I won!!!

Pat had a giveaway on her blog for Mother's Day about two weeks back and I won.The first ever giveaway I've won.I was ecstatic to get up one morning and read Pat's e-mail. Today I had the pleasure of opening a box packed with goodies.Wrapped with care in pretty pink and rose patterned tissue paper I unwrapped something to delight every sense.

A little note pad, a little book - For Mother O'Mine by Mary Engelbreit, a little zine Pat has created on How to write on Fabric which has her beautiful handwriting, a little box of chocolates! Its the little yellow box of Whitman's Sampler and a charming little porcelain plate with roses on it and three exquisite vintage mother of pearl buttons.
Aren't these vintage handkerchiefs beautiful. They are in pristine condition. They inspire me to start a handkerchief collection.
Just look at all that. Three little charms from Blue Moon, a set of vintage crystal buttons made in Germany, skeins of silk thread,a vial of glass beads, a length of lace and a beautiful crazy quilted needle case made by Pat's friend Brenda to which Pat added the bead edging. Looks like I can't put off exploring crazy quilting much longer, I have everything to get me started.

Pat you've taught me a thing or two about giveaways and you certainly do things with style. Can't tell you how thrilled I was to unwrap each little treasure. Thank you.

Chocolate doesn't last long in this household, I'll be sharing that with my husband this weekend as we watch T20 cricket on television.

For the years of embroidery I've done I haven't made or got myself a needle case so looks like I was meant to have one and its going to be pressed into service right away. I'm going to put a picture of this beautiful needle case here.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Bountiful

What image would you choose to symbolise bountiful? I found my image outside my window in Kerala. An absolutely amazing fruit laden, jack fruit tree. I've never seen anything like it.

If this isn't bountiful I don't know what is.
There's fruit resting on the ground!
Jack fruit can get really large, three times the size of what you see in this picture but on this particular tree I was told the larger fruit in the picture will be ready to cut off the tree in a couple of days.
When the stem of the jack fruit is cut it produces a milky sap.
Look at that texture.When is a jack fruit ready to be harvested? When a large proportion of the short spiky protrusions flatten out like in the upper portion of the image. It takes another week or so before its ready to be cut open.

A jack fruit came back with me to Bangalore and I spent two hours cutting and taking out the pods. Its sticky and messy business, cutting a jack fruit. One needs to put oil on the knife and on your hands, therefore there are no pictures of the inside of the jack fruit. Maybe next time. No pictures of the fruit either which occupied most of the lower shelf of my fridge and it was jack fruit for two weeks every night while we watched the IPL cricket matches. There were various recipes suggested by friends - payasam, puttu, pradaman but we love it fresh.

Now all that remains is a large bowl of the seeds. Do you have a recipe for jack fruit seeds that you can suggest? I'm keeping a few of the seeds to germinate into seedlings, a tree like this needs to be propagated and the goodness shared don't you think.

Screwpine

I thought I'd share pictures of my fifteen days in Kerala with you. It was hot but a lot got done, I got to buy more, traditional Malayali cookware. I should do a post on all my traditional Indian cookware and utensils. For fifteen days I was working with women to add new products to the existing range of products made of screwpine mat.
The Screwpine plant is of the Pandanus family. This is the female plant which produces softer and more supple fibre than the male plant and has been used traditionally to make mats for sleeping .
Braids of screwpine fibre being woven into the mat. Plain weave is the weave used. Two or even three women work side by side on a single mat.
Women weaving mats in the background and some stitching the products with screwpine fibre.

Traditionally sleeping mats were woven of natural coloured fibre by one group and two mats were stitched together by others. So today there are weavers and there are those who stitch and some who are skilled to do both.
We made large biscornus to be used as floor cushions.
The women use chemical dyes to dye the fibre and they have a great sense of colour and they use it so well to produce beautiful checked patterns.
I decided to use the fringe like edge of the mat which is usually discarded.
A visiting card case
Case for scissors
I introduced the basics of satin ribbon embroidery as a value addition technique.

Products are stitched with screwpine fibre, lined with fabric and thin cardboard is used sandwiched between the fabric and the screwpine mat to create different shapes and to give strength. The women were very keen on making these heart shaped boxes and called them love

petti or love box.

Coastline

Chris has received the page I created for her in March, as part of the on going swap at The Story of the Traveling Pages so I can now post the page for all to see.

I decided to depict an aerial view of the coastline.

The blue sea and breakers come ashore to a beach of white sand criss crossed with footprints and then there is the tropical vegetation beyond the sand and the blue ovals are swimming pools.

The back of the page. For April there's a landscape to be created.

Its good to be back and catch up on all that's taking place in the blogsphere, come back in a day or two to read about my time in God's Own Country.

Popping in to say Hello

It's said that if you are travelling on the first of January you'll be on the road for the rest of the year.The travel bug has kicked in I think because I got home from God's own country on Sunday and I'm off again this Sunday for fifteen days to another part of God's own country.

The heat must have fried my brain because I didn't take a single picture and my camera was with me at all times. I think ten days has got me acclimatised so this trip should find me trigger happy and functioning normally.

One thing I did do was add to my collection of cast iron cooking vessels - yes I'm particularly partial to cast iron like some people are about designer handbags. I got myself an appachatti bought at a hardware store by the way.

I've seasoned the appachatti and had plans of making lace appam and chicken stew typical Easter Sunday fare in Syrian Christian homes but I'll be on the road and my appam making skills

will have to be put to the test at a later date.

