13 Woodhouse Road

FQS Bella Parade : Season 2 : Week 1 Winners!

2012-05-27T23:06:00.003+05:30

Welcome to the highly anticipate moment of the week...

This is when I announce winners!

Ready for the news?

Winner # 1

Glacier

The winner is

Katherine

Here's a link to her board

Winner # 2

Clementine

The winner is
Angela
Here's a link to her board

Winner # 3

Plum

The winner is
Linda
Here's a link to her board

Winner # 4

Graphite

The winner is

Jessica

Here's a link to her board

And now coming to the MOST exciting winner

Winner of the Bella Solids 2012 FQ Bundle is

B Greene

Congratulations to all the winners!

Please email me/Emily with your address so that your prizes can be on their way to you!

Ready for another week of fun?

From this week instead of you leaving comments to enter the draw... We'll be putting in forms for you to fill in the post itself... I hope it simplifies things...

Fill the following form to win another FQ Bundle of the 2012 Bella Solids!

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And for those who do not win, you can always buy Bella Solis at 20% off using the code BELLAP12 at Fat Quarter Shop

Cheers!

Giving up something!

2012-05-27T21:37:00.001+05:30

When you juggle too many things at a time, it becomes difficult to enjoy them - even though you start doing them because you enjoy them in the first place...

Something like that is happening to me...

I have too many things going on at the moment!

And to stop myself from being a nervous wreck, I decided to give up one of them!

I resigned from IMQG today. I have given them a notice of almost 2 months, and hopefully, by the end of that time, we'll find someone who's capable of handling things on that front!

I know, I'm the founder of IMQG... I started it with a vision, to provide a global platform to Indian quilters! I wanted, and still want, to help them get the exposure they really deserve... I believe that India has a rich cultural heritage which also includes quilting... I also believe that here, craftsmen do not make money from their crafts... Its the middlemen and the merchants that actually earn money... The maker is unknown and 90% of the times poor... do you know the name of the person who designs the wonderful block prints of Baroda? Or the beautiful Kalamkari? Do the Kantha sarees carry a label with the name of the craftman on them along with the shop's name? That is what I wanted to (and still want to) change!

I wanted to be the hand that helps the unknown artists climb onto a global platform...

And I'm really looking for someone who shares my vision to take charge of the group...

I have to step down because, I'm feeling too stressed out at the moment... And I know that inspite of being a good quilter, I'm not a very good administrator... What IMQG needs right now is a good administrator.

The energy that goes into all the decision making and execution is beyond my personal limit at the moment...

I hope you will agree with me and support me when I say that it is for the best that I resign and be there to guide the new leader, rather than go on leading, get stressed and make mistakes and fall on my face!

How to win 20 half yards of Bella Solids...

2012-05-27T00:24:00.002+05:30

I wasn't joking earlier when I told you guys that you could win a HALF YARD bundle of the 2012 Bella Solids!

All 20 of them!

Thats a total of 10 yards of fabric!!!

Isn't that awesome?

Now let me tell you HOW you can win it!

Every week, we will be having a guest blogger talk about fabric combos, like Jane did yesterday. The same blogger will also be doing another post, a tutorial for something that can easily be made in a day!

Some time today or early tomorrow, the post on Jane's blog will be live.

There will be 5 such tutorials in all.

To win the HY Bundle from Fat Quarter Shop you have to make at least one of the 5 tutorials featured.

You're free to make small changes (sizes etc) to suit your purpose, but you will have to actually MAKE something to enter the contest.

The Contest will open from tomorrow - May 27, 2012 and will go on till July 1, 2012.

To enter your entry you will have to write a blog post about what you made including pictures of it and leaving the link to it in the comment! On any of the posts titleFQS Bella Parade Contest"

The 5 guest bloggers along with someone from Fat Quarter Shop will be the judges. The winner will be declared on July 8, 2012.

So ready for some awesome fun???

Meanwhile, keep on pinning to keep on winning!

Remember, I'll be drawing winners for this week tomorrow evening (my time). So you still have about 24 hours to enter the current giveaways!

The lost heroes of the week!

2012-05-26T15:57:00.000+05:30

Like I told you guys yesterday, DH's camera and Dad's laptop had turned heads in opposite directions...

But today I found a way to connect the two and so I'll feature all the 3 FMQ designs I did for the week...

