Favourite Things

Sleep time Sorbetto

2012-01-30T20:40:00.000-08:00

Sorbetto love continues... This is my fourth version and the one I wear the most. I made a set of pajamas as well, to go with the top. This one is so comfortable that I look foward to more hours of zzzz time :)

The only change I made is that I increased the shoulder width and increased the length by 2.5 inches. The rest of the instructions I followed as they are.
The pajamas are just like the ones I made here. The template I made then has been used a lot ever since.

No, I'm not done with Sorbetto yet. Can't wait to share the fifth and my most favourite version.

Miette for Mom

2012-01-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year! I have a nice feeling that this is going to be a lovely year. I was in Pune for the holidays and am back after having spent a wonderful time with loved ones.

Though 2 more posts of my Sorbetto versions are pending I could not resist posting about this lovely sweater that I knitted for my mother. One of my favourite memories of 2012 is going to be the delight on her face on trying on this sweater (which my sister is wearing in the above picture). I couldn't have asked for a better beginning to the New Year.

Yarn : Malabrigo Merino Worsted

Needles : 5 mm

Why Miette? My mother always wears sarees. Miette has fantastic shaping to it and due to the negative ease of the pattern it is perfect to be worn over a saree blouse. My mother loved the Malabrigo yarn that I had. I had only 3 skeins, so started off the project wondering whether I had enough yarn. I needn't have worried. The 3 skeins were enough for a guage swatch and I even added an extra 2" to the length. The yarn is super gorgeous. Little wonder that there are some who say they would love to marry the yarn.

And here is my mother wearing her sweater.

I had a wonderful time photographing my mother and sister. It was so much fun! It was way past lunch time and was quite hot by the time I finished clicking. I thought my sister would be relieved that the shoot was finally over. When I remarked about this she replied " Its alright, models do have to work under extreme weather conditions". :) I just adore her!

Sorbetto - Version 3

2011-12-20T22:15:00.000-08:00

Satin is slippery and hence difficult to sew. But then the lure of this buttery satin in this lovely print was impossible to resist. So I went right ahead and made a Sorbetto with it, my third version. Here is my polka dotted Sorbetto in satin - this time with sleeves and without the center pleat.:

Notes

Increased the length by 2.5 inches

Added half an inch to the seam allowance at the shoulders and then attached the sleeves.

My knowledge of drafting sleeves is very limited - to one actually. I used the sleeve pattern that I used for this top and made them less tapering. I love the rolled hem at the sleeve edges. I have finally got the hang of how to use a narrow rolled hem foot.

For the neck, I cut a bias strip and sewed it on using the method described here (point no.4 of the assembly part). I used a 1/2" seam allowance.

Simple Skirt

2011-12-14T22:32:00.000-08:00

You must have already seen this skirt in the black satin sorbetto post.

A few months back Corrine (of Threadbanger fame. Remember I mentioned her earlier here) put up a series of skirt making videos where she takes you from drafting a simple skirt to actually sewing one. I decided to make one for myself. My first drafted skirt was a pleated skirt which was simple and did not involve any invisible zippers. This skirt seemed a bit more complex with so many basics to learn while making one single skirt.

The tutorials have been a wonderful learning experience for me. I can't believe I sewed on an invisible zipper. That is one fear conquered.

Here is the sequence you would follow if you want to make this skirt.

How to draft a simple skirt pattern

Tracing a pattern onto fabric

Sewing skirt darts

Sewing an invisible zipper

Hand sewing a blind skirt hem

Sewing a skirt Waist band

Thank you Corrine for these amazing videos! I am one of your numerous fans who is thrilled that you are back with your youtube channel - Craftovison and on Threadbanger.

Black Satin Sorbetto

2011-12-09T22:26:00.001-08:00

I had some black satin in my stash which I used for this version of Sorbetto.

Changes made:

Increased the length by 2.5 inches

Added ruffled lace to the pleats. Readymade ruffled lace, I bought from a shop called 'Something Special' in Bandra, Mumbai. This one and the one next to it called "Cheap Jack" are nice places to shop for craft supplies.

Added half an inch to the seam allowance at the shoulders. This I did to increase the width of the top at the shoulders.

I did not have readymade black bias tape and making one with this slippery satin was getting very difficult. So I cut a bias strip and sewed it on using the method described here (point no.4 of the assembly part). I used a 1/2" seam allowance.

This picture was taken on the banks of the beautiful lake Te Anau. And below is the same place at night.

Sorbetto Top

2011-12-05T08:07:00.001-08:00

When I first came across ready sewing patterns on the internet the concept was very new to me. In India people who make their own clothes have the only option of drafting it themselves. Many others get their clothes stitched by the tailor.

I have never used a ready sewing pattern for clothes before and chose Sorbetto as my very first one. It is a free pattern by Coletterie. Sorbetto looked simple, has got numerous postive comments and with so many lovely versions, I just had to give it a try. Right from finding a size for me and assembling the pattern to making my own continuous bias tape and attaching it , Sorbetto has been fun and a fantastic learning experience for me. The result is a top which I love. The only change I made is that I increased the length by 2.5 inches.

If you have never tried a ready pattern before then I recommend this for a start. When you print a pattern you should always remember to set the page scaling option to 'None'. This is extremely important to ensure the accuracy of the printed pieces. After printing, measure the test square to ensure that the whole pattern has been printed to scale. To be on the safer side first print the page with the test square and after checking the measurement print the rest of the pattern.

Like many have said this pattern is very versatile too. Mena's versions of this top inspired me to make my own versions. More of this in future posts.

This top travelled all the way with me on my holiday and was never worn since it was very cold everywhere :(

Ruffled Gloves

2011-11-29T01:17:00.001-08:00

Yarn : RYC Extra Fine Merino

Needles : 3.75mm and 6.5 mm

I made these gloves to go with my cabled beret. I used yarn leftover from the Toast gloves. This pattern calls for worsted weight yarn but I really wanted to use this gorgeous merino yarn. I'm glad I did. The yarn suits the pattern perfectly. The pattern uses around the same number of stitches which I worked with for toast which gave a very good fit. So other than the needle size (3.75) for DK weight yarn I did not make any changes to the pattern. I used the magic loop method since I have never worked with DPNs.

The buttons make these lovely gloves look fabulous. The pattern looks difficult when you first read it but is quite easy to knit. I absolutely love these gloves and have already worn them a lot. The above picture was taken on our Milford Sound cruise.

Red Cabled Beret

2011-11-18T01:37:00.001-08:00

I always make it a point to carry some finished projects on my holiday. Not only do holidays provide motivation for projects but they also make for very good pictures. Remember this and this? I had a rough idea of what I wanted to make before we left. I had decided that I would be working on some knitting and sewing projects parallely to take a break from one another. I quite surprised myself with the way I went about making everything. I stayed focussed and though I did not finish all that I set out to make whatever I did make turned out pretty good.

Location Courtesy : The Crown Range, New Zealand

Yarn : Knit Picks Wool of the Andes

Needles : 3.75mm and 5.00 mm

I chose this beret as my first cabled project. Cables seemed intimidating at first but after this beret I feel they are actually fun and now I'm in love with them. I did use a cable needle but you an also make them without a cable needle. The pattern is well written and works up amazingly fast. I cast on 80 stitches with 3.75mm needles and did 4 pattern repeats instead of 5. I did not block the hat after completion since I haven't blocked a hat ever. I wore it a lot during the holiday. It is just the right size and is really warm. I intend blocking it sometime soon. I just hope I don't end up with a hat too big for my head.

Towards Better Photography

2011-11-16T23:18:00.000-08:00

A quick post on the light box I made a few months ago before all the New Zealand stories.

It never ceases to amaze me how much I have gained from blogging. Take photography for instance. While I have always admired good photographs I never really gave a thought to what makes for a good one. Thanks to blogging, I now make an effort to take good pictures and am trying to learn the nuances. I do not own a fancy camera and do not intend buying one anytime soon. I take pictures in daylight since natural light is what works best. However, for smaller objects I felt I should make a light box ever since I saw this tutorial. It is a cardboard box with windows cut on three sides and taped with white tissue/tracing paper and then using one/many light sources to swathe the object with light.

Here are some WIP pictures:
The box with 3 sides cut off:

The light box with the windows taped with tracing paper.

My model is sitting pretty - ready to be clicked.

There is no light source on the top since I didn't have any and the light is brighter on the left than on the right. I need to get proper CFL bulbs soon. For now, I'm extremely happy with the light box and the pictures. The last picture of the 'what's for lunch' bag and pictures of my satin clutch and the reversible bag were taken in my studio in a box. It is such an inexpensive fantastic method for better pictures. And like the strobist says " You are limited only by the size of the box you have".
This project is special since I made this with my father. It felt like my childhood days when my father used to help my sister and me in our craft projects. He always had tips about how to work efficiently for a neater project. Such fond memories of childhood and invaluable learnings!

Special thanks to my cutter set. It made cutting through the cardboard so easy. This photo too is courtesy the light box.

New Zealand - Good As Gold

2011-11-14T17:56:00.001-08:00

This was supposed to be a I'm-off-on-a-holiday post. It has turned out to be a I'm-back-from-my-holiday post. We returned yesterday from our holiday. I tried my best to post before we left but the days preceding our leaving were absolutely crazy. I was working on some handmade items for my holiday wardrobe( there is lots to tell you about this) till almost the day before we left. The day we left was Diwali and with all the festivities and the rain it is a miracle that we made it to the airport on time.

Our two and a half week vacation in New Zealand was simply amazing. It really is a spectacular country - good as gold as they say in New Zealand. My husband did a fantastic job planning the whole trip. My only contribution in planning was looking at hotel pictures that he had zeroed in on and say " yes, that looks good" It really amazes me at how good he is at these things.

I will be back soon with more on New Zealand and my handmade holiday wardrobe (this includes some knitted accesories and some sewn tops and a skirt).

