v-allknit

progress in Wool eater

2010-04-30T03:02:00.000-07:00

i am loving it :)

one repeat of all the colors i am gonna use, may be i shall do total of three repeats, lets see how things progress.

Here is what i did today, made a zebra cake

this is really very tasty and kids love the design, got the idea from http://www.sailajakitchen.com/2009/09/zebra-cake.html

the basic recipe is mine, got it from a friend.

Recipe for cake

You will need

A) 4 eggs,

3/4th cup ( about 250 ml level on a measuring jar ) powered sugar

3/4th cup ( 250 ml ) refined oil ( one can make with same quantity of butter for richer taste )

B) 2 1/2 ( two and a half ) cups Maida ( flour )

1/2 tsp baking power

3/4 tsp Meetha Soda ( soda bi carb )

Few drops of vanilla essence ( 2-3 drops )

Optional 5 tsp cocco for chocolate cake.

Seive all the ingridents in B 3- 4 times.

Mix A together till frothy ( one can use forks or wisp or beater ) and slowly beat in B.

Pre Heat Oven at about 350 C or te setting for baking.

Put the dough in lightly oiled pan and bake for about 30 mins, check with a tooth pick to see if its done ( the tooth pick should come out clean )

This is where i use my knitting pins :)

Now for Marvel cake or Zebra Cake, divide the dough in to 1/2 or the wayu would want ur cake to be, more chocolate and less vanilla or viza viz

Put cocco in one part, about 3-4 tsp if chocolate part is more, and mix well.

For marvel cake u can put the major part of dough first in the pan and then later add the lesser dough ( say the one which has cocco ) hapazardly in zigzag fashion and put it in the oven

hope you make this super eas cake and love it :)

For Zebra cake check out the site mentioned above, i am lazy in typing :o

wool eater blanket

2010-04-21T05:15:00.000-07:00

Well i have been busy swatching the wool eater blanket.

This is the second swatch with 4 mm hook, but there seems to be "holes" in my work now. looks good even with them. May be will make a airy baby blanket. I have to still think should I carry on or should I start again. Have asked Rufarocrafty ( from Ravelry ) help me out here and I am sure we shall work out on something :)

23 April 2010

I have progressed and am happy the way the blanket is coming out now, thanks to Rufarocrafty, i came to know my mistakes and now i am not repeating them :)

and the colors are cool, next will come cream and then 2 shades of blue, i have a green too, but i am gonna omit that, shall make ab baby set with that, as for this blanket, after the blue shades its gonna be repeat of the shades.

wool eater blanket

2010-04-20T05:05:00.000-07:00

I started this today, was on my wish list for long. its a easy pattern to follow esp when u get the hang of it, but i think i need to do it little more tighter as its beauty is in the boxed "lifted" look and in my work its more of flat finish, i have tried it with 5mm hook and now plan to start again with 4 mm hook as adviced in the pattern.

And these are the colors i am gonna use

After four rows :) and its looking good

this is where i am not comfortable with it, its too drapy.

Here is the progress of Opt Art baby blanket, started with 16 repeats of white, so its gonna be 8 ridges :)

My Merino Shopping

2010-04-19T04:27:00.000-07:00

This is the hottest summer till now but two weeks back i did some wool shopping and I am glad that i did, coz now i dont think i would go to the market to do any type of shopping.

this is my Merino, I havent yet thought what i shall knit it into but its sure is priced possession.

Here is the address of the dealer in Delhi :

A K Woollen Industries,

1267 /1, First Floor, Sadar Bazar Delhi.

Phone 32964607

This is vardhman wool for wool eater blanket, coming up next to the OPt art baby blanket which is about half way through:)

I might make another star blanket with this, again Vardhman.... Jasmine with baby soft wool for sweater and cap

and here is what Opt Art Blanket looks till now

though it has grown few inches more than when the pic was taken. hopefully i finish it soon coz now i am getting impatient. I am at the repeat of Color A for 14 rounds.

magic ball

2010-03-13T04:42:00.000-08:00

So The stash has turned into a large magic ball...........

and here its resting where one day kids are roll over with it

Started the Catherine Wheel Stitch Blanket, row 3 started, with the corretions i had to make on the edges

Catherine Wheel Stitch

2010-03-12T05:58:00.000-08:00

Started with a plan to knit a baby blanket, in Catherine Wheel Stitch, got the pattern form You tube

I think i am doing something simply wrong on the edges, so thought that should either frog the project.... which i didnt want to, so turned it into a small scarf / muffler.

Doesnt look that bad :)

well now with all this stash ( minus my son ) I had read on the Knitter's Review Forum [ http://www.knittersreview.com/article_how_to.asp?article=/review/profile/010726_a.asp,] to make one ball of different yarns and then knit a sweater or any project, its called magic ball ,so I dug up all the stash and the yarn which fitted in to my baby blanket project is here. I have a feeling i might fall short of yarn for this so i am gonna ask for stash form my mother's friends who knit / crochet..... they will beglad to make room in their homes by giving away small balls of yarn and my kids are gonna love it. The thing that worries me is when will i be able to finish it, i have to knit / crochet for a baby due in September, and i dont want to delay projects on that.... time will tell

Picking up hiberating projects

2010-02-27T02:47:00.000-08:00

Finally gathered courage to pick up the Lace shawl i had form one bag to another. Frog ed the lace edging and started a simpler edging. I am hoping that the yarn is sufficient for the edging or else i shall give up. better option would be crochet, but i shall give knitting a go. something inside tells me that the project is jinxed, i might have to frog it again :(

the size has come out fine, more of a shawlet, rather than a huge shawl

i am hoping to finish this in a weeks time and then start packing all the finished projects along with other woolens, its getting warmer day by day.

this lace pattern is gone

and now its .....

broader lace pattern was nice and beautiful but i wouldnt have been able to knit it half way as i would have fell short of yarn.