The first is something I'm absolutely proud of...

When I decided to opt for the feather design, I told myself, "You're a fool, Shruti! Its too big a bite for your mouth! You wont be able to do it"

But then I decided I'll always have the other half of the half yard that I have of this color, so I must try!

And I'm really glad that I did... It has boosted my confidence 300%!

I'm so ready to take on anything... and anyone!

LOL!

The next design was the Stars!

This would be a wonderful design for a child's quilt! I'd not make the moon again, given another chance...

This would look beautiful on a sky blue quilt!

The third design is also one of my favorites...

This was the first time I did these leaves, and I loved it! Though there are some funny looking ones out there, but overall I feel its a good job for a first timer!

What do you think?

BTW stay tuned for the next post sometime in the evening...

I'll tell you how you can win a HALF YARD BUNDLE of the 2012 Bella Solids!!!

Am I not your new Best Friend?

FQS Bella Parade : Season 2 : Guest Post # 1

2012-05-25T23:05:00.000+05:30

Today, on Bella Parade we have a very special guest...

She is one wonderful lady with a passion for quilting...

She not just quilts, but runs a wonderful quilt store too!

She has made over 50 DIFFERENT block designs in the past year!

She has hosted the most fun(ny too) contest last year!

She hosts an awesome and complicated hexagon flower swap!

She is

Quilt Jane

Jane Davidson!

I've known Jane almost ever since I started quilting... Her scope of work has always been tremendous and her energy, endless! She's an inspiration to me! She replies to EVERY email within 24 hours! Now thats something I have to learn from her...

I'm so glad that she agreed to be a guest for the Bella Parade... Today, on her blog she will be talking about fabric choices for the 4 colors of the week...

Hop on to her blog to check out what she has selected! And dont forget to tell her that you hopped from here!

Cheers!!!

FQS Bella Parade : Season 2 : Post # 4

2012-05-25T22:54:00.000+05:30

I missed this one yesterday! I haven't yet figured out how to use the Auto-Schedule option in the new blogger, I cannot find a lot of things that were there before...

So here it is...

Welcome to day # 4.

The color of the day today is

Graphite

Graphite is a wonderful neutral and I feel it will blend with a lot of colors.

Here are some awesome finds on the www that have used this color

The first is a stunning monochromatic quilt made by Jamie of Creating Really Awesome Free Things! I would really urge you guys to visit her blog and check out the details of this quilt!

Next is a quilt I have been adoring for quite some time now... Actually ever since Kate put it up on her blog!

I love the quilt! It is a fabulous piece of art. Modern and minimal. And mot of all, I love the gif monster that she created! And no I dont know how to make it. If you need, I can ask her though! Or go ahead and ask her, I'm sure she'll be glad to tell you how she did that. Go check out the blog of the girl from the Fat Quarterly team...

Graphite looks great as a neutral...

Desley from Addicted to Quilts has made this gorgeous piece with just charm squares in black and white!

Used as a sashing for a colorful quilt, this color absolutely brings out the different shades! And whats more, it doesn't show dust as readily as white or black! Yay to less frequent washing!

Here's a fabulous example of it...

Catherine from Blue Square Quilting has made this beauty!

Now I come to the most exciting part... Choosing fabrics to go with Graphite!

I have realized that in the past 2 years, I'm drawn more towards the co-ordinated bundles - mostly the FQ Bundles (more due to their affordability)

So here are the bundles I'd pick to work around the Graphite Bella Solid

Flea Market Fancy (My latest purchase for a special quilt!)

Peak Hour (most probably my next purchase, I love this line especially the news classifieds print!)

Reunion (another line of fabric that is colorful and bright and fun! Dont you love that buntings print?)

What would you choose to work with the Graphite?

Coming to the FMQ design of the day, I did leaves pattern on my piece of graphite today... But my dad's laptop (I'm still at my parent's place - will go home next week) and DH's camera dont get along well, it seems... And the Laptop is not ready to copy any pictures from the camera...

Will work out how to get them to work together or will get the photos onto a CD from a professional...

My design was inspired by the quilting on this quilt from the book Block Party... This beauty has been made by Kristen.

Do you want to win ONE YARD of graphite?

Here's how you can do it...

1. Create a pinboard with the name "FQS Bella Parade : Season 2"

2. Pin at least one image with the "Color of the Day" onto the board. The image has to be sewing related. Notions, sewing rooms, finished products anything.

