The Amulet - An edition of three altered books

The Amulet- an edition of three altered books are complete.

 Feathers, ink and sequins adorn some pages.

There are pockets to hold a letter, a key or photographs.

 There's wisdom.

 Words to bolster the spirits.

  Texture and pattern.

A couple of blank pages to personalise the amulet and make it your own.

I've covered the outer cover of the book with indigo dyed fabric and attached my label.

The outer edge of the pages have been stitched with blanket stitch and the remaining thread has been left to create a little tail. The tail reminds me of a faithful dog and the Amulet is meant to be like a constant companion one keeps with them at all times tucked into a pocket or purse to provide protection and a sense of well being.

The Amulets are bound for an exhibition of artists books and books made by artist in August. Will share more details at a later date. Have to get on with the creation of two more books I have in mind.

Hope you're busy with projects which are bringing you much satisfaction as you scale new artistic heights.

Cats, Art and a Tea Garden

I'm making steady progress on The Edition of Three.

Guinea fowl feather has found it's way into the book. Love the spotted perfection.  

Dragonfly, sequins and some threadwork.

Foil discs with blanket stitch.

In other news I wrote a post for the Tea Box blog Still Steeping entitled Cats, Art and a Tea Garden.

 Have a great week.

Senbazuru completed

I started on my Senbazuru project a year ago in Bangalore. 

Through the settling down process in Coonoor the flyers I had collected while in Bangalore kept that connection with my old home. I completed the first 500 around World Peace Day  

Now that 1000 origami cranes have been folded and 25 have been strung together like garlands I've begun hanging on the silver oak trees in the compound around the house.
The Senbazuru project was taken up for the well being and happiness of someone very dear to me and I hope life will give him the opportunities to shine. He is so talented.

I didn't want May to go by before I discovered I had  posted just once all month long. I'm working on my Edition of Three. my next post shall be about the progress I've made. Have quite a bit of catching up to do with the Primitive stitch along as well as the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2016.
Our B n B has been keeping me busy.

I hope June will give me a bit more time to catch up with all the various projects.How has the month been for you?

An edition of three

April simply vanished and I've meant to update this blog but all manner of things kept me from doing so.

 I've begun work on an edition of three small books. I bought these three books and the idea is to change the look and feel of the book with embroidery and collage of natural and man made ephemera.

 There's isn't a well defined end product, It's evolving as I go along. I've begun with adding blanket stitch to the edges of some pages.  

The hope is that the pages of these books can be turned to reveal images, textures or little pockets to sequester a note or a photograph. It should be similar to an amulet, a little charm one can carry in their bag or pocket.

Our BnB has kept us busy and we've met some nice people. The plants in our garden have begun to flower especially the waterlilies - we have a pink and a yellow one, waiting for the third one to flower to see what colour it is. Enjoying the bright sunshine and the clear star filled skies at night.
Hope you're enjoying the sunshine wherever you may be.

March - Joyful World Stitch along

This blog has been neglected I know but March was a busy month. Managing our guest house has kept me on my toes.
There's a lot of planning, stocking, cleaning and scheduling and the high season is yet to kick in!!!!
 The little chick is a little symbol of Easter for me and it's also just like the three little chicks all fluffy and yellow which  hatched in the third week of March.

Easter was spent with family and now it's back to managing Welaro, planning a workshop and a weekend reunion with boarding school chums. All very exciting and hectic.

Have a good week.

CQ block and primitive calender page for February

Here's the Crazy Quilt block for February. A small swatch with hearts from Julie. Appropriate for he month of February I thought. A small bit of rust dyed fabric to keep with the primitive theme.

I've tried a bit of Kutch embroidery along one seam. Had to redo it a couple of times so the blue thread could be interlaced. The block itself measures 4" x 6"

That's the page for February - CQ block on the left and the cross-stitch pattern for the stitch along on the right.

Have a good weekend.
I'm trying to identify constellations in the night sky. Can identify Orion, The Hunter. Need to figure out what else is visible in the night sky over Coonoor.

February - Joyful World stitch along

The February pattern finished just as the month drew to an end.
February had it's ups and downs but it's a been a good month.

