TAST-2019

Hello Friends!

Hope you are all doing well. 

After Sankranti, I wanted to take a small break. But it got extended. So I am back now. Actually, on the academics side me and my students are in the last leg of learning for the year. So we are all concentrating on finishing of the portions and start our revisions. Thank fully I am finished up with the teaching portion though a bit later than what I actually planned at. But no problem. Now we are into our first round of revision. 

Well, added to all that hectic schedules, we have a severe cold wave here. With continuous rains on the top of that, I have had some health issues. I need to strictly safe guard myself against the cold. So I am spending most of my time recovering my health.

Amidst all this, I decided to join the TAST 2019 challenge. Well the link is here:

TAST 2019

TAST  is a challenge for embroidery, on PINTANGLE  run by Sharon Bogon a very talented  and accomplished artist in embroidery. I love her work and dedication to hand embroidery and quilting.

Actually I am a bit late in posting it here. Already four weeks have gone by. Please do visit the site and read the FAQs. 

Do participate and leave me a line so that I can visit your blog/site. 

There is lot to learn from this challenge. So much creativity and so many ideas. 

Even if you don't participate just go through the previous works of the participants from the PINTANGLE site. There is much more on the site. Please take time to browse.

I have not yet started on the challenge. I did want to join from the first week. Any way one can jump in whenever you like and jump out. I have taken out all my embroidery materials out. It has been a long time. But I want to take it up again.

I will try to do as many as possible. 

My TAST Samplers from previous years are listed out in my PAGES separately so that it is easy for you. Please do go through them.

So do watch out this space. I will be posting my TAST samplers and much more.

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Inchies Sampler - Square - 11

This is my 11th block. 

Here the theme is the Sun gently shining upon my Home- Sweet Home. My garden full of greenery and colourful flowers swaying gently in the wind.

After long periods of heavy showers, when Nature is revived from the hot and dusty Summer, and is smiling with lots of greenery and blooming flowers, the Sun suddenly appears from behind the curtain of the clouds, to take a peek at the earth below. 

This is my home with Sun gently smiling upon us. 

Though we (all life forms and Nature) desperately wanted the rains during the long hot summers, to quench our thirst and drench our parched throats, we the worshipers of Sun cannot live with out Him for long. We want Him shining upon us but gently, providing the warmth and sun-shine. 

Oh! What a feeling.

I have used pearl and stranded cotton threads.

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Inchies Sampler - Square 18

Hi there. My work is progressing very slowly. It is terribly hot here. We cannot move out of our houses. The temperatures are ranging between 40 to 47 degrees Celsius. Even as early as seven in the morning, the heat is so much that  we feel as if we are sitting on the burner. As the day progresses, it is getting hotter and hotter so much that we cannot venture out. It is very hot till late in the night.  

We are all forced to sit at homes unless it is something very urgent or unavoidable.

So amidst all this here I am trying to make some progress in my crafts. it is really difficult to do anything when you feel as if you are sitting on fire and your skin feels as if it is burning and there is so much humidity. 

I have completed Square No. 18. This is again related to Square No. 10.

In Square 10, my theme was a Rainbow. So now, in this square, my theme is Dancing Peacock. 

Our elders say, that, when the sky is heavily filled up with dark clouds, just before it starts to rain, the Peacocks open their trains to display their beauty. It is said that, the Peacocks attract the females - Peahen with beauty of their trains and their dance. When the Peacocks dance, and the heavily clouded dark skies adorned with a Rainbow form the backdrop, then it is such a  beautiful sight- isn't it ?

I have embroidered this theme of dancing Peacock, clouded skies, with a Rainbow as its back drop and the jungle filled up with greenery and colourful flowers as its stage.

I wanted to embroider the Peacock. But I could not fit it into such a small square. So I opted for an embellishment (acrylic I think). I could not get a blue one so it is golden Peacock. I have used, Pearl cotton threads and stranded cotton threads for the rest of the embroidery.. 

Do you think the square is too much crowded? Please mail me or drop in your comments, suggestions  or what you think about this sampler, I will be glad to know. 

Watch out for the progress in my next posts......

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Inchies Sampler - Square 17

Here I am posting after a long time. 

It is summer here. But in between we have had some rains which is disrupting all the things which we women do in summer. Like pickling, sun drying  vegetables, making crispies and poppadoms...

