Wishing everyone a Happy and Blessed New Year.....

By the Grace of God ......2010 was a blessed and wonderful year.....
There are only Good memories which I will always cherish in my life.
My crafty side was not very productive, though it has now come on track, this month. I hope my motivation continues throughout the next year.
2011-2012 is going to be very crucial for my elder son, He is in his last year of school...... ie Grade 12. So for me priority will be his things.  I hope and pray that he comes out with flying colours and manages to get admission in a good college. 
I also pray that all of you out there, have a healthy and blessed New Year. Please do keep me inspired and motivated  with your lovely comments and creativity.


                         WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Hands on free motion quilting……..

My quilting  classes was a turning point in developing my crafty hobbies further, and it always kept me inspired to do more of it.   Its  been more than a week since I got my free motion foot from Dubai,  (courtesy Nima,  since she frequently visits Dubai)  I desperately wanted to try it.   

That morning, I called up Nima to tell her that I am going to try out my free motion foot, and it so happened that the previous day Nima had tried hers.  She told me about her experience with it and also warned me about breaking the sewing machine needle, since she broke two of hers during her trial.  After hearing that I was a bit hesitant, since I had already broken  mine long back, and I had only one left which I dint want to risk , lest  I would be without  any sewing at all till I get some new ones.

But I think my eagerness won over my apprehensions and I decided to  try it anyway.    Since I was already cautioned, I think I was extra careful , and could manage decently well.  And this is what I managed…….

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I have quilted the leaves templates, at the sides.  Actually, this was a piece of fabric on which I was trying out some embroidery stitches called basket stitch.  I have tried doing basket stitch on the stem and I just added two leaf applique’ to the stem.  Here’s the close up…..

You will really require lot  of  practice for free motion to work smooth and neat around curves and other detailed quilting.  If you see my work carefully you can see many mistakes but for the first attempt, I am happy.   Before I  leave , one more close up for you to see the mistakes I have done.

A Simple Needle case

Lately,  I am enjoying some hand embroidery and realized that I have been loosing needles here  and  there.  It’s a bit scary with kids walking around the house and I am always worried it might poke someone.   That’s when I felt that I needed a needle case desperately.  I wanted to make an embroidered one but I dint have the patience till I finish the embroidery and also I dint have a felt piece with me. 
Anyway, I decided to make a simple one for the emergency and later make one more.  So here’s my needle case….

I have used a ready made satin ribbon binding,  and its quite slippery, but I somehow managed.  But its always better to used a cotton one  which was learning for me.  I also mentioned that I dint have felt, so would you like to see  what I  used instead….
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I had  some flannel which my friend Nima got for me from India.  I have cut a piece of that to pin my needles.  I have also added pockets for the threads I need for a project.
My camera is still not  repaired and the pictures are awful.  Sorry for that.  Bye for now, Hope to come back with another post soon.

Quilted Tote Bag…..

As I was browsing online for some pattern for a tote bag, I was really impressed with this tutorial from  allpeoplesquilt.com and wanted to try it  immediately.

And I made this bag with a little variation, This is my finished work….

I am sorry the pictures are a bit dark, since this has been taken from my old camera, so till my new one is repaired I have to manage with this.

This is the quilted portion of the bag, and I have also attached a rickrack to it.  There is one more addition which  I really liked and that is the ribbon passing through an eyelet.  I tried to fix an eyelet for the first time and its come out quite ok .  As usual there is always room for improvement.

Below is the inside portion,  I have used small printed fabric for lining,  and there is big pocket too. Again the pictures aren’t great. The bag is quite roomy and  I really felt happy sewing it.

Please do send in yotur comments and advices, for which I eagerly wait.  Till my next post, Its Bye from me.

Applique tray cloth…..

At the moment I have been bitten by the applique' bug and unintentionally also, I end up doing applique.

It so happened that I was trying to practice raw edge appliqueing with my sewing machine.  I cut out a circle to begin with,   brought down the stitch size to the smallest in my machine, and started sewing the circle leaving a quarter inch on the outer side of my circle.  I just wanted to check out how it looks…..   After cutting away the extra quarter inch.  The circle looked pretty decent.  Then an idea struck and I attached a handle and a spout to the circle, and it looked great but  tilted on my background fabric, which was again a scrap.

But I din’t want to waste that teapot, so I cut out the teapot along with my background and thought of appliqueing it to some decent fabric and make it into a tray cloth.  I added to the look by hand quilting some stitches  as you will see here……..

I have used blanket stitches to applique the teapot onto this linen fabric, and have also used batting to give it some thickness.  The binding fabric is a semi cotton polka dots.  I also added a button for the lid.  My dear friend Nima   got me some lovely buttons from India.   As and when I use you will see them.     I was very happy with the finish and more happy that I could practice binding on this small tray cloth, since its been long I did binding on anything and I need to become perfect in it before I take up a big project.

