INDIAN SILK AND BROCADE SARI

Hi friends, hope you are all in pink of health ! Its been raining here in Oman,since few days .. Compared to the warm and uncomfortable Kerala weather its a heaven now in Oman !..Had a sunny beginning today but the great man again began to give way to the heavy clouds on the verge of weeping!.. The grey clouds behind the distant hills and the sparrows with their wet plumes resting on my window sill inspires me no end !!Wat'd be more gratifying than relaxing with the headfones on and listening to old nostalgic melodies watching all these nature's enticements!? Its pure bliss!!Creativity in fabric giving way to nostalgic indulgence and am off to making a music related board in my i d in Pinterest.com. But before that let me share with you my latest creation in saris after a couple of months' break.

This is a party wear sari with a fusion of tangerine coloured Moonga Silk and beige semi brocade..Intricately designed braid in black and gold attached along the borders and pallav..The blouse piece is  tangerine silk with black n gold braid attached all along the border...I made a matching party clutch as well ,in beige and tangerine . . A magnetic clasp has also been attached to the bag.

Hope you all liked my new sari:).Thank you so much for taking a few moments of your precious time for visiting my blog and dropping sweet encouraging comments !They really work wonders with my creativity!

Have a great week end with loads n load of fun and frolic !

With the warmest regards to all my blogland friends,..................Mini

'COFFEE BREAK' Table Toppers

I have always been a coffee addict.... I just love coffee beans and the aroma it emanates as they get roasted or brewed!.. As well,anything and everything in coffee theme attracts me no end ! Coffee mugs are always hunted for during shoppings and for me nothing is more gratifying than relaxing with a cup of strong steaming coffee on a rainy day!..It was during one of these treasure hunts at my favourite fabric shop that I came across these addictive Cafe prints! It was available in two shades of brown,one in 'Full City Roast'(the early stage of a 'Dark Roast'.Most coffees achieve their fullest flavour development here or in the 'Dark Roast' stage) and the other in a softer Medium Roast ("Half City')version.. I fell head over heels in love with this theme and without a second thought purchased both of them.. After bringing it home the confusion was how to transform them into something useful . Since the theme was 'Cafe' nothing would have been more appropriate than converting them into placemats,table runners or mug rugs that would make coffee breaks a real fun time!
Here I have made a large rectangular table topper, completely quilted..A beige - cream ric - rac has been attached all along the binding..I sewed the ric rac before attaching the binding and then the binding was sewn along the center of it.Then as usual folded it backward and hemmed it using hands.

Click on the images for a complete view

The next two are smaller mug rugs , both of them quilted in simple lines and all around the coffee mug prints .Binding has been done in self printed off white.

By now I felt like taking a break from quilting..So made a few more mug rugs without quilting.. Have used heavy interfacing to give them more body and top stitched all along the edges using invisible thread.

Back in a mood for patchwork and quilting again!:)

Two medium sized table toppers in simple three dudes and pinwheels !I really love that dark coffee brown fabric with tiny white cup designs..Since the polka dotted fabric contains olive green dots I preferred to go for a shaded olive binding to impart contrast.The border is shaded coffee.

Finally,a clutch made from left over scraps!Has two slots and one zipper unit inside .Magnetic closure has been attached.

Hmmm already tired of working with browns ! But the addiction to caffeine remains unaffected ! :)

Far away behind the hills I can see the sun slowly sinking and its getting colder.

The chirpy sparrows and finches have started to perch on the trees outside

And for me,I guess its time for an evening brew !

Thanks a million for having taken a few minutes of your precious time to drop in here and post lovely encouraging comments:)

Take care darlings

Until next time,

Enjoy every moment confined to your sewing rooms,not forgetting to take coffee breaks ;)...........Luv,Mini

FUN WITH FABRICS

With winter slowly giving way to spring, and the chirping of sparrows around the bird bath in my garden n the cooing of a few doves lifting up my spirits , I have been motivated to start sewing again..Well my 'Janome' too had a long hiatus and it needed to be unveiled and back in action from dormancy..I believe tat there's no blogger like me who is so hopelessely irregular in blog posting !.Well life has been very hectic during the past few months, with matters regarding kids and home ..Depriving me of intimate moments with my sewing machine is as tormenting as divesting me of oxygen...Still at times, being a person with restless fingers I managed to find few precious hours of  fun with fabrics...Recent flair was for designing Indian Sarees.A few of them I would like to share with my zealous blogland seamstresses, are shown below:-

Click on the images for a full view

Dark ONION PINK silk kotta sari with antique gold tissue and bluish dark green border , matching blouse piece and party bag to go with .
 

The colour above is the original one. In the picture below , the colour appears to be little lighter

Party Bag to match

An OFF- WHITE sari with woven design in off - white itself ..Light blue and beige woven gold tissue border and pallav.Matching blue tissue blouse piece with beige tissue border.Party bag in same combination .

Original PEACOCK BLUE (greenish blue) coloured partly kotta silk sari, shot with a hint of purple and with gold n beige woven tissue pleat portion and pallav.. The border is made of antique gold tissue.Matching blouse with gold tissue border and a party bag to go with the sari.

