Rambling Roses Design

My dear friend, Kim, who was battling cancer, passed away on Saturday. We will all miss her terribly. However, she said so many times that we weren’t to dwell on that. She wanted us to remember only the fun, good times. To honor her wishes, we are celebrating her life.

She loved people, she was passionate about everything ocean, she made amazing quilt after quilt and was always upto some crazy adventure. Her zest for life was just so contagious. Knowing her has made my life so very blessed!

Cheers, Kim!

Posted by Preeti & filed under Rambling. This post has 9 comments.

I should be getting my hat done. Actually, I should be finishing our taxes (ugh!) instead, here I am knitting something absolutely frivolous and so much fun!

Every year once we get our taxes filed just before D-Day, I vow that I will be better at being organized with next year’s paperwork. And every year I fail miserably! So as a picker-upper, I pulled out Julie’s bunny pattern and some stash yarn and got knitting. Grin 😀

I think Dottie needs a playmate.

I accomplished so much last week with life stuff and crafting stuff. This week, I’ve got zip-nada-zilch!

Last week I finished and handed off these coasters. They were well received and I’m so grateful for that order.

I finished these placemats for two little girls too 🙂

One of them loves pink and the other loves red.

They also each got their initial monogrammed with some handstitching. Dots make everything extra cute, in my opinion and so I used them quite liberally. I think I need more dot fabric in every color in my stash!

I’ve got a large-ish order going for various items but with a relaxed deadline so I haven’t had much time to actually list stuff for my empty-looking etsy shop right now. I will in time, I promise.

Off to knit another bunny ear before I get back to wading through paperwork. Talk soon 🙂

Posted by Preeti & filed under Etsy, Rambling, Sewing, Sewn Finishes. This post has 6 comments.

Today is Pink Shirt Day. Click here to read how this tremendous movement came to be.

I’m sure most of us have experienced bullying to varying degrees. Bullies aren’t just limited to the school playground. Adults can be bullies too. My first recollection of being targeted was when I was in kindergarten and not by my peers but by my teacher. You see, she was reading us this story about a rag doll and his friend and one of the kids piped up and asked, “What do you mean by gollywog, Miss? What does he look like?”. She was quiet for a moment and then I distinctly remember her saying, “A gollywog’s hair is like Preeti’s”. Hence came to be my nickname through most of elementary school, “Gollywog”.

This story has a happy ending because I now have come to accept and embrace my messy, tangly, unruly mane of hair but through most of my childhood, I wished I was bald!

I hope you’ll wear pink today to take a stand against bullying.

In other generalness (yes, that’s totally a word), the earth went bwahahaha because after I posted the picture of our crocuses from last week, we got hit by a freak snow storm. Say wha’?

No white-out conditions or anything dramatic like that, not even that cold really. Just pretty white flakes that fell softly, magically for three days. It was like winter’s last hurrah.

As I type this, most of the white fluff has melted away. It was so lovely while it lasted and we didn’t even have to shovel 😀

Then, this bunch of loveliness arrived in the mail! I am undecided about what I want to make with these.

More floral loveliness. I’ve got spring fever, maybe?

For now, I’m just happy to pet them and smile 🙂

Posted by Preeti & filed under Fabric, Rambling. This post has 7 comments.

I could be knitting my fingers to the bone to get my Ravellenics project finished before the Olympic flame is extinguished on Sunday. However, it looks like I’m going to have to bow out gracefully before the finish line.

First, I’ve got to get all of the straggly threads knotted and buried into these coasters before tonight so that they can be shipped out pronto.

Sewing these together was quick, it’s the finishing that’s going to take longer. That said, it’s all about the finishing and we crafters know how important those details are.

I’ve also got to finish up another project that has a fast approaching deadline. Since I took this picture last week, I’ve worked exactly zero minutes on it, ack!

February is moving swiftly to usher March in. While I was determined to try snowshoeing or at least take the kids tobogganing again this year, that will have to wait because just like that, the seasons are rolling over too!