Pleated Reversible Bag

2011-10-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

My friend asked me if I would help her through the bag making process. She wanted to make a bag with me so that she would be confident making it on her own. When I asked her what kind of bag she had in mind, her answer was a pleated reversible bag. Ever since I started sewing I have only followed tutorials. I thought this was a nice opportunity to try out my own pattern. And here is the result. A simple pleated reversible shoulder bag.

And this is the bag reversed.

It is not too big or too small. Just like my friend had specified.
It has 4 pleats and is 12 inches in height and the bottom width is 10 inches. I used fusible iron on interfacing on the green side (my favourite side) and sewed in polyester batting on the orange side of the bag.

When we make it next time I will take pictures of the steps that I followed. I did not have enough time between starting on this project and the scheduled bag making date. Hence there are no WIP pictures. No, I still haven't made this one with her yet. Our scheduled date has been getting postponed for various reasons. But I'm sure we'll make it soon.

My friend hasn't seen this yet. I'm hoping she likes it.

Toast is the best, says Mummy dearest

2011-09-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

Pattern : Toast

Yarn : RYC Extra Fine Merino

Needles: 3.75 mm circular needles

Bangalore has been quite cold the last few months. It was my mother's birthday on September 1 and my parents were here with us. I wanted to knit a cozy sweater for my mother as her birthday gift. My mother, who loves cold weather admitted that only her wrists and arms felt cold and what she really really would love is something that would keep them warm. Thats when I decided to make a pair of fingerless gloves for her.

She loved this pattern and she chose this lovely red merino from my stash. It was so much fun zeroing in on a pattern and choosing yarn with her. This pattern has 2 versions - one with a thumb (called Toasty) and one without. My mother was sure she wanted the thumbless version. So that is exactly what I made.

She absolutely loves these and promptly wore them on days when it got chilly. She even wore it in a mall once where the air conditioning was really strong. Imagine my happiness! There is no greater joy than making your mother happy.

Satin Ruffled Clutch

2011-09-15T03:54:00.000-07:00

Pattern : Curved and Ruffled Clutch

This one took quite some time to complete but the finished product is worth every single second spent on making it. And to think that I almost didn't complete it.

I usually use fabric that I already have in my stash for most of my projects but for this one I actually went shopping for satin. I had a midnight blue colour in mind and was delighted to find this gorgeous satin in exactly the same colour.

I found the tutorial quite easy to follow but I did make a few changes and some mistakes. But then, that is what learning is all about.

I used this video tutorial to cut bias strips which I used to make the ruffles : Bias Tape

There are 4 tiers of ruffles to be made. The length of the bias strip should be one and a half times the desired length of the ruffle. Since I did not have double sided fusible and did not want to do a folded seam, I zig zagged the edge and sewed down about half an inch.

Here is how the wrong side of the strip looks :

I also did a zig zag stitch on the other edge to avoid fraying at a later stage. This is really not necessary.
Now, if you compare my clutch with the actual one you will notice that my ruffles face the other way. This is because I attached the ruffles on the other flap piece. Now when the clutch is complete this really doesn't matter and the clutch is really pretty but you may may want to keep this in mind while making it.

And this is exactly when I abandoned this project. I felt that I was making too many mistakes, rueing the fact that I did not use dousible sided fusible tape for the edges - generally feeling that this would not work. After about a week I decided to just complete the project. I thought that if not anything this might be my lesson in 'what not to do'.

The rest of the project went off smoothly. Made a few additions. I topstitched the curved edge and also added a magnetic snap closure.

The clutch is very elegant. I'm already thinking of making it in another colour. Love it!

What's For Lunch?

2011-08-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

Looking for a right sized plastic/paper bag every morning, to send my husband's lunch box in became really tiring. I had bad experiences with store-bought lunch bags earlier. The zippers were never durable or the plastic like fabric frayed within a few months of using it. So, I decided to make a lunch bag myself. Hurray! for sewing skills.

Tutorials I followed : Lunch Sack Tutorial

I loved this tutorial. For my bag, I used drill fabric and layers of thin polyester batting. Ganesh wanted a handle added to the bag so I made the flap separately and added a handle when I sewed the flap.

Here's how I did it :

I cut the flap pieces separately, sewed on batting to one flap piece and hand sewed the velcro on. I prefer hand sewing velcro. I then sewed only the curved part of the 2 flap pieces with right sides together. I left the straight edge open and turned the flap inside out. I topstitched the curved edge. Flap done.

I made the outer and inner bag shell as per the tutorial. After making the outer shell I thought of adding some quote/phrase on the bag. I typed the phrase 'What's for lunch' on notepad using font Ravie, font size 48 and printed it out. I then traced it onto the main fabric piece using carbon paper. I painted the phrase using fabric pen. It was my first time using a fabric pen to colour and I wished I had done all the above before sewing the batting onto the main faric.

Below are my 3 main pieces ready for assembly.

I had a last minute desire to add on my own fabric label. Fabric labels make handmade stuff extra special. I used this tutorial . Instead of using plain fabric I used iron-on interfacing. Cut a strip smaller than your gingham ribbon strip. One of the sides of iron-on interfacing has a waxy surface. This surface should face the gingham strip and should be ironed on with the iron on a high setting. Keep moving the iron quickly over the interfacing . You do need to be extra careful doing this with smaller fabric pieces. I used interfacing since I did not have plain fabric. For the words I used fabric pen. Though I was happy with the way the interfacing adhered to the ribbon I still did stitch the edges lest the interfacing peels away.

The label was then sewn on to the lining. Remember to sew it on the right side of the lining.

Assembling the pieces: I first pinned on the handle and the flap to the main bag shell (on the side opposite to the written side) taking care to centre the flap and to attach the handle edges equidistant from the centre.

The picture below shows the side view.

I pinned the top edges of the outer and inner shells right sides facing together. In this, one should remember to remove the earlier pins from the flap and the handles and pin the whole thing along with the lining.The fabric label side of the lining should be behind the handle side of the outer shell to ensure that the label is below the flap when the bag is done. The edges were then sewn together leaving a gap of about two and a half inches to turn the whole thing inside out. And below my bag after turning it inside out and sewing the gap closed.

I also topstitched the edge to give it a neater look. Remember to keep the flap and handle out of the way while topstitching. We want the stitching on the lining side not the flap side.

The other velcro piece was sewn in at the very end.

My husband loves his new lunch bag. Next time I make this I will surely add vinyl to the lining.

Note to self : Should stock up on non-girly fabrics for projects like these.

Cardigan Girl

2011-08-19T01:08:00.000-07:00

Pattern : February Lady Sweater

Yarn : Lily Sugar'n Cream Solid

Needles: US 8 (5mm) circular and US 10 (6mm) for binding off

Tutorials that helped me : One -row buttonhole

How to increase stitches across a row

11162 projects on ravelry and still counting. Is it any wonder that I chose this pattern for my very first cardigan. Buoyed by the success of Vesper I had decided that my next knit would be a cardigan. I absolutely love cardigans and it helped that this project was a knit-along with my friends. The process turned out to be fun.

Notes :

Cast on for size medium and used worsted cotton since it seemed like a low risk option for my first cardigan. I wouldn't feel bad if it went wrong. The yarn turned out to be very nice to work with.

I did a 3 stitch buttonhole. My first time making buttonholes. Looked difficult at first but got it right the very first time. Thanks to the wonderful tutorial.

Did 20 repeats of the gull lace pattern for the body and 16 repeats for the sleeves. Bound off using larger needles only for the body.

The buttons that I have used are made of shell and I have sewed them on using the same yarn. The cardigan goes well with jeans as well as skirts. Here I'm wearing it with my pleated skirt. Feels nice to be wearing 2 garments made my me.

Fabric Heaven

2011-08-13T23:44:00.000-07:00

Trust parents to always know what their children like and want. When my father was looking for a particular type of fabric called kora cotton that his sister had asked him to get, his search led him to Maharashtra Stores in Budhwar Peth, Pune. When I visited Pune, my father told me that I should visit this store and was sure I was going to love it. And did I love it! These days when I consider a day well spent when I have worked with fabric, imagine my happiness when I see 5 floors full of fabric. That is Maharashtra Stores for you.

As you enter the store you are greeted by pictures of India's leaders and freedom fighters. I met the owner Mr. Hiten Jerajani who told me that the store was established in September 1924 by his late grandfather Mr. Liladhar Premji Jerajani - a freedom fighter himself. It started as Maharashtra Khadi Bhandar when it opened and later during the Swadeshi Movement the name was changed to Maharashtra Swadeshi Stores. I was also told that during this time cloth was sold against ration cards and long queues of people waiting to buy fabric was not uncommon. In 1950 the store was renamed Maharastra Stores. There is still an old world charm to this store. The staff is courteous and helpful and the owner himself is extremely generous with his information.

An amazing range of fabric is available at this store. Here is a sneak peek.

Cotton drill

Cotton Drill : This is sturdy cotton fabric and is available in various thicknesses. The price ranges from Rs.45 to Rs.150 per metre

Plain mulmul

Printed mulmul

Mulmul : Mulmul is lightweight, breathable cotton fabric which has been around for hundreds of year. It is great for summer clothing since it absorbs moisture and keeps the wearer cool. It can be dyed easily and gets softer with every wash. There is a whole range of mul fabric at the store with prices ranging from Rs.15 to Rs.75 per metre. I bought some printed mulmul and it is super soft.

Lawn: Lawn is lightweight ,semi-sheer cotton fabric and doesn't have a lot of drape. Think kurtas worn by our politicians.

Longcloth : Longcloth is pure cotton fabric which is slightly thicker than poplin. It also refers to unbleached cotton fabric before it undergoes any kind of processing. The term longcloth is specific to India.

Apart from the types of cotton mentioned above they also have a nice range of regular cotton fabric and suiting and shirting fabric.

The store also stocks woollen dhotis (men's garment) which have been traditionally used during poojas (religious rituals) since wool is considered to be pure. This is one of the very few shops to stock them. These dhotis are made by a family in a remote village in the Saurashtra region in Western India. Below is a picture of a woollen dhoti.

