A Princess Cut

For the longest time, i have only made myself simple A-line tunics - short and long, either sleeveless or with short or three-quarter length sleeves, a round, square or vee neck.

When I saw this blouse on Burda, i first dismissed it as too fussy. But when i saw this version in the gallery, i decided to give it a shot. Here is mine without the ruffles or straps.

The princess cut works really well, and so do the sleeves. I didn't feel up to tackling buttonholes, so i sewed on snap fasteners [which for some reason i only have about five thousand of], and the buttons are decorative.

I am already planning versions with regular short or no sleeves.

All Abloom

This week in the garden, this is what my brush found.

When i started on the flowers, it looked so terrible and ratty that i almost scrapped it. But many many blossoms later, it started looking decent.



Flowers have a way of brightening up everything. Here's what Ranjani's practice flowers linked up to be -




This lovely lady is a fitting rejoinder to "Can't Shan't Won't". On the first day of class, she walked in and asked "I've never held a brush in my life, can i take this class?". Yesterday, i watched as she dashed off these flowers while talking to me.

Single Rep

I had to do some figuring on this pattern because i'm knitting in a circle. Not sure if it's just me, but rows 29-34 don't look right in the pattern. So I went for it until i finished one repeat - luckily, it does end on row 34. Now i can just steam on with the reps :)

I Got Lucky!

As I was trolling thru Ravelry, i caught site of the Cascading Leaves sock pattern, and before i knew it, i'd signed up at TownsendSocksKnitALong. When I intorduced myself to the folks there, i confessed to living in a yarnless desert and never having knit a sock.

Imagine my surprise when, the very next day, Jeanie Townsend, the moderator of the group, offered to help me out! And so we are, two weeks later, you have me dancing dizzily with a humungous stash of sock yarn!

The box was about a week late, much to Jeanie's and my despair. But when it did get here - boy oh boy. My youngest was home and received the package from the mailman, and was so-oo-o amused to see me so excited. He and Moo Chin helped me open it.










Jeanie had really stuffed the box as full as she could. It needed an extra strip of cardboard to be properly closed!

The first thing on the top was a bag of superwash merino wool for me to spin with.. such lovely greens. My son immediately tried to book it for himself :)


Then out came all the yummy sock yarn. So much of it, that Moo Chin couldn't believe it when the box was finally empty!










Jeanie, you really are my Fairy Godmother! God Bless!

Green to Go

I held up yesterday's post because i wanted to post these together =

One of the very first garments i made for myself was a white flower print cotton 3-tiered skirt - it became a favorite and i wore it for several years. When i found this green and beige cheese cotton on sale, i knew it had to be a tiered skirt too.

Yesterday i also completed the embroidery and finished the green top. Summer, here i come!

Knitting for Boys

When a student of mine kindly offered to send me some yarn from Canada, i gleefully took her up on it. All the crafting shops in this city put together have a total of probably 7 balls of yarn - all of such a virulent synthetic fibre that even a porcupine would cringe, in absolutely vile colors (and when i say vile about a color, believe me, it is). Very much a martyr, i turned my back on all the luscious bamboo, linen and soy, and asked for some good wool for my boys.

Needful Yarns London Tweed arrived - 20 balls each in charcoal, sage green and twilight blue. Wonderfully soft, with beautiful flecks. The boys each picked the color they wanted, and the pattern as well (the criterion for this seems to be a snug fit).


I started off with Durrow in sage green for No.2 son. The pieces are all knit, need to be blocked and seamed.

Next was the charcoal for No.1 son. We chose Jamesey, as he is exactly as described in the pattern - tall and thin with big shoulders. Once past the sideways row, however, i started having serious doubts - the wool did not give me the kind of stitch definition this pattern needs. When i got up to the neck, i checked back with the sleeves, and realized that working out the shorter sleeves and getting the lines to match as well would be a long process. And i was really unhappy with the upper part of the gansey. So frogged it was!

Spent the better part of Saturday figuring out what to do next. I finally settled on the cables from Anna, set in the Skye Tweed Pullover.

Long-tailed caston with a simple loop from Techknitting, with the 3-in-1 TECHjoin for circular knitting. With so many cables to work, i decided to give Grumperina's cabling without a cable needle a shot - works like a breeze. I decided to go the circular rout to avoid seaming. But I did put in side seams by slipping the first stitch after each side marker on every other row -i do like the way it looks. I feel good because after just a couple of hours, i have this to show -

Plum Tree

Needs many many more flowers, this is where it was at by the end of class -

Practice Paper

Practice paper is the greatest for working on your brush strokes. Just dip your brush in water and "paint" on it. The stroke dries up in a few minutes, and you can go again. A bit like blotting paper, it comes with a handy printed on grid.