January - Crazy Quilt Journal Project - 2016

The crazy quilt block for January. First block for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2016.

My mother helped me pick the fabrics for this block from my stash which includes scraps of pashmina, noil silk and shweshwe fabric sent by a blogger friend from South Africa.
The block is 6 inches x 4.5 inches.

On to February now, must keep up otherwise it gets tough to catch up.
What projects are you involved in?
Here's a peek at the highlights of my week. have a good weekend.

The beginnings of a new fiber book

 I'm participating in a Stitch along and the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2016 this year. I've decided to combine the output of these two challenges in the form of a fiber journal of 2016.

January for the stitch along is done. The little fox reminds me of my pet Brownie which a leopard snatched away last Saturday. Heartbroken but hoping he's in a better place with no predators.  

And here's the layout for the fiber book. The crazy quilt block has been put together, just need to get the embellishing done.

For all those celebrating Chinese New Year - Kong Hei Fatt Choy.
 It's the year of the monkey.    

A primitive calendar stitch along.

 I came across the stitch along on Pinterest and decided to join.

The Joyful World stitch along is going to compliment a crazy quilt block which I'll be making for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2016. I'm planning on making a fabric journal.

January has just past but you can join the stitch along, it won't be difficult to catch up unless of course you have the likes of Pepper and Socks who favour my laptop for a nap or one of their wrestling matches.
Have a good week.

Christmas ornaments

Every year I plan to make an ornament every month and finally in 2016 I've got around to it.

It gets more challenging because I plan to make about fifteen by the middle of April when my classmates from school plan a small three day reunion and I wanted to give each one a little something for the tree or home when Christmas rolls around.

Where I live finding gifts to buy is not easy so one has to develop the skills to make them.

This cute little reindeer is a freebie I found on Pinterest. 

I'm happy to say little Brownie has recovered from the wild boar attack, his wounds have healed and he's a happy puppy once more.

I've yet to start on the crazy quilt block for January for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2016. My mum helped me pick out the fabrics now I have to get started.

Lots of reports of  heavy snow, snow storms and extremely cold weather in various parts of the world. Wishing you a warm and safe place if you happen to be some place experiencing severe winter weather.  

Rust and embroidery

 I'm working on a small collection of cotton silk scarves which incorporate rust dyeing and embroidery.

This is the first one.
 My little doggie Brownie got wounded in an encounter with wild boar yesterday but some herbal medicines are working their magic on him. He should be himself in a week or two.
Hope the new year is treating you well.

Wishing you Peace

        May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness.

I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -  write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can.

And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself. - Neil Gaiman 

In addition I'd like to wish all of you peace, ( too much conflict and strife in the world) happiness, good health and loads of creativity in 2016, which is just around the corner. Goodnight and stay safe.
Until we meet again.

A tringular crochet shawl

I made this soft triangular shawl almost a decade back and it was very large for some reason. Having moved to cooler climes where a warm shawl wrapped around ones shoulders on chilly evenings is so comforting, I decided to resize the shawl. Luckily I still had the pattern book for the shawl.
So that's the resized crocheted shawl.

it has a wide fringe and a bobble edging.
Christmas is just a couple of days away. I hope you get to enjoy the holidays with family and friends.
The Christmas tree was put up for the first time in our new home, hanging the ornaments on the tree is a time to relive moments when and where they were bought and to remember those who had given them. It's a special time dressing up the Christmas tree. Very nostalgic.

The end of the blue phase

I couldn't resist this one. I knew it would be perfect in blue so for the past three months I've been crossing stitches in order to create the nursery rhyme Hey diddle diddle.  

 I added some mustardy yellow as an accent. It was getting too blue. I intend to use some red in the framing so from being all blue it will be a primary colour scheme.  

I like the four different trees in each frame.

The blue phase has concluded for the time being. I feel a rust dyeing phase and a crochet phase coming on and I must get back to my TAST project of creating a journal of my experiences in homesteading using embroidery on paper.
The blue phase has started me off on a container of orts which I hope will grow into a sizeable quantity by the time it's spring and time for the birdies to build nests.
What phase are you exiting or beginning?  Have a good week.  

Changing seasons

It's been a month of relentless showers and being shrouded in mist.   

