From the day I joined Ravelry, I have been addicted to it. So much so that whenever I sit at the computer the kids ask me if l was checking out ravelry. Ravelry can also be blamed for my not updating my blogs as regularly as I used to. 
This post is long overdue and now that I have returned after our revelry in Bangalore, I thought I would share our shopping experience with fellow ravelers who didn’t join us when we went silk yarn shopping.
The day after I reached Bangalore I accompanied my sister-in-law to Raja Market where Sanhita had taken me earlier to shop. We found the shop quite easily and quickly filled bags with the “yummy” acrylic which was stacked in myriad colors.
Then since I wanted Laura cotton, I took directions from Sanhita for Bharat Fancy store and just when I was about to give up the search spotted it. So I got us some Laura cotton and was about to leave when we got caught in a torrential downpour. We were stranded for close to 45 minutes and we literally waded our way out from the market.
I got
Since this is going to be a picture heavy post, I am not posting rest of the bounty.
The day dawned bright and sunny on the day we ravelers met, but somehow the weatherman knew I was going to go yarn shopping again. After we got in the car and reached Silkindian a downpour began and we all rushed inside the shop just short of getting drenched.
We went berserk unable to choose from the lot and had fun discussing what to make with the different weights of yarn. Finally I picked up Leann’s yarn 
and Shilpa’s 15/3 spun silk
Last but not the least I picked up sari silk yarn to make a purse more out of curiosity. 
It has transformed into a purse and would be another blog post soon.
We left Silkindian with lighter purses and heavier bags. The rain let up just to let us have our show and tell at CCD, where we literally lost track of time chatting about everything under the sun. Suma and me got dropped off at a point and struggled to find an auto. Just as we found one and took off the rain took off too and we were stranded again for an hour in the downpour in heavy traffic (wonder which was heavier!)
However, it was so much fun meeting all like minded crafters and it sure was revelry all the way.:)
R(a)evelry
Trying a new yarn…
It has been a while since I blogged. I had too much work on my hands. Apart from the regular routine of running the house and picking up after the children, I had several projects which were on needles and hooks to be tested. And one day I came across Bonnie (knitbunnie) looking for people to test her yarn. Adventurous after testing the paper yarn I wrote to her that I would be interested in testing her yarns.
The next week saw me drooling over my package from Bonnie which had lovely balls of cotton thread (size 5) balls and Wraphia (rayon-paper) yarn in three different colors. I took close to week deciding what to make as I wanted to make anything and everything I found on ravelry. Finally, I decided to go with the time tested granny. And granny it was. I first made cell phone case with the wraphia. But I was not too impressed with the outcome.
However, I began the granny square bag. Since it would turn out to be quite a large bag, I was wondering if I would have enough yarn. So I also used the Hamanaka yarn which is a different brand of Rayon-paper yarn gifted to me by S.
The bag turned out quite well. If only I could better my sewing skills, I would have lined the bag in a better way. May be I should invest in a machine now. If the spouse reads this he would mutter to himself “To add to all the existing junk” This month I also got quite a number of crochet books to my already staggering bookshelf. Linda (limberlostgirl) a fellow raveller sent me lovely back issues of Magic Crochet, Crochet Fantasy and a couple of doily books. My sister sent me the spring issue of Interweave Crochet and S got me The Best of Interweave Knits. Thank you guys.
Last but not the least, we had a great time at the ravelry meet at the Taj, where we bade farewell to Leann (bnanie) who is leaving for Boston this month. She gifted us all some yummy sock yarn, which is now awaiting me to cast on. Thank you Leann, we will all miss you at our next meet.
Testing a new yarn
It is not always that I find good yarn in my neck of the woods. So when I chanced upon paper yarn I went berserk. It was a tad pricey for such a wee amount of yarn. But what the heck! I wanted to try out this new material at any cost. 
When asked to show me the yarn, the shop guy looked amused because I asked for that “yarn”.
“That is decorative paper madam,” he explained.
Though a wee bit annoyed that he thought that I couldn’t differentiate between decorative paper and yarn, I curiously fingered the yarn(?) and took three skeins….just to test the waters before getting a whole pack. Very doubtful that the yarn could break or tear, I spent the whole evening just touching and feeling it till members of the household threw me irritatingly amusing glances.
