Million Little Stitches

Trek

2012-02-25T18:15:00.002+05:30

The trek in the Himalayas inspired this scarf. We were advised to put one foot in front of the other and take small steps, a bit like the embroidery on this scarf - one small stitch at a time.

The cotton silk is soft and fine and this is what I saw while folding up the scarf so I had to have R hold it up with the light shining in from the back so I could photograph it.

Its amazing what blogging has given me in terms of interactions and learning in all these years I've had this blog.I have to thank all those who choose to stop here and all those who follow Million Little Stitches to read/view what I have to say. Its led to many collaborations and exchanges which have enriched me. Recently there's been a group ( you know who you are) who have reached out with an exciting idea which is still gestating but I'm happy and excited to have been invited. It's much too early to say anything about this venture but I hope I'll be able to tell you all in the very near future. Small steps I guess can get you to exciting places.

The Little House I made for this project has reached Japan. :)
Its going to be a hectic couple of days but I hope to have the CQJP pages for February ready to show sometime next week.
Have a great weekend.

The Little Houses Project

2012-02-15T17:05:00.000+05:30

The Little Houses project is the brainchild of Jo Ebisujima who felt it would be a wonderful gesture to send the survivors of the Tohoku Disaster a little gift of a handmade house and notes of encouragement to let them know they haven't been forgotten a year after the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Jo is hoping to have a 100 houses by February 21. I want to encourage you to participate. I took less than a day to make the little house in the picture and it was fun to decorate it. I wrote a little note and put it in a little origami heart box, the instructions for which I found here.

Click here to get all the details for the Little Houses Project. Jo has created step by step illustrated instructions and here's an update with pictures of some Little Houses which people have sent in.

Capturing Craigmore in Watercolours

2012-02-11T07:50:00.004+05:30

Its February and I haven't got around to the post about the two weeks spent in Craigmore in the Nilgiris painting watercolours. This was the second part of the assignment, this is part 1 and here is what was done.

I developed a horrible dry cough just before leaving on this trip but the weather was fabulous in January and the sun kept me warm and comfortable while I sat and painted.

There are a number of bungalows on the estate and this one is Bear's Hill Bungalow. There must be bears on that hill though we didn't see any. There's an ongoing project to record the wildlife on the property using camera traps in collaboration with WWF, India.

This is the Woodland Small bungalow, the Assistant Manager for Woodland Estate gets to live here.

Here too the occupant of the bungalow was away on annual leave so we didn't get in the way and we still got to use the rest room because his butler was there. Its only on the estates that one finds butlers, cooks and bungalow boys, its like living in a different period altogether but things are changing and the butlers and a good cook is difficult to find.

Little temples are dotted about the estate and are an integral part of the workers lives .

Close by were houses for the estate workers a number of whom have come all the way from Jharkhand.

The Chairman's bungalow.This bungalow has the most amazing garden with some very unusual plants and shrubs and some fantastic specimens of the monkey puzzle tree, weeping willow and jacaranda. Four or five gardeners toil daily to maintain it. This is where we were put up for the duration of our stay.

Most of the estate roads are lined with poinsettias which were still in bloom in January, its such a pretty sight. The Jacaranda trees were just beginning to bloom, in another month it will be an awesome sight to see hillsides clothed in a purple haze and roads carpeted in violet blooms.

Trees are bursting into bloom in Bangalore too, right now its the pink of the tabebuia rosea next it will be the turn of the tabebuia aurea which is yellow. Spring is here and summer is fast approaching because the days are hot. Hot enough to go for a swim in the afternoon.

Have a great weekend.

Completed CQJP & Journal page - January

2012-01-30T15:35:00.001+05:30

Here's my first CQ block completed for the CQJP challenge, just in time as January draws to a close.Embellished with stitches from TAST. I'm still working on the journal part of the page.
Update - 4th Feb
I decided to update this post with pictures of the journal page for January which I completed this morning.

This is how the two pages look side by side.

This then is the journal part.I was looking for a cross stitch pattern of a Dragon for Chinese New Year and when I came across this free pattern here I simply had to make it a part of the page although it extends a little beyond the page and I had to do away with the pattern at the top.

Its a busy weekend. I have to start on the CQJP and journal page for February and there's a certain scarf that I'm making very slow progress on - I need a longer day if that's possible to do all that needs doing. .

