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| Striped Koala anyone? |
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| The CanCan pouch |
This year I've vowed to make as many gifts as I can. Not only is it more personal, it is also a gift of time and energy (at least that's what I think).
Last weekend when I'd gone shopping with her for my grandmom, I showed her my version of the Swag Bag that I'd made for
my grandmom’s birthday. She loved it and tried very hard to get me to give to her, but finally she relented after I promised to make her one too. She loves the colour red and the red & black combination is her favorite for clothing items/accessories. Her choice of
colours? Red and Black! No surprise there!
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| Complete! |
I chose the Swag bag by Marcelle's Creative Crochet as my bag, as it looked small and I thought I could modify it to suit my grandmom's tastes. The bag has been purposely kept free of other embellishments as my grandmother is very particular about colours and may not appreciate too many doodads on it.
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| The pouch when the drawstrings are tied. |
To start with, I chose the wrong crochet thread for my pouch - it takes a lot of time to crochet a decent-sized pouch with cotton crochet thread! I also got caught up with stuff and couldn't even begin it in time!
So, instead, I decided to make it for myself. No hurry at all, though when it was almost over I couldn't help trying to finish faster. The gestation period was just so long!
In the end, it has come out rather nice, and has interesting texture. I am including a basic pattern that can be modified as you go along.
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| Purple = mine! |
Materials used:
Beads
Nylon thread for the base
Crochet thread for the accent
Appropriate crochet hooks
Clasps/hooks
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| The 'V' is only prominent in the light. Perfect for a guy. |
Before I took up crocheting, for a very long time I was an
avid beader. I haven’t done much beading in the past few years, but still carry
my bead box wherever I move. My projects were usually based on patterns and
I’ve made a bunch of earrings, chains and bracelets and even a few purses. I’ve
even made a few original chains which I shall put up pics later.
Anyhow, to the topic at hand: We had people visiting in Jan
this year and with only one week to go before they left for home, I realized that
while I spent considerable time and effort for the kids’ gifts, I hadn’t really
given the couple anything!
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| The finished scarf |
The final in my series of animal inspired scarves is this
beautiful Weiner Puppy Neck Warmer by Randomheartx at Craftster.
After seeing this scarf, I was actually inspired to start making scarves for my
nieces. (I am including my modified pattern in the post.)
I love puppies and thought this was just cute!
However, I can rarely do something without adding my own
twist to it. And that’s just what I did. Though, my final scarf looked a little
like a mouse. The intended niece even asked me if it was a rat. I managed to
convince her that it was a puppy because of the collar!
I’ve largely followed Randomheartx’s pattern, but just added
a few more rows and changed stitches a little bit for texture.
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| Ready for the wearer! |
After making those scarves for my nieces, my husband requested that I make him one too. Considering all the running around he did with me while we bought materials and approved/rejected designs for the earlier scarves, I decided he ought to be rewarded. The fact that we were currently going through a cold wave also helped things in his favour.
He ideally wanted a simple single crochet scarf (yes, he sort of knows the difference!), but I wanted to experiment.
After a lot of searching I settled on the Paul's "Sweet Guy" Scarf at Wolfcrochet!
I am finally putting down the pattern for the kitten scarf.
It is very similar to the piggy scarf I’d posted earlier. I’m still waiting to
get better pictures of the scarves as I have already gifted them.
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| Before ends were tucked in |
Feel free to point out any mistakes that you find.
The pattern is listed below:
Craft: Crochet
Level: Beginner/Easy
Materials:
1 skein of yellow 8-ply wool (Main colour; MC)
1 skein of orange 8-ply wool (Contrasting colour; CC)
button/safety eyes for the eyes
A little bit of black wool/thread for the whiskers/mouth
Level: Beginner/Easy
Materials:
1 skein of yellow 8-ply wool (Main colour; MC)
1 skein of orange 8-ply wool (Contrasting colour; CC)
button/safety eyes for the eyes
A little bit of black wool/thread for the whiskers/mouth
5 mm crochet hook
Fabric glue
Fabric glue
tapestry needle
Note: You can use any weight of wool/yarn as you like. Local shops here do not really know the different types and stock them mostly as 4-ply/8-ply etc.
