Week 2 of a Year of Stitches

 9th January. A second black work dragonfly. One is not enough.

10th January. A buttonhole wheel flower.

 11th January.I decided to make a small cluster.

 12th January.

13th January.

 14th January. Needed something,so I decided to add a circle of french knots.

 15th January.
I like the way this spontaneous stitching is coming along.

1 Year of Stitches

The first post this year and I'm excited about participating in the challenge - 1 Year of  Stitches.
In one line the challenge is about filling a 12" hoop with embroidery, a stitch, a line or a motif everyday.

 1st January. I started off with a red bullion stitch rose.

2nd January. Decided to add a ring of french knots and bullion stitches around the rose.

I don't use a hoop for my embroidery so I decided to mark a circle 12"in diameter. I'll be filling this space with embroidery.

 3rd January. Chain stitch around the circumference of the 12" circle.

4th January. I plan to fill the circle with flowers and insects and try my hand at Brazilian embroidery and some Stumpwork so that the forms stand out in relief.   

5th January. I'm just adding elements as I go along. I have no plan.

 6th January.

 7th January. First flower is done.

8th January. We had a lot of dragon flies in October here in Welaro so I decided to embroider a Blackwork dragonfly.

That's one week's worth of embroidery and I'm quite pleased with the way it's progressing.

How has the first week of January been for you? 

Faith, Hope and Love

FAITH

makes all things possible.

HOPE

makes all things work.

LOVE

makes everything beautiful.

May you have an abundance of all three and more everyday in 2017.

I made these little origami boxes and put chocolates in them for guests staying at Welaro. Put it on the breakfast table on 1st morning. They were appreciated.

I'm going to try and post more frequently on this blog. I have one WIP and another project which I've got involved in so there's going to be sufficient fodder for posts.

Good wishes for a happy and fulfilling year ahead.

Snowflake Diaries Stitch along and CQJP 2016 - August.

I haven't been regularly posting in this space I know but it's been quite a roller coaster ride since I posted last.

The year is drawing to a close and I've still got a couple Sep to Dec to complete in the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2016 and the Snowflake Diaries Stitch Along.

I'll leave you with the pages i created for August. 

Stitch along and Crazy quilt block for July.

 These are the pages for July. Flamingos we don't have or get to see in the Nilgiris but I have memories of seeing flamingos in Tanzania.

The Crazy quilt block for July. The fabric with red and gold on the right is from my wedding saree. A beautiful red kanjivaram saree my mother bought for me because she knows I love red.The purple fabric with the embroidered floral motif is a from of traditional Indian embroidery called Kasuti.

Time is racing ahead. The year is coming to an end. This year has been a year in transition - transition between living in an urban area and moving to a rural place, transitioning and using up most of my stock of materials and thread which I acquired while living in Bangalore and looking to my natural surroundings for the materials for my work going forward.
This fabric book will be one which has elements from both worlds. The cross stitch motifs most months with the exception of flamingos are from the world I currently inhabit. We have bears, our pet cat Pepper,our doggie Blackie. it's uncanny how much like their colouring the motifs in the pattern are. I didn't change the colours so that they resemble our pets.
 The crazy quilt blocks are made with fabrics and embellishments from my stash which I acquired while living in Bangalore.
Miles to go before this year ends.

Crazy Quilting and Cross stitching

It's almost a month since I posted on this blog.

A month of cross stitching and crazy quilting. Below are the fruits of my labour.

 CQ block for May.

Crazy quilt block for June.

That's the CQ block and cross stitch pattern for June as they would appear, side by side in the final book.

May and June - Joyful World stitch along

 May and June patterns in the Joyful World stitch along are now complete.

Almost all the animals featured are part of the environment I live in. I love this bear. My attempts at bee keeping have ended with the bees buzzing off and leaving me with an empty hive. My neighbour has about five hives and has been visited by a bear!

Rust and Roses

Rust and Roses is a cotton silk scarf. Rust dyed and pale lilac scarf further embellished with embroidery. 

Part of a small collection of rust dyed and embroidered cotton silk scarves.

April - Joyful World Stitch along

 It's almost the end of August and I've just completed the pattern for April.

Here's the crazy quilt block and the stitch along pattern for April.

Two weeks and no signs of Socks.
My next project is to start drawing the flowers, birds and insects which I see on a daily basis here in the Nilgiris. I'm hoping to create a colouring book.

Socks

This is Socks our handsome and lovable moggy.
Socks has been missing since last Sunday night.7th August. It's been a week and I'm getting a bit worried.
I've been told they can wander off in search of a mate and that they come back, but a week? we also live in jungle country to make matters worse.
I've been reading on the net that some tom cats can wander 10 miles and come back after months.
I call out to Socks and hope he's safe and well and will get back once he's done with sowing wild oats.
I miss the warmth of his soft cuddly body curled up on my lap and the little depression between  the two pillows on our bed  lies vacant. It was his favourite spot to nap during the day.
Come home Socks.

Do you have Tom cats who've gone walk about? How long was it before your pet came back?

Give your Dreams Wings to Fly

Give your Dreams Wings to Fly. A flag book.

The back cover.

The flags are pigeon feathers which I collected during my morning walks in Bangalore.  

Another view.
I hope you recognise opportunities to give your dreams wings to fly.

It's been a busy week with guests at Welaro.

March and April CQ blocks

 I visited my mum and dad in July and came back with all manner of bits and pieces of fabric, saree borders , bits of embroidery from a peasant top which my mum made for my sister and me as kids.
 All perfect for the  Crazy Quilt blocks I was making for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2016.

This is the March CQ block which is beside this cross stitch piece for the Joyful World Stitch along.

The pink and gold zari brocade piece is part of the border of one of my mum's sarees. It's falling apart but I've added some embroidery in blue chain stitch tohold the piece together.

The blue fabric is cotton dyed with indigo.   

This is the CQ block for April.
Since acquiring all these precious bits of fabric I've begun to put together the CQ blocks in no time at all. So instead of stitching the pattern for the month from the Joyful World stitch along first and then agonising over the CQ block, things have gotten so much easier. I hope I'll be able to catch up, it's almost August and I've only completed the pages until March.
Have a good week. Hope you catch up with whatever needs catching up with.  

A Chinese Thread Book

A Chinese Thread Book or Zhen Xian Bao is an origami book made by the Miao people of China for the purpose of storing thread and needles.

I've made mine with paper like they are traditionally and I've decorated the front and back covers with paper embroidered motifs.

 The inside is simple in comparison. I wanted the clever little origami pockets to take center stage so I kept the embellishments to a minimum.  

There are seven pockets in all. I've read that they go up to as many as fifteen pockets. That's a lot of thread in someone's stash. 

The back cover.

Would you like to make a Zhen Xian Bao? I followed the instructions in this video tutorial  by Paper Kawaii to make mine. The embridered paper motifs are my own creations.

Have a great week.

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.