CQJP Block for January

2012-01-16T13:02:00.001+05:30

I've finally got the basic crazy quilt block done, for the January page of the Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP).
I've used pieces of solid coloured tussar silk, the colours are those I associate with the five day trek up in the Himalayas. I'll be drawing on things I saw on the trek to embellish the block too.
The block is 6" x 6".
My CQ (Crazy Quilt) blocks are going to be the illustration in a manner of speaking for a fabric journal of things, places and events which I participate in or are of some significance to me during the coming year.
Now to begin embellishing the seams of the CQ block. Should be able to show you some progress in a couple of days. I've given it some thought and decided to combine TAST ( Take a Stitch Tuesday) in this fabric journal rather than creating a separate fabric sampler. Two stitches Fly Stitch and Blanket Stitch for the first two weeks of January have been announced. Got quite a bit to catch up with.
Hope your weekend was good. I cooked up a storm for our annual Pongal brunch which was so much fun. Our guest list is constrained to ten because of the size of the vessels I have but the guest list is threatening to grow which means I'll have to invest in larger vessels.
Hope your week is good, I'll be tackling watercolours later this week during the day and embellishing a certain CQ block and scarf during the evenings.

-5 and Breathless at 9,000ft.

2012-01-13T10:55:00.002+05:30

Glimpses of our trek in the Himalayas. 2012 was ushered in silently at 9,000 ft high up in the Himalayas while we slept or tossed and turned in our sleeping bags at -5 degrees C.

Frozen fingers didn't stop me sketching on the first morning of the new year, had to set the right tone for the rest of the year. The tents at Manjhi and a frozen stream between the tents.

Gathered around the fire to keep warm and drink tea. L and going clockwise - Nabeen one of the mule drivers, Amit, Ramesh, Charu, Vamsi and Indu with her back to the camera.

Water heating in a large vessel. Everything was cooked or heated on a wood fire so the drinking water and food had a smoky flavour to it. There were two Nepalese cooks on the trek - Dipinder and Kamal who took such good care of us.

Frozen doesn't describe how cold we were. Nothing like a fire to warm you up, thermals and three or four layers don't work quite like a wood fire.

Agoda village clings to the mountain side.The older houses are made of stone and wood and the roofs have slate tiles but the newer ones are made of brick and cement and have cable television.

The women in the mountains are a hard working bunch.They walk kilometers in the mountain to gather and carry heavily laden baskets of firewood and fodder for their animals like the woman in the picture above..

Vasu Dev Rawat our guide. His encouragment and patience made it possible for me to do this trek. This beautiful dog found us at Manjhi and accompanied us down the mountain, all the campsites were closed for the season and we were the last ones down from Dodital and Manjhi. He belongs to no one and accompanies groups of trekkers up and down the trail.

Pathways strewn with boulders and rocks which wind precariously along the mountainside connects villages and people. These narrow paths are used by man and mule to transport everything from the towns in the valley, there are no motorable roads. Don't want to think what one would do in an emergency.

Walking down to Bebra.The grass and shrubs on the mountainside are burnt. I like the colours in this photograph and I'm going to use the same colour palette for the first page in my Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP).

Don't you like the illustration of that trekker?

Bridge over the stream at Bebra. The water was icy cold and froze in the pipes at night..

Snow dusted mountain tops.The weather was unpredictable, sunny one moment, cloudy and windy the next.

Devi or the goddess is worshipped in the mountains. This tree we passed had one rupee coins wedged into the trunk of the tree and flags and cloth trimmed with tinsel were tied on the tree. Our guide told us pujas were performed at the base of the tree for the Goddess Durga. Elements from this picture like the coins, tinsel and colours are going to find their way into my CQJP page for January.

L to R. Charu, Vamsi, Ramesh and Maya. Tired with sore feet and wobbly legs but with a great sense of elation and achievement. We did it! It was a tough five days with many a first but we got there and back in one piece. Hurray for trekking, we plan to do shorter treks in South India. Vamsi and Amit are talking about this trek .It would be very different.Cheers! to a more active 2012 then.

A Joyous X'mas and a Marvellous New Year

2011-12-26T08:32:00.000+05:30

I hope your Christmas was a jolly affair if you celebrate and you're holiday season is filled with good cheer. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all the 243 people who have chosen to follow this blog and anyone else who might stop here, an awesome 2012. I wish each one of you a year of happiness, good health and boundless energy and inspiration.

