Lotus and Blossom Mandala 4

 

It's finished! And hanging on the wall in my cosy apartment.

This is the fourth L&B Mandala I have made (here are number 1, number 2 and number 3, and here is the pattern on Ravelry)...

 

 ... and I'm still not bored! On the contrary, I have already started on no. 5 :-)

 

  

It's a great pattern - simple enough that I can watch tv while crocheting, but not so simple that I get bored. When I said that I would love to make another one, my youngest son said that he would like one to hang on his wall, so there you go! And his brother would like one as well, so I'll be busy for the next six months (and then I can start knitting socks again!) ;-)

More socks, and another mandala

 

Another pair of Sail Away DK socks was knitted for a dear friend, with the wonderful Kookaburra yarn from Heathermaid. I brought three balls of Heathermaid DK yarn with me from Australia and now have only one left. Sadly the shipping costs to the Netherlands are way too expensive to order more, and I haven't found a comparable handdyed yarn here yet.

 I've also started on another Lotus and Blossom Mandala, as mentioned in the previous post. I'm really enjoying crocheting again!

Mandala Pillow 4

 

Here is another Mandala Pillow - this one's a present for my middle son's girlfriend.

Again I used Bendigo Woollen Mills cotton 8 ply - this time the colourway Blush, that I also used for the legs of Ringo the Flamingo.

Here's the pillow together with the first one I made:

And here are all four I have made so far:

I've already started the next one! That one will be for my youngest son.

Mandala Pillow 3

Here's the third Mandala Pillow - yes, I do really like this pattern! This one is a birthday present for my eldest son's girlfriend.

 I used yellow cotton 8 ply from Bendigo Woollen Mills, my favourite yarn.

Here it is together with the first Mandala Pillow I made:

Mandala Pillow 2

 A friend recently admired the Mandala Pillow I made a while ago, so I made one for her.

I used blue cotton 8 ply from Bendigo Woollen Mills and made a pillow with some white fabric from my stash. In retrospect I'm not sure if that was the best choice - but it's finished now and my friend is happy with it, that's all that matters!

I may make another one of these pillows as I really like them!

Lotus and Blossom Mandala 3

  

 

This week I finished my third Lotus and Blossom Mandala (you can find no.1 here and no.2 here). 

 

 

I stretched it in a hoop and it is now hanging in our bedroom (the colours look very different in the indoor photos - it's really the same mandala!). It goes very well with the Classic Lone Star Quilt.

This third mandala only took me three weeks to crochet. I enjoyed making it just as much as the previous two - I might even make a fourth one!

Doily and mandala

 

 

On one of my visits to Ravelry I found this lovely doily and just had to whip it up. It's the Hexagon Swirl Doily by Shireen Nadir. I'm using it for the Tiffany lamp we brought back from Katoomba:

And' I've started my next mandala with the Strawberries and Scream Whirl:

Yes, it's another Lotus and Blossom Mandala. I looked at lots of mandala patterns and in the end decided to go for this one, again!

Mandala Pillow

 

While searching for mandala patterns on Ravelry, I came across the Minimalist Cabled Mandala designed by Tatsiana Kupryianchyk. I really liked it, so bought the pattern and immediately started crocheting, using some grey cotton 8 ply from Bendigo Woollen Mills.

It didn't take long to finish the mandala:

What to do with it? I decided to use it for a pillow. I made a simple round pillow with some black fabric:

 Then I made a plain back side, and crocheted both sides together around the pillow:

 Isn't it adorable?

Update

 

 

The Sea Colours Blanket is progressing nicely - it's about two thirds done now.

 

 

I ran out of yarn, so ordered more. Isn't that just a gorgeous sight, a basket full of yarn?

At Easter, we visited our friends at their new home in the Blue Mountains. I had brought the Lotus and Blossom Mandala I made for them, a hoop and tape, and on the first morning after we arrived I taped the hoop and stretched the mandala in the hoop, and they hung it on the wall straight away!

 

 

Doesn't it look great up there? 

 I might make another mandala once the Sea Colours Blanket is done - I just love how they look and I really enjoyed crocheting it!

 

 

We had a lovely time in the Blue Mountains. We spent one night at the gorgeous Carrington Hotel:

 

 

And we explored Katoomba, which is full of art deco buildings and has lots of street art - my kind of place!

 

 

More photos on my photo blog!

Lotus and Blossom Mandala 2

 

 

Yesterday I finished my second Lotus and Blossom Mandala (I showed the first one here). It's a housewarming gift for friends who have just bought a house in the Blue Mountains - we are going to visit them during the Easter holidays. I have ordered a hoop to stretch the mandala in, but will do that once we are there; I don't think it would look very good after two days in the car!

 

 

 

My friend chose the Whirl for this mandala, it's called Tasty Nom Nom.

 

 

I very much enjoyed crocheting this mandala (while listening to audio books) - as I said before, it looks complicated, but isn't very difficult, and the second time was easier than the first of course. It only took me 17 days to finish it. I wouldn't mind making another one!

Lotus & Blossom Mandala

Yesterday I finished this project - it's the Lotus & Blossom Mandala, designed by Mark Rooseboom. I used a Scheepjes Whirl in the Blackberry Mint Chip colourway to make it. I very much enjoyed making it - it looks complicated but really isn't very difficult, and the pattern is well written. I had a lot of time to crochet after I rolled my ankle on a trail run a few weeks ago and had to put my foot up for a few days...