TAST-Bullion Stitch

Looks like I'm already sliding just when I caught up with TAST.
It feels like my whole life has turned into a whirlwind.
The good news is that R & I made it to the list of twelve shortlisted couples on The Great Driving Challenge.(Drum roll please) We are thrilled to bits.
The next round of the competition is going to be held in Mumbai, which is where we are headed at the end of the week. We have our own blog which we'd like you to bookmark and visit.
Our blog on The Great Driving Challenge site is going to be updated more frequently than this blog for the next week and a half.
Leave us a comment, tip on making home videos, must have list of things for a roadtrip or what you'd like to see on that blog as far as preparations for a roadtrip and mobile blogging go.

Family Time

Just back after two weeks of family time. It was a time for re-discovering a number of things through the eyes of an eleven year old and a seven year old.

Enormous granite boulders on the way to Chennai. Snapped this with my cellphone.

This alfresco lunch will be remembered for the charming setting ,the vanilla milkshake and the quirky plumbing in the restroom. We sat under a big old mango tree in the courtyard of a house which has been converted into a hotel in Pondicherry.
Late evening swim before dinner.Paintball which left a painful mark on one, Lemon grass, Forget-me-not and a camera shy chameleon.

Shell decor for the entryway of a crab's home. Yoga on the beach and cavorting in the surf.Salt pans, the crocodile farm, and drinking tender coconut water on the ECR (East coast road).

There was a birthday in the family and celebrations for the landmark year included a catamaran ride into the sea, beach cricket and dinner with friends and family. Jalapeno the pet dog got its first taste of chocolate cake which there was plenty of and the phone wouldn't stop ringing.

The Great Driving Challenge took up a fair portion of my time like it did R's. It seems to have paid off because we made it to the first shortlist of 100 couples. Thank-you everyone who took the time to vote for us, write testimonials and got your friends and family to vote. R & I are truly grateful. Waiting for the next phase to unfold.

What's your Interior Style

Take the Interior Style quiz by the International School of Colour and Design to discover your personal interior style. My interior style is decribed as Eastern Boho and I'd say its pretty accurate. This is my way of relaxing after a hectic two weeks of vote & testimonial gathering for The Great Driving Challenge.

The first leg of the challenge drew to an end at midnight last night and R & I are delighted with the 646 votes and 33 testimonials we recieved. Thank you everyone who made this possible. The jury is working hard this weekend to shortlist 100 applicants who go into the next round. Come back on monday to know if we've made it to the next round. Keeping our fingers.
crossed.
Thanks again and have a great weekend.

Rerouting for Biryani & The Great Driving Challenge

View Biryani quest in a larger map

We are rerouting our 3,000km trip for The great Driving Challenge so that it begins and ends in Bombay, a requirement by the organisers.

This route has been carefully chosen to include visits to a number of heritage sites which have been on my wish list for a long time as well as providing us with opportunities to sample different types of biryani.

Our Quest for Biryani and The Great driving Challenge has been noticed and we have been featured here and here.

You have until the 17th of July to vote for us if you haven't done so. ( There's a button on the side bar, you can click to vote) and we'd like to thank 412 of you who took the time to vote and passed on the request to family and friends. Some of you have had problems with the voting process and confirming your votes. All these issues are being resolved by the organisers of the challenge who have been overwhelmed by votes
which are pouring in for the participants.
I'd request you to try again after a couple of hours if you haven't been able to vote and for those who don't get a confirmation mail to complete the voting process please check your mail box in a day or two.
Thanks again, hope you have a great week ahead. Cheers!!

Journeys

3,000 km road trip
Getting up early gives me time to sip a hot cup of chai and indulge in some reflection.I've had a couple of such mornings this week and its all no doubt been prompted by The Great Driving Challenge.(TGDC)

The 3000 km road trip of a lifetime in quest of biryani got me thinking about all the other little journeys I'm making at this point.

Let's start with the Great Driving Challenge itself. Its interesting to see that the learning and experience gained from blogging over a year and a half is now connecting in a very significant manner with TGDC. Its also got me signed onto Facebook and Twitter. That's two different journeys there of reconnecting with people and discovering the journeys their lives are on.

