Mundillo (Lace Making)

I am from Moca, Puerto Rico. When the Spanish came to Puerto Rico they brought Lace Making with them, in spanish it's called "Mundillo". I remember as a young girl how my grandmother would make lace. She also did beautiful embroidery. At that time I didn't ask her how to do it, but now I want to learn how. My sister recently went to Puerto Rico in February. She went to the Museum of Mundillo "Lace Making" in our hometown Moca. She bought a Mundillo for me. I was so excited when I received it. She also bought an instructional manual all in spanish. Oh my, I can almost vision my grandmother busy twisting the sticks, which is what I used to say. Here is a nice pic. I promised my sister the first thing I make it will be for her. This is an incentive for me. A promise is a promise. I can't wait to get started.

In the process of moving...

Moving again, but still in the city of Rehab. I am happy, the apartment is only a 10 minute walk. So I am packing and getting everything ready. Well I got some new stuff and currently working on crocheting motifs. I am making a rug with my big red spool knitter. Hesitantly I am putting it all away until I get settled in my new place. By the way, I finished my tote bag. Had to, had to frog it half way, removed the strap and the pocket and made it into a small hand tote. I even added a lining so my stuff won't fall through the stithes. Love it so far.

Almost finished, (not yet)

I had originally made a strap for a tote, but after a days use I realized that it would stretch all the way to my knees so I had to undo the strap and make it into sling bag. My goodness, I can't believe how comfy my bag is. I made the strap wide and therefore I eliminated that sometimes annoying strap that digs into your shoulder and leaves a red mark when you are carrying books. I want to make a drawstring and a little button for the pocket. (After all this I realized I am not happy with a sling bag. It's not what I want, so I am frogging the strap and 1/4 of it to crochet 2 small handles then I hope I will be happy)

Needed a little color....

Went back to the yarn shop and bought the same yarn in olive, just one skien. Tucked everything into my knitting sack and hopped on the bus to school. I didn't forget my tiny helper "The Crochet Answer Book". While on the bus I added a little color to my bag. I think it looks nice. Now I have to figure out how I'm going to finish it. I wanted to make handles but I think it's too long now so maybe I will make a strap to create a sling bag. I bought some wooden purse handles. Like I know what to do with them? I will figure it out and try to search for some ideas.

New totebag for me!

I bought some nice yarn from Kulli Shae(Everything Store). I really love this yarn and its 50% wool. I started making a sack for me. I doubled the yarn and crocheting it with a k hook. It's coming along pretty well so far.

Important slipper heel link

I have found instructions on how to make a heel for slippers on a loom. I don't want to loose the instructions so I created the link and I can click the title and it will take me straight to the page. Duh! Did I need to tell myself that? Yes! Anyway, I haven't tackle this sadly to say but I am going for it this time. I want to make my hubby some slippers with a nice heel. The website is www.decoraccentsinc.com. I want to get myself a nice big Infinity Rake. Hoping hubby will get it for me before he comes home!!!!

Another throw2gether sweater

Hala and I made this sweater for her nephew. We were able to design it very easily. We had a lot of fun crocheting this. It only took us a week. It's cold in the evenings in Egypt so we wanted to make something very warm. We used N & J hooks and ofcourse tripled the yarn for fast results.


I am still going to school at the Nile Center in Nasr City. I am taking my final for the second level of arabic. Hopefully if I do well I will be in third level arabic. My reading has imporoved so much and I have learned so many words. But there is still so much to learn. I had to buy "Al-Mawrid" a huge 125 egyptian pounds. A big fat arabic-english dictionary. I needed major help with translation and this is helping me big time. My younger kids are all fluent in arabic now and are way ahead of me especially in conversation. So far, its all worth it!!

Throw together sweater

I have to say, I never crocheted or knitted a sweater. I really want to do one though. I have found an easy pattern that I can make for a small child. I hope to give it a try soon. But anyway, I am teaching a friend of mine how to crochet and loom knit. Its a shame my camera was not working at the time. She loomknitted slippers and a bag that was so colorful and pretty. She wanted to crochet her daughter a sweater. But I really am not skilled in this area at all. But I remember that Lion Brand had a free pattern for a baby sweater where you make 3 panels and stitch them together. So I told her to make three panels and we took her daughters measurements. She crocheted the panels and I stitched them together. Then I picked up stitches around the arm hole and crocheted in the round. LOL. I thought I was crazy. I made a rectangle and stitched one side and attached it to the neck and made a drawstring. Then she bought the buttons and I put them on and we created this little sweater. Not bad for something thrown together. I promise I will try to make one with a pattern but this was easy and fun too. Now she started to make one for her nephew in a different color and almost the same style. Lets see how it goes.

