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March 31, 2011

Cucumber Roundels (Kakdi slices)

You would have seen the nicely sliced roundels of Cucumber and carrots neatly arranged on a plate in buffets. Some of you would have wondered how this is done to get those nice flower petal like shape around its edges. Now you can also make it at home using your peeler and make the salads look more attractive to eat and enjoy. I have explained it to through pictures.







Cucumber roundels with nice edge is ready to decorate your salad plate!!



March 30, 2011

Chandana Bela

This kolam is called Chandana Bela, as it resembles the bela  or the cup in which chandan paste is offered to others.

Chandana Bela

Krishnan chadhangai

Krishnan Chadangai

March 29, 2011

Shell stitch

Hat made using shell stitch
SHELL STITCH

A Shell Stitch is a group of stitches worked into one base stitch. It is made of more than 3 longer stitches and also in combination with other stitches to form a pattern. Double crochet & treble crochet stitches are used to make a shell stitch.  It is also used to do Edgings.  It is worked with a base of chains in multiples of 4 + 1 (e.g.)


  • multiples of 4 + 1 chains to start, ie. 12 + 1 = 13, or 28 + 1 = 29, etc.
  • 5 double crochets in same stitch = 1 shell
Chain 17.

  1. 1 shell into 4th chain from hook, *skip 3 chains, chain 1, 1 shell in next stitch, repeat from * to end working 1 double crochet into last stitch.
  2. Chain 3, *1 shell in 3rd double crochet, chain 1, repeat from * to end working 1 double crochet in turning chain.
  3. Repeat row 2 as necessary for your project.
This next crochet shell stitch pattern is a little more complex.
  • Shell is 5 double crochets worked into 1 stitch as before.
  • I also used single crochetfor this pattern option.
  • Stitch numbers needed are multiples of 6 + 1, ie. 18 + 1 = 19, or 36 + 1 = 37, etc.
Here goes with these instructions...Chain 25.
  1. 1 shell into 4th chain from hook, *skip 2 chains, single crochetin next stitch, skip 2 chains, 1 shell in next stitch, repeat from * toend working 1 single crochet into last stitch.
  2. Chain 4, turn, *single crochet in top of 3rd double crochet, chain 2,skip 2 stitches, double crochet in top of single crochet, chain 2, skip 2 stitches, repeat from * to end working 1 double crochet in top of turning chain.
  3. Chain 2, turn, 2 double crochet into top of double crochet at base ofturning chain, *skip 2 stitches, single crochet in top of single crochet,skip 2 stitches, 1 shell into top of double crochet, repeat from * to last single crochet, single crochet in last single crochet,skip 2 stitches, 3 double crochets in 3rd chain of turning chain.
  4. Chain 3, turn, *skip 2 stitches, 1 double crochet in top of single crochet, chain 2, skip 2 stitches, single crochet in top of 3rd double crochet,chain 2,repeat from * to end ending with 1 single crochet intoturning chain.
  5. Chain 1, turn, *skip 2 stitches, 1 shell in top of double crochet,skip 2 stitches, single crochet in top of single crochet, repeat from * to end.
  6. Rows 2 - 5 form the pattern repeat. Repeat as necessary for yourproject.



March 28, 2011

Sukha Fruit Bhel


Sukha Fruit Bhel






Sukha fruit bhel


Ingridients

  • Puffed Rice - 1 cup
  • Oil              - 2tsp
  • Red Chilli Powder as per taste
  • Turmeric Powder - less than 1/4 tsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Fruits of your choice (e.g. apple, orange, banana, guava, etc.)
  • Coriander leaves (chopped) - 1 tsp

Heat oil, add turmeric powder, redchilli powder and salt & fry for 30 seconds. put off the flame. mix in the puffed rice and cut fruits, coriander leaves and mix well. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Design-11 Damaru


March 26, 2011

The Story of Appreciation

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made
the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic
achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the
youth answered "none".

The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes
before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and
clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.*

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His
mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did
that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother
shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his
graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: " Can you tell me
what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished
cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked, " please tell me your feelings."

The youth said, Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, by working together and helping
my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done. Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, " This is what I am looking for to be my manager.
I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of
others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?*

You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

You would have forwarded many mails to many and many of them would have black mailed you too...but try and forward this story to as many as possible...this may change somebody's fate... :)

Shell Hat

This is a wool eater pattern. Hat is made using shell stitch done continuously which gives a rich look. This pattern was shared by Sandhya (Sandvicrochet). Thank you Sandhya.


Useful Crochet Links

'V' Stitch

This stitch is named for the way the stitches appear in a 'V'. It is most effective worked in "Half Double Crochet (hdc)" and "Double Crochet (dc)" or even longer stitch.


