Embroidered Butees-4

PEACOCKS-1

Peacock is the most beautiful bird. Its out national bird. Who can deny the beauty of a Peacock. But the funniest part here is that it is the male who has the most beautiful feathers in its train-tail feathers. OK OK I do not want to hurt the feelings of Males. But then God can sometimes be naughty. Don't you agree with me? 

But everyone loves beauty-keeping aside male or female part..:) and every one loves a Peacock. those who are interested in knowing more about them look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peafowl

Now coming to the main story...I am going to post this whole week(I will do my best) from today some of the most beautiful embroidered butees on Peacocks..so follow me on this blog..

Here is the first one. The magnificent Peacock in all its glory. It reminds me of the Indian Monsoons, the smell of earth when the first drops fall on it, the thunders and lightening, and then the colourful Rainbows, the Peacocks displaying their train....This beauty has been captured here in this embroidered butee or patch... 

                    Peacock Butee

It is a patch, done on a stiff blue cloth with silk threads of blues,greens and reds, gold and other metallic threads-gold and other coloured bullions, purls, sequins, coloured kundans or stones and gold beads. The patch is backed by a fabric so that you don't have to bother about the ugly back side showing through the materials. Since the patch is stiff, it is easy to handle.

Below is a close look at the top portion.

                   Peacock Butee

Just have a closer look. These can be stuck on to fabric-saris, kurthis or dresses as you like, or just tack the edges to secure them.

Those of you who can embroider this design  can do so on a thick silk fabric. Alas! I don't have that much time or energy though I would love to give it a try.

Tell your friends or groups so that any one interested in this type of embroidery can have a look at these.....

More to come......so keep a close watch on my blog....

Rangoli 98-Borders-12

Floral Rangoli Borders

Here are some more Rangoli Borders. This time the theme is completely floral. Hope you appreciate them.

             Floral Rangoli Borders

          Floral Rangoli Borders

Are not these pretty and easy to draw?  Just practise them and create on your own. Please feel free to drop in your comments, suggestions or ask your queries if any..I will try to answer them to the best of my knowledge and ability....

Keep a watch more to come....

Rangoli 97-Borders-11

Here are some more  Rangoli  Borders. This time I have drawn some cherries, roses and apples.

                    Rangoli Borders

I could not do more than these. Some how My mind shifted to other designs. May be one of these days I will try to create some more. Anyway hope you like these borders.

Appliquéd Sari

Machine Appliqué 


I am back home for a short time. Its cooler here and very cloudy. It  seems that it rained here day before yesterday-a torrential rain for a few hours causing water logging and traffic jam. Well India is India. We have to live with all this. Its called LIFE.


Oh now coming to the point, I wanted to share with you this machine appliquéd sari. Every year during Jan to March, we Indian women buy cottons in preparation for the Summers ahead.


OK. This is once again a cotton sari from Bengal. Well I love the cotton saris from Bengal. They are very soft yet stiff, come in pastels and dark shades, good colour combination, beautiful borders. The range is also very good, a measly Rs.150/- to Rs 3000/- and above. They are also available in plain or with butas or other designs- hand woven. These designs can be small or big. But what I like about these saris are that, they are adorned with embroidery, appliqué, bead work or crochet- something new each year. 


Alas I dint have much time to go through the latest new arrivals. So I missed out on some real new creations. But I bought this machine appliquéd. 


This is a creamy yellow coloured  sari with a maroon striped border and pallu. It has flowers and vines appliquéd on it as you can see. The cloth used for appliqué is Organdy cloth. Mirrors have been used for the center of the flowers. The appliqué work has been done by machine embroidery.

    Machine Appliquéd Sari from Bengal


Just go through the pictures. See how they have appliquéd the flowers, leaves and the vines on the sari, border and pallu. 