Stitch Journeys
There are a couple of stitch journeys too.
Take a Stitch Tuesday on Stitchinfingers is starting up again after a couple of months of R&R which was also meant to be a time for tardy ones like me to catch-up and I'm happy to report I have. So TAST is a journey of creative exploration of embroidery stitches that's starting up again where it left off.If you are interested in joining in, read more about it here.

I have to complete the page for December for The Take It Further Challenge fibre book. Must complete that journey in the next two weeks.

Literary journey
I've been on a "high fibre" literary journey ever since R got back from the States with a little stack of books I had requested him to buy.I've read Knit Lit(too) and have begun on Knit Lit the Third.
My literary journey is taking a new turn with a book club that I'm trying to kick start with Priya's help.For women who are comfortable in their skin,aren't obsessive about counting calories and love the journey a good book provides. We're starting with Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert. Have you taken the Eat, Pray, Love trip? Would love to know what you have to say about it.

MiSh maSh

My journey with collages and cellphone images has been a sort of on and off thing but I've given them a more formal platform by creating Mish maSh and taking one of Shelley Klammer's online workshop's on Deepening Creativity. Thank-you Robyn.

The interlacements of the stitch journeys with blogging or Mish mash with The Great Driving Challenge or the interactions with friends and followers on Flickr, Twitter and Facebook are creating an interesting fabric of experiences and I'm loving every moment of it.You can follow me on Twitter, check it on my sidebar.
If you've read thus far you'll know that armchair travel is something I do plenty of but I am going to be taking a little trip to be with family. I'm not certain how much blogging I'll do but I'll be back in about two weeks with plenty to show and tell. Stay safe and happy journeys to you.

Take a little journey of three clicks of the mouse and vote for us on The Great Driving Challenge.Appreciate it, thanks.

The Great Driving Challenge

As of Wednesday I've gotten myself involved in The Great Driving Challenge and in the process got R involved as well because its for couples.

Organised by Mitsubishi, three lucky couples will enjoy an all expenses paid 12 day driving challenge in the new Mitsubishi Cedia Sports, and one couple wins 10lakh rupees (even half that would be a tidy sum to indulge ones fibre & bead cravings). Anyway the exciting bit for us is the 12 day drive which if we get to do will be fantastic.

We plan to drive from Bangalore to Leh and sample Biryani along the way and you'll get to witness it all right here. Our personal motto for the trip is "We Sverve, Reroute & Detour for Biryani". What's exciting, is the variety of biryani we're likely to encounter. The cultural landscape is going to change pretty dramatically which will have a direct impact on the biryani - the ingredients, method of cooking and flavours all waiting to tantalise the taste buds.

Which brings me to the part where your participation is going to make all the difference. We need your votes and we need names and addresses of places to sample all those fabulous biryanis between Bangalore and Leh.

To vote please follow this 3-step process. 1. Click on the link below 2. Once on the page, click 'Vote' and provide your email id 3.The actual vote is effective only once you've acknowledged it from a confirmation email which you will receive,Check your inbox and click on the confirmation link. Click here to vote.

Let me thank you in advance for taking the trouble to vote for us, can't tell you how much R & I appreciate it.

And the Winner is.......

The winner of the heart sampler I'm happy to announce is Chris Daly. R did the honours and picked the winner.

I'd like to thank all who left a comment and made this little giveaway a memorable one, its motivated me to have more givewaways. So there will be more opportunities to win and hopefully it will also be something you'll want to win!

Chris I'll be emailing you to get your mailing adress right after posting this on my blog so I can send the sampler across to you in Wisconsin.


Have a great week everyone.

MiSh-maSh

Documenting my day - drawing, collaging and snapping pictures with my cellphone.

Its all there in big pictures over on my new blog MISH MASH.



One day left to leave a comment and have a chance to win the heart sampler I'm giving away for my 125th post. Read about it and leave a comment here to win.

