I know you are missing my posts :D

Hello all, Thanks for your comments on my previous post :)

It has been more than a month I did not post. Life was/is busy, but I wasn't away from my crafting and could also manage to read your blogs, albeit not regular.

Here is my colorful crochet table runner that I made last month. I posted it on my Ravelry account. I am a member of a group that was having a two month event to make something colorful for the home. A table runner was due and I was inspired to not only join but also complete in time:)

The free pattern is from Frida's flowers. I chose three types of hexagons and joined them. I used Anchor knitting cotton and 2.75mm hook. For border, I made rounds of single crochets in three shades.

Block 3

Block 6

Block 7

Hope you liked my table runner. I also started some sewing project last month and another crochet table cloth which are progressing at a snail's pace. It has been a month I haven't cross-stitched. I did some needlepoint stitching using a kit that required working with yarn. I missed the delicateness of threads so I kept it aside for some time(read few months)

I have another good news, we bought a new house and this time it is not a flat/apartment but an independent house in a gated community. We are having some tile work, lift work(we have a lift in the house:) It is G+2 floors. I am into designing and researching again for interiors. I thought of taking a break from blogging but then I don't think I can be away for a long time, and reading blogs doesn't take that long as to plan and write blog-posts. So mostly, I will be here to enjoy with you:)

Have a great day!
Preeti

Crochet doily

Thank you for your comments on my last post. I am on my way to begin my twelve days of new-project-a-day challenge that starts from 1st Feb.

Here is a quick update on my finished crochet doily which I completed last year but could not make it here due to my blog processing activities.

It measures 14 inches wide and I crocheted it with Anchor size 20 thread and 1.5 mm hook.

I am just so embarrassed to write only few words when I boasted in the last post that I will be back with more words. Can't help it, it's your day, enjoy! :)

Have a great week!
Preeti

Welcome 2018 ! :)

Happy new year to all of you ! :) Hope you had a fun and relaxing new year eve .

I have been running behind some plans for new year mainly setting up goals which I have been doing for the past three years . Earlier I had given up on goals but setting them up gives me a hope that there is much to look forward to in life and learn new things . So I forget the past failures and set up goals , some of them quite elaborate , and prepare myself , yet again , to fail ! ...he he. If I complete even 1% of the list , believe me it is usually a big list, I am happy :)

Here is what I revived from last year into the new year . I recycled Anshita's old water bottle into a vase with crochet cover and decorative accents . I gave the task of taking pics to Anshita and Raj . A flower and leaves were hurriedly snapped from the plants in the balcony and arranged in a manner which they termed eclectic . After that , their main object of interest was the flower and depth effect pictures , not the vase at all .

Before

After

I used left over Lily sugar n cream cotton yarn and some anchor knitting cotton . The sleeve of the vase and accents can be taken out and cleaned whenever needed .

Looking forward to your creations this year.

Have a creative and happy 2018!
Preeti :)

What am I upto? let's see :)

I may not have been blogging but I am upto something and everything :) Sharing my finishes and WIPs . I made few doilies in last two months but I forgot where I kept those while our house was getting painted . Just found them a couple of days back .

 

Star Shine doily . Free pattern here I used S&N fingering weight cotton yarn . It is soft like pearl thread

Spring Brilliance doily . Free pattern here

I made this with variegated Lizbeth thread size 10 but I am not happy with the outcome . I just had one ball of it and I wanted a perfect sized doily to use up the thread . The design is quite beautiful but I did not do justice to it . I did not have similar type solid thread to give a better finish. I will try again without variegated thread .

Floating lights for Diwali celebrations

floating lights video . Not sure if this will play on windows

Anshita made this Rangoli at the main door

Started a new cross stitch Design by : Zindagi designs

I won this chart from Tiffany at Tiffstitches in one of her giveaways .  Thank you Tiffany !

I started another Durene Jones design and I am working on DMC 28count linen. It is very difficult to manoeuvre the shadowy effect of threads on thinner motifs and I am finding it boring to do so .  Any stitching tips for stitching on linen are welcome . I am contemplating to switch back to aida . 

Height chart . I made good progress completing the lower neck of the giraffe , some part of tree and a toucan on the left . Now I am bored of stitching people, fairies and animals . 

Spinach in my balcony is going great !

I am doing fine and my treatment for gynecological issues is working fine too . I just need to go for a checkup every six months for four years . I have many things on my todo list and I am way behind in gardening . Need to sow seeds this week . I hope to show little sewing finishes in next blog post . Till then,

Happy crafting

Preeti :)

Falling for the stars crochet doily....

Here is another crochet doily I completed blocking . It is made with Anchor knitting cotton and 2.5 mm crochet hook and measures 18.5 inches across .

The pattern is known as 'Falling for the stars' and is designed by Kathryn White for the Crochet World magazine, June 2011.

Hope you liked it . I am almost done with one more cross stitch and also I have a lovely exchange to share with you in my next post :)

Happy crafting!

Preeti

Crochet doily and Cross stitch progress

Thanks for your comments on my last post . I completed blocking two doilies , here is a small black doily from the book series , ' A year of doilies ' book 5. Made with size 20 Anchor crochet thread, it measures 10 inches across .

My Kitty Litter project is on track and I worked on it in the first week of May . Although I couldn't make progress as I wished for but still it's good

After : Completed the leftmost kitty

Before

My belated Bday gifts from Raj - I got the Soda cross stitch 'Elf Garden' (from Soda Stitch Indonesia) in March and a new iPhone 7 plus in April . I have started working on the cross stitch :)

I got some fabric stash few weeks back of different varieties to understand working with those , maybe , in distant future :D 

Crepe silk , Rayon and velvet fabrics

Cotton printed

Jute and Handloom cotton printed

Woolen printed fabrics

I got these online from Fabriclore.com

Happy crafting !!

