Cottage Rose Nursery set
This is the matching afghan to go with the baby bassinet that I had given off without taking the pictures. There is also a smaller baby blanket to match. My friend has sent me the picture of the afghan. This is the best I could get ....it was a picture taken from her cell phone. I can promise you the real things much better than this picture :).




I have also finished off making the matching Tissue box covers for the nursery. And here are the pictures. Atleast these pictures are much clearer.



I'm still working on the diaper bag. It's turning out trickier than expected. Well, I'm still new to the designing world and I have a lot to learn. I'll post pictures when I'm done.

That does it !!



Swapnae had posted this picture for me - of a yarn winder that she got ! And you guessed it , I want one too. Infact this led me check out various things on line that I really, really want ( mind you, I'm filled with greed right now !) and I keep looking at and drooling over !
Any idea friends where I can find this particular thing? Now I'm going to Rant as well....most of these online stores do not ship things and books abroad . Isn't that such a bummer? Especially since there are hardly any supplies available out here !
Speaking of supplies , there are so many online stores that won't even mail out Susan Bates yarn hooks! And here is another book I'm looking around for. I want to make a layette for the same baby that I made the carriage cover for.




Another thing I"ve been looking around without any success is a Good book of Knitting which will help me to learn knitting on my own with simple beginners projects. Any help would be appreciated.

Baby , baby !
Warning: Picture heavy post.

I've been making a lot of baby stuff but blankets and afghans for babies I prefer to avoid. The reasons being :
1) Big Projects distract me very easily- ADD at the topmost level
2) The weather here is too hot most of the year - almost 8 months summer
3) Good Yarn is not available in variety and and is priced too high as well. I've ended up with couple of projects put aside midway as I ran out of yarn and haven't seen or heard of the yarn used ever since I first got it. The only yarn available easily locally is an inferior quality which just is not worth putting so much time and effort into.
But as of now , I'm working on a baby Nursery Ensemble. It includes a baby blankie,matching hat, a baby afghan, a bottle cover, Baby Moses Basket cot cover with hood , tissue box covers, and a diaper bag.
This is the basket cot cover . It was fairly simple to make , except the hood which was a little tricky to size up. But all in all, it was fun to work.















Details:
Yarn : Yasmine yarn by the Company name : AB, in colours beige - gold, hot pink, and olive green.
Hooks: Susan bates - 5.00mm, 505 mm, 6.00 mm and 6.5 mm.
Pattern: Inspired by so many squares seen online

I had no idea !


I came across this test at Swapnae's blog. And this is what I found out about myself ! I had no idea I was so little open to experience :)

My Personality Neuroticism 62 Extraversion 76 Openness To Experience 55 Agreeableness 62 Conscientiousness 66 Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report Find your soulmate / pysch twin Ugg Boots, Friendster and Survey Software

AUDREY



Meet my last ADAL , Audrey! For those of you who are not fimiliar with the term ADAL, it stands for 'Advanced Doily Along' . This was done in the group Gathering Threads . This was a an advanced pattern but pretty much fun to work and fast as well. I used the silk thread I got from India and size 1.25 mm hook.Here is a close up view....




This picture here shows the silky look the doily has that doesn't show in the other two pictures. I love doilies done in this thread. It's fun to work with and the doilies look so elegant as well.

Pretty Doily in my Mailbox !


Yes! This beauty came in mail box today . And Am I spell bound with it's beauty. Its a beautiful intricate pattern. My guess is that it looks like a P.K Doily design. This beautiful doily was sent by Debra at Gathering Threads. She does some beautiful crochet and I'm lucky to have her as my partner.
Once again for my curious buddies a different view of the doily showing the stitches and the texture .Isn't it so pretty?



Thank you Debra. This one adorns my bedside table ( strictly my own space).

Another months has flown by!

