I shop... you can win!!!

What do most women do when they are in a bad mood... when things just are not going right... 

...you're right... they shop...

I did the same. I discovered a departmental store where I avoided going because I preferred to shop from smaller stores. And just have a look at what I found...

If any one of you can guess the total amount that I spent on these, I'll give them a prize... 

These are some beautiful linen kitchen towels... I loved the colors. I will be using them in my kitchen, but only after propping them up! Right now I'm really working on organizing my kitchen...

The rest are pillow covers that I picked up. Since I do not get quilting fabric here and these are the perfect thread count (wow!) I'll be using them as fabrics... Also the edges I cut, I'll use in making binding!!! So little will go to the trash bin...

Look I'm saving money again!!! Did you see that Mr. 13?

Aqua & Limes

Yellow & Aqua!

These are really girlish...

Some Red & Blue stripes...

Cream and Black with a textured weave!

Some purples ( I had none when I had to use them for my bee blocks, I thought I should stock them)

Some really sweet crinkly colorful stuff

Some Neutrals...

Doesn't the pile look yummy???

Now guess how much I spent on them And you'll win one of these as a prize. Entries close Wednesday, 4th August 00.00 hrs. 

You have to tell me the EXACT amount ( Round it off to the nearest integer, no fractions / decimals) One who makes the right guess will win one of the pillow covers as her prize!!!

The winner & some ramblings...

I used Random.org to choose the winner and here's what he decided to choose...

No 2 : Quilting in my Pyjamas!!! 

Mrs P as she's known to many...

She said "What a generous giveaway Shruti.

My quote is one I put on my daughter's last quilt "Those who sleep under a quilt sleep under a blanket of love". It's not original, I found it somewhere on the internet.

And I'm a follower too but you already knew that !"

Yes Mrs P, I know you're one of my first followers... :)

Congratulations Mrs P ... Please mail me your address... And your prize will be on its way...

Life is just not being fair to me right now... Things are going from bad to worse... 

Things that I have taken for granted... 

People whom I've been trusting have suddenly changed their approach towards me... 

Its painful to watch someone whom you love do damage to themselves... 

And you cannot do anything about it... 

Overall, life's getting as much depressing as the weather here...

But I believe in one thing, If you do not hurt anyone intentionally, God will not let you get hurt... 

This phase will also tide over and the sun will be back... :)

I'm not someone to give up so easily... I'm going to stick to my place, fasten my seatbelt and hold on tight... Ready for any rough roads life may bring...

Not enjoying it!

My Bernette came back after 3 weeks of waiting... Only to Jam up again!!!

I dont know whats wrong this time... She was sewing okay (not wonderful/great like she used to) and I broke a needle... I replaced it, but now it does not go down through the hole!!! This can only happen if the needle breaking can cause the approx 5-6 mm steel bar to develop a bend! (I swear i was not using a hammer anywher nearby) or somehow the machine has managed to move its assembly by a few milimeters!! Yeah, the needle is coming down at a point about 2 mm from where it should some down! 

Bernina is a great company. And their rep here Mr Gupta is a wonderful person... He's been very much helpful throughout the process... But I just cannot afford to be machine-less for another 3 weeks!

Sewing on my Bernette is loosing its charm now... And its getting more and more fustrating... I have a load of projects that need my attention... But its not fun anymore... Its started looking like work!!!

I think I should take a break for a while from sewing... What else can I work on meanwhile??? Any suggestions??? I'd love to try some different things... 

P.s. please dont suggest that I can try my hand at cooking... I'm a wreck there... and dont attempt it untill the last possible moment... I have a cook who does it for me EVERYDAY!

Meanwhile dont forget to sign up for my Giveaway. The signups close exactly 24 hours from now...

meanwhile let me show you what I managed to complete before my Bernette decided to play games with me...

These are the blocks I've made for my 3 x 6 Sampler Quilt Mini Bee...