3. Leave a comment with a link to your board.

4. The winners will be selected randomly and announced in the weekend giveaway post.

5. All entries will qualify to win the Bella Solids 2012 Fat Quarter Bundle in the weekly giveaway.

6. Pin it! And you could win it!

*****************************

FQS Bella Parade : Season 2 : Post # 3

2012-05-24T00:09:00.002+05:30

Its day # 2 of the FQS Bella PArade : Season 2!

And the color of the day today is

Bella Solids Plum

Though not as versatile as the other colors we have featured earlier, this is a lovely color in itself!

It has an air of sophistication...

Quilts made from this color make a statement!

Mostly paired with white, this color can also be used as a neutral in pink shaded quilts!

Natalia Bonner from Piece N Quilt has quilted this beautiful quilt made by Michelle. Both the colors as well as the quilting is great!
(I tried to find a link to Michelle's blog/flickr, but could not. Michelle if you're reading this, I must say this is one fab quilt you've made there!)

Jessica, the Sewbot, made this gorgeous quilt that was featured in 100 days of Modern Quilting. I absolutely love her use of the Plum as the neutral against the colorful charm squares!

Using this color in a quilt, reminds me of just one collection!

The Echo Collection by Lotta Jansdotter

Unfortunately the collection has sold out from the Fat Quarter Shop, But I'd love to try it out with the soon to be released Bella Collection too!

What do you say?

Would you like to pair it with the same?

And about today's quilting design, I've chosen to quilt my solid with stars and clouds, not to forget the moon

too!

This design would look lovely on a kids quilt!

Now would you like to win ONE YARD of Plum?

Here's how you can do that...

1. Create a pinboard with the name "FQS Bella Parade : Season 2"

2. Pin at least one image with the "Color of the Day" onto the board. The image has to be sewing related. Notions, sewing rooms, finished products anything.

3. Leave a comment with a link to your board.

4. The winners will be selected randomly and announced in the weekend giveaway post.

5. All entries will qualify to win the Bella Solids 2012 Fat Quarter Bundle in the weekly giveaway.

6. Pin it! And you could win it!

By the way, somehow the post I had scheduled for publishing about the launch giveaway was not published.

So here's the announcement

Up for grabs is ONE FQ BUNDLE of the 2012 Bella Solids from the Fat Quarter Shop

Here's how you can win it?

1. Create a pinboard "FQS Bella Parade : Season 2" and leave a comment with the link.

2. Leave another comment with an invoice number if you have shopped at the Fat Quarter Shop in the past 3 months. If you make a purchase today, you will qualify for the draw too!

(You get 20% off on Bella Solids, dont forget that! Use the code BELLAP12 at checkout)

3. Blog about the Bella Parade, leave a link.

4. Be a follower of 13 Woodhouse Road and Mommy's Naptime and leave a comment.

Good luck girls!

FQS Bella Parade : Season 2 : Post # 2

2012-05-23T00:33:00.002+05:30

Hi guys, welcome to the day #2 of FQS Bella Parade : Season 2

The color of the day today is

Clementine

This is a bright punch orange solid that looks absolutely gorgeous in quilts, if used by itself or with other bright colors too...

Here are some stunning uses of Clementine in quilts!

I recommend you check out this wonderful orange quilt by Leah from Green Bee!

Or the lovely stacked quilt by Jenni from Simple Beans! I love how she made the back, by purposely not buying enough fabric! That inspired her to be adventurous!

Erin from Bittle Bear used Elizabeth Hartmans tutorial to make the blocks for this fabulous quilt of hers! The combination with grey (Kona Charcoal here) is absolutely stunning and breath taking!

Leila from Leila Bad Blood on etsy has used recycled fabric and linen to create this masterpiece! A littl dash of orange in this bright purple quilt has really perked up the quilt!

Jan of Crazy Dog Lady (I love the name!) has used orange along with other autumn colors to give this quilt a punch! You must see the awesome quilts she has made!

Ariel from Pocketful of Pinwheels has used just a dash f orange in this subdued colorful quilt which looks absolutely adoring! Though her shop is on vacation, you can find her on spoonflower.

I'd really appreciate if you guys stopped by the respective blogs and/or etsy shops and dropped a line to the makers of the wonderful quilts!