Note: You can use any weight of wool/yarn as you like. Local shops here do not really know the different types and stock them mostly as 4-ply/8-ply etc.
As I'd mentioned earlier, I decided to do the piggy scarf after being unsatisfied with the final material of my earlier scarf. The piggy was so adorable that I just had to make it! When I was done I was almost tempted to keep him for myself.
This is my first pattern. So, if something doesn't work out, please ask. Feel free to point out any mistakes that you find.
The pattern is listed below:
Craft: Crochet
Level: Beginner/Easy
Materials:
1 skein of light pink 8-ply wool
A little bit of darker pink
button/safety eyes for the eyes
5 mm crochet hook
tapestry needle
Note: You can use any weight of wool/yarn as you like. Local shops here do not really know the different types and stock them mostly as 4-ply/8-ply etc.
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| My completed scarf |
The pattern is listed below:
Level: Beginner/Easy
Materials:
1 skein of light pink 8-ply wool
A little bit of darker pink
button/safety eyes for the eyes
5 mm crochet hook
tapestry needle
Note: You can use any weight of wool/yarn as you like. Local shops here do not really know the different types and stock them mostly as 4-ply/8-ply etc.
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| My version of the puppy scarf |
I recently met my nieces for the first time this month. They're 9 and 2 and amazingly share the same birthday!
My husband and I had never met the younger one, while the elder one was a preschooler when her parents moved to the US. As a fledgling crocheter, I was looking for projects to hone my skills, while also coming up with personalised gifts for them. We decided to make scarves for the kids as they are easy and can be used even later. My pictures aren't very good as our cameras are horrible! Note to self: Buy a proper camera.
For the elder one I came across this lovely Wiener puppy scarf by randomheartsx on crafster (Click here for her pattern). I modified the pattern a little bit as I wanted to try out different stitches and give it a little more texture.
I recently quit my corporate job after spending about 5 years working as an editor. Before I even think of taking up something else, I'm rewarding myself with a few months of 'me' time. I hope to finish a few projects that remain unfinished since my wedding, besides showcasing a few new ones.
It feels so good to really put down your own words instead of just modifying someone else's!
It feels so good to really put down your own words instead of just modifying someone else's!
So...
This is the first story i ever wrote for The Word.
My love of cakes is my Achilles' heel. In Mumbai, a visit to the cake shop was a frequent affair. Once in Chennai, I have been hard pressed to find a place that supplied moderately good cakes—until a friend took me to ‘Sweet Chariot Café’ for my birthday.
This is the first story i ever wrote for The Word.
My love of cakes is my Achilles' heel. In Mumbai, a visit to the cake shop was a frequent affair. Once in Chennai, I have been hard pressed to find a place that supplied moderately good cakes—until a friend took me to ‘Sweet Chariot Café’ for my birthday.
This quaint little café is tucked away in a corner of Ispahani Centre. It is my new haven. I liked their cheese cakes and mousse cakes, though the other things on offer were not bad. In beverages, I recommend the mocha though my companion hated it.
hey!
I know i'm writing after very long. Anyways. Till I finish my time in this blasted city, I think just to save a copy of my work, I will put up my pieces that were written for The Word here.
I know i'm writing after very long. Anyways. Till I finish my time in this blasted city, I think just to save a copy of my work, I will put up my pieces that were written for The Word here.
Diwali Weekend!!!
I know it is a little late to talk about it but it was good fun. The cribbing will still persist but even then...Stuck in Chennai for Diwali while the rest of my college mates went home or somewhere else, we decided to go to Pondichery or Puduchery as it is now christened. Situated just about 300 km away from Chennai, it takes roughly three hours by bus (regular public transport) and a lot faster by car.
Tomorrow the Diwali weekend starts. Most of college has already left for vacation or is getting ready for it. Once again, I am not going anywhere. This time it is partly due to laziness and partly to the fact that I am out of cash. Another factor that was not factored in till the last moment was the holiday that college would declare on the only working day in-between.
It is funny how little things can go a big way. My mother was scheduled for an operation today. All she told me was that it was a minor operation, "Not problem at all. Don't worry. Will tell you later." This left me seriously incapacitated to gauge the seriousness of the surgery.