Here’s one more close up of my finish…..

Thank you for all your lovely comments and advices , please continue  giving them. Till the next post, its Bye from me.

A quilted zipper pouch…..

 

The picture has not come out so well.  This patterns is from make it perfect easy peasy zippered pouch.

It was an excellent tutorial and easy to understand.

I have used four strips of scraps that I had,  for the front and  hand quilted it. I have used batting for this and also  lining inside…. 

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Below  is the back of the pouch, again since I had bits and pieces of this fabric, I had to join for the back too.

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Sewing the zipper was not so difficult, but I know there is room for improvement.    For the first attempt, I am quite satisfied.

Please do put in your comments as it encourages me to try out more…….  Until the next post  Bye!!

After a long break…….

Well, it was a very long break for me, but lots of things have been happening these past months.  It was quite hectic, but I don’t want to get you all bored with my stories.  In the meantime, I have also been collecting fabrics and lots of fabrics to the extent that I started feeling so….. guilty that I am not doing anything other than accumulating them. 

Finally I decided to start acting and stop going on a guilt ride.  To start with and to motivate myself I needed a quick finish.  So this is what I made……..

 

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I  started with this cushion cover for this natural fiber  chair from IKEA.  The fabric is  cotton which I had got from my trip to India this time.  This is the first time I tried sewing a cushion cover using four triangular pieces of fabric.  Its quite simple and there are a number of tutorials available online.

I was quite happy with the result.  Here’s a closer look…..

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SoSo what say folks!!   Do send in your lovely comments on this.

Now that I have got my mojo back, I hope to come up with more frequent post and finishes.  Till then its Bye from me.

Embroidery block ……

Since last few days I have been embroidering a bit,  and slowly and steadily I managed to finish one block.   My plan is to make three block and make it into a wall hanging.  So here’s my first one…..

 

I have used simple backstitch on the pattern, and it  is done on an even weave fabric, which my very dear friend Nima gave me, to cross stitch.  Though I love cross stitch, I don’t  know I find it difficult to concentrate on the count and after some time I feel my head is spinning.   So I thought that I would stick to simple embroidery.

Please do send in your comments for which I wait eagerly.   Till my next  post its  Bye!! from Preeta.

Pintuck pillows……….

Another post after a long time, but I am taking it easy and doing whenever I find time from my busy schedule.    And this time it is the most quick  and easy home decor I always love making.

During our vacation this time in India , I happened to see a tunic  and  loved the simple pintuck stitches done on it.   Of course I picked up the tunic for myself, and decided to look out for a tutorial on how to do it, once I return back.

Today when I was browsing the net I found a great tutorial, and immediately  started working on it.  And this is what I made…..

 

I  used  a  pure silk  fabric  to make this cushion  since it looks rich with this simple pattern also. 

A close look at my pintuck stitches….

This tutorial is from   sew neat pintuck stitches.    It was a simple and step by step tutorial and I loved making it.   I am planning to make two more like this one.  But I couldn’t wait to blog as soon as I managed to finish one.

Happy to be back with a post……

APPLIQUED  LEAF CANDLESCAPE…....

After a long time I got the mojo to do some sewing,  and I wanted to do a quick finish .   Sometime back  while browsing through some crafty blogs I found a nice cozy table topper, which really inspired me to make  one.  The pattern was by Joan Grenke , featured in quilt mag  and it was made of  wool felt.

Since, I love doing  appliqué,  I thought I will do the same in appliqué  using fabric.   And  here’s the one I finished.

  

I have used cotton fabric for the leaf  which  is  appliquéd on the circular green fabric and the whole green circle  is again hand appliquéd onto the yellow printed fabric. 

My dear friend Nima gave me this idea to make a nice neat circle using square blocks, and I used the same method to make the  star shape around the circle.

Though a small project, I feel   happy that I started something after a long break,  and hope this mojo continues.

Please do send in your lovely, encouraging comments , It will really encourage me to do more.

Back after a long and rejuvenating holiday……

Its  been really very long since I have blogged or visited my blogging friends,  but I was travelling from one place to the other  and couldn’t access the internet.   However,  I enjoyed every bit of my holiday, spending time with my family back home in
India and  the best part of our holiday was our trip to Malaysia and Singapore.

We thoroughly enjoyed this trip and kids freaked out too.  Other than sightseeing, shopping and fun  I was thrilled…. to be able to  meet my blogging friend Zura  in Malaysia who came all the way to our hotel to meet me.  Thank you Zura……  ( I am sending  you our snap soon.)  It was so…. nice of  you.   I hope you too will soon make a trip to Oman whenever it is possible.

 

Malaysia was beautiful, and Singapore  was fun we enjoyed every moment of our stay .  I am pasting some snaps here.