And I did fall short of yarn, so had to frog the above lace and now its done

This is the edging on the lower end, little like a ruffle

finishing WIP

2010-02-19T05:14:00.000-08:00

well i have finised two out of four projects and taken up another project ( new ) on needles, so its like two steps forward and one step back, in realation to trying to finish the projects on needles....

i guess i have to force myself not to pick up new projects, i am at present enjoying making this ......

this from a very old mag.. Mon Tricot Knit and Crochet MJ 66, i guess its a English edition, ( not US or Canadian ) tried to look up for the link for it no net but wasnt able to ( as yet )

Fan And Feather Free Pattern

2010-02-12T02:29:00.000-08:00

here is a very simple pattern,

Skill level : intermediate

You need : Different shades of one color, one hank each. ( this is a very versatile pattern, one can have two shades of one color to as many as you want .... ten )

I have used Vardhman wool

needles 4mm, smaller if you want a little tight knit and thicker if you want a lacy finish.

Gauge is not a issue ( and I love this line in all the things i want to knit )

Now the pattern ......

Basic stitch pattern is divisible by 18.

Row 1: K

Row 2: P

Row 3: *K 2 tog 3 times, YO, K1 6 times, K 2 tog 3 times* repeat to border.

Row 4: K

Cast on any amount (divisible by 18) plus 8 stitches for border, ( 4 on each side ). Keep these border stitches in Knit Only (BOTH SIDES)

Knit 2 rows, ans start pattern repeats, knit for the length desired, and knit two rows.

add fringe if you like.

and its done.

What all might help-- putting stitch marker after every 18 stitches so that the increases and decreases are in check.

Putting a life line after abt every 10 rows esp in beginning, and later u can leave it as you get the "hang" of the pattern

this is an old pic of a shawl, knitted long back.... using same pattern

Silk Yarn

2010-02-10T20:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday met Sanhita from B'lore and it was a really wonderful meeting, sadly it was late and we both needed to return to our respective places

well we swapped yarn and needles.I had requested her to get me silk yarn and i am soooooo happy today, kids are at school, i have half a day to myself and i can admire my new yarn :)

the color is something i don't have, and can wait to start something on this, i have so many patterns on wish list to make, and i plan to make a heirloom kind of a thing :) lots of lace work coming up.

then i pulled out some cotton to make a doily, this is the one, its in three colors and i plan to make a small swatch, very small one, it pays to make a swatch, but i am so lazy, keep risking and then frogging the whole project

this is wat i plan to make out of the cotton above

BUT not before i finish at least two of the four projects which arte on needles. so i plan to finish ones which would finish fastest. top town cardi are addicting and one is almost a day or two from finishing,

( i have no idea why the pic has ccome rotated ..... if anyone knows how to correct this,help me )

and this one will go faster than the above one, as its on thicker needles. I want to finish the stash i have for this one so i shall first do the sleeves and then the body to that i don't end up with extra yarn, which will again go into stash of one or half balls of yarns of different yarn age.

BTW i have finished the LANA GROSSA Model of the Month,September 2008 jacket, pic will be uploaded soon, gave it to dry cleaner, the weather here in Delhi wouldn't have let it dry up fast as it is thicker and we don't have good sun now a days.

I made it without sleeves and its come out nice. gotta try it at least once this season asap coz its gonna get warmer and i will have to wait for next season.

online shop... not so good idea :(

2010-02-05T02:25:00.000-08:00

did a little research work for online shop, and i am not so encouraged with the prospect.

firstly, the orders, who all will order, and how much????

okay if i have orders, sending the stuff and getting the payments is another step, banks charge out station charges, even on cash deposits, the merchantdice wouldnt be of the cost equivquant to the bank charges.

also if there are orders from abroad, i have to have certain permits as the companies themselves have export permits and suppliers.

to add to that the courier charges, risks of damage and loss, sending on time and the commitment. My hubby said, knitting is your hobby, best ting wouold be to swatch for stuff as that wouldnt be involing banks and payments, and at present i agree with him. i want to share many things with knitting friends, but on long run, i might not be able to keep up ......

