am back…

I've not shared any of my wip's with you all for quite some time now. I was busy with the weddings and my brother was here for holidays.So I could not spend much time on my personal stitching.Also many of you girls know that I have bronchitis and it becomes little bad during winter.

To add to all of the above my dad had an accident and he had to undergo surgery to fix all the fractures. He is okay now but needs physiotherapy and some time to recover fully.

Here is a little eye-candy for you all…

                         

This project is coming along well and it's for a class I will be teaching next year.

Next time I'll show you a small chikan embroidery project with a couple of new stitches.

Wishing y'all a very happy,healthy and prosperous new year!

Happy stitching!

Anita

Bunnies in the garden

I was thinking about starting a small project after I finished 'needle nook' because the Iris will be a WISP and I wanted to work with some colors because of the whitework WIP's.

I'm very happy to show you all my bunnies in the garden…

                                     

The fabric is linen and the threads are Anchor stranded cotton.So far I've finished the fruits, some leaves, little sand and grass part.The fruits and leaves are so tiny ,1-3 mm in size.I chose to fill both the fruits and leaves with satin stitch.

I can't wait to stitch the bunnies,they are so cute..aren't they? I've already decided to fill them and not just do the outline.Hope it'll work :)

Happy stitching!

Anita.

Iris

I've started another new project, a soft shading iris which I have been wanting to stitch for a long time.

                                       

It's a RSN design stitched by Debra Barrett.

I'm stitching this pattern on linen with Anchor stranded cotton threads.I've finished a tiny bit in two shades of gold and started working on a petal.

Happy stitching!

Anita.

New WIP's

It's been quiet a busy month for me 'coz my cousins are getting married in November and lots of work had to be done.I've been shopping a lot for them/with them...

How are y'all? I couldn't visit all your blogs and am sure I'll have lots to catch up this week end.

 My WISP's ....

                                   

                                                            hardanger runner

                                         

Eyelet square mat..Lots of eyelets to do.To keep the tension even and get the same size is a big challenge ,so far haven't got it right.Hope I'll be able to stitch the eyelets properly atleast by the end of this project.

An evening (yesterday evening)from my balcony....

                  

                                          

                                         

                                         

                                       

   

Have a great week!

Happy stitching!

Anita.

Trip down the memory lane...

An old student of mine called a few days back to wish me...We celebrate teacher's day on September 5^th here in India.She was talking about my initial stages as a designer (?!) and teacher.I was partly happy to hear her version of 'me' but felt embarrassed most of the time :)

I met a friend on saturday at a coffee shop and we ended up talking about 'me' again,sounds weird isn't it? My friend asked me if I remember when I'd sold my very first design/kit and all those memories flooded back into my thoughts very quickly. I sold my first kit in September 1993 (20 years!) Like any teen-age girl I bought a pair of gold ear-rings with that money,still have the ear-rings with me:)

I didn't have PC,printer etc. back then so I hand painted the design onto the fabric and all the instructions were hand written by me ,wish I'd taken a picture of my first kit.

I came back home ,searched my journal and ended up re-stitching an old peacock design to celebrate.I wish all of you are here with me having a piece of cake ,sharing my little success and happiness...

                               

I just followed my notes without changing much just to remember the past,only addition is beads/spangles .

If I'd stitched this peacock for the first time now I would have reduced the red color.My mother suggested that I should design another peacock for kutch embroidery,make it into a DIY kit or digital download,any suggestions?

Please feel free to comment ..

Happy stitching!

Anita.

needle nook

Last week was pretty crazy for me ,spent most of my time book keeping and writing instructions for a couple of my old favorite projects.But I was able to complete my needle nook project from inspirations magazine amidst all the chaos :)

                                    

It's a cute little design ,isn't it? I would like to have a small project preferably surface embroidery in between bigger projects with lots of details.What about you, do you always have a fun little project in your WIP basket like me?

Happy stitching!

Anita.

black n white sampler

I finished my black 'n' white sampler.Yay!

                                        

I stitched for almost 30+ hours to complete this sampler.

                                          

This close up picture collage is for you Wendy...

I'll post pictures of the other filling stitches from this sampler in another post.

I always record the number of hours I spend on a project when I work for a commission but I sometimes don't bother to record if it's a personal project..

What do you do? Do you keep a count even if it's a personal project ?

Have a great weekend!

Happy stitching!

Anita.

Blue flower...

I was about to show y'all a new project but unfortunately couldn't take photographs because of bad weather..It's raining heavily for the past 2 days here.

So I've decided to show the progress in my needle nook project from Inspirations  magazine..

                                      

The leaf on the left bottom is fly stitch filling with 3 shades of green..Usually I fill the leaves from the tip but this time I've decided to try from the base, it worked out too..

                                          

I totally fell in love with this blue flower...

Happy stitching!

Anita.

a teeny-tiny motif

I'm afraid I can't show you the full project....Sorry ....

It's a part of the pattern which I'm stitching for commission.While I was working this got some ideas to develop later for my class...

                                      

I enjoyed developing this pattern and the stitching process was (is)fun,haven't finished it yet.

What about you ..Do you enjoy whitework? Which is your most favorite technique? Please do share it with me..

Happy stitching!

Anita.

Needle nook

A new surface embroidery project... as if I need one more addition to the list!

I wanted a simple one because the black 'n' white sampler needs lots of concentration.The other project I'm currently working is Hardanger and I really got tired of counting the fabric threads ,using black and white threads :)

                                   

It's from inspirations issue 70. Needle nook is designed by Barbara Jackson.The pattern calls for stranded cotton and wool but I'm using only stranded cotton threads.

Next time I'll show my sampler progress...

Happy stitching!

