Uncategorized

Toasty Toes

Aadya has this pair of machine knit socks that she loves.I have been wanting to knit socks for her for the longest time..but knitting on double pointed needles discourages me..So,I decided to try crochet.
And I started crochetting ,using the machine knit socks as the base.And then I got stuck,when I got to the heel of the sock.
I found this pattern and I continued from there.
The size is for one year old and..I loved how they turned out.
Its almost winter and a friend has a 1 year old..I sent it to her and she loved it.I don’t have a picture of the little toes..but here are the socks.
dsc02623

Made with- Panda Baby 4 ply yarn.

Uncategorized

Around the world in 80 Clicks

I have been tagged,by the lovely Dipali and the newest mommy(I know of),Aneela to write about Five Things I love about being a Mom. I have so many unpicked tags in my bucket,so,this time,I am just going to complete this one,before it gets lost.
Here are the rules-
just write a post of your own (5 things that you love about being a mom) and find someone to link to and tag – someone from your own country, if you like, but definitely someone from another country (Google is a good resource if you don’t know any; google any country name and ‘mom’ in their blog search function) (be sure to let them know that you’ve tagged them!) – and link back here and HBM and leave a comment.

I don’t know where to begin.I have wanted to be a mom,for as long as I can remember..And there is very little that I don’t like about motherhood.Seriously,even the sleepless nights of the first year,were alright..not something I looked forward to,but it wasn’t unmanageable.As the heaps of unfolded laundry rose,my love for the baby grew too.And every time,I look at Aadya,I wonder if its possible to love anyone so much.I also wonder sometimes,if I will have any love left for a second baby..but then,I think its the mother’s heart,which will always have love for her children.There are so many things that I like ,listing just 5 is not enough.But I’ll try 🙂
Here are my 5-
1) The excited baby voice that fills my house and my heart from the moment aadya wakes up every morning..Her non-stop talking continues even when I am on the phone ,or even when I don’t answer her.I love the long never-ending stories,told in the same baby voice, that keep me up at night.I love those sweet Pleez and Shorie(please&sorry)

2) The warm body snuggled up close to me or the small fingers that pry my eyes open.I just love waking up next to the little Pipette,one little hand around my neck,one chubby leg slung over my waist and one beautiful face,nose-to-nose with me.And on the rare occasions that,she wakes up earlier than me,she plays with my face and my hair and I pretend to be sleeping till she pries my eyes open with her little baby fingers.And then we snuggle and cuddle some more.Ever since Aadya was born,the first few minutes after she wakes up are reserved for me.Its like our way of recharging,before starting the day.

3)Those beautiful brown eyes,so like melted milk chocolate,so like my own,but so much more beautiful.And I could just keep looking in to those eyes forever and ever and I know,they look right into me..into my heart and soul.
4) Love having the magical power to kiss away every boo..Even the ones she dreamt about.Every morning when aadya wakes she shows me her little “boo”,real and imaginary,till I haven’t kissed all the 10 fingers and her cheeks and the nose,cute as a button.
5)Being perfect in every sense of the word,for someone.Being loved by that someone,completely and unconditionally .And I think just knowing that empowers me,makes me feel special and makes me a stronger person.It gives me the strength to stand up for myself,for,only when I stand up for myself,can I stand up for the Wee one.
Writing this post has made my belief even stronger that I was meant to be a mom..Oh I so love being a mom..:) Thanks,Dipali and Aneela.
And Now,to tag,I tag-
RetroMummy In Australia ,
AshliO In USA,
Meera also in USA ,
Rohini In India and
Sassy Mom In Hong Kong

Uncategorized

Look what I found..

DSC02470

I have a weakness for long dangling earrings.And I have so many pairs,I have a tough time going through my jewellery drawer to find a pair.It is frustrating to find one ear-ring and not its pair. I was browsing a strip mall,when I saw,”Don’t get Mad,get Organised”..Aha..just the right thing for me.I just cannot remember the name of the store.So,in I went.And this store had all the organising solutions from laundrybaskets to bookshelves to hobby boxes..what nots.And I found these and finding earring is a piece of cake..Also,its a visual treat in itself.

