What a fun guys hat pattern!

Moogly had this pattern for a hat for a very long time, and yes, I had seen it earlier. But what made me try it out right away was Stitch11's color combination and version. The pattern is the Leaping Stripes beanie by Tamara Kelly. Her video tutorial was super helpful. I just made one change, and that was to do the brim in all sc's instead of doing the sideways rows. My husband loved how the hat fits, and offered to pay me cash :D for one right away!

I guess the camo combination didn't really show the pattern very well :( Oh, no more of those then!
I also made an Infinity shells cowl (Pattern from The Crochet Crowd)....here is a photo...

Enjoying my 16 day winter break right now, so will definitely have more completed projects to share :) I'll be delighted if you leave me a comment about your projects.

Boot cuff BONANZA!!

These still seem to be really popular. I didn't think they would continue selling this year as well...I sold quite a bunch of these last year :) So I was pleasantly surprised to see my sales of these pick up at a rapid pace as Fall turned to Winter! Here are some patterns that I have been making, some of these are variations of patterns I found online....

 

The brown shell pattern ones are based on the Mariposas boot cuff but I did not like the idea of doing the short rows for the bottom, so I ended up just doing regular single crochets. Have any of you lovely ladies been making boot cuffs lately?

Chunky yarn cowls and neck warmers! 'tis the season :)

I had to find all sorts of patterns to use up the chunky yarn I wrote about in my last blog post, and hats and neck warmers/ cowls appear to be a good use of this kind of yarn. So, of course, as I started searching, I found that all the generous souls of blogland had put forth their magical creativity into tons of these projects...

The white one is the Buttoned shell stitch cowl from Stephanie of All About Ami, and the black and white one is from Petals to Picots! Loved both of these patterns, I will surely be making a tone more of these. I added a hand painted parrot bead/ button I had purchased in India last summer to add the Awww :) factor.  These would make such fun gifts too.
I am now making some of the Candy Swirl Placemats (from The Crochet Crowd) for my younger daughter to give as Christmas gifts to her teachers. That's another fun crochet project and gift to whip up!
And yes, I'm now looking forward to Winter break...I get 16 days off, which means more time to crochet :))

Rainbow shells afghan!

I bought this huge lot of Red Heart Super Saver yarn off of Craigslist for $20, so my daughter just worked with they colors I got to make this Rainbow Shells afghan. We were not too sure about how these colors would look together, but the results seem to prove that we were needlessly worried. What do you lovely ladies (and crochet guys too! I know there are quite a few of you out there :)) think?? The pattern is available free on the Red Heart website.
My most recent find is 2 large garbage bags full of Lion Brand's Thick and Quick yarn (53 skeins total!!) for $30, again off of Craigslist! So...now all three of us are off to use up all of that, and we are knitting cowls and hats, so many fun free patterns for chunky yarn currently available on the internets :)

Starflower mandala from Zootyowlcards.....So addictive :)

So I finally tried out the Starflower mandala pattern from http://zootyowlcards.blogspot.com/2014/04. /starflower-mandala-pattern.htmlWhat a fun project! Even though I have crocheted several hundreds (??) of doilies, doing one in yarn, and with such colorful ones at that, had a totally amazing result. So of course, I couldn't make just one...I started about 4 of these together, and just kept working in assembly line fashion, reading one line of the pattern and doing it on all of my pieces :) This sample was just the first one to get done. It turned out to be huge, 23" in diameter. Perfect to use on a side table, or even on the coffee table! Go ahead and try it out, if you haven't made one yet!! It's a great scrapbuster project.

Thanks for stopping by!!

My first pattern, and did I mention FREE????

Alternating Shells Afghan:

Materials: 3 colors of your favorite yarn. Hook size appropriate for the yarn you are using. You can use as many different colors as you wish. This would make a great afghan to use up your scrap yarn!

I used Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn Neon, in the colors of Pink, White, and Gray, and a size H crochet hook.

Special Instructions

Shell: 2 dc, ch 5, 2 dc in indicated stitch or space.

To change color: work last dc at end of each row up to final yo, yo with new color and draw through to complete stitch.

Multiple for this pattern is: 9+7. With this in mind you can make afghan in any width you choose. You could even make a scarf out of it.

With first color, make desired number of chains to start, making sure your chain is divisible by 9, then add 7 more chains.

Row 1: dc in 4^th ch from hook. Ch 2, sk 2 chs, shell in next ch. * Sk 2 chs, dc in next ch. Ch 2, sk 2 chs, dc in next ch. Ch 2, sk 2 chs, shell in next ch. Repeat from * across, ending ch 2, sk 2 chs, dc in last ch. Ch 3, turn.

Row 2: With next color, dc in first dc, ch 2, shell in next ch 2 sp between next 2 dc.* Ch 2, sc in 3^rd ch of ch 5 of next shell. Ch 2, shell in next ch 2 sp between next 2 dc. Repeat from * across, ending with sc in 3^rd ch of ch 5 of last shell, ch 2, dc in top of turning ch. Ch 3, turn.

Row 3: With next color, dc in 1^st dc.* Ch 2, Shell in next sc. Ch 2, sc in 3^rd ch of next shell. Ch 2, shell in next sc. Ch 2, sc in 3^rd ch of next shell. Repeat from * across, ending ch 2, sc in 3^rd ch of last shell, ch2, dc in turning chain of previous row.

All remaining rows: Following established color sequence, work row 3 from now on, changing colors at the end of each row until blanket reaches desired length. At the end of the last row, fasten off.