Anita

Simple pattern ....

It's been a while since I did embroidery on a dress..remember my kasuti saree? That was the last one.

My plan was to do embroidery on a kameez ,experiment with variegated threads and to choose a simple pattern.

A 'kameez' is a like a tunic worn with loose fitting pants little bit tight at the ankle called 'salwar'.

Here it is ....my pink cotton kameez embroidered with Anchor variegated thread ( multi color) and pink stones.                                

                               

 

What do you think? Did my plan work out or not ? Feel free to leave your comments or suggestion.

Happy stitching!

Anita.

Black 'n' white sampler update

I started working on my sampler again last week and this is where I am after 5 hours of stitching.

                                      

                                           

I know there is lots more to do but hope will get to the finishing point soon unlike my cutwork project.

Have a great week!

Happy stitching!

Anita

Patch work

I have a small square table covered with my mom's 40+ years old cross stitch cloth . I like to keep my threads,stitching accessories on it while I stitch. I just love that table for many reasons and that poor table was begging for a make over :) so I made this simple patch work cover..

                                    

Yesterday evening I was sitting in my balcony and stitching..suddenly there was a storm and I managed to take a couple of pictures...

                                        

                                                                  before the storm

                                          

Do you have any favorite place or a furniture which is a part of your stitching journey? Please do share with me...

Have a great weekend!

Happy stitching!

Anita

Miniature embroidery

When my little niece asked me to embroider a “little person” I didn't guess that she wanted a miniature.

I'd promised her before I saw the drawing so I had no other option other than doing it.

Next came the other request ….can we do the embroidery by machine ?

I must tell you that she is obsessed with my machine right now because we sew party wear for her barbie together.

Here is the pic of our machine embroidery trial…

                                   

He looks little grumpy,isn't he? It's because of my great(!) embroidery skills...

The size is 2'' x 1.4'' . The fabric is tea-dyed cotton.The threads are silk and polyster.

I think I should have used a backing but there is always a next time to correct our mistakes..

Please don't ask me about the right toes and left fingers...when I asked her she said her 'little person' is a ''special child''...What can I say now?

Have a great week!

Happy stitching!

Anita

Floral lace

I haven't been here for the past few weeks because of some personal issues.I've lots to catch up now ... hope I'll be able to do that this week end.

I'd like to show you a lace cutwork doily I'd finished recently but started this one last year I guess (!).

                                     

Can you guess how much time I'd have spent to do the cutwork part alone?

Looking forward to hear from you...

Happy stitching!

Anita

Black ‘n’ white sampler progress….

The last time when I showed you this sampler I’d finished the outer border and started working on the diagonal lines.

                                                     

 

                                      

I've completed the diagonal lines and before I started to fill the diamonds/squares I've stitched all the four corner triangles… 

                                        

I’m really enjoying working on this sampler and in fact it reduces my stress level J

Happy stitching!

Anita.

Doily-Aura

I’d like to show y’all this small doily-Aura

                                                      

It was quite a challenge because I had to develop a design to fit this size of the fabric and I think it’s turned out well…

Have a great weekend!

Happy stitching!

Anita.

A sampler in progress

I’m working on this black ‘n’ white sampler now…

                                                     

                                         

I've finished the outer border and started working on the diagonal rows. I’m using stranded cotton thread and aida fabric for this sampler.

Happy stitching!

Anita.

SAL ?

Hi!

It's been a year since we had our chikan embroidery SAL. I've received few e-mails recently from readers asking for another sal. Since I don't know whether there will be enough people interested to participate if I organize a new SAL I thought it'd be better if I ask your opinion before deciding.

Please do leave a comment if you'd like to have a chikan embroidery SAL with a different design this time.Looking forward to hear from y'all...

Since am busy with other things and it's holidays here I can't do a SAL immediately but will try to do in June or July.

Before I sign off let me show a picture of a triangular shawl

                                               

which I'd crocheted this week for a friend,the pattern is from a crochet magazine .

Happy stitching!

Anita.

Eye glass case

Hi !

I've finished this eye-glass case for my mother (a surprise gift) yesterday.

                                                  

I've been stitching this for 5-10 minutes every day for almost a month now, finished the construction yesterday .My mother was so happy to receive a surprise gift and she liked the neutral color combo J

Have a happy weekend!

Anita.

Daisy border

Hi !

I've been working on a saree for the past few weeks , completed the entire border (approximately 10 mts) except the flower center as of now.

                                                  

I couldn't decide whether to do french knots or shisha for the center so this saree will be be sitting in a corner for a while until I decide…

Here is another wip.....

                                         

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy stitching!

Anita.

Centerpiece with tatted edging

I’d tatted this edging sometime back but totally forgot about it. When this one fell on my lap while cleaning my space I felt really bad L.May be I should keep a record of all my UFO’s…

                                                    

I had a cotton fabric piece in my stash which suited the size of this edging. 

                                       

                                          

I crocheted one row of chain and clusters on top of the tatted edging, blocked and hand stitched it to the fabric.The pattern is from an old J&P Coats tatting book.

I love runners /centerpieces with tatted/crocheted edgings J and am happy that another UFO is finished.

Happy stitching!

Anita.

WIP saree...

Hi !

I’d like to share images of my WIP maybe I should say WISP saree with y’all.

                                                  

I've finished the border of the saree and blouse (approximately 10 mts length) and started motifs only recently. To embroider a saree is really difficult sometimes because of the repetition of the pattern with same colour scheme.

                                        

                                         

It’s a silk saree and the embroidery is with silk threads. Lots more to stitch, so I guess I need some encouraging words right now to complete this saree J.

Have a happy weekend where ever you are!

Happy stitching!

Anita.