Cashmilon : Similar to cotswool that was available in India earlier, this fabric is made of acrylic fibre and helps keep the wearer warm. Good for jackets and skirts.

Suede velvet : This fabric has a velvety side to it. Comes in some really pretty colours. I'm sure this fabric has many uses though I can only think of making bags with it. What would you use this for?

Wool fabric : The store also stocks 100 percent wool fabric.

Other fabrics include corduroy, satin, flannel, denim, net fabric, military uniform fabric and turkish towel fabric.

Military fabric

Flannel

Turkish Towel Fabric

Corduroy

And if you thought there was only fabric here, the store also has blankets made of pure wool or acrylic, bedsheets in soft cotton, curtains, cushion covers, dhurries and Solapur bedsheets.

Here is the address of the store:

Maharastra Stores

463/464, Budhwar Peth,

Soba Market,

Pune 411 002

Ph. No : 020-24459585

And now take a look at how the fabric bought at the higher floors reaches the cashier's counter.

Here is a bench

whose top flap when opened serves as a passage for fabric bought.

And the fabric lands on the cashier's counter! This is the top view. I think this practice is unique to Pune. I haven't seen this anywhere else and have always been amused by this.

My love for fabric grows stronger thanks to stores like these. Now to plan some interesting projects with all the fabric I bought.

Fun Fabric Headbands

2011-08-03T01:10:00.000-07:00

I'm packing (again!) This time I'm off to a nearby hill station where a dear cousin is getting married. It just isn't easy packing for a wedding. I thought I would return from Pune and post pictures(many) of the fabric store that I mentioned in my previous post. But with so much left to pack I think I will only be able to do it next week. C'est la vie!

Meanwhile, I thought I would squeeze in a quick post on something I made before I left for Pune.

Not only have these headbands been fun and quick to make but they are also extremely useful since I prefer to dry my hair naturally after washing it. They help in keeping the hair off my face as it dries. The plastic ones that I had earlier used to hurt my ears a lot. I absolutely love my new hairbands. I made 3 in a single afternoon.

And they are reversible too. Thanks to Jessica from Happy Together for the wonderful tutorial

Link to the tutorial : Double Sided Fabric Headband Pattern

I Heart Pune

2011-07-29T01:07:00.000-07:00

When it comes to Pune I am always lost as to where to begin. What can I say about this wonderful city that hasn't already been said? This is the city where I have lived my life till the day I got married and hence holds many very fond memories. Pune for me means childhood, history, tradition, great food, forts and wonderful happy people.

I'm at my parents' home in Pune, visiting after a year, the longest I have been away since I was born. I came here last week and am basking in the wonderful feeling of being home. Meeting people in the neighbourhood who have known me since I was a child, eating at my favourite eating places, shopping for fabric and craft items, going through my book collection which I still haven't taken to Bangalore are just some of the things that have been keeping me busy. The icing on the cake was meeting my school friends after so many years of passing out. It was an absolutely amazing evening.

I grew up in one of the Peths in Pune. Peth is a Marathi term used to refer to locality. Read more about the 17 Peths of Pune here: Peths of Pune

Since the Peths form the heart of this city, some of the best places to shop are still very close to my home. Today I plan to get some pictures of one huge fabric store that I discovered.

I'm leaving Pune in a couple of days. It is going to be sad leaving this place. I hope I get to live here again in the future.

Skirt Re-fashion : Boring black skirt to ruffled skirt

2011-07-11T04:52:00.000-07:00

I had this long black skirt which I had never worn. No, not even once. Every time I looked at it I thought "What was I thinking" Fact is, I wasn't thinking when I bought it.
Here it is:

And here is what has become of it : a fun ruffled skirt.

I used American crepe -that is what the fabric is called in this part of the world (Bangalore,India), since I couldn't find any knit fabric. You can use any fabric that has a good fall. I think satin would work well too.
I hemmed the ruffles since I wasn't using knit fabric. This, I did by using a rolled hem foot/picot foot. It was my first time using this foot so it was quite difficult in the beginning. I did not manage to get a perfectly rolled hem till the end but the edge turned out quite neat . The rest of the tutorial, I followed as explained. It really was a fun project.

All I need now is a nice top to go with it.

Here is the link to the amazing tutorial that I followed : Anthropologie Ruffled Skirt
The tutorial also shows you how to make your own skirt if you do not have one that you want to refashion.

Meet my new sewing machine

2011-06-14T23:27:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen my new Bernette 15! Its around 2 weeks old and is the reason for the smile on my face as I am typing.
I was actually very happy with my old sewing machine. The machine that I was using until now was a Usha Tailor Deluxe.

I purchased it many years back on a whim at a craft exhibition when the machine was available at a discount. Since I had no idea of sewing whatsoever at that time I just purchased a very basic machine. I had a vague idea that I wanted to sew. I started using it about 2 years after buying it. The Usha Tailor Deluxe is a robust machine and I was very happy with it until I wanted to attach a zipper foot to it. I've sewn zippers with a normal presser foot but felt that it would be great if I could fit a zipper foot for zippers and piping. I contacted the company about this. Though the response was quick they just directed me to their local dealers who were not sure whether the foot would fit the machine or not. They either didn't know (!!) or they just didn't seem interested since my machine was very basic. Ganesh kept insisting that I deserved a new machine but I wasn't ready to give up on my old one. It was only when my friend Rupi encouraged me to buy a new one did I decide to go ahead. She said I would know what I had been missing only when I bought a new one.

The decision this time was an informed one. After sewing for quite sometime now I had a clear idea of what I was looking for -

A robust machine with various presser feet.
A free arm for circular sewing
A good manual. No matter how good the demo given by the dealer is nothing can replace a well written manual. My earlier machine's manual left a lot to be desired.
A good number of utility stitches.
Machine should not vibrate at the maximum speed.
An easy to use bobbin winding system

I visited a number of shops in Chikpet, Bangalore. The one that my friend Tanushree suggested turned out to be the best. They had brands that were not available in the other shops. Bernina is available only with select dealers in India and they are one of them. I also did not know that Bernina has been in India since 1992. The owner of the store Mr. Kumar and his staff patiently answered all my questions and gave me brochures. It was there that I narrowed down my choice to Usha Stitch Magic and Bernette. The Brother sewing machines had a top loading (drop-in) bobbin system which I was not comfortable with. I am used to the front/side bobbin loading system. For some reason I did not consider Singer.

I think its best never to buy a machine the first time you visit a store. Decision making is clearer when you take time to process all the information that you gather on the first visit. Apart from the brochures I got back, I also looked at reviews for various machines on sewing forums. When I wanted to know more about the Bernina models available I wrote to Bernina India on their site. The response was immediate and again more questions about the various models were answered.

Why I chose Bernette 15 by Bernina?

LED display for displaying design patterns

Loved its features. It comes with 6 standard presser feet. Find the brochure and a list of presser feet (click on the download tab) here
For similar features ( as compared to Usha Stitch Magic) the Bernette15 came at a much lesser price. I saved a few thousand rupees.
It has a 2 level pressure foot lift which will be useful for sewing many layers.
The other models in Bernina were way beyond my budget for now. Find the Bernina models available in India here on their site : Bernina India
It comes with a wonderful manual.

I was also impressed with Shubha Enterprises - the store where I bought my machine. They are wonderful people to deal with so I'm sure that after sales service will be good. I got a demo of the machine by Mr. Anand from the store who was very knowledgeable.

Here is their address -
Mr. Kumar
No. 6/3 Near Upparpet Police station
Bangalore 560053
Karnataka.

Ph : 080-22201651 080-2226 3651

Some do's when you are buying a machine

Keep in mind what kind of projects you will be using your machine for. If it were only dressmaking I would have been happy with my old machine. Since I also make bags I felt the need to upgrade.
Ask your friends about their machines and features/ read reviews on the internet and on sewing forums.
Know the functions of various presser feet. There are standard feet available and also optional feet that can be bought as and when you need them.
All machines from a brand might not be on display in the store. If there is something you have in mind ask for it.
Use the machine, that you are planning to buy, at the dealer's and don't shy away from asking questions.

What about my old machine now? My mother said she would be happy to use it.

P.S. If there is a problem commenting on my blog please let me know by sending me an email. If your google profile goes in a loop while commenting you need to uncheck the "stay signed in" option, sign in again and then comment.

Kreativ Blogger Award

2011-06-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

My blog has been awarded the "Kreativ Blogger Award" by Josie from Handmade by knottygal blog.This is my blog's first ever award and I'm delighted to say the least. Thank you so much Josie!

The following are the rules suggested for the Kreative Blogger Award :

• Thank the person who nominated you for the award
• Copy the logo and place it on your blog
• Link to the person who nominated you for this award
• List seven things about yourself that people might find interesting
• Nominate and post links to the seven Kreativ Bloggers you nominate
• Leave a comment on each of the blogs (or otherwise notify the recipients), letting them know they have been nominated

As per the rules I have to list down 7 things about myself. So here they are

I love to have a cup of tea around 11 in the morning. It is my favourite time of the day. I call this my 11 o'clock tea. Rituals like these make the day so interesting. I also like to nibble on a piece of dark chocolate after lunch. Bournville is my favourite.

I can speak 5 languages fluently Hindi,Marathi,Kannada,Tamil and English. I learnt French in school and German in college but they are barely passable now. But you really don't forget a language, do you?. Comes back when you really need it. Like the time when we were in Germany and I had to converse with people who only knew German. I think I did quite well.

I recently discovered that I have a huge appetite for movies. On a 16 hour flight to the US I watched around 7 movies, most of them romantic comedies.

I love the colour purple. It makes me happy.

I love to travel. I prefer the hills and mountains to the beaches.

I love dancing. I learnt Bharatnatyam(Indian classical dance) for many years since childhood. I had once thought that I would be a dancer.

