Rangoli-302

Welcome to the Rangoli Fest

Dhanurmaasam has started from today. So, we South Indians celebrate this month till Sankranti or Pongal as Rangoli Festival. I am sorry friends, I am posting so late. Of late I am not feeling well. 

But from today I will post Rangolis for this entire one month. Here is the first one.

It is 15 to 1 straight dots. Umbrellas and hats. 

Keep an eye on my blog for more.....

Please do spread around the word about my Rangolis and if possible link back to my blog so that many people can use this. Please don't post my Rangolis on your site with out my permission. Most of these are my own Rangolis. 

Hope you respect my request.

While drawing the Rangolis, please chant the name of the Lord. Any name or mantra will do like Govinda, Narayana, Vasudeva, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaayaa, Om Namo Naaraayana etc..... 

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Inchies Sampler-Square 10

In my sampler for Square-9, the theme was rain-heavy downpour of continuous or intermittent showers for long periods of time ranging from 1-2 days to nearly a week or so. So I embroidered an umbrella. 

Well there also days, when it is partly cloudy sky with showers now and then and suddenly you see a rainbow as the Sun appears for a brief visit. You feel so happy when you find a rainbow in the sky. Whether one is young or old, every one loves a rainbow.

In India we call the rainbow as Indra Dhanush. Indra is God of thunder and Lighting. He is also the King Of Devas and rules the Heavens. Dhanush means a bow. So Rainbow is known as Indra's Bow.

A rainbow may mean different things in different cultures and religions. But in general, it symbolises, love, peace, happiness, divinity, creativity, harmony, expansion and so many things. We hear about "the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow". Rainbow and its colours also mean, our dreams, hope and aspirations. 

So I choose this as my theme for my square no 10. I first wanted to do a simple one rainbow across the sky.

But somehow I felt that the square looked empty so I added the rest-clouds, trees, green grass and flying birds. Here it is

It is difficult to stitch something so small. It is a real challenge. I have mostly used pearl threads and cotton stranded floss for clouds. I used all the seven colours of VIBGYOR. 

During the monsoons, for the first few showers, the clouds carry lot of dust particles and look brownish to muddy in colour. So I added a little bit of brown to the clouds.

Hope you like it.

More to come in my next posts....

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Inchies Sampler-Square9

I have jumped to Square 9 now. Square 5 to 8 I will do it later.

Well, the Indian Calendar months of Sravana (5th month-July to August) and Bhadrapada (6th month-August to September) form the major part of rainy season. During these months, there will be heavy to light showers. Sometimes it keeps on drizzling for three-four days. 

After the hot summers, these rains give relief. But the continuous raining is sometimes very difficult for us city folks. Slushy roads, heavy traffic jams, overflowing gutters, slippery roads, very humid climate, power cuts if there are heavy rains and winds have to be dealt with in cities. 

In villages, the farmers are very happy to start their farming work. It is a relief for them and their cattle after a long dusty hot summers. Drinking water and water for farming activities is available only when the local water bodies like wells, rivers, rivulets, lakes, ponds are filled with these rains. There is greenery every where. 

So this is my 9th square:

We have to take out umbrellas to go out in case of the showers. I have used pearl cotton  no 8. The stitches I have used are detached chain, chain stitch, detached button hole and raised satin stitch(actually I have worked slating straight stitches two layers, one upon another for the handle).

Hope you like this. Please do drop in and leave any comments or suggestions. I will be more motivated to finish this early :).....

Keep a watch on my blog for more in my next posts..... 

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Inchies Sampler-Square4

Sorry I could not post for the past few days. It was raining very heavily here. With the festivals and other personal matters to attend to, I could not post my sampler.

Here is square no 4. When there are lots of flowers in my garden(Square-3), it is but natural that there will be butterflies too. Beautiful colourful butterflies, keep visiting my garden through out the day. I have been sharing their visits with you. However, a little glimpse one more time.

