SOCIAL MEDIA

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Have you seen this???




Have you seen the awesome giveaway at Fat Quarter Shop Blog?



They're giving away $6,300 worth of stuff!!! And yes, I have got my zeros right!!!

The prizes range from fabric bundles and books to notions and many more quilting essentials, and this giveaway is open to everyone!!!

The BEST part - there will be 12 winners!!!

So head over to their blog and try your luck!


I'm trying too!!!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

For SALE


Yes, I'm selling some of my quilts!

You all know that I am really excited about going to Austin to attend QuiltCon 2015 in February. To raise the sum I need, I am planning to sell a few of my favorite quilts.

Please get in touch with me for a quote.






Name : Apsara aali... Price on Request
 Size : HUGE : 40" x 80"
2. Material : Fabric - from stash - ALL OF IT!Including the Saree and the blouse fabric! A lot of cotton poplin, some linen and curtain lining remnants!
I used a LOT of Pellon Fusible (#805)  I also used a lot of local interfacing - mainly to sew the entire figure on, before sewing it onto the final quilt!
Thread - Aurifil Invisible (90% of the work) and Aurifil 50 wt Black & White as per the situation. I used a little of Superior & a little of Madeira Mono-filament thread as well.


Name : Dementored Price : $200 + Shipping
Size : 33" x 23"
Material Used : Fabric - Black & White Bella Solids, Thread : Aurifil White. Poly Batting - hi loft
Technique : Reverse Applique - raw edge
Free motion Quilting


Quilt Name : Unnamed Price $750 + Shipping
Size : 54" x 69"
Techniques : EPP Hexagons, Free Motion Quilting (a lot of it), Hand Quilting and blanket stitch edging.
Material used : Scraps from my Paalvi Quilt - Fresh Flowers by Deb Strain, Black Kona Solid, Beige Linen from stash, Aurifil # 2150, 2250, 5018, 1200, 4655, 2135, of course black - 2692 and a lot more that I do not remember!


 Name of the Quilt : Pensieve : Price on request
Size : 36" x 36"
Fabric Used : Kona Snow
Thread : Calypso Off White - #0000261
Technique Used : Trapunto


 Name : More Peace : Price : $250 + Shipping
Size : 28" x 20". 
Materials used : Cotton Fabric, Poly-Cotton Batting (very thin & light), 
Aurifil Black thread 40 wt, Oil Pastels and Glitter Gel Pens!!!


 Please contact me on email if you wish to buy any of these.

 I know its going to be traumatic to part with them. But I think I am ready to sell these!

Cheers!!!


Sunday, May 18, 2014

Bloggers Quilt Festival : Home Machine Quilted

Hi again!!!
All those who read my previous post - Bloggers quilt Festival : Applique Quilt - I'm entering another quilt in the festival. This time in the Home Machine Quilted Category!

Those who have not seen my previous entry,
"Hi! Its that time of the year again!!!
Amy form Amy's Creative Side painstakingly organizes an online Quilt Festival for all those who cannot attend the live ones - so that we do not miss out on all the fun!!!

Go on to her blog to check all the categories and vote for your favorite one when the voting starts! Voting begins on May 23. So mark your calenders. Of course in the Applique Quilt Category and the Home Machine Quilted Category I'd love if you vote for my quilt, but in the other categories, you can vote for your favorite one!

Here's the quilt that I'm entering into the festival!!!"

Do check out my other quilt too!

Pensieve.


It has already won the fourth place in India's first ever Quilt Competition organized by Husqvarna Viking. And has earned me an Opal 670!


This quilt was made using the Machine Trapunto technique. It took an agonizing 2 months to make, when more than once I decided that it was not worth it and almost gave up!



My 'Emily' - a Bernina 330 - did a great job on this one! Read more about the process of making this quilt in my older blog post.

I'm proud of this work for many reasons, firstly it was a white on white quilt that has managed to stay white on white after completion!!! That in itself is a HUGE achievement for me!


 Secondly, it used a technique that  required patience, precision and perseverance - the 3 P's I just lack! But I overcame that and made it!  Thats another achievement.



Third, I overcame a lot of hurdles to make this one. Quilting as well as personal. There were times when I gave up - saying something else was more important than entering into a competition. But I'm glad today that I did it!

Quilt stats
Name of the Quilt : Pensieve
Size : 36" x 36"
Fabric Used : Kona Snow
Thread : Calypso Off White - #0000261
Technique Used : Trapunto
Experience : Satisfying and encouraging!

Do you like it???
If yes, then vote for me  after 23rd May!!!
http://amyscreativeside.com/2014/05/16/bloggers-quilt-festival-spring-2014/


Bloggers Quilt Festival : Applique Quilt


Hi! Its that time of the year again!!!
Amy form Amy's Creative Side painstakingly organizes an online Quilt Festival for all those who cannot attend the live ones - so that we do not miss out on all the fun!!!