Short Jacket by LANA GROSSA Model of the Month September 2008

2010-02-03T04:28:00.000-08:00

Started this one in Jan this year, may be just a week back. I have never ever used up so much yarn so fast and so quick.

here i have made this from DK wool i had bought in Shimla about 4-5 yrs ago, to make a throw, but things didn't work out so now i am using this yarn( read stash ) to make this jacket. used three strings for the body and an extra fur / knobby fur string for the border. In the pattern they have given garter stitch but i preferred moss stitch border and st st body

here is the right front. this is one piece i will never forget,

started as left front, didn't increase as advised in pattern,

frogged

knitted again,

and instead of left front increase .... made increases for right side,

didn't place button holes,

frogged

knitted again,

didn't like the st st on the upper part as it would show wrong side when collar is made

frogged again .....

knitting again and here is what it looks like..... finally the way it should turn out :)

Stash

2010-02-03T04:17:00.000-08:00

Well took out all mu stash and boy i have lots of it. long back i had cut the size of it by giving away lot of wool, to few knitters i know, but i guess i didnt part with most of it.

so now my main aim is to use up at least 1/2 of it or should i am at 3/4th of it so that i am able to make it to 1/2.

most of the stash is branded, and i have started planning which i would use where.

i have uploaded few images on ravelry but its gonna take lot of time to put up all my stash there.

i am also planning / thinking about opening a online store for few products i would be able to sell. i am not so sure, coz one ends up with dead stock and then there goes ur investment, if things remain in circulareion them its cool but if the orders dont come, then its a problem. Also there is this thing about payments, courier and damages. will work out on all this ........... so watch out this space

i am out of my hibernation of blogging and knitting

2010-01-23T03:57:00.001-08:00

i was away from my blog for almost a year now, I was busy with my clinic and also we started a small day care centre with operation theatre so it was most of the time running around for deadlines. so i had also stopped knitting for about 6-7 months. picked up needles and yarn in Nov 2009 and started knitting few of my hibernation projects and also started few things.

i had made a muffler, and it was my only project in crochet, way back in class 7th ie in 1984 :-0. this Nov i picked up hooks and started again watched YouTube and learned a bit and then it was no stopping.....

the flash makes so much difference to the color of yarn

star throw

2009-02-26T06:38:00.000-08:00

So the star throw is complete, i completed it long back and it took me a month to sit and do the finishing, sewing and all...

here it is unblocked....

and this is the close up

i have to wash it and block, will steam block it ... soon and then will pack it up for next winter.

i also have to finish with the Pi Shawl, and i guess it will be next winter i shall be able to use it.

so what kept me busy and away form knitting. i guess i have to change my profile on the blog. I have opened my own clinic,its been a month and it will slowly pick up work. Starting the clinic was big work and we all were busy with that. here are few pics.....

here is Panditji ( preist ) worshipping the Ophthalmic unit.

and here is the Idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi for my Clinic.

And here are few pics of free OPD camp we had .....

the entrance of the clinic....

we call the clinic Param Nethralay.

projects on needles

2008-11-03T02:32:00.000-08:00

My Doily is form here yarn over website.

i loved all the doilies form the website and have made 2 of them. this is first one i am making in cotton, i do not know what to call this cotton as its shiny,some kind of mix with another fibre, i am not so good at knowing the variety, will work on that too, but i am sure its not pure cotton. this is a trial doily and i shall make more after i learn form this one. Next i plan to make a pure cotton doily, i have few hanks of plain white and also of dyed in multi colors.

i have also started on the star throw and am loving knitting it.

i have reached section 6 in about 6 days, so i guess speed is okay. At this rate i shall finish it in about 15 days ( one or two plus minus...if some thing comes up at home front )

i have to add one more day to my calculations of completing the throw. i noticed i had knitted few rows extra and had to frog the work, the needle shows till where i have to rip the work and start all over again :(

and this is the progress on the Lace Pi shawl.... i am not getting into the mood of picking it up again. But one thing is for sure when i do pick it up i would be mad knitting it all the time....and the work shall be done.

this is a bag gifted by my sweet mother in law .... she got it for me from London last year, and i couldn't think of a better use for it than to keep my knitting in it, isn't it cute :)

i have few pis of my plants to share will be on my next post.

BTW Obama won and its great news, i had logged on early in morning to know how the polling was going on, ( Indian time is 10 hours ahead of EST ) and till then the results were not out. Went to work and by the time i came back home in the after noon Obama was declared President.

well we don't have Television in our home, and its by choice. we have 2 sets of idiot box but non of them are connected to any service provider. so our news source is net or friends. I don't know how many there are like us but i have mt a few people here in Delhi who have cut off the cable. Main reason being KIDS. they just don't move away from cartoon network or any other channel. all the reasoning punishing etc has gone in the drain, so we cut off the cable.

many a times i feel our kids are controlling us, my mom says we were raised much easily as there was not much of television.

if some one has any suggestions pls do comment.

my bead work

2008-11-03T00:48:00.000-08:00

i have been busy with three projects at a time :)
the lace Pi shawl is all done and now i have to make the edging lace... that is where i got bored and started a doily. ( shall come at it later )

this is how i worked on placing the beads ....

I bought plastic thread / string (whatever to name it)and threaded it through the knitted stitch where i wanted to place the bead.
(the pics are the best i could get ... the flash would give too bright photo and it got a little fuzzy for this close field)

And then u thread the bead, through the both ends of the string.

remove the stitch from the needle and push the bead lower,

put the stitch back on to the needle

and knit on to next stitch where u want to put the bead

I preferred the string to the crochet hook for one i couldn't find the right size through which I could put the beads and for second.... it just cost me Rs 5 for this :

I shall be taking more pics today of my Doily in and also the star throw i am working on. its going good so far and i still keep reminding myself about the deadline for my lace shawl to be 29th Nov... a wedding in our family. My hubby's cousin is getting married. Either i have to finish the shawl few days earlier... (blocking and all)so i can plan to wear it in before marriage functions.

