SOCIAL MEDIA

Monday, May 24, 2010

Grab a button

Grab a button for Spread the Cheer!!! initiative.
Here's the code for it...









<div style="border: 3px solid black; overflow: auto; height:
125px; width: 125px; color: black; background-color: white;"><a href="http://13woodhouseroad.blogspot.com/2010/05/little-about-orphanage-that-im-donating.html"
target="_blank" title="Share the Cheer">
<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_EiY63sAC05k/S_oOUxIZBtI/AAAAAAAAAKI/w4D_6cieV2g/new-1.jpg"
alt="Spread the Cheer" /></a>
</div>


Sunday, May 23, 2010

A little about the orphanage that I'm donating to...

As I said two posts back, I'm planning to donate 40 baby quilts to an orphanage here in Sangli. I'd like to tell you all a little about the organisation... 

This is an excerpt taken from the website of the organisation. You can read more about it here

Lighting the Lamp of Love – BSSK:

“All children are beautiful when they are loved”


Bertha ‘Grandma’ Holt


Look into the eyes of a helpless child and you see your whole world fall apart.... Hear the haunting cry of a baby and listen to your heart beating with pain. Touch the fingers of a newborn and hold on to all the humanity you can msuter... Here is the story of an organization called BSSK.



In 1979 an Institution of love was born in Pune, India, when Bharatiya Samaj Seva Kendra (BSSK) was founded as an Indian Charitable Trust and registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act of 1950. The aim was to provide welfare services to families and children in need, irrespective of caste, creed, community or religion. This non-political, non-profit making organization is licensed as a “Fit Institution” by the Commissionerate of Women and Child Welfare, Maharashtra.


To secure the basic right of every child to family life, BSSK was established in Pune. October 21, 1979 marked the formal inauguration and beginning of BSSK from a rented stone bungalow on Koregaon Road.

In 1980 Educational sponsorship was initiated to help children from poor families thereby strengthening the family unit of the child. BSSK helps deserving students pursue their education for improving their future prospects, preventing school drop outs, and preventing destitution, child labour, institutionalization and delinquency.

In 1981 Indian adoptions took a leap forward with BSSK's first child being adopted by an Indian family. Adoption process is based on rules, regulations and norms based on Guidelines, Court directives and experience of the agency. Every child has a right to have his/her own family. Adoption is one form of building a family.

The story of BSSK continues where abundant love works the magic of transformation, where care gives childhood another chance and where integrity makes it all worth while! Come, journey into a different world with us...

Founder Trustees:


Dr. (Late) (Mrs.) Banoo J. Coyaji


Mrs. Usha Modak 
(Late) Mr. A. D. Gadkari


Location:


BSSK is headquartered in Pune (Maharashtra, India). We also have branches in Aurangabad, Sangli and Chiplun (Maharashtra).

______________________________________

This is an institute which I've been a part of in more than one ways. I was a member of the team that designed the building for the organisation. Also, through my MIL I've been sponsoring students here. But I was most deeply moved by the children here. I have seen premature babies brought here from dustbins around the city... people have left them near temples... Karna(the Sangli branch of BSSK) has provided them with a home to this children... I wish to provide them the warmth that every child deserves... 

I once again appeal to all you generous hearts out there to help me in any way you can... 

A few more things,
1. The organization will give me a certificate stating the donation that I'll make, I'll be scanning and sending them to all those who donate generously.

2. I'll be making 42 quilts instead of 40. I'll get the orphanage children to pick 2 names from amongst those who donate who will win the giveaway on the day of Diwali - November 5

3. Donations shall not include Cash

4. You can donate anything of the following

Fabric (Scraps are welcome)
Batting (Scraps are welcome)
Blocks that you've stowed away
Incomplete works
Binding strips left over
Anything else that you can find relevant

5. If you're interested in sending full made quilts you're more than welcome.

6. Please mail me for any queries.


7. Join the Flickr Pool for this charity, I'm calling it Spread the Cheer!!!

Thank you all!!!