Amber wanted Blue & Yellow

Tiffany wanted Blue + Green + Yellow

Marlynn wanted Black + Red + White

Kelly wanted Blue + Gray + Yellow

Amy wanted Blue + Brown + Green

And Barbara wanted Pink + Purple + Red

Keeping my fingers crossed that they'll like it...

Its Giveaway Time!!!

I've had giveaways in the past... But no one has just signed up... Lets see if this time they do...

Its been 25 posts... On this blog and 75 on my old one... So it makes a 100 posts in all!!! Call for a celebration... A few weeks back I won a quilt on a giveaway by Deb...

I thought I'll have my giveaway back... And this time with no strings attached... You have to be a follower (new or old) and you have to leave a comment... The comment should be a quote that I can put on the labels 40 + 2 quilts I'm making for the Orphanage...

I'll choose the lucky winner using random.org on Tuesday...

And about what you will be winning...

This Bedspread... Its made from a beautiful Silk Saree... The backing is pure cotton...

Also along with it you'll get a beautiful cotton bottle warmer... I wont be including the bottle... But Its a great way to gift someone a bottle...

Hope you people sign up for this one at least...




It was a great pleasure to be invited by http://www.giveawayscout.com/ be a part of their site... Thanks for the invite Josh...

They've got a home!!!

I've been watching all the beautiful sewing rooms on the net and one thing that has always caught my eye was the thread storage... I loved the JoAnn racks... But when I calculated cost + shipping it was outrageous (and my husband did not have to say that to me) I decided to make one. And now here it is...

My thread spools have got a home now!!!

I know it isn't great, but I love it. And it cost me just about 3$ to make it. Doesn't it qualify me to spend some money on fabric???

I bought some roses for myself instead. And they really look beautiful on my dining table. The Rainbow Runner and the blue vase really makes them stand out... 

I've got mail !!!

When I drove out on my bike (Yeah I ride a bike - She's a lovely 125cc Automatic Suzuki Access - She's a beauty!!) I saw the postman coming with a "huge" parcel balanced on the handle bars of his cycle. I did a U-turn, almost scaring the person behind me! and rushed back home!!!

IT WAS FOR ME!!!

Theresa  had sent this wonderful package to me!!! It had the most beautiful flannel fabrics and so thoughtful of her to include some thread too!!! All this for Spread the Cheer!!!

Thanks Theresa... I'll upload the pictures of the finished quilts when they are done...

There are unfortunately no followers for my PIF post... :( Hey guys I am not that bad at making things... Please sign up and I promise I'll send you something really wonderful... LOL

Waiting for SOMEONE to sign up!!!

P{l}ay it forward...

I came across the P{l}ay it forward blog from Reclaiming Me. I jumped in right away...

So, would you like to receive something from me?  I could send all manner of things as I like to try my hand at anything at least once.

So here's the deal:

~I will make a handmade gift for the first 3 interested people who comment on this post.

~I have 365 days to do it in…

~What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise!

The catch is that you must participate as well:

~you must have a blog.

~after you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going! Just cut and paste this one if you like, which I did!

Sounds fun doesn’t it? Sign up below

My first bee block...

I've joined a bee... A 3 x 6 mini sampler bee... Its the first that I've joined...

I decided long back that I'm making this block for my first bee... Right when Elizabeth blogged about it...

So here's my first block...

A Black-White-Red Block

Do tell me how it is... Thats all for today though... Down with the flu... Will make the others later...

It Worked!!!

Last night I had a dream... I saw that my Bernette took forever to come back... But my Durby had suddenlly learnt free-motion quilting! And she had stood by me through all that period!

I woke up and thought, why not try and see if my darning foot would fit on the Durby... And guess what???

IT DID!!!

And now my Durby has learnt free-motion quilting!!! Wow! Thats what you call a dream come true!!!

Finish # 2 for Spread the Cheer!