I actually studied to be a production engineer, trained in a boiler manufacturing company as part of my course and then did a post graduation in business management. Here I am following a different path altogether and loving my life for all the various times it has shown me. It has been one lovely journey from overhead cranes, welding ,radial drilling machines to sewing machines and knitting needles.

And here's a list of some of my favourite blogs who I pass on the award to

eats reads reviews

iro iro

passionate about baking

aesthetic nest

made by Lex

flossie teacakes

Thanks to the above bloggers for inspiring me . Keep up all the good work.

Happy Birthday to me!!!

2011-06-03T02:27:00.000-07:00

It seems like yesterday that I celebrated my last birthday. But here I am a year older and hopefully wiser. Over the years one thing that has not changed and hopefully never will is my enthusiasm for birthdays even if it is mine. According to me, this is the day we got our greatest gift - life and it calls for a major celebration. This year is extra special since my parents are here. I spent the morning opening some really lovely gifts and reading birthday messages from my friends. Every birthday I feel lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life. My loved ones have made another birthday of mine so memorable.

Am looking forward to a nice evening ahead. And I cannot wait to show you my new sewing machine in my next post.

Quilted Make Up Bag

2011-05-31T00:27:00.000-07:00

I love the feel a quilted exterior gives a bag/pouch. After having successfully made this boxy pouch, I decided to make a make up bag using a quilted outer fabric. This time for my friend Cindy who is relocating to another country.

Tutorial : Make up bag

I've used this fantastic tutorial before to make this bag/pouch. I changed the measurement a bit this time to get a bigger bag.

My main and lining fabric measurements were : 9" x 6.5" . I lined the pouch with green cotton fabric and added an owl felt sticker.

Cindy loved it. This is a quick project and I'm surely making more of these.

Fuschia Ruffled Top

2011-05-22T04:53:00.000-07:00

Pattern : Ruffled Top

I have been a follower of the Weekend Designer blog ever since I started sewing. And I had this top in mind ever since I saw it. Its so pretty, isn't it?

This is the first time I attempted something out of my comfort zone. Though I have drafted a couple of patterns before, they have been much simpler than this one. I took quite some time drafting this pattern and making a muslin. I did not want my eagerness to finish this, ruin the end product.

Yes, its also my first time making a muslin. I'm so glad I did since there were some changes that needed to be done. The neck turned out a bit too wide. Making a muslin is so very important for that perfect fit and to rectify mistakes at the pattern level. I wrote to Don who said that I could narrow the neckline by building up the shoulder seams and correct looseness by building up the front and back neck.

The only change I made while sewing is that I attached the ruffles to the armholes. According to the sewing instructions given, the sleeve only attaches to the upper part of the armhole and the ends hang free. I hand sewed the ruffle edges. I learnt how to make a rolled hem. Yaay! This is also the first time that I used darts in a wearable.

After I sewed the whole thing I found that the neckline still was a bit loose so I made the neck binding wider and attached the neck binding again.

My first attempt at this pattern turned out so wearable. I love it.

Thank you Don for helping me out and answering all my questions.

And.....Fifteee!

2011-05-04T22:11:00.001-07:00

My fiftieth post! What a happy and proud moment it is for me. And what an exciting journey it has been. I hope you have enjoyed this journey as much as I have.Fifty posts might not sound like a lot but I'm feeling very proud to have come this far. When I look back I realise how much I've grown. In terms of expressing myself (my first blog had 2 sentences ....noooo,don't look). I did not know then if I even wanted to blog. It was my dear husband who encouraged me to blog (Thank you Ganesh, you are the best!). It has been fun and has now become such an important part of me.

Thank you all you readers for reading what I write and for your comments. I love hearing from you. Every comment makes my day, everytime. Keep them coming even if it just to say "hi".

Thanks also to these people who do not know me but have inspired and taught me so much

Crochet : Teresa
Knitting : Judy
Craft Inspiration : ThreadBanger
Patternmaking : Don Morin

I hope life is exciting enough for me to be able to share something always. Am eagerly looking forward to the next 50 posts.

Boxy Pouch Re-visited

2011-04-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

I love the versatality of boxy pouches. They are also very easy to make but are probably one of those things where interfacing plays an extremely important role. I made 2 more boxy pouches a few months ago . For one I used iron-on fusible interfacing and thin foam. For the other I used only thick foam as interfacing. And this time I also quilted it. And they both look different from each other. The first one holds its shape very well but is not so squishy. The second one is squishy and yet holds its shape very well.

My mother-in-law has been using this pouch ever since I gave her. It now looks like its seen better days. So I thought it was time to give the boxy pouch another try. The dimensions are very different from the very first one I made.

Tutorial : Boxy Pouch

The pouch turned out good and mother-in-law was very happy

I decided to try something different when I decided to make it again. I used the same tutorial as above but changed the dimesions to 17" x 13" to make a larger pouch.

I sandwiched the foam betwewn the main fabric and another piece of fabric ( this is not the lining piece). I have tried something like this before for this camera cozy. I tried sewing the foam directly onto the main fabric - something like sew-in interfacing. Foam tends to tear when sewn and the process becomes quite difficult. Hence sandwiching the foam between 2 layers is important.

I then drew criss cross lines on the fabric, pinned and sewed down the three layers together. This acts as the main fabric. The quilted piece should look like this.

I cut the lining piece the same dimension as the quilted piece and followed the rest of the tutorial as it is. For both the pouches I bound the inner seams with satin ribbon and it really makes for a clean finished product.

And here is the quilted boxy pouch

This pouch was a birthday gift for my friend Cefalo Susy. Susy is Italian and I met her in Florence (Ahhhh! Florence). We've kept in touch after our meeting and she has now become a dear friend of mine. It did take a while to reach her but I'm glad she liked it and has been using it as a jewellery pouch.

Hat Trick

2011-04-21T02:22:00.000-07:00

Pattern : Jacques Costeau Hat

Helpful Videos : How to end a hat

My favourite hat pattern for men and I have never mentioned it here before. Just means one thing, my projects exceed my speed of posting. No, I'm just joking. Have been busy being lazy of late.

For someone who gets bored making the same pattern twice I've made three hats using this pattern. That says so much about this pattern and how much I love it. Its extremely simple and looks great on men. Oh yes, on women too!

I'll never tire of making these. I do wear Ganesh's hat sometimes. I love it so much. I made the first one for him on his birthday last year. Used Wool of the Andes yarn from Knitpicks. Cast on 100 stitches with 4.5mm needles. My first knitted gift for him which he uses all the time.

It has expanded with use though. I didn't realise this until recently. Should say it held its shape for quite sometime. Should cast on lesser number of stitches next time.

I made the second one for my brother-in-law Navin. I used the same yarn. 3 skeins of Wool of the Andes were just right for 2 hats. I have just a few yards left. Navin loved it too. Here is Jacques Costeau No. 2

I made the third one recently for my father. Bought pure wool from Mumbai. Pure wool is not available in Bangalore. Its ironical. The yarn is Wendy Aristocrat and is DK weight. The same yarn that I used for my Wurm. Lovely colour and nice yarn. Used 3.25 mm needles this time and cast on 100 stitches. It turned out perfect. Hope it holds it shape with use.

For the decrease I followed mods suggested by Ravelry member Dabhand. For 100 stitches [number of stitches must be divisible by 5 (for the 3x2 ribbing) and by 4 (for the decreases)] the decreases are as follows
Dec round 1: K21 in pat, dec, pm; k23 in pat, dec, pm; k23 in pat, dec, pm; k23 in pat, dec, pm; p2.

decrease method: sl1, k1, psso
Thanks to designer Lalla Pohjanpalo for this fantastic pattern!

Yercaud

2011-04-07T03:50:00.000-07:00

My parents are visiting and we decided to go on a weekend break with them last month. A friend recommended beautiful Yercaud. And what a lovely tranquil hill station it is! Less crowded than Ooty or Kodaikanal but just as beautiful.

Yercaud is 227 kms south east of Bangalore and lies in the Shevaroy hills. The drive from Bangalore takes about 5 hours. Salem is the nearest town when you travel from Bangalore. From Salem begins the 31 km uphill drive to Yercuad. It takes about an hour to negotiate the 20 hairpin bends.

We were welcomed by the beautiful fragrance of Citriodora trees as we started our journey uphill. This set the tone for a great weekend. I almost burst into a song. But better sense prevailed and I just hummed a tune to myself. There are quite a few tourist attractions in Yercaud but we chose to relax and admire the hills. The hotel where we stayed had an amazing view of the valley. We also had some visitors now and then. Managed to capture one of them.

We were told about this perfumery factory where natural oils are extracted to make many products. Called The Yercaud Perfumery Factory, it is owned by Mr. Ramesh Singh. We visted his place and bought some of their products (have used them already and very pleased). These have a good medicinal value and are apparently always in demand. These days whenever there is a natural alternative to any product I use, I choose natural.

Mr. Ramesh Singh is actually the descendant of a freedom fighter. His father Mr. Jaggu Singh, running 83, manages a vast farm full of exotic herbs and flowers. We had the good fortune of being taken on a guided tour of the farm by him, throughout being regaled by stories of yore. The end of the path provides a wonderful view of the valley. If you visit Yercaud do visit this humble man's farm. His passion for herbs is heartwarming. The address is :

Yercaud Perfumery Factory
Meera Nivas, Near Sri Gnanananda Ashram,
Temple Road,
Yercaud - 636602
Ph - 04281-222360, 222630

It was a short and sweet stay and I felt very sad to leave Yercaud but as they say, good things in life always come in small packets. Am sure I will go back some day...

Olive Vesper

2011-03-28T02:39:00.000-07:00

Pattern : Vesper

Yarn : Laura Knitting Cotton ( DK 8ply)

Needles : US4 (3.5mm)

Videos that were very helpful : Provisonal Crochet Cast- On
Short Row Tutorial

When it came to zeroing in on my first knit wearable, I was looking for something simple to knit, good to look and something I would wear frequently. I finally chose Vesper. Knit in cotton, Vesper is a very well written pattern.