Go on to her blog to check all the categories and vote for your favorite one when the voting starts! Voting begins on May 23. So mark your calenders. Of course in the Applique Quilt Category, I'd love if you vote for my quilt, but in the other categories, you can vote for your favorite one!

Here's the quilt that I'm entering into the festival!!!

iQuilt!


This quilt was done using a Reverse applique Technique. In this you first stitch all the layers together and then cut away the parts that you do not want.


iQuilt is based on the famous photo of Steve Jobs by Albert Watson. It was a gift for my Apple crazy brother!  And he sure was so happy to have it!!! I had managed to keep it a surprise for a long time between when it was completed and when it was given to him!


The size is 24" x 30" and it is made from just 3 shades of fabric - White, Grey & Black.
Making the beard part was a nightmare with so many tiny pieces!!!

But I'm so proud of my work!!!



Name : iQuilt
Size : 24" x  30"
Photo : Steve Jobs by Albert Watson
Techniques used : Reverse applique
Material Used : Fabric (3 shades - White, Grey & Black), Aurifil Thread (again 3 shades White, # 2625 - grey- and black all wt 50), Tulle
Made on : My Bernina 330!
Experience : Amazing! Trying a less used reverse applique quilt for a portrait did a lot to boost my confidence!!!
Do you like it???
If yes, then vote for me  after 23rd May!!!

http://amyscreativeside.com/2014/05/16/bloggers-quilt-festival-spring-2014/


Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Pensive


We had the first Quilt Competition in India recently.

I was not sure I would be able to participate. But started working on my quilt nevertheless. It was a lot of work and I had almost given up! But I am glad that I stuck through, Since i won an Opal 650 in the competition for securing the fourth place! I promptly upgraded to an Opal 670! Could not resist having a machine that automatically adjusts tension!!!



But first here's what I made to enter into the quilt.

The theme of the competition was "Tell a story" and we were urged to be as Indian as possible.

Here's my story and my quilt!

My Story : I was overjoyed to have the opportunity of participating in the first of India's very own Quilt Competition.

I have been quilting for almost 5 years now. Being a self taught quilter, and due to the non-availability of proper training here in Sangli, I gravitated towards do-able quilts - Modern quilts. I love colour and most of my quilts are bright, colourful and strikingly modern. For this competition I wanted to attempt something that I had never done before. That's when I got out my bucket list.

My bucket list - the ever growing list of quilts I want to attempt some day - includes quilts like Wedding Ring, New York Beauty, Cathedral window and many more traditional quilts. It also had one item that I kept on going back to again and again - A white on white Trapunto Quilt.
Pensieve is my take on the traditional Trapunto. I am more comfortable using the sewing machine, and hence I decided to make it on my sewing machine ONLY.
 It was a long, tiring yet rewarding process that started with the design itself. The inspiration came from a Mandala colouring page. I had a few of them from my pre-quilting days when I used to be an Architect. I remember I had referred to them for inspiration for flooring design. I combined 3 designs - my favorite of the lot - to make this one. I did the initial designing on AutoCAD - the designing software I'm most comfortable with. Then I got it printed to actual size.
After that began the slow process of precisely tracing out the pattern on my top fabric - Kona Snow. I used a Pilot Frixion pen for it. I basted the top fabric with a thin batting, and stitched along the design lines using a water soluble thread.

Once ALL of the design was stitched, I started cutting away the batting from places where the quilt would have dense quilting. Again, it was a slow, tiring and this time - painful - process. My fingers were sore forever from all the cutting, using the thin manicure scissors.


Glad to be done with the cutting, I then basted the top once again, this time using a high loft cotton batting and once again a Kona Snow backing. After this I spent more than 50 hours doing the super-dense quilting. I used 5 and a half spools of 500 m thread in the top and an equal number in the bobbin! And at last after a lot of work, which I am sure will be considered as aerobic activity, the quilting was done.


I was so happy it was done, only to realize that the quilt was so stubbornly uneven that IT JUST WONT LAY FLAT! Time to block the quilt!


I got my pin up board down from my living room wall and soaked the quilt - I had to soak it anyway, white on white quilts become dusty white on dusty white with all the handling - and tugged and pulled and stretched and pinned till the poor thing was forced to lay completely flat! I then dried it in the sun, that's about the only time I was happy that it was summer - since the deadline was looming at a few hours!


As soon as it was dry - I bound it using the same Kona Snow and it was ready for the photo session!



