Author Archives: Bessie V

All done!

23 Wednesday Dec 2015

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I stayed up till 2 a.m this morning to finish the 2 WIPs and I am in love with them! I have half a mind to keep them for myself, but I must not be selfish. ‘Tis the season to give.

Now all that is left is to wrap ’em and tag ’em and enjoy my 2-day holiday stress-free.

Poncho
Infinity Scarf

 

I am wishing again the days wouldn’t fly by so quickly!

 

 

 

This Christmassy Month..

21 Monday Dec 2015

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Gosh! There’s only less than 4 days for X’mas!! I bet those of you who’re hand-making their presents are all done with it and everything is gift-wrapped and tagged!

Me? I still have 2 things in the works and I’m hoping like mad and keeping all fingers crossed that I WILL FINISH IN 3 DAYS.

The winter here had started all of a sudden the first week of Dec and its been getting bone-chillingly cold now and then. I was informed that this cold wave will last until the mid of Jan where temperatures will vary from 0-8 degrees with seriously cold winds.

Although there have been some days where it wasn’t all that much.

I can’t stand the cold, but the joy of the Christmas season is somehow keeping me from feeling entirely blue.

The X’mas tree had been up the first week already and I’d started working on my gifts a bit late. This is the first time I’m gifting things I personally made for occasions and I’m hoping the recipients like them 🙂

Look what I’ve made so far :

Ponchos for both my nieces. I still have the second one to complete!! (It just HAS to finish before X’mas. It HAS to.) :

Christmassy Poncho

Elfy-Hats for the kids. This is just for the fun of it. The Pom-Poms yet remain. Dear Lord! That’s another thing to complete 😦

The pattern is by Chassity from Two Little C’s and I found it lovely and perfect. You can check it out here :

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Warm beanies and an infinity scarf for my prayer fellowship family :

Beanies
Infinity Scarf

A few Christmassy wreath ornaments for our tree that I’d crocheted in the beginning of the month :

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My sis-in-law’s birthday is on the 23rd. Really close to X’mas. I had gotten her some really pretty jewelry and just to add my own personal touch to it, I’m in the process of making another infinity scarf :

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So! I’ve managed to get this far with it all. I’ve got a crick in my neck and fingers from all the crazy, rushed crocheting, but its been crazily fun too.

There’s a certain excitement in the air and I wish the days weren’t going by so fast..

But next year, I’m going to be making all the presents in the summer. Hah! Easier said than done, right?

 

 

 

 

Snowmen Photo Credit : 3oneseven.com via Google Images.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Aquatic Pals

27 Friday Nov 2015

Posted by in Family, Life In Kuwait

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I’ve been seriously neglecting my blog. Life has been really hectic and the only free time I get is spent on trying to complete my afghan (still a really, really long way to go) and a few crochet-y gifts for X’mas.

This week we got ourselves 3 new aquatic pets.

My 10 yr old has been pestering us for a pet and her request for a puppy or a bird had been repeatedly turned down. As much as we would have loved to get her a dog, it was impractical. If I were a stay-at-home-mom, we would definitely have got one. But since I’m not and we don’t really have the time for one (and I personally felt birds would be a noisy affair), we got her fish. 3 of them. Which was perfect for us too (less hassle 🙂 ).

Here they are – 1 Siamese fighting fish and 2 gold fish.

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She has been given the responsibility of feeding them and so far she’s been doing a good job.

Today we had some gorgeous weather and took a trip to the beach. Collected the little shells that you can see at the bottom of the goldfish bowl.

The 2 year old took a dip in the sea for the first time! He had always been afraid to go near the water, not wanting to even look at it every time we stopped by the beach. He never liked walking barefoot on the sand either. But today he did both of those! Become brave, I suppose 🙂

That’s the end of one busy but grand week.

Can’t wait to finish my X’mas WIPs soon and show them off to you too 🙂

Goodnight, Lovely People!

 

 

 

All Things Beautiful

01 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by in Life, Nature

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“When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.”  – Gandhi

That is exactly how I felt when I saw this beauty on our drive home this evening.. the glorious colors fading into the horizon and melting all the stress of my day away.

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Have a beautiful week ahead, lovely people!

My First Afghan Attempt

16 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Crochet

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Its time I stopped shying away from crocheting afghans. I always feel I’ll never see it to the end. Its mainly to do with the fact that I’m impatient and get bored with projects that take long to complete. And I hate starting on things unless I’m certain it will be complete at some point in the very, VERY near future. I don’t have many WIPs precisely because of this.

