Pinwheel Doily

          Nothing more creative happened this month. My mind is more into sewing. Successfully stitched one churidar set for me.  Needs more perfection for the sleeves it seems. Will be trying another set  soon. Before going on summer vacation in July-August, there is a long to-do list with me. Have to work hard to complete it before leaving. 

          I did one pinwheel doily last month. Did a pinwheel for the first time. Interesting pattern.. Like that swirl in the middle. Wish to do more swirls when I come back after the holidays... 

Pinwheel Doily

Pattern :  Pinwheel Doily

Thread : Anchor knitting thread

Hook   : 2mm

See you next time...

J i s h a

Makeover Dress II

Again, few more makeovers after my first trial. The first one is Helen's one year old T-shirt and the skirt part of her frock, she used to wear at the age of three. Combined together as a frock. Just sewed together at the waist line.

Make over dress II

I tried the raglan sleeve top for the first time. The material is from my old nighty. First trial. But turned out well, I think. My friend Maya acted as a  bulldozer force behind this creation.  The pattern idea is from this PDF file.

Again a cotton shirt of my husband turned into a frock. After sewing the Raglan sleeve top, the next day I tried this. First, I cut the sleeves from the same shirt's sleeve, but by mistake, cut it without seam allowance. Then I was searching for a suitable piece of fabric and I got the black check material from my suitcase. 

Frock with Raglan Sleeve.

See you next time....

Jisha

Makeover Dress I (T shirt & Shirt to Frock)

Nowadays, my mind doesn't concentrate on just one thing. It's roaming around. In the first week of January, we had a short visit to our hometown just for 11 days. After coming back to Muscat, there were lot of things to do.... Little ones missed one week classes after the winter vacation. On 24th January, my daughter  Helen celebrated her 6th birthday... January is passing so fast...... 

My daughter's two year old Tshirt became short in length. She is very fond of that red T shirt. Although she wears it at home, she is not ready to give it up. I was planning to do something with that T shirt. So I used an old shirt of my husband to makeover the red T shirt into a frock. 

The red T shirt &  shirt (sleeves and collar removed)

I cut the shirt below the armhole to get enough length, removed the pocket and then stitched the front portion (plackets) to close the opening without removing the buttons. Then attached  this piece to the bottom of the red T shirt as we do in normal pleated frocks. Took two heart shaped pieces from the shirt's material and tried to do some applique using my sewing machine. It ended up as a disaster. 

Anyway, the final outcome is shown below... Almost satisfactory.... Helen is very very happy for her mother saved her T shirt. And more than that, she is very fond of wearing her father's T shirts & shirts. That's another reason for her extra happiness........

T shirt + shirt = Frock....

See you next time...

Jisha

Crochet Fever...

During last week, we (me and my friend)  were in great enthusiasm thinking about learning Crochet. I tried knitting first, but lack of helping hands forced me to drop the idea. After dreaming of crochet for more than few months, we did some shopping to collect the essentials for crochet practice from the Mazoon Shopping Complex  in Ruwi. We bought some threads and crochet needles from there. Though we had a little knowledge about the materials needed, the shopper also helped us to choose the things. He might have thought of us mad, when he came to know that we are going to learn crochet and buying all these things.... No problem... we are ready to try Crochet... The main strength behind this thought is that we will get enough support from Nima & Ninu Jacob and also can make use of various video tutorials available in different websites and Youtube.

Anyway, there is nothing in having a trial. If it is success, we will continue doing it.  When I tried the chains and slip stitch,  I was greedy to do the Granny Square. And after some trials, the attempt was successful. Above is my first Granny Square.....There may be mistakes, but can improve...

Granny Square

Few more rows added...

Crocheting Circles

40th National Day Celebrations in Oman

Sultan Qaboos bin Said on 40th National Day of Oman

November 18^th 2010 was Oman’s 40^th National Day. Monday, 29^th November , 2010 was celebrated as the Festival Day of the same. Under the glorious reign of  His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, this country in the Gulf region has acquired a prestigious position among the GCC as well as other world nations in various aspects.


18^th November, 2010

His Majesty  Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Supreme commander of the Armed Forces, presided over the military parade on Thursday (18^th Noember) evening at the military parade ground at Al Hism al Shumookh to mark the Sultanate’s 40^th National Day. Units of the Sultan’s Armed Forces(SAF), Royal Guard of Oman (RGF), and Royal Oman Police (ROP) took part in the same.

Muscat is  fully lighted up with lights in red, green and white (the national colours). This can be  seen everywhere, on highways, commercial and residential buildings. It is a great pleasure to take a trip from Muscat to Seeb area. The colourful lights all the way... awsome... can't describe the joyful feelings in words........  Holiday mood everywhere... We, being the 'expatriates'  are also indulging in the celebrations as the natives do. The same patriotic feeling we feel when saluting the tricolour Indian national flag, we experience here when we see Oman's national flag also.That's the spirit. In Indian schools, there were school assemblies on this occasion. Kids attended the assembly wearing  national flag's coloured  outfits and in Omani dresses waving Oman national flags .. Celebrations everywhere.... 

LIghts everywhere..

Wadi Dayqah Dam, Quriyat, Sultanate of Oman

During Eid Holidays, we went to Wadi Dayqah dam in Quriyat. It is 60km southeast of Muscat. It was a wonderful trip.

Wadi Dayqah Dam, Quriyat

Length : 390 metre

Height : 73.6 metres

Storage Capacity :  100 million cubic metre

Water from the dam will be useful for villages down the wadi stream for agricultural purposes and for drinking and domestic purposes in Qurayat and Muscat Governorate.

