Cravings

I am making a table cloth for Popy. When Reshma, my student, got engaged I searched for a suitable present for her. My darling Mother, who was with me at that time, said why didn't I make a cross-stitch sampler for her. So it was. I hunted amongst my sparse collection (it is sparse whatever the family might believe) and found a perfect wedding sampler. The threads were a problem. I found out the hard way that the embroidery thread colors do not match the wide variety available in US/Europe. We also do not have DMC or Anchor threads. What we have is a Desi version of Anchor threads that are painful to work with. Anyone who has felt the satiny smoothness of the cotton embroidery threads from DMC or Anchor will know what I am talking about. Stumped, I decided that is what brothers were for. The poor chap purchased embroidery threads and sent them to me so that I could make the wedding sampler for Reshma. It was a good educative experience for him and for me.
These are the times I wish I was back in America/Europe. Just so that I could stroll to the market and pick up the threads I want, or ogle at the patterns, wait for a sale to happen and pounce on a kit...
Coming back to Popy's gift, not that she is getting married but it is better to be prepared, I am making a crochet table cloth for her. In India you get only one kind of cotton thread and it is horrible to work with it. Yes, you get the DMC crochet balls but they are more suitable for tatting then for crochet. So I am using the threads that are available in bulk. These threads do not have uniform thickness. At places they are extremely thin as though they will snap any moment and at places they are so thick that crocheting with them is difficult.
The internet is a boon. Not that I can purchase anything for I cannot afford the prices but they are a boon because on the days when I carve for embroidery/knitting/crochet, I can ogle at the patterns. It soothes. Sometimes.
Meantime, I also discovered that in my absence from India, people have given up on knitting. Previously, every lady in North India used to have a pair of knitting needles in her hand during winter. Now, with knitted materials being so cheap, no one has the time and inclination (and maybe it is looked down upon?) to do it. The lady at Lalji Wool Shop told me sadly that there are no knitting books available any more. I have, though, found some patterns online and this winter I have promised myself a sweater and if possible, an afghan.
Let us see. As they would say in Yemen, Inshallah.