The multi colored Crochet shrug/cardigan.

Hello.. :)
The mighty mighty spring is beginning, and i am getting ready for some sun and fun. oh yes, i truly am, after the really long winter..
Let me not talk much in this post, will come straight for some serious talk. I made a shrug, a crochet ones. A really gorgeous ones. Wanna see it?

Oh, yeah, i know.. :) its below freezing point.. i am crazy like that.. ;)
So, probably you might want to stop reading until here, coz its going to be all technical from here.. so, tata, bye bye..
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Still hanging in? wondering what the is technicality i am talking all about?
Ahem, Kavya bhanupriya is going to ATTEMPT writing a crochet pattern for this. For the first time. so, here it goes..

Preface:
I am writing patterns for the first time, I will try my level best to convey you what it is, i am hoping that there wont be any revisions.
I have worked the shrug first and wrote the pattern later, so please let me know, after you have tried it whether i have conveyed the pattern correctly.

The structure of the Shrug:
It took me some time to design the basic structure of this shrug. let me explain to you with a diagram.

The shrug is designed in two concentric circles, i.e., the purple circle and the light blue circle around it. We would be creating two holes for the arms to get in, i.e., the dark blue circles.

We start from the centre, work around circles, and as you can see in the diagram, when we have reached the distance Y, we would stop it, and do the measurements.
Distance Y= measure approximately from the centre of your back, to your back of the neck.
Distance X= your shoulder measurement.
Measurement Z= 1/2 of the arm pit measurement. i.e., take a tape, start from the top of the shoulder from back, go around your arm pit, keep it a bit loose, and go to the front side of the shoulder. this measure as your arm pit. For measurement Z, take HALF of it.
for example, if your arm pit measures 20", Z=10".
so, continuing the shrug after reaching distance Y, take a tape, and measure X on the shrug approximately, since it would be an arc. Mark the points on either side. lets take it as x1 and x2. from x1, measure Z, further down, and mark it as z1. Do the same for x2 and mark it z2. x1-z1 and x2-z2 is the marking we are making for our arm pit on either sides.
We then continue with the light blue part of the circle, and create the arm pit, by not joining the stitches to the purple circles at points x1-z1 and x2-z2.
Hope i was able to explain ok.