Saturday, May 22, 2010

Bloggers Quilt Festival Entry

Many of you must have seen this quilt before. It is inspired by Fresh Lemons' Winter Rainbow Quilt. Only, I had wanted to make a yellow quilt... I named this one The Lemon Quilt because of its color, of course, but also because it was inspired by her quilt.



This was only my third attempt at a quilt. The earlier ones were The Sunny Orange Quilt and The total disaster of The Paintbox Quilt. I was scared to do so much of piecing. But decided since it was to be a gift for my mom, what the heck!!

Then began the tiresome act of cutting the pieces. I did not have a cutting mat and a rotary cutter at the time, and had to cut all those pieces precisely by a scissors. I did the cutting for 3 days. By this time, my patience was already wearing off... But I decided to stick to it. Just 1-2 hours a day, I promised myself... On the 3rd day, as I looked at the pile of fabric I had cut, I really was proud of myself.




The piecing took just a day... It was a Sunday, and my dear husband and my son decided to sleep in till noon! I got all my piecing done before either of them woke up!!!
Then came the absolutely overwhelming part of quilting it... I had done free motion quilting before, but only on a handkerchief size block. Quilting this 48" x 72" beauty was going to be difficult... (I thought it would be a little bit difficult, never imagining what was in store for me) After 2 days of patient quilting, 3 fingers of my right hand had gone numb!!!



This is my favorite quilt not just because of the way it looks but also because of all the efforts that went into the making of this one!
I'm so proud to present it before you all as a part of the Blogger's Quilt Festival.


Its the first time I'm entering it, and I'm sure your comments will help me go further... For a detailed list of all my projects please visit my old blog here

Thank you all!!!

Baby Quilts for the Orphanage

Hello All,
I'm doing my first charity quilting. I'm gifting the local orphanage baby quilts with the names of the babies appliqued on them. These are really tiny babies, say about 2-6 months old (I hate to think why their parents would give them up). So the quilts will be about 36" x 36"
I wanted to ask you all if you would donate anything for it... Blocks, spare binding, fabric, spare batting... absolutely anything.... You can even make lovely labels for them... There will be about 40 quilts to make... The names will be the last ones to be appliqued... And since they want them to be done in Marathi (our local language) I cannot ask you all to help me there...
The target is diwali (somewhere around november) for the completion of these quilts...
If you're interested, please leave me a comment with your email address and I'll contact you right away!!!
Thanks a lot!!!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Why am I here?

Hello all!
This is my personal blog. This is where I'll talk about my quilting adventures. This is where I'll tell you stories about the designing of the products that go into my shop - Shruti's - the 'up'cycle shop! This is where I'll bore you with my narratives and I'll irritate you with my questions!!
So here's a little bit about me. Those of you who have been reading my wordpress blog can just skip reading this post altogether! But make sure you follow me so that you know when I have a new post coming!
As you've read in About me, I'm basically an Architect. The how and why did I start quilting? Well, to cut a long story short, my wonderful husband and I moved into a house of our own (we were staying with my in-laws until now) along with our dear son in May last year. In October, I was down with chikungunya. It was highly impossible to balance both work and home. So I decided to give up my job. It wasn't an easy transition. I hated chores! And I missed my work. Before long I knew I had to find something to occupy myself. That was when I started Shruti's - the 'up'cycle shop.
But this just wasn't enough. I was looking for a sewing machine to buy and that was when I stumbled across Elizabeth's blog. And from there, it was a one way journey. She was the person who got me hooked onto quilting. And for someone likeme, who first touched the sewing machine at the age of 31, quilting could have been pretty overwhelming. But I believe there are wonderful people out there who help you, inspire you! I met a few of them and went on, and on, and on, and on...
So here's me, talking t you all about all those adventures I had on my way here, and surely many more that I will have on my way ahead!!!