It's September already and more than half way through too! Unbelievable how time flies! It's the back to school Rush....and back to routine too. And I haven't blogged in a loooong time. What can I say ...life is getting busier and internet isn't getting any friendlier!!
Long time since I blogged so there is a lot to blog about .Just how many times did I use the word ' blog'? So u can be prepared for many entries at a shot.
First of all , a huge relief that Jibbs, DS , doesn't hate school anymore. Infact , pleasantly shocking though, he has begun to look forward to it. And I really an thanking my lucky Starts for this.
After a long wait I finally got my swap doilies. Though I am still waiting for mine to reach safely.
I received this wonderful package from Denise at the Crochetville Doily Swap. It's an usual spiderweb pattern and I am wondering where I could get it. I'd love to make this doily.
Denise has also sent along a really beautiful floral doily book. There are gorgeous doilies in this one and I can hardly wait to start on it. There is also some green tea . This would be the first time I'll be trying it. Hmm....I like to try out different stuff. Thank you Denise , it's a lovely puffy.



And for those of you who like to inspect things closely , here is a detail picture of the doily and you can see how pretty it is. It's done in a very pretty shade of blue but the picture here makes the colour look washed out. It is a very beautiful blue in person.

Summers Promise



This beautiful design was created by KATHY . She was kind enough to let me do pattern testing with this doily. I must say it was fun and a I learn't a new technique too. Thank you Kathy for the trusrting me with this one.This is the first time I've tested a pattern for Kathy and it was a wonderful experience. And here is the picture of the details on the doily....


As for the other details : I've used thread size 20 , 1 mm hook and the colours are dusty rose and pearl cream in cotton Anchor.
I love the name of this doily.....very dreamy and romantic.

Meme - 6 weird things!
I've been tagged by Swapnae and this is the first meme at my blog. Now to narrow down my weird things about me to just six.....thats a tough call.

1. I love chocolates but can never eat more than three bites at a time. I almost never finish a bar of chocolate at one go.

2. I cannot sleep unless I'm covered with a cotton sheet totally from ears to toes.......even when it is very hot ( which it is for most part of the year out here). I guess this weirdness is a common one among my blog friends!

3. I can never be barefoot unless I'm walking on the grass or the sand.I have different slippers for the bedroom, the rest of the house, the balcony, the kitchen and ofcourse the bathroom! I always walk bare footed on the grass and the beach sand!!!

4. I hate to see anybody brushing their teeth!! Makes me feel sick! Seriously ...I cannot take it.

5. I spot even the tiniest of bugs anywhere in a room before anybody else does ! Bugs, creepy crawlies and specially worms eeek me out totally !!

6. I have to watch a comedy .....anything like movie, a show ,a funny serial or even read a funny book ... every single day.

So much for me being weird! Dh says he can think of atleast 60 things! So now it's my turn to tag and I tag

Ulla

Vik

Tandi

Jaishree

Sue

THANK YOU CHRIS !
Finally, Lady Luck smiles on me. And I got my puffy from Chris. Aren't these just beautiful? I would have posted these yesterday if only Blogger would be more cooperative. Its a crocheted doily and a machine made Callalilly doily and bowl. The picture does no justice to this beauty. I love it ...and it's found its new home on my dresser holding my jewellery!

















Here is the close up of the bowl and doily . Thankyou , Chris , for the lovely gifts.

Lone Star Doily


This doily is called LONE STAR DOILY from the CDS series.
I fell in love with it at first sight . I just love the shape and the look of it. It's an easy enough doily to make and whipped up really fast too. I was thinking of a different colour , but then some doilies I think look best in white. This I felt is one of them ' white doilies'.
I'm working on more projects but still not completed them ..will post them with pictures asap. Incase if you are wondering whether they are doilies again , then I 'd say you are right ....I'm in desperate doily urge!!!

The next thing I'm going nuts about right now are exchanges. I really want to do a secret pal exchange as well. But then whoever is my secret pal would in all probability find out it's me from the very first package from me. How many people from UAE are actually there in any group? Usually , its just me ! So there , that means secret pal is definately not for me . But I'm joining many swaps right now ....and I'm loving it!It is so much fun to make things for exchange partners...the big thrill is in actually making something for someone ...it feels so special!

Hot off the hooks!!


Okay...here I present my latest doily ! This was done as a Doily Along project in the group Gathering Threads. This was such a fun doily to make. So fast to work and turned out neat too.
The doily was a mystery pattern. I used Coats Omega thread in size 10. The colour looks more pinkish than lavender in the picture. The size in 17.5 " in diameter. This was fun and I can hardly wait to start the next DAL.