Uncategorized

Color Me up

Its been long since I put up anything on this blog.But that doesn’t mean that I have abandoned this blog.Its just that,I don’t have any more finished projects to display.
Also,we moved houses and we didn’t have phone or internet connection for more than 10 days after we moved in.I cannot tell you,how disoriented and “out-of-touch” with the world I felt.
Anyway,all’s well now.
Now for my current projects-
1) I am making more of those hats- for 2 friends.
2) I started knitting a sweater from my little girl.This will be the first sweater I finish all by myself.My speciality in knitting is blankets and scarves.
This is the yarn that I am using for it.dsc02450

Isn’t it Beautiful?I have had it for 6 months now..Made a hat with it,tried crochet and finally started knitting.

Like what you see?Check back in a few days to see the finished result.

Uncategorized

City girl Hat

Some girls like handbags,some like jewellery.Me?I like Hats.I may pass a beautiful dress,without a second glance..but a nice hat,always catches my eye.I had  been looking for a nice hat with a visor.So,when I came across this ( http://warmweatherknitting.blogspot.com/2006/01/city-girl-cap-pattern.html)City girl Hat pattern by Celeste,it was ‘just-what-I-needed’.

I was working on the Sunshine set,when I found this pattern and it was like an added motivation to complete that set ,quickly. The day I finished it,I just had to start on this Hat.The stitch used to make the cables,is Around the post double crochet-I had never used that stitch  ever but,google and youtube came to my rescue.Once I got the hang of it,I had fun hooking!!

The best part was when DH came home from work,and I modelled it for him,he said,”Wow,you made it..looks very smart!” Job well done..:)

.

Uncategorized

Sunshine Baby set

DSC02367

This beautiful Baby set is named Sunshine,because,it just fills your heart with so much sunshiny joy.

The pattern is from Leisure Arts Layettes Pattern Book.My best friend’s colleague is expecting and she wanted to gift her something hand-made.Thats when yours truly stepped in and the result is this beautiful bright baby set.They don’t know what they are having,yet,soI chose Baby Panda varigated yarn,which is white daintily speckled with all pastel colors-pink,blue,green,yellow,peach..I paired it with yellow.

DSC02370

The finished look is enhanced by the ribbed cuff.I was so in love with this set,I had a hard time,packing it to ship off.

The pictures arent very clear,sorry..This can be custom made in any color.

Watch this space for hats in the next few days.

Uncategorized

Braving the Heat-wave

I have turned into a lazy blogger..no,seriously..I used to have uninterrupted hour or so,at the end of each day,dedicated only for blogging.I used to look forward to that time.Aadya would be in bed,Sanj on his calls,and me,I was mouse-happy.This move changed everything..Sanj doesn’t have his calls anymore(which is good) ,Aadya doesn’t go to bed easily(which is bad) and I just don’t get any down time(which is very very bad).So,every time,I am alone-I blog mentally..but,never get around to writing anything..Sad as it is..I miss my downtime..I miss blogging.And sometimes when everything is right and I get some time,I try and catch up with all the other blogs..but as i said,I am turning into a lazy blogger..from being a regular commentator ..i have turned into a mere lurker.So,please bear with me..while i go through this phase..I WILL BE BACK!! heeeheehawhaw..OK that was just me being silly.

Anyway,this time my excuse is the heat-wave.Most of Australia has been facing a major heat-wave, last couple weeks.this last week was the worst..temperatures have been reaching a high 45-47 deg.The days are hot and humid..unbearable heat and the nights are even more unbearable.I haven’t cooked in 2 days.My kitchen is west facing and receives the evening sunlight.On a normal day,its hard to be in the kitchen for those few hours,when the sun shines the strongest,before setting.But last two days were terrible terrible.I cooked rice at mid-day and it was still warm at dinner time.

We have been going for long drives,every night,after Sanj comes home,just to stay in the cool air-conditioned car!Add to all this misery,a sick baby.Poor child,has yet another ear-infection.She fell sick from Sunday night,with a fever ranging from 100.5-101.5..The fever would come down temporarily with Panadol..only to rise again.She was crying all day..whimpering in her sleep.It broke my heart,into thousand pieces,when she coughed in her sleep and cried,”Slowly,slowly”(She says,slowly slowly when she wants us to be gentle with her-like if i am combing her hair and it hurts).She would sleep only if I held her,even in her half-drugged state,she would whimper-“Doddi,Doddi(godi-pick me up).

