Project 21

Sometime during the 21 day lockdown that we went through here in India, there was a challenge posted by  Bombay Sapphire on Instagram. Stir Creativity. 

 The challenge required the use of 21 objects, 21 lines to create a drawing or painting, 21 cuts on a fabric to make a garment, or  a 21 words poem. Stir your creativity using 21 of anything.
I used 21 small brown paper envelopes and put into them prayers my mum had handwritten for me, recipes which I tried and had been shared during the lockdown, origami which I had done and other little things.   

25th March - prayer, 26th March - recipe for Lime pickle, 27th March - modules for an origami kusudama.

28th March -  shopping list, 29th March - my mother in law's recipe for Molaga Podi, 30th March - handwritten prayer.  

31st March - recipe for Pineapple Upside Down, 1st April - Origami hearts, 2nd April - handwritten prayer. 

3rd April - Recipe for sun dried tomato pickle, 4th April - modules for a pinwheel kusudama, 5th April - recipe for slider buns. Oops! forgot to stitch around the edges. 

6th April - sampler of Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch for week one of the community stitch challenge organised by TextileArtist.org and led by Sue Stone, 7th April - handwritten prayer, 8th April - a schoolmate's recipe for Krackjack biscuit pudding.

9th April - shopping list, 10th April - handwritten prayer, 11th April  recipe for green gram or pachai payaru payasam.

12th April - origami Easter chicks, 13th - my mum's recipe for pancakes, 14th - modules for an origami kusudama. Everything used for this challenge came from my stash.  

The little origami hearts were made for the Hearts for Hope. The challenge continues on instagram if you wish to join in and contribute an image of a heart you discover or create. it could be a heart shaped stone you find,  heart shaped cookies you bake or a heart tattoo someone you know has. You never know where you'll find a heart or like me create a heart using whatever you have on hand  - a length of wire perhaps?    Post your picture on Instagram and use the following hashtags #2020heartsofhope #mendingmayhem #isewlation   

This recipe is very special. I lost my mother in law to cancer on the 16th of April and this is one of two recipes I have from her. The other recipe is for dosa batter.Now each time I make either molaga podi or dosa batter I shall make it to honor her memory.Sorry about the spacing, can't seem to fix it. We continue to be in lockdown until May 3rd. The question now is whether it's going to be extended beyond that date or if there will be an easing of restrictions. 
 How are you coping with lockdowns and quarantines? I'm going to be participating in #MendMay, starts on the 1st of May. Check out @visiblemend on Instagram if you're interested. Until the next post
 stay home and stay safe.  

21 Day Lockdown in India - April 8th- April 14th

Third week of the lockdown.

The jacaranda trees are blooming and the hillsides appear spray painted with bursts of purple. I got to enjoy the sight each time we drove into town to buy groceries. Nature won't be stopped.

Ecclesiastes 3:1- 8 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones,and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.  

Now in lockdown times is really the best time to recalibrate, make changes in our lifestyles, ponder and practise thrift, sustainability and empathy. Work with our hands, plant a garden, grow your own food.

Take time to notice the little things.  

Time to get back to nature and learn from nature. The days are warm and delicious, we had some rain which brought out the leeches. The one most affected is Ben the St. Bernard who leaves bloody paw prints on the floor. 

Lazy days.   

For Easter a neighbour brought us hot cross buns and I made these origami hen in a basket to give to neighbours.

The overgrown tea had to be cut with shears and thrown on the ground. The factories weren't accepting it. The bison got to enjoy the tender tea leaves.

Now in the mornings one hears the clack, clack, clack of the metal shears and tea pluckers work. 

 The local bakery started baking bread, hurrah! after almost two and a half weeks.

It was so good to eat chicken curry with bread.

Everybody seems to be baking bread during the lockdown. Here's an article in Conde Nast Traveller India, which talks about stressed out Indians who have taken to baking bread during the lockdown.  

There's a flurry of recipes being exchanged.

Here's the first recipe I got related to bread and baking.