Now I come to my most dreaded, yet exciting part! Picking a fabric bundle surrounding this color!

I am in a festive mood at the moment, with the preparations of my brother's engagement party in full swing! So naturally my choices will reflect that...

Here's my bundle

Retro Basics Clementine Slender Stripe

Retro Basics Clementine Bunting Scallop

Retro Basics Clementine Lolli Dot

Bella Solids Dusk

Bella Solids Sunshine

Bella Solids Lime

Do you like the bundle? What would you combine it with?

And now time for the FMQ Design of the day!

I have decided to begin the series with one of the most complicated designs I have ever tried my hand at!

The feather is something I have dreaded for a long time! I decided to try it out for today! And after 3 hours of absolute fun, a lot of unpicking and about 6 episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S on DVD, this 18" x 18" piece was done!
I used this tutorial by Diane Gaudynski on the FMQ Challenge on Sew Cal Gal's blog. She makes it look so doable!

Now would you like to win ONE YARD of Bella Solids Clementine?

Here's how you can do it!

1. Create a pinboard with the name "FQS Bella Parade : Season 2"

2. Pin at least one image with the "Color of the Day" onto the board. The image has to be sewing related. Notions, sewing rooms, finished products anything.

3. Leave a comment with a link to your board.

4. The winners will be selected randomly and announced in the weekend giveaway post.

5. All entries will qualify to win the Bella Solids 2012 Fat Quarter Bundle in the weekly giveaway.

6. Pin it! And you could win it!

FQS Bella Parade : Season 2 : Post # 1

2012-05-22T00:09:00.002+05:30

Hi guys, today is the begginning of the FQS Bella Parade : Season 2...

The first post is already up on Emily's blog.

The color of the day is

Glacier

Glacier SKU# 9900-207

Read more about the color and the way to win ONE YARD of the color here.

Bloggers Quilt Festival

2012-05-19T09:24:00.003+05:30

Its time for the bloggers quilt festival hosted by the lovely Amy of Amy's Creative Side

This year I've decided to revisit my favorite quilt of last year... Stitches and Color!

This quilt has evolved from the process... I had ordered a layer cake of Malka's fabric A Stitch in Color by Moda long before it apperared in the US market...

I wanted to make something memorable from it...

For 3 days I was just staring at the bundle...

And the none day, I cut it up into strips and sewed them together in sets of 6! And then cut the strips randomly into pieced strips...

I tried to photograph them with the pieces in the air, but gave up after 50 snaps all with me looking funny and strips either all out of the photo frame or on the table!

My original plan was to piece the stacked coins randomly with white solid in between... But then I cleaned my sewing room and the table looked like this...

My fabric lay randomly near a solid red that I had obtained from the local market...

And I thought, THAT will be the perfect "neutral" for my quilt! So the top was done!

When I was done with the top, I fretted a lot over how I'd quilt it... And then I just looked at the quilt and decided on quilting it with Free Motion straight lines perpendicular to each other in alternating neutral rectangles...

Here's the finished quilt! I'm so proud of this one!

This was the first time I played with photographing my quilt too!

I also cut into the nummers fabric by ikea that I was hoarding for a while for the back...

I really love this quilt! Though I have listed it in my Etsy shop, I'm going to have a hard time giving it away...

I'm also really happy with the way the quilt evolved... I made plans, threw the mout of the windows and did something else and loved it!

There is an old bollywood song from a beautiful film (Khoobsoorat) that this quilt reminds me

"Saare niyam tod do, niyam pe chalna chod do!"

Break all the rules and enjoy not following them!

I'm linking up this quilt to the Bloggers Quilt Festival

Bella Solids Discount Code

2012-05-18T22:31:00.001+05:30

I cannot believe I forgot to post this one!

The FQS Bella Parade : Season 2 is here!

Pin it to win it!

And you also get a whooping 20% discount on all Bella Solids that you shop at Fat Quarter Shop

Just enter the code "BELLAP12" when you check out to get your special discount! And dont forget to keep your invoice numbers, they're going to give you plus points in the weekly giveaways...

Happy Days are here!

2012-05-16T21:51:00.002+05:30

I'm here in the middle of a lot of excitement!

My little brother finally found a match!

My little brother - who's not so little any more, recently found a compatible girl! Suvarna is the latest addition to our HUGE family!