Amigurumi

My daughter crocheted this cute little giraffe for a gift. She is currently working on a turtle.

Haven't posted lately......

It's been crazy these past two months. I kept my kids home in August because I thought my mom was coming to visit. But my dad fell ill and the plans were cancelled. I was okay with it but my kids were not, especially the oldest. They really thought that they might see there grandparents, but anyway it was a pretty busy month. Having all of them home at the same time was very trying for me but I tried to make the best of it. September came and they went back to school, they were so happy. I was happy too, LOL.
The Holy month Ramadan came in the middle of September. It's busy here in Egypt. Stores don't open until 11 or 12 pm and then are rushing to close by 5, so it gets crazy. People buying groceries last minute and have to carry it home because they won't deliver until after the breaking of the fast. Stores open again until very late, sometimes past 1 am. I have so much to do in the coming months. I am going back to arabic school in about two weeks. I can't wait, I feel I need to learn and practice to learn this language. It so much easier for the kids, of course.
My latest mission is to get myself a new digital camera. My camera is just too old. I have to smack it a couple of times to get the display on. It lasted me many years, but as soon as the kids started messing with it, that was it. It order for me to repair it, it will cost about 2oo dollars. I don't think so, I will just get a new one soon.
Doing some fall cleaning. The screens I can say it the worst to clean. I can't snap them out so I have to use a spray bottle with detergent and hot water. The dust and sand in the air makes them look brown. Somehow in the the middle of all of this I have to get back to my knitting. I have taught a egyptian friend of mine how to crochet and loom knit. She has already made a pair of socks and a bag on the loom. I am currently helping her make a sweater for her daughter for the winter. It get really cold here. In two weeks I will be going to Alexandria, I can't wait. Hopefully I will be able to get a disposable camera at least to take some pics.

It's Amigurumi time....

My daughter Ameenah's first amigurumi bear. Please get this cute little pattern book "How to crochet adorable Amigurumi". I snatched up my copy at www.anniesattic.com. He next project is the "Bunny". It's so nice when you make something and see the results as you put it together.

Crocheting......

Well I made some more of these toddler ponchos. Now everyone wantes one for there little girls. I am thinking, man, this is just granny squares. Really anyone can learn how to crochet. It's so easy. I got one order for a pink one. I made and sent it on its way with NO photo. What an idiot. But anyway, It looks much like the purple one in this photo but it has a hood. Really cute. Maybe I can get the owner to take a pic for me so I can post it. It gets cold in Egypt in the winter time. The homes are not insulated so either you wrap yourself up at night or you buy a heater. LOL. I was thinking of trying to design a poncho for boys, like baja. I remember I used to wear them in college. Let's see if I can.

But anyway, I have to get back to my market bag and current sock. I just joined Sock-it-to-me-loomers yahoo group. I hope that I can learn how to make really nice socks. I don't want to buy a small gauge because I knit socks with my Addy Turbos(my favs), but I did order the Knifty Knitter long looms and some spools. Check out "Loomlady" Blog, she has the cutest felted flowers and a cute little bunny. I want to try these out as soon as I get my spools. I can't wait.

Annies Attic has a sale. Time to stock up.

It took me only 2 1/2 hours....

I was invited to go to a farewell party. My friend Nur was leaving back to the US with her family. I had to bring a dish. But I remember promising her a little poncho for her toddler and I never made it. Soooo, I had some peach and white yarn and I decided to see if I can make a poncho in the morning. Granny squares are so simple and fast. So I start crocheting at 8 am and finished at 10.30. My daughter Ameenah made the flower towards the end. At the same time she was cooking, and really I came at the end to drain the pasta and scoop out the sauce and get it ready to go. Mmm it tasted so good. She made Pasta with meat sauce. She did a great job, the food was a hit. So before I left I decided to take a little pic of my gift but I only had two models available. The kitty and the doggy. So here it is. By the way everyone when nuts over this little cutie. But I don't really have time to make and sell them. I am soo busy. I hope to have a good weekend with the kids. Hubby left back to the US to work for the summer, I am sad but must continue on and have some fun with the kids. My parents are coming in August!

Make yourself a "Market Bag"

I am starting a quick little project. I don't like having so many plastic bags where I shop and throwing them out. I am going to make myself two of these so I can carry my groceries. It a fun easy project so far. I don't have any special pattern just making it up as I go. I have linked this post to the market tote for LKC e-zine. It's so cute and big. I am going to try this one too!