The monsoons have been torrential, El Nino has compounded matters leaving cities like Chennai flooded. We've been spared the destruction the rain has wrought in Chennai but we've not been left unscathed. Voltage fluctuations has taken a toll on my fridge and the motor to pump water went kaput due to high voltage. We had a night with no running water and had to haul a couple of buckets of water from the rain water harvesting drums to tide us over. The silver lining is the fact that the tea has got sufficient rain and we can expect a good crop in the months to come. 

We're learning to count our blessings - a roof over our heads, warm clothing and food on the table. We have renewed respect for nature and our environment. 

There's talk of more rain but I'm hoping the depression in the Bay of Bengal will dissipate and the gloomy days with frosty nights will give way to bright sunny days and frosty nights. There's only so much rain one can take. Time for change.

In the picture is what remains of a kusudama I had in our home in Bangalore and came to hang at the back door of our home in Coonoor. It's one of the first things I saw each morning while my cup of tea brewed and I stood at the door doing my breathing exercises. Time for change.

Hope the Thanksgiving holidays have been a time of joy with friends and family. Have a wonderful weekend everyone with changing seasons and change in the air.  

(Not sure why there's double spacing I don't think it's something I did - you can't control change!!)

Unexpected visitor

 The retreating monsoon has been putting on a marvellous show with incessant rain, mist and brooding grey skies.
Everybody tries and stays indoors where it's warm and dry except for the bison who won't be deterred by a downpour to come prune the rose bushes and leave the little patch of lawn pock marked with hoof indentations.
So it was a real surprise to find this big beautiful yellow moth resting on the wet terracotta tiles of the verandah this afternoon.
A spot of sunshine amidst all the grey. The yellow was so intense and brilliant. It was large, probably as large as the palm of my hand.The patterning on its wings look like marbling. Most unusual.
I need someone to identify this unexpected visitor.
I thought all moths had a shabby chic thing about them but I've been proved wrong after Miss Sunshine appeared on our verandah.
Have a good weekend.

Stitches which heal.

The last few days has been traumatic. Our pet Blackie got badly gored by a bison early on Friday morning and had to be rushed to the Worldwide Veterinary Service Training Centre for attention.

Needless to say I was a blubbering mess trying to tell the vet what had happened.

Dr. Ashwin is such a champion. He worked a miracle and had Blackie on his feet in three days. Simply unbelievable that Blackie who was traumatised survived after being anesthetized for six hours.  

So I've been dealing with stitches of another sort this week. Stitches which heal.  This may be a gory picture to many who visit here but I'm grateful for the skill and devotion of Dr. Ashwin who has given Blackie a second chance.
There is some amazing work taking place at WVS ( World Veterinary Service) training centre in Aravankadu. If you are looking for an organisation to make a donation to I would urge you to make donations to WVS inorder to enable them to continue the fantastic work they are doing.

Wishing you a week of  miracles and awesomeness.

The Dogs

This sampler has been keeping me busy.

When I came across this sampler on Pinterest I simply had to reproduce it and itgave me reason enough to indulge my blue and white obsession.

The sampler immortalises our pets Blackie and Brownie in cross stitch. They are firm friends and up to mischief all day long. Our flipflops left on the front verandah have been chewed and the straps have been ripped off. They are mutts or Indian dogs.
 Blackie chases away the monkeys and has begun barking a warning should strangers come to our property. Brownie has some Dachshund in him and won't grow too big but he's the cute one and Blackie the handsome one.
We have a third  - Bullet. He's a wee one yet but it won't be long before he joins Blackie and Brownie on their trips around the estate, barking at monkeys and waiting with soulful expressions on the deck for treats.
I've started on another blue and white sampler - it's the nursery rhyme Hey diddle, diddle...

Everyday has it's challenges but the past two weeks have been particularly trying with internet and electricity problems but the pruned tea bushes breaking into bud, the chickens settling into their new coop and Bullet having found a home with us have made it all easier to deal with.
How are all of you doing? Is Autumn making it's presence felt? We're thinking of lighting a fire sometime next week when friends come to stay and in India the festive season has begun. Happy Navaratri and Dusshera to all those celebrating. Have a great weekend.