The next morning I spent at least half hour just thinking of which hook to use. When I finally selected the H hook and decided that I would make granny squares as a testing project.
After making the granny squares and I found that it was satisfactory, I decided that I would join it to make a pen holder.
Initially I was reluctant to slip stitch the squares for fear of breaking the yarn. But surprisingly I could easily slip stich. Finally, I glued the slip stitched squares to the base instead of slip stitching them.
Now, I had one skein and a few yards of the other skeins on hand. So I decided that I would test another pattern.
This was to be a flower basket. When my father comes home to visit, he takes a plate outside to the garden to pluck flowers for puja (morning prayers). So I thought this time I would give him a trendy basket to collect his flowers.
So with that in mind and armed with my H hook, I made this basket, the pattern for which can be found below. If you spot any errors please let me know.
Flower Basket
Ch 6. Join.
1. Make 10 sc in the ring formed. Join with sl st in the first st. turn.
2. Ch 1, sc in the next st. 2 sc in the next st, repeat around. Join with Sl st in the first st. (15 sc)
3. Ch1, sc in next st, 2 sc in the next st, repeat around. Join with sl st in the first st. (22 sc)
4. Ch 1, sc in the next st, 2sc in the next st, repeat around. Join with sl st in the first st. (32)
5. Ch 2, hdc around (32 hdc)
6. Ch 2, hdc in the next st, 2 hdc in the next st. repeat around. Join.
7. Ch 2, hdc in the next st, 2 hdc in the next st. repeat around. Join.
8. Ch 5, skip next st, sc in next st. Ch 2, skip next st, repeat around. Join.
9. Sl st to the center of next st, ch3 sc in next loop, repeat around. Join.
10. Ch 4, dc in next loop, ch 1 dc in next loop, repeat around. Join.
11. Ch 3, dc in next dc, dc in ch 1 space, dc in next dc, repeat around. Join.
Weave in ends. Turn bowl inside out.
Back after a break
I am back. It has been quite a long break, but then as I have mentioned in an earlier post, having too many hobbies can also be tiring at times. Especially with several projects on hooks and a couple on needles, writing two blogs….well! I am not complaining.:)
So what have I been doing? Crochet-wise I have been doing things which I haven’t done before. That is, I tested a hairband for someone and it was pretty cool. I also tested a top for a designer and it turned out super cool. Also, it is the first time I am making a wearable for my own daughter. In 
all these years of crocheting, I have never made a hat, which somebody told was the project beginners chose. Somehow it never occurred to me to make one, though I had several patterns to choose from. I guess it could be because I never wore one.:) While the above took me just a few hours of my time, knitting seem to take ages. I made a couple of dishcloths. I just took three days to complete one, believe it or not. For a beginner, I think this time frame might be acceptable, but then I do get frustrated.
It was during one of my knitting spree my m.i.l visited. She was looking at me knitting with an amused expression on her face. She looked at me battling with the cables and generously offered to teach. But the cables though a little out of shape were ok and I have to admit that it was tiring to hold three needles and managing to pull and not slip any stitches. But I left people in stitches. My binding off technics had people rolling on the floor laughing. I am glad nobody took a picture of that. I am ridiculously funny when I bind off my work. I twist and turn along with the stitches, pursing my lips at times, gritting my teeth and breathing a huge sigh of relief as I bind off one stitch in say five minutes at least. I really hope I quicken up my pace, otherwise I might end up giving up on knitting and losing out on a wonderful hobby.
Anyways I would like to end on a happy note. A friend of mine who went to Singapore gave me a very thoughtful gift. She brought me a ball of paper 
silk yarn. I am still touching it and admiring it, unable to make up mind as to which pattern to make from it.
As the year ends…
Another year ends. It has not been a full year of blogging for me. I started out late in July, with little or no hopes of filling my pages. When I moved to Chennai, little did I know about blogging or the number of friends I would make out of blogging. With the blog taking shape, I intended it to be a catalog of sorts for the different hobbies I dabbled in and a showcase in which to preserve my projects.
Blogging I discovered is addictive. The urge to look into the comments and interact with other bloggers is a pleasure. Surfing new blogs and learning and discovering the amazing talent of other bloggers is truly inspiring.
