Swahaste tvahastam (from my hands to yours)
We had the festival of lights, Diwali/Deepavali on Tuesday, November 1st. Although nowadays it is more sound than light.
Here is Sridhar watching a flowerpot do its thing:
And here is the whirling Bhoo chakram
It whirls on the ground. There is also a Vishnu chakram which is held in the hand…
I realised I don’t usually show any UFOs here and wonder what it says about me (no, I don’t want to know, can’t you spot a rhetorical question?!)
So here is a UFO, a baby blanket I’m making for a friend’s new baby girl, born this September. I’m using the 8 oz skein of Red Heart Super Saver in Light Coral that I got for my August CAT PAC from Kat over at Crochetlist.
The pattern is from Angelcrafts, and you can find it here. The yarn is obviously Worsted Weight, and I’m using a K/6.5mm Boye hook. Instead of the 180 chain the pattern originally calls for, I chained 123 (don’t ask!) and that makes it about 30″ wide, which I reckon should be enough. I think I’ll work it to 30″ square, and then do an edging. Maybe not the one in the pattern, it’s too holey, which the blanket already is, anyway.
So if you have any ideas on nice 2-3 row edgings, please tell me.
And here are a pair of cute FOs! Booties for another friend’s baby, a boy this time:
The pattern is from Darcy Richardson, and very easy and quick. I finished this pair in just about 2 hours, with about WW yarn and a 3.50mm hook.
Yes, even if it sounds unbelievable…Got back from a hectic road trip to the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, and since then I’ve been busy with a course for radio announcers at All India Radio. Will put up pictures of the trip in my travel blog shortly, but here is one of the two FO’s from that trip:
The pattern is from Pineapple Crochet Designs ed. by Rita Weiss:
I used size 20 Red Heart thread in gray, and and and….a .95mm hook, if I remember rightly…A lot of ends to weave in on this one!
I also made a hat for a nephew, but forgot to take pictures…
ETA: I thought the pattern was from that book, but I can’t find it in that book now. So if anyone knows the actual source, please let me know? Thanks!
Also while I was away, I received my CAT PAC from Kat for the August CAT. And here are all the goodies she included:
My first ever Red Heart Super Saver, in Light Coral. Now I only have to figure out what to make with 8 oz/225 g of acrylic worsted weight yarn in a pale colour…
This pen:
These translucent markers:
These yarn needles (blunt-ended) from Boye:
My first ever Crystalite hooks from Red Heart, and you know what’s most ironic? They were made in India!!! Where oh where can I buy these here?
Another first, a skein of Peaches & Creme cotton yarn in a pleasant blue-green ombre:
I’ve used the Crystalites, not any of the other stuff yet. But I *loved* the PAC. Thank you so much, Kat!
While I was away from Vizag, I received these two postcards for postcrossing:
from Lauren in Chicago and
from Jessie in Oregon
was this:
from Laurie on Crochetlist/CAT. She remembered I was looking for tops to hook with thread/cotton and sent it to me when she saw the top on the cover and another inside. Haven’t made up my mind yet which/whether/with what I will make either, though. I love how generous people are! Thank you so much, Laurie!
My sister, mother, niece and I went sightseeing today to see the Chowmohalla Palace near Charminar. First, a picture of Charminar, the distinctive landmark of my city, Hyderabad.
Chowmohalla is a complex of 4 palaces (which is what its name means) around a spacious courtyard with a fountain/pool in the centre. The largest is the Khilwat, which has a large durbar hall with a marble dais for the seat of the Nizam. The entire durbar hall is lit by 19 Belgian crystal chandeliers. Upstairs they currently have an exhibition of period textiles. We were not allowed to photograph either of the exhibits, but I have a couple of picture of the outside of Khilwat Mahal, front, back and side.
The entire complex is being restored by the Nizam’s family, to whom it still belongs. There was also a photography exhibition of photos of the Nizam’s family form early last century. We found some smaller interesting details, such as this seal on some fireproof almirahs made in 1857:
and the work on these doors and windows:
Plus, being the flower spotters that we are, we also liked these pink and white hibiscus:
While here, I’ve also managed to finally find a proper use for the cone of cord(?) I had which is a bit rough to work with. I have used it for other things before, but this project finished it off nicely. I made the small Econo shopper bag from Natalie’s pattern. So here it is:
Econoshopper Mesh Bag
Nice and easy AND practical!
I also made a skinny scarf for my friend and a sweater for her kid (which I sincerely hope will fit him). But no pictures, sorry!
If you are thinking I’ve reduced my stash, think again! I enhanced it with several hanks of yarn in white, deep green, purple and pale green. Nothing very special, but something is better than nothing. No pics of that either till I finish unravelling it (which seems to be a regular thing whenever I buy yarn south of the Vindhyas).
ETA October 19 2011: While going through my Ravelry friend activity, I remembered this project and realised I hadn’t added it to my Rav notebook. So I looked up the pattern on the Ravelry database, where it is now a free download, downloaded the photograph from my Blogger/Blogspot blog, uploaded it here and to Rav and dusted off this post. I still don’t have pictures of the scarf and sweater, though.
And yes, I’m still alive!
Reporting from Hyderabad, where I’ve been for the past couple of weeks at my parents’ place. Struggled with the old computer a few days, and yesterday finally I upgraded it, so now it’s faster.
While I’ve been here, I’ve made my first cotton dishcloth, with the Sugar n’ Cream in Summer Splash that Grace sent me for my June CAT PAC. This was my first-ever cotton yarn, so I was really fighting against using it for something so mundane as a dishcloth, but I’ve given it to my mother, so maybe that makes it special enough. I used the pattern given on the wrapper, except using the same colour for the edging instead of a contrast. Here it is:
I love how soft it feels!
Sorry for the long blogging silence, but I came down to my parents in Hyderabad last week, and the computer here is slow and old….
Anyway, here is my last big FO, Kathy‘s mesh shopping bag in size 20 thread and with seed beads.
I absolutely loved the pattern, as well as my first experience with the big eye needle that Kathy sent me to use for beading.
swakrta.com 