I used it to work on plum blossoms .

Stovepipe Pants

I have always been a firm believer in drafting my own clothes patterns. As i went looking for a good pattern for pants, i found these printed stovepipes at Burda Fashion. At first i dismissed it as not for me because a) i didnt want to run all over town to get the pattern printed and b) i was not that impossibly thin!

After a good look, though, i decided to give it a shot. I could print the pattern out on my printer at home on regular A4 sheets, and the largest size would be perfect for me. I even had some nice fabric - a block printed cotton of medium weight.

This is what i made -


I left the pockets out and modified the waistbands for a side zipper. Time taken - printing and piecing pattern - 1 hour, cutting and sewing, 2 hrs. The next one will be much faster, as i wouldn't have to try it on as many times to check the fit.

I love the low rise and shaped waistband, and i found out that adding 2" to the hem will make them full length for me !!!! Now to let it hang for a day before i finish the lower hem.

Sunburst

All was quiet here yesterday since I was too busy playing with this -


My latest summer shell needed some dressing up - little circles of organza edged with chain stitch and buttonhole stitch worked with a variegated cotton embroidery thread. I used a template sheet to draw out the circles, and fixed them in place with a dab of fevikwik and the iron. Now i just have to work about 40 of these little critters :)

The Green Set

Phew! although the weekend broke my stride, i managed to get back in line and quilted and tailored the delaware crosspatch duo. I stopped with a simple quilting-in-the-ditch to let the piecing "pop".


Here they are, all together -

The Plum Blossom

The Four Gentlemen

East Asian brush painting or ink and wash painting is known as sumi-e in Japanese, shui-mo hua in Chinese, and sumukhwa in Korean. Only black ink is used in various concentrations.

The ink brush, ink, paper, and inkstone are essential implements of East Asian calligraphy: together they are known as the Four Treasures of the Study in China, and as the Four Friends of the Study in Korea.

The "Four Gentlemen", also called the Four Noble Ones or Four Friends, refers to four plants: the orchid, the bamboo, the chrysanthemum, and the plum blossom.

The Four Gentlemen have been used in Chinese painting since the time of the Chinese Song Dynasty (960–1279) because of their refined beauty, and were later adopted by artists in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. As they represent the four different seasons (the orchid for spring, the bamboo for summer, the chrysanthemum for autumn, and the plum blossom for winter), the four are used to depict the unfolding of the seasons through the year.

In Korea the Four Gentlemen were also known as the Four Gracious Plants. Rules differed from the Chinese in certain ways. In particular, the orchid needed to imitate the shape of the eye of a bird or the legs of a mantis. One can find the hidden figure of mantis legs and the eyes of an eagle in the flower.

Plum Blossom

We had to tear Mr Lee away from Nirmala's chinese watercolor tubes for this week's lesson - the plum blossom. All those years of doodling in physics class gave me an edge :) - this was my first try -


And another lovely Dalmado from Mr Lee -

A Blocking Convert

I love ironing. I was once voted kinkiest person of a very crazy group because i confessed to love ironing my underclothing. In spite of this, i've always resisted blocking any of my work. Perhaps because of some weird idea that my work was so good, it didn't need any tugging or stretching.

Oh boy, was i ever wrong. I recently knit with some bamboo yarn, and since i was working with a totally new medium, decided i would just check out blocking. I was quite impressed by the difference it made to the finish of my garment. So when I finished the embroidery on my blue kurta [Yay!], I decided that although i had worked with a frame, i would try blocking it. I set my new steam iron to steam, and after pinning the embroidery wrong side up, i pressed it. What a difference! I am so glad I did it.

Lesson learned, even if a little late. Blocking is actually a very simple process and adds a very professional touch to your work.

Here is one blocked motif -

Taking Her Home

... which in rowing parlance is the final stretch. Two shades of green, two stitches.

Delaware Crosspatch

What a wonderful name! I knew i had to try it the minute i saw it.

I didn't want to stop my roll of the past week, and decided to work on the last pair of cushion covers to complete what i have named the"green set". Toyed with trying something other than quilting, but the brain wouldnt stretch beyond. So I decided to try a new patch - it had to be paper pieced, with all kinds of triangles.


I found the Delaware Crosspatch in 7" at Quilter's Cache, and decided to do it as a single 16" block because a) i didnt want to spend much time on it and b) my boys have a predilection for throwing the cushions on the floor to lie down when watching t.v., and i didnt want to go on about "the good cushions" :).