My camera is going click click !!!

2008-10-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

So the camera is clicking and clicking.

Here is a pic of Pepi’s Hat, got the free pattern from KR itself !!!

This one is laid flat, the pompom needs to be added

Then here is G8 hat for mother and daughter, the pattern was in magknits earlier but now u can find hit here ( many patterns that were on magknits are here )

http://www.knotions.com/patterns/magknits/g8/directions.aspx

top view... came out real nice :)

and then here is Samus... i loved knitting it but am lazy sewing it together, more pic will come up as soon as it is all assembled

here is a close up of the left lower border... it really is wow

and finally the Lace Pi Shawl. ( link http://floryknits.com/fp-lacepi.html )

i had started it with a different yarn, and thankfully realized that it was a wrong choice as the yarn was a little bulky for a shawl. froged it and started again with light weight yarn, used to knit for infants.

i tried clicking it indoors but the results weren't good. I am not happy with the pic taken outside, but they are okay. Had to stuff a pillow inside to highlight the lace pattern.....

and here are the beads i have used. they are small ones, my first ever, no rather second bead work. I had made a cardigan with beads, and i had put all the beads on the yarn and then made the cardigan. In this shawl i am putting beads on individual stitches ( will put more pic on how i am doing this).

i had bought bigger beads, but went for smaller ones fearing the weight of the shawl would increase and wasn't sure if the color of beads would go. White, off white or pearly white goes with most of the things. ( for some reason .... unknow to me, the pic has come rotated )

there are few changes i have made to the pattern. i shall not be making it as long as the pattern in the charts suggest. at present i am on row 152 ( chart 4 ) and from here i shall jump to row 170 and end the shawl ( sooner ). Reason being.... i have enough yarn for this length and didn't want to frog later if i fall short of yarn (had bought it on sale so its difficult to get more in same shade and lot ).

and i also plan to put beads on the lace border... lets see how many and how frequent.

i feel i am now addicted to beads, and now i am also looking to put beads in my next project, for which i have selected the pattern and fished out yarn form my stash.

I shall be posting more pictures of this shawl soon, a day or two. and the progress of the lace border i would knit.

please do leave a comment and / suggestions for my inspiration and improvement of the blog. i still am new to blogging and there are many features i dont know. would love to use them :))

was i blog hibernating

2008-10-09T02:47:00.000-07:00

well today i picked up my notebook and finally decided to restart my blogging. i have decided to bolg atleast once a week may be on weekends as it is easy to stay up late in night.

i have been knitting and gardening a lot.... lately. all my plants are potted and now as winter is coming i have lots of saplings for flowering plants. trying to grow herbs too.... lets see how it goes. Last year i started gardening and had lots of disappointments as the seeds didnt grow as i wanted them to...

well i completed "The lovely lace shawl " as seen here

http://old.canadianliving.com/CanadianLiving/client/en/Today/DetailGlossary.asp?IdSection=15019&bApercu=1

and here are pictures of my work. I had started it sometime in April 2007 but it got postpone and was left with the stash. I picked it up again sometime in late 2007 may be october , dont remember now ( its almost a year ) but did have a deadline to finish this. My husband's cousion got married in Jan this year and i finished it couple of days before the functons of the marriage started and then had to block it well in time to wear it at the "sagan" a function few days before marriage when all the relatives get together and the girl side bring offical invition to the boy's side.

here it is unblocked

all pinned up

top part, it didnt come out straight, but i loved it any way

the Picot lace was beautiful, all the ladies, ( even the ones who know knitting) thought that i had crocheted it.

the compliments were many and i cant wait to wear it all over again this winter.

At present I am knitting Lace Pi Shawl, (addicted to shawls!!!)

http://floryknits.com/fp-lacepi.html

i am at the 145th row and am planning to make it a smaller one. firstly i want to finish this asap, also i have enough wool to finish it if i skip chart 4 last section. will click snaps today and post them soon. I have also added beads to the shawl and now i am addicted to beading too. went to the wholesale market to buy beads and i my head was spinning wanted them all, its like buying yarn, you want it all. but money and space and most of all time to use them keeps your had tied. i keep thinking... after i have made theose 3-4 projects i will buy this and that.

i have so much clicking to do, samus is done... finally. sewing together is left..

and also 2 caps for kids.

All this i should thank my kids ..... i was taking them for caligraphy classes and had to wait for the class to finish. best thing to do is knit, even though it was summer. Now i am planning to decrease the size of my stash. till next year i shall not buy yarn ( hope so .... very difficult thing to do .... i know )

Long time no Blogging....

2008-05-15T03:59:00.000-07:00

Hi ... all

that is if some one is checking my blog. its more than a year that i have posted on my blog and this has been a year that passed too qickly.

i had forgotten the password of my gamil account and then just checked it today and wow it worked. and now i guess i shall be hooked to bloggig.

i have made a shawl ..... the lovely Lace Shawl by Patons at

http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/knitting/lovely_lacy_shawl.php

I shall post the pics soon.

