Covered in Stitches

From pen and ink to being covered in stitches.

Read all about it here.

Covered in Stitches is about embroidering the cover for your favourite book. It may be the existing cover illustration/image you choose to interpret in stitch or you create the cover illustration.

Guess which book cover I've chosen to interpret in stitch?. Don't you love that French knot Croc? I'm quite pleased with the way its turning out. Next update I'll have a pic of the book cover I'm interpreting.

I've won tickets to go watch Johnny English Reborn this weekend, thanks to Radio Indigo.

Hope your weekend is wonderful.

Pen & Ink

Here are the pen and ink sketches I've been working on.

The Woodlands Big Bungalow was built in 1830 or so.

There's a monkey puzzle tree in the garden which is so tall it can be spotted from Doddabetta in Ooty. It was raining when I went to sketch this particular bungalow so I sat in the back of the Scorpio with the radio on, R was reading his book and we were served tea there by the butler.

Engifer the family cat at the home of the Managing Director came to inspect my progress.
There's a stunning garden in front of the bungalow with a beautiful lily pond and weeping willows. Bison are frequent visitors and can be found sitting on the lawn chewing the cud early in the morning.
The Manar Bungalow
Elephants come to eat the Jackfruit when the tree at the back of the house bears fruit. There's a lot of wildlife on the Craigmore property. Bison can be seen grazing in the tea fields at all times of night and day, camera traps set up by WWF to map the flora and fauna on Craigmore have captured leopards and panthers. Tiger has been sighted but has not been captured on film.
The Halashana Bungalow
A large garden umbrella was found to protect me and the sketch from the unpredictable weather so I could continue my sketching unhindered for two or three hours at a stretch. Garden umbrella, folding chair and table became a part of the standard equipment which were loaded into the Scorpio every morning.
The Craigmore Tea Factory. R's first visit to a tea factory to see how Orthodox tea is manufactured.
I sat in the tea fields under a garden umbrella, listening to my ipod while sketching the factory. Inspite of the garden umbrella I got sun burnt.

Must say this has been the most luxurious assignment I've had to date.

Craigmore

This is where I currently reside. Its temporary but absolute bliss and I'm soaking it all in - fresh mountain air, sumptuous meals which I don't have to whip up, beds turned down at night, a bell to ask for more green tea.... I can go on and on. Its the most luxurious assignment I've been on to date and I'm getting used to it at an alarming rate, I have to keep reminding myself its temporary.
The assignment is to make pen and ink sketches of bungalows and factories on Craigmore tea estate and paint watercolours of the stunning landscape. Craigmore has been in existence since 1884. The Chairman's bungalow is the first in the series of pen and ink sketches and I've photographed it on a red oxide floor which is characteristic of old estate bungalows. Someone decided to walk all over my sketch, can you spot the centipede or is it a millipede? Partial view of the verandah and the garden. The trees are grand and gorgeous, all a part of the quaint lifestyle on a tea estate. I'll be sharing more glimpses of this life in posts to come.

It's time for evening tea.I hope you're week is magical.

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.

What happened to August

I last posted in July and now its almost the end of August!

August has gone past in a flash..... wow. A month of hectic activity and travel.

I was in Kerala at the beginning of the month conducting an embroidery workshop for thirty women. I usually get the participants to start a sampler on the first day so I can assess what embroidery stitches they know, their skill level and its a surface for them to practise the stitches I introduce to them. This is my sampler. It was a good workshop and I don't get to say that very often.
There's been a lot of travel and time with family. My teenage nephew has educated me about the electric guitar and rock music which he's extremely passionate about. Did you know there are people who would list guitar tech as their profession? I didn't know. My ignorance regarding all things related to electric guitars was shocking to say the least but Z was kind enough to show me YouTube videos to explain a technique or demonstrate them if he could. Shredding, Floyd Rose the Wah Wah pedal and Steve Vai. Glimpses into a whole different world. Amazing.

I've also been working on a small commission which I'm happy to report is now labelled, appropriate packaging created, tags designed and attached and ready for delivery.

There's more travel next week, this time to work on a painting and sketching commission. I'm looking forward to it because I'll be going to the Blue Mountains.

Embellished Fragments

In my last post I wrote of a path I was exploring but I now find I'm exploring more than one path simultaneously. One such path which I would like to call Embellished Fragments has begun with this first piece.