R and I are off on a five day trek to Dodital,Uttarkashi. Its going to be an adventure which has us so excited.
We'll be ringing in the new year in what promises to be a winter wonderland.
Stay safe,stay warm and I'll catch up with you in the new year.

Graffitti

2011-12-22T19:55:00.000+05:30

The elements which define Graffitti - skinny cotton silk scarf, appliqued with tussar silk, chain stitched, tea dyed ,running stitch details, a raw edges finished with blanket stitch and tassels .

A soft feel and a primitive appearance characterises Graffitti.

This scarf is the first in a series exploring the representation of circles. The circle is a recurring element in my work ( like you never noticed) so in the next couple of scarves I make I'm going to explore embroidery and sewing methods/techniques to create a circular form and circular patterns. This is one of the techniques I'll be trying.

What's Cookin?

2011-12-14T23:35:00.001+05:30

What's cookin'? The Christmas tree is up and decorated. I like the ritual of decorating the tree and remembering the story behind each ornament. I also like to add at least one new ornament each year, this year's addition is a pretty enamelled bauble decorated with poinsettias and holly which was given by my sister. I'm considering making a couple of these.

2011 is drawing to an end and I have been scouting for projects to be involved in, in the new year. I've signed up for two projects TAST 2012 and CQJP2012. If embroidery and heavily embellished surfaces makes you salivate you might consider signing up for these two challenges. The Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) will document events and milestones in each month of 2012 and will be compiled into a fabric book eventually .I think I'll make flowers the theme and incorporate silk ribbon embroidery (SRE) flowers .SRE is going to be another first so I've signed up for the tutorials from this fantastic resource.

What project or challenge are you contemplating taking up in the new year? Cathy Cullis has thought out and discussed at length how one can go about choosing a project.

With embroidering scarves, CQJP and TAST its going to be a packed schedule but when I came across this blog during a blog hop I couldn't help but wonder if I could devise a similar project which would help me recyle flyers I get in the newspaper most mornings and improve my origami skills. I'd like to do something similar, any suggestions?
If you're wondering about the pictures in this post, this is what's currently cookin' - a scarf I appliqued, tea dyed in a cast iron vessel and am currently embroidering.
Drop a line, I'm off to make a cup of tea and browse the net.

Pebbles

2011-11-22T15:48:00.001+05:30

Pebbles - a silk cotton scarf

Circular forms of different sizes stitched with running stitch.The random placement of the circular forms reminded me of pebbles scattered.

Colours used are browns, greys and a space dyed black and white.

Pebbles is now available for sale at Plantation House which has moved into a larger space on level 1 at the Leela Galleria, Bangalore.

Embellisher needs your votes!

2011-11-16T14:42:00.001+05:30

The shortlist for the Covered in Stitches Contest is out and my embroidered interpretation of The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency has made the shortlist.

I need your votes dear readers. Please click on this link and vote for The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency by Embellisher. Voting is open until 22nd November 12 am CST.

Stupendous embroidered creations were entered into this contest which can be viewed here.

Update - 24th Nov.2011
The Winners of the Covered in Stitches Contest have been annouced - read about it here .
Thank you for your votes, it was a fun contest and it was wonderful to have ones work make the shortlist.

Namma Metro

2011-10-24T23:28:00.000+05:30

Bangalore has a metro service and we took a ride on Sunday night.

From Vivekananda road to M.G. Road.

Shared a pitcher of beer and a plate of fries at a pub on Church Street before taking the last train back.

It's a great addition to the city. Can't wait for the network to grow and expand and become like the NYC Metro which I simply love.

Entrapment

2011-10-20T19:29:00.000+05:30

Entrapment. People must wonder where I come up with the names for my scarves. Usually the pattern, the colour or texture suggests a name. In this case I caught a bit of the movie Entrapment while embroidering this scarf!

Its a silk cotton scarf, two colours divide the scarf into two halves along the length of the scarf. Zig zagging lines of chain stitch and circles of sequins embellish Entrapment.
Entrapment and Purple Prose will be available at Plantation House just in time for Diwali!

Embroidered interpretation of The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency

2011-10-10T08:54:00.000+05:30

The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency interpreted as an embroidered piece for the Covered in Stitches contest

I've used French Knots for the crocodile, Stem stitch, Open chain, Chain stitch, Herringbone and Buttonhole wheel to name a few. Some applique. All images will enlarge if clicked on.