Would like to know about your comments and suggestions please...keep watching

Friday-Free Patterns

A New Year Tradition

Its Friday again. I am not able to post one of my patterns this week. But here is something for you.  As I was browsing through some sites, this one held my attention

http://hubpages.com/hub/New-Years-Traditions

Its so nice to read about these traditions. The author- Patty Inglish MS wrote about the tradition of making pillow cases for New Year in her home and also gave the simple method for stitching the cases. However the reason/story behind the tradition could not be traced by the author.

I loved to read about it.  It touched my heart. It made me remember the tradition my mother followed for New Year. She rearraned the furniture as we didnot have much money to buy lavishly. She made new drapes, furnshings and bed and kitchen linnen out of scraps, used saris or other material. But she made them so beautifully emblished with embroidery and chrochet that no one could make out that they were made from old and used clothes.

What ever be the country or the race or religion we are all humans and are similar in many ways. We all have customs and traditions. Following them remembering them is fun. This way we can learn about each other and about our countries, culture and life styles.

You too read this....and let me know.....if there is a story behind the tradition of making of pillow cases for New Year...



Rangoli 96-Borders-10

Borders with Dots

Here are some more Rangoli borders with dots. These are mainly floral. I have tried to do create some borders on flowers, leaves and vines themes.

   Rangoli Borders with dots

   Rangoli Borders with dots
These are very simple and are also easy to draw. Hope you like them.

Rangoli 95-Borders-9

These are some more Rangoli Borders here. This time it is using dots. These are very simple and easy to draw.

Rangoli Borders using dots-1

Rangoli Borders using dots-2

Rangoli Borders using dots-3

Hope you like them. I have lots to post. So keep an eye on my blog.....

Indian Traditional Jewellery-2

Edu Varala Nagalu-II

How the Days of the Week were Named:

Indian Calendar known as Panchang is based on scientific reasoning. 

• Each week consists of 7 days
• Each day is counted from sunrise of that day to the sunrise of next day 
• A day means day time and night time put together
• Each day is  divided into 24 Horas or hours. 
• Each Hora is governed or affected by the  planet from the nearest lower orbit. 
• That planet is known as Lord of that Hora. 
• The day is named after the planet that rules the first Hora of that Day-like Sunday-Sun, Monday-Moon etc.

But why does Monday come after Sunday and Tuesday after  it ? There is a reason for it too. Read on....

Saturn is the farthest or highest. The order from lowest to highest is

1. Moon
2. Mercury
3. Venus
4. Sun
5. Mars
6. Jupiter
7. Saturn

Sun is the King of all planets-as he is the Star burning bright and center of our Solar system and he was created or was visible first in the universe. He is known as Graha Raju-King of planets. So in his honour, he was considered as the Lord of the first hour of the first day, .

The Lords of the 2nd hora is Venus or Shukra whose orbit is below to the Sun. So the Lords 
of Horas are as follows:

Hora	Lord (English)	Lord (Sanskrit)
1st	Sun	Ravi
2nd	Venus	Shukra
3rd	Mercury	Budha
4th	Moon	Chandra
5th	Saturn	Shani
6th	Jupiter	Guru
7th	Mars	Kuja

After Mars Hora, it again starts with Sun hora and repeats on. So the 24th Hora from Sun Hora is  Moon Hora. Hence it is called as Monday. And so on....


Since the planets influence us a lot, it is believed that by wearing the gem stones, eating food, wearing the clothes of colours relating to these Planets will help us. 


Who wore such jewels:


The rich and royal wore these type of ornaments. Even in those days, only rich could afford one type of ornaments each day.


One of the famous or well known woman who had these Edu Varaala Nagalu was Sathyabhama.  She was the most loved daughter of rich king Satrajeet.


She is believed to be an Avatar (manifestation of Gods/Goddess on Earth as humans) of Bhudevi (Mother Earth).  


She was the daughter of King Satrajeet. He was one of the powerful kings and a very great devotee of Sun God. He did a great penance  and Sun God was pleased and gifted the king with Samantaka Mani or the jewel known as Samantaka. This jewel gave lot of prosperity especially lot of gold every day. So the King was considered as very rich and powerful.


