Happy Diwali with a published gift !!!:)

Wish you all a very happy , safe and prosperous Diwali !!:)

Courtesy : Internet

On this ocassion , I am glad to share that my crochet Diwali Diya pattern got published in the Oct-Dec, 2016 issue of Anchor Needle 'N' Thread magazine , India .

About Diwali - Diwali is the biggest Hindu festival . According to Hindu mythology , this day Lord Rama returned to his kingdom in Ayodhya after his victory over the demon king Ravana . After fighting a fierce battle with demon's army , Rama got back his beloved wife Sita who was kidnapped by Ravana . Also it was the end of Rama's 14 years of exile that was ordered by his step mother . On his return , the entire kingdom was lit by lamps since it was a day of Amavasya (no moon day) .

The term ' Diwali ' means a ' series of light ' and is celebrated by lighting lot of earthen lamps and lanterns . Delicious sweets and snacks are prepared and we light crackers for fun !

Have a great weekend!
Preeti :)

Small little things !!:)

Thank you for your support and wishes on my last post ! I did well on my stall activity and sold more than I expected :)

I did not have accessories to display things and I did not want to invest on those either . I used the items at home and Raj made a notice board for me out of a photo frame . A stall was equivalent to a table , medium sized , good for me as I did not have too many things .

I made small crochet items for sale as I had only two weeks . Considering that it was a fun fair kind of thing and that residents will purchase just for fun so I made low-cost small items than costly large ones .

These are the things I made . I made 10-12 of each item . Anshita created and printed the packaging details for me and Raj helped pack those in zip bags .  Here are few samples .

Heart keychain . These were all sold out :) Free pattern here 

Crochet coasters , I made few earlier here

Crochet applique - a free pattern which I edited into smaller version .

Doll's accessories , these received lots of smiles and sold well too :) Made from my own pattern

Diwali diya hanging designed by me

Luggage/purse tag . These were all sold out too . Free pattern here

I also made beginner's cross stitch kits - four of the same design, will share picture in the next post. None purchased but people showed interest in knowing what it is . The good thing is that I learned to make a kit , otherwise , so far I have only designed charts .

I also kept some homemade chocolate packs for kids because I had all girly things on my stall .

Homemade chocolates - I just wrapped in foil, into a zip bag and tied a ribbon

These were the different shapes of chocolates that I made .

Dinosaurs and Robots

Assorted shapes

Assorted shapes - dark chocolate

It was a very nice experience and residents , both known and new , who visited my stall appreciated my work :) I did find a few who were interested or were into crafting but none who did crochet .

Life is busy again but I do remember about my challenge and I will be making 'Temari Balls' , a Japanese craft , in November . I had purchased a book long back , you can see how beautiful and intricate this art is in the pictures I posted here .

It was an overdose of crochet , first cushions then so many stall things , so last weekend I did some cross stitch which I will share in the next post :)

Hope you are having a great week !
Preeti :)