A new attempt !!! :)

Thank you for your comments on my last post !! :)

I am still on to attempting new things and this time I made this crocheted hand purse with clasp and Chenille yarn . Both the yarn and the clasp were purchased long back . I got the purse handle with sew-in holes from JoAnn's and the variegated Jumbo chenille yarn is from itsybitsy craft store in India . I used 12mm hook size for this yarn .

 There are many ways to attach the clasp and most conventional way is to make the purse and then attach it . I did the reverse way - cast the stitches first and then crochet .

I was fine with the stitches showing up on the clasp .  I made a rectangular crochet band with Anchor knitting cotton and 2.5 mm hook . I made the chenile yarn bottom separately and and then I sewed it onto that rectangular band . It wasn't a quick and easy thing to sew with half open clasp :(  There isn't much space in it , just enough for my phone and some currency notes .

Anshita got all A1s again in grade VIII making us feel proud :) and has moved to grade IX now .

I could not do much stitching last week , hopefully this week I will have some more done .

Have a crafty day!
Preeti :)

Aren't we cute ? :)

I am sure this mom & baby image of cute owls will bring a smile on your face :) 

 

This is made with craft felt which I have been stashing for a long time . I saw it on pinterest and made a free hand drawing on paper . Lesson learnt for next time -  make a proper template for each part . Anyways , with trial and error , I successfully completed on weekend .

I started working on Julia blackwork . I wanted to make it larger size and also since I was new to blackwork I decided it will be easier to work on bigger count and I was already done with failed attempts on 18, 16 and 14 counts :(

This is what it will look when completed .

Blackwork can be done with both backstitching and Holbein stitch . Ideally it is done with Holbein stitch when the pattern is reversible . The chart mentioned the use of Holbein stitch but I could not track the stitching back at many points, I think partially because the design is not an easy fill . So rather than getting frustrated, I am stitching with a combination of both stitches because I don't need it to be reversible . The only thing I need to take care is not to jump long stitches from the back side . So far it is looking fine , not great . Have you done blackwork before and are you good at Holbein stitch?

Yesterday , I wore my fitbit for the first time and I completed 10,104 steps but the major chunk came from my morning walk . So the days I am going on walk, it is not difficult to hit the minimum count. Other days, I try to burn the equivalent amount of calories even if the steps are less . To reduce weight , I think I need 30k-40k steps everyday :) But I have learned a hard lesson from my previous ways of reducing weight that slow and steady lasts longer, and I am making a reasonable progress there :)

Have a crafty week ahead!
Preeti :)

Recycle Rush !! :D

There isn't any 'Gold Rush' happening and as an avid crazy crafter I will always prefer a 'Recycle Rush' turning 'just unwanted things' into 'beautiful unwanted things' :D

Well, I woke up to a hard realization that my home isn't going to get any cleaner or clutter free just by pinning homemaking tips on Pinterest . That's what I (we, considering he did his part) was doing last two weeks - clothes and kitchen . I gave away items in good condition and now I know what's there in the loft too . I no longer throw 'don't know' looks at Raj when I ask him to pull something from the loft. Always, the entire content of loft is brought down whenever I need one small thing which I strongly anticipate that it is hiding in one of the corners of the loft . Sadly, that doesn't happen and we have three such big lofts .

I had plans to recycle these boxes of multi-flavored cheese wedges into something crafty as they are good to make decorative button shape boxes . Anshita likes flavored cheese wedges and we usually get very often for her snacks . But I kept only two to recycle .

I have tried to take good pictures as they do in many DIY sites to make the easy-peasy craft look exotic ;)

Box before

Painted as a large button and added a lace on the edge .

My first quilling attempt , I deliberately let it roll in any direction inside not following the quilling concepts.

I also made good progress on my height chart : completed flower, monkey face and started the giraffe on the top .

I have been collecting many items for recycling purpose and I think it is time to declutter that as well.

Thank you for your comments on my last post, I will be closing the Messy to Classy link party tab . I need to update my cross stitch finishes on the blog . So far , I have been updating on the right side bar for easy access to someone who is new to my blog but now I am thinking to add tab for finishes, both crochet and cross stitch . However, in mobile version both the tabs and sidebar aren't visible . How do you prefer to display?

Anshita's annual exams will be over this Friday and then I will have a leisure weekend to design and write some crochet patterns for my website . I haven't done much after I first released it .

Have a crafty day !
Preeti :)

A little something for my blogger friend:))

Remember , I mentioned about a secret gift for someone that I was making in the last few posts ? Well , I am glad that it reached its destination and the person who received the surprise was one of my blogger friends , Daniela in Slovakia :)

She was surprised to receive it and it took a long time to reach her but I was glad it wasn't lost anywhere . I also sent few little things but forgot to take pics . You can see on her blogpost . I secretly got her address from our common blogger friend Nurdan . She doesn't blog anymore . Thanks for keeping the secret , Nurdan :)

This gift was for participating in my Messy to Classy link party . I had promised that I will give handmade gift to two persons but since there were less people who participated , I decided to give to only one person . She posted without fail each month . Although her posts went beyond just craft organization she ensured that it was related to decor . More than that , I was touched by her simplicity to stick with me and stand for me even when I wasn't posting :)  Thank you so much , Daniela !!:)) Thank you to others as well who participated and even if it was once, it meant a lot to me :) But I hope you won't mind my decision to give to the person who deserved more than just selecting through a draw as stated earlier .

The pattern for these doilies is from the book  99 little doilies by Patricia Kristoffersen. I made with Anchor knitting cotton and 2 .75 mm hook .

Thanks to all, for your comments !! I started replying but then again I am back to my usual laziness .

Anshita's annual exams have started and I have been busy a bit in other things too. I will have some progress to show next week .

Have a great day!

Preeti :)