I started with a provisonal crochet cast on since I had decided to use Roko's mods where the pleats are knitted together and not sewn together like the pattern instructs. The pattern does have endless rows of Stockinette stitch. I used this to practice speed knitting and to also see whether I could knit without looking. It was fun.

I used Roko's method for pleating. It is quite easy once you get the hang of it. Since I was not so confident, I first tried it on a test knit and then pleated Vesper. I used thinner bamboo needles as 2 additional needles to do the pleats. I also added a lifeline on the row below the row to be pleated. Am glad I did this though the pleats turned out correct the first time I made them. After the pleats I did a k2tog at the place of each pleat to avoid holes at pleats.

When I did the sleeves I picked up a few stitches at the armhole to avoid gaps. I then wet blocked Vesper. The colour did bleed a bit when washed. Since it is cotton it did not stretch much. The yarn was very nice to knit with. But I do wish the resultant fabric was a bit softer. This is the only cotton yarn that is available here. So there isn't much I can do about it.

I love my Vesper. My first knit wearable (yay!) has been a wonderful learning experience. Thanks to my friend Sanhita for helping me out whenever I had questions about the pattern. Thanks Heidi for this beautifully written pattern!

This wurm is warm

2011-03-20T23:45:00.000-07:00

Pattern : Wurm

Yarn : Wendy Aristocrat (100% wool, DK 8ply)

Needles : US5 (3.75 mm) and US6 (4mm)

This is my first wool yarn buy in India. I bought it at Pradhan Stores near CST, Mumbai. When I saw this colour , Wurm was what came to my mind.

Wurm is such an attractive pattern. It has a double brim which was a first for me. Love the construction of the double brim. It looks very good and helps it fit snug on the head.

I cast on 90 stitches. After the brim section I switched to 4mm needles. The cable of my 16 inch circular needle broke just when I was a few rows into it . After several attempts at trying to fix it I decided to learn the magic loop method and go ahead with the project. The broken cable turned out to be a blessing. I love the magic loop now. Thanks to this fantastic video .

The pattern works up very fast. Does not need much attention while working on it.

I have been using this hat a lot. My love for hats keeps growing. And the lovely patterns on Ravelry don't help any. Do I sound like I'm complaining?

Green GAP-tastic cowl

2011-03-07T05:14:00.000-08:00

Pattern : GAP-tastic cowl

Yarn : Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Grande

Needles : US 13 (9mm)

When I first saw this pattern I immediately knew I wanted to knit this with the 2 skeins of the super soft Baby Alpaca yarn that I had fallen in love with and just had to buy. Lovely pattern to use up all of 2 skeins. The pattern calls for 306 yards of bulky weight yarn and the cowl is 15 inches wide. Since I had 220 yards to work with I cast on 131 stitches with US 13 - 9.00 mm needles as per the pattern and ended up with a cowl which has a width of 8 inches. Am very happy with the way it turned out.

The pattern works up very fast. The moss stitch looks great on this bulky yarn.
The yarn sheds like crazy while knitting but the finished product hasn't shed at all. The cowl is super duper soft and cuddly.
I completed this in time for my weekend trip to beautiful Yercaud.

Sewing with Vinyl

2011-02-27T00:06:00.000-08:00

Here it is - my vinyl wallet. It is scrapbook paper sandwiched between clear vinyl and sewn together. My very first experience sewing with vinyl.

Tutorial link - Vinyl Wallet

My verdict- Not easy at all. But extremely rewarding if you are up to the challenge. What you might have heard about vinyl is true. It sticks to the presser foot making life so difficult.

Here are some things that I found useful and some things that you should keep in mind before starting off
1. Adjust the stitch length to the maximum.
2. I wish I had seen this tip before. Clever, isn't it? Since I didn't have a non-stick foot and hadn't seen the tip before, I found that giving the vinyl a slight tug from the other side helps.
3. I used needle no.21- the one I use to sew heavy weight fabrics.
4. Read the instructions carefully before you begin. But if you read it too many times you might get confused. This is one of those tutorials where things become clearer as you progress. Refer to the video and the text.
5. Practise with extra vinyl before making the wallet. I tried sewing vinyl and some glossy magazine paper together. It worked.
6. I found it easier to fix the snap after punching a hole with an awl first.
7. You need a snap tool to fix the snaps. So do not forget to buy these in case you are fixing snaps for the first time.

I found it difficult to sew through all the layers at the end (I did use medium weight vinyl). Maybe it was just my machine. I don't know. The next time I make this I will add just two pockets instead of three or might try a lighter weight in vinyl.

I'm in love with my new wallet. I'm sure the next ones I make will turn out better than this one. Practice is surely the name of this game.

Three Gathered Clutches

2011-02-02T23:18:00.000-08:00

Whether you are looking to make a quick gift for someone or you are looking to use leftover fabric then this is the perfect tutorial for you. This is one of the more popular clutch tutorials in the blogoshpere. I made one and it is so easy and simple to make that I made two more as gifts.

Link to the tutorial : Gathered Clutch

The first clutch

I made this one using drill (leftover from the bean bag). Bad choice of fabric for this clutch. Drill being thick, I had a tough time gathering the fabric. It aslo gives the gathers bulk.

For the other two clutches I used pure cotton fabric. These were my fabric choices. On the left side are the gathered front and the plain back of the clutch. On the right are the lining and pocket pieces along with zipper tabs and zippers

You might remember these prints from my earlier projects. I had a fun time trying to combine prints. Loved the results. These two will be gifted to my mother and aunt.

This one for my favourite aunt.

This is for my dear mother. Mummy, I love you and know you will love this!

Bean bag - Take 2

2011-01-17T21:37:00.000-08:00

When it comes to sewing I feel like a child who has just learned to speak and wants to say so many things all at once. It really is a wonderful feeling that there are always so many projects that I want to make. But sometimes it gets confusing as to which should be the next project. The decision making process is even more difficult if you are a Gemini like yours truly.

Remember the bean bag I made earlier? When my sister asked me to make her a red bean bag it was one decision less to make. I decided to sew the shells and take it when I visited her in California. This time I used cotton drill. Drill is thicker than normal cotton. I followed the same tutorial as for the earlier one. The only change apart from the fabric was the filling and connected snaps that I used. The filling in the US is quite different from what is available here. The beans are much bigger. The connected snaps are hand sewn.

For the inner shell I used an old bedsheet. Here it is filled and ready to go into the outer shell.

The outer shell with connected snaps sewn and the inner shell inserted into it.

And done! Very happy with this one too. My sister and brother-in-law loved it.

2011

2011-01-12T04:40:00.000-08:00

While i was wondering how soon 2010 passed, I see that 12 days of 2011 have also gone by. Time just flies doesn't it? To thank 2010 for the wonderful time it showed us I made a three course meal of oven roasted raw banana and zucchini salad, stuffed spinach crepes and walnut tart for our New Year Eve's dinner. Here are the pictures, all hurriedly taken since all we wanted to do was dig in.

The oven roasted raw banana and zucchini salad. The recipe called for a hazelnut dressing. I used pistachios instead.

Spinach crepes stuffed with cottage cheese served with tomato sauce and white sauce topped with cheese

And the walnut tart. I did not have liquid glucose which the recipe called for. I substituted this with golden syrup. The filling turned out gooey but tasted very very good. I served it with whipped cream. Could not wait for the tarts to cool a bit. You can see all the whipped cream melting away.

Three new recipes + one inspired cook = a memorable dinner

I hope the year has gotten off to a great start for all of you. Here's wishing that all the good times continue.

Indiyeah!

2010-12-18T04:58:00.000-08:00

I love this time of the year when the weather is just getting cold and we are just a few weeks away from new beginnings. It is also around this time that craft exhibitions, or mela (fair) as they are called, are held . As a child growing up in Pune I used to accompany my mother to these melas. That is when my love for these exhibitions began. These are great places to buy yourself something unique directly from the craftsmen. When we were in Mumbai it was the exhibitions by Surabhi Foundation and Kala Ghoda festival that I used to eagerly await. Among many things that I have bought at such melas I still cherish my braided blue, black and white lac (wax) bangle, a beautiful crushed pink silk skirt with golden polka dots and my cat coin purse.

In Bangalore, I had heard a lot about these annual exhibitions at Chitrakala Parishad. This year I got to go for the first time. Organised by Kala Madhyam it was held from Dec3 to Dec 12th. It was one of those exhibitions where you not only get to see the faces behind the beautiful creations but also get to see them at work. The artisans, some National and State awardees had come from all over India.

This craft mela was a real treat. Apart from the many craft stalls there were henna artists, hair braiding artists and also folk performances. The stalls had everything from wooden block printing blocks to stoneware from Manipur, Kantha work shoes from Kolkata to quilted bags from Gujarat, beaded necklaces and belts to extremely beautiful Tanjore paintings.

What I bought :

Stone utensils at a stall from Manipur. I love them. My father later told me that his mother used to cook in stone utensils known as Kal chatti in the south. Only when he sees it will I know if it is the same kind of stone.

And these Kantha work shoes. The sole is made of jute and these are very comfortable. This is the first time that I saw such work on shoes. Kantha work has traditionally been used only on sarees or dupattas/stoles.

And this beautiful Warli painting. Warli is the name of a tribe from Maharashtra which uses this form of painting to decorate houses.

Some more beauties.

Clockwise from left are wooden blocks for block printing, keychains, quilted coasters with beaded borders and a bracelet. Some blocks had really intricate designs on them. Loved these.

Also bought some bookmarks like this one. These are from Orissa.

I had been wanting to buy a Thanjavur (name of the place where this form of painting originates) or Tanjore painting for a long time. And this time I did. This form of painting, which uses gold foil is centuries old. These paintings have been traditionally those of Hindu Gods and Goddesses but these days one can even get their portrait done in this style. What I liked about this is the beautiful face of Goddess Laxmi. The artist ( a State awardee) has done a fascinating job. Sadly, it was difficult to capture the beauty of this painting due to light either reflecting from the glass or the foil.
The colours used are mostly natural. The red for the saree comes from Hibiscus.