The pattern:
Ch=Chain
Sc= single crochet
Dc= double crochet
Tr= Triple crochet
Sl. st= Slip stitch
Ch Sp=  chain space
Tr.Cl= Triple crochet cluster
I used a 6mm hook, red heart acrylic yarn.
colors used: Golden yellow (lets call it Y) - actual color name
                      Coral (calling it C)- actual color name
                      Blue (B)- my name
                      Peacock blue (PB)-my name
                      Green (G)-my name
Few of the color names i used are the actual colors of red heart yarn, others, since i dont recall it, i gave my own names.. ;)
So.. it comes down to this. Ready..., wish me luck, steady...., go..
Row 1:
with C, magic circle, and 24 Sc in the magic circle, Join
Row 2:
with C, ch 3 (counted as Tr), *5 ch, skip 2 sc, 1 tr* repeat from * to * another 6 times, ch 5, join and change color to Y while joining. {8 tr and 8 ch sp made}
Row 3:
with color Y ch1, *1 sc in tr, 5 sc in 5ch sp* repeat from * to *another 7 times, Join.
Row 4:
with same color Y, sl.st in next 3 sc, *7 ch, skip 5 sc, 1 sc in the next sc* repeat ** 7 more times, ch 5, Join. {8 ch sp made}
Row 5:
continuing with Y, sl.st until you reach the center for ch 7 sp, 1 sc, *ch 9, 1sc in the next ch 7 sp* repeat from * to * 7 more times, ch 9,  join and continue to sl st in the next 3 ch, change color to C. {8 ch sp made}
Row 6:
Ch3, (^yarn over twice, insert hook in ch 9 sp, pull yarn, yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over again, pull through two loops^, will be left with 2 loops on the hook, repeat from ^to^, pull through all three loops. [ Triple crochet cluster made, i.e, Tr Cl ]), ch 5, another Tr cl in the same 9 ch sp, ch 5. *tr cl in the next ch 9 sp, ch 5, tr cl in the same ch 9 sp, ch 5* repeat from * to * another 6 more times. Join. sl st into next 2 ch, join color B. {16 tr cl, and 16 ch sp made}
Row 7:
with B, Ch 3, (^yarn over twice, insert hook in ch 5 sp, pull yarn, yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over again, pull through two loops^, will be left with 2 loops on the hook, repeat from ^to^, pull through all three loops. [ Triple crochet cluster made, i.e, Tr Cl ]), ch 3, make another Tr cl in the same chain 5 sp, make  *Tr Cl, in the next ch 5 sp, ch 5 tr cl in the same ch 5 sp,* repeat from * to * another 14 times. Join, sl st until the centre of ch 5 sp, change color to G.  {32 tr cl and 16 ch sp made}
Row 8:
with G, Tr cl in the ch 5 sp, ch 5, *Tr cl in the next ch 5 sp, ch 5* repeat from * to * another 14 times. Join, Sl st in next 2 ch, change color to PB. {16 tr cl, 16 ch sp made}
Row 9:
with PB, repeat row 7 until join, sl into tr cl,change color to C. {32 tr cl and 16 ch sp made}
Row 10:
with C, ch 2 (counts as dc), *(1dc ch 1) 5 times in the next ch 5 sp, 1 dc on tr cl, ch 1* repeat from * to *, join, change color to Y.{112 dc made}
Row 11:
with Y, repeat row 10, until join, sl st into next chain, change color to C. {112 dc made}
Row 12:
with C, ch2, *1 sc,  ch 1 in the next st* repeat around, join, change color to B. {112 sc made}
Row 13:
with B, *1 sc in the next ch1 sp, ch 1, (2dc, ch 1, 2 dc (shell stitch) in the next ch sp), ch 1, (1 sc in the next ch sp, ch 1) 2 times, 1 sc in the next ch sp, ch 10, sc in the next ch sp, ch 1, 1 sc in the next ch sp, ch 1 * repeat from * to * another 15 times, join.
 {16 ch sp,16 shell st made}
Row 14:
continuing with B, sl st into next 2 dc, sc in the ch 1 sp, *(6 tr, ch 1, 6 tr) in the ch 10 sp(petal made), sc in the next ch 1 sp* repeat from * to * for another 15 times, join, change color to G. {16 petals made}
Row 15:
With G, sl st  into the gap between shell and petal ,ch 3 , *ch 5, sc in ch 1 sp of the petal, ch 5,1 tr cl to be made in the gap between petal and shell+ in ch sp of shell+in the gap between shell and petal*,  repeat from * to * another 14 times, ch 5 1 tr cl in the gap between petal and shell+in ch sp of shell and join into the 3 chain made in the beginning. {16 tr cl, 32 ch sp made}
Row 16:
continuing with G, *(1 sc, ch 1) 3 times in the ch 5 sp,1 sc on tr cl, ch1*, repeat from * to * another 31 times. {112 sc and 112 ch sp made}, join, change color to PB.
Row 17:
with PB, ch 2 (dc made) ch1, *1 dc, ch 1*, repeat all around, join, change color to C. {112 dc and 112 ch sp made}
Row 18:
with C, 1 sc into the ch1 sp, *ch 5, skp next ch sp, 1 sc into next ch1 sp*, repeat from * to * another 55 times, join, sl st into next 2 ch, change color to Y. {56 sc and 56 ch sp made}
Row 19:
with Y, *1 sc into the ch5 sp, ch 5* repeat around, join, sl st into next 2 ch, change color to B. {56 sc and 56 ch sp made}
Row 20:
with B, ch 3, (counts as 1 dc, ch 1), 1 dc into the same ch 5 sp, *ch 3, (1dc,ch 1,1 dc) into the next ch 5 sp* repeat from * to * another 55 times, ch 3, join, sl into the next dc, next 2 chain, change color to PB. {112 dc and 56 ch sp made}
Row 21:
with PB, ch 3, (counts as 1 dc, ch 1), 1 dc into the same ch 3 sp, *ch 3, (1dc,ch 1,1 dc) into the next ch 5 sp* repeat from * to * another 55 times, ch 3, join, sl into the next dc, next 2 chain, change color to G. {112 dc and 56 ch sp made}
Row 22:
with G, repeat row 21. until join, and change color to C.

Lets take a break here, and look at the following photograph whether we are doing alright!

Starting of the arm hole part.
Now, from the joining stitch, measure  half of your shoulder measuerment x,  on the right side, and the other half on the left side. mark the points x1 and x2.
and as i said,  mark the arm holes x1-z1, and x2-z2 on the piece you just made, count the number of stitches from x1 to z1, make so many chains, and skip so many stitches below. For example, if the x1 to z1 measures 20 sts, while continuing the next row, make 20 chains, skp 20 stitches below.
Row 23:

with C, for my measurements, 35 ch, skp 35 stitches, *1sc on the dc (which is the point z1), ch1 , 1sc on the next dc, ch, (1sc,ch1) 2 times in ch 3 sp* repeat from * to * until the point  z2, ch 35, skip 35, at point x2, repeat from * to * around until joining, which is point x1, join, change color to Y. { 154 sc and two 35 ch sp made}
Row 24:
with Y, (1 dc , ch 1) 35 times in the 35 ch gap, *1 dc in the next ch1 sp, ch 1* repeat from * to * around until the next 35 ch sp, (1 dc, ch 1) 35 times, repeat from * to * until the end. Join, change color to C. {294 dc and 294 ch sp made}
Row 25:
with C, *1 sc in the ch1 sp, ch 2, [(sl st, ch 3, 2 dc, sl st) in the first ch of the ch 2 previously made(a leaf of the clover made)] repeat 3 times in the same first ch of the ch 2 (clover made), (1 sc in the next ch sp, ch 1) 5 times*, repeat from * to * another 43 times. Join, change color to B. {44 clovers made}
Row 26:
with B, 1 sc in ch1 sp, *ch 2, sc in the 2nd dc of the first leaf of the clover, ch 2, long sc into the middle of the clover (which was the first ch of ch 2 sp in the previous row), ch 2, sc in the 2nd dc of the second leaf of the clover, ch 2, long sc in the middle of the clover, ch 2, sc in the next 2nd dc of the third leaf of the clover, sc in the next ch sp, (ch 1, sc in next ch sp) 5 times *, repeat from * to * another 43 times, Join, sl st into next sc, next 2 ch and into next sc of the first leaf of the clover, change color to PB. {44 clover shells made}
Row 27:
with PB, ch 7 (counts as 1 tr and 4 ch), *sc into sc of the second leaf of clover, ch 4, tr into 3rd leaf of clover, tr into first leaf of the adjacent clover, ch 4* and repeat from * to * another 43 times, join at the 3rc ch of ch 7, change color to G.
Row 28:
with G, ch 8 (counts as tr and ch 5), tr into the same st,  *ch 5, sk 4 ch below, 1 sc in sc, ch 5, skip 4 ch, (1 tr, ch 5, 1 tr) in the next sc*, repeat from * to * another, 43 times, ch5, join in the 3rd ch of ch 8. Sl st into 1ch, change color to Y. {88 tr, and 44 sc made}

Row 29:
with Y, ch 2 (counts as dc), 1 dc into the ch 5 sp between tr, ch 3, 2 dc in the same ch 5 sp between trs, *2 dc in next ch 5 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in the next ch5 sp, (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) in the next ch5 sp between the tr* repeat from * to * until end, join, sl st into next 2 dc, change color to C.
Row 30:
with C, *(2 dc, ch5, 2 dc) in the same ch 3 sp, (2 dc, ch1, 2dc) in the next ch 3 sp*, repeat from * to * another 43 times, join, sl into 2 dc, change color to PB.
Row 31:
with PB, *10 tr in the ch 5 sp, 1 sc in the ch 1 sp(scallop made)* repeat from * to * for another 43 times. Join, finish off. {44 scallops made}
Weave in all ends, and enjoy your new masterpiece!

Let me know, if you have any doubts, and share the photos when you make it..! :)

This is my own, original, pattern, kindly respect that, use it, sell the finished products (i dont mind at all) but, if anybody needs the pattern, please link it to this post. will be much appreciated! :D atleast i feel that my 9 hrs of pattern writing time is worth it..

Thanks, Bye!

Oh the mighty gifting season, here i come- part 2

Oh i know the season has passed.. we are into January..oh no February almost and i am still writing about my gifts last season! what do i do? cant get over it.. :D And the people who write their blog post the seasons are called LATE LATIFS! (as my mom calls it) ha ha..
so anyway, its never too late to share stuff to my wonderful people like you. so.. here we go..
Hats, scarves,hats and more hats.. thats what i did.
The first one, designed totally by yours truly ;) for my husband, for his birthday in December.

And the second ones, matching hats for our dear friend and his wife for Christmas. As you can see, my husband was very happy modelling for the hats.. ha ha.. do you think i can hire him permanently?

 

The next hat is for my another junior friend for her 3rd birthday!
sorry, couldnt make anyone pose for it.. :)

Ok, last but not least, matching design, a cowl and a scarf for our dearest friends who has always been there for us. A christmas gift.

Thats all.
Since we are talking about gifting here, Valentines day is coming! I made very pretty pretty gifts for the Loving day!
heres a sneak peek into it..

Loving it! dont you? you can buy it in my Etsy shop! click on the right side panel of my blog which says, 'my etsy shop' and it will take you there! Thanks, and have an awesome Jatangg day! ha ha ha.. :)

Oh the mighty gifting season, here i come!

Good morning all,

Just woke up with a foot of snow in my front yard, and oh.. what a beautiful sight it was! its just magical.. and it makes it more magical when Christmas is nearing.. I love the lights, snow and the merriment happening around, people meeting, laughing, gifting.. oh, i cannot describe my feeling.. :)

When it comes to gifting this season, i made a lot of gifts to different wonderful people.. come join me and have a look.. probably, i might have to split it up in different posts..
Ok, so the first one in the surface of my mind.
Its for a toddler, a baby boy, even though i have never seen, im sure he must be just ADORABLE! Arent babies adorable?
If he was here in this country, i would have made him a hat or a scarf, but you guys know about India, right? its hot in some places, no no, im not complaining! I love the summer in India as much as i love Winter in the US. Love for extreme weather i guess ;). ok, so, no hats, no baby blankets. so something to play with, not for just now, but for at least some years to come.. so i made this. A cute adorable toy car, for a cute adorable baby!