But crochet is one hobby that does need a lot of patience and I find myself a little bit more patient these days (as also observed by the better half upon seeing me patiently playing with the 2 yr old sans any grumblings most of yesterday 😀 ). Not sure if the credit goes to this hobby though.

So with that, I have embarked on my very first afghan project. Its the kind where you make a set of blocks that will be joined together with another color and borders added to turn it into 1 large piece. Y’all know the type I’m talking about, don’t you?

AND I’VE COMPLETED THE FIRST BLOCK!!

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The block is called Kata from over at Look at What I made.

The pattern asked for a 4 mm hook, but I’m using a 5.5 mm. I am working it only until the 10th round and I’ve changed that round to be 3 DC in each of the chain spaces only contrary to the SCs in every stitch and chain spaces that the actual pattern called for.

The last round is done in a lovely wine color although it looks almost black in the pics.

I haven’t yet decided what the joining color will be, but I think I will go for White. Its my first afghan attempt.. what do you all think of the color combos in the pic? Any good? Would the last round look better in another color? The yellow maybe.. same as the middle? Any suggestions are most welcome.

Dearest Daughter

13 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by in Family

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“…you are my rainbow to keep. My eyes will always be watching you; never will I lose sight of you.”
― Vesna Bailey

Its been a horribly hectic 2 weeks!

My 10 yr old has finished her mid-term exams today and we are finally, FINALLY free of the stress that determinedly tags along with us every time an exam is in the horizon. Which is twice a year.

There was a moment where I thought she would have a nervous breakdown when I heard her weeping in the bath 3 days ago! The poor thing! Its a race against time for them just to get to the finish. The amount of revisions I’ve helped her through these 2 weeks is mind-boggling, not to mention the nerve-racking stress we’ve both endured! I already feel her childhood has been ruined by this constant pressure of having to excel and reach everyone’s expectations including mine. “When do I get time to do fun things??” she always asks.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I have resolved to never “get” her to study. But it seems to be ingrained in me to always put in a “study” word even during our normal conversations. And no matter how much I try not to, the “study” word just slips in unnoticed! And not before long we find ourselves in the middle of shouting matches resulting in her storming off with loud mutterings that ends with wishing she didn’t have me as her mum.

Which then inevitably, ALWAYS make me ponder, “Why can’t I just let her be. As her mum, I already know what works for her. So why do I always go and say the wrong thing!!”

And now that we’re done with the mid-terms, I have resolved to let her study when she wants to. I know that resolution might never come to pass, but I am still going to make every effort not to force. Yet Again.

So after work, when I see her this evening, I plan to spend it entirely with her. Go for a walk together. Just the two of us. We haven’t spent time alone with each other ever since her brother came along 2 yrs ago. I need to tell her how sorry I am for not easing her burden. For adding more to it. Let her know how amazing she is and how lucky I am to be her mum.

That should do for now, I hope.

Learn A Stitch : Star Stitch

27 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by in Crochet Stitch Library

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I had started a crochet stitch library on my blog last Sunday, where I would file all the new stitches that I learned, the link for the stitch pattern and what I made using that stitch.

So today I’ve got the Star Stitch to rave about.

The written instructions were a bit confusing for me. So after a couple of failed attempts, I then learned it by watching Michael Sellick’s video tutorial on You Tube. He really does great tutorials!

The video link is : Star Stitch

Link for the Written instruction can be found here : Star Stitch

I’d initially thought I’d make a dishcloth using this stitch since it would be quicker to complete. But once I commenced, I found I didn’t want to stop and eventually ended up making a neck-warmer 🙂

Here it is!

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A lovely stitch once you figure out where all the loops on the hook has to come from.

DIY : Recycling Old Tin Lids

21 Monday Sep 2015

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Apart from learning new crochet stitches, I have been recycling some lids that I’d saved from my son’s formula milk tins and I am so loving what I’ve begun to do with them. Always felt these lids would come in handy some day and that day is here :).

I’ve been working on turning them into photo frames most of last week and I’ve completed 2.

Look!

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I had gotten myself a power punch that could punch holes in thin metals (Neiko Hand Held Power Punch). So I used that to make holes 1.5 cm apart all around the lid.

Took glossy prints of photos that I’d like displayed, cut them out round and stuck them on the base.

Then I just crocheted around the holes on the lid, added embellishments, et voila – I’ve got myself some lovely photo frames to adorn my walls!

The pink one was the first one and it was sort of a trial and error attempt. Hence, the uneven spacing of the holes. The orange one was done with a little more proper measuring and planning and so, looks a bit more neater.

I’ve got 6 more to make and plan to turn one into a fridge magnet.

Once I’m done with all, will put up another click.

What do you think?