Doily Thoughts!
Not that there are many other kinds these days. But the thoughts relating to crochet appear to be the best to me right now.....or at any other time too!! There have been no recent picture posts of my projects. I'm still working at finishing off projects. Just finished a doily from a Crochet Along. It's blocked and still drying.
And then , another new Doily Swap , yay!!! I dont seem to get enough of these swaps & I'm such a sucker for doilies. Actually it more like a round robin. I really wanted to make this gorgeous floral and butterfly doily for my ' to send ' partner but turns out she prefers a doily in white or Ecru. So it looks like the flowers and butterfly doily will have to wait until another time. So I'm busy looking for a pattern of single coloured doily. There are so many beautiful ones , it gets more and more confusing!!! I want to make them all.
Aaaaaah! I get so mad when I run out of thread in between making a doily ...who doesn't? But what makes matters worse is that this thread isnt available here. I got it from India. I can always order for more but then you know what that means , waiting !!! And that is soooo bugging. I had checked out the thread requirement in the pattern and checked out the thread label. And believe me according to the label just one and a half balls of the thread would've been sufficient for the doily and I had three balls of it. And still it looks like it wont be enough !! So there are some misleading labels here.
The thread baby dress is coming along great. It's going slow , the pattern is quite labour intensive. But I'm enjoying it so so much. I know that it'll turn out just great. But still a long way to go before it's all done.

Serial bomb blasts in Mumbai
It's heart breaking, shocking and distressing to see the kind of terror that is taking place. It's so disgusting !!! ...totally...what is expected to be gained from killing hundreds of innocent people??? Can such acts ever be justified??? I DON'T think so...nothing justifies killing, hurting and ruining innocent people .
I guess I'm just too upset to write anymore today about this or anything else. Just watching the news makes me want to cry. I cannot, for the life of me, understand what is acheived from this sheer cruelty...except for pain and death. What possible 'cause' could this help???

Busy Days!!!
I have not been ignoring my blog ......just been too busy with life. Had a fantastic week of shopping the whole day and watching the Football matches at night. Now , if you are wondering what the extensive shopping is for, it my brother's wedding soon. And Dubai being the shopper's paradise, I was merely enjoying it. Dubai probably has the best choice of Indian outfits and sarees out of India. We managed to get a whole load of gifts and Sarees for the Bride.Not too many of silks but a lot of trendy chiffons and sequins and crystal work. Maybe I should take pictures of it ....hey no I can't ! The bride sometimes visits me here!!!
And the World Cup season was wonderful. And my son, too, is bitten by the bug. He, ofcourse, supports Italy since they won the CUP.That was one amazing Final. And other extremely exciting match was between Italy and Germany. We used to go in a huge big group of cousins and friend to the Conventional Hall at the World Trade Centre , Dubai. The set up was entirely like a stadium and the atmosphere to match. It was such fun. Now , we are all waiting for the Cricket World Cup next year.
On the crochet front, I'm still working on the same projects that I was a couple of weeks back. With having so much , there was hardly time to crochet.
I'm also teaching crochet now .And I'm so happy that it is going so well. The students seem pretty keen and eager to learn and doing really well for a beginner.
And another thing I discovered....the Postal Authority hates me!!! I still havent received the exchange package which was sent by my partner weeks back...actually almost a whole month!! I'm checking at the post everyday ...but no package. By now , the package counter people signal to me even before I enter that ' you dont need to park and come out , nothing in the post for you !!!'. And I have been so polite all the time . How upsetting is that ? I know my partner has put in so much of love and effort into the puffy , I just hope it reaches safely.

Knit Knit ...My new toy!
















Okay , so I know this is a kid's toy, but I've been dying to get one for sooooo long. I still drool over girlie toys and barbies and accessories for the same. I even got my four years old son to knit with me. He didnt seem much impressed by it. Here is the first attempt of knitting on this new knitting machine.

Rose and popcorn doily


I'm so glad my swap partner finally got puffy I sent her. I can now post the picture here. So this is the doily which I was talking about. It is now in Australia...totally the other side of the globe!!! This pattern is from the book A Dozen and one Floral Doilies. This book has some really lovely patterns. I have to make more doilies from here. I've used Coats mercerised thread, in honey beige and maroon. For some reason the picture makes the doily look off-white!



and here : the close up of the stitches. The roses in the doily are made differently from the usual roses and have a lovely effect to it.

