Azul

Azul is a cotton silk sarong. Discharged globular forms embellished with running stitch and transparent sequins create a border along one edge of the sarong. 

Azul is destined for a store in Goa. I'm sending a tiny collection of my scarves and a couple of sarongs to this beautiful store in an old Goan house later this week.

CQJP March

March is spring in the garden city, all the trees burst into bloom. There's yellow, pink and violet of the jacaranda. So the colours and forms of flowers came to bloom on the crazy quilt part of my journal for March.  The printed patch is from my sister's shirt and I went out and got myself some floral laces, two of which I used and I've included the Barred Chain stitch and Running stitch which were two of the stitches in March for TAST.   

 That's a look at the CQJP and the journal half of the double spread for March.  

The journal page for March.
I spent a week with my parents so I could be there for my mum's birthday. Winning the Cleosara giveaway on An Indian Summer was exciting.
Great sense of achievement in being able to make super soft idlis. I was given this little steamer by a women's group in Kerala because I wanted to steam my natural dye experiments.From rice idlis I've moved on to Ragi idlis.
The first quarter of 2012 is over and I have three CQJP pages done so I've decided to start assembling the book.  Shall show you the progress in my next post.

Mineral

Mineral is a dark green reversable tussar silk scarf.  

All four edges have a fringe like raw edge. One side has applique and running stitch and on the quieter reverse there's a hit of sparkle from the sequins.   

Two sides of the same scarf.
Happy Easter to those who will be celebrating. I'll be treating myself to a sinful sweet treat after the period of abstinence. :)
Early this morning I folded a cute origami bunny box made with the excellent video instructions by Leyla Torres which can be found here and here's another.

On a separate note - I've become an affilate of Amazon and Flipkart. You will see the banners on the side bar. Should you wish to shop online I would appreciate it if you could click on the Amazon or Flipkart banners/buttons and make your purchases.Amazon and Flipkart will pay me a small percentage of the value of your transaction without increasing the cost for you by even a cent. Thank you and happy shopping.

One Blue Bit Short

One Blue Bit Short is the latest creation.

Black tussar silk.Fringe like raw edge along all four sides and all the usual suspects - blanket stitch, running stitch and sequins.
One Blue Bit Short is elegant if I say so myself. Will be available at Plantation House this week.
My next scarf is going to be a hand pieced patchwork one, haven't made one in a long time. I also want to see if I can move from squares to hexagons or may be octagons which means I'll be marking and cutting a whole lot hexagons or octagons out of cereal cartons which I've been saving for just this.
Here's an update on the Little Houses Project and here's a moving account by Joni of people trying to rebuild their lives a year after the earthquake,tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan.

Trek

The trek in the Himalayas inspired this scarf. We were advised to put one foot in front of the other and take small steps, a bit like the embroidery on this scarf - one small stitch at a time.   

The cotton silk is soft and fine and this is what I saw while folding up the scarf so I had to have R hold it up with the light shining in from the back so I could photograph it. 

Its amazing what blogging has given me in terms of interactions and learning in all these years I've had this blog.I have to thank all those who choose to stop here and all those who follow Million Little Stitches to read/view what I have to say. Its led to many collaborations and exchanges which have enriched me. Recently there's been a group ( you know who you are) who have reached out with an exciting idea which is still gestating but I'm happy  and excited to have been invited. It's much too early to say anything about this venture but I hope I'll be able to tell you all in the very near future. Small steps I guess can get  you to exciting places.

The Little House I made for this project has reached Japan. :)
Its going to be a hectic couple of days but I hope to have the CQJP pages for February ready to show sometime next week.
Have a great weekend.  

Completed CQJP & Journal page - January

Here's my first CQ block completed for the CQJP challenge, just in time as January draws to a close.Embellished with stitches from TAST. I'm still working on the journal part of the page.
Update - 4th Feb
I decided to update this post with pictures of the journal page for January which I completed this morning.

This is how the two pages look side by side. 