So this inspired my 4th square.

Butterflies hovering over flowers. Sorry for the bad quality of the picture. I tried my best but could not get a better one.

I have completed around 7 squares. but sometimes, when I look back at some squares, I feel I need to add more. Any way, I will keep you posted about my WIP of this sampler.

Keep an eye on my blog.....

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Inchies Sampler-Square3

So here is Square-3.

As the season progresses, after a few showers, the plants and trees recover from the dusty hot summers. The new shoots and leaves give way to buds and flowers. The gardens, plains, forests and mountains are dotted with colourful flowers. Even the wild flowers at the roadside are so beautiful to look at. It looks as if Mother Earth(Nature) is smiling at the showers and cool climate through the flowers.

One can enjoy various fragrances of these flowers brought in by the winds.

My garden too becomes colourful with various flowers....

 Hibiscuses in various colours....

  Bunches of roses .....

 The Rain Lilies 

Since Nature is giving so much, it is time to say Thank you to the Lord, by offering flowers during our daily prayers.....

So inspired by the riot of colourful flowers, I chose this subject for my sampler....Hope you like it.

Keep an eye on my blog, for there is more to come....

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Inchies Sampler-Square2

I have embroidered a tree with first shoots. I have used Perle cotton, brown and green colours.Chain, detached chain and few straight stitches were used. 

The summers of India are very hot and dusty. The vegetation suffers a lot. It is almost lifeless. Though bigger trees survive very well. After first few showers, the trees and plants give out new shoots. The green  colour of these is some how very lively, as if some one has given them a new life. That is what the rains do. No amount of watering by us can achieve that. I have also shown tufts of grass symbolising, new growth or new life  or a new beginning powered by the rains. It is like fresh or new hopes awakened by the life giving water. A revival of life I think.

On second thoughts, I could have done more trees instead of just one I suppose. 

Watch out for more of my sampler in the next posts.....

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Inchies Sampler-Square1

So here I am posting my first Square. But before that, the theme I have chosen for this sampler and other details.

This is the first time I am doing an Inchies Sampler. I am thrilled at the challenge of squeezing my expression into such a tiny space.

I have planned for 6 X 8= 48 squares. Horizontal 6 and vertical 8 squares. Each square is 2X2 inches. I was not too sure of 1X1 inch squares as they looked so tiny. 

The theme is Celebrating Indian Mosoons. The theme is definitely Indian Monsoon-but the word Celebrating is still in question. I will finalise it after completion of my sampler. Why I am saying that? You will know as I keep posting my squares. In fact I would very much appreciate your help in this matter. Please keep an eye on my sampler as I keep posting each square and do help me in choosing the apt title.

Why this theme? India is a country of villages and is basically dependent on agriculture. Most of our agriculture, rivers, water bodies and villages of South India are dependent on monsoons for water supply. With out Monsoons, we cannot imagine our lives. Oh by the way this year the monsoons are very late and scanty in some parts especially our states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.  

Monsoon season starts some where in June and lasts till September every year. But it does rain now and then till November when winter starts after the festival of Deepavali. 

Well I am attempting to cover this Monsoon in my Sampler. How far, I will be successful only you can tell me.

Square 1 :

The fabric, I chose for this project  was pure cotton, even weave, thick cloth of white colour. This is how I marked the grid or the squares with a pencil.

I stitched the outlines of the squares with 6 stranded black cotton floss. I have used back stitch.

For my first square, I have chosen a cloud and rain drops. I have used whipped stem stitch using white and blue colour cotton 6 stranded floss for the cloud. The drops are done in blue colour 6 stranded floss. But i was not at all satisfied with the result. It was some how empty.

Then I filled it with Chinese knots using off-white coloured, 6 stranded floss. For now, I have completed it. My stitches(back stitch and whipped stem) are not perfect. I have not used a hoop and the cloth is also very thick. 

But I still have some doubts plaguing me. Should I have painted the background of the square light blue to indicate sky? 