An interesting meme.

I came across this one in Sue's blog. And yes it does take some thinking ...hmmm.

Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me--it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this into your blog so that I may leave a comment about you.This is not so much about fishing for compliments as it is an exercise showing how hard it is to use just one word to describe someone! Give it a try & I'll do the same for you if you're so inclined.

Treasure Trove ...beautiful threads from India.

I had a most wonderful thread and hooks shopping time in India.


I did manage to get the time and opportunity to visit a craft shop in Bangalore. They had so many different things and supplies. There wasn't much of crochet supplies but there were so many different things which seemed interesting. What is surprising is how they manage to stock up so much stuff in just a little shop like that.
They had a lovely range of anchor threads. And I got all the colours I wanted. Now I'm itching to make doilies!!!! They also had an amazing array of colours and varigated threads in rayon. These are the ones in cones in the picture below. There is no label , so no idea what company or where these threads are from. I've used these before and they are lovely to work with. They have a silky finish and even startch well. Crocheted laces, edgings and doilies ,especially , look very pretty in this thread. Here is the close up of the varigated ones.




There is a silver linig to every dark cloud...literally ! We got stranded in heavy rains at the 4 bunglows ( market ) in Mumbai , Andheri. It was raining so hard that we couldnt step out at all. We were stuck in the little market and there I spotted some craft supplies shop. This was a wonderful surprise. Therer I got some cotton thread I had been looking for. The thick thread which could be used for making totes and dishcloths. It was not available in Bangalore. I also picked up a few size 20 threads in Red Heart. In this little shop I had a very pleasant surprise. I got hooks for yarn...finally !!! The biggest size is ofcourse 5mm. And the added bonus being , they had hairpin lace looms too and circular knitting needles as well. ( If you are wondering , I havent given up on knitting ....still persistent about it ). Needless to say, I've stocked myself very well.

Amazing package from Jaishree !



This was a great treat I got in India. This package was sent by Jaishree. Thankyou Jaishree for taking the time and trouble of getting all these goodies and sending them to me. I was so thrilled to see these. The were some really nice and soft skeins of baby yarn, and some of the fun fur type of yarn in very pretty colours. And there was another kind of amazingly soft and beautiful yarn. Here are the close ups.
This is the deliciously beautiful and soft yarn. Since it has no label , there is no telling what type it is. It has a velvety feel to it. The colours are very pretty too. For some reason they look very different in the picture.I love these yarns so much ...cant decide what I should make with these. Any ideas????













And here is the fun fur type yarn. again the colours look different. its soft lavender, shades of blue and soft greens.

That's Incrediboy!!!















Yes, he is still hung on The Incredibles...calls himself INCREDI-BOY! The superhero craze is all here. The bat man costume was in bigger sizes, so naturally, he wants to grow up sooner!! He even had breakfast twice yesterday .





This month on the project Spectrum , the colour in focus is blue. So here is my bit of Blue for June. Havent crocheted anything in blue yet, so this is it until I do .













And on the crochet front, I have not been posting much , but I've been active. I'm once again trying to design. This time it's a purse. I've just done the base so far. I have just a rough idea about how I want it . Lets see how it goes. I've been thinking ....whenever I design anything , I'm too lazy to write down the pattern. Maybe this time I'll turn over a new leaf and actually do the writing bit. Would anybody want to test out the pattern for me? Just a thought.
I'm also working on an very intricate thread baby dress. I have to keep mum about it for now. But all I can say is that it is already looking so lacy and beautiful.
And here is a picture of the mobile phone case. Again, no pattern, just whipped it up while watching Friends ( yes, I love it. I enjoy it so much and I find it soooo terribly funny!!!) .I'm one of those who cannot watch T.V without crocheting. Thats the time when I come up with most of my quick projects.

Birthday Gifts Galore!!!!
Here you go the pictures that I was talking about. Jiibs was soooo excited about opening his gifts....



I guess here he had given up hopes on us helping to get off the gift wrap. There were so many and it was just not fast enough for him..lol! This is his ' Here , I'll do it myself !!!!!' attitude.









And this is the ' Oh Thank you God for these goodies.'












And now .........where to start from????