Preeti

Few little things and some stash !!:)

Thank you all for your wishes :) I so much wanted to personally reply to each one of you but it just didn't happen . I finished a cross stitch project but it is meant for an exchange so I cannot show it here .

Anshita made this wonderful card for me and also designed a cup and got it printed online :)

Isn't it cute ? She hasn't ever paid attention to how many spools are used in a sewing machine because she follows hobbies other than mine . She used perler beads to create the sewing machine and wrapped endless amount of crochet thread on the spools and near the needles :))

Raj cooked my favorite food in the evening , gave me some jewellery , a 12-slot earring box and loads of chocolates which I ate up :D I didn't take any pictures of those , even the above one I asked Anshita to take it for me as I was lazy to do my own job . He also ordered a cross stitch chart I asked for and some more are still pending to be ordered as I haven't shortlisted . Probably , they will merge with my own stash shopping :) We also played few games and enjoyed a great family time !

I went to a newly opened linen clothing store nearby and enjoyed seeing the colorful stacks . These aren't as such meant for cross stitching but for experimental basis I just bought two flax linens .

large spools of colorful threads at the billing counter

stacks of pure linen fabric

I am getting a consistent harvest from my single chilly plant .

I got some more plants from the nursery, will try to share next time .

Keep crafting !
Preeti :)

Happy Birthday to me !! :D

Thanks for the great response on my Lady Bird fairy in the last post ! :)

Today is my Birthday and here is some beauty to share .....:)

Pointed Harmony Doily

I made this doily with size 20 Anchor crochet thread and 1 mm hook and it measures around 18 inches at the farthest points . It was very difficult to block so many picots on the doily .
It is a vintage pattern from the book , 'Old-Fashioned Doilies to Crochet ' edited by Rita Weiss . It is also available for free here . Hope you like it .

Have a great day !

Preeti :)

Rescuing my blog from oblivion ....

I wasn't left behind in 2016 !! :)
Thank you for your wishes and comments on my last post . It has been more than a month I did not post and in between few days I was away from the blog reading too . Thanks to some of my blogger friends who felt my long absence and checked on me , it means a lot to me :)

I had guests and followed by that , soon after , I went on a family vacation to Mumbai and Goa . Even today , I had a blogging block and wasn't much interested in editing photos . But still I need to give a proof that all is well with my needles , so here it is ....

These are two black and white crochet doilies that I am working on as part of a Ravelry group challenge to make as many as one can in 2017. The white one is complete but needs weaving-in and blocking , so I hope I will be back soon .

Well that's what my first new year post turned out to be but , don't worry , I will not let the blogging block hit me again :) And yes, I might be the last one among the bloggers to say ........

Happy New Year :))

Preeti

Crafting new things :)

Hello , hope you are having a busy creative time . Two weeks back , Raj and Anshita had their Birthdays and apart from store bought gifts and cooking their favorite food ,  I also made something handmade for them .

Crochet Scarf for Anshita :)

I had this Red Heart boutique ribbons yarn in my stash for a long time and I used this free scarf pattern . There is a video on the same link which is more helpful than the written pattern and one has to wind the yarn in a specific way which is also shown in the video . The scarf turned out a bit long as I just wanted to finish that one ball :)

We went out with few of Anshita's friends to play laser tag . They aren't yet ready to grow up :)

For Raj , I made a zippered passport bag :)

Not sure if he will use it but he was happy to get one . I used chain stitch to embroider 'Bon voyage' on a patch of felt fabric .

I made an eggless vanilla sponge cake which turned out very well and spongy . Recipe here .

I have completed cross stitch ladybird fairy but I don't have time to take nice pictures . Hopefully, I will share before the year end .

Happy crafting! :)
Preeti

Temari challenge - Week1 and few more updates :)

As you all know I decided to take a challenge to learn a new craft and dedicate an entire month towards it, this is where I am at the end of first week of November with my new craft - the Japanese Temari ball .

I have a book 'Temari Techniques' by Barbara B. Suess and I am also learning from the website TemariKai . Below is the process I followed to make the ball , enlarge image to see the text . 

Looked a happy red ball of circumference 25 cms. until I started poking pins to mark the points . Many thread loops came out and then I understood that I should wind it more tightly . I did one more round of covering with a single sewing thread . I had to be careful and slow because fast and tight winding could have cut my finger . My ball then got reduced to a firm 24 cms in circumference . 

Some mathematics is involved in creating the guidelines on which the embroidery is done . I started with an intermediate level of S16 division . The ball is divided into Longitudinal lines and an equator which is called as 'obi' in this craft .  

When I was 90% done with my guidelines marking , the metallic thread frayed and broke :( So I used Anchor pearl cotton thread in golden shade . Since the ball is small so I am going to embroider it with Anchor pearl cotton threads .

As promised earlier , here are few images of my cushions together 

 

These are the cross stitch projects I worked on last month .

Height chart :- I managed a good amount of negative progress - truncated a large chunk of tree :((((

Dimensions Kitty Litter :- Almost completed the black cat on the extreme right and started a new grey one on the extreme left . I planned to complete this project on my last Birthday but seems it might even take another birth to complete :)

Ladybird fairy :- Worked on the skin part , it will look better after back stitching .

Thanks for seeing!

Happy crafting!

Preeti