One of the things that I see mostly when I travel is plastic bags everywhere on the roadside in the desert. Plastic bags create so much litter because they don't decompose and they contaminate the water. I have read on Care2 website that there is a floating toxic plastic soup in the ocean the size of Texas. Bottles etc... all types of plastic. It's responsible for killing so much marine life, its horrible. A market bag would be great to do and lessen the pollution in our environment.

Awesome day.... forgot the camera.

The beach at Ain El Sukna was awesome. The drive was endless. I could take just one pic and it would've described the whole journey.....DESERT.....the whole 2 hours. We got there nice and early and the kids were so excited. The water was so clear and clean. We rented 5 chairs with three umbrellas and layed out all of our stuff. The air was fresh and smelled salty. I pumped air into all the beach toys and headed for the shore. The water was warm and surprisingly very mild waves almost nonexistent. It had the feel of a lake but it was the Red Sea. By the time we got home we were all asleep in the car. This morning I am still as so drained but I did have a little energy to wash the shells with my son Ibraheem. Here are the fruits of his labor.

Ameenah found this beauty on the shore! Sumaiyah's extensive shell collection washed and drying at the moment.

Destination: Ain El Sukna!

Yes, we are going tomorrow! Ain El Sukna on the Red Sea. It's beautiful. The water is clear and it doesn't even past your waist. I am getting all the sand toys for my kids. And of course we have all the swim wear etc etc. Trying to see if we can rent an apartment on the beach, hmm....that would be awesome. Too excited to even think, I haven't been to the beach in more than a year. My kids love collecting seashells and there are so many of them there. Can't wait to start snapping those pics.

Busy..... haven't knitted lately.....

I can't believe its been so long I haven't posted. I have yet to tackle this heel which I know many have already done so. I took a break from arabic school, its been a month. I will begin as soon as I can get a tutor to come to my home. I really find it very stressfull dealing with these taxi drivers. Some of them can be really nasty and they can give you a hard time. But some are very nice. Either I will get a tutor to come to my home or get a driver to take me daily for four days a week. I miss school and I feel like I'm missing out. I can't wait to go back.

My hubby just put screens on the windows. Boy, am I happy. No mosquitos, no flies, no insects coming in my apartment. Plus I can leave the windows open and the house feels so cool. We went to Maadi City and bought a rug made by the Bedouins in Egypt and got these these awesome pillows made from it. The pillows are huge and we got 12 of them. I want to get another set to lean against and more and more plants for my living room. I have two balconies that has been neglected since the last dust storm hit. I have some ideas that I think might work but I still have to play with it. I love my pillows.

Passed the test, Yipee!

Had my arabic exam today. I passed. Got an A and only one wrong. My daughter also got an A. We are so happy. We left class early and went to the City Center Mall. The Mall was nice but very expensive. Huge, with over 250 stores. The only thing missing was a Yarn Shop. Boo Hoo. But anyway, next time we are going to try to go to Serag Mall. The prices are cheaper and it won't hurt my pocket. I bought a nice tote bag to reward myself for my good grade. I am going to get something for my Ameenah since she did excellent. I have no homework today. so I am going to eat this little sandwich my hubby made for me and take a nap.

Then the rest of the day in between cooking dinner and other stuff, I will knit. Loomknit that is.

Study Break!

I am having a little fruit salad and at the same time finish this mini post. I took out the flat piece I was making and decided to make a short sock. The problem is I am stuck. I can't figure out how to make the heel. The pattern book says to start like a flat piece. So I am going to try to do it and see what happens. Maybe I will check on the net and see if there is a mini video tutorial on it. After, After I study. I have a test on Sunday. But anyway, I promised the kids I would take them to Top Fruit and get Oreo Icecream Shakes. Sounds good? I will make sure I get one. LOL. So here is my focus after I come back, Study, Knit, Dinner, Study, Knit, Kids in Bed, Study then Knit, then zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

100 Degrees in Cairo today!!

It was a hot day today. I was so tired and exhausted when I got off of that Medinah Nasr bus. My daughter and I made a U-turn and went to the market and bought some Nestle Mega Ice-Cream cones. Mine was pralines and yogurt. It was a smashing treat under that desert heat. Headed straight for that little craft shop. Bought two bags of yarn. Different color and types. Just what I needed to feel better. As soon as I got home I t ook out my new glow in the dark loom and started practicing on how to make a flat piece from the loom. Actually its really nothing because I just did a little. But it's fun. Let see how far I get tomorrow.