Here's my wonderful brother!

And here's the lovely bride to be!

I'm so happy and so busy at the moment!

What I'm busy doing? Shopping, of course!

Preparing for the Engagement party later this year!

Will be back with all you guys on Monday with
FQS Bella Parade : Season 2
"Pin it to Win it"

Satyamev Jayate!!!

2012-05-06T17:14:00.002+05:30

Every now and then, the youth of a nation awake to the issues that have spread through their country like cancer. It is these people who can actually help to resolve the issues and bring forth a better community.

Its time to awake India.

Aamir Khan, a popular actor in India, who is well known for the few but quality films that he does has rocked the nation today!

Today, at 11 am, the nation was awakened by the jolt that we've long needed.

The first episode of "Satyamev Jayate" was aired and the nation watched, took in, wept and awoke!

Today's episode tackled the subject of Female foeticide in India. And by tackled, I mean it surely was tackled. Every aspect, including official data, census data, experts opinions and personal experiences was covered!

When I remembered today morning about this show, I thought it would just be another television show with a lot of hype due to Aamir Khan being a part of it. But I also knew that this show would not be like the dozen others airing. But what I saw, was so not what I was expecting!

Hats off to Aamir and Team SMJ!

I'm so looking forward to the next episode!

Those of you who could not watch it here's a link.

www.satyamevjayate.in

I promise you'll love it! And the song "O ri Chiriya", I cannot describe what it does to you... I'm sure it'll touch your heart!

FQS Bella Parade : Season 2

2012-05-01T13:13:00.000+05:30

Its Hot!
Its fun!!
Its awesome!!!

and guess what?

Its BACK!!!

Join me and Emily from Mommy's Naptime to welcome the summer with

Fat Quarter Shop
Bella Parade
Season 2

Want a button?

Go ahead take it from my side bar!

For all those who were not there to join the fun last year here's some quick info.

So what is Bella Parade?

Bella Parade is a colorful journey along with some of the most awesome colors from the Bella Solids collection by Moda!

What is Moda Fabrics?

moda fabrics

United Notions, Moda Fabrics and Moda Home is a multi-line fabric, notions and finished product manufacturer and distributor selling to the trade. They offer a wide range of fabrics, notions, patterns, books, quilting supplies and finished product in their Dallas warehouse. They have been in the quilting and fabric industry since 1975 and are constantly striving to bring us the latest and greatest in both their fabrics and other quilting and home products. Moda currently has independent designers as well as an in-house design staff bringing us some of the hottest new lines of fabrics and home product available in the industry.

What are Bella Solids?

Bella Solids are the delicious stacks of awesome quality 100% Cotton solids manufactured by Moda Fabrics.

They're available in 44-45" Wide.

You can buy them as yardage

image source

or is assorted precuts

Charm Packs

Jelly Rolls

Layer Cakes

or Assorted Fat Quarter Bundles

What more???

Well, Fat Quarter Shop is giving all of you a whooping 20% OFF on all Bella Solids!!!

Between 15th May 2012 and 25th June 2012!

Go ahead, order what you want! (Just remember to keep your invoice number, it might just help you win some of the bellarinas!)

And get ready to join the fun!

P.S. Do you have a pinterest account?

If not, get one. Emily will tell you why on 9th May.

Stay tuned to have a lot of fun!!!

Cheers!!!

The IMQG Meet

2012-04-25T02:42:00.001+05:30

Of late, I have been so busy with the IMQG activities, that I have not had time to write anything here...

But here's a wonderful treat for you guys!

Here's the IMQG Meet!

For the first meet of a new guild that covered a whole country we did fantastic!

On the day before, all our friends arrived from different corners of the country...

We had 'lunch' at 4! Amidst heavy rains!

Here you can see from left to right - Shilpa (Pune), Elizabeth (Goa), Veena (Chennai), Brinda (Calcutta), Me (Sangli) and Sonalee (Mumbai)
Behind the camera was Tina!

After lunch we met up with the other girls at the venue and did a bit of planning for the next day, while the Bernina guys set up the awesome machines they provided us with!

Bernina India had provided us with a total of 15 machines for our use that included - the Bernette 12, 15, E56, E92c, Bernina 350PE, Bernina Aurora 450, Bernina 580.

It was a wonderful experience to work on the best machines in the industry!

