Flowers are Blooming and Birds are Pooping

Yesterday I finished this beauty... haven't had a lot of time to crochet this week... must get back to it!


Finished this as was unable to watch Ice Age 3, as some random people held a big (and late) Navratri bash just outside my window and made so much noise I couldn't hear the TV!

Also a bird pooped on me yesterday - I'm hoping for some good luck now :D

My Second Zentangle

With a little bit of Striping, Shattuck and Hollibaugh

My First Zentangle

Using three different variations of the 'Bales' tangle

Nice New Notebook

So I've been in quite a crafty mood this week. I've been crocheting, cooking, doodling, journalling and I've also discovered Zentangles.

Source

Zentangles are like organised doodling, except it only uses patterns so anyone can do it - no excuse of "I can't draw". And because you focus so much on what you're doing, it's actually good for relieving stress and lowering blood pressure. Kind of like doodling meditation!

If you want to learn more about Zentangles then check out the Zentangle website and blog.


So I'm really keen to get tangling, the only problem is - I don't have any notebooks with plain paper! So I decided to make one for myself... and that's the subject of today's blog :D

Easy-Peasy Lemon-Squeezy Notebook

Stuff you'll need:
I used some sheets of different coloured paper I had lying around, an empty cardboard box, scissors, glue-stick, measuring tape (I've lost my ruler!), a pencil, a needle, some yarn and some shiny stickers.


How to make the cute Notebook:
1. I cut the paper first into long strips the size I wanted.
2. I then folded them in half to make my notebook pages.
3. Then I cut the cardboard for the cover. It's a little bit bigger than the paper all the way round.
4. Next I used some more of the coloured paper to cover the cardboard using the gluestick to stick it down.
5. Using the needle and yarn I attached the pages to the cover, making sure the yarn is tied firmly.


6. Finally I decorated it with stickers!


Now I have to bring myself to use it... easier said than done. I find it really difficult to use nice stationery; I tend to hoard it for something special (I know - I'm crazy!).


I guess there's gonna be some Zentangle based posts coming soon... Happy crafting :D

Source

What a week! LML :D

Sunny Sunday walks with my Coco doggie

Monday showers

Mid-week bling!

Work in progress - more Hawaiian Flowers

Saturday Morning shock - Gigantor the Kitchen Lizard visits for breakfast!

It rained this morning...

Hawaiian-ish Flowers

I've found a fab four-step tutorial to making gorgeous Hawaiian Flowers. Sarah London's work is so colourful and that's what has really attracted me.

My version is made using just red, white and black yarn, as that's all I have right now! But the effect is still great. I need to get my hands on some decent yarn, as the stuff I'm using is not so good. Unfortunately, I'm not sure of where I can get it easily in Mumbai!

So anyway, here are the links to Sarah's tutorial:
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4

Now, this pattern is written in UK/AUS terminology - and that's quite important to know, or like me you'll end up with a Frankenstein flower rather than a Hawaiian one. It was only as I reached Step 3 that I realised that Sarah was speaking non-American!. It turns out she's an Aussie making an American flower, and although I'm English and should embrace all things UK, I learnt my hooking on-line with American terminology! No wonder I got confused :P

So what you can see here is what I made AFTER I'd undone all my hard work and started again... Well nearly, you'll notice the black ring's still a bit too chunky!


The other thing I really need is a decent camera, rather than the one on my phone! Stuff to work on I know :D

Anyway, I'm not sure what to do with my flowers. There not good enough for a big flowery blanket or anything like that, so I'm thinking about sewing them onto a beige bag I have and use for work. One side's got a cute doggie on it, but the other side could do with brightening up.


If anyone would like to send me any top quality yarn of all shades of the rainbow, then please let me know and I'll give you my address ;D

Off now to hook some more...

The world of Granny Squares and Cherries

So after my foray into the art of doggie collar making, I decided to expand my crochet skills slightly. After a quick search around the internet, I found myself watching quite a few cool videos at Instructables. And so began my journey into the world of Granny Squares.

Here's the video I watched, and yes, it's really a man doing the crocheting. My version took a little while to do, coz I kept making silly mistakes (but that's what learning's all about!) and having to undo and redo sections.

After I finished with one Granny Square, I decided that Granny Squares can wait until... well, whenever.


I don't have enough patience to do these - I want stuff that I can finish quite quickly. So I turned my Granny Square into a coaster, and found some other cute stuff to do...

Which brought me to Cherries... They're so cute!


And so I've been inducted into the world of Amigurumi... more cute stuff soon :D

Welcome to Claire's Crochet Quest...

I've been absolutely fascinated with many blogs from crafty people all over the world, so much so that I've been inspired to take up crochet! My Grandma (may she rest in peace) would have been proud of me :)

So anyway, I've been busy these last few days, getting the necessary materials and watching videos on line and downloading pdf files about 'How to Crochet' - and I'm hooked (pun intended).

So I've made a few things now, but this collar, for my dog Coco, was the first thing I made.


Collar:
Row 1: Ch 6, sc into 2nd ch from hook, continue to sc along rest of row. Turn.
Row 2 - last row: Ch 1, sc into 2nd sc from hook, continue to sc along rest of row. Turn.
Make it long enough for your doggies neck!
Button Hole: Ch 1, sc into 2nd sc from hook, sc into next st, ch enough to just fit over the button you're using, sc into 4th sc in row, sc into last st, sl st, end.
Sew button onto non-loop end of collar - fasten to doggie.


My stitches were too loose, which means that the whole thing has stretched out significantly, so I've ended up shortening it twice! Coco doesn't mind, coz she looks pretty.

The button I used had fallen off an old cardigan of mine. I'm glad I kept it!


More stuff coming soon!