I love paper piecing not just because of the perfect points i can get with all the odd shaped pices, but also because i get to use Autocad to create the foundation blocks, and just print them off.

Covered

When you have a bunch of slow moving projects lined up, it does feel good to whip up something fast. Finished the first pair of quilted cushion covers, and made a second pair with some wonderfully soft, black, printed faux suede.

Spraying the Stripes

Yes! the 3M artist's spray seems to work for the quilt sandwich - it's less tacky and doesn't have such strong fumes as the regular quilt basting sprays, and my machine seemed to like it better as well. Now to try it out on a larger piece, and to check how long it lasts.

Here is one of the two cushion tops I finished yesterday. The black sections are heavily quilted in black - doesn't show up here. Free motion machine quilting is really great - it took me just over an hour to do both of these.

Plum Branches

Either I'm becoming better at this brush painting thing, or plum branches are really easy to paint. At any rate, I feel more in control, and am getting a feel for the "harmony".

Here are this week's offerings -

Striped Cushions

In another life, I was encumbered by a huge, unweildy poly-foam stuffed single bed with rickety springs and ugly/dirty orange upholstery. Junking it was not an option, so I decided to convert it into a comfortable divan filled with squishy cushions. This was so long ago that I couldn't find the kind of cushions I wanted in the stores. So I made my own - small ones, big ones, and long round ones. And then proceeded to dress them up in fun and funky avatars. Aah well, that was another life.

After several non-cushion-dressing years, I'm going to be giving it a go again. I spent a very satisfying Sunday evening repurposing some old pillows and polyfil, and now I have a half a dozen handsome critters to gussy up.

The first pair will be strip pieced and quilted. I need to check if the 3M artists' temporary spray will substitute for quilt basting spray - I read somewhere that it will, and a friend has very kindly lent me a sample. Fingers crossed and hoping it will - if it does, I wouldn't have to ask my sweet aunt to bring me back some.


This the top I whipped up yesterday. After building up a wall of masking tape to help guide the quarter inch seam, and meticulously pressing and pinning each seam and point, I am now able to consistently and quickly turn out well pieced tops. Ooh la la, it does give the mathematician in me the goosebumps.

Hmm, didn't realize the spirals on the black and green fabrics echoed so well until I saw these pictures :)

Wayside

The next step in my kurta embroidery - I filled the black frames with french knots and stem stitch, in two shades of blue. This was quite a learning experience. The two blues appear less different on the blue fabric than in the photograph or on the skein. Also, the stem stitched areas seem richer in hue than the french knots.

Dalma and Dalmado

Bodhidharma, Dalma-daesa in Korean, was an Indian monk who is believed to be the father of kung fu. After travelling all the way from South India, he settled at the Shaolin (Kor. Sorim) Temple and trained his adepts in the aggressive calisthenics that evolved into a whole panoply of martial systems . He is considered the First Patriarch of Zen Buddhism.

Artistic portrayals of Dalma-daesa emphasize the large, bushy eyebrows, the huge, staring eyes, the ring in the ear. Many artists portray Dalma as wrapping himself in his robe, a few strokes of the brush implying a hand or fist beneath the bunched-up cloth, holding the robe closed against the elements.

Dalmado is a picturization of Dalma. According to legend, he projected out of his body, but when he came back, his body was gone. So he returned to the body of a homeless beggar. It is believed that a Dalmado drawn by a virtuous monk brings good luck and offers protection.

Here is the wonderful Dalma painted by the redoubtable Mr Lee for Nirmala, and here are a few more I managed to find on the web.

Bamboo Brush

Right. Now that i have done a quick run through of the past few months, I will move on to an update on my brush painting class. The last four months have been devoted to the bamboo. Here are some that passed muster with even our meticulous Mr. Lee.



Those who would like to see more pics of samples and process can find them here .

In Over My Head

This is my waterwheel/star quilt, "In Over My Head". It was commissioned by a girl for her father - you can see her toes at the edge of the picture!

Brushing Up

November 12, 2008

Never did I think that I would ever have a chance to learn the art of Far Eastern Brush Painting. Imagine my delight when I had a chance to do this recently, hardly a five-minute walk from home!

The first class was humbling, to say the least. Apart from dealing with the huge brush and the long strips of extremely uncooperative paper, I was told that I must also worry about the spaces and focus on the shapes - all done standing up for three hours on a Sunday afternoon, when most people in this part of the world enjoy a gentle snooze.