I also brought a Bernina 330 home! But more about that in a later post.

We got together and had a meeting to take crucial decisions for the next day...

From left to right - Sonalee (Mumbai), Preeti (Pune), Sandhya (Dahanu), Elizabeth (Goa), Vidya (Pune) and me!

Post meeting, we went on to have an awesome dinner at Barbeque Nation one of the most happening retaurants of the town.

Was I tired? Well, I did get up at 4.00 am to pick up Elizabeth and worked late into the night to finish the newsletter... This picture will say it all...

But the next morning was a different picture...

We decided to do something new to inaugurate the meet! So we got this gorgeous cake made by one of my friend's brother and had our chief guest cut it...

Our chief guest was one wonderful gentleman! Every woman in the room wanted to kiss him! He was the son of my brother and the youngest member present - Yash Pandit!

Well, he'd have loved to skip the knife altogether...

Vidya, our most senior but the most enthusiastic member, published the first issue of our newsletter - dreamcatchers!

The inaugural address was followed by an exciting show and tell...

I chose to show my colorbox quilt and talk about what NOT to do when making a quilt... I also showed off some awesome stuff I have received in swaps!

Tina showed off the beatuful quilt she made at her Buda workshop...

Sonalee gave us a demo to paper piece hexies...

Brinda showed off her handpiecd beautiful memory quilt she made for her daughter's wedding! It is an excellent piece of crazy piecing and hand embroidery...

Elizabeth, the shy lady from Goa, showed off the awesome machin embroidery that she does! She also shared important info about getting subsidy while setting up a small business.

BTW, the wonderful 'S' handtowel that she's holding was one of the 3 that she made for me, Rohit and Aadi... Rohit got a 'R' and Aadi got a Nemo...

Kalpana, a fibre artist, showed off her excellent art quilts.

The show and tell session was followed by a quilting basics session by me...

Tina demonstrated rotary cutting basics...

After this the wonderful Usha Belose, NSP of Bernina India demonstrated the super Bernina 580 and other models to the participants, who then got to play with them for a while...

BTW I cannot remember the reason for my expression! And i know it looks quite funny in the photo!

We also had some fun giveaways that brought smiles to all the girls present!

We ended the day amongst a lot of 'ooh'ing and 'aah'ing! Not to forget cheering and giggling!

The second day was mostly comprised of all of us trying our hand at Free Motion Quilting. We also had a few chalenges for the participants!

The first challenege was sponsored by Fat Quarterly.

Since most of the participants were beginners, we had to make a drastic change to the program to make them comfortable. The members were asked to sew together 16 squares to make a 16 patch block. The winner was decided based on the accuracy of the seams and the overall presentation of the block.

Sonalee Suchismita won the challege closely followed by Vidya and Elizabeth.

Thats the winner Sonalee working away on her block.

Next, we had a demonstration and hands on training for Free Motion Quilting by the Bernina NSP Usha Belose.

This session was followed by a technical session by the owner of Bernina India, Ajay Gupta. He even had an opportunity to show us some basic trouble shooting!

All the members then participated in the FMQ challenge sponsored by Bernina India. The winners won boxes of Mettler thread!

3 Winners were selected by Ajay and Usha. Based on their FMQ skills.

Here's me working on my FMQ piece!

And here's the winner of the challenge - Vidya working on hers...

Thats Shipra... For a first time FMQr this girl showed awesome skill and dared to experiment!

Thats Brinda, who did a fantastic job with hers!

In the end we had happy girls surrounding the only two men without whom they would not have enjoyed!!!

It was a wonderful experience for me... There were a lot of firsts... There were a lot of mistakes too... But in the end, we were happy to have come together for the first time!

And we do hope we will have a more organized and a better planned meet the next time!

Cheers for IMQG!!!

The IMQG Newsletter!

2012-04-20T16:20:00.000+05:30

Guys, here's the FIRST copy of the IMQG newsletter!

This is a free publication!

Go through and do leave comments!

And the best part : I'm the editor!

:D

I'm off!

2012-04-17T05:54:00.000+05:30

I'm off to our weekend meet!

I know its just Tuesday, but there are a thousand things to do... (Starting with waking up DH - he's driving me to Pune!)

All the IMQG girls are so excited, if you happen to visit our facebook page you'll get a feel as if you've entered an actual room full of talkative (is there a need to include that word?) women!

