
1. Frilly Tissue Box Cover


The first in the series ...I'm working on a bathroom set. This is done in Ecru , Rust and Purple. Another of my own patterns - nothing much to it except the colour play. I've used Omega cotton mercerised thread.










2. This is the next FO - Another Diaper Bag.


I have decided to call this bag Sunny Days - this is what came to mind when I looked at it all done and complete. I've given it a little pair of ballerina booties as add ons. That's my favourite part about the bag. Except the colours of course. This bag too has a buttons closure. No zips for my bags !!! And the buttons are so lovely and give a nice touch too.
Incase you are wondering what those little spots are on the lavender stripe, they are light yellow ribbon roses. The pictures show them as spots ...wonder why ? Something to do with my photography skills , I guess. In the picture below you can see the little Ballerina booties that I loved making.

Already into November !!
I've been a bad blogger...only one excuse for that ( which might be actually justifiable to some of you : ) )- I've been a good crocheter!!! No pictures yet, but I promise some really soon. I've also been following all my favourite blogs and have stumbled upon a few more interesting ones.
My resolutions, every single year , FAIL invariably! I've once again bitten off much more than I can chew.......though I must admit that I'm enjoying it so much.
Off my hooks:
1. Little Girl dress for a friend's daughter.
2. A diaper bag
3. A tissue box cover

On my hooks :
1. Soap dispenser cover
2. Kitchen window curtain
3. Dustbin cover
4. Two tops for twin girls
5. Mesh cap
6. A project for a christmas competition
10. Motifs for a shower curtain
11. Edgings for towels
12. Curtains

On my mind :
1. Beautiful coasters by Mimi
2. A pair of cushions
3. Fat bottom purse - only if I can manage to get the handles


Desperately needed :
1. An extra pair of hand to finish the above mentioned lists
2. Atleast 24 hours additional in a day.
Now that is one big list. I just hope I don't wind up with many more additions to my WIP list.

Diaper Bag- the last of the Nursery Project.

I have not posted in a while now. I've been working hard and crocheting even harder. It's been busy days with Ramadan and the school day finishing early. With the additional episode of flu and a season of cold,fever and dry cough all in a combined package. It's good to be feeling better again.
And finally the last of the peices of the nursery set I was working on. This is the diaper bag which took longer than I had thought - it was easy enough a pattern to work up but I had made some ( really silly ) mistakes.I was getting the bag right but the even look was not there ...somehow it looked 'traumatised'. And then eventually I did figure out the problem.....the yarn and hooksize were just not compatible!! This is the first time I came across such a thing. I kept working on the bag and it just didn't seem right , the look was not there. Then finally , it struck. I switched hooks and it was suddenly looking better. Funny how a simple project can make you sweat so much ,especially since you've done so many complicated projects before and that too without running into much difficulty.
I had expected this bag to be a breeze and put it off as the easy end project , but then I guess it was meant to be the other way around. Looking at it you'd never guess that such a simple pattern could give so much of work.Actually it wasn't the pattern at all, I made the basic error of using incompatible hook and yarn. Another lesson learn't ! Designing is no peice of cake.
Oh well, after that boring account of the making of the bag , you can now have a look at the pictures. Here they are as promised.
The front view and the back view



















And then the top of the bag. As you can see I opted for using the buttons as closure. I had wanted to use a zip but I hate it when the zip snags at the yarn and it happens so often. I wanted to keep the baskety look of the bag and had to have a proper closure too because being a diaper bag , I had to make sure that nothing fell out of it when little hand get to exploring.

I'm busy Crocheting......crocheting ....

And here is the proof ! Hot off my hooks is the Baby Short Round Poncho and matching headband. This is a lovely pattern by Dot.She has some really amazing and beautiful patterns. And her directions are great to follow, easy , clear and simple.
I loved working this pattern. It was fun and quick too. Instant gratification is what drives me to crochet. Maybe that's why I enjoy making baby things so much. They are quick to make and I love little kids.






And here is the close up of the flower on the poncho. I've put in a square crystal in base colour to give it a shine. But it doesn't really show in the picture. The next picture shows the crystal better. It's the flower on the head band. This set is going to a friends pretty little three years old girl. I hope she likes it .

Broomstick Lace
I've been checking out broomstick lace for quite sometime but honestly didn't like it enough to learn it . But all that changed when I came across Kimberly's post about it. In her post HERE , she has posted pictures of her swatches of this lace and I loved the look of it. That was inspiration enough ! I got out my yarn and my son's plastic ruler ( ofcourse , I do not have a large enough broomstick needle- and I cannot even hope to get it out here !) I followed the crochet cabana tutorial . I must say it's a very good tutorial with pictures that makes it very easy to follow. And there I was making the bromstick / Jiffy Lace. Yay ! Ofcourse it's no where as neat and pretty as Kimberly's but , hey it's my very first try! Thanks to you Kimberly , now I have learn't a new technique.
Once I got the hang of the stitch , I started on a project right away. Yes, I was so inspired by Kimberly's post that I'm making a similar scarf for a dear friend. Here it is ....almost halfway through.






Broomstick Lace