I wanted to use only hand embroidery int the sampler. But I doubt that I can stick to it as I may be compelled to use a little bit of painting or other media for a better result. What do you say?

Please drop in your comments and suggestions so that I can improve my sampler. Do keep a watch on my blog for further updates. I will keep you posted regularly.

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Inchies Sampler

I have been wanting to do an Inchies Sampler for quite some time now. It is a  challenge to fit our creation in such a small space.  I have planned for 48 squares. No specific reason for choosing the number.

My theme and the few squares I have already worked -I will post shortly. But can anyone give me more insight into these Inchies Samplers; like their origin history and any other info about them? Any info is welcome. Please do share if you know anything about these samplers. I have come across very few of them on the net.

Would anyone like to join me? Mail me on my email...Keep an eye on my blog for the Inchies Sampler.....

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Jasmine in My Garden

Since two days it is hot here. The rains have stopped.  Just a few showers in the evening. So it is pleasant to work in the garden, early in the morning or in the evenings. Here is one type of Jasmine. I think it is double Jasmine.

Here are the flowers.

The plant is still in the thick polythene cover I bought from the nursery. But it is flowering profusely. You can see the buds.

I am yet to plant it in my garden. It is better to plant it in the ground, if we want lot of flowers. All jasmines are excellent creepers. But it can be cut and controlled as a bush. 

I already have four types of Jasmines. This is one more addition.

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Rain Lilies in My Garden

Every Monsoon season, with the first few showers of rain, these small but beautiful flowers appear suddenly overnight as if bursting out from the earth. They are known as Rain lilies, Fairy Lilies, Rain Flowers, Magic lilies Zephyr Lilies or Atamasco lilies. 

Zephyranthes as they are known technically, are a species belonging to the Amaryllis family. The name is derived from Zephyrus- the Greek god of the west wind, and Anthos- meaning flower. As far as I have seen them, they are available in colours of white, yellow and pink- may be in different shades within the same colour. 

You can know about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zephyranthes 

These are perennial bulbs which can withstand very hot summers of our South India. They completely disappear during the summer months and with the first showers, spring back to life, filling the garden with beautiful small flowers, swaying gently on their slender stalks. 

They can be propagated easily from bulbs. But even seeds can also be used as I have seen.

I used to have all the three colours. But they spread so much that we kept on weeding them out. Now I am only left with yellow ones. I think I will plant the other colours too. Here is a glimpse of these flowers.

They spread like wild fire and it is difficult to dig out the bulbs from nooks and corners of the garden. Still, I love these flowers when grown in posts or beds as they make a very colourful display.

I am busy with my garden. It requires a lot of work as I have been neglecting it for long. Part by part I am reclaiming and redoing it. Mostly my trees and bushes have been pray to termites. So it is really sad to see the plants/trees die away after being in the garden for long time. We are not able to completely eradicate the termites. So i am again plating those lost plants. 

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Rangoli-301

Vara Lakshmi Vratam Special

Friends, I know you are all eagerly waiting for this Rangoli. This is for Vara Lakshmi Vratam going to be celebrated on Friday the 8th. 

This Rangoli can be drawn for this entire month of Sraavanam, specially for Tuesdays and  Fridays.

No Of Dots: 19 in the central row, straight dots, 17, 15, 13, 11, 11, 7, 5, 3, 1 on either side of the center row. You can see them in the pic above. You can also colour the center part too. I have kept this very simple as we do have many things to do on the Puja day.

I have used the Kalsh as the main theme, since we use Kalash during the Puja. Swastika and Lotuses and flowers are liked by Goddess Lakshmi and Gauri alike. The center is Ashta Dala Padma or 8 petaled Lilly or Lotus. I have used yellow(Turmeric), red(Kumkum) and green(leaves) colours denoting the sowbhyagya and auspiciousness. The pots are coloured terracotta colour since earthenware pots are considered best.

