Living with the doily mania!!

Hello all !! Hope you had a nice weekend. Thanks to all of you for visiting me , for the compliments on my cross stitch butterfly and wishes for my new home!! :)
Just wanted to share one more doily named as ‘Sunburst’ from the book , ‘Stellar Beauties’, Leisure Art publications . I made it with Anchor Red heart size 20 mercerized crochet cotton and hook 1.5 mm . It measures 18 inches across . I also added pink acrylic beads on few picots on the outer circle :)

When I am not able to decide what to make or do not have enough time to complete an existing WIP, I start making a doily :)

 

 

While Blocking

My Garden is doing fine and Zinnias have started giving flowers :) I will share the pictures in next post.
Thanks for seeing!! Do write in.

Preeti :)


 

A butterfly charm !!!!! :)

It has been quite a while I haven’t posted anything . I have completed some of my WIPs but no time to take pictures and post . I was slow on reading blogs too .
I cross stitched this beautiful butterfly charm on a 14-count white plastic mesh using Anchor threads . This chart is from the magazine Cross Stitcher January 2011 issue . As usual , I changed few colors based on available stock at home and my choice . It is supposed to be a bag charm but I am going to use it as a hanging for Anshita’s room in the new house . These beautiful Hibiscus flowers are from my tiny balcony garden :)


 

 One of the major reasons for my absence is that the woodwork for our new house has started . These magazines , which I bought in last couple of years, are coming in handy now.

 Although I have extensively searched for designs on internet still it is very difficult to come up with right design . Raj wants everything trendy and I go for contemporary . So we are having fights daily . The same carpenters who worked for our existing flat are working for new house too so at least they are sincere towards us and I am comfortable to speak to them . It is 2200 sq. ft. in area so lot needs to be done in next 2 months . It is both exciting as well as intimidating . Hope everything goes well..…wish us good luck  !! :)

Thanks for visiting!! I hope you enjoyed the colorful butterfly.

Have a nice day!!
Preeti :)

 

Colorful doily, features and an award!!

Thank you all for your sweet comments on my crochet pencil pouch ! :) My replies are on the way at snail's pace as usual .

 

I made this round colorful doily with lovely cotton threads which Rajeswari from Diapermum had sent me with the giveaway I had won. This doily measures 16 inches across . It is a free pattern from Coats Crafts UK . I got this link from my blogger friend Olga from Lacy Crochet .  You can see the pattern link on her blog here (she has some more doily pattern links) or a direct pattern link here .

 

I made the flowers in yellow and leaves in green.

Can you make that out? Anshita did but Raj could not.

 

 

And I am glad to share with you all my features on below two link parties .

• My biggest doily on the link party ‘Hookin on Hump Day’ co-hosted by Tamara of Moogly blog and Sara of My merry messy life . Thank you Sara and Tamara ! :)
• My beige color doily on link party  'Busy fingers showing off'  hosted by Barbara . Thank you Barbara ! :)
  Do join in the above link parties and have fun visiting lots of crafty creations / creators .

I was awarded a 'Super Sweet Blogging' award by Lisa of My world of colors . Thank you Lisa ! :)

 

 

 

 

 

Happy weekend !!
Preeti :)

 

 

Crochet Pencil Pouch !! :)

Hello all !! Hope you had a nice weekend. A warm welcome to my both new and old friends :) I have tried reaching all the new friends but somehow I could not reach few of you through your profiles . If you think I haven’t visited you back , then leave a comment mentioning your blog name . I will be happy to visit you back.

I made this pencil pouch couple of months back but just could not put the pieces together for some or the other reasons . It was a bit frustrating but finally completed . Anshita is very happy but I feel I could have done better.

 

I made it with Anchor knitting cotton and hook size 2 .75 mm . Both the parts , front and back , were made separately . I lined it with a soft cotton fabric but it gets wrinkled from inside .
Design is just simple with rows of HDCs in three colors . I used eyelash yarn to give that Diva effect for a teenager pouch. One row is of puff stitch and stitch pattern for one of the rows (dotted lines) is from here. This stitch calls for 2 different sizes of thread but I was already using thinner yarn so I used both same size yarn. Back side is just simple as well.  For lining and adding zipper, I referred a tutorial from here.