Giveaway for my 125th post

This is my 125th post and I decided to have a little giveaway to celebrate.
The hundredth post or a blog anniversary is more traditional occasions for giveaways but I couldn't think of anything for a giveaway at those points.
My current obsession with hearts helped to create this little cross-stitched sampler of hearts
and what a happy coincidence that its also my 125th post.
So if you'd like to win the heart sampler which measures 13.5"x 8.5" and is embroidered with cross-stitch on unbleached cotton, please leave a comment and make sure there's some way I can contact you. You have until Friday 19th June 5pm IST which translates to7.30am EST,12.30pm GMT, 7.30 pm in Hong Kong ,to leave a comment.

Let me take the opportunity to thank all those who subscribe to and follow this blog, as well as all those who visit and leave positive comments which I appreciate and thrive on.

Have a fantastic weekend.

TAST - French Knots

Not a terribly inspired sample of French Knots I'm afraid.
The weekend was great. Watched the movie Changeling. If you haven't seen it then please do. John Malkovich's effortless style rocks and over shadows Angelina Jolie if you ask me.
Met friends from college for lunch, this happens about once a year when one or more of the gang visits Bangalore also serves as an opportunity to check out a new restaurant. It was Caperberry this time and it didn't disappoint. The world of Facebook and plans for a decadent boat ride from Cochin to Kumarakom drinking arrack and stopping for prawns and other local fare were discussed over tenderloin with buttery mashed potatoes and pears stewed in red wine.

Have been working on a little something which is nearing completion and shall be revealed in my next post.So, you will come back won't you, round about this time next week ?

Mapping Moments & Memories

I haven't abandoned this blog. Just been up till late in the night all this month watching the IPL , actually R does the watching while I labour at my second heart sampler.Its almost complete but I decided there's been just too much about hearts on this blog of late and to show you a progress shot would simply bore you to tears. So I've decided to show you a little amulet bag I made up of seed beads and bugle beads.

You didn't know about the beady side of me now did you? This little amulet bag holds passport sized photographs of my nephews so in a way I'm mapping their progress as each year passes. From time to time I remove the contents of the amulet bag and see how the two chubby cheeked babies have grown -one reads Geronimo Stilton, plays soccer and is learning the piano and the other has discovered fashion and the need to be cool ,plays the guitar and both , true to their generation shall not be parted for too long from a device which has a screen and a keyboard be it the television, mac book, ipod, mobile or various gaming devices.

Cross - stitching hearts late into the night got me thinking about ways of mapping my days and the neighbourhood. I have a diary into which movie tickets are stuck,due dates for payment of utilities are noted and little recipes are written down. The diaries are treasured possessions but to have to go through diaries 1997 to 2005 to find the recipe for wine or Syrian beef fry each time I decide to make them was getting a tad tiresome so I decided to start my food journal. For all of you who are saying "recipe book" it's not just a recipe book. Its more, its interesting articles about food, its SMSes exchanged between friends about food and like Ven pongal and Chakra pongal which has become a tradition every year on February 14Th, I make a note of who came to share brunch with us that year.

In the wee hours of today while watching the Champions League match between Barcelona and Manchester United and multi tasking as usual I decided there had to be a better, more elaborate way of mapping moments in my day. It deserves more attention, the diary tradition will continue but a journal to express my thoughts about matters and moments in my day is going to be a new project. Does it deserve a blog all its own? Maybe. In the meantime I'm looking forward to interacting with the Next Gen Nephews in July to understand the "cool" quotient of things. They see things so differently I wonder how they will map their memories?

Extreme Sheep

Heart sampler is now complete.

Ta-dah! the heart sampler I've been working on is complete.

Wondering whether it needs a border to tie it all up neatly. What do you think?

The net has thrown up so many heart motifs which I couldn't just leave as graphs so I've decided to make a second one. I'm sure there will motifs enough to make a hundred but I'll stop at two, besides I have limited wall space to display them on.

Little Red Book Revisited

It's been a while since the Little Red Book was featured. A variety of pages have been completed and I'm pleased to report the Red Book literally bulges and bursts with creativity. Yes, I voted.

Beer and Biryani work well together and these two pages go to prove no opportunity to binge on the duo has been passed up.

The Black Add Gel pen is a must have.

Pigeons roost in the buildings of the apartment complex and I collect feathers on my morning walks.

That's cross -stitch. I must show you the progess I've made with the heart sampler.

Exploring negative and positive. There is a negative which I must show you.