Peacock blue crystal beads along the pallav edge.SORRY , the colour in the picture is not exactly the original colour..Its actually PEACOCK BLUE (greenish blue)

This Sari would look gorgeous for an evening party

Hope you all liked my humble creations ..Hope to be more frequent in blogging henceforth.. 

Until then,

Best wishes to my friends,for hours and hours of fun with fabric !

Luv, Mini.

BLUE N WHITE GINGHAM TOTES N ACCESSORIES

Hi Friends,

Its a long time, precisely eight months,that I have been away from the blogland, neither blogging nor visiting your captivating blogs and posts.. Well life has been hectic with parental commitments and so on..Infact during this course of time I learnt how a complete long black out from the regular hobbies can make one lose touch with them.. Might not be a problem with everyone.. But for me I had begun to lose touch with my needle work skills. Procastination along with a starting trouble was always pulling me back .. Finally the mere sight of one fav blue and white gingham changed the moods altogether and I kinda became haunted with a few ideas to sew.. This time fabric totes again.. But one or two new accessories like a Travel folder,a fabric file are new attempts...Down the line I have been making errors and often had to refer to tutes and other sewing techniques...So needed lil bit of seam picking and alterations here and there before completing them.But it has been interesting since the designs are my own .

I purchased the white cotton lace from a lace shop in Pune(India) during my previous visit to my elder son in February..He didnt have much idea where I would be able to find sewing accessories but managed to collect info from his female collegues.. Visit to some of the shops was such a beautiful experience.. I was gaga over the loads of pretty laces ribbons and sewing accessories I could find there.. No wonder if they had tempted me to hoard to my heart's content..

In the bag seen above, the main fabric is blue and white gingham with the base of the tote in polka dotted cotton..The bottom corners have been boxed to give more structure to the base.The layers are all interfaced.

The one seen below is with a plain blue outer fabric and blue and white gingham lining..The interior pockets are in plain blue ..There are pockets on both sides of the main body.

THE INTERIOR OF THE TOTES

                  

ZIPPER UNIT ON ONE SIDE OF THE INTERIOR 

 

FABRIC FILE

 

 

THE INTERIOR

 Slots for papers, pen and scribbling pads have been provided.

 

ZIPPER UNIT

EXTERIOR

 

FABRIC CLUTCH

 

 

BACK SIDE  

I PHONE CASE AND TRAVEL TISSUE HOLDERS

 

TRAVEL FOLDER

 

BACK SIDE PROVIDED WITH MAGNETIC CLASP

The round metallic button seen in the picture is actually silver coloured.(I see a golden tinge in then picture below )

 

THE INTERIOR

One zipper unit for cash, ticket slot( the gingham top slot),

slots for cards, passport,pen etc are provided

 THE COMPLETE SET OF ACCESSORIES

 

 

Guess this project has been a kickstart for myselves.. I needed a lot of inspiration after the break and to a great extend my sweet friend Nima has been able to spark off the dormant creativity in me..She is on a trip to India to be with her inlaws.. Such a charming lady she is; am sure her inlaws would defintely be more than gratified to have her with them.You can have a gala time going through an assortment of eyecandies if you visit her bloghttp://www.madetotreasure.blogspot.com/

 

My teenaged daughter who is studying there in India has been asking me for quite some time now, to sew some bags that would match her jeans and tops. These will be my Christmas gifts for her .. Hope she will luv to use them with her white tops and light blue jeans.

 

Before winding up this post lemme remind myselves about the bunches of goodies waiting for me in all your awesome breathtaking blogs and posts.. Longing to visit them all after such a long spell of

silence.

 

Wish you all a great weekend with lots of cherishable sewing moments..

 With the best compliments .................Mini

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VALENTINE BEDROOM N KITCHEN LINEN

This valentine's day the motivation was to sew a few bedroom accessories and kitchen linen in the romantic theme ..Here I have sewn a bed runner and two throw pillows using off white textured casement,appliqued with red heart petals in fiery red and olive leaves..Green ric rac forms the climber and wooden buttons represent the pollen..

Romantic heart at one end of the runner,adorned with green ribbon bow..Red ricrac attached all along the edges.

KITCHEN LINEN IN VALENTINE THEME

RED HOT COFFEE MUG RUG

FLAMING HEARTS ON BEIGE CAKE MATBLAZING COASTERS

FIERY POT HOLDERS

BEIGE APRON:-made with beige linen .. the large appliqued heart is divided into two chambers:)...I have sewn a seam down the center of the heart for this purpose thus forming two pockets.

Hope all of you have geared up for the sweet event..Wish you all the best romantic moments in life.I happened to see a message saying"I DROPPED A TEAR IN THE OCEAN.THE DAY YOU FIND IT, IS THE DAY I WILL STOP MISSING YOU"..How profound and passionate ! isn't it.. Now pls dont suspect me.. It was not sent to me by anyone;)))..Well who wouldn't luv to hear such sweet nothings from their sweetheart in a candlelit ambience adorned with ribboned gifts !?.. So have a very memorable Valentine's day today...;)

Catch you all next time....

Untill then,

With the warmest regards ....................Mini