 

Above  is the view  from the Kuala Lumpur Tower, which is called KL Tower.

This  place  was of  great interest for me and I am sure all craft lovers would find it very interesting.  Batik craft of Malaysia.

I was extremely impressed by their free hand designs…….

 

Zura was also kind to gift me a beautiful  batik fabric which I am unable to show  you all since after coming back my camera is not working.

 

And last  but not the least ,  With the three men  in my life…

Now I will take some time to come back to my crafty journey, since I am settling  down and managing  without a maid too.

Till  my next post , its Bye from Preeta.

Cushion covers for my sister……

As I told you in my previous post, I am in a blogging spree and trying to blog  about all my crafty finishes.  Once I am in India, it would be difficult for me to blog since we will be moving around to different places.

I managed to make these cushion covers for my dear sister, since I had a sample cover of her cushions which came with me by mistake alongwith my stuff, when I visited India last year.  (Though all the cushions have a standard size , in India people get there cushions custom made. So these covers are a little loose for my cushions)

The black and white printed ones are made from upholstery fabric, and I loved the print. The other two are made from plain black  linen fabric, and I have embellished them with the crochet doilies  I made sometime back. ( If you remember my previous post about the doilie)

I am sure my sis will love them….

I look forward to reading all your lovely comments,  I might not be able to reply to your comments and emails immediately since I am travelling.  But whenever I am able to access the net I will try and reply and visit all the blogs I follow.  Until then its bye from Preeta.

Gift baskets for my loved ones…..

I haven’t blogged since long about my crafty finishes, since I was focusing more on completing my work.   Today I am leaving for India, I have used the early check-in system and have already checked in my luggage. So finally I am at ease and I have all the time to peacefully blog my finishes before my flight which is in the night.  This time I decided to make these baskets to gift chocolates to my loved one back in India.  Since it can be flattened it is easy for me to take it along.  This is a tutorial from bread basket and I felt it is perfect to give a personal touch to your gifts.

I made six of them with golden ribbon to tie……..

Please do send in your lovely comments,  I eagerly look forward for your suggestions and encouragement.

Crochet finishes……

I have been doing this crochet edging since quite sometime, juggling between sewing some gifts, and a hectic routine of shopping,  kids exams and daily household work. 

Though it took me quite sometime to finish this one, I am happy I managed to complete it before I left for my summer holidays to India.

So here’s  what I managed to do….

I had also made a lavender sachet.  Since I am still in the process of learning to crochet, there is so much room for improvement and perfection.  So, while I am holidaying I will try to improve my crochet too, since that is the only thing I can do when I am away from my sewing machine and stashes over here.

Sew it:

Its been long since I took part in sew it  on Mayya’s blog.  There were so many other things that needed finishing, so I was a little hesitant to join. 

This time there was a tie on Sew it, between a mobile / ipod case and a straight line skirt.  I had voted for the case, since it would have been a cute thing to give to my friends back in India.  ( If you have read my previous posts, you would have realized that I am getting ready for my holidays)

I have already made two of them, and would try make some more so lets have a look at my finishes……..

One of them is smaller than the given measurement in the tutorial, since I wanted to use it as a mobile case and the other one can be used either as a PSP case or a camera case.

    This tutorial  from a pretty cool life, is very simple and quick finish and I am sure everyone will enjoy doing this.  Thank you Mayya for this wonderful tutorial.   

Double sided table runner……….

I am in  a spree of making gifts, and in the process this is my second table runner, a simple one but double sided.  At the moment my mind is full of ideas, but with so less time I can action out only those that are easy and quick.  And so, this table runner……

Well, its a bit long for my buffet hutch, but since its going to be for a long dining table I have made it longer. The center fabric used here is moda fabric , and the border is done with mitered corners.   I have really started loving mitering the corners.

And now for the other side of this runner…….. Voila!! 

For this side I have used plain off white linen for the center and for the border it is a printed floral pattern. I loved the combo, but this time I chose to sew the border straight and simple.

Now let me show you both sides together…..

So…. How that???

Thank you everyone, for all those lovely comments, please do continue to sending in your comment for which I eagerly wait.

Until my next post, Bye from Preeta…..

Zig Zig Table runner…….

With the summer vacations nearing  I am eagerly looking forward for our trip to India.  Getting ready for vacation means shopping, purchasing gifts, chocolates ………….  And now that I am actively sewing, I thought why not make some gifts with a personal touch.

And what better than a table runner.  After my hand quilting lessons, I wanted to try something on my own, but had decided I would use my sewing machine to make the patches.   And finally I made a table runner with zig-zag patches.  This design is by Sue Harvey. ( I am sorry I din’t save the website)

It was much quicker than hand quilting,  though I dint do any quilting stitches on the runner, I have used batting to give it a little thickness.  My binding still need more practice and perfection but I was happy with the result. I also gained more confidence. 