Tehmina Yadav's recipe for Slider Buns

2 Tbsps. active dry yeast

1 cup + 2 Tbsps. warm water (110 - 115 degrees)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon salt

3 to 3 and 1/2 cups all - purpose flour.

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.

Add oil and sugar, let stand for 5 minutes.

Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 3 - 5 minutes.

Do not let rise.

Divide into 12 pieces, shape each into a ball.

Place 3 inches apart on greased baking sheets.

Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Bake at 425 degrees for 8 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

For the moment I'm just collecting the recipes. Quite a few because # QuarantineCooking chain mails are now doing the rounds on Whatsapp. 

We whatsapp our list to the grocery store and we go and pick it up later. We even had a small pick up come to our gate with fruit and vegetables. Queues outside shops with circles or squares painted on the ground, three feet apart in which one must stand and wait ones turn. masks must be worn when one steps outside the house. 

Three weeks into the lockdown people are organising themselves  to gets essentials up to the mountains.The government has failed to ensure channels and systems are in place to facilitate movement of essential goods and services. Unprecedented situation but a neighbouring state is proactive, leveraging government machinery and the expertise of the citizens to manage the pandemic.

We will survive. We have survived other disasters.  

21 Day Lockdown in India - Week 2 - 1st April - 7th April

Sometime in March I learnt about #Mendmarch and decided to jump in. Did about three prompts but it was fun. I began work a t-shirt mending the holes with patches cut from old underwear. More holes to be mended on this t-shirt.  

@visiblemend is going to be hosting #MendMay on Instagram so maybe you'll think of joining in.

My own challenge of making a kusudama for everyday of the 21 day lockdown is coming along slowly. Some take more than a day to complete. Have been looking for simpler ones with twelve modules or so to make so I can complete one everyday.

This challenge will extend beyond the 21 day lockdown but I shall complete it and make mobiles with the finished kusudamas and give them to people as a belated Easter gift? once the lockdown is lifted.

We had our first April showers.

Netflix and Whatsapp calls with family have kept us going.

TextileArtist.org started a community Stitch Challenge two weeks back, and me being me couldn't resist getting involved. 

Week 1 was Sue Stone who asked participants to choose one stitch and explore the stitch in four,  3 inch squares. A sampling exercise to generate textures and patterns.  I chose Up and Down Buttonhole stitch. 

Week 2 the challenge was led by Cas Holmes to look for an object be it a letter, photograph, garment etc which holds memories and create a collage combining paper, fabric and stitch. I haven't started on this challenge but it's perfect for a project involving tea and my family which has been simmering for some years now but this is exactly what I needed.

There's a Facebook page where people are uploading pictures of their creations. 

Are you taking up the #100dayproject2020? I want to and it's already the 7th and I haven't decided what the subject for my 100 day practise is going to be.I seem to be catching up on so many different challenges, it's becoming a challenge in itself. Sigh! I hope to have decided and got started by the time the post for Week 3 is done.

Take care and stay safe.

21 day lockdown in India. Week 1 - 25th March to 31st March

When 2020 began nobody thought we would be united by a virus which would stealthily take over and turn our lives upside down. India has gone into lockdown mode from the 25th of March to the 14th of April.

 Life for me hasn't changed dramatically because we live in a relatively isolated area.Social isolation was a way of life here in Lamb's Rock.We socialised by choice. We are lucky that we don't feel restricted and we won't suffer from cabin fever because we can step out into the garden, play with the pets and go for walks. Roads have been blocked and the forest and nature are reclaiming spaces which man had taken over steadily. This road would have seen a steady flow of cars and vans taking people to Lamb's Rock viewpoint from ten in the morning to four in the evening.Now it's peaceful all day long.

We have leopards in the area but they used to come out late in the evening once it was dark but since the lockdown they are venturing out when it's still light. We have to be extra careful about the dogs. 

The wild boar and bison are also roaming free. Our dogs go crazy barking a them. 

Less traffic, less people around which amounts to less noise pollution and so we hear so many bird calls right through the day and not just in the morning.

My garden is blooming. It is such a joy to observe buds appear and then over a period of a few days they bloom. It's a wild unplanned garden so the surprises are plenty.