Started my UFO " Samus".. am finished with the sleeves and now have to finish the main body.... Pics coming soon. All are saved on my computer but i am having problem upoading them. some trouble with the internet explorer.

more post coming up soon.

i am very eager to blog lot more and more

today is a good day for me

2007-02-22T02:16:00.000-08:00

i had been postponing going to the market and getting things done, running chores and buying repairing etc, u know all sorts of small small things which don't take too much time but one doest feel like running around for that.

so yesterday i made a list of "must do jobs" and there were around 20 odd jobs i had to finish, out doors and indoors :-O.

i went to Rani Bagh, market abt 3 kms from home and took my mohair hanks and wool hanks to try out dying. i thought it will take time but this guy said he will give it to me in 10 mins. i choose the colors which i am not sure are good ones or not ( i am very bad in choosing colors, i have to always take help.) but it was nice to try, just try. i decided to get half of the hank to be dyed in one color and the other in two. the light color is not showing so good in sun light

but in little bit of shade, the color shows so good. I am not so sure of the blue colored one .... how things will come up in that. also what will i make of such less quantity, may be a spiral muffler !!!! i also think i need to read up about colors and learn a little more about mixing colors.

this is 2 ply pure wool, got it done in shades and boy the dye wala ( the person who was working with colors) did it so fast!!!! and his hands moved so cool and fast.... well its his job, someone sees us knitting esp who doesn't know knitting will think the same;-)

had been shopping for shawl pins too, with mohair i guess one would need light weight pins so here i was spending money again.

this one is really light and cute

sorry for the bad pic

i love this one

after coming picking up the kids from school, lunch and putting them for afternoon nap i got down to clean up a small room.... mostly used as storage place which had been overflowing with stuff and dirt and all the things which are not required and will never be used. and here is what i found. my needle work which i had done before my kids were born and at that time i was not into knitting so much. ( one of them is before my marriage)

this one is a gift for my mother in law i had give her before my marriage, on her birthday.( we live in Joint family... for those who would think what is it doing at ur place)

this one is my favourite. made two of these. my mother in law had seen this in my mom's house ( before my marriage and she liked it a lot, so did i) so there are two of these, on in my mom's place and one in our place.

this i made before a Diwali, for puja. must be about 8 yrs back.

all of these had been in this place becoz after the white wash we thought not to put anything on walls for a change. and they went into storage, soon to be forgotten.

my next mission is get few pics of the shops and market where i frequently go, craft and wool stores.

but today i still have to put my dry cleaned woolens in cupboard and the quilts are in the sun, have to put it in proper place along with lots of naphthalene. u cant store anything without that.

My swatch

2007-02-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

i had my share of knitting experience with mohair. i made a swatch from single ply mohair. and it has come out lovely. i have to gather strength and patience to knit a shawl in that.

the multi direction muff is coming out good. this particular project taught me something very important. the pattern is very simple. i had it with me for about a year or so, but kept on delaying to even try it out or make a small swatch, or even reading through the pattern. and now i feel i should have done it the day i got it coz that would have helped me make lovely mufflers for my friends and they would have loved it. so from now on i shall at least read thru the pattern, then judge it :). doesn't it look lovely with the KR web page back ground

My search for Pure wool

2007-02-16T01:24:00.000-08:00

last few weeks have been very exhausting. i was busy with kids, house and searching for pure wool. which i finally managed to get my hands on and now i am busy making swatches. finally i can also have a very light shawl in Mohair and flaunt it around.
and use my bamboo needles to make one of those lovely patterns.

This is Mohair, single ply. took me sooo long to make a ball out of this. one ball is 125 grams. i have no idea how long the yarn is bit it is about 20 wraps per inch.

This is 3 ply mohair. very thick for a shawl. i have to think about its use ( any ideas to help me make a project...) i am only making swatches so i will try a larger size needle.

this is wool, undyed, the shop keeper told something about "the count" and it was a new word for me for wool. It is 3 ply.

This is all fancy wool mostly acrylic, for fancy projects like mufflers etc.

this too is acrylic. i am trying a multidirectional muffler for a friend. the dying is good so i thought this will come out faster and beautiful.

Coming to my swatches. i tried a small swatch with 3 ply mohair and its very very gross. i used 6mm needles and now i feel i need to use about 12 mm needle for his wool.

This is a single ply mohair and i am loving it. just waiting to finish this swatch which doesn't have much of a pattern except for the lace edging. i can Wait to start a nice shawl. may be its going to be the one on Canadian craft website, lacy shawl. i had that pattern in my to make wish list for a long time.

These two are acrylic wool swatches. i will have to get the pure wool dyed first to make these so i thought why not at least try out the pattern.... impatient me!!!

Sheldon the Turtle.... finally done

2007-02-04T05:07:00.000-08:00

finally i finished Sheldon the Turtle !!!! my sons were after me for soooo long and i was lazy, very lazy to finish it. didnt take me much time to finish, i was to make the limbs and the shell's attachment panel.

now its done and has started going places and making calls to his friends ;-)

here he wants to use the internet and my notebook,

chatting with his friend mouse

wants to call the other Sheldon the Turtles all over the world.......

And now i am making a hoodie for Vinayak,( something like Wonderful Wallaby ) and its done on circular needles, no seaming ( yeppppeeeee ) i am done with the pocket and till now i dont have a pattern instructions with me so i am going to make it on my own and of course with help from my MIL's sister, who is always there... just a phonecall away.

also i will start clicking the pic of my needle work .... done in past of course !!! haven't done much lately and i have one UFO there too, hopefully i get clicking the camera soon.... again i am being lazy. is it in the air? or its me? i will have to dig them up from the store room where they are kept safetly. DH was after me to put them on the walls. this week.... project "clean up the store room". lots of things will be thrown and lots of things i will find ... which i might have forgotten i had or had thought i have lost them.

