Happy Independence Day !

In commemoration of India's 66th Independence Day, the rules for the August challenge on the 'funnest' quilting group Desi Quilters were:

- Make a mini not larger than 12"x12" in the tricolours of the Indian Flag, using pieces not larger than 1.5" finished.

Ever since  fellow DQ Madhu has been showing off her miniature blocks, I've been wanting to try out a mini.  Also been wanting to try out her (supposedly) easy method of making multiple HSTs in one shot. This then was the perfect opportunity to do both. Madhu also very generously shared tips for first time mini-makers like moi :

1.Rough calculation: 12x12 block =144sq inches.
1.5 " maximum size piece if square =2.25sqinches.
Therefore, minimum 64 pieces in a 12x12 block. If the pieces are not square, numbers go up!
Therefore: Plan your block size accordingly, ladies!
Therefore: Don't think, " It is only a mini"

2.Stitch big, cut down to size!

3.you can trim your seams to less than 1/4" before pressing. Reduces bulk.

4.Very very important to press ( just press, not move your iron along the pieces, beginner quilters) before joining the next piece. It is difficult to press later - can distort the block.

5.Do not use soft, limp fabrics. Very difficult to work with. Edges fray. Use starched fabric.

6.Very accurate measurements are a big blessing. In small pieces, small errors in measurement look huge! The beauty of a mini- quilt is its perfection

7.Take your time over it! Go slow! Challenge yourself! Even if you have to join a 100 pieces in 30 days, it is less than 4 pieces in a day!

8.‎6x6 is doable - it is just 36 sq inches. 7x7 becomes 49 and 12x12 is 144! Another thing I should have added: you'll be cutting your pieces bigger and trimming them down to size, right? Press them BEFORE you trim them down, not after. So that any distortion during pressing is taken care of.

9.English paper piecing works great with miniatures. As does paper foundation piecing. Perfect blocks every time!

10.Btw, true miniature artists use a trick for accurate length of seams: they count the number stitches! So 14 stitches may be the length of a particular seam! 

So, armed with her tips and a blank clear head, I pull out some pieces of saffron, white and green fabric. I do not yet have an idea of what I am going to make, but then, when has that ever stopped me from doing anything? 96 pieces and each li'l square of 2 HSTs not more than 1.5"...after some this-ing and that-ing, here's what I came up with for my entry for the DQ August '12 Independence day Challenge..

Started with a 2" grid on fusible paper fused to 3 pieces of roughly 6"x12" fabric..

Paired them and sewed on either sides of the diagonals..

And chopped them up..

And I have still have no idea where this is going. I know I need to sew back all those li'l HSTs, but how? Random piecing or planned? Random? Or planned? Random? Planned? Aaargh..!!

I try a li'l random..

A li'l planned..

Then settle for this..I love it btw

Some straight line quilting around the pinwheels and some fancy stitches along the diagonals..

Some hand sewn binding..

And I'm all done !

I chose the lotus design for some of the quilting lines, lotus being our national flower and all..didn't think it'd end up looking like the BJP flag!

Love it all the same. So does Max.

Happy Independence Day folks! Jai Hind !!

Of Bees 'n Blocks

There was once an online group that formed an online bee. All was well the first month or two. And then the hive broke and the bees scattered. But not before I got my share of the honey. Lucky me, yes.

Taking a cue from Marianne Haak (of The Quilting Edge), an enormously talented and fun quilter, I decided I too want to play with shot cottons. Even more so for this, right here, is THE land of shot cottons. We call them Kanchi Cotton here as this sort of weaving originated in Kancheepuram, a small town not far from Chennai. Yes, same place where the world famous Indian Kancheepuram silk sarees come from.

Not happy with just a cue, I decide I want that Marianne Haak look too. I ask Marianne for permission and she very kindly agrees. So I send my bee members scraps in 5 assorted, randomly put together colours with the only instructions being...hop over to 'The Quilting Edge', get inspired, and make me a block! :-)

And make they did! Thank you ladies. I love them ALL. And thank you Marianne, from ALL of us. You have been a great source of inspiration.

Vidya1

Vidya2

Shilpa

Veena

Sandhya1

Brinda

Shruti

Sandhya2

Madhu

Lucky me, yes? :-)

Star of Africa

Anyone remember the time I made gecko soup? Of the lovely comments I got, there was one very mysterious and intriguing one. It said..Love your geckos!! Where on earth did you find this fabric?
Please hop over to my blog, there might be something to interest you :-)
http://maylifeonline.blogspot.de/2012/05/star-of-africa.html .

So hop I did. It was an invite to be part of a very unique bee and I wasted not a moment in signing up. It sounded less like a quilting bee and more like an adventure..a road trip. It is loosely based on the board game Star of Africa. Long story short, I am now one of 16 members of the Star of Africa Bee, my first international bee. We are from different parts of the world and will be making one block each month that is representative of the place we come from and yet stays within the specific requirements of the Queen Bee of the month. This is going to be very exciting. Thanks May, for inviting me over.

 The queen bee of the first month was Patti of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. (She made us say that thrice! Really fast!!)  She was fine with any block, any size, any colour. You wanna make people motionless, give them lot of choice! Nobody moved. They were too petrified I guess, of the vastness of possibilities. So started a barrage of questions to poor Patti who soon realised she had to get a little specific if she wanted the constant questions to stop :-). She narrowed down her block requirement to 8.5", warm colours, dotted border. Whew! 

This is the block I made for Patti using needle turn applique and some simple embroidery. The peacock being our national bird and saffron, white & green being our national colours, I hope this block is representative of India in some small way. I really really hope she likes it and that it will sit well with the rest of her quilt. 

Do checkout the blocks of the rest of the bee on flickr. 

Life is a game. You get to play it just once. So play hard and play well.
Happy playing!

Friends forever

I have a husband. (Ya, I know most women do, but wait, this is a long story and I promise there's a twist in the end) So, as I was saying, I have a darling husband. He has a darling niece. She has a darling friend. And the friend has another darling friend. (What? I did say it was a long story!) The other friend has a birthday coming up and friend1 wants to gift friend2 a special gift - a quilt. So, she tells the niece, and the niece tells the aunt, and ee-ei-ee-ei-o..

With a snip snip here and a piece piece there..here a stitch, there a stitch..ee-ei-ee-ei-Friends-forever-o...

I had terrible bearding with this one. The batting fibers were loose, the top fabric was dark coloured and fine woven. Perfect recipe for a bearding disaster :-(. By the time I put on the binding, the quilt was looking like a sheep. The lint roller saved the day. And the quilt. And the Birthday. Yep, ee-ei-ee-ei-ooooo..

I love my lint roller. My lint roller and I. Friends Forever.

(What? I did say there's a twist !)

Nice squares now

My previous adventure where I played with printed circles and turned squares into curves only whetted my appetite for more such adventure. So I thought why not play with printed stripes and turn triangles into squares. And thats exactly what I did. Came up with this baby boy quilt called 'Star Baby'. Its for my niece's 6 month old son who btw is the ONLY person to have received a second quilt from me so far. Its my wish that I make a quilt for every single person I care about. And my list is loooong. I guess its ok for a 6 month old star baby to occasionally jump the queue. :-)

All the square boxes are from the same printed striped fabric. 

Added a 6" mitred border in coordinated stripes. A first for me. The mitred corners I mean. In 6 inches! Feeling very proud happy about it :-).

A pieced back. Very cherryful..er..cheerful.

So sending the quilt off, bundled with much love and hugs..May the baby have many many happy adventures!