This then is the journal part.I was looking for a cross stitch pattern of a Dragon for Chinese New Year and when I came across this free pattern here  I simply had to make it a part of the page although it extends a little beyond the page and I had to do away with the pattern at the top.

Its a busy weekend. I have to start on the CQJP and journal page for February and there's a certain scarf that I'm making very slow progress on - I need a longer day if that's possible to do all that needs doing.    . 

Entrapment

 Entrapment. People must wonder where I come up with the names for my scarves. Usually the pattern, the colour or texture suggests a name. In this case I caught a bit of the movie Entrapment while embroidering this scarf!

Its a silk cotton scarf, two colours divide the scarf into two halves along the length of the scarf. Zig zagging lines of chain stitch and circles of sequins embellish Entrapment.
Entrapment and Purple Prose will be available at Plantation House just in time for Diwali!

Purple Prose

Purple Prose my latest creation. Cotton silk scarf embroidered with tiny sequins and appliqued with pieces of silk.  

Will be available for sale at Plantation House.

Bathed in Bokeh

The cotton silk stoles I embroidered for the commission I mentioned in my last post was inspired by Bokeh.
The vision I had was of a person photographed wearing my stole in such a manner that the sequins of different sizes stitched at random would be transformed into bokeh in the photograph and make the person appear to be bathed in bokeh.
I hope the ladies who are gifted these stoles will derive immense pleasure wearing them and garner plenty of compliments too.

Path

Tussar silk stole, dyed with tea, silk applique and sequins.
Got two shades of tea. One edge of the stole was dyed with tea boiled in a stainless steel vessel - the resultant shade was more golden, whereas the edge dyed in a cast iron vessel with tea resulted in a more dark nut brown colour.
I'm going to be exploring a new path which has opened up rather unexpectedly - excited, curious and just a teeny tiny smattering of butterflies in the tummy. Wish me luck.

Brown and Blue

My adventures with pashmina include a snuff brown stole and a midnight blue one.

Detail of the applique done with silk cotton fabric and sequins.
Soft folds of pashmina
Diagonal lines of blanket stitch and sequins enhance a midnight blue pashmina stole.
Both stoles are now available at Plantation House.

Hide n Seek

The monsoons have struck and cooled things down. Let the creativity flow.

Here's something created pre monsoon

An off white soft pashmina with a hint of embroidery and sparkle so one can appreciate the 'chashm-e-bulbul' or 'eye of the bulbul' weave. A speciality of the master weaver of pashmina.

Space dyed embroidery thread gave the stole the name hide n seek. Delighted to report it sold hours after it made to Plantation House.

Needless to say its got me on a high and I've nearly finished two more pashmina stoles which I shall feature here in a day or two.

I'm inspired today by this and this. Wishing all of you inspiration when you least expect it. Cheers!

Blink

Blink. Why Blink? I don't know that's what popped into my head when I was completing this scarf.
White cotton silk fabric with crosses done in running stitch and a single black sequin from which the four arms radiate. Now available at Plantation House.
This one here is all ready to party.

Merry Christmas everyone hope you're enjoying the holiday season.

Clay

I've told you I name my scarves they are to me my works of art therefore they have names.

This one I've called Clay. Its a large square, reversible scarf in a beautiful brown colour.

One side is all about texture and subtle colours. Two concentric squares of small brown sequins add a hint of sparkle to the muted embroidery.
The other side has pieces of tussar silk appliqued onto the cotton silk with my favourite running stitch.
Here's a picture for you to see the two sides of Clay.

This is one of four scarves I'm giving to Plantation House, the other three shall be featured in subsequent posts.

Click here to see what I was wowed by this weekend.

Mini accordion fold book

Now that Eliza has received the mini book I made for her I can show you what I created.

A mini book in a little foil envelope personalised with a little monogram and a closure for the envelope made with coconut shell buttons.
Brown and red little accordion fold book edged with sequins.

Small bits of paper the edges of which are burnt make up the spaces to do some writing on both sides of the accordion fold.

To participate in fun paper exchanges click here.