My Hubby's sweater is finished

2007-01-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

well now its finally done. with lots of delays/fitting problems :(

first i was ( again) not able to finish it by dead line.

Second it took me a lot of time to finish the neck. I learnt to make that first time in my life from my MIL's sister. She was so sweet to offer to make it for me but i wanted to learn and get over the phobia of making a V shaped neck line.

Third It came out a little big for DH. For this I had thought i will try out all possible solutions and came up with the easiest.... dont do any this as of now ( smart of me to get away from making efforts ) here is how it looks on him. Its loose i agree but he can wear a loose fit at home.

Here is my Internet shy ( didnt want his pic on net ) hubby wearing it.

I wanted to make the sweater with all over fair isle pattern but he didnt want it. will make for myself or my sons some day.

Have cast on stitches for my son's hoodie sweater.

haven't knit a single row yet but will start it today for sure.

My Grandmother's needlework :)

2007-01-09T03:17:00.000-08:00

well i had to click the pis of my grandmothers needle work. I haven't seen my grandmother. she passed away when my mother was in medical college but i have always felt a bonding..... don't know why? ever since i was a child i would love to keep her things with me and keep them safely and properly.

after my marriage i left them all with my mom and now whenever she finds something she passes them to me.

My grand father used to do embroidery with machines. some of his pupils had started their own business, the famous Ram Chandra Krisha Chand Sareewalle was one of them. My grand father was a freedom fighter so when Gandhiji said to burn all the forgein goods he burnt the machines too... Such was a power of one man. Why don't we have such leaders now, may be its our fault.... we all are so self centred that we would always want to keep our interest first and not try to follow someone who is selfless in action. instead call such a person "a fool". i am trying to improve on such thoughts and feelings, lets see how far i am able to go.

coming to my granny's needle work.she was very good at it. something my mother didn't inherit from her.. the talent i mean. she was never interested in it and till date she says the same.

This one has Vande Mataram embroidery on it. it is our national song.

You can get more information about The National Song Of India
http://www.hindujagruti.org/nation/vandemataram/

Here is another pillow she had made.

Every thing is in pure cotton and has now discolored. i am planning to keep them like this without washing as the cloth is too fragile. My granny must have made it in 1930s or 1940s.

Some mo fits of machine embroidery. these are from my grand fathers collection.

This one is my favourite

This is going to be a very long post :)

i bought few rose wood and bamboo knitting needles. and Boy they are so light. i have to get used to working on them so i will use them on my next projet.
dont they look great

And finally to the progress in the sweater i am making for my hubby. i have the deadline approaching 13th Jan. The festival of Lohri...

Lohri, is celebrated every year on 13th of January. It is a festival to worship fire. Lohri Festival is celebrated with great pomp in North India. At this time Earth starts moving towards the sun marking the auspicious period of Uttarayan. First Lohri is very important for the newly wed and the new born babies as it marks fertility. At night, people gather around the bonfire and throw til, puffed rice & popcorns into the flames of the bonfire. Prayers are offered to the bonfire seeking abundance & prosperity. People make merry by dancing & singing traditional folk songs.

More about lohri at http://www.lohrifestival.org/harvest-festival-of-punjab.html

So the sweater has to be worn when we have bon fire.....

The back, completed,

The Front, almost done

Both the sleeves still to be worked upon.....

My trip to Taj

2007-01-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

it was a nice vacation. we all had a nice time in Agra as it was sunny. the breeze was cold but the sun was out so we could have more fun.

i have added all the pics in the flicker for every one to see and u can post ur comments too.

there where many things that i kept on thinking when we were at the palaces.

Kings made such large palaces, no one could enter them and here we were standing and clicking snaps of the glory that was once not for a common man to see... the bed rooms and the secret tunnels ( which we too couldn't see but did get to see where it started from)

Then the Palaces where so huge but the rooms where so small. one king size bed would take up all the space. how did they manage. there was very little space for other furniture !!!! and also how did they manage to keep the clothes and jewels etc... may be the furniture etc got destroyed but one will still think where did they keep it. THE ROOMS R SO SMALL

then all the palaces where nice but there was no loo ??!!?? (hee hee) did they go to the open fields? there was a stable in Fatepur Shikeri and also a place for maids and workers but the King Akbar's palace was beautiful and so was his queens but there was no loo? ;-)

May be i am not so good in History and i need to brush up a lot. but the guides too where at loss on many things.

I the end the main thing i felt was we should remember ...... everything is a myth... we shall be alone in the other plane which is above this plane where we play our part as a child, spouse/companion and parent. all the wars and the palaces and houses r going to stay here on this earth. we came without anything in our hands and will leave like that. so why do we fight over land, food and power. nothing is static in this earth.

The kings of past ( of whole world ...) fought with others or each other for power, land, for the maximum percentage of their lives and that's what they are remembered for "Fighting" and the wealth they collected they made "palaces"..... for themselves... what happened to a common man and how was his life affected by all this. very less is known.