I named it Pensieve. For all those who are not familiar with the Harry Potter vocabulary, a Pensieve is a stone basin used to store and review memories. Covered in mystic runes, it contains memories whose physical form is neither gas nor liquid. A witch or wizard can extract their own or another's memories, store them in the Pensieve, and review them later. It also relieves the mind when it becomes cluttered with information. Anyone can examine the memories in the Pensieve, which also allows viewers to fully immerse themselves in the memories stored within, much like a magical form of virtual reality.

 The time I spent quilting this quilt is a time I will never forget. It gave me a lot of time to think about myself and where I am heading in my life. As I took every stitch, I sorted through the memories that came back to me from my childhood, my college days, early days of courting and the last 9 years of my marriage. I reviewed where I stood on my Career front, I wondered about the future of my 7 year old son, and i dreamt of growing old with my wonderful husband! It took me on a awesome trip through time and I enjoyed every moment of it. The grrrrr of my machine as I worked on it provided just the white noise I needed to filter off unwanted sounds! I sat at my table near the window watching little birds flit about on the trees in my garden, I watched cats chasing squirrels, I watched my son ride his bicycle, I watched my family come and leave the house. All these memories will always come back to me when I will look at the quilt!


Quilt stats
Name of the Quilt : Pensieve
Size : 36" x 36"
Fabric Used : Kona Snow
Thread : Calypso Off White - #0000261
Technique Used : Trapunto

And I won the fourth place in the competition. Here's what I got!!! I cannot wait for the lessons to use this one on Wednesday and Thursday this week.


I am impatient to get started!~!!

What have you all been up to?
Thursday, May 8, 2014

My awesome new studio...


Did I tell you about my brand new studio???

Of course I did. But did I mention how awesome it was?

Pull up a comfortable chair and take along a cup of coffee - on second thoughts - maybe you should stick to something cold! You might drop it on yourself after seeing the studio!!!



Ready for the tour???

Welcome to the brand new studio of 13 Woodhouse Road

 
This is my personal sewing area! I have my stash of designer fabric near the ironing station and the cutting table. I sit on the table with my back to it! The wonderful overhead light is my favorite one and has been with me since 2005. It was first in my office then in my son's room and now in my studio!

 

 Here's what the entire space looks like. Out of that door is my own private toilet block!!! Yippe!!! What more Can I ask for?

The ironing station is actually a kitchen platform. I have retained the sink and its fixtures so that I can use it for soaking fabric as well as for my dyeing experiments!
 

The cutting table is from my days before my marriage! It used to be my office table back home (@2002) and then moved to Sangli with me! I just love it!

The cutting mats are all worn out. But I haven't had the time to replace them, yet.


 Thats my sewing machine set up along with my miscellaneous shelves and my wonderful design wall. On the DW hangs my first finish in the new studio! It needs a separate post of its own though!!!

I keep all my regular sewing supplies in that small orange bowl next to my machine. The shelves under the machine have my threads in boxes sorted by color. Will get a separate picture of them later!
The same shelves also hold my machine accessories and maintenance stuff!

See that small hole in the flooring next to the table? That is an old tool used in Indian kitchens instead of the modern Mortar & Pestles. It was carved out of a stone and used in the flooring! A wooden stump would be used as a pestle.






I sit facing my small "Office" space. The black top table is where I have put up my computer. It also has an inspiration board next to it and a wall shelf for keeping my books and notebooks.




I am so in love with my new space.

There's more on the other side too.


The large table is waiting for something - HUGE! I'm waiting for it with my heart in my mouth! Not one but 2 arrivals at 13 Woodhouse Road scheduled in the next few days!!!

More on them when they arrive!

I finally found the PERFECT place to hang my Apsara Quilt. It can be seen right when you enter! And looks awesome!

The table against the wall holds my Bernette and my HV E10. 

 

This is my "Shop" corner. It has all my for sale stuff! iQuilt is here on a visit before he flies off across the oceans to participate in various quilt shows.




And I found him the perfect place too!!!
my God and my brother's iGod sit side by side looking over my Grandmother's machine!

I'm so happy with my new space!!!

And do you know the best part? I did not buy anything new except the paint and the 2 chairs!!!

I am a firm believer in recycling! And so decided to make EVERYTHING from the material that I already had in the studio!

My partitions became the shelves along the wall. The top part went under the two flush doors to become tables!!!

EVERYTHING is recycled!!!

Now you know why I have been MIA for the past few weeks. But there are things that happened in these past few days that are worth mentioning!

So await my next post!!!



P.S. Want a sneak peek?








Wednesday, May 7, 2014

MIA - but now back with a bang!


No posts for more than 2 months!!!

Yeah! Life got ahead of me!!!

But I'm back!!! And this time with a bang!!!




Want to know why I was away?

My studio got a facelift!!!

Photos coming soon!!!

Promise!!!