for cooler climes (or bouts of tonsilitis!)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Him: What are you making?
Her: A cowl.
Him: A COW!?!?
Her: Not a cow. A COWL!
Him: What's that?
Her: This!

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frogging

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Domestic Diva said she keeps second-guessing herself when it comes to crochet projects and doesn't get around to finishing them off. So, today I've decided to share some of my unfinished projects with you.


First off (top left) is a hat that I really should have finished off for my son! Second, a pile of things I started but have no intention of finishing! No. 3, some luxury cotton motifs just waiting to be frogged (undone). Lower left, we have a couple of throws that were started. I did like the stitches so I might re-visit these with different yarns and hooks! The fifth pic is an Irish Rose square that was bunching up too much. And last (but not least) some edging I'd started for someone but then decided I wasn't so keen on all three of the colours! This is just some of my unfinished business! But you know what, it's all a learning experience. Remember, it's better to have crocheted and frogged than never to have crocheted at all!

Will I finish these?

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cal 2009: june squares

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

No, I hadn't forgotten about the CAL. I just wanted to post all of the squares for the month together.

This is the 6" square for the month:

Eliot Square



And then we have the two 12" squares. Remember, I'm stash-busting (i.e. I'm using up all those odd yarn balls of various colours that were bought at a car boot sale on our summer holidays!)

Bold Square


Frilly Flower

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another one?!?!

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Did I say I'm not so in to doilies?


Pattern

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i found these ...

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

... in my fridge this morning! All made with delicate, light pastry, the lower three are stuffed with almonds.



Beautiful aren't they?

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playing with motifs

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

I've been playing with different motifs and ideas to come up with a table topper for my Mum. I finally gave her this:


Ok, ok! This:

I used a motif that I saw in Inside Crochet, one of the goodies my Dad brought back for me from the UK.


And now it's time for a bit more colour don't you think?

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baby blankets

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The only baby blankets I'd made before this year were knitted and for my babies. Earlier this year (and around the same time) I had news of a baby in my family and one in Hubby's. So I decided to crochet two baby blankets. The first had to be made quickly as we were going over to Madinah (where baby boy was born) soon after.

It's a hexagonal ripple blanket that I added a bit of ribbon to.


The second, well, let's just say I took my time with it.


This one is for a baby girl and she's a bit of a jet-setter already. So I wasn't sure where to send it! It's finally done and finished and ready to be sent over wherever she might be! This one is made of flower squares.



I used the flat braid joining method to put them together and I loved doing that. Makes a nice change from sewing the squares (I don't do that anymore!) or crocheting them together with single crochets (which I usually do). It give the blanket more of a lacey feel.


I wasn't sure about the border and eventually went with this scalloped edging.

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crochet links

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

If you're new at crochet or would like to learn:
Learn to crochet

Great easy to follow crochet tips and tutorials in the sidebar:
Laughing Purple Goldfish Designs
Attic24

Great videos on various stitches:
The Hook and I
Yarn Lovers' Room

Lots of patterns:
Ravelry
Crochet Pattern Central
Annie's Attic
Crochet Poet's Pattern Collection

Blocking squares

Winding a centre-pull yarn ball - video

Crochet cast on (for knitting) - video
Crochet bind off (for knitting) - video

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waiting for baby

Originally posted on 04/12/2007


I'm still waiting it out at home in case you thought I'd had the baby! I'm 8 days over today and supposed to go in for a check-up tomorrow in sha Allah. I had a CTG done a few days ago and everything was fine Alhamdulillah. I was never too keen on an induced labour but I'm coming round now. I've finally got my bag packed! And I've been organising and tidying as much as I can. One of the strangest things about this pregnancy has been that I've had more "smell cravings" than food ones. I haven't had many food ones. But I've had lots of smell ones, where I've just needed a good old sniff of something, like petrol, Jif, Dettol soap and other things like that!

Otherwise all is well Alhamdulillah. All the kids are settled in school and just keep asking "When's the baby coming?" Y has settled in quite well ma sha Allah.

Now that the weather is cooler, it's time for picnics by the sea again. So we managed to slot one in a couple of weeks ago and it was lovely ma sha Allah. We went on a Friday morning and there were quite a few families having their breakfasts by the sea. The children played on the slides a bit too. It was a very calming experience.

So, the waiting game continues...

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backpacking

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Yesterday, this ...

became this ...

and then this...
A mini backpack for dd9 to take on a school trip.

Then, this ...

became ...

and then ...


and finally...


Another mini backpack but this time for dd7!

I loved crocheting the hexagons. I used Lucy's pattern and really enjoyed it. I made the half hexes up myself to get the rectangular shape. Putting the bag together was a little fiddly but I couldn't stop stroking the hexagons and thinking, "What a lovely blanket these would make!" A fair bit of weaving in was needed with this one.


I HATE weaving in ends! Both bags have drawstring handles so they have eyelet rows at the tops. And both girls are happy with their bags. Now the question is: Should the next big project be grannies or hexagons?

But first, I need to go and get some goodies together for a bake sale.

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allergies and anaemia

Originally posted on 05/04/2007


Y is 4 years old. Since the age of about 6 months he’s had eczema. Initially, I used the tubes of cream the doctor’s gave for him. Then I used Chinese cream. That helped but as soon as I’d stop using it, his skin would flare up again. When we moved to Jeddah, we took him to a dermatologist who gave some anithistamine syrup and creams. It all helped and and now it’s an on and off thing. The important thing was to try and prevent it from happening in the first place.

Trying to figure out what a child is allergic to is not so easy. First, I thought it was cow’s milk. So we got him Soya milk instead. This was for breakfasts and things like that as he was still on breast milk. Then I thought it was egg. But after a trial thing we saw that the egg was not affecting his skin. Then I thought it was cheese. But, even that proved to be ok. Finally we figured out that he was allergic to nuts. Alhamdulillah, he isn’t affected so much by it. I know of children who suffer a great deal from nut allergies (breathing difficulties, etc.) So now we have to watch him anywhere near nuts. He knows he shouldn’t have nuts, so he asks if he thinks something has nuts in it. Even his sisters will warn us if they think something has nuts in it. Recently, his skin flared up again. I was racking my brain thinking of what it might be. Although I know that he reacts to nuts, I also think certain additives or colourings also affect him. On his last trip to the doctors Abu HAY insisted on some sort of blood test. The doctor decided to test him for anaemia as he said it’s a common cause of allergic reactions. Two weeks later, we found out that he is very anaemic. So now he has to have a tonic every morning to increase the haemoglobin in his blood for atleast 3 months. He also has to have iron in syrup form. And of course, liver and lentils are iron-rich foods he should eat.

If your child has allergic reactions such as eczema or even asthma, maybe you should have him/her tested for anaemia.

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