Bits and pieces of silk and cotton some dyed with tea, others used for hand pieced patchwork and embroidered wisdom have come together in the creation of Fear Less.

Would you buy something like this? You might ask - what purpose Fear Less serves? To which I would answer - its a fragment - frame it, incorporate it into a quilt or just keep it in a drawer or folded and kept in your purse so you can touch, read and ponder the meaning of the words embroidered on the fragment.

I leave on a project tomorrow- (yet another path!) I'll be back in the first week of August.

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.

Splash

It's turned cool and cloudy and everyday holds the promise of a thunder shower late in the evening and its found its way into Splash.

Splash is a small square cotton silk scarf the sort you knot at the neck or wear as a head scarf. Bleach helped create the splotchy effect and running stitch which covers almost the entire surface provides texture.
The process of creating Splash got me thinking. Getting up, getting dressed and showing up has been the mantra R and I have followed for the past year. Clouds promising rain gather on the horizon and then melt away..... like Splash which was not planned but evolved I'm hoping both our actions and choices are in preparation for the splash in our life which will be monumental. I just need the grace to live in the moment until then and I can't wait to look back and see the pattern and texture which we created which enriched us and got us to the next level.

As for the future, your task is not to predict it, but to enable it ........ Antoine de Saint- Exupery.

Discovering a little line like this is so inspiring. Which is the quote which inspires you?

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!

Off Commercial Street

Commercial Street in Bangalore is where one goes to shop for clothes, accessories and jewelery for the family and all the brands and labels are there. Its conventional retail at its best but for the real thing one must go off Commercial Street, into the little lanes and up narrow stairs.

Parked scooters and bikes become the display units for plush toys. don't miss the duckling hanging off the back of the bike. Everyday a different display and they get to set up shop where they like.
Colour coordinated styles for all age groups.
You're sure to find a tailor to rise to the challenge and sew and embroider the outfit which will make you the belle of the ball - ruffled,layered, underwired, tucked and pleated they've done it all.
Accessorise, accessorise, accessorise - you can find matching scarves and stoles, bangles and slippers in every hue and shade.
Little boys carrying colourful toys in baskets stroll up and down the street.
A little cheaper, most likely a rip off, won't last forever but its all the rage at the moment and you can't help be impulsive, you're expected to bargain. There's no better place than the little streets off Commercial Street to indulge in all you retail cravings when you're on a budget.

Flame Tree

Delonix regia.

Things in Bottles

Its been ages, almost a month since I posted about my scintillating life, thanks for persevering in checking for updates and I know you do because my followers have increased and I'm getting to see people visit from different parts of the world , places I've never heard of. Thanks guys for your patience, you guys rock.

Swimming in the afternoon to beat the summer heat has fried my brain and all creativity and inspiration seems to have evaporated. Alls not lost, I'm developing a terrific tan and its great to have the pool all to myself during siesta time and for company I have eagles overhead, gliding in circles in the blue sky.Mangoes are starting to make an appearance so inspiration should strike sometime soon. In the meantime.

Take a look at what I have in bottles.

My Orts bottle which is making slow progress was inspired by Sharon and this. The bottle with red Manjadikuru seeds and the fluffy yellow seeds of the Helichrysum flowers which grows wild in the Nilgiris. Do you collect things and store them in bottles? What do you collect?

Time to go and float in the pool and check out the cloud formations.

The Book of Leaves

The thirteen month swap which was The Story of the Traveling Pages has resulted in some amazing books and I've just completed creating my own - The Book of Leaves with contributions from ten women in the USA, the UK, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands and Greece who interpreted my theme - leaves and created unique, one of a kind fabric pages.

This is the cover for the book which I embroidered.
The inside of the cover has the name of the person, the country they are from and the month they created the page for me. The first page is from Kath Walls in Greece.
The last page in the book is from Juliette Coates in the UK and the inside of the back cover has a pocket which contains the letters and smaller cards each one sent me detailing the method and techniques used in the creation of the page.
Thank you Ruth for putting together this fantastic swap and to all the lovely ladies who got involved, persisted and made those pages while dealing with life and the curve balls life threw each of us in the past year.. The book of leaves is a precious addition to my little collection of fabric books.

Any interesting fibre/fabric swaps and challenges happening in cyberspace? I'd like to get involved because I haven't taken up anything this year.

Oh there's been some changes taking place here.