Wow!!!!! BUZZ LIGHTYEAR !!!! Is this real???????? Yippeeeee!!! Lets have a closer look.

















And finally , Jibbs would like to Thank You for coming to his party and for the lovely gifts.

Little Butterflies













I've always loved to make butterflies. And these , I've seen around for so long. Finally , I did manage to get some chenille sticks (crazily expensive - but I've been looking for so looooong !).
I do have more finish offs to show but it'll have to wait until my exchange partner gets her puffy. I hope she likes it.
It's strange, but I can't seem to figure out what to work on next ( ok.....I know there is still that list of Wips waiting- you don't have to remind me!!! ) The deal is for evry new project , one old WIP is worked alongside. So just to hold the urge to pick up a project impulsively, I made a cell phone pouch. Oops! Forgot to take pictures of that one. I'll do that and show you what I came up with. No pattern ...just playing around!!!

I came across this today .






I think it fits the bill perfectly. My feelings , exactly !!!!!

Happy Birthday Jibbs! My son is now 4 years old !!!

Warning : This is a Mama moment.

We had Jibsy's Birthday party yesterday. Just a small family affair. It was such fun to be together , all of the family in Dubai. Still too tired from last night , havent uploaded the pictures yet. Jibbs was so excited about his 'party' and the presents .Needless to say , he was up at 6:00 am and asking constantly when the party starts. He got lovely gifts and the his reaction to all of them is just so priceless. He even went to bed with all the gifts around him. You've gotta see the pictures!!
Somehow, it seems like a huge mystery 'how time flies'. There are days when minutes seem like hours and then suddenly before you know it your new born who keeps you up at night ( when you pray he grows up soon) is already 4 years of age. He is no more dependent on your for everything. A little being who can make his own choices, wear his own clothes and shoes, play on his own, eat on his own and read & write too!!! I miss my baby.
We do have some great time together. We play all kinds of games and I who still loves babrbies and girly stuff , am learning to enjoy the boy games as well. I have to admit that wresting doesn't seem like such a gross thing to do anymore!!!! Neither do Robots and super heroes.

I'm back from India!!!

Yes, back to the pavillion...the vaction is over!!! And this a picture of my homeland and birthplace. Oh the wonderful feeling of being there !!!! The beauty is just striking and the greenery too. We had a very nice but short trip to India. We visited many places ...Bangalore , Mumbai , Goa, Murdeshwar , Puttur. It was so much fun. Since we were travelling by public transport systems everywhere, couldnt carry along the video camera, hence sadly no pictures!!!

On the crochet front, I did end up getting some supplies in India. Mainly in Bangalore and Mumbai.I'll be posting about that later. And with all the travelling and gorgeous scenery I didnt end up crocheting at all!!! That was a shock to dh, travelling and no crochet - now, he says , he believes anything is possible!!

VACATION TIME !!!!

Yes , finally , I'm off to India. A little break and time to spend with my family.I dont think I'll be able to acess internet while I'm gone. So,until I'm back........take care. Be good. Tata!

A pleasant surprise today ! New kid on the blog!
I came across a new blog today by, Vims, a friend I know from Crochet India. It's called THREADS FROM INDIA. Vims is a very talented crocheter and a sweet person too. It was a very nice surprise. Good to see another new Indian blogger. I wish you all the best with blogging, Vims. And look forward to see what you are upto and get updates on you.

It's May - Its Green !!!
May has already begun and this is my first entry for the month ...blush ! I'm just not being regular about my bloging. Its not because I've been lazy ( which is often the case) but because I've been madly busy! With hubby dearest at work most time , I have to organise and plan out our trip to India ( which I'm very excited about ) and do most of the sorting , packing and gift buying etc.
But on the crochet front things have been moving fast as well. I'm working on a doily for a doily Swap at Crochet India. It's coming along quite nice about 3/4 done.....just to get the flowers worked.And another UFO is under process too. I'm so glad I've managed to keep my New Year's resolution of completing one UFO for every new project I work. That way I have my WIPs reducing steadily.





I have to find the greens out of my stash now! It's a tough call as I'm not much on the colour...I hardly have any of it. Maybe this would be a great opportunity to get more threads. I have some lovely yarn in soft pastel green ( love it ). Lets see what that one gets done into!! But thread in green ....I have to see.