Sathyabhama was his daughter. She was very beautiful and an apple of eye of the king. This made her to be very stubborn, egoistic and haughty. She was known for all these and for throwing tantrums. She was well trained in the martial arts and was no less than a man.


Sathybhama  was the 3rd wife of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna is the Avatar of Lord Vishnu or one of the Trinity. 


She came to know of Lord Krishna as the most handsome and powerful King of Dwarka.  She heard of His many deeds and fell in love with Him. 


How she became Lord Krishna's wife and why her 7vaarala Nagalu became so famous...read in my next posts...till then keep an eye on my blog.......

Friday-Free Patterns

It is Friday again. Time for a Free Pattern. Here it is.

          Free Pattern-Indian FOLK Motif

This is again from Folk Art of Bengal. Looks like a Camel to me. But I am not sure. Anyway this is suitable for painting as well as embroidery. So try it out.

Keep watching for more patterns....

Trendy Footwear

Indian footwear

I have been wanting to do some posts on foot wear of India for quite sometime now. Footwear is one of the important accessories that completes and compliments our dressing, style and fashion-be it a man or woman. No matter how elegantly you are dressed with out proper foot wear we don't get the complete look. Isn't it what they say "Put your best feet forward"? 

For us women footwear along with other accessories is  much more important.

One has to be very careful in choosing proper foot wear to suit the dress, occasion at the same time be more comfortable. i don't believe in getting dressed up in some silly clothing or footwear which, we cannot carry or feel uncomfortable.  Comfortable, sensible at elegant dress as well as footwear to suit the occasion as well as our personality give us confidence which makes us look more beautiful.

For us Indian women choosing footwear is a big challenge. First we din't have much to choose from till a few years ago. Getting something within our budget was also so difficult.  Added to that, we had to be careful in choosing foot wear to match our traditional attire of Saris, or Salwar suits. Even then when we are decked up for some occasion like marriages etc, we had no matching footwear or something which would go well with our silks, brocades or heavily embellished attires. 

But now we have a wide range to choose from. I don't much go in for glitters and loud coloured ones. However I  don't mind a very subtle elegant collection. I will try to post some of my limited collections.


Here is one, which is simple but elegant. The colour is black. Straps are orange mixed with gold and gold dots. They have been edged with little gold beads. They can be worn with silks and other traditional attire.

The only thing I don't like about them is that they are absolutely flat. I prefer a little heel. Any way I think they were a good pick for the money.

Rangoli-94-Borders-8

Rangoli Borders

Here are some more Rangoli Boders. Actually I am too tired today after a very hectic schedule. I wanted to post some very good and big Rangoli. But don't have time or energy to draw one now. 

But as I have written in my earlier post, I had doodled lots of Rangoli Borders when I was on the move. So here is one of those sets:

This time theme for my borders was "Leaves"

Hope you like them. I have still lots and lots to post...So just keep an eye on my blog.....

Friday-Free Patterns

Peacock Motif

Friends here is a free pattern as usual on Friday. I missed out last two weeks as I was out travelling.

                   Peacock Motif

This is a Peacock motif. Peacocks are native to India and are found in jungles of Northern and Southern India. They are really beautiful. At the onset of Monsoons or when the sky is overcast, they spread out their beautiful feathers. It is a sight so beautiful that one can only see for oneself. It cannot be described. The way they call out to their mates...peehu peehu....is so melodious...reminds me of the monsoons, over cast skies and dancing peacocks.

Peacock has special place in our religion. It is the "Vahana" (vehicle or carrier) of Lord  Karthika or Subrahmanya. He is son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.  Lord Krishna wears peaocock feather in his hair/crown.

So it is no wonder that peocock is one of the most popular subject for painters and artists. whther is is painting on paper or fabrics, on the walls as murals or embroidery or weaving it as a border or motif on sari or pallu, it has and still is very popular motif. This is a classic as well as contemporary motif. I picked it up from block printing on a sari.