My own limited knowledge about my chosen hobbies has undergone a sea change. I have discovered new technics, gathered knowledge about the different tools used in the craft, and this has helped me learn more in order to better my art.
Last but not the least, it has also helped increase my already overflowing stash of different art materials.
In painting, my stock of color pencils, pastels, crayons, acrylic and oil paints have gone up. My embroidery floss collection has doubled. My knitting and crochet accessories have quadrupled. For general crafting work I have boxes of shells, beads, and interesting colored seeds which I find falling off trees. The seeds are new in my collection of junk (so called by parents, sibling and the spouse)
This is but a fraction of what I have. Surprisingly, my stash of craft books has not grown this year, which I hope will rectify in the coming year. I hope my sibling and husband take note of this. ….friends too… (we all live in hope don’t we?)
Finally, the above bag is the last project of 2008. I have as usual tweaked the recipe to add a button. The rest of the pattern is the same. The pattern can be found in the pages of Ravelry. Though the husband doesn’t think too highly about the color combination, I love the bag. Its a gift for a friend who shares my hobby and adds her bit to my stash.
However, I have to admit the reason for this multicolored bag. I intended it to be a bag in blue, but ran out of the color and it wasn’t available in my LYS. 
So the I took out this color and thought it was not too bad a match. But then I now realise always by one spool more than what you need. One can always make a bag out of the scraps in the end
Anyways, alls well that ends well.
A very Happy and Prosperous New Year to all my readers.
First steps
The joy of making something and admiring it from a distance can be quite euphoric. Especially if it is something you made for the first time and it turned out better than your own expectations….
There is a standing joke in the family about the wearable I promised I would make for my sister. Since my sister is very finicky about what she wears, the color, the fit etc, I decided to make something for myself (by way of practicing on a wearable) before embarking on a project for her.
I had some multi-colored yarn (red, yellow and green) which seemed sober when I bought it. I made a sleeveless vest using that yarn. The finish was ok (I thought so). I followed instructions for large in the pattern and when I wore it it was larger. And the yarn looked way too loud after taking shape, especially after I wore it and when it invited uncontrolled spasms of laughter from the dear husband. So I decided not to make any wearable and definitely never in bright colors. My sister got me some cotton yarn during a trip abroad and reminded me about the vest I promised, but the yarn turned into something else. To this day I haven’t made any wearable for her. I have frogged the bright colored vest now to make something else.
Recently, when I was going to through my stash I found this light colored yarn and a book I had for frocks for little girls. I have never made anything except afghans for babies so I decided to try the frock. I have to say I was thrilled after finishing it.
3
The small purse to go with it also turned out cute. I only hope my sister’s baby for whom I made this fits into it.
The first doll I made also turned out well. So it seems from the look of this raggedy Ann which has seen better days when the children weren’t around to play with her.
’
Since I am quite satisfied with my wearable and doll I have begun collecting patterns for both and have quite a few favorites to make now. Just waiting with bated breath for the yarn I have ordered.:)
A eureka moment
There are times when I look at someone’s work and give a long sigh thinking that it is impossible for me to complete such a huge project. There are times when I also begin a project with great fanfare and just abandon it, or frog it to start another mega project. During one such phase, I sent an email to a designer expressing a desire to test her pattern. I had forgotten about the email and went about drooling at other people’s work, when out of the blue she replied asking me if I would be interested in testing a table spread pattern of hers. I was elated and jumped at the offer. After sending her a sample swatch I was in.
I took close to two months to complete the squares joining as I went. Lo and behold I finished it and it was a record of sorts for me. However, her design wasn’t published and she sent my work back to me. I don’t know if she was as disappointed as I was on her pattern not being published. I even shed copious tears in the confines of my restroom and came out bleary eyed much to the consternation of the people around me.
This is the first and last mega project I embarked on. Though I have lined up some large projects for the future, this is the one which will remain close to my heart.
Haekel beutel sees the light of day
I was on a blogging break and am back with a bounty. I have increased my stash, finished a couple of projects which was not seeing the light of day. I also went on a stashaholic spree and acquired nylon cords for future bag projects, bag handles and threads for doilies.