It is nice to see that these traditional crafts are being presented in new ways thanks to many designers and NGOs who strive to give traditional art and craft the respect they deserve and also helping the craftsmen to learn, grow and succeed. The heart prays for more success and strength to these hands that make India so beautiful.

Red Slippers

2010-12-09T06:45:00.000-08:00

Drops Spring/Summer Collection 2011 will be out for voting on December 10th. I can't wait to see their new patterns. While i wait for the 10th to dawn, i thought i would share this picture of these red slippers i made more than a year ago. The pattern is from Drops Design (you already guessed, didn't you?)

I made a pair each for my sister and my mother. I was a newbie at crochet then and this had been my most difficult project . I love this pattern but if i make it again i would add a bit of elastic around for a snug fit.

Pattern link : Crochet Slippers

Warm Wintry Wonders

2010-12-01T21:03:00.000-08:00

I love hats and am of the opinion that hats and socks are the strongest weapons to combat cold weather. My sister, on the other hand, has never been a great fan of hats and has always insisted that it never looked good on her. Well, until now. I wanted her to have a good looking hat to keep her warm through the winter. I chose this lovely pattern (called intuitive) thinking that if my sister didn't like it i would add one more to my growing hat collection.

I am extremely happy that my sister loves it and has been wearing it very often. It feels so wonderful that something knit by me is keeping a loved one warm. And doesn't she look good in it!

The hat pattern is very simple. I used Knitpicks Merino Style for this one. It took about one and a half skeins.

I then wanted to make her a cowl to go with the hat. I chose honey cowl. The pattern can be knit in 3 lengths. I made the longest one. I'm surely making more of this. A honey cowl in silk maybe?

Pattern links
Hat : Intuitive ( a free ravelry download)
Cowl : Honey cowl This pattern on ravelry : Honey cowl

Knitting a cloud

2010-11-22T01:57:00.000-08:00

My sister had loved 2 skeins of pink Palette yarn from Knitpicks that i had bought and had wanted me to make her something out of it. I chose this pattern called Storm Cloud Shawlette by Hanna Breetz. Its a half circle shawl inspired by Elizabeth Zimmerman's pi shawl. The pattern is extremely easy with a beautiful result. It can be made with or without ruffles.

I initially started with US8/5mm needles but found that the resulting knit was a bit open for my liking. And i also wanted to use up both the skeins that i had. I restarted with US6/4mm needles. I followed the pattern just as it is till the increase at row 72. After the increase at row72, i did an increase at row 92 and bound off on row 112 using US8/5 mm needles. I used almost the whole of the second skein as well.

This shawlette is so wonderfully light, like a cloud. My sister loved it. All she needs is a shawl pin. She wanted the shawl to stay in place when wrapped around the shoulders. I'm sure the shawl will look even better with a shawl pin.

We had a great time taking pictures on the lawns of the local library.

Here's the link to the pattern on Ravelry : Storm Cloud Shawlette

I made pajamas!!

2010-10-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

These pajamas were on my must- make list for quite sometime. I also thought these would make a great gift for my sister.

I followed this tutorial : Pajamas

The best part of this tutorial is that you make the pattern from existing pajamas. So if you choose your comfiest pair you end up with an identical one. And its really really simple. For the pattern, according to me, it is best to choose pajamas that does not have any stretch (eg.lycra) in it.

I used satin ribbon as a drawstring and the buttonholes (you will insert the drawstring through the buttonholes) are hand sewn. I used this tutorial for the buttonholes : Handmade Buttonholes

To check fraying of the satin ribbon i used my mother's tip. A slight touch with a lit incense stick at the cut edges of the satin ribbon should do the trick.

My sister loves her new pajamas and says she can " live in these " (look at her prancing around in her new favourite PJs). And i have to tell you that a few days after making these i saw a very similar pair in Marks and Spencer for Rs. 895. I couldn't be happier. I will be surely making more of these for my sister and me. The pattern is for keeps.

On a holiday

2010-10-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

.......is me !! I'm having a fantastic time and there are 3 more weeks to go before my holiday ends. Presently, i'm in beautiful California spending time with my dear sister and brother-in-law, after having visited Virginia (had a great time with Ganesh's brother, his wife and 2 adorable kids) and New York City. It rained cats and dogs in New York so had to give Central Park , which i so much wanted to see, a miss. But just feeling New York was amazing. I had the best Tiramisu in a restaurant called Fresh Basil on Lexington Avenue. We went to Times Square at night and loved it so much that we went there the subsequent evening as well.

We had a hard time looking for hotels in New York online. Everything was either way beyond our budget or very far from the main attractions of the city. But in the end we did find Verve. Clean and very comfortable rooms, excellent staff, good breakfast and extremely convenient location. There are 2 subway stations (Queens Plaza and 39th st) within a 3 minute walking distance.

Some places which i loved

National Museum of American History in Washington D.C.

If you love visiting museums you will first have to decide which of the nineteen museums you would like to visit in this city. Admission is free to all museums. Isn't that great? We chose the National Museum of American History.I was fascinated by this museum. It shows that museums need not be boring. A day is not enough to take in everything displayed here.

There was an exhibition of pop up books with exhibits spanning four centuries. Also the recreation of Julia Child's kitchen was very well done. There's a science lab with many interesting projects to try out. I made a electric fan using snap circuits. The most delightful moment was when i switched it on ,after completing the circuit, and the fan launched itself high up in the air for a few seconds.

A visit to this museum is definitely recommended.

Here's a picture of Julia Child's kitchen

A pop up book

Vintage lunch boxes

A 23 room doll house which once belonged to a girl called Faith Bradford (1880-1970)

Reston Town Center, Virginia

Here is where i got to see Anthropologie and Pottery Barn having read about them all this while on various craft sites and blogs. And did i love these stores! Everything on display is extremely beautiful and an inspiration if you are a crafter.

G street fabrics, Virginia

Fabric heaven. I bought only a couple of pieces of fabric which were on sale since, apart from cotton, i do not have much experience working with other fabrics. So was being safe in my purchase. Exploring fabric stores in my time left here is on my to-do list.

Rangoli Restaurant, South Riding- Virginia

Owned by my husband's brother, i had the most amazing Indian food here. This is the first time we got to see Rangoli. Was really nice to see this restaurant that we had worked together on. Ganesh and I did our bit during the planning phase - brainstorming for the name of the restaurant, ideas about the decor, menu etc.
Over the last 4 years its gone on to win many awards. Truly a proud moment for all of us.
The tag line 'Celebrate India' is by yours truly.

Here's the link to the restaurant site: Rangoli

Yarn stores

Visited Imagiknits in San Francisco and Uniquities in Vienna (Virginia). Fantastic stores both of them. It was really wonderful to actually touch and feel all the yarn i had only heard about. I was spoilt for choice. Both the places have extremely friendly staff.

Here's a picture of Uniquities

Monterey Bay Aquarium California

My awe for the creator increased hundred fold when i visited this aquarium. I could easily spend every weekend just watching these amazing creatures. Saw this quote which says ' The world under water is the closest we can get to another world'. I couldn't agree more. Look at these pictures:

Leafy Sea Dragon

Love the colour on this fish and the coral reef behind it

Mystery Spot ,Santa Cruz, Calfornia

You just have to visit this place to experience something that science hasn't solved yet. Its super fun for all ages. Here's where you get to walk on the wall as if you are climbing up the stairs. Its just one of the many things you get to experience. Don't read up on this place before you visit. It'll spoil the fun.

Craft Room Part 4 - The Complete Picture

2010-09-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

I have a smile on my face as i am typing this. My craft room is complete and writing about it is giving me immense pleasure.

I never had thought i would do something like this one day. That making stuff would become so important to me.

Sometimes life throws out your best laid plans out of the window when you are nowhere beneath the said window. What do you do? You rant and do the why-me routine. Its absolutely necessary. Then you go through one day into the next with the mantra 'Chin up, straight back, forward march'. You sometimes feel your worst - and that's when you should dress up your best(believe me, it works! ). When you are busy getting yourself together life then surprises you and might even sweep you off your feet. And all that is exactly what happened to me. When things went topsy turvy I discovered a new found love to crochet, knit and sew. Maybe i always knew i liked to but not so much. And now i am so happy to have discovered this part of me. Things do happen for a reason after all.

So, here's my craft room done up with lots of love. Am very happy and proud that its all done. I'm glad that i decided to get the whole room painted a single colour rather than just having an accent wall painted. The whole journey from deciding the colour of the curtains, choosing the material and print for everything , learning from tutorials to taking pictures of the completed product has been wonderful in terms of learning and joy experienced.

Here's how the room looked initially. We were making do with the curtains from our Mumbai home.

Before

And after

The room takes on a different look at night. Its the place to relax ,write or simply dream. Have added a string of fairy lights on the curtain rods. I love fairy lights and they make the place look magical.

The wardrobe in this room houses all my craft paraphernalia. I use detergent boxes and paper bags as storage.

Am planning to beautify the boxes someday by decoupage, something i tried once earlier on this box below.

A few favourite things

A photo of us taken in Barcelona on the table - a reminder of the fantastic vacation we had. Since the picture was much smaller than the frame, i used printed paper as a background.

A ceramic mug with a Hindi movie picture on it and a coaster gifted by my friend during one of our Ravelry meets.

And a candle stand on top of my grandfather's wooden chest. I wanted it to hold a few tea light candles but the area available at the base was not enough. I increased the height of the container by adding rangoli powder to it (you can also use sand). The area available increased and i can place 4 tea light candles in the container now.

Here's to many more happy hours of crafting in my world!

Craft Room Part 3 - Inspiration Board

2010-09-01T02:16:00.000-07:00

I have always loved the idea of an inspiration board . Am not a fan of the magnetic boards that are available. I wanted to make one using cork board which i could not find. I did have some cardboard from a huge carton and some foam sheets. I decided to 'make it work' (Tim Gunn's famous words).

So, here's what i did.