Border: any kind you like. You could do shells or several rounds of sc followed by a final row of sc and picots.

Please go ahead and try it :) I would love to know how it goes for you. If you find any snags, I would appreciate hearing from you so I can fix them. 

Some intricate thread crochet...for a change :)

Soooo, it was too hot in New Delhi for me to do any work with yarn. Switched to thread crochet and embroidery due to that. I picked these patterns from a vintage Magic Crochet magazine.....My mom also gave me company, she made the red doily. I made the other two. The pink one has Irish crochet leaves....

I also made a ton of torana/ bandhanwar/ door blessings with sparkly yarn, after being inspired by the patterns in Gujarat temples....I have been planning to write up some of those patterns and share with all the wonderful people who have been stopping by my blog :), but it just hasn't happened yet....One of these days!

Summer embroideries....

Just came back last week from a 5 week vacation, spending time with family in India. Got quite a few projects done over there as well.... I was really excited to make this "Kalash" embroidery. I found the pattern as a coloring page, came up with the stitches as I went along, trying to use as many different filling stitches as I could think of. A kalash is a copper pot, topped with mango leaves and a coconut. According to Wikipedia, "The Kalasha is believed to contain amrita, the elixir of life, and thus is viewed as a symbol of abundance, wisdom, and immortality". The swastika on the kalash is not to be confused with Hitler's, since it is a 5000 year old Hindu symbol, distorted and given all sorts of negative connotations by him.

My 16-yr old's first attempt at quilting..

My younger one wanted to try her hand at quilting but wanted to make something small. When I suggested a tote bag, she said she would rather make a drawstring bag since she would actually use it! So she sewed up a bunch of these pre-cut quilt squares till they were the size of a drawstring bag, and I added a layer of lining fabric and a back to it, cut up and strung 2 pieces of cord, and VIOLA! Here we have it.... a useable drawstring bag!

What do you think? I would love to hear....

Summer time = Embroidery time!

OK, the yarn doesn't feel as good to work with anymore, and you can't really enjoy spreading the WIP baby blanket over yourself in the summer.... :( So, it is time to move onto......TA DA...hand embroidery! My favorite thing to embroider is a dish towel....Here's a pattern that sells well for me, and also one I love embroidering....

I have trouble deciding whether that is a peacock or a partridge. It's pretty either way. You're welcome to leave me a comment if you know :)

Some more dish towels ready to be embroidered!!

8-day road trip plus 2 crocheters = 10.5 Little Sweetie dresses.

Just came back from an 8 day road trip to Yellowstone, and we were PRODUCTIVE!!!! When I said I planned on making TONS AND TONS of the Little Sweetie dresses, I guess it actually happened. We even had to make an emergency "yarn-crisis" trip to the Bozeman, MT- Walmart since we underestimated how much yarn we would use up :D

I made some minor changes to the basic pattern as I went along.....Now, I just need to do the remaining headbands, and sew buttons on the back. I might add some ribbon accents to some of them :)

WIP- Tulip blanket!

Yay, it's summer vacation finally!! It is such a strange feeling, to go from being so busy you feel like you don't even have time to breath, to "Hmmm, should I do sewing next, or should I go water the plants? Wait...I have a choice??"
Here's what I have been working on for the past 6 weeks....

Full size version of the Tulip blanket done in baby yarn! Now I just need to add a border!
Next up, I want to make a ton, and I mean a TON, of the Little Sweetie dresses from Red Heart with matching headbands!! So cute :)

Sari blouse is done!

Here is the blouse I was working on! Ready to go off to it's owner!

All the darts and hand hemming inside!
So there you have it. Another finished project.

Repurpose reduce recycle!

Just couldn't get myself to throw away this lawn seed bag, so I decided to give it straps and repurpose it into a tote bag! Having sewing skills is AWESOME :))

Also finished up about 5 table runners....Made them with coordinating strips of solid fabric, on which I free hand drew some patterns, and added some sequin appliques for a bit of jazz!

Indian Sari blouse- drafting a pattern!

So, I sew Indian Sari blouses from scratch!! Realizing about 17 years ago that there was a demand for this skill here in the United States, I learnt how to draft patterns and have sewn quite a few for people over time. Here is a picture of my latest order being sketched on paper.

This is the silk fabric for the blouse. It will need lining, for which I normally use broadcloth.

Here is one side of the front drafted on the cotton lining with tailor's chalk. Now to get back to the sewing machine :)

Faux leather crochet bracelet!

After trying out 3-4 barefoot sandals crochet patterns, I really caught the bug to try some crochet jewelry. Had some faux leather on hand, so this is the result......I also started two more, but those have machine stitched edges, so I could speed up the process. Poking through leather with a sharp hook repeatedly is not exactly fun :(

Barefoot crochet sandals-

Just had to try out this pattern! These are the Goddess barefoot sandals from Gleeful Things.
I made mine using 2 threads together- sz 3 Ecru and sz 10 metallic gold to give a hint of sparkle to it!

Now, I'm tempted to try out more patterns of these fun summer accessories! Have you tried out and found any fun patterns?

FIRRRRSSSTTT POSSTTT EVER!!

After a couple of years of not wanting to get sucked in, guess what!!! I got sucked in....:(( Yup, starting a blog today...Hope to write about my creative meanderings, the 5 C's of my life, and other stuff as it comes along!

Today's project:
A little girl's purse or cell phone purse :)