The untimely storms have damaged mango crop besides, other fruit crop like plantains, papayas, citrus fruits and also other crops. This being the peak season for pickling mangoes, there is huge demand for them. But supply of good produce is so less that the costs have sky rocketed. On the other hand there are power cuts and water shortages.

Well that is the day to day challenges which we people face here. I am just hoping that all  plants in my garden survive the heat. 

Because of all that I could not concentrate much on my projects. I am just picking up what ever UF projects I have and carry on the work as much as I can. 

This is Square 17 of my Sampler.

This is linked to Square 9.

When it rains heavily as shown in square 9, children are the most happy ones. They enjoy the showers, they can bunk schools and play. Here in this square I have embroidered children- a boy and a girl making paper boats and playing in the rain. That is what we used to do when we were children. Now our children don't enjoy such simple things any more.

I have used pearl cotton mostly and some stranded cotton threads. Stitches used were also simple except for the girls hair.

I found it very difficult to stitch such tiny figures to fit into the square. The ground fabric was also a heavy one making it very difficult to stitch. I wanted to have a raised or 3 D effect. 

I am not satisfied with the way the figures turned out. But I did not dare to undo all the embroidery and start allover again. 

I learned some lessons while doing this square. 

Any suggestions on how to stitch such tiny figures? Can any one of you share some tips please?

Hope you like this. Still many squares to go.....

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Ribbon Embroidery

Hi friends!

Its been long time. Well let me wish you a belated Happy New Year. 

Like every year, this year  I have made resolutions. Let us see how much I can implement them. 

Here is my ribbon work completed at last. I have used satin ribbons and threads or floss (cotton -stranded, pearl and silk  thread). The back ground is unbleached cotton fabric circular in shape.

This was my first attempt at ribbon work, one of my old projects started but not finished. it was difficult for me to stitch on the fabric as the fabric was very thick. But I have completed it at last. I took this up as a test project to learn the stitches and gain some experience before taking up silk ribbon embroidery. 

I wanted to use as many stitches as possible. This was one of my projects where I began without any planning or sketch and just went on adding the motifs, as I proceeded with my embroidery. I love this way as it gives me more freedom to be creative. 

Please do leave your comments and criticisms. I would like to know how I have done this.

Oh! by the way can any one tell me where to get Silk Ribbons for embroidery in India? I would be grateful if you can give me the address please.

Watch out my blog for more........

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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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Beaded Hedebo Edge-1

TAST-2012-Week40-Beaded Hedebo Edge

This week Sharon has given us the Beaded Hedebo Edge as challenge. Visit Sharon's Page here for further details:

http://pintangle.com/2012/10/02/take-a-stitch-tuesday-week-40-2/

I had done a small sampler of this stitch in the previous TAST challenge. The pictures are here:

I need to explore this stitch. With renovation going on at my place, there is dust and chaos everywhere. All our belongings are dumped in one room- books, clothes -everything. I think it will take another week or two to finish the renovation. After that I have to clean my place and arrange all our things in their proper places. This may take another two to three weeks. 

So with all this going on, I am not able to do much of my embroidery or any other craft. I am also afraid that my samplers and WIP might have been soiled because of the dust, though I have packed them in plastic covers. Any ways, i will try to work the sampler somehow. Can't wait that long. I already have so much to catch up with.

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Flower Sampler-1

I wanted to stitch some samplers exploring different stitches and also on different themes. I am just doodling. Once I have done enough I will stitch them properly onto a sampler.

Moreover, this is summertime and holidays for children and young people. Many of them wanted to learn embroidery. It is fun to teach them. So I am also exploring along with them various stitches. sometimes, fresh minds give us many creative ideas then the professional ones.

Here is a glimpse of the sampler I am making on flowers:

 Each one of these is different from the other.

I am basically exploring, detached chain, and fly stitches. I will post tutorials shortly. I have done considerable number of motifs but need to photograph them.

Oh I am also working on my shisha sampler. Many people wanted me to post tutorials.I have already posted some of the basics. need to post the remaining ones. But my main problem is photographing them properly. Any way I am also going to post them quite soon.

Keep watching my blog.......

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Running Stitch-3

TAST-2012-10th Week-Running Stitch

Here are some more of my explorations of the stitch:

I could have done better because I had so many ideas. But with constant power cuts and hot weather, it is difficult to find time for my hobbies. Any ways, I will work on them and post them later....I need to go along with all other TAST participants....

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