I cut 2 pieces of the foam sheet the same size of that of the cardboard piece and glued these 2 pieces to the cardboard one on top of the other to form 2 layers. I then covered this with fabric and glued the fabric to the back of the cardboard. The fabric is not glued to the foam layer.

I attached 2 long strips of satin ribbon along the length of the board. This gives it extra strength. Tied the 2 satin strips to form a bow. Voila! my new soft board was ready.

I really do not know how long this is going to last given that its only foam sheets covered with fabric. This is more like an experiment but am happy that this works for now.

P.S. The picture on the left bottom of the soft board is my absolute favourite.

Craft Room Part 2 - Pink Polka Dotted Bean Bag

2010-08-18T23:35:00.000-07:00

Curtains done, I now wanted some kind of informal seating for this room. The right opportunity to make this bean bag here on Threadbanger . I love Threadbanger. Sad that Rob, Corrine and Meg are no longer part of team Threadbanger. But then, change is the only constant, isn't it?

In this video Meg explains how to make a bean bag with cotton fabric. I chose this pattern since you can remove the outer shell for washing.
The pattern is really simple. Since its a big pattern you will need to attach some newspaper pages with scotch tape before starting.

For the circle which is 12 inches in radius, I did not have the kind of tape measure that Meg uses. So, i drew some intersecting lines all passing through one point. I then marked 12 inches on these lines measuring from the intersecting point. I joined all these points free hand to form a circle. Followed the tutorial as it is for the rest of the pattern.

I used an old double bedsheet for the inner shell. For the filling i used bean bag filling along with scrap fabric and cotton pillow filling.

For the main bean bag body i used two metres of thick cotton fabric whose width was 60 inches. I could not find series snaps hence used velcro for the opening in the outer shell. Sewed velcro without a zipper foot. I found it quite easy. The trick is to sew very slowly taking care that the needle does not come onto the sticky part of the velcro.

Some WIP pictures

Tracing the outer shell using the pattern

2 pieces of outer shell

Joining the centre of one arc to middle of the top of the other circle.

The finished bean bag which my little Miss Sunshine adores. So what if she's not real!

Craft Room Part 1 - New Curtains

2010-08-16T23:47:00.000-07:00

Have been a fan and follower of ashley's blog for sometime now and was very inspired by her craft room makeover series. I decided to do something similar to this room where i spend so much time crafting. Have been very lucky to have a whole room for myself.

We (my husband was so very supportive and as enthusiastic as I ) started by getting this room painted a lovely shade of green called Green Apple. I was seeing so much of green in decor magazines that it was just the colour i wanted. I love the way pink looks with this shade of green. So the curtains had to be pink.

I chose this baby pink cotton fabric with little flowers on it for the curtains. Followed Ashley's tutorial for making tabbed curtains. I made four panels with seven tabs for each panel. Realised that making curtains is really easy. I did not have to line these since this room does not receive direct sunlight.

Love the fabric and the way the curtains turned out.

From Thatha, with love

2010-08-12T02:20:00.000-07:00

Thatha is Tamil for grandfather. That's what i would have called my paternal grandfather had i had the good fortune to see him. He passed away long before I was born. I only know of what a loved and respected person he was from the account of all the people who knew him.

He lived in Mysore with his wife and 9 children. Things were difficult those days and more so with a large family. When he found it difficult to make ends meet with his meagre salary as a school teacher he decided to take up repairing watches and clocks. This he learnt purely by observing a watchmaker. My grandfather then went on to opening his own watch shop and was always sought for repairing watches and clocks that belonged to the Mysore Royal family.

I always wanted to possess something that had belonged to him. So when i saw this old wooden chest waiting to go off to the junkyard i promptly lay claim on it and have got it restored. The people who restored it have done a great job of it. I got it restored at a small shack-like shop on Kanakapura road. They only restore old furniture. They also have a good stock of vintage furniture which they restore according to the customers' specifications.

This wooden chest is now a part of my new craft room. Yes! i've given the room i craft in, a new look. The room has now got a lick of bright colour. I have made new curtains and a polka dotted pink bean bag. It also has this new sparkly wooden chest which is very dear to me. More about the craft room in later posts.

The wooden chest before restoration

And here it is in its new avatar

Coorg

2010-07-30T06:10:00.000-07:00

Last month Bangalore experienced really high temperatures. We decided to spend a weekend in Coorg, having wanted to visited the place many times and having heard about it so much.

We left the day after my birthday and the drive from Bangalore to Mysore extremely hot. Summers are supposed to be a great time to travel to Coorg but the heat made us wonder if this is true any longer. Global Warming is staring us in the face and just not another term we read in the newspapers.

So, we got off the highway after Srirangapatanam just before Mysore and took a right towards Hunasur. After a coffee break and about 5 kms after Hunasur we took a deviation and got onto a rickety road which we were told by our lodgers was a shortcout. That was a 40km stretch and as we approached Coorg the weather turned from extremely hot to gorgeous. Just like that. Enroute, we also polished off some leftover pizza from my birthday dinner ( with the rains my husband's grand dinner plans for my birthday went kaput. We did have a nice cosy dinner at my favourite Italian joint near our house. I love nice,cosy and familiar )

We then got onto a narrow road after a quaint village called Titmathi which led us to our destination Polibetta after 9 kms.It took us exactly 6 hours with two breaks to reach our resort Plantation Trails run by Tata Coffee - a beautiful British Raj bungalow in the coffee plantations in Polibetta. Relaxed that evening and went on a guided tour of the plantations the next morning. Apart from coffee, spices like pepper and cardamom are also grown in these plantations. There's a golf course run by Tata Coffee which can be used by guests at the resort. Ganesh tried his hand at golf while i read under a tree listening to the chirping of birds. Bliss!

We took a different route on our way back. We drove to Siddapura from Polibetta (20kms) and then we stopped at Bylakuppe just after Kushalnagar (40kms) to visit the beautiful Nyingmapa Tibetan monastery. Would have loved to know more about the life the monks lead in the monastery and the architechture which is so unique but there really wasn't much time.

Some pictures from our trip.

The road changed from this

to this
A village post office. This is one of my favourite pictures. It reminds me of lazy summer vacation afternoons. I love small town India.

This is where your morning cup of coffee comes from

The coffee plantThese are coffee cherries which contain the coffee beans. These beans are processed before they are packed.

And here comes pepper. The green peppercorns ripen and turn red and then black. These black peppercorns are then processed to obtain white peppercorns.

My favourite spice vanilla.

The beautiful Nyingmapa Tibetan monastery. I love the way the wheel like dome reaches out to the sky. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that this wheel symbolises the circle of life. The locals call it the Golden Temple not to be mistaken with the famous Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Tibetan Thangka paintings on the walls of the monastery.

Inside the monastery

Coorg merits a nice long stay. We'll surely be going back.

Saroyan in Silk

2010-06-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

Another scarf in silk. This time its knit. The pattern is called Saroyan and was a KAL with my ravelry friends Sanhita and Chaitanya.
This can easily be a beginner lace project. The leaves act as milestones. So every time you see a leaf done you just want to complete one more and then one more. Really addictive this one!
The scarf measures 75 inches in length and 10 inches in width. The silk yarn is a worsted weight yarn and i used 5.5 mm needles.The pictures show the unblocked scarf. I've never tried blocking anything. Will try it on this one soon.

Weekender Tote Completed

2010-06-08T23:05:00.000-07:00

I participated in this Weekender Tote Sew-a-long hosted by Leah of Sew Spoiled. My very first sew along, i had an amazing time making this tote and am very thrilled with the result. I initially was wondering if this would be too complicated for me to try. But thanks to Leah's wonderfully written pattern and tutorial and questions and photos by everyone who participated this felt really easy. The schedule was just not stressful. I'm surely making this again and will be following a similar weekwise schedule. In my eagerness to see the finished product i tend not to enjoy the process and usually end up making mistakes.

The only problem i faced was with the iron on heavy weight interfacing(the one which is used for collars). I ended up with pin pricks on my fingers. I really wished fusible fleece was available in India. But this pattern was too beautiful to be worrying about non-availability of certain materials. Maybe next time i'll try it with polyester batting.

Here are pictures of some of the steps

Fabric Choices - Four fabrics were to be chosen but i just couldn't decide on the fourth one to go with these three. Three works well too. These cotton fabrics are from Raja Bahadur Mills,Pune. Their store is near Zilla Parishad.

Pattern pieces cut out

Finished outer shell

Magnet Clasps attached to Lining

Lining sewn to main body and turned right side out

Finished bag Yaaaaaaaaay!

Bag Interior

Thank you very much Leah for sharing this wonderful pattern with us!

Black Forest Gateau

2010-05-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes someone has more faith in you than you have in yourself. And this, i think, makes you to do/try things that you are not confident of doing. For me it was our 9 year old niece Shreya. She wanted me to bake her birthday cake. The request had started almost 2 months back and she kept on repeating it every time we spoke.
I must have only made about 5 cakes in my entire life and this was a birthday cake. But i really really didn't want to let the child down. This is the result of my effort- with help from my sister-in-law Chitra. The recipe is from this fantastic blog passionateaboutbaking

The icing is wonky. I really have to buy an icing bag. You were going to say that, weren't you?
This once i have decided to forgive myself about the wonky icing since i'm very very happy about 2 things - a extremely tasty (if i may say so myself) gateau and a very very happy 9 year old.

Silk Sezession

2010-04-19T06:36:00.000-07:00

I'm not a huge fan of variegated yarns. But when the colours are so beautiful - what's not to love!!
And the pattern suits this yarn so well. And works fast too!! If you are not slow like me, you could even complete it in a weekend.

Pattern : Sezession

Hat's on!

2010-04-19T00:25:00.001-07:00

I am not a person who is focussed on one project at a time. I'm completely disorganised in that. This wide brimmed hat was an exception. It held my attention throughout. It is easily the most difficult project i've attempted until now (not that i've done a lot of sewing). I started it when we were planning a holiday to Sri Lanka in February. My goal was to wear it to the beach. And i'm so proud of myself for sticking to this and completing it in time. This was also another lesson in pattern making.