Hope you like it. Happy Celebrations and May Goddess Lakshmi bless all of us with health wealth, sowbhagya and abundance.

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My Craft Classes...1

This is the punch craft class I taught to beginners. I always keep a huge supply of the punched out shapes ready to use by the kids. Though the kids do try to punch out the shapes, after some time they get bored. Also some of the punches are difficult for them to punch as they may be hard. They just want to get on with their creative work. So they prefer to use the ready to use punched out shapes instead of punching them by themselves.

Here is one card made by my niece in one of my classes. 

My niece also doesn't waste time in punching out the shapes. She is interested in finishing off her creation fast like all other kids. But when she feels like, she punches out some shapes and refills my box for use next time.

The card used was baby pink textured card stock. She used paper rope or paper twine for stems and punched out flowers and butterflies. 

Here she used one of my templates-a circle in a square. I keep various shaped cards or other thick materials which I come across, for using them as templates. It is easier that way than making one. Before I realised, she had coloured and glued it to the card. So there was no way, I could take it back with out damaging the card. She glued some butterflies on it.

She did try to give shape to a few flowers using the tools, but instead she glued them to the rope in such a way that they looked as if shaped out by using tools.

I think, she had a clear idea what to do and how to do from the beginning and finished off her work very quickly. I liked her card. Very neat and simple. What do you say?

More in my next post.....

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What I Was Doing....III

I also taught them some flower making in one of my classes. Here is a glimpse..

I don't have many pictures as I was kept on my toes through out by the little ones....

Some more next time.....


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What I was Doing....II

In one of my classes, I taught them making Book Marks. Alas, I don't have many pictures. I could only take very few, as I had to help them with their creations. 

This little one is so engrossed in decorating one book mark for his little sister. His sis was 3-4 years old and kept on crying saying that she missed her mom. I had her sit on my lap through out the class so that she did not feel lonely or frightened. Only then she stopped crying. It was difficult for me to help the children in making the crafts but we all managed very well in the end with some help from the older kids. 

This was one made by one of the students and decorated with smilies, stickers and punched out circles.

Here is one decorated with sketch pens and smilies. Sorry for the poor picture quality.

Some more in my next post....

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What I was doing....I

Hi there. I have been away for a long time. I was busy with cleaning of my home, organising (which is going at a snails pace) other works and recovering my health. My health suffered again. I was also a victim of sunstroke. How much it saps your energy is something one cannot imagine, unless one goes through it.

Between this and other chaos, I taught in summer camps.

Though I could not do what all I wanted to, because of my health and scorching summer heat, I enjoyed working with kids as well as adults teaching, arts and crafts.

My kids group ranged from 4 to 14 years. For my first class I was very nervous..as if entering some competition.

Working with kids was fun but very taxing. You have to control them gently and see that they don't injure themselves(But they do get messy any way :)). They are very creative and very fast. There is always, chaos, confusion and lots of talking and bantering going on. So they miss some of the instructions and I had to repeat myself many times. With the small ones, they are very adamant on doing every thing on their own but in the end ask me to create one piece for them to take home to their mom :) :) 

Though I demonstrated various techniques and crafts, I gave them a free hand and was amazed to see their works which were really very nice and creative. 

Alas, I could not take much pictures as I had tough time in controlling and guiding them. One more thing there was not enough light in the room for me to take pics. 

Here are some:

In one of the classes I taught them making greeting cards. Here is one class where the children worked with, paper streamers, satin ribbons, stickers and card stock. 

I enjoyed interacting these children as this is the first time I was teaching arts and crafts to such a group. I don't know what they learned from me :) But I learned a lot from them. But they did enjoy my classes and wanted to have more classes. Well that is a pat on my back.

All in all we all enjoyed and I am now confident that I can handle small kids too:) I didnot even notice how the time flew by in these classes.

Some more next time..

Oh I will also be posting my creations shortly. But with heavy power cuts, I am not able to log on to my blog for long periods.

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