Start by working a chain in multiples of 3 stitches, plus an extra 2. So - if you want a row of 12 stitches total - you need to work 14 chains. 

  1. Turn, chain 1, half double crochet in 3rd chain from hook (not counting the loop already on the hook), chain 1, half double crochet into same chain as first hdc, *skip 2 chains, (hdc, ch1, hdc) into next chain*. Repeat from * to * ending with (hdc, ch1, hdc) into last stitch.
  2. Turn, chain 1, *(hdc, ch1, hdc) into chain 1 space*. Repeat from * to * to end of row.
  3. Repeat row 2.

If you'd prefer to work the v stitch crochet pattern in double crochet stitch, just substitute each hdc for dc.

Then the pattern would look like this...

  1. Turn, chain 1, double crochet in 3rd chain from hook (not counting the loop already on the hook), chain 1, double crochet into same chain as first dc, *skip 2 chains, (dc, ch1, dc) into next chain*. Repeat from * to * ending with (dc, ch1, dc) into last stitch.
  2. Turn, chain 1, *(dc, ch1, dc) into chain 1 space*. Repeat from * to * to end of row.
  3. Repeat row 2.

Courtesy http://www.woolcrafting.com/v-stitch-crochet-pattern.html

Diagnol Box Stitch

Diagnol Box Stitch is also called 'Brick' or 'Crazy' Stitch. You can use two colours but only in alternate rows otherwise the pattern will end up in opposite colour.

This is a gorgeous, close-knit stitch. By working it on the diagonal you can measure the sides and determine when you've gotten it to the width you want, without having to bother with figuring out a multiple etc.The best place to start is at the beginning. We begin with a slip knot.

Row 1: Chain 6. Then double crochet in the 4th chain from hook, then dc in chains 5 and 6 (in future I will just say dc in 4, 5, and 6th chains and you will remember that it is the 4th chain from hook, right?). That's your first row. It's true. This IS your first row. :-) (Don't forget to click on the thumbnails to see a larger pic.)



Row 2: Now you're going to do your first INCREASE row (Well, you could say Row 1 was also an increase row since you had nothing to begin with). Chain 6, dc in chains 4, 5 and 6, flip row 1 up (Pull it towards the front in a flipping motion),






















Insert hook under the chain-3 of the row 1 "box" (shell or whatever you want to call that grouping), slip stitch to join,







 




Chain 3, 3 dc under same chain-3 grouping. At this point you have TWO rows of your pattern completed

CHANGING COLOUR
Row 3: Drop Color A (the one you're using) and join Color B (new color), Chain 6 using new color. If you were making a larger item using color changes every two rows, you would not have to cut Color A here although you certainly can cut if you want to. You would carry it up along the side. You can do that now for this sample. In future if you do cut, be sure you leave at least 4-6" for sewing in later. If you are changing colors less often than every two rows (like every four rows, for example), then you should not carry, but cut.
 








your completed two colour pattern will look like follows:-




 













 

March 25, 2011

BASKET WEAVE STITCH

BASKET WEAVE PATTERN:  
This stitch will work in multiples of 8 - that means any multipleof 8 - 24, 48, 96, etc.  As long as the number you choose can be evenly divided by 4 with no spare stitches.

Start with chain 18, turn (the last 2 chains form the first of the double crochet stitches.)  
  1. Work a double crochet into 3rd chain from hook, then  double crochet into each chain to the end (16 stitches).
  2. Turn, chain 2, work 1 front post double crochet, *4 back post doublecrochets, 4 front post double crochets, repeat from * to last 2 stitches,then work 1 front post double crochet, then 1 double crochet into turningchain of previous row.
  3. Turn, chain 2, work 1 back post double crochet,* 4 front postdouble crochets, 4 back post double crochets, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, work 1 back post double crochet, 1 double crochet into turning chain of previous row.
  4. Repeat row 3, then repeat row 2.



FRONT POST DOUBLE CROCHET



 BACK POST DOUBLE CROCHET.
Back post double crochet



Back post double crochet

These 4 rows form the pattern. Why not continue as long as you want and make a skinny scarf from your sample of the crochet basketweave stitch. Whenyou get to the length you want, just work the rope edging around, finish off the ends and you have a simple cozy new scarf - all from just a sample swatch!
the abbreviations used : 


  • bpdc - back post double crochet
  • ch - chain
  • dc - double crochet
  • ea - each
  • fpdc - front post double crochet
  • prev - previous
  • rep - repeat
  • sts - stitches
Source : http://www.woolcrafting.com/crochet-basketweave-stitch.html

Special Stitches

Some of the special stitches which will help you develop a new texture to your pattern





  


Design-12 New Padikolam

my own design

Stitches

There are variety of stitches used to form a pattern. Let me introduce them one by one












changing to a new yarn


Decreasing Double Crochet

Decreasing Half Double Crochet

Decreasing Single Crochet


March 23, 2011


History of Crochet

The origin of crochet is not exactly known. In history, the traces are found in Egypt, Babylon, Middle East. It may be originated from the shepeherd's knitting when sheep's wool is caught in fences or thorny bushes, were collected and spun into a rough yarn, which then with the help of a stick with an curved end was turned into simple garments.