Isnt he cute? i even added some of the jingle bells while stuffing the car so that i would even be a rattle.. :)
He is now all gift wrapped and ready.. vroom vroommm.... :D

Happy Holidays! :)

Mud room makeover

Hey friends! :)
Today i want to share with you, a different type of project. Neither crochet, nor macrame. Just a pure home improvement project. Inspired by a pin posted in pinterest.

We have a typical small mud room, where we have coat hangers, shoe rack, a small corner seat to sit and wear the boots etc etc, details of it is not important. The important thing is, what did we do with the corner, and how did we go about it? :)
All we wanted to do is make it a featured wall, for the guests, for us. Oh my oh my, how it evolved, is really amazing! :)
Our mud room was of basic cream color. we wanted to make it a different color, to stand out. so it went from being cream- to blue - yes blue! i know! - to tan.

 The next step was to make the console table. Our whole concept was, since the room was too small to keep the console table and chair, we just wanted to paint the table, have a hanging lamp, and have some books.
So, for the console table, we sketched out a design. well, two different designs, by my husband and me. And after a whole lot of brain storming sessions, we decided upon the best side of the design, traced, mirrored, and traced it back on the wall. After 4-5 coats of white paint on it, our console table was ready.
For the book stand, as i said, there was not enough room for us to have the whole book to be placed. So, we got some old books for a nice vintagey touch, started cutting each and every page of the book, and the cover for upto one inch thickness. Yes, that's almost 300-400 pages! I had to remove the spine from the fatter books since i would be crazy cutting up 1000+ pages!
I was already thinking up of another project to do with the old pages that i cut up. Its now safe in my shelf for future use ;)
So, after that is done, we attached the new 1" thk book with a corner brackets available in a hardware store, bought a Buddha face, old lamp shade, and Voila! :) A super serene atmosphere for my guests and for our mud room! :)

oh, ya, forgot to mention, i used a old circular lampshade wire frame, wrapped it with cotton thread, and wrapped across the frame like cycle spokes, to create the 'aura' effect for Buddha!
So.. you like it?

Crochet Thoranam

Thoranam- Mini door curtain. Thats how i can explain or translate in english.

It is used a lot in India, usually for the front door, from one end of the door frame to another, traditionally decorated with mango leaves and flowers. The significance of it being the green mango leaves give a lot of positive vibrations and you are entering into a home filled with positive energy, hence Happiness.
Phew! With the technicality aside, now a days its becoming a more symbolic gesture, (of course its still followed during festivals), EVERY Indian door is decorated with different garlands made of bells, beads etc.. and...LACE! So thats where my project comes into picture.
While i was searching for some square crochet patterns, i stumbled across this and i thought it was be-au-ti-ful! Next thing i wanted to make was a thoranam with it. I added some tassels and colorful beads to it, to make it look more ethnic, there you go! A 'lacey' source of bringing happiness into the home.

And this is now hanging in my parent's home, on a beautiful wooden framed door! - A gift for my mother.  Of course she fell in love with it! :D

Crazy over minions!

Who hasn't gone crazy over those cute little yellow creatures! The moment i saw them in the movie, Despicable me, i wished there was more about the minions! And my prayers have been heard, a large dose of minions in the second part! All i did was "awwww" the entire movie. So, thats it. I want it. Now.

I went and searched in Google for minion patterns, there were many many many versions of them, since my knowledge of crochet was increasing day by day, i understood the basic construction of how its made, plus a little help from here and started doing one of my own little buddy. Let me show you how much fun he had!

You like me. dont you? :P







In the mean while..

I made a 'puppet version' of the minion for my 3 yr old nephew and he loved it! He just kept singing "bananaaaaa.... Potatonaaa..." He he he..

I have another nephew who is 7 years, and he is into "Iron man" phase. So i made a glove for him too.. a modified version of the iron man gloves by Tia Davis. Apparently, my sister had bought him a iron man mask, we would all know that he had a blast with the set!

Thats it for now, see you later with my next project! 

My macrame 'Tree of life'

Hey all,
I am now learning to do macrame, and wanted to do something different than usual pot holders and bracelets. So, i decided to do a tree. The square knots (the one in green and green) are my FAV and don't mind doing it forever!
With the help of my husband, i was able to twist and hold the branches in place, used two colors of jute yarn for the 'leaf' design. I wanted to use the white cotton thread and make some flowers, but it looked too busy with all the knots.. so just came up with plain straight clean line design.
Hope you like it!