Iron On Transfer and Haste...

I bought some Rhinestuds online and I had wrongly assumed that the transfer paper will also be supplied with them. When the shipment reached home, I was more than eager to try out. But I did not have the transfer paper. I checked for them on online stores but was very reluctant to buy.


Then an idea popped into my head. Why not use the packaging tape that I have for transferring the Rhinestuds onto fabric. Now is where I have to mention how excited I become whenever I get new and/or crazy ideas! All the while an idea is into my head and is not yet put into execution, I keep visualizing how I would do it. And end up not concentrating on my present even when it is work!!!


So, this time when I got a new idea.. that is the idea of using a packaging tape in place of transfer paper... I could not wait at all! I had to try it at once.



So, I placed the rhinestuds on the sticky side of the tape.

Then I placed the tape onto the fabric so that the tape stuck to the fabric.

Then I placed a cotton fabric onto the tape and pressed the iron on it by keeping the maximum cotton setting on my iron.

Then comes the tricky part of peeling away the tape from the fabric. The Rhinestuds stuck. But as you can see below some of the goo from the tape also stuck to the fabric.

But I used a lint roll to remove the goo!!! Yipee I am done..!

But in my haste I did not place the Rhinestuds properly on the tape.. So the pattern is kind-of skewed. But that's okay. Now I know I do not need to buy a transfer paper for my Hotfix Iron-ons!! I am so happy... But of course, next time onwards, I should not be this hasty! :)

Touching mail..

I must have read this story several times through email forwards from lot of friends... Yet every time I read it, I can't help having a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes... It's so touching! In this times of professionalism and weaker morals, this is truly an inspiring incident... As they say in India: "There is still goodness in this world; that is why we still have rains!"

Here's the story:

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps..

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that=2 0 a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the  plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!

Run to first!'

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

 All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

Pillow?

Did I not tell you that I will  be back with more posts on Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum???


So here I am with a picture of one of the exhibits in the museum...
 
Can you guess what these are?

 

They are the head-rests used by the Egyptians while sleeping. They are supposed to be very comfortable. There are made of wood or ivory. Weird, ain't it?

Lady in Waiting – A Book Review

This book is about two ladies who are from different centuries and the only connection between them is their first name (Jane) and a betrothal ring. One Jane is an antique shop owner in the US and the other Jane is the 9-day Queen of England in the 16^th century. The similarity and contrast between the two Janes is very interesting. I could not help reading page after page to know about Jane, the Queen; to find out about her history and also the history of the ring. At the same time, I could not help having a lot of feelings for the Jane whose husband kept her in the waiting.

There are many scenes in the story that are very close to my heart. But I am not sure if I should write about them here. I do not want this review to be a spoiler to the people who have not read the book. 

All in all this book can be a good company during travel or on a lazy Sunday. It is not advisable to start it on a working day (as I did); for you shall have a tough time controlling your urge to read amidst work! J

My knowledge in the history of England was almost nil and this novel started a new interest in me. I started searching about the Royal lineage and now, I am eagerly waiting for a book on Queen Elizabeth to be shipped home. History intrigues me and I am always interested  in finding out more about women of those days. The combination of both - as in the case of Queen Jane or Queen Elizabeth is deadly!

I somehow have a feeling that male readers may not like this book. This might be because the book is a little on the emotional side.

A big thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah for providing a complimentary book for review. It has revived my love for reading!

Dosa Making

While I spoke with Viji Athai(aunt), the inevitable talking of cooking sprang up. And when I told her that we got dosa mix for making dosas during weekend, she was asking if Yamuna was going to join us!!! Well, everyone knows that if we need dosas, it has to be Yamuna who would be the one spreading the batter on the pan and flipping the dosa until it becomes crisp and yummy! :)

Even after one full year of being the head chef of the kitchen... Not that Vikram does not cook... He does and there are a couple of dishes that he excels in and those are the ones that I don't even know how to make!!! Anyway getting back to me being the head chef of our kitchen... It is just two of us, so there is ample opportunity for trying out new stuff or improving my culinary skills.. But that never happens, because I do not like cooking!

Even during the time when I was with my sisters, I would prefer them cooking rather than me! But what we did was to divide the tasks amongst ourselves. So, Ganga was good at making bhendi fry and rolling round chapatis while I was good at making the mixed vegetable pulao. But the one thing that I could never do, was to try making dosas. I never had a chance to try because Yamuna was very good at it. Even now I do not know the knack of spreading the batter evenly on the tawa to make a thin round and crispy dosa.

Last weekend, while Vikram and I struggled to make dosas using the dosa mix batter, I was dreaming of getting Yamuna closer to our home, so that we would have the privilege of having yummy homemade dosas that are large and perfectly round without any tears and those that are evenly spread and nicely cooked on both the sides. Now you can imagine how bad our dosas came out! Anyway, I am proud to say that my hubby makes better dosas than me!!! That will help me get around the task of making dosas. I can peacefully eat them while he makes them for me! Oops...! Did I tell out the truth?

Anyhow, the truth is I will always remember and miss Yamuna whenever and wherever I see dosas... Needless to say that this post is dedicated to her and not to dosas!!! :-)

Post-it Cat

Our library has a lot of books on crafts and I love to go through them and drool over all that I can do. I satisfy myself with just that. But once in a while, when something really catchy shows up, I can't help pushing away my laziness and take up the creative project. This is one such project.

I wish I could remember the name of the book where I saw this. I have already returned the book to the library. How sad!

This cat is first cut out of cardboard and then a thin sponge/batting is cut out in the same shape and stuck to the cardboard. Then the slightly bigger size of the cat is cut from fabric and stuck onto the batting/sponge so that the fabric wraps over the edge and is glued to the back.

We can stick post-it stuff to it or hold up the do-it notes using pins. There is also a kitten made from fabric that is stuck to the cat forming a pocket. This can hold scribbling pad or post-it notes or pen/pencil.

It is nice and cute and useful too, ain't it?! :)

My first quilt!

I am so excited to show you all the first quilt that I ever made. Thanks to Donna and her blog and her patient replies to all my silly queries!

I started out to make a quilt of crib-size but it has ended up being much smaller than that. As Donna suggested, I added the borders to make it a little bigger.


V helped me coming up with a nice design and also in selecting the fabrics.

I selected the least favorite fabric for the reverse side of the quilt. And I joined both the fabric by hand stitching. I used my machine to sew the edges of the quilt. All this took me whole of my weekend. I did not want to get my first quilt wrong. So, I worked slow.

Now, I am confused whether to use this quilt to decorate my wall or our love-seat. Any ideas? :)

Good Old Days - Orange Tree

These days, I love the walk from home to our grocery store. The reason being the Orange trees. They could be lemon trees too. But they bring so much joy to me. What fond memories they invoke in me!

One of my very first childhood memories is of running along a series of holes in the mud and putting one seed in each hole. I must have been 2 or 3 years old then. 

Later the saplings that grew from those seeds were transplanted and now it has grown into a huge Orange tree. Last time we went to Srikakulam, Amma pointed out the tree to me and reminded me of the first tree I planted! 

Around the time of my wedding, it had borne a basketful of oranges too! I see a connection there, do you? :)