But mostly it is because, FINALLY we have all found out that we are not the only ones who are crazy... It feels good to know that someone else's fabric closet too, tumbles when you open the door! LOL...

Having this first meet is a huge step for us!

Wish us luck, folks!

And do drop by our blog and leave a comment or two for the girls... They'll feel absolutely wonderful!

Will come back after the meet and spill all the beans...

Cheers!!!

Activity...

2012-04-11T09:00:00.000+05:30

A lot has been happening at my end!!!

I have been online for most of the last week...

But blogging was just not on the cards...

First thing...

We're having India Modern Quilt Guild's first meet! Its next weekend... That means a lot of things to plan and prepare... We will also be publishing our newsletter at that time. And since I ~~have to be~~ am the editor of the same, life has been way too hectic.

And here's the wonderful poster designed by one of the founder members, Vidya.

The other thing that is keeping me busy is something that you'll all enjoy.

Remember this?

Well....

WE ARE DOING IT AGAIN!!!

Make sure you are ready!

Fun starts May 1st!!!

So what are you up to???

Advice Needed

2012-03-24T17:48:00.001+05:30

I have been MIA here...

But there have been several reasons... You'll know all of them in due course of time...

Right now, I need your advice, or rather, your opinion...

I have got an order of a commissioned quilt. The size is a HUGE 100" x 110". Not wanting to complicate things, I decided to KISS (keep is super simple). I decided to piece together 440 squares (22 rows of 20 squares each) of 5.5".

I have finally dug into my huge stash of modern FQs from the Urbanista bundle.

I had never known that it would actually be difficult to cut up fabric! (Shhh... I tried to use up my least favorite pieces, though... Dont tell my client...)

Now here's my dilemma.

How do I put them together? Do I sew together rows of 20 squares at a time and them sew those 22 rows together? Or do I sew them into pairs and sew pairs together to make 4 patch blocks which in turn, I'll sew together into 16 patch ones and so on?

I want my seams to match as neatly as possible. Which option would you recommend. Also consider the amount of work involved as there are 440 squares!

I am thinking of quilting them using this method by Elizabeth Hartman. I think the design would be perfect for using this quilting pattern!

FQS Oh, Fransson! Friday!! - delayed

2012-03-09T14:52:00.001+05:30

FQS! Oh, Fransson!! Friday!!! is delayed for a week this month...

Last month was a bit too busy for me...

And this month, so far has been a whirl wind too!

And right now I'm in bed with a sore throat and cold and a lot of cough!

Will publish OFF next friday instead!
Cheers

Inspiration!!!

2012-03-08T10:22:00.000+05:30

I was going through my blog archives for the past few days... (Now you know what I was up to)
And I came across my Bella Solids posts...

I realized that it was a lot of fun, wasn't it?

The old posts are so inspiring... They gave me a lot of new ideas...

This is what I'm thinking of right now...

2012 Bella Solids Bundle

Do the colors call you???

They sure are luring me...

Want to have some more fun???

Gear up for having a blast once again!!!

Get your cameras serviced.... And this time, your quotes book too... (I'll soon tell you why...)

Get ready for a blast of colors this spring!

Cheers!!!

My Nemo Adventure...

2012-02-25T16:53:00.000+05:30

Thursday was the day my little one turned five...

It struck me as he left for school with my Dad, who along with my Mom, was here specially for his birthday. It was 5 years ago that this lovely little guy came into our lives and brightened them...

He was so small and fragile...

I always was scared that I'd do something wrong and hurt him...

But I guess I have been a good mother and my baby grew up to be a wonderful boy...

He has made me proud...

He has touched my heart like no one has...

He has made my life worthwhile...

Given it meaning...

So when he wanted a Nemo themed party for his birthday, how could I not do it? Even though it meant trying to attempt baking AND decorating a cake!

So began my adventures with fondant...

I searched everywhere for recipes of fondant, but all needed liquid glucose...

I could not find it anywhere...

But at last I located it and used a simple recipe to make fondant. It was absolutely easy (except getting that liquid glucose out of the bottle) and fun to work with.

My Nemo was ready...

So were the other decorations - some sea grass, corals and some shells too!

The return gifts were bars of Pears soap...

molten and recast in molds with shells collected from my recent trip to Tarkarli...