Just use your imagination and see how you can create something beautiful from the motif. Kundans, beads, stones, pearls, silk threads, gold or metallic threads, gold or other metallic purls, silk ribbons can be used. Running, satin, herring bone, chain or other stitches can be used for this.

So let me know how you have used it...or how you like it. Will post more if you want.just let me know your choices or preferences..Keep watching my blog for more...

Rangoli-93

Chariot or Ratham Muggu-2

Here is one more Ratham Rangoli. This is much simpler one.

                   Ratham Muggu

This has gone a little askew. I was in such a hurry to draw it and post it, so that you can use it for Ratha Sapthami on 10th. Count the dots for each part, as they are different. Then join the dots as shown. This Ratham Muggu or Rangoli can be drawn foe sankranti or Ratha Sapthami.


Ok here it is I have the picture of the dots. I searched and re did the post. This will be easy for you now.

              Ratham Muggu-Dots

Hope you like this. More to come so keep an eye on my blog.....

Rangoli-92-

Chariot Rangoli

Chariots or Carts or Cars-known as Ratham in Telugu or Rath in Hindi-the word brings to our mind, Gods, Kings and Queens...Yes Chariots were once the mode of transport used by the kings, queens and the royalty. 

In India it is believed that Gods and Goddesses travel by Chariots. Kings and queens, royalty used this mode of transport. The chariots were made of wood, gold, silver or other metals. There are so many stories and legends associated with chariots.  In Hindu Mythological stories and other literature there are lots of references to the chariots, varieties, their décor, the horses that are attached to it, their wheels and their speed.

Gods and Goddesses are paraded in the villages or near their temples in Chariots during special temple festivals or other occasions. The famous Rath Yatra or Chariot pulling ceremony of Lord Jagannath of Puri is world famous and is attended by millions every year.

When Gods and Goddesses are driven in their chariots, it is believed that pulling the chariots by the people is very auspicious and many vie for it to at least touch the rope dragging it.

Sun God who is called Prathyaksha Narayana means the God who is visible to us, is believed to travel in a chariot with one wheel and pulled by seven horses. He is worshipped daily by us Hindus but specially so on Ratha Sapthami day. Ratha means chariot and Sapthami means the seventh day of the calendar. I will do a post on all this, that is about Sun God, His Chariot and how we worship him on my other blog on spiritual/religious theme shortly.

We are going to celebrate Ratha Sapthami on 10th February 2011. This day we draw the Chariot Rangoli. This Chariot Rangoli is very famous and drawn on the last two days(3rd and 4th days) of Sankranthi festival. There are so many Rangolis on Chariots. But I have created  one specially for this occasion. Here it is:

        Ratham Muggu for Ratha Sapthami

This is 21 to 1 dots-straight dots-that is first row 21 dots next row 19 leaving one on each side and so on till 1 dot. Then join as shown above

 This is the center part. You can see it clearly.

This is one end.

The flags and borders are not included in the above specified dots. That is I have added them separately. 

As you can see, there are four chariots one on each side. I have drawn chariots with one wheel, Sun God, lamps and silver cups for serving the rice and milk pudding to the Sun God. It is a tradition to offer rice and milk pudding to Sun God on Ratha Sapthami day. 

Indian Traditional Jewelery

Edu Varala Nagalu-I

Sujathagaru asked me what Eedu Vaarala Nagalu mean, who wore it and any stories related to it. I have also received many requests similar to this from some of my friends. Thank you Sujatha garu and my other friends for reading my posts and asking me such interesting questions. I am also educated by such questions as I have to recollect, read and research around for the answer.


I am glad to receive such queries , so keep asking me.


Well I am going to write all about it in my posts starting from today.Here it is 

India as you know is a country with an ancient and rich cultural and traditional heritage. Our  society was much civilised before any other ones. Men and women were very refined in their intellect, knowledge and taste. It is no wonder that our fashions related to clothes, jewellery etc were and still are rich, refined and are backed by scientific reasoning-beauty with practicality.