A detail. Other than framing this embroidered interpretation I wonder what I can do with it. Any ideas?

The cover illustration for the book is by Hannah Firmin.See more of her richly coloured wood and lino cut illustrations here.
Take a look at other submissions for the Covered in Stitches Contest - here and there's time until the 7th of November if you'd like to participate.
Have a great week.

Purple Prose

2011-10-03T16:17:00.001+05:30

Purple Prose my latest creation. Cotton silk scarf embroidered with tiny sequins and appliqued with pieces of silk.

Will be available for sale at Plantation House.

Covered in Stitches

2011-09-23T15:37:00.007+05:30

From pen and ink to being covered in stitches.

Read all about it here.

Covered in Stitches is about embroidering the cover for your favourite book. It may be the existing cover illustration/image you choose to interpret in stitch or you create the cover illustration.

Guess which book cover I've chosen to interpret in stitch?. Don't you love that French knot Croc? I'm quite pleased with the way its turning out. Next update I'll have a pic of the book cover I'm interpreting.

I've won tickets to go watch Johnny English Reborn this weekend, thanks to Radio Indigo.

Hope your weekend is wonderful.

Pen & Ink

2011-09-10T23:31:00.030+05:30

Here are the pen and ink sketches I've been working on.

The Woodlands Big Bungalow was built in 1830 or so.

There's a monkey puzzle tree in the garden which is so tall it can be spotted from Doddabetta in Ooty. It was raining when I went to sketch this particular bungalow so I sat in the back of the Scorpio with the radio on, R was reading his book and we were served tea there by the butler.

Engifer the family cat at the home of the Managing Director came to inspect my progress.
There's a stunning garden in front of the bungalow with a beautiful lily pond and weeping willows. Bison are frequent visitors and can be found sitting on the lawn chewing the cud early in the morning.
The Manar Bungalow
Elephants come to eat the Jackfruit when the tree at the back of the house bears fruit. There's a lot of wildlife on the Craigmore property. Bison can be seen grazing in the tea fields at all times of night and day, camera traps set up by WWF to map the flora and fauna on Craigmore have captured leopards and panthers. Tiger has been sighted but has not been captured on film.
The Halashana Bungalow
A large garden umbrella was found to protect me and the sketch from the unpredictable weather so I could continue my sketching unhindered for two or three hours at a stretch. Garden umbrella, folding chair and table became a part of the standard equipment which were loaded into the Scorpio every morning.
The Craigmore Tea Factory. R's first visit to a tea factory to see how Orthodox tea is manufactured.
I sat in the tea fields under a garden umbrella, listening to my ipod while sketching the factory. Inspite of the garden umbrella I got sun burnt.

Must say this has been the most luxurious assignment I've had to date.

Craigmore

2011-09-05T14:24:00.001+05:30

This is where I currently reside. Its temporary but absolute bliss and I'm soaking it all in - fresh mountain air, sumptuous meals which I don't have to whip up, beds turned down at night, a bell to ask for more green tea.... I can go on and on. Its the most luxurious assignment I've been on to date and I'm getting used to it at an alarming rate, I have to keep reminding myself its temporary.
The assignment is to make pen and ink sketches of bungalows and factories on Craigmore tea estate and paint watercolours of the stunning landscape. Craigmore has been in existence since 1884. The Chairman's bungalow is the first in the series of pen and ink sketches and I've photographed it on a red oxide floor which is characteristic of old estate bungalows. Someone decided to walk all over my sketch, can you spot the centipede or is it a millipede? Partial view of the verandah and the garden. The trees are grand and gorgeous, all a part of the quaint lifestyle on a tea estate. I'll be sharing more glimpses of this life in posts to come.

It's time for evening tea.I hope you're week is magical.

Bathed in Bokeh

2011-09-02T06:00:00.001+05:30

The cotton silk stoles I embroidered for the commission I mentioned in my last post was inspired by Bokeh.
The vision I had was of a person photographed wearing my stole in such a manner that the sequins of different sizes stitched at random would be transformed into bokeh in the photograph and make the person appear to be bathed in bokeh.
I hope the ladies who are gifted these stoles will derive immense pleasure wearing them and garner plenty of compliments too.