Along with some Nemo coloring pages and soap bubble kits... All packed and tagged...

Cake was ready...

and was delicious too...

I was totally happy with my creation! Do not forget that this was my first attempt at making a cake!

The decorations were all orange and blue...

And some finer touches too...

Including a Nemo character collage on the wall...

The kids had a great time...

Mom and Dad had got kiddo a Shirt with some Led lights in it. He was not ready to wear anything else - not even the Nemo T shirt that I was going to make for him!

all in all, it was a wonderful adventure!!! Worth every effort taken...

Featured again...

2012-02-22T06:57:00.000+05:30

If I could label each year, I'd label 2012 as the year of being featured!

It all began when Cindy invited me over to chat about my blog name in the Name Game.

After that, Carol asked me a whole lot of questions about quilting, blogging and IMQG over on Quilter Spotlight!

And today. I'm featured on Craft Corners

They feature not just quilting, but other art related sites every week. They call it Best of the Web! I'm honored to be featured here!

Previous featured people include Bea Spoke Quilts, Bumble Beans Inc., Ridge Top Quilts... There are many more...

You can also get some inspiration from the various articles on the site... So go have a peep and be prepared to get lost or go on a hopping ride into the blogland!

Meanwhile, I'll take a 2 day computer break!

Tomorrow is our Nemo party and right now kiddo's sown with his old foe - asthma! I am really hoping that he'll be okay by tomorrow...

Cheers!!!

Nemo!!!

2012-02-18T17:09:00.000+05:30

I did it!!!

Actually I did it too!!!

Okay, seriously, that was confusing...

What did I do? and what did I do too?

#1 : I found Liquid Glucose in Sangli!!!

Actually I have been pestering dear little bro' to go to Dorabjee in Pune and look for it. He had been diligently ignoring me. But then, I came to know that a Starch manufacturing unit at Miraj MIDC makes liquid glucose. I got hold of the owner, who happened to be a friend of my Mom - actually my mom's family is from the town that I was married into! And he sent me a whole lot of bottles of liquid glucose to play with! The best part, not one but two, I got it free and I got it home delivered!!! Yay!!!

#2 : I made Nemo...

Yeah, as soon as I got hold of that glucose I set out working. I was expecting my first attempt to be a failure... Even Aadi was waiting so that I'd finish my trial and give the fondant to him to eat!

But I scraped through...

You should have seen him screaming as he sat next to me and saw Nemo taking shape!

So here is Nemo... I'd have liked it to look better than it does, but I love it and whats more, Aadi loves it!

Look at his happy face...

That makes my day worthwhile!

Cheers!!!

Favorite Things Friday!!!

2012-02-18T06:41:00.001+05:30

Its that time of the week...

I really loved doing Favorite things Friday every week with Shay, but somehow, life took over and it got side tracked.

But now I'm back, and I'm back to stay...

So, what is my FTF this Friday?

Well its IMQG! The India Modern Quilt Guild!

We have a FB page and a blog too...

We started in September with 3 members! I remember it was Shilpa, Vidya and myself! I had very high hopes for it. But practically the situation was that apart from the two of these girls, I did not know anyone who quilted, in India.

But we decided to give it a try. It was very difficult to decide the platform. We then decided that since a lot of people use FB, it would be easier to have that as our launch pad. And we did.

Remember we are a country where you do not get designer fabric, quilting notions etc.

And today we are 69 ladies, roaring to go!

We are meeting too!

We are all spread across the whole wide country, 3287263 sq. km (1269219 sq. mi)!

But we are all coming together at this fantastic resort in April for 3 days!

Can you all imagine how much fun we all are going to have?

I'm so looking forward to it!

And I'm planning a lot for it too... I've even ordered some fun stuff to do while we're there...

759 pieces of pure fun!

(Shhhh, did you know Interweave have a 70% off on that one? its just for $3.24! Go here to buy it)

I have loved planning it all too, especially the door prizes (actually goodie bags - they dont need to do anything to win it!). I have been collecting a lot of things to put into the goodie bags. And I have some wonderful sponsors pitching in too! :)

The girls are going to go crazy! If you want to send something for the goodie bag for the girls contact me.

Thats my favorite thing this Friday - my IMQG! To check out what is the others' head over to the fabulous blog of Shay - better known as Mrs P!