I know that there’s plenty of snow on the mountains still, but spring is almost here and I’m feeling all giddy just like these pretties that obviously love coloring outside the lines 🙂

I want a spring sweater to be on the needles asap. Also, I’ve got a bunch of happy fabric all cut out, waiting to be pieced together. I’m even thinking paint, staple gun, upholstery fabric to makeover a couple boring chairs we’ve got. I’ll let you know if I’m brave enough to try since I don’t know the first thing about furniture redo!

Busy as a bee it seems and I’m not complaining because that’s just how I like it 😉

I’m ready to play with some spring projects. Do you feel the same?

Posted by Preeti & filed under Hats, KAL, Sewing. This post has 5 comments.

When you’ve got to motivate your 6-year-old to make 22 valentines for her class and you don’t want to opt for the generic box of candy from the grocery store, where do you turn? Pinterest, of course.

I came across this pin last week for non-candy valentines and jumped all over it. I had the necessary supplies to pull this off :: construction paper, cute pencils, Exacto knife… check, check, check. I even had said 6-year-old eager and willing to get going… HUGE check!!

The entire thing took us less than an hour and it was so enjoyable to work on it together. I will definitely look out for more crafty projects we can make.

A couple things to note, I changed my printer settings to print out the template onto cardstock. There are lines printed on the template where you cut slits to slide the pencil through. I needed to extend those lines to be longer so that my pencil could fit through without ripping the paper.

We stuck a handwritten, heavily-stickered note to the back of each heart and we were all set.

Her best friends get a little something extra, namely, rainbow loom bracelets. Tell me that it’s not only at my house that there’s this Rainbow Loom mania going on 🙂

Valentines craft complete, now, I’ve got to go bake a couple dozen cupcakes!

Posted by Preeti & filed under Gifts, Kids, Rambling. This post has 6 comments.

I received a custom request for a set of gift bags for Valentines Day. These little bags were so much fun to put together. Filled with little candy and treats for the fast-approaching ❤ Day, I’m sure these are going to be loved :: for the giving and the receiving.

They can be re-used to store little treasures or filled with lavender to freshen up any space.

I made the bags using linen (of course!) and pretty fabric for the trim. The part I enjoyed the most was the applique of the hearts, you know how I love me some hand stitching 🙂 The hearts are totally appropriate for the occasion, no?

The bags are unlined and the edges are finished with a zig-zag stitch all around to prevent fraying.

They’ve gone into the shop. Yes, the shop is open, yay! It’s got only the one item listed so far, but I’ll be adding more lovely things as I make them 🙂

❤

Posted by Preeti & filed under Bags, Etsy, Gifts, Sewn Finishes. This post has 9 comments.

Thank you so much to everyone who emailed me and commented about my new site! I really appreciate your encouragement ❤

I talked about knitting a lace shawl with beads a little while ago. This shawl had a deadline since I wanted to wear it to my cousin’s wedding in December. I wanted something pretty and warm at the same time to wear so that I wouldn’t become a frozen ice cube in the winter chill.

Everything went well even though this was my first time knitting with beads and I got that shawl done well before the wedding. When it came to the actual day, it turned out that I didn’t need the shawl after all. The lovely waterfront venue for the wedding was toasty warm thanks to the heated floors. So, my beaded shawl remained tucked in my purse.

I used Tosh Prairie in a gorgeous colorway called Spectrum and Japanese seed beads for some subtle bling. The seed beads mimicked the colors of the yarn perfectly and it was so easy to add them using a crochet hook.

I wanted to knit a lace shawl that was delicate with a curved edge. I knew that a Boo Knits pattern would be the right choice for what I had in mind. I chose Fragile Heart opting for a larger stockinette body combined with the lace edging. I could have actually knit this thing bigger because when all was said and done, I had plenty left over :: each skein of Prairie has 840 yards. That’s a lot! I didn’t account for this generous yardage until after the fact. Therefore, the size is more scarf, less shawl-like… bygones, bygones.

I blocked it and it turned out to be light as a feather and absolutely delicate. I got my lace fix and tried my hand at beading with this project. Whee 🙂 The colors are just as intense in the knitted fabric as they appear in the skein. Spectrum is truly spectacular!

I’ve worn this scarf/shawl/shawlette a bunch of times and I love how soft and luxurious this yarn feels. The beads look so lovely when they catch the light. I definitely want to add beads to another project.