May be i am wrong and the lives of common man is known, but we don't get to know it till we dig on our own. Kings and Queens are glorified

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T04:12:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all.

we had a nice time in the center yesterday and there where lots of chants carols and stories for kids. followed by sweets and gifts for kids .... which Santa gave :)

here are Kartik and Vinayak... after their dress was assembled in the center

And my little christmas tree...

my very own candy shop....

very busy week !!!

2006-12-23T04:37:00.000-08:00

this has been a very very busy week. i finished Cobweb by Emma Crew and here is what it looks like wearing it. sure feels great wearing it and the best part is it stays on the shoulders and one doesnt need a pin. ( light one will add to its beauty though)

Then we have a get together at the YSS center in Delhi for christmas and kids have to come in fancy dress. my elder son is dressing as Xmas Tree !!!

so i have been doing this ----

The younger one will be candies and toffees, so the preprations are like :-

And finally i started my FIRST EVER FAIR ISLE :)

my hubby is not so eager to wear hand made knits and so when he finally agreed for me to knit one sweater i put everything aside and started this one. and thank fully he liked it. i havent put any deadline for this one but he has :(

Cobweb is done :-)

2006-12-19T01:52:00.000-08:00

i never finish my projects on the deadlines i fix for myself. But i am happy that i was able to finish this before new year's eve.

its going to be cold but i wanted to finish as many projects as possible in year 2006 -- at least the easy ones.

here it is - finished and before blocking

and here its on the pins for blocking

i am so eager for it to dry up fast and then click more pics!!!

Its getting cold now

2006-12-10T21:59:00.000-08:00

the temperature is dropping and its getting colder. in Delhi its not as cold as it is outside Delhi, my friends tell me they dont wanna come out of the quilts :)

i am thinking of starting to collect pictures of handknitted sweaters. i dont know how it will be taken by total strangers. it was a thought wave.

"click some pics of people wearing their hand knitted sweater" ---- and you have a whole lot of patterns --- to inspire

this starts today and i shall upload them as and when i get new ones!!!!

i had been collecting and buying things required to make stitch markers.

i had them all ( atleast the basic ones) and today i made my first stitch marker :)

sorry for the quality of the picture. the craftmenship is not so good but i will improve on my next marker and even give this one a good finishing. i am planning to make more later this evening and then there is no stopping

Rafting in Rishikesh

2006-12-02T19:45:00.000-08:00

I started another shawl and a pair of booties. I feel I am now at the stage where one has multiple projects on the needles. the pics of socks havent come out that good, will post them soon.

I am also planning to buy wooden knitting needles, I have found a place where they supply to stores, I will get them cheaper :).They are from Pony, and are made of rose wood. I have to try working on them. Till now I was scared using them, thought they will break or kids will break them. Now they kids are grown up and know that mummy’s knitting is not to be disturbed or pulled or played with

My hubby and his cousins had gone rafting at Rishikesh, and sadly :( I couldn’t go with them. It had been nice trip and boy they had fun.

Isnt it beautiful.

So was the Arti At the banks of Ganga at night. i have a recording but dont know how to upload it to the blogger --- will do some learning again !!! till then a picture will do, i guess. i was told one has to be there to really get the pleasure of the Arti. i wanna cry why didnt i go,

This sculpture of Lord Shiva is beautiful. the features are so well defined and boy he looks so handsome :))

well today I was showing my blog to a friend. I had logged in through her computer.

To my surprise the font size was so small that it was verydifficult to read anything!!! :(

I was worried as the blog opens in my PC with a regular font size. So i wondered, may be this is
happening with others too..... ie the visitors are not able to read a word

all the visitors u r requested to let me know if you cant read any word

shopping

2006-11-26T05:13:00.000-08:00

well went for shopping but not for shawl pins!!!!!

I bought some wool

its a new wool type called "chinar" form vardhman (of course) and the colors are also nice

also started "cobweb" by Emma Crew. Its one of the free patterns from mag knits
its a easy pattern and I wanted to make something which finishes fast :) and I felt its goona finish by next week started it yesterday and I have completed till the last increase. But I realized that somewhere I have made a mistake and there are more number of stitches than specified in the pattern. So I counted them and divided them by 8 (as the edging pattern is of 8 rows) and to my delight it was competely divisible by eight only that it will take me more time to finish the edging but its okay I feel.

the pic is not so good as the cobweb is on the needles. i think the real shawl will be better when blocked

my new shawl pins

2006-11-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

i did some shopping lately, went out searching for shawl pins. and it was a difficult task as no one is aware of this here. so i bought hair (judda) pins and i now use it for my shawls.

everyone liked them. i am also happy as this leaves my hands free.

same pins in a different back ground look so different. i guess i am not much of a photographer

more of my shawl

2006-11-22T19:22:00.000-08:00

so finally its blocked and i am dying to model in it.
it weighs about 600grams and is made from pure wool by Vardhaman ( a wool company which makes great wool and is a leader here in India). its a pity that getting pure wool is a little difficult as not every one keeps it in their stores / shops. Acrylic sells more as it is easy to manage.

This is gonna be great week end. i am now starting socks. i have found some easy patterns and will start with them so that i cn knit them fast and satisfy kids and the more complex ones will come next.

i am dying to make those lovely designs i have in my hard disc!!!

gotta wait a little bit i guess

my first circular shawl !!!