I could not find fusible fleece here so had to use iron-on interfacing. Attaching the brim to the crown was very difficult for me. The rest was much easier than i thought it would be.
Oh! and thats me in beautiful Sri Lanka.

Wide Brimmed Hat

Red Alert

2010-04-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Red is not my very favourite colour - purple is. But i absolutely love the colour of this headband and cowl i've made for my darling sister. Great patterns- both of them. The headband is a great practice project for any lace beginner and the cowl is a great pattern too.
Pattern links : Headband
Red Cowl

Slouchy!!

2010-02-24T04:22:00.000-08:00

This easily is my favourite hat pattern (not that i've made too many hats). This is the second hat i made using this pattern. The pattern is very versatile. My friend liked the first one i made so i gave it to her. Here's my hat. Love it.

New home for my knitting needles

2010-02-08T23:27:00.000-08:00

Till a few days ago my knitting needles were all squashed in a plastic bag. I was always confused as to how many sizes i had. My sister sent me some wonderful needles and yarn from Knitpicks and Joann and i decided it was time all of them got a new home. here's the roll up i made. I'm very happy with the result and if you closely you'll see that my needles are happy too :)
Tutorial : Knitting needles roll up

Ravelry meets

2010-01-19T03:46:00.000-08:00

2 wonderful ravelry meets within a month and look at the gifts we all got :) The crocheted coaster and the lovely rose is made by Vimala. Mitul gifted all of us the beautiful coaster which is made using Tikori work. The crocheted keychain is a gift from Vasumathi.
Thank you lovely ladies!!

Fingerless Gloves

2009-12-08T07:31:00.001-08:00

I find fingerless gloves very attractive. I loved this pattern and after making this i love the pattern even more. The herringbone stitch looks very pretty.
And thats my most favourite book.

The pattern : Fingerless gloves

My starling bag

2009-12-08T07:14:00.000-08:00

Have finally managed to complete my starling bag. The pattern is by Alice Merlino. Its a fantastic pattern. Very well explained and easy. I can't believe the lining took longer to finish that the bag itself. I blame my laziness for it. Am extremely happy that i lined it though. I added a zipper and a cardboard piece covered with fabric for added support. Thank you Alice for such a beautiful and well written pattern. The tutorial for lining a crocheted bag is also great.
And i just love the fabric flower. Its unbelievably simple to make. Here it is : Fabric Flower

Pleated Skirt

2009-11-23T02:17:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite blogs http://wkdesigner.wordpress.com/ closed recently. Every monday i used to eagerly visit the blog for another new post from the designer. When he decided to stop blogging i realized that i had never really tried making anything from the blog. Everything initially seemed too difficult. Finally decided to give this pleated skirt a try. Its called the XOX skirt since the construction of the skirt is based on the block XO where X and O are refer to the length and width of the block. The skirt is made up of three tiers. I can now say i've taken my first step in understanding construction of a pattern. I'm quite happy with the way this skirt has turned out.

Camera cozy

2009-11-14T23:49:00.000-08:00

Love my new camera and it needed a cozy. I wanted to make one that was quilted. Some projects that i saw on the internet either needed cotton batting or fusible fleece. Couldn't find any of these here. Hence i decided to use foam sheets for quilting and it worked. I used fabric leftovers from a dress for both the main body and the lining. I attached hair elatic to the flap closure.
Here's the result. I'm so proud of this :)

Grey Scarf

2009-11-14T23:32:00.000-08:00

Have wanted to make myself a knitted scarf for a very long time. So finally chose this pattern which was fun to knit and gives the scarf a very nice texture.
Find the pattern here

Blue Neckwarmer

2009-11-14T23:20:00.000-08:00

This has to be my current favourite project. The pattern was very simple for a knitting beginner and yet not boring. Also chose to make a neckwarmer since i needed a small project for instant gratification. Love the way its turned out. Used my bamboo knitting needles for the first time.

Find the pattern here. I love all her other patterns too.

My jordy bag

2009-11-08T07:01:00.000-08:00

My first tote bag. The jordy bag tutorial on crafster is very easy to follow. I added a zipper to my bag. The smaller pouch is the one i made earlier with the same fabric

Lined the bag with fabric leftovers from a dress

Silk Ziggy lace scarf

2009-11-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

The silk yarn used for this scarf was bought with my friends from Ravelry. It was love at first with the colours of this yarn. I bought 2 skeins and saved them for 2 months waiting for the perfect scarf project. This pattern was just perfect for the yarn and am very happy with the way its turned out. Might make a knit something with the other skein that's left.
The pattern is available here

One year in bengaluru and loving it!!

2009-11-03T05:07:00.000-08:00

Can't believe its one year already. Feels like yesterday that we left Mumbai. Like everyone who resists change i totally was fearing how life would change. But change it did and in a good way. In the past year i have -
Learned to swim
Attended 2 ravelry meets which have been so much fun and have been a great learning experience.
Have had time to practice knitting,crochet and sewing, meet friends and relatives more often, spend more time with Ganesh (this is the best part)

I find myself thinking of the poem "What is this life is full of care , we have no time to stand and stare" and the little voice in my head replies "What a life, full of care but i have enough time to stand and stare"

Happy Diwali

2009-10-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Diwali Everyone!! Hope this festival of lights brings peace, happiness and prosperity to everyone.
I love Diwali and this year i made Besan Laddoos and my favourite Karanjis. The thing about practice making man perfect is actually true. My karanjis and laddoos did turn out very well this year. The recipes are keepers.
The party in our building was good fun too with snacks and games and lots of crackers, of course!!
Main ingredients of Diwali
The Rangoli

The Lights

The Sweets

End of Evil

2009-09-28T23:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Dasera, a festival which marks the triumph of good over evil. I missed the celebrations at my mother and my mother-in-law's place in Pune and Mumbai respectively where we arrange dolls. We thought we would go to Mysore to witness the famous Dasera celebrations but couldn't go. But we did go to 'Bombe Habba' (festival of dolls) organised by Radio Mirchi at Garuda Mall. Also display of dolls inside the mall was beautiful.

Below are some pictures. Happy Dasera everyone!!

The display of dolls as seen in most South Indian houses during Dasera

The local flower market.

Bombe Habba

My sewing projects

2009-09-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

Some of my previous sewing projects. My very first project was a craft apron which is based on a tutorial on cutoutandkeep.net . This is a great beginner project and a very useful one.

After the success of my first project i felt adventurous and followed this fantastic tutorial and made a ruffle top for myself.

Then i turned my attention to making bags. So made my first cosmetic pouch. Again it was successful thanks to Florence from http://flossieteacakes.blogspot.com/ I actually enjoyed the process of making the pouch. It was also the first time i used a zipper and attached it without using the zipper foot.

Sorry about the picture. But thats the only one i have for now.

Then made an apron as a gift for my lovely sister. Here she is posing in it.

The apron pattern is from the Threadbanger blog. I made a few changes by adding a pocket and using a bias tape along the edges and straps of the apron. I really love aprons. I somehow feel and work better when i have one on. Its like an uniform for housework.

Thanks to all the wonderful people who've taken time to post detailed tutorials so that people like me, who purchase sewing machines having no idea how to use them or what to make, can actually whip up something decent.

And Long Live the Internet!!!

Boxy Pouch

2009-09-04T00:08:00.000-07:00

My in-laws visited us last week and thought i'd put my new found sewing skills to use and gift my mother-in-law this boxy pouch. I loved making it and my mother-in-law loved it too.

I followed this wonderful tutorial here

The butterfly applique is from http://www.thriftyfun.com/

I'm in love

2009-09-03T00:39:00.000-07:00

With this shawl, that is. This has, infact, been my reason to take up crochet. And have managed to make one for myself.
The pattern is from Garnstudio . Have spent endless afternoons ogling at those fantastic creations from garnstudio. Love that site. Keep up the good work Garnstudio!!

New Camera

2009-08-31T04:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday was one of those days when you are happy for no reason and for once the day really turns out as planned. Had wanted to visit the bookstores on Church street for ages and finally managed to go. And did i have fun!!! First went to the Blossom bookstore. Its a three storeyed building and the store looked like it couldn't accomodate one more book.

So i decided to be kind and relieve it of some load. So, here's the loot.

And yes the picture is taken with my brand new camera.

Have already read Sophie Kinsella's Remember me and passed it on to my sister but decided to buy another one for myself. I love this book and I think this book will make a good movie. Wonder if you get paid for suggesting books that'll make good movies.
The butterick sewing book - blue and The Classic Techniques book (the pink and black book) will keep me occupied for months.
The magazines in the top row were bought at this wonderful magazine store which stocks back issues of magazines from the UK and the US. Saw some German magazines too. Again on Church street this shop was nothing short of wonderland for me.

The day ended with a nice dinner at a place called Hongkong Hustle down the same road. Great place, good food, great day and lots of books = Happy me

Journey through heaven

2009-08-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

Have traversed this path numerous times but this is one journey that will remain memorable. Maybe the fact that i've moved to Bengaluru made this Mumbai to Pune train trip all the more special.

The pictures will tell you why.

Crochet

2009-06-16T00:04:00.000-07:00

Have always wanted to sew,knit and crochet. My mother had joined sewing classes when i was a little girl and i remember coming back from school and trying out dresses that she'd make for me. Have wanted to sew like her ever since. My aunt was the one who inspired me to knit and crochet. She lives in another city so never got to learn from her.
Thats when Teresa come along. Her blog is great for beginners.
So here's my first crochet seed stitch scarf -
And my crochet headband

Find the pattern here

The ipod sock made for my mother.You'll find a tutorial for this on Teresa's blog.

Also made a beret for myself and really waiting for the winter.

Find the pattern here

The first

2009-06-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

My very first post after having created an account ages ago. Reasons were aplenty but finally here i am since now feel a need to collate all the craft stuff that i have lately been into.