The wedding was lots of fun. Miss. K was part of the bridal party as the flower girl. She looked like a fluffy cloud in her dress 🙂

Prithvi, was one of the emcees at the reception and he did such a great job! Proud mama.

The happy Mr. & Mrs. 🙂

So, back to my shawl… here are some project details

Fragile Heart (my Ravelry notes)
Pattern: Fragile Heart by Boo Knits
Yarn: Madelinetosh Prairie in ”Spectrum”
Needles: Sizes US 5, 6 & 7 / 3.75, 4 & 4.5 mm

Posted by Preeti & filed under Family, Finished Knits, Kids, Lace, Scarves, Shawl. This post has 11 comments.

Welcome to my new home here at…

I’ve been sitting on the idea of moving to my own website for ages. I decided to stop waiting for the right time and just do it already! So, here I am and I’m glad you’re here 🙂

I’m totally green at all this techy stuff and there has been a definite learning curve. But, it has been quite fun thanks to all the support and tutorials supplied by the world wide web!! While I have tried to transition all of my old content over, I realize that there maybe stuff that I’ve overlooked. If you find anything that’s broken please let me know, k? Thanks 🙂

Thank you to all my ~~followers~~ friends for stickin’ with me at my old space. I hope you will update your bookmarks at my new digs to:

https://rambling-roses.com

There’s a handy subscription box on the sidebar and a few other social media avenues available for you to choose from so you can continue to follow my blog.

It’s a brand new day! Onward and upward!!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Posted by Preeti & filed under Rambling. This post has 4 comments.

We’re back home from our travels and are more or less or settled in. With the start of a fresh new year; like most everyone; I’ve embraced the idea of a clean slate providing a launchpad for brand new ideas and a renewed focus.

Over the next few days, I will share the projects I have finished but didn’t get a chance to blog about before 2013 drew to a close. But today, some snapshots of our recent holiday to India (some of these pictures have been pinched off Vineet’s Facebook page, I’m sure he won’t mind, lol!)

It was exciting and adventuresome and a whirlwind of travel to so many places all squeezed into 3 short weeks. We always seem to do vacations this way… at breakneck speed!

Transatlantic winter travel always poses a threat for delays and our flight was no exception. We didn’t make our connection in Frankfurt and as a result we ended up having to do two stops instead of one before we reached our destination. With all of the re-routing, our luggage was lost in transit. Hah! We did get our stuff after a couple days but it was a strange feeling to have to go shopping straight from the airport!

Vineet’s sister and her husband flew in from Tennessee too and so we had ourselves a mini family reunion over the holidays. We went to Chennai, Cochin, Bangalore, Mysore and Kabini and enjoyed Christmas with family in India during this trip. See, I told you it was a whirlwind!

I have to share this sight… these men hard at work on that unsafe looking fishing boat, no life vests, no navigation system, I think there was a motor but I didn’t hear it running!

They were on that boat in the middle of this

Here’s the amazing part, they hauled out two huge nets bursting with fish! Bravo, three men whom I do not know!

We took a few days to unwind before we headed back home and we picked the middle of the jungle to relax and rejuvenate.

It was definitely a great choice because we were spoiled by the beauty of our surroundings and majestic wildlife.

I will never tire of seeing elephants and we saw a whole lot of them this time.

We would have loved to have spotted one of the big cats but they were quite elusive. We heard one of them calling though and that sound was so thrilling and so heart-stopping at the same time. The deer were on high alert too.

The kids looked everywhere for fallen peacock feathers but there were none to be found even though there were peacocks everywhere. Wrong season maybe?

All holidays must come to an end and now we’re back. It does feel great to be home 🙂

I’m excited to share the plans I’ve envisioned for my creative focus for the year ahead. Watch this space!

Posted by Preeti & filed under Family, Rambling, Travel, Vacation. This post has 4 comments.

Warmest Christmas wishes coming to you from the other side of the globe! We are visiting family in India at the moment which accounts for my radio silence on this blog. I will be back with a post real soon.

Have a wonderful, joy-filled holiday season with your loved ones!

Posted by Preeti & filed under Rambling. This post has 4 comments.

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