I still do not have my Bernette back. And yesterday got the bad news that I won’t be getting her back for a couple of weeks. That was when I decided to make do with whatever I’ve got.

So what if the machine makes a lot of noise and scares away my kiddo. So what if the thread keeps on breaking every time I stop the machine. So what if the tension keeps on messing up all the time. So what if there is no stitch length adjustment. So what if I cannot backstitch the ends. That does not mean that I give up on my commitment. 40+2 quilts before Diwali means 40+2 quilts in 16 weeks. With all you great guys helping me finish them, it’s an average of 3 quilts per week for me right now!!!

So I decided not to let my work accumulate and work on the old machine as it is. And I made one wonderful quilt on her. It is my second quilt for Spread the Cheer. I just cut 9 4.5” strips in 3 different colors (3 strips each) and stitched them together. The top was done!

I used a white binding for this one. I love the way it looks. As usual I’ve used flannel for batting and it makes the quilt really soft. How did I quilt it? Straight lines @ 1” apart! (Do I have a choice?)

Spreading the Cheer should not be limited to donating the quilts. I’d like to bring a little cheer to my own dull day too. So I just did that. I do love my old machine. She’s sturdy and has helped me when I’ve needed her the most! So tomorrow I’m taking her to the mechanic for a servicing and getting her ready for the work!!! Her name is Durby by the way, and she’s one black beauty!

 

Thanks Durby! For helping me Spread the Cheer!!!

My Red Bed Spread!

I loved the name! While I typed it. Red-Bed-Spread! LOL

Well, Here's something I made for my home on my old sewing machine. Its a vintage model, which can only stitch straight. The backwards function is not working and so is the stitch length control! But it belonged to my grandmother who sewed my childhood clothes on it. And I love it for that.

I used 12" x 12" squares from my stash to make this one. All the squares have Red in common. I made 8 rows of 4 squares each, randomly placing the squares. 

This one looks just perfect with the assorted pillows on it.

The Saree Quilt

A few days back I told you I'd do a separate post about the Saree Floor Quilt in my living room, here it is...

This is a huge quilt. About 7' x 7'. Its made from a vintage silk saree. The pallu or the end of the saree with its ornate design is used in the center as a focus.

The backing is a plain purple sheet in cotton. And the batting is a thin sheet of foam. That helps it dry super fast and sit flat too.

The quilting has been done in rows with a different pattern for every row. Here's a detailed snap of it.

The end is scalloped and serged closed. There's no binding on it.

It is one beautiful quilt that looks great in my living room, which in itself has an ethnic look to it.

This quilt was given to me by my mother on my wedding day. It was made by someone in Banaras. This was the first object that introduced me to quilting. At that time I was too occupied to think about it. I was an architect, and a pretty successful one with 16 projects running in 3 cities! Sewing was something I thought I'd never do. Fast forward 5 years! I'm a SAHM with my lovely little 3 yr old. I can barely get 2 hrs a day to sew. But I'm really very happy! I have enjoyed quilting like nothing else. And I'm glad I tried my hand at it.     

Personalized Pillows!!!

I did finish that order for 40 personalized pillows for a friend of mine. They were the return gifts at a birthday party. And people loved them.

Here they are...

For the girls...

And for the boys...

yeah... even aadi got one... we were also invited... :)

And since the venue was "Traffic Park" - Its a park where all pathways are treated as roads where we can teach children to obey traffic rules; it even has a railway track with a railway compartment! I thought the decoration would be a signal

Red - Sleep

Amber - Eat

Green - Play

I used the most unusual material for packing them. The names had to be visible for obvious reasons. And there wasn't time to go and find the right size plastic bags and zip pouches were too expensive...

Ta-da...

Yup... I used a  cling film to wrap them up! And from now on anything that I ship internationally will be wrapped in it. Its just too good.

Don't they look gorgeous?

I made them all in a record time - 26 hours!

Was absolutely exhausted in the end... even showed up late for the party... But it was all worth it...