And last but not the least I met a lady (age 70 plus) who crochets, but can’t to this day read any pattern and doesn’t know the name of any crochet related stitch. I have known her for over twenty years and was in touch with her on and off, but never knew that she was doing crochet without knowing the names of her stitches. She photo copies some pictures of doilies from the Ondori book and seeing the pictures makes her doilies. She says she is confused with the diagram of the pattern and she finds the picture easier. This time when she gifted me a small pouch I was so surprised that this lady makes these bags and table cloths (medium sized) and is also selling her work.
The reason she gifted me this bag was because I had mentioned in passing that the string I had made for my bags hadn’t turned out well. Immediately the next day she visited me with this bag made out of some scrap thread in her stash. The pattern for this bag is entirely hers. She doesn’t give a lining to these but she lines all her clutch purses. I now have to figure out her pattern and write it down.
In return I taught her how to make the Haekel beutel bag. I have no doubt she would gift me with one the next time I visit her.
While holidaying, I finished the Haekel beutel and a pinwheel doily.
The Haekel…. was done with Anchor Knitting Cotton, which according to me is slightly thicker than size 10 thread. I lined it before joining the squares. I am not entirely satisfied with the bag because it sags.
I am very pleased with my doily which I made with size 10 thread from a lesser known brand called Chain 10. Though I haven’t starched or blocked my doily, it has stayed in shape and is quite stiff.
Bags, Totes, et al.,
Bags, purses, totes, clutch, any other, in any material you name, I have it. But it was never enough. I had to make one on my own. Thus started my tryst with crocheting bags. So when I went to Walmart one day I chanced upon this flier for a string bag. The string bag was to be made using crafty cotton by Yarns Brunswick. So I picked up a couple of colors and in a couple of sittings finished the bag. I was so excited by the final look of the bag, that one day I even took it out for shopping. Wonder of wonders, I was stopped by two ladies in Costco, who asked me where I got the bag. Needless to say I was pleased as punch and told them it was my first effort at crocheting a bag and that I got the simplest pattern from a flier. After several oohs and aahs over it and other crochet related discussions I left them making up my mind to make a few more. But after this particular pattern, the bags which I made were all my own versions of sling bags and were all gifted away during Navratri to bagaholics like me.
Recently when I was checking my inventory of bags, I was shocked to find that I just have two finished bags and one purse in progress. My other work in queue is the now famous Haekel beutel bag, which I have set my sights on.
My other finished tote is taken from a pattern from Crochet World. It is actually a back pack which I decided to overlook and made it into a sling bag using worsted weight yarn.
The reason for my dwindling collection of bags is that friends and relatives like my bags more than I do. Otherwise would I have gifted all those bags I made.
There is also a nagging doubt after finishing a bag project if it was up to the mark, whether it puckers here or there, if the color is right after all…. it never ends. Also, like the cook who likes to tweak recipes to suit her taste, I have to tweak a pattern here or there which may be the reason behind my never achieving complete satisfaction over the bag I make.:) And so it leaves me with “Should I follow a pattern to the T?” Please let me know.
Afghans and Shawls
The number of Afghans I have made is just four. All the four were made with donations in mind. Thanks to Mary Cahill I donated two Granny square afghans to the charity, the group members were donating. The other two were single colored and simple patterned afghans favored by beginners, that I donated to a local charity on my own.
While talking to a friend about how I was planning to make an afghan as I had gifted and didn’t have any for myself, my five year-old who happened to overhear this, told me that I should make for her like I had made for others. Seemed a good enough reason to start on one. So I made this and she snuggled into it while watching TV. It worked well for the Bangalore winter.
Now with the move to Chennai, I don’t know if I would ever be able to make an afghan anymore, considering just three seasons the city is famous for in a year…. Hot, hotter and hottest.
I would also like to show off this lovely summer shawl that I made with fingering yarn, gifted to me by a lady in my crochet group. This is the first wearable I made.
Looking at some of the afghans in the magazines and the ones made by friends in cyberdom, I have got this strong urge to make one more, at least a baby blanket. But this weather does put me off. I have half a mind to join an Afghan making group but I am procrastinating on that.
The shawl’s pattern has been taken from the magazine Old Time Crochet. Unfortunately, unless I take a vacation in cooler climes it has to languish in its place in the cupboard.