As the inventions and technological advancements started happening, knitting and looming came into use. During the victorian period, crocheted works are seen in paintings and pictures, in the form of doilies, mats and covers.

The fishermen also uses similar type of hooks to make their fishing nets.

Thus a small curved end needle, dances to the spell of the creator and works wonders by making patterns and giving shape to a thread.

Wish you all a "Happy Crocheting"

Tissue box cover (Basket weave Pattern )

I used the basket weave stitch and made this tissue box cover.


March 22, 2011

PAZHAMPORI




This is a snack from the state of Kerala made using 'Nendra Pazham' a specific big banana, dipped in a batter and fried in coconut oil,  which is speciality of Kerala.










Ingredients :

  • Big Banana (Nendra Pazham / bada kela) - 1
  • Madia - 2 tbsp
  • Rice flour- 1/2 tpsp
  • Turmeric powder - 2 pinch (natural colour)
  • Salt to taste
  • Sugar - 1/2 tsp
  • water
  • Coconut Oil for frying



Mix the flours, turmeric powder, salt and sugar. By adding water, make a batter of thick consistency like a Dosa Batter.


Slice the banana vertically.Dip it in the batter and fry in oil till the the crust becomes crispy and golden in colour. Place them on an absorbent paper to remove excess oil and serve hot.

March 21, 2011

Our Nashik Shiridi Trip (Part - III)


Back to sweet home

The second memorable event is a sad one. With a satisfaction, all of us were returning happily via ahmednagar where we stopped for lunch and had an excellent gujarathi thali and started our trip home bound via pune with a full stomach & content heart. Both the sides of the narrow road was spread with a carpet of orange flower amidst the greenery. Have captured it in my camera for you.



In the pune express highway, we had a brief halt for hot tea enjoying the view of surrounding hills. Here I captured a pair of sparrows happily sitting in a small tree.



After we left this place, after 25 minutes, we were on ghats section crossing Lonavla and it was dark and to our amazement, it was foggy and raining too. The driver who was a sardar kept receiving calls in between, was telling us that his daughter’s marriage was fast approaching. We could make out that he was in a hurry.  Despite our repeated requests to slow down in the ghats section, he was speeding.

I was sitting in the middle of the back seat and had a good view of the road ahead. I am a person who is always on vigil observing the traffic while travelling irrespective of who drives the vehicle or in which vehicle I am on.  My MIL was asleep and my FIL has already started to doze as there was nothing to see out in the dark. For a fraction of a second my brain realized something was going wrong and soon the car hit the divider and that impact made it swirl backwards and again it hit the mountain wall & came to a halt. All of us were in the shock and when we realized what happened to us in the dark night we started to pull ourselves out of the car which got stop luckily because one of its front tyre got stuck between two rocks, beneath which lied a pit of nearly 6 meters deep with water falling from above. Otherwise, the accident would have been much worser if that car ran down or if hit by a following vehicle. But luckily no vehicle passed by for atleast 5 minutes.

I ensured that my MIL & FIL were ok. And My husband was even more worried.  Through the little light that our cell phone threw, we found some injuries on FIL’S head who was not wearing a seat belt that time. His bleeding didn’t stop because he takes 'Asprin'. 

When we got down, it was pouring heavily, no lights and it was cold. In that chaos, me and my husband never observed what happened to us as we had three people now to take care in that dark ghat section of the highway with the heavy downpour.

My husband pulled the driver who was luckily alive and soon regained consciousness.  My FIL who was sitting in the front was not wearing his seat belt and had head injuries but with god’s grace nothing major happned to any of us including the driver. I was standing in the pouring rain in the dark ghat section asking for help but no vehicles stopped. When my husband told that there was a huge pit of atleast 6 meters deep beneath those helping rocks into which the front tyre got stuck, we were thanking god for saving us from a great mishap that too with two old people with us.

After 20 minutes, a good hearted taxi driver in his premier padmini gave us all a free ride till a near by town where we showed to doctor, took first aid and hired a taxi and reached home by 11.30 pm. All of us were tired, injured and were weak. It took us a week to come out of the shock and a month or two to recover from the injuries.

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