I've decided to make a kusudama for everyday of the lockdown, following videos on Youtube.

Day1 - I made a 30 module Kusudama Dodecahedron.
Day 2 - A Kusudama cube with 8 modules
Day 3 - Little Turtle Kusudama
Day 4 - I was finishing up the little turtle.
Day 5 - Crystal Star kusudama by Denver Lawson and the tutorial by dutchpapergirl.
Day 6 - 12 module kusudama by ichiro999100. This one has triangular depressions.
Day 7 - 12 module Pinwheel Kusudama.I use the same module to make a pinwheel cube.
I'm using old Tupperware flyers for the paper. Part of trying to live a more sustainable life.  Recycling what I already have, mending and buying less. Buying only what is necessary.
Sharing these origami creations on a Facebook page set up by my fellow artists and designers called CoronArt. I also update my Instagram account @millionlittlestitches.

We went out to town to buy groceries on the 30th. mainly to buy meat for our dogs Ben and Blackie who have no understanding of a lockdown. A friend procured some meat for us,which was most fortunate. I hope in a week or ten days the butcher's shop will reopen.

The new accessory is the face mask. If people can't get a mask which incidentally is out of stock , a scarf or bandana covers the nose and mouth. 

The unfortunate side of the lockdown down is the plight of people producing perishable products like these beautiful Liliums. A hundred bunches of Liliums which couldn't make it to market were left with a friend to distribute.I was fortunate to get a bunch, their fragrance fills the house.
Needless to say the 21 day lockdown is going to be painful and hard for everybody and the pain will continue for a prolonged period long after the 21 day lockdown comes to an end.

How are you dealing with Covid 19?
Thanks to the internet I've been in two Zoom calls with family and friends. Zoom calls are all the rage at the moment. Have you had the opportunity to participate in a Zoom call?

It's time to introspect. How are we going to lead our lives once the pandemic is over? I think I need to grow more vegetables and fruit.
Be more thrifty and smart about how I use resources and try to lead a more sustainable life. A more mindful life.
Stay safe.

Patch Exchange 2020

@gatherwhaspills each year organises a patch exchange.

Here's the little patch my patch pal sent me from South Carolina.

This was what I sent her.

Fabric Page Swap 2020 - February

It's been a at least five years since I got involved in a fabric book page swap. So in January this year I decided to test the waters and see if there would be a few people interested in a fabric book page swap. I put it out there on a fabric book group that I'm a member of on Facebook. Over a couple of weeks there was a group of eleven ladies. A couple of us were together on a swap called The Story of the Traveling Pages and one other swap.There are three participants from the Netherlands, two from Australia, four from the UK,one from Canada and one from India. 

       

The first page I created was for Catherine in Australia who chose the theme Steampunk. I was dealing with this theme for the first time. Being February and Valentine's day, I decided to create a Steampunk heart. I've used a beer bottle cap, a couple of tabs from beer cans and an orphan key. A couple of rusty bits and pieces from my rust dyeing experiments.   

I received a page from Marja in the Netherlands. Here's the page which Marja created for me based on my theme - Cats.

It's been an exciting start of the new decade. A number of things on the fiber and fabric horizon, all to be revealed in good time.

Have a great weekend.

Making a Needlebook. A tutorial.

A needlebook for my mum. So I decided to document the process and make a little tutorial for anyone who might want to make something similar.

It's quick and simple, easy to personalise and I made the needlebook while watching episodes of The Crown.

The materials required are
1. Iron on paper fusing.
2. Felt for pages of the needlebook
3. Fabric for the cover of the needlebook. I used a printed fabric made by Julie B. Booth which I won as a giveaway while participating in Roy G Biv and a piece of cotton fabric from my stash.
4. Sequins to decorate the edges of the cover.
5. A length of ribbon
6. Sewing needles
7. Scissors

Cut out two pieces of felt measuring 8.50 inches x 6.00 inches.

The felt for the pockets measure 6 inches x 3 inches.
Curve the four corners or you could leave them straight.

