A two week stay away from home! The usual craziness before leaving, endless directions to husband and son, about what cooked items had been frozen, how much Idly batter had been prepared and stored, what shortcuts they could take to ensure stress free mealtimes and then of course my packing. I think I spent more time planning what projects to take, agonising about the yarn, the hooks and needles, getting the patterns printed, the clothes were a last minute add on! When I was finally packed and set to go, my planned projects bag was atleast as big as the one with my clothes!

After ten lovely days with my parents, with a lot of mental moaning and groaning about not having net access..and not being able to check Ravelry about details of the projects I had taken with me it was time to leave.

My return train was scheduled to leave from Bhopal around 9 pm. I was actually looking forward to the 40 hour train journey with uninterrupted reading and crafting time. My parents had come along with me to see me off. We reached the station to discover the train was late, the expected arrival time kept getting pushed back and we decided to wait in the comfort of the waiting room.

We entered the waiting room and my attention was immediately drawn to this lady who sat near the door, knitting something absolutely gorgeously coloured. My thoughts flew to the lovely shades of the Noro yarn I have been drooling over whenever I came across a project posted on Ravelry using this gorgeously coloured yarn. After a few minutes of stealing glances at her knitting away, I decided to go across and talk to her.

She told she was the attendant of the waiting room and knitted through the night to ensure she stayed awake and did not sleep on the job.

I learnt that throws knitted out of strips cut from used sarees were all the rage. Two models were popular, the rectangular one that was on her needles and a circular one knit on short-rows. The sarees were cut into one long narrow strip of just under half an inch, starting at one end and then turning back to cut the next strip. She had her material requirement all worked out.

The rectangular throws needed 2 full length sarees, the short-row circular ones needed three. I took a close look at her needles, they were old Pony straights, number 11 (3.00mm), sadly bent and eroded.

I was really humbled, here I was thinking that I was sadly constrained by my inability to have the latest knitpro or the highly recommended Addis, feeling that not being able to afford the high end long colour changing yarns was what was stopping me from knitting stunning pieces. And here was this woman knitting gloriously coloured beauties, with bent and corroded needles and with such a big happy smile on  her face.

She was also really generous, kept asking me when I would be visiting next ….promising to keep a set of rectangular and circular throws knitted up for me to take away with me. I had to bow my head before her, she taught me such an invaluable lesson, good knitting does not depend on high end yarns, it does not depend on having the most fancy needles money can buy.

Love of the craft, a good eye for colour and a creative thought process was enough to ensure that beautiful things were created using whatever was available on hand.

Before I knew it the three hours waiting time had flown by and it was time to go out of the waiting room and get ready to board the train. I now know of a good home for all my old Pony straights which do not get any use and I am looking forward to my next trip to visit my parents sometime in March when I can take a small packet of knitting goodies for a lady who showed me that knitting could be pleasurable and beautiful even without access to anything other than two bent needles.

I wonder if any one still follows my blog. Those unknown faithful followers and the random visitors who stop by must be wondering, what made me stop and what prompts me to restart now, after such a long gap.

I had stopped, when I felt that my posts here were just a rehashing of my project posts on Ravelry. Slowly the desire to post and share died down and I got absorbed in the new found thrill of testing for designers. So writing and sharing my thoughts took a back seat.

But of late I have started feeling that posting my project notes on Ravelry really does not say all that I do want to say…I meet interesting people, we go to lovely locations, I am moved by the thoughtful gestures made by totally unknown crafty people I meet online, my thrill at getting my Kindle, the joy of being able to read and read and read with no library deadlines mocking me….the list goes on and on. And so I started thinking of reviving my blog. And what better time than the approaching new year, with its resolutions and new beginnings.

So here I am friends and faithful readers, hoping that this time around I will be more regular and probably make this interesting enough for a few regular readers.

My Name is Jaishree

Childhood Ambition – i wanted to teach english literature to college students..this was more of a teenage ambition. i don’t remember any childhood ambitions.

Fondest memory – another sad thing to realise …don’t have a ‘fondest memory’

Wildest dream — Have no worries about money. Have servants to do all the work at home..a chauffer driven car. Go on a luxury world cruise and buy the most luxurious yarn and thread at every stop.

Proudest moment — when i am with both the children (especially if they are behaving)

Biggest challenge—- Balancing my needs and the needs of the family

Alarm clock — wonder which sadist invented that

Perfect day — A perfect day would be one with no housework and all the time for my crafts and books with lots of good food and music in the background. And the family happily occupied in doing things they like

First job — teacher

Indulgence(s)— coffee, chocolate, ice-cream, thread and yarn

Last purchase — 2 packets of curd

Favorite movie — Roman Holiday, Ore Kadal

Inspiration — Life itself

My life is — and continues to be a wonderful journey

My blog is — a way to share and show off some of my creative work

This is the original doily that called out to me

and a close up

and the one I made by copying it

the close up

I used Baroque thread and a 1.75 mm hook on this one and it turned out to be 17″. I did make minor changes in the pattern..I did not like the pineapples done with the dc and substituted 3dc clusters instead. I also changed the original edging, though i retained the unusual way of doing picots. This went really fast, taking just about 2 days to complete.

I love the antique look and feel of this doily. The best part is that I have not washed or blocked the doily, and without the benefit of blocking it lies beautifuly, no cupping or frills.

I wonder if the lady who crocheted the original copied this from a photo in some “foreign” book or mag..or was this her original creation. I must say this is a beautiful pattern.

