22nd May 2013

Alert : Super long post ahead!!!

or 

22nd May 2013
(in the DD/MM/YY format that we use in India)

What happened on that day???

Well, my (not so) little brother got married!

It was an awesome day when the youngest of our gang of 10 got married. We had a blast not just on that day but on days leading to and following it too!!!

Here's a few moments snatched away for you guys!!!

Here's me, my beautiful mom and my brother... getting ready for one of the numerous rituals an Indian wedding entails!!!

This was followed by the inevitable Mehendi!
A day when all the womenfolk apply henna amid music and laughter!!!

Here's Paalvi - she's the one whom my quilt is named after...

And me...

How wonderful these hands look!!!

But more than anything this trip was about the kids having a blast! All we cousins had spent many a holidays enjoying ourselves in our old house... This was the first time our kids came together in Satara (though it was in the new house this time) They really got to know each other and enjoyed the trip!!!

We even got to celebrate a birthday!!!

Ritwik turned 5 while he was here and we celebrated his Birthday on the Mehendi day!

All happy fruity faces!

The wedding itself was an elaborate and awesome affair...

 

And here's the happy couple!!!

AND the best part of the wedding for me!!! (You'll know all about it - read on!!)

The kids had fun at the wedding too...

 They were busy, carefree... Lost in their own worlds!!!

So why was it (see above) the best part of the wedding for me???

Well, there's this custom in Indian weddings that when the brother comes home with his wife, the sister stops him at the door. She can then ask for ANYTHING. And the brother has to give her that or bargain out of the situation if he wants to bring his wife home!!! Aha! Now you have my complete attention...

So what did I ask for from my wonderful, loving, super cool, awesome brother???

Something that he just had to give me!!!

his uber cool I-phone 4!!!

So now, guys, I'm the owner of an I phone 4!!!

If it were not for my generosity I'd be dazzling you all with an I phone 5! I very generously gave it to him as a wedding gift and kept his old phone!!!

There's something else that I made for him too...  Though I could not make it in time for the wedding, I'm glad that I made it before it was too late!

A quilt!!!

Its a Hawaii Quilt from Denyse Schmidt's book...

I used a thick but light poly batting inside it and quilted densely around the edges. That gave it that trapunto-ish look!

It sure has some mini (not micro though) stippling!

Here's the front

And the back. I just fused numbers cut out from the Ikea Nummers fabric (that my cousin from Singapore brought for me!) and quilted over it... It will remind them of the most beautiful day of their lives!

I love the way the quilting looks on the back...

Do you like the quilt???

Name : Antlers (borrowed from Stephanie Adam's Quilt's name)
Size : 42" x 42"
Techniques used : Hawaii Quilt, Raw Edge Applique, Free Motion Quilting.

It feels really awesome to make something for someone who's so close to your heart!!! The quilt was a not-so-easy one, but just because I was making it for my little brother (Don't you think I should stop calling him that now that he's married!) it became a task that I was so engrossed into that I absolutely enjoyed it!

Each stitch brought back one memory from the millions that we share!!! And each stitch brought a wish for the two of them - that God bless them and may they find happiness and joy, passion and compassion, understanding and enjoyment with each other!!!

Cheers!!!