2006-11-21T02:39:00.000-08:00

this is a photo before i started the blocking.

well finally its done, started on 15th August, and i didnt get time to touch it for a month in between. then i thought i have to use this shawl in this winter otherwise i will not be able to wear it till next winter which will be toooooo long a wait.
i still have to model it by wearing it, which i guess would be tomorrow as it will take time to dry.

this is what is the end result, after blocking!!!! i am so happy finally its done and blocked too!!! :)))

i am so happy, i would like to thank Sarah as the pattern is from her website and also KR members who have been an inspiration for me to gather courage to pick this project and finish it. i think its a new begining for me to work on new patterns asd projects...

2006-09-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

Here is my headless hunter, we had plans to float the balloon on top of the " cut neck" but the balloon couldnt take the weight of the mask. the we decided that the head be carried in front of the body of the hunter !!!!

well i have been dying to put a post on the blog, but didnt get time as i was busy knitting and making the fancy dress costume for Kartik.

my circular shawl is coming out fine ( or should i say Nice :)) i

tried to put the stiches on another needle and it was a kind of diaster!!!! :(

i ended up slipping the stiches, so i stuffed a pillow and took the snap,

what do u think?????

my circular shawl progress

2006-08-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

this the progress of my circula shawl. i am on the 115th round now and want it to finish as fsat as possible. dont know how long it will take. hope fully by the end of sept i am able to show it off by wearing it for photographs ( it still be too hot to use it ).

i would love to amke another one like this in white/cream but its still a dream, all depends on how long this one takes to complete !!!!

2006-08-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

this one is from Stitchcraft, a very old edition. I guess its from late 70s ( the no is 379 )

here its drying after pinning it up for blocking.

the same one before blockind ( and zoomed view )

this is from "yarn over" a free pattern site. this is Kartik's mat for dining table

this too is from the same site and this one is Vinakay's dining table mat

well this has been a busy week, did lots of knitting and the circular shawl has increased in size, of course.

was busy with the kids , lots of assinments to be completed.

lately i was woundering that the flower petal shawl by enan has gained more appriciation than any other shawl,

how come????

i enjoied knitting it and now i cant wait for winters to show off all my shawls ( there is this circular one on the needles which i plaln to finish ASAP --- its takeing more time and wool now as the rounds r becoming larger :) )

2006-08-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

i was worried about the wool i am using so made a small swatch ( lazy me ---- its really a small swatch )
blocked it and nothing happened. the shopkeeper had scared me that the pure wool will not tolerate water?????

so now i am not so worried

started this one on 15th of August, and its progressing okay till now. clicking the snap was some task as i had to first slip the stiches to a spare circular needle and then pin it out. then undo all that coz the background was dark so i put a light colored cloth and went thru all the process again and here is the photo. i hope its worth the effort.

some other projects i have made earlier

2006-08-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

this my VERY first shawl, a fan and feather pattern i found on the web
(http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/allpatterns.htm)

and i just love to wear it outside. makes lots of heads turn, my friends want to have this kind for them selves but dont know how to knit and those who do know can find time/ courage to start. in the begging i was also apperihensive about strating this shwal but once it statred there was no stopping!!!!

my kids r younger in this snap but they too just love this shawl and want to cover themselves in it all the time

the famous Flower Petal Shawl by Elann. i did a extra repeat in the end as i wanted a little longer shawl

this is from a free pattern i found on the web. there are lots more on the site i would love to make http://www.yarnover.net/patterns/doilies/kunststrik/index.html

2006-08-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

and its fun to have a piggy back ride, we had a nice time traking to the cave, where we meditated for some time.

the hills r so beauti ful and the air so fresh. only if i could live here for ever and ever!!!!!

inside of the cave. this cave is maintained by YSS ,http://yssofindia.org/index.htm

Better known in US as Self realization Fellowship. Started by Sri Parmahans Yogodanandji http://www.yogananda-srf.org/index.html

this is when we went to Dawarahat, a small village 30km from Ranikhet, a town in Utteranchal.

this is at the gates of the cave of Babaji, a holy saint who has lived thru ages.

2006-08-17T02:03:00.000-07:00

this is when we went to Mussorie, in Utteranchal. we went in April this year and it was lots of fun and peace. these r dresses one can rent and then click snaps . kids love all this

some thing about myself

2006-08-17T00:15:00.000-07:00

well thought that i will post something about myself.
i am married (9 yrs) with two sons, Kartik (6) and Vinayak (4)

u can see my Harry Potters here:

i did a bit of sewing for the vail and made the glasses and the wand at home. the kids had a fancy dress compition at the school.

my new doily

2006-08-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

finished this doily last week, bolcked it with a bit of stach so that it doesnt recoil back.

last night we had friends over and they had their eyes popping and i was very proud and so was my hubby!!!

the pattern is from a 1979 issue from Mon tricot which i bought from a street market, it was a good deal for second hand book as i bought the whole bulk of books from the shop keeper.

that bulk contained lots of old issues of stitchcraft and mon tricot

2006-08-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

hi , i am from India and i welcome you all to my blog.

I am settled in Delhi, and by profession am an Ophthalmologist.

I learnt to knit when I was about 6 years old but got into serious knitting since 2000, when i was on family way.