After two hot days,I started my search for a cooler..and guess what,all the coolers were sold.I was told,I was 11th in the wait-list,at one store..the next one told me,I had a higher probability of finding the Holy Grail,than a cooler…after around 10 calls,I found one over-priced,cooler.And I grabbed it.Confirmed the order on the phone and asked Sanj leave work early,so that we could go pick it up.

Today,it was slightly bearable,the first half of the day.by afternoon,the temperatures soared again.I have never ever seen such extreme heat.The trains were running late,as the train tracks were giving away,due to the heat.The trams were running late.We were without electricity for an hour or so..we spent most of it in the bath-tub..Luckily,the power came on..and our beloved fan started working again.Aadya started crying,as soon as the cooler and fan,got turned off,by the power cut.She thought,Mimi was being mean!!LOL!Just goes to show how much I torture her.

We went for a drive and then to the beach later.And it was cold there.We loved the cool breeze,but Aadya was shivering.I had a sweater in the car.My old sweater,that my grandma had knit for me,when I was sixteen.I rolled up the sleeves and made Pipette wear that.She looked like a purple Casper ,running around in that over sized sweater.There is a fake shipwrecked Ship on the beach,which has a slide,a knotted-rope,climbing thingy(anyone knows what it is called?)Aadya ran around,falling,giggling…with both of us taking turns chasing her.

She took a fancy to little boy.She boldly went up to the bouncy where he was sitting and chatted up his mother.The lady was impressed,she asked me if Aadya goes to a day-care..coz she is not at all shy..I smiled and proudly told her,No she doesn’t.Yes!it was one of those proud to be SAHM moments.Then my dear little girl decided she had to kiss the little boy..not once,not twice,but three times..uff..My baby was smitten!Sanj had an exasperated look on his face..and as soon as we were out of ear-shot,asked me,”Why does she have to kiss the boy?” “Umm..what can I say,she is your daughter!!”I replied..That comment was not taken well,I will tell you that much.

Now,its cooled down..and Sanj and Aadi are happily in bed,snuggled under the quilt..But,I had to break this lazy blogger jinx..so here I am typing away at 3.00 am.
Tomorrow will be another long day of house-hunting…hopefully,we’ll find something we like..we are so desperate to move!
Anyway,all you lovely people have a lovely weekend.

Uncategorized

Toddler hat

dsc02201

I loved this yarn.It is dyed,vintage yarn.The yarn itself  is so beautiful,its made for knitting.

I knit this toddler hat.This is the right size for 12-18months. The lovely hues are accentuated by the dainty white crochet flowers.It can be made in bigger sizes too and different colors.

Care- treat it like your other woolens.Wash separately ,since the dyed yarn may bleed.

Uncategorized

Why US???WHY?

I tried to write yesterday..But Icouldnt.How do you?How do you even think sanely when,your home is under attack.I was woken up by Sanj’s call,yesterday morning.He said,”have you seen the news?” I yawned,”NoWhy?”Bombay is under attack he said..I hung up and the phone rang again,a tearful Aneela that time…She gave me the other details…I was talking to her,all the while,images of Colaba causeway kept flashing in my mind.
Sanj and I had our first date at VT..we ate at one of the food-stalls and then went to the Metro to watch a movie.I was at the Leopold,3 years back.These are all the very places,where,we went for our late-night drive.I just cant think straight..NDTV live is ON all the time..and I keep watching,wiping away tears.
My australian neighbour asked me,”why were they targetting only the westerners?”And I told her,”I dont know..but a lot of local people are trapped and getting killed too..”To which she replied,”One australian was killed”..I really didnt know what to reply..I just said,I wish this gets over soon.I really wish..
There is bad news everywhere..while,we are relieved that our friends and family are safe..there is still a pang of guilt,at every relaxed sigh.So many people have lost their loved ones,some dont even know where theirs are…
We heard two terrorists talking last night..It was disgusting…they seemed to be in a trance.I wonder how someone can get so brainwashed…so influenced…that not a single thought comes to your mind before killing some innocent people.My cousin is the same age as these guys and kept thinking,they all look so young..if one of them would have come home with him,we would even know.Would we be able to look at another youngster,without worrying about his identity?
Its time,we did something..We ,as a people,need to do something together..But how..I mean,do you keep looking at every other person,with suspicion..?
God!I just wish this gets over..soon.