Another one of my finds in the hardware shop. This one makes all manner of savouries which are either fried or steamed.

I hope I can squeeze in a post before Sunday or else I'll see you in April with a post high in fibre.

TAST completed

Yipee I've completed TAST ( Take a Stitch Tuesday). Here are the last three stitches - Chained Bar, Spanish feather stitch and Berry Stitch.

This means volume 2 of TAST can be finished now.

I'm going away for about two weeks on a project involving natural fibres. I'll be back with pictures and results of experiments involving tie and dye, marbeling and bleach. Until then take care and stay safe.

The Traveling pages for February

Pages for February have been sent and recieved.

Carmen chose Castle as her theme and this is my interpretation. It's turned out to be a mixed media collage of sorts. Taking a picture out of a magazine and mounting it on a piece of card and then stitching it on was a first for me but I think it works.The arched window has been appliqued and embroidered with metallic thread and sequins, the mango tree is embroidery and oil pastels and so also the sky.
This is the reverse of the page for Carmen. Sorry the picture is a bit blurry. Discovered that after the page was mailed to Carmen so another picture could not be taken. I'm in love with the plastic coated silver foil and I'm going to find ways to incorporate it in all the pages I create for this swap. It's going to be my singature of sorts on all the pages I create. Last month it was used to make the pocket on the back of the page. The oil pastels is becoming another favourite.
Here's the page Mandy made for me. She chose to interpret the vibrant colours of Autumn leaves. She's used opaque seta colours for painting the background, applique and reverse applique to create the leaves and machine embroidery.
The reverse of the page has a pocket into which I've tucked the note in which Mandy wrote about the techniques she's used and for a" bit of fun" she sent me a little packet of buttons shaped like leaves and acorns. That is so thoughtful of you Mandy, I do appreciate it. I'll be using them when I make up the book of leaves at the end of this swap. Thank you.

For March I'll be creating a page for Chris whose theme is Coastline. Need to get started this weekend.

Have a good weekend everyone.

TAST - Pistil stitch and Knotted Cable Chain

Something I've been juggling

Here's one of the many project's I've been juggling and it got done last night.

This is in the midst of cooking up a storm and getting the house back to some semblance of what it was a month back so R will recognise it when he gets back tomorrow after a month of snow storms and freezing weather in NJ.

This is for my mother.
She has had the words of this little prayer for over twenty years now and wanted it to grace the entryway to the house.

I think the quilt motifs cross stitched on muslin adds to the whole homespun feel. The motifs are also so appropriate. There are a number of feral cats who live on the veranda of the house and my parents feed them. I hear there's a new litter somewhere in the neighbourhood. The basket motif is symbolic of my mum's green thumb and all the fruit which the garden produces.
Now I have to get it framed in time for my mum's birthday next month.

OK the kitchen beckons,extreme juggling on the culinary front will take another day to abate.

Happy juggling all that needs doing in the week ahead.

TAST Thorn Stitch

At some point every second post was a stitch from Take a Stitch Tuesday. Now with the end in sight I find I'm juggling at least five different projects but I'm hanging in there, coasting along.

Some projects which will be completed thanks to my juggling skills shall be revealed next week maybe earlier if I can take juggling to the next level.

How has your week been? Any extreme juggling involved? Tell me about it.

Footloose and Fancy Free

A small hand stitch mixed media book.4 inches x 9 inches.(10cms x 22 1/2 cms)

Inspired by the footloose pigeons who roost on ledges and air conditioning units.
Pigeon feathers. Gathered on morning walks.
Small hand stitched books are on my mind. Ideas simmering.

Have a good weekend.

The Traveling pages for January

I can now show you the pages sent and recieved for the Story of the Traveling Pages.

The first leaf in my Book of Leaves has been created by Kath in Greece. Lots of texture and embroidery. Don't miss the couched treatment along the edge of the page.Juliette, I'm relieved to say has recieved the page I made for her.I was keeping my fingers crossed it wouldn't go astray. The theme was The Seashore and I decided to depict The Shore temple at Mamallapuram. Must say I've started using unconventional material and really enjoyed it. Its got me thinking out of the box and the results are encouraging - crushed brown paper for the rocks, the cardboard for the catamarans and oil pastels to add colour to sea and sky.

To get a better look at the details click on the images to get an enlarged view.
Made a pocket on the back of the page with the plastic coated foil the muesli comes in. I found an article in a back issue of Jetwings on the rock sculptures of Mamallapuram and put that into the pocket along with a little note for Juliette.

For February I'm working on a page for Carmen and the theme is Castles.

Visit The Story of the Traveling Pages to see more pages participants in this swap have created.

The First Volume of Take a Stitch Tuesday

There you are the first volume of four. The second volume is being put together as I type.

TAST 2 begins March 3 so volumes three and four are still a year away.

Have a good weekend.

Did you see the moon on Saturday night?

It was big ,bright and full . Some others noticed it too and mentioned it on their blogs here and here and this has me inspired.

TAST - Chain Braid Stitch, Drizzle Stitch, Pekinese Stitch

Forty six down and six to go for Take a Stitch Tuesday. Its the home stretch going forward.

Chain braid Stitch
Drizzle Stitch
Pekinese Stitch

One would think I'm only intent on completing TAST but I have been doing other things,The Story of the Traveling Pages for instance. I've completed the page for January and its been posted to Juliette. Pictures of the page will be revealed once Juliet is in reciept of the page, don't want to spoil the surprise for her. I've begun work on the page for Carmen and the theme is Castles.