Anyway our India women were one of the most fashion conscious. Whether rich or poor they were dressed appropriately for the occasion or the season.

Meaning:

Edu Vaarala Nagalu means the jewellery worn by men or women for each day of the week. Edu means seven. Vaaralu means days -like Sunday Monday etc. and Nagalu means Jewellery. This was a very old tradition and is still followed by some. This jewellery was so highly talked about in the ancient times and had lot of importance.

Details:


Each day men or women should (though not a compulsion) wear the jewellery made of the following gems.

Sl No	Day		God or Planet Considered as Lord of the Day		Gem associated with the Planet
	(English)	(Telugu)	(English)	(Sanskrit/ Telugu)	(English)	(Sanskrit/ Telugu/ Hindi)
1	Sunday	Aadi Varamu / Bhanu Vaaramu/ Ravi Vaaramu	Sun	Aditya or Bhanu or Ravi	Ruby	Manickya Kempu/ Manikyam Manick
2	Monday	Soma Vaaramu/ Indu Vaaramu	Moon	Soma or Indu	Pearls	Mouktika Muthyaalu Moti
3	Tuesday	Mangala Vaaramu/ Bhouma vaaramu	Mars	Mangala	Corals	Pravaala Pagadaalu Munga
4	Wednesday	Budha Vaaramu/ Soumya Vaaramu	Budha	Budha	Emeralds	Marakata Pachhalu/ Marakatam Panna
5	Thursday	Brihaspathi Vaaramu / Guru Vaaramu	Jupiter	Brihaspathi or Guru	Yellow Sapphire Or Topaz	Pushparaaga Pushyaragamu Pukhraj
6	Friday	Shukra Vaaramu/ Brugu Vaaramu	Venus	Shukra	Diamond	Vajra Vajraalu Heera
7	Saturday	Shani Vaaramu/ Manda Vaaramu	Saturn	Shani	Blue Sapphire	NeelaMani Neelam Neelmani

                                            Edu Vaarala Nagalu

The jewellery to be worn could be necklaces, long chains, bangles, bracelets, ear rings, nose pins, waist chains or belts, anklets, arm lets, jewellery worn on the head (papidi pindelu, chandra- surya wanka, chamanthi billa etc), finger rings by women and chains, armlets, anklets, waist belts, ear rings, finger rings etc by men, made of these gems either in gold or in silver. Gold was considered as the best metal.

By wearing these, people would benefit from the positive aspects of the planetary influences and bad influences would be reduced. Health, wealth and prosperity, peace of mind, happiness could be got by this.

Reason:

I have to briefly tell you why and what was the importance of this tradition. This is related to Indian Astrology. Though this might be lengthy, one has to read this to understand the significance. I will try to be as brief as possible.

Indian astrology is very highly placed and followed by even common man in every day life. I will restrict myself to the influence of Indian Astrology to this particular topic here, though there is a lot on the subject...:) :) :)

As per Indian Calender, there are nine planets. A planet is known as "Graha" meaning one that constantly moves:

1. Sun--Surya or Aaditya 
2. Moon--Chandra or Soma
3. Mars- Kuja
4. Mercury--Budha
5. Jupiter- Guru
6. Venus--Sukra
7. Saturn-Shani

Apart from the above Rahu and Ketu were Chhaya Graha or shadow planets. As pointed above, planets means those having moment or which constantly are in motion. That is the reason even Sun though known to the ancient Indians as brightest Star, was still classified as a planet. Moon though was a satellite of Earth was considered as planet. Similarly why Rahu and Ketu were known as shadow planets in those ancient times, much well before  the so called modern science was born. These two planets are resposible for the Eclipses-Solar and Lunar.


To be contd........Read the next in my next posts

Update: I have added the Sanskrit equivalent of the gems as per my visitors requests.