What happened to August

2011-08-25T21:50:00.017+05:30

I last posted in July and now its almost the end of August!

August has gone past in a flash..... wow. A month of hectic activity and travel.

I was in Kerala at the beginning of the month conducting an embroidery workshop for thirty women. I usually get the participants to start a sampler on the first day so I can assess what embroidery stitches they know, their skill level and its a surface for them to practise the stitches I introduce to them. This is my sampler. It was a good workshop and I don't get to say that very often.
There's been a lot of travel and time with family. My teenage nephew has educated me about the electric guitar and rock music which he's extremely passionate about. Did you know there are people who would list guitar tech as their profession? I didn't know. My ignorance regarding all things related to electric guitars was shocking to say the least but Z was kind enough to show me YouTube videos to explain a technique or demonstrate them if he could. Shredding, Floyd Rose the Wah Wah pedal and Steve Vai. Glimpses into a whole different world. Amazing.

I've also been working on a small commission which I'm happy to report is now labelled, appropriate packaging created, tags designed and attached and ready for delivery.

There's more travel next week, this time to work on a painting and sketching commission. I'm looking forward to it because I'll be going to the Blue Mountains.

Embellished Fragments

2011-07-20T18:49:00.011+05:30

In my last post I wrote of a path I was exploring but I now find I'm exploring more than one path simultaneously. One such path which I would like to call Embellished Fragments has begun with this first piece.

Bits and pieces of silk and cotton some dyed with tea, others used for hand pieced patchwork and embroidered wisdom have come together in the creation of Fear Less.

Would you buy something like this? You might ask - what purpose Fear Less serves? To which I would answer - its a fragment - frame it, incorporate it into a quilt or just keep it in a drawer or folded and kept in your purse so you can touch, read and ponder the meaning of the words embroidered on the fragment.

I leave on a project tomorrow- (yet another path!) I'll be back in the first week of August.

Path

2011-07-14T08:38:00.005+05:30

Tussar silk stole, dyed with tea, silk applique and sequins.
Got two shades of tea. One edge of the stole was dyed with tea boiled in a stainless steel vessel - the resultant shade was more golden, whereas the edge dyed in a cast iron vessel with tea resulted in a more dark nut brown colour.
I'm going to be exploring a new path which has opened up rather unexpectedly - excited, curious and just a teeny tiny smattering of butterflies in the tummy. Wish me luck.

Splash

2011-06-23T12:27:00.008+05:30

It's turned cool and cloudy and everyday holds the promise of a thunder shower late in the evening and its found its way into Splash.

Splash is a small square cotton silk scarf the sort you knot at the neck or wear as a head scarf. Bleach helped create the splotchy effect and running stitch which covers almost the entire surface provides texture.
The process of creating Splash got me thinking. Getting up, getting dressed and showing up has been the mantra R and I have followed for the past year. Clouds promising rain gather on the horizon and then melt away..... like Splash which was not planned but evolved I'm hoping both our actions and choices are in preparation for the splash in our life which will be monumental. I just need the grace to live in the moment until then and I can't wait to look back and see the pattern and texture which we created which enriched us and got us to the next level.

As for the future, your task is not to predict it, but to enable it ........ Antoine de Saint- Exupery.

Discovering a little line like this is so inspiring. Which is the quote which inspires you?

Brown and Blue

2011-06-07T19:18:00.007+05:30

My adventures with pashmina include a snuff brown stole and a midnight blue one.

Detail of the applique done with silk cotton fabric and sequins.
Soft folds of pashmina
Diagonal lines of blanket stitch and sequins enhance a midnight blue pashmina stole.
Both stoles are now available at Plantation House.

Hide n Seek

2011-05-31T08:35:00.013+05:30

The monsoons have struck and cooled things down. Let the creativity flow.

Here's something created pre monsoon

An off white soft pashmina with a hint of embroidery and sparkle so one can appreciate the 'chashm-e-bulbul' or 'eye of the bulbul' weave. A speciality of the master weaver of pashmina.

Space dyed embroidery thread gave the stole the name hide n seek. Delighted to report it sold hours after it made to Plantation House.

Needless to say its got me on a high and I've nearly finished two more pashmina stoles which I shall feature here in a day or two.

I'm inspired today by this and this. Wishing all of you inspiration when you least expect it. Cheers!