My kids thought I was crazy, my friends were impressed (after all, I am an "artist", and everybody knows they are a crazy breed). Eight weeks and as many classes later, I am proud to share some results with you.

Btw, my teacher has informed me that, maybe after another month, I may have learned a little.

Bugs and Blocks

I've always wondered why people post pictures of their work with their pets in the frame. Now I know. Boy, it's impossible to move them!

Here are two baby quilts commissioned from me, vetted by Moo Chin.













Ladybug Trot - 36" x 48" - hand appliqued, embroidered and quilted

















Kids On the Block - 36" x 54"- foundation pieced, machine quilted.

The Path Followed

Creativity is all about expression. Many an electrifying thought has fizzled out like a damp squib during a poorly executed production process, just as many a mediocre idea has grown to the brilliance of a supernova after careful crafting.

Keeping a record of the creative path is a good way to obtain greater awareness of one's strengths and weaknesses, and sharing them for critiques lends more depth. The digital camera and the internet are a couple of tools that have made this a fantastic voyage of discovery.

Let me try to do this well.

After finishing the CQ patch and clutch, I decided to turn my attention to my much beleaguered wardrobe. Summer is upon us and the mercury is shooting up, so it's time to get out those cool cottons and airy skirts. Since I seriously lapsed in this department last year, I am paying for this with a meager selection this year. And so resolving to remedy the situation, I dug out my stash of fine block printed cotton, and quickly tailored a 3/4th sleeve short kurta that i could wear over jeans, salwars or churidhars.

I decided to spend some time over the design i would embroider, and this is what i came up with after a couple of days. Like many of my own designs, it is pretty much a step at a time, although i did have a general idea as to what i wanted the look to be.


a double row of scroll stitch forms a basic grid down center front.



The grid ended up with the basic block aligned to each section differently -i decided that this would give me the asymmetry i was looking for, and placed a whipped spider's wheel on one flower of each grid.


Next came a row of chain stitch in black, and a few leaves? petals?

Stayed tuned for more.

Post Crazy

After a rather long break, I'm back again. The past few months have been hectic with a lot of work, including yet another short-lived attempt at establishing an art/craft blog that never really gets off the ground as every time the sponsors pull it before it has a chance... hmmm. Maybe it's time I started doing it for myself rather than someone else.

One of my New Year Resolution's was that I would do some embroidery every day, :) and this was one that I kept. It helped that had an UFO around that was perfect for this - the quilting patch was one of four I had put together a couple of years ago. I had carefully "strewn" the fabrics onto the foundation, machine stitched across them randomly, and followed up with some free motion embroidery.

This grew with a few stitches every day (fun fun fun!) and soon I had a neat little piece covered with intricate embroidery - just in time to make up into a clutch purse for a lovely friend celebrating the fifth anniversary of her goody-filled store!

Here's the purse back and front -

As the other side was so colorful, I decided to go with a golden cotton blend for the front for a touch of elegance. I layered the flap with a darkgreen glittery net and the tab with a light green organza tissue. I kept the lines simple with the slightest shaping to add interest. I interfaced all the pieces with stiff buckram so that the clutch would hold its shape. I also used a magnetic clasp for the first time - these are so easy to put in on lined projects.

I edged the bottom edge of the tab with a few rows of the littlest beads on wire, added a leafy earring with a few stitches to accent it, and finished the tab.


Now the CQ - the upper right has double rows of running stitch with a glittery nylon ribbon threaded through - I was very happy with the way it added dimension to the stitch, as I have spoolfuls of a couple of colors :). The blue silk below that was already filled with a freemotion machine doodle, so I just put in sequins randomly. The next edge has a rosette of thorns with lazy daisies, herringbone, and short bugle beads in matte gold.

The butterfly is gold embroidery skeins woven to a lattice, finished with stem and satin stitch. The emerald green flower with leaves and the striped ribbons I picked up the last time Shashi and I went trolling the backstreets of Georgetown. I held the ribbon down with fly stitch.

I placed the green and orange ric rac down the center in a zigzag line, straight stitch bunches on either side - the blue is embroidery skein, the cream satin ribbon. I was so proud of the last - it was the first time I had tried out ribbon embroidery, although I have had the ribbons for over four years! it was fun - I will definitely be doing more of it.

The flowers around the center are satin stitch, pistil stitch and buttonhole, with leaves of back stitch , fly stitch, french knots and double caston.

The leaf at the top is what I'm proudest of - I had freemotion stitched the outline earlier, so I piked it out with stem, chain and coral stitch in three shades of green.