It is the biggest dam in the Gulf region so far whose construction was completed last year. The official inauguration of the dam is not done till date. Beautification works are in progress like gardens, coffee shop and  viewers gallery. It is heard that the inauguration of the project is planned this year as part of  40th anniversary celebrations of Oman.

When the tropical Cyclone Phet hit Oman in  June 2010 , this dam was filled in 12 hours and  created an awesome waterfall display. When the Cyclone Gonu hit Oman three years ago, the dam was rapidly filled and overflowed six metres above the crest with a thunderous roar which lasted for several hours. On the third day of the Gonu, the height of the water level reduced and the hundreds of people visited the dam to witness the magnificent  falls.

World’s leading dam building specialists – VINCI  of France and Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) undertook the Wadi Dayqah dam project on behalf of the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources. There is also a Saddle Dam built which is 48 metre in height and a crest length of around  360metres.

The main objective of the project is to catch the floodwaters that would otherwise be lost to the sea, and to use this resource for groundwater recharge, local irrigation, and even potable water supply at a future stage. Further, by retaining the wadi flows, whose lethal power is well-known, the project will also contribute to flood prevention downstream of the wadi.

Mazara

Shallow waters of Wadi Dayqah in Mazara

Animal World

Yesterday we went to Marah Land in Qurum to see the 'Russian & Egyptian Circus'. It was their resting day and there was no show at all. Kids were not in a good mood knowing the fact. So we just went to the shop 'Animal World' in Al-Araimi Complex, Qurum area. The shop is in the basement floor of the complex. We went to the shop for the first time. Surely not for any purchase. There are many aquariums, fishes, animals,  birds and their accessories for sale. I took some snaps using my phone. Picture quality is not so good. 

Afrcan Grey Parrots

Macaw

These two names I noted well. There is a reason for that. The Macaw- it's cost is 900 Riyals (more than 1 Lakh INR ) and the Afrrican parrot's rage is 350 Riyals( around 40,000 INR). The Macaws are beautiful, brilliantly coloured members of the parrot family.  

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/birds/macaws/MacawProfile.htm

The African Grey Parrots are also big in size, strong and grey coloured.

http://www.africancongogrey.com/

so... cute....

Anyway, kids enjoyed well watching all these... and they returned home happily. 

Payyannur Pavithra Mothiram

Payyannur Pavithra Mothiram

Payyannur Pavithra Mothiram is considered to be a sacred ornament. It is worn on the ring finger of the right hand reminding the 'Darbha' grass ring worn on the right hand's ring finger during holy rituals of Hindu tradition.  It is strongly believed that this ring will bring luck and grace to those who wear it with great devotion.  To get the original grace of the ring, one has to be self desciplined. The one who wears this ring must be pure vegetarian and should avoid alcohol and immoral activities.  For women, they have to remove the ring during the period of menstruation. The makers of this sacred ring assure that there is a tradition of  having special poojas in Payyannur Subhaymanya Swami Temple before it is handed over to the customer.

I have two links to suggest to know more about the Payyannur Pavithra Mothiram.

Lakshami Jewellery, Payyannur 

&

Pavithra Jewellers, Payyannur

Many people used to wear it as a part of fashion also. That type of  'Pavithrakettu' rings and bangles are available with many jewellers. But the beauty of the real Pavithra Work - it is a monopoly of  goldsmiths of Payyanur area.

Rainbow Roses

I was wondered to know about Rainbow Roses....

Rainbow Roses

The 'Happy Flowers' were designed by Peter Van de Werken- a Dutch business man who dyes each bloom in the colours of the rainbow. The dyes produced from natural plant extracts are absorbed by the flowers as they grow. They were selling single coloured flowers as others  in the beginning of their business. As a part of improving the business, he and his colleagues were trying to do something different, which ended up in the idea of having multi-coloured flowers. For ordering these flowers, you may visit  www.valueflora.com.
Source : http://www.metro.co.uk/news/36352-rainbow-roses-are-all-the-rage

NILAVU - a Movie by Ajith Nair

Movie          : NILAVU

Production  : NewSky Productions

Direction     : Ajith Nair

Starrring      : Haridas & Sunitha Nedungadi

The magic of Nilavu is woven around the lives of Hari and Lakshmi and the solitude that brings them together, each searching for an emotional anchor. How their relationship evolves and where it leads to forms the core of Nilavu's journey, exploring human emotions and the different shades of love, perception and belief.

Nilavu is produced by Krishnan Haridas and Ajith Nair for NewSky productions and is directed by Ajith Nair. The movie scripted by Ajith Nair has been filmed in the Kingdom of Bahrain as well as in Kerala, India with a cast of newcomers.

Songs & Links

Title Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcD2Ho7C3Oc

Ariyathe Onnum Parayathe - Singer - G.Venugopal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KDAmtM0VTU

Ravil Nila Mazha Keezhil-  Singer- K.S.Chitra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl0aCXoYAr4

Mew.....Mew.......

Now, I have four kittens in my balcony. This is the 4th time, the mama pussy's delivery happens in my balcony where I keep gas cylinders and unused things. It seems to be a safe place for the pussy to deliver her kids. Anyway, my kids Alan and Helen are enjoying the activities of  the kittens. It is a pleasure for me too when I see their excitement...The mama  pussy seems to be so cool to leave her kittens in my flat's balcony....