Wasteful Art !

When you  buy bread or certain times packaged vegetables [at the supermarket] the plastic bags they come in are secured with  these types of tabs. [may not be the correct word for it]

I have been collecting the tabs for awhile just to see how much of a plastic pile I can make.

While the collection grew, I had sketched few ideas how to use them. This is an experimental mixed media project. Apart from the tabs, I also incorporated used tea bags, scraps of fabric, and lots of acrylic paint.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself doing the project; but I do not know how well my idea is presented here.

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This magazine was featured in many crochet blogs in the past month, and it did look interesting. So, when I saw it at the book store, I wanted to treat myself, and here's my copy. :)

It has a small crochet project included; yarn and a hook to make a snowflake.

The instructions are in UK terms. But it does have guide with all the abbreviations and US terms, in one of the back pages. I think I manged to get it fairly right. There was enough yarn to make two; the second one turned out bit smaller as I made the stitches more tight.

Let it snow ! let it snow !

I am taking little time off from work to visit my mother. My mother is turning 70 yrs. in couple days, and my grand mother(mother's mum), is turning 93 yrs. They both have their birthday on the same day.  

I wish you all happy holidays and a peaceful 2014 !!!

See you in the new year..........

Thank you for taking time to stop by,

..til next time,
xxx,
Gaia

Crochet lessons continue ... [learning left hand crochet]

Point Stitch...

Learning stitches in a row is still difficult, as I always end up having either extra or less amount of stitches. Counting multiples and then adding the plus number to make the foundation chain still a struggle.

Cross Square

Octagonal Motif [left] and Octagonal shells [right]

Hexagonal motif [left] and Spider's web motif [right]

Lacey Circle [left] and Circular motif [right]

I have completed the all the motifs in the guide book, but there many more stitches that I have to learn.

A very dear friend sent these yarn for me. They are hand dyed merino wool, so soft and I love colours. I am thinking of a scarf but not sure if I want it knitted or crocheted.  So,I will do some practice lessons; hopefully that will help me to decide.

Thank you for taking time to stop by,

til next time,

xxx,

Gaia

Small reversible quilt - part 3 and Lacey square cushion

I took a break from crocheting and did bit of stitching. I did go a little further with my quilt....I have come to an end, on one of the sides.

here you can see the both sides 

Still a long way to the finish.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

I, still could not resist, and had to finish the lacey square cushion I had in mind. So, here it is finally done.

I joined squares using a bit thicker yarn (what I had) then added buttons to the panel to make it bit more fancy. The buttons are not exactly what I would have liked.

Then,  slip stitched the panel to the blue material.

Thank you for taking your time to stop by,

til next time,

xxx,

Gaia

Lacey Square [learning left hand crochet]

This is my lesson on Lacey Square.

I am quite pleased with the results.  Even though, the orange squares are a little bit smaller than the yellow ones I am thinking of joining them to make a small cushion.

I also tried this flower.

Thank you for taking your time to stop by ,

til next time,
xxx,
Gaia

Crossed doubles [learning left hand crochet]

This is my lesson on the stitch pattern described as crossed doubles in Crochet Stitches book.

Even though,I manged to figure this the pattern without pulling my hair too much :), I did not get the foundation stitches correct, so I had problems at the end of the row.

this one is a bit better than the previous attempt.

I think this pattern will work nicely for a scarf or on dishcloth.

Also, couple more Petal Squares; these ones finally turned out alright. Yay !! for the left hander :)

I have been spending more time learning crochet these days and less time on other needlework projects I have started.  As, I browse through the book, I see that there is so much I do not know and wants to keep on going ................

Thank you for taking your time to stop by,

xxx,
Gaia

Petal Square - [learning left hand crochet]

I came across this crochet book, recently at the thrift store.

A complete guide to Crochet Stitches -Mary Dawson

It is published in 1972, in Toronto, Canada. There is no information about the writer though only her name. The original cost of the book is $3 and it says no tax! I paid 0.99 cents for it. I'm very pleased that I found this book.

It has so much information for a beginner like me even though it written for right handed people. It only has black and white pictures of each explained stitch but no diagrams, just the written instructions. I think, reading the instructions several times will make me understand better.

I was eager to try something out; this is the Petal Square;

I noticed that usually rows start at somewhere in middle, maybe because each corner has more than 2  chain spaces. This pattern has 5 chain spaces. I was able to get the stitches alright up to the 4th row, but the last one is still to be worked out properly.

The saffron coloured wonky one is the first one I tried. The green turned out a little better.

I also tried joining them using the method explained in there... what I  did may not be right but looks nice though.
* It says to join by crocheting - work ss along edge,inserting hook through 1 st of each motif. or for a flatter seam ss worked through front loops only of edge sts.*

More learning to do ........

Thank you for taking time to stop by,

Have a peaceful Remembrance Day !!

Until next time,

xxx,
Gaia

My first crocheted scarf [learning left hand crochet]

I have tried my hand on knitting scarves and they have turned out alright and I use them all. This is my very first attempt on a crocheted scarf.

The pattern and the instructions are from http://www.crochetgeek.com. It is called Freedom scarf. I watched the left hand video of it several times and followed the graph rather than the written instructions. Thank you...CrochetGeek.

 I used 4mm hook and my thirfted grey and blue yarn. I think it is a good match even though they were not yarn of the same variety.

There could be errors ... but overall it does look nice to me.

Just in time for the winter !................ next it will be one of those cowl/infinity scarves.

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I also made another set of bottle-cap pincushions for a friend of a friend who wants them as 'christmas stocking stuffers'. 

If you like to try these pincushions here is the link.
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/945/how-to-make-pretty-pincushions/page/all

Lastly, a case for my new camera, which I took some of these pictures from. It is much sharp in colour and details than my old one.

Thank you taking time to stop by, it means a lot to me,

Until next time,

xxx,

Gaia

Collage...

Book cover

This is my first attempt to make a fabric cover for a note book.

For a friend who likes yellows and blues....

All the material came from my bag of remnants..and picture underneath [summer flowers captured by me] is the one I used as a reference.

back

Happy birthday Jeanne !!

Once finished, I noticed that there are places which I could have done better or differently, but overall I am happy with the result.

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This small crochet project is still in the experimenting stage....

 

Yard Sale finds !
I have been to lots of yard/garage sales this summer. These pretty things, I got at a church rummage sale recently.  I have already planned to make something out from the craft magazine.

Thank you for taking time to stop by,

Until next time,
xxx,
Gaia