 

Back side

Now the frustrating part . I crocheted a bit loose with eyelash yarn therefore the front part expanded a bit compared to the back. I broke the needle of my sewing machine while adding a zip :( I concluded that I have more control on my hand than sewing machine .

 

 

I guess the overall pouch looks good for a teenager, Anshita is not a teenager yet but still enjoys flashy items :) She doesn’t like pink but having base color as purple, she okayed it . I will try for perfection next time .

What do you say?

Have a crafty week!
Preeti :)

 

Turtle Trot 2013 July update !

It is time for Turtle Trot 2013 SAL update . Every 13th of the month we share the progress on our chosen 13 projects for this SAL . I am a bit late this month. See here to know about my 13 projects. To read about and sign up for this SAL , visit BAP Attack blog.

I managed to complete one project - 'Drama Queen'. This takes my completed projects count to 2 . Still need to work on 11 projects . I am liking this SAL and planning to continue next year too . :)

1. Drama Queen’ by Kyla May from the book, ‘Smirk attitudes A to Z’, Leisure arts . This is completed. For more pictures , see here .

Chart

 

Before

 

After completion

2. Humming Bird Quartet by Frankie Buckley, Leisure arts.

Chart

Before

After. A bit of flower and green surrounding it

 

3. Cross stitch blooms by Barbara Baatz Hillman, Leisure arts

Chart

 

 Before

 

After 

4. A floral border from the book "Embroideries and patterns from 19th Century Vienna

Chart

Before

 

After 

5. Nature's charm by Dimensions 


 

Chart

Before

 

After

 

Have a nice Sunday!

Preeti :)

 

 

 

A cross stitch finish and beige doily update !!!

I don’t know how I forgot . Today morning, when I was looking through some embellishments , I saw a crochet flower which I made for the center of the beige doily I showed in my previous post . I was astonished how I not noticed such a big mistake . It was the part of pattern. Anyways , maybe I am growing old ;) I added that and have updated my doily pictures in this post .

But first, another cross stitch finish !! :)

This is one of my Turtle Trot SAL projects . Titled as ‘ Drama Queen’, this chart is from the book ‘Smirk attitudes A to Z’ by Kyla May, Leisure Arts publications .


I love those tiny accessories of hers . Aren't those cute ? :) I changed few colors as per my choice . This is made on a 14 count aida fabric using 3 strands of thread. There were too many quarter stitches . The cross stitched portion is 4x6 inches .

And this is my doily ----with the missing flower in the center :) Does it look better now ?

Hope you liked my‘ Drama Queen’!!!

Happy crafting!! :)
Preeti

A beige doily and Garden update !!!!

Hi !!!!!! Hope you had a lovely weekend!

I experimented with beige color and I loved this doily while I was crocheting but after taking pictures I am not that a beige color fan now. This is a design from the book ‘A year of doilies Book 5’ by Leisure arts . It measures 12 inches across .

While blocking

On Saturday, we attended the silver jubilee function of Anshita’s school in a big indoor stadium . It is one of the biggest school in the city so the silver jubilee celebration too was grand. We enjoyed it a lot !! :) No cameras were allowed so no pictures . We will get the CD from the school later. Anshita has been in that school for around 9 years . She started going to nursery at the age of 2 .5 years . In India, schooling (Lower kindergarten) starts at the age of between 3 -4 years .

My gardening is by far going fine...…not a total failure . As I mentioned earlier, I got some more flowering plants from nursery

 

Above are few more of my plants from seeds waiting to be transferred into a bigger pot. These disposable plastic cups are no longer needed at home since everyone (that's me only :)) wants designer disposable cups .  So I used them to pot seeds and later cut it to transfer.

 

 

We live on 4th floor. There are not more than 5 floors on any residential buildings in our area as per govt rules . Our balcony gets lot of wind and sun . It is completely covered with iron grill because when I used to go to office, Anshita stayed with a nanny at home . We decided not to take risk and let her roam freely anywhere . Most of them who have kids have installed the grill in their balconies . I love to have an independent house with a small lawn but, here in this area, it costs some INR 20-30 million onwards. There is no point working entire life paying installments .

 

I have a couple of colorful doilies to block but just do not have enough time . Well, there are many reasons but one of them is this :) lol !! :)

Courtesy : Pinterest

Wish you a crafty week ahead !!

Preeti :)