Happy 4th

No.. it's not July yet.. to celebrate the US independence day... 

This happy 4th is for the two of us... 

Happy Anniversary and here's hoping for lot more togetherness in the coming years! :)

Jaya Jaya Vijayee Raghu Rama

Got a chance to watch a dance show called Jaya Jaya Vijayee Raghu Rama... It was Ramayana narrated through songs and dance...

We loved it! Glad we got a chance to watch it... Amazing sets... 

Beautiful choreography... melodious voice... 

They even put up a screen giving the english translation of the song that was being sung. We thoroughly enjoyed it... felt good even in those emotional moments...

Double Rainbow!

One of those rare sights... a double rainbow... 

Praneeth and Nandini calling us at the same time to V and me on our cell phones...

Asking us to look out of our window... to enjoy the beautiful sight...

Thanks to the two of them... else we would have missed this nature's beauty...

Finding some treasures are... as simple as opening the window or looking into the sky...

We just need to keep our eyes open...

Probably nose too.. :)

To take in the smell of wet earth when the first rain drops fall onto the dry land...

How about keeping the ears open as well...

To listen the birds calling out to each other...

or to hear the splash of the waves at the beach...

Nature never stops to amaze me...

Less than Traditional...

My first visit to a Quilt festival happened in September... I was so excited... I did not know what to expect... But wanted to attend at least a couple of free classes/sessions there...

This festival happened in the Fairgrounds, Pleasanton. It was Quilt, Craft and Sewing festival... I enjoyed looking at all those fabulous quilts, bought a couple of yards of fabric and signed up for the raffle prize. :)

Got a chance to learn a new technique in quilting called "Less than Traditional". This was a quilting technique invented by a person named Charlie. Click here to know more.

As soon as I got back home, I rushed to try out this technique. The results are here... :)

My first Dresden

I colorful pillow cover for my pretty niece...

Used the dresden tool to make the petals of the flower...

Just the flower did not seem complete...

So added leaves and stem...

The grass at the bottom completes the scene...

(Used a strip of green fabric for the grass)

Ain't it pretty?!!

Couple of pillow covers

One yard of printed fabric and a couple of matching fat quarters... Result is a couple pillow covers...

A coordinated pair but not a duplicate...

Grocery Bag Holder

Picked a cardboard box with an opening at the bottom. 

Glued pieces of fabric to a cardboard box. Pushed grocery bags from the top and they can be pushed from the bottom. Placed some toys on the top of the box to hid the grocery bags.

Happy Deepavali!!

Some glitter in my Deepavali celebrations...

Coffee!!

From a coffee shop in Block Island...

I have never been a coffee fan... But this slogan looks interesting! :)

Bulls bridge

This is a 19th century bridge in Kent, Connecticut. 

It connects two states: Connecticut and New York.

It is over Housatonic River.

It has little openings to get a view of the river

An inside view of the bridge...

We went down a trail to wet our feet in the river :)

In the below photo,notice how calm the water is before it hits those rocks... It almost looks still...

 

Fall colours

The oranges... 
The reds.. 
The yellows... 
And all shades in-between...

I love them in flowers... more so on the leaves...
the fall is here... Welcome Autumn!

October 8th

Phew! The parcel reached them on their day. It was the one to witness their smiles while they unpacked it. Two little pouches for my two little sisters!

Wish you a very Happy Birthday my darling sisters! 

All the while I made these, I was imagining their faces when they would open the package to see these pouches... It is indeed a pleasure to make our loved ones happy! :)

All sewed with love and care...

I cut all the pieces using my Sizzix bigshot machine. The pouch body is fleece and the flowers in felt. The star button to add beauty to the flower.

Stitched a couple of button holes and passed the grosgrain ribbon through it, then tied it into a bow.

Simple, yet beautiful... Just like my sisters! :)

What started out as a cell phone pouch... ended as a pouch to be used for saving trinkets! But what's important is it reached them on their birthday... Thank you USPS!

Ribbon purse

With a golden ribbon and some green cotton fabric, I made a quick purse.

Sewed the ribbon to the fabric using an embroidery stitch. Used a batting in-between. Added velcro for closure

Cute ain't it?

Quilt Rack

Antique or no-antique... I am proud of my quilt rack...

Bought it on Craigslist...

Cherry wood... I love the spiral legs...

and curvy feet...

more pictures...

As of now, I am hanging my comforter on it. Time to make a new quilt for this quilt rack!

What do you think, is it an antique piece? :)

Quilting Along

I read an article by name "Quilting Thin Strips" in a quilting magazine.

This quilting technique involves stitching strips of cloth onto batting.

I tried out this technique recently. This is a very good way to use our scrap fabrics.

First cut the batting and backing for required shape. For a small project like this, we can take batting and backing with same size. Also, take thin strips of fabric for the quilt top.

To get the above design,place the first two strips right side together on one diagonal of the rectangle as shown below. Then stitch with 1/4th inch sewing allowance.

Then press/iron them flat.

Add another strip to one end and stitch along.

Continue till the whole batting is covered. Then trim the edges.

Now attach a 1 inch binding tape to edges of the placemat.

Complete the edges.

The placemat is complete now.

This is how the back looks like.

I did a similar placemat by attaching strips vertically.

I am planning to make two more to complete the set. :)