Hand made cushions

I made these cushions out of left over felt from the decorative box!!!

Decorative cube from cardboard

I got a new laptop and it came in cardboard box packaging. After unpacking my laptop, I left the cardboard box in the living room and thought of disposing it later. I guess I was lazy to throw it away and we used it as a laptop stand for a couple of days. B and I were discussing whether to throw it away or keep it - it was good to have, but the plain packaging box looked ugly in our living room - when the idea of making a cover for it came to us. It would be easily disposable and can be moved around the room, plus,  if properly made, would add a dash of color to our living room!

So I set out to make this ottoman cover out of red felt and a piece of fabric. 

Cut out 4 pieces of the felt to match the four sides of the box, making sure to leave around an extra half an inch at the sides. Measure and cut out the piece of fabric that would make the top of the box. 

Don't forget about the extra half an inch at the sides. Sew the sides together, using the box as a measure guide to make sure that you have got the measurements correct. Now sew the fabric top piece to the felt. Make sure that the wrong sides go inside the cover. Put the cover on. You will have the loose ends hanging out at the bottom. Turn the box over and fix the ends to the bottom of the box. Voila, you have a useful cardboard box that will not be an eyesore in your living room.

Necklace and Earring set

Made jewelry this weekend after over an year. I missed beading!

Amigurumi Continued - Chick

Pattern from here: http://www.pepika.com/free-patterns/amigurumi-chick.html

Amigurumi - Pink lady

I fell in love with the pattern of this pink amigurumi lady the moment I saw it. It was a pleasure to work on, and the lady who emerged out of wool was indeed pretty!

Her hair turned out to be unmanageable though. She had too much of it when left loose and I did not know what to do with it. My roommates K and B came to help. After all, girls will be girls around a doll, won't they? K did her braids and B and I leveled her hair and tied it up. Once we were done, we all sat around her, just looking at her. 

She turned out to be as pretty as she was in the original pattern and I had a lot of fun making her!

I found the pattern link at this site:

http://kandjdolls.blogspot.com/2010/02/pink-little-lady.html

There are various other cute patterns in this site, so do try them out if you like to make amigurumi!

Back with a Giraffe!

Back to crochet and the blog after a long time! 

I have been making some jewelry, but did not update it here. I am back in Chicago now, so it is easier to get yarn and crochet supplies. I have started crocheting again, and Amigurumi is my new craze!

Amigurumi is a Japanese art of crocheting and knitting small figures. They are often made with disproportionately large heads to enhance the cuteness element.

Here is a photo of the giraffe I made recently.

Pattern link here:
www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80449AD.html

My experiences with Knitting and Crocheting

I think I was in the 4^th or 5^th class then. At the beginning of the year, the Sister (a nun – I studied in a convent school) who taught us needlework brought in yarn and knitting needles.This year, we would be knitting mufflers, she said. I remember looking at her with my mouth wide open when she made beautiful stitches out of yarn and those two needles. It was like magic. I was hooked. That year, I knitted not one, but several mufflers. I completed the muffler much sooner than I was expected to, so I made my father buy me more wool to make another one. After that was done, I helped a couple of my friends complete theirs. And so the year ended.  The next school year, we moved to other projects. There was no use for sweaters or warm stuff in the Tropical climate of my hometown, so I did not knit after that. We moved to higher classes, and our needlework classes disappeared from the class schedule to squeeze in more hours of academics. I forgot all about knitting.

I grew up and went to Seattle, Washington for a year. I saw seasons changing – beautiful spring, warm summer, colourful fall and finally white, snowy winter. And one day, the lady who sat next to me in the bus opened her bag, took out wool and knitting needles, and started knitting. That needlework class from long back came back to me. Very soon, I discovered Michaels (a US craft store) near my apartment with aisles filled with stacks of wool in all colours. I bought a couple of yarns and a pair of knitting needles, went home, and started knitting after browsing through a couple of online patterns and brushing up the old stitches that Sister had taught us. Thank God for the internet!!

I knitted a couple of scarves and hats that year in my free time. I gave up knitting after coming back – there was nothing to make that I could use here, I thought. But I did miss the feel of yarn in my fingers and the click-clicking of knitting needles. Recently, while browsing through some blogs, I came across doilies and other beautiful stuff made of yarn. They were crocheted. Ha! I bought crochet needles, and browsed through a lot of patterns before finding something I wanted. And that is how I taught myself to crochet. I used the pattern from Futuregirl’s craft site (she calls it Starling handbag) and added some flower embellishments. It's a very detailed pattern and she has added a lot of helpful pictures and videos.

Here’s how it turned out.