Sufi's jumper

Every so often the urge to do some crochet hits me...and when Nitasha says, Ma, Sufi needs a sleeveless jumper, then its easy to give into the urge!!! I found this lovely little pattern on line ad got it done in a couple of days. The wool is from my stash....so it was easy peasy! I love the shaded effect and ofcourse Sufi looks a doll in it.

A joint effort!

The girls heave been home for Christmas! What joy in all the noise and chaos, the fun and laughter, the masses of cooking and eating, but most if all the sharing of so much love!
Nafisa wanted to make a Kindle cover for Nishka's Kindle. She wanted to quilt it and had a very clear idea as to what she wanted to make! However she is very good with her crochet, but has not used a sewing machine, so I agreed to be her 'karigar'!!!We worked out the size together, and the fabric was then cut. She appliqued the owl on the front and once done, I quilted the case for her, and she finally finished it with fairly neat hand stitching of the binding!
No surprise that Nishka is delighted!
                                                                           The front

                                                                        The back

                                                                 The inside with a pocket

A Special Christmas Gift!

The amazing thing about being part of the Desi Quilters is how friendships have developed...such a feeling of closeness and warmth, possibly because it all stems from the the single fact...we all love to quilt and create, share our knowledge and learn from each other!
I have never met Madhu as she lives in Jaipur and I am in Kolkata ...but we have become friends. So with my Desi Bee block this is what she sent me....a quilted wall hanging for Christmas! Beautifully crafted and so special! I put it outside the front door as a welcome decoration!

Nafisa's cat quilt

This is the quilt I have made for Nafisa. She is a cat person and is totally delighted with it!

It has been a huge learning time for me. I realized that I will have to be very careful with the fabric I use. They all have to be as similar as possible. I bought the 2 printed pieces abroad, from a quilting store, and so they were of a similar kind. However the plains were poplins I bought here. With the many qualities of poplin available locally, there is a variation in the thickness. So this meant that some of it stretched....extremely irritating. The next big challenge was in the actual quilting! I have used a cotton batting which is of really great quality and easy to work with. But putting the sandwich together and then basting it (I used pins, which was a mistake....next time I will baste it with thread) turned out to be far more difficult than usual. Especially keeping wrinkles out was a marathon feat!!!! I love a bit of the hand stitching and that seemed to increase the wrinkles! The backing was a great fabric I found in Bangalore, but had to have a join down one side to make up the breadth.
Nafisa, my designer daughter, says she loves that its not totally smooth....so then I guess its ok!

Sailing boat block

This is the block for Nirmala who is the Bee for this month. She wanted solid colours. It was a very simple block to make, but since there were almost no instructions for dimensions, I had to work that out myself....so although initially frustrated, I took it as another learning experience!!The HST squares have to be 4", The 2 side panels 8'X4', the boat and the water 4x12 1/2".  A 4 " square cut into a triangle to create the sides of the boat.

Prasanna's Sunny Bee Block!

Of all the blocks I have been making for the 2 Bees I am participating in, this was the most difficult!! The instructions were clear and there were video links to follow as well....Trying to get all the points to match was a challenge though! It was a great learning though!!!!! I was accurate in measuring, but still had to trim the pieces once I had stitched them. No matter how good the cloth, it does tend to stretch a little! Anyway it's done, and I hope Prasanna is happy with it!

WIP!

My family tease me as they say I can never sit still and just Chill!!  The fingers have to be busy all the time! True that!!! I miss the sewing when I am traveling though, so always carry something with me. The other great love in my life in the craft category, is crocheting!!! I find it so relaxing and have some work in progress amongst my multiple projects. This month has been one of travel...so the bit of work that has been my constant has been this table cloth which I am making as a gift for my daughter! The pattern is from a friend who made a very successful one.

Its a lovely star design and will look lovely on her dark polished wood dining table.

I've used a slightly thicker cotton thread this time....and like the effect. Plan to make linen napkins edged with a narrow crochet border!