Use embroidery thread and do blanket stitch around the two pieces of felt. Place the felt pieces at either end of one large piece of felt and join them so that a pocket is formed.

   

For the cover cut two pieces of fabric. I chose the heart print fabric for the outside and a solid colour for the inside. Both pieces of fabric measure 9.50 inches x 7.00 inches.

Cut  2 pieces of paper fusing which measure 9 inches x 6.50 inches.

Iron on the fusing. Decorate the outer cover with embroidery.  I outlined a few of the heart motifs with chain stitch.

My mum's favourite colour is pink. So I used pink wherever possible. :)

Then fold in the excess fabric and do a line of blanket stitch to finish the edges of the covers. I added sequins while finishing the edges of the outer cover with blanket stitch.

Put the outer and inner covers together with the fused sides facing each other and whip stitch the two together with embroidery thread.

Take the two felt pages and do a line of running stitch along the center of the two pages to hold them together. With a length of ribbon go through the felt pages and the cover. Secure with a knot on the outside.

Pockets for keeping thread, lace or a small packet of buttons. 

The finished needlebook.

If you do follow this pattern do share the finished needlebook. I'd live to see how you have decorated the pages or changed things to improve the pattern.

Have a great weekend.

Joyma embroiders a panel for the #25 million stitches project

My mum who's 82 was excited about participating in the #25 million stitches project.

She was my first embroidery teacher and always had something to embroider or sew. Her home has so many embroidered touches - embroidered guest towels, cocktail napkins, bedcovers to name a few.

She began work on her panel in Chennai at a time when she had to pack up her home and move to an assisted living facility in another state. She took her embroidered cushions along with her.

It was a difficult time. Being uprooted is not easy. Embroidering this panel helped to come to terms with the move.

In her new home she continued work on the panel along with her attendant - Omana who is fond of sewing and embroidery.

Embroidery has helped my mum and Omana bond together.

I'll be posting three panels to Sacramento next week.

Happy Pongal 2020.

Happy Pongal from our home to yours.

First festival of the year.

A big thank you to Selvi who got up early in the morning to create this beautiful kolam at the main gate.

Had the good fortune to share a traditional Pongal meal with friends and neighbours.

There was ven pongal, chakra pongal, crisp hot vadas, coconut chutney and sambar on the menu. 

Nothing like a hot meal on a cold day. I have Rosalin our cook to thank for a scrumptious meal.

A New Year and a New Decade

I had meant to post at the beginning of the year but it was not meant to be. Better late than never. Let me wish all those who follow or chance upon this blog, a happy new year and the beginning of a marvellous new decade. I hope there will be innumerable occasions for you and your family to be grateful for the blessings showered on you. Stay blessed.

A Second Panel for #25millionstitches

Here's the second panel I've completed for the #25 million stitches public engagement art installation.

Unlike the first panel I just began stitching. There was no concept. It just evolved one line of embroidery after another. 

Safari, the cat at my mum's place was witness to the creation of this panel, so it seemed only right to have him in most of the photographs.

I find the back pretty interesting. 

25 Million Stitches has a brand new website https://www.25millionstitches.com/. Learn more about the project and you might consider creating a panel. I've got my mum interested and she has started work on a panel.
Have a great weekend.

The Crafties - Blogger Awards Nominee

At the end of October while checking my mail on my phone I was surprised to receive a mail from Love Crafts to say my blog Million Little Stitches had been nominated for a Craftie.

I was simply blown away, it took time to sink in but now I'm plain delighted.   

Million Little Stitches has been nominated for the Stylish Stitching Blog 2019 and I'm requesting all those who follow this blog or happen to visit to take a few minutes to cast their vote for Million Little Stitches.

Voting can be completed in a few simple steps

1. Click on this link.

2.  Go to the catergory - Stylish Stitching Blog 2019

     Million Little Stitches - Vote for Maya is the third blog listed and click to choose.

3. Complete the form with your name and email address and click done.  

Thank you for taking the time to vote. I really appreciate it.

Voting closes on 18th November 2019.

Announcements will be made on 2nd December 2019.

Thank you once more.