Deepti had to appear for one of her MBA entrance exams at Cochin, and we had decided to make it a family trip to visit my aunts, Venu’s cousin and Swapna during the trip.

We did get to meet Swapna and Sridhar,though the visit was distressingly short. I did get to see her gorgeously crocheted Marquise top. Unfortunately I have also started lusting for a yarn winder and umbrella swift after seeing how effective it is.

In the madness of packing up for the trip, I had forgotten to hunt through my piles of UFO’s or WIP’s to take something to occupy me on the train journeys. At the last minute I snatched up a few cones and balls of thread a couple of hooks and two dupattas with straggly edges. And this is what I came up with

a closer look

I used a strand of #30 industrial sewing thread with a strand of #40 Anchor shade 098 with a 1.25 mm hook. If I had access to my stash I would have probably opted for a different shade of the size #30. But despite the shortcomings of my own design (if you can call it that) and the colour I am quite happy with it.

but catch lazy me lining a bag ..with my attention span and impatience with hand sewing i will certainly spoil the bag.

But a crocheted bag is not the most practical one to use without a lining….and I do want to show off my crocheted bags…so what do I do?

I call it lining a bag in one easy step..(or should i say two steps?)

How do I do it?…very very easy

step one

find an old beat up bag that you have discarded. This is the one I used

step two

this is the tricky part, you are going to line the crochet bag now…and here is how (hehehe and now I am a poet)

and you have ready to use inner partitions too

and you are done!

the best part is that i can slip off the crocheted bag for washing..i can also use the same “lining” on other crocheted bags. The downside is that if i crochet a bag with a different shape I will have to hunt out a different “lining”.

Let’s see how many you have read from this list. This is what you do

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own Blog

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher

51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie

I have read 44 of the above…..I THINK I have read the Magician (sl no 89) and The Catcher in the Rye (sl no 15)..but am not too sure…so I guess it would not be fair to include them in my “I have read them” list

I know I have a tendency to desire things which are not within reach but the doilies made in finer thread have really fascinated me..and I wanted to make a few of the delicate beauties for myself..

I have piles of #10 thread, mostly the “unbranded, sold by the hank” kind which I had picked up at Lucknow, a couple of tiny balls of #20 and #40 (absolutely no colour choices and not enough for bigger doilies) and nothing in #30.

I know that the Cebelias and Altin Basaks are way beyond my purse, especially once you take into account the Rupee-Dollar conversion ratios and add the obscene amounts of S&H most companies charge.

I was so desperate to make a few lovely doilies in fine thread, I tired the one and only thread shop in Trivandrum, and to my misery I learnt that he did not stock #10, he did not stock anything other than cream and burgundy in Anchor#20 (the staple thread in most shops), he did not stock Anchor#40 (found easily in other states)….

In desperation I started my quest for substitutes….

I remembered that one of my online friends Dora from Greece used three strands of sewing thread for her doilies and she had said that the size you get is very similar to a #30.

And I came up with this doily using three strands of yellow sewing thread, I could do a lot to improve my tension ..but probably that is something that will come with practice.

Needless to say I have absolutely no control when it comes to adding to my stash..so even before I had tried out three strands of sewing thread I bought more ..just in case I came across an irresistible pattern with #30 thread

The one with the red label is the cotton and it has 800 mts to a spool..no yardage on the polyester..but I would guess around 2000mts.

A couple of weeks later I went back to the shop to pick up some of the #20 to add to an exchange puffy..and as he was totaling up the cost, I started questioning him about the different varieties he had on stock and if there was any hope of coming across #30 in India. To my surprise I learnt that he had #30..but not cotton and it was used for sewing upholstery. Unfortunately not many colours, though he has promised to get some of the gaudier (on upholstery) colours for me the next time the supplier visits him. The threads are on a cone and at Rs25/- per cone of 2000 mts very reasonably priced too. Needless to say I picked up most of the colours available.

Certainly not for the purist or the thread snobs….

I tried out a doily using size 30..not too sure if I like the end result..I made the smaller of the doilies called Doily Mat set No 7715 on the celtwich site.

I have received a couple of doilies on exchanges made with #30, the ones made by Barb and James look so delicate and feel great…..this does seem wispier in comparison.

I wanted a doily that had a bit more substance to it…

This time around I tried adding a strand of sewing thread ..and quite like the end result…it is not what I was aiming for, but it is certainly a technique I will be using again in future. The doily is again from the celtwich site – White Note doily.

The difference is visible when you see the doilies side by side, I have also placed the spool of thread that I used in the frame so that the colour variations on adding the sewing thread are more obvious. I love the way the drab colour changes with the addition of sewing thread.

And how can I forget the hours of cleaning and dusting and washing that I did when my drowsing conscience decided to wake up and see the mess the house was in!

I even did some serious reading, picked up Freakonomics by Steven D levitt and Stephen J Debner, a nice read but I was not “dazzled” as promised on the back cover

Not bad at all..the only department where I have been less than sincere has been in updating my blog!

I have all the usual excuses, I need to get pictures of my projects to showoff my FO’s,  I need to take pictures of my new stash to ensure I make a few friends envious..I have to wash and block the new doilies I have completed on my trip to Delhi.

But now the urge to share what I have completed, started or acquired is getting quite acute…I might surprise myself and get all the pictures clicked and posted in a couple of days.

I have finally found a way to work around the problem..though I am sure there is an easier way of doing this!