A close look at my patches….

It took a lot of time deciding with fabric to use, and still  I feel the combo could have been better, but then I am still learning.

One more closer look at my runner……

 

Friends, please do give your sincere and lovely comments, for which I eagerly wait.   Thank you, to all those who have send in their comments for my previous posts,  It  has always motivated me to do more.

Embroidered orange work cushions……..

You all must have heard a lot about red work,  and we all will agree that it is the most simple yet beautiful type of embroidery.   Like most embroidery lovers, even I love red work.

But this time I felt like changing the color a bit to match my decor,  and finally I did orange work embroidery.   This circular designs are done using back stitch on an off white piece of linen.

I wanted to make them into cushions and so….. here is my finished work …….

 

 

A close look at my embroidery……

 

I am not very happy with the pictures, but I guess the designs are quite clear.

 

Thank you all for your wonderful and encouraging comments  for my wall hanging.  Please continue motivating me with your lovely comments and advices.  Until my next crafty post…. Bye and take care.

My Wall Hanging finally……..

You  all know from my previous posts about my hand quilting lessons…..  In between I had posted my quilting work in progress.  Last Tuesday was our last quilting class, wherein Selvie taught us to do the binding part of the wall hanging.  I couldn’t  manage to finish it that week but  yesterday finally I decided, that I have to get  this done.  Binding is not a difficult task, but to get perfect mitered corners one should really have good practice.

I managed to finish my wall hanging and I am really thrilled and proud to exhibit it in my hall.    So …..  here comes my creation……

    

 Can you see my quilting on that rail fence block….. I just used diagonal lines to do this part and it gave my block a beautiful effect.

For this block I made a template of the pattern and l loved it…….

I feel so good after having done this course, and I would love to learn machine quilting too whenever I get a chance.  Selvie has been a great teacher and I really enjoyed the whole experience, though I should admit that the quilting part did seem never ending at times.  But  with end result proudly hanging on my wall and all the praises I got from my husband , my kids and friends I feel great!!!!

Friends….. Please do send in your lovely comments, I eagerly wait to hear from all of you out there, and it encourages me to do more and more.

My first crochet doilie…

Crochet and knitting always fascinated me since my childhood, especially because the place where I grew up, which is the western part of India – Gujarat … ladies would not go out from their houses without a knitting or crochet needle and yarn. ( The place has extreme weather conditions so winters would be extremely cold)

I would always wonder, how these ladies managed to concentrate on their knitting while busy talking with each other.  Whatever, but their end results would be beautiful sweaters and mufflers….

After all these years, recently I got to see my dear friend Nima who is a crochet expert coming up with lovely creations and that tiny little flame inside me became a burning desire to learn this craft.  Initially I started with a small coaster which I had blogged long back .  Then there was a break on my crochet, since I had so many other things going on and now finally I have started trying my hands on it again.

The result  was this small doily……

Once I got a hang of it, I realized that this the best craft that could be done watching one of your favourite TV programs.  And this was exactly what  those ladies were doing those times, Instead of watching TV they would chat with each other doing crochet or knitting.  What a productive way to leisure……

One last look at my doily….

Announcing my come back after a very long break…… and my new found passion…..

Its been almost two months now since I last blogged or posted any crafty finishes.  Today is my come back day, and I feel very happy about it.  My world was revolving around my elder son and his central board examinations,  which also for him was a path that would lead him to a new phase and direction of his life.  Not that I had to teach him or anything but just being there for him every moment was important at this juncture and that is what I did. 

I am happy now that he has completed his exams and is now relaxing before he starts his new academic year next week. Last two months I have not done any sewing at all, but I was going for my hand quilting classes and working on a wall hanging.  

It was lovely to see my wall hanging shaping up and now I think, I have got a hang on making blocks, applique, sashing, batting …. in short all the quilting fundas….  I am really enjoying doing this and  I feel great to show off my work in progress. 

These are the four blocks that I made to finally make into a wall hanging, and …… here’s my joined blocks……….

I have sandwiched  and  basted it  and now begins my quilting stitches, which I am practicing on a piece of sandwiched fabric, The challenge is to get equal length and equidistant stitches. I am slowly getting a hang of it but not yet perfect.  Here are my trials… First one is the front of  my fabric, and the second one is the back.

I am sorry since the fabric is plain the stitches are not very visible. 

I would also like to thank Selvie , who is an active committee member of the The Muscat quilt guild,  and my teacher on hand quilting.

I would really love to get your lovely comments, from everyone of you out there…. .  

To my few blogging friends…. I am sorry I had disconnected myself , for a while but now on I will try to be regular to visit and comment on your blogs.  Please continue keeping in touch.