If you are new to the Little Red Book concept then read more about this wonderful collaborative project here and here.

For more eye candy there is a little slide show of pages from the Little Red Book on the side bar of my blog and one on The Plum Tree too.

Then there is the Red Book Exchange which is an integral part of the artistic process which Priya faithfully documents and posts from time to time. It involves food, now if that whets your appetite you can get a peek of the ritual here and here.

Vote for change

Get out that vote.No excuse is good enough. If you're eligible then be the change you want and do your bit.

This line of adverts are fantastic. Visit the web site. There's never been as much awareness created about the need to vote and ones right to vote ever before.Its campaigning by various parties using SMS, recored phone messages, the radio, television and all manner of print media, so you can't say you didn't know! "Simply vote maadi"that's the mantra.

Waiting for April Showers

Its hot with not a cloud in the sky, so as I wait for April showers let me show you what I have been upto.

ATC's for the 2009 swap on Stitchinfingers.I think everybody has recieved theirs so I can show you a picture of what I created.

Gina and Juliette have conspired and created a monthly swap, so if you are a fibre fiend here's your opportunity to explore a new format. More information here. A glass of lime juice is the best thirst quencher when the mercury touches 35 or there abouts and continues to rise. I've been crocheting these glass covers for my glass of lime juice and wondering ...... would anyone buy them if I started an Etsy shop. Would you? ( See Priya I'm actually working towards the Etsy shop ,this is the market survey) Obsessively making graphs of heart patterns. I've got enough to start a second sampler!!!! I've come to conclude with all the hours of blog hopping that the form of the heart is number one in the fibre world. Grapes to make homemade wine. It will get made tonight.

Finally I need to give credit to the invert tool in photoshop which provided me with a couple of hours of fun and the pictures in this post.

ATC swap on Stitchinfingers

Gina set up another swap for the Textile Artists Trading Group on Stitchinfingers .The first in 2009. Let me show you what I've recieved in the mail the past week.Such a pleasant experience because the mail these days usually contains only bills and junk mail.

This ATC made by Susan Monk in the UK has been made with a paper napkin , isn't that amazing. Susan sent a length of bias tape with hearts on it - how did Susan know I'm currently obsessed with hearts?

This one is from Mary Lou in Ontario, Canada. The tiny discs and wheels you see are watch parts.My first swap with someone in Canada.

This is the third ATC from Gina in my modest collection of ATC's.

Food for Thought

Poison on the Platter - Full length @ Yahoo! Video

I for one will be reading labels more carefully and buying more locally.Make the right choices.

Update on the heart sampler

I've been working on the Heart sampler.

Sue , thank-you for the pages of hearts you scanned and sent me, a number of them now feature on my sampler. The little gingham heart and the heart outlined with flowers in the image above as well as the two plaid hearts in the images below are some which Sue sent me. I hadn't thought of leaving some stitches uncrossed in order to create the effect of the warp interlacing with the weft in the plaid and gingham hearts.

I've also discovered that a number of heart motifs feature birds. Its got me wondering about a number of things.

In which period were they created? Who created them, men or women.

Where did these type of hearts featuring birds originate?

What objects were ornamented with these hearts? and why birds?

I've heard of the use of the Sarus Cranes as a symbol of fidelity and loyalty because they pair for life but the birds I've seen don't resemble cranes so which bird is depicted?
What about the heart used primarily in text messages? It's in the heading of the post.(using the little symbol here is creating havoc with the html code which I don't have a clue how to fix and blogger is giving me a hard time today uploading pics etc ) Now back to the little heart symbol. I think whoever created it is so clever and I need to feature it on my sampler, after all its the evolution of the heart symbol.

That's the sampler to date. I'm on the look out for smaller hearts to populate the empty spaces, I'd like it to be chock full of hearts.

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.

Earth Hour

The lights in the common areas of our apartment complex is going to be turned off from 8.30pm to 9.30pm on Saturday and people have been urged to do the same in their apartments.
I read in the newspapers today that India is officially participating for the first time.In Bangalore the Brigade road association, Forum Mall and ITC Hotels are participating to show their support for the cause.
Paula has written about Earth Hour on her blog.
I hope you'll participate.