Wednesday, February 27, 2013

I tried!


I tried to throw away the scraps but failed!

Past couple of weeks I have been working on my Toran quilt but after a whole lot of precise piecing I needed some break.

So cleaning up the mess came next.


 What do you do with your basket full of scraps?

 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Progress on Toran

It's beginning to look so festive!


Like pathways decorated with Toran welcoming the guests.


No matter how I arrange the triangles, they say one word. HAPPY!

 
People everywhere, kids running around screaming with laughter. 

The sun is playing peek-a-boo with the help of those fluffy clouds. 

Train to Mumbai has just arrived at the station. 

That whistle can be heard miles away from the station.

I am not ready to go back.

I am staying in Jodhpur just a bit longer.



  



Friday, February 15, 2013

Thoughts at the traffic light.

This morning I went to drop my daughter, Kavita off to school. It was early enough, Sun was just about to rise..
Kavita, loves to talk. We often have our mother-daughter talks in early hours of the morning.
I usually listen and she talks and there are days, I talk and she listens. Perfect way to continue dialogues with your teenage daughter.

She was describing  how beautiful yesterday morning was when she drove herself to school. There was snow on the ground and fog all around.. Sun was just rising on the horizon and it was that color. She pointed to the florescent yellow/orange of the traffic light ahead of us.

I was quiet for two minutes, or it may seemed that long. Next words came out of my mouth were, "I love History".

Clearly, there was no connection between what she had just said and my response!

So I went on elaborating my thoughts.

Traffic Lights... Florescent lights, I wonder who made them.. I am sure we can find out.. It must have been a desperate need back in the days or some accidental discovery by some scientist. Amazing how everything is documented in history of time.. We can look it up and find answers to most everything.

If it wasn't for history and documentation, we wouldn't know anything beyond one or two generations. We clearly don't talk much with each other since our families are scattered all over the world and communications are not like they used to be.

For example, how else would you know what was the reason behind my current quilt if I hadn't talked about it here?

Yes, all those thoughts and more went through my mind in very short time. Now, you may think that either I have a busy mind or I think way too much. Both might be true. I am a thinker. I love the silence around me and the thoughts that arise from that silence.

We continued talking as I drove her to school. Conversations varied from family matters to what's important in life.
I came home and once again I noticed the colors around me. Only this time, The Sun had risen, those fluffy clouds in the sky were peachy, melon colored. The blue of the sky was just like the colors of my recent quilt. And the Sun was as orange as those turbans and pants I saw in Rajasthan. It reminded me of this evening we spent in the desert.

Sunset in the Desert of Rajasthan

After I came home, I looked it up and found this among many other sites about the traffic lights to satisfy my need to know. Who knew?

Thank goodness for History and documentation.

We all are creating history by writing stories of our lives through stitches. I will always remember the events that are being stitched through this quilt. Some happy and some, not so much. And many more to be added by the time it gets it's final stitch.
And I realize, this is why I like blogging too. It is a journal I keep. Quilting has always been more than the patterns, colors or choosing fabrics. It's the stories behind the quilts I love.

Many of you asked the reason behind the Blues of Jodhpur. I couldn't quite answer that myself.  I went on line and found some sites that may help. Here is the link

As far as the progress on theToran quilt goes, I have Jodhpur on my kitchen table!


I arrange few blocks by my side and sew them into strips.


Four blocks sewn together and many strips already sewn waiting on the sideline.

They are as random as people on the streets of Rajasthan or anywhere for that matter!
With life of their own, going in all directions, Crossing each other on their paths, as randomly as my thoughts!

Well, that was a very wordy post!

Thank you for spending your precious time at The Root Connection. I am glad you stopped by!

Thanks for those of you who ask questions. It makes me curious and want to know more.

Monday, February 11, 2013

India: The Blue City of Jodhpur, Rajasthan


Colors of the city of Jodhpur are still dancing in my head.

View of the city from the fort

Blue and Orange,Tangerine and Gold.


Blue and scarlet? Rust?


Oh.. that orange again!


Look at his pants!

I just noticed this kid's pants.. and the pots in the courtyard.

This is way too much fun!


This guy poured his soul out as he sung few folk songs for us. His voice still rings in my ears and I am getting goose bumps just thinking about that moment.

After all the inspirations there is only one thing left to do. I have to stitch all of these memories into a quilt.

 
 This antique quilt was too hard to resist and these colors were just right.


Cut a few squares and then into triangles.

On the design wall..


This is going to be fun! Visit here for a tutorial if you would like to make one too.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

My fascination for Zigzag

Well, It took just few hours of my weekend and I have finished sewing the quilt top together. It is amazing what few words of encouragement from a friend, few very inspiring posts in the blogland and your own will to work on a project can accomplish in short amount of time.

Tomorrow I am getting some extra lights installed in our family room. Can you tell by the larger font I am using here? 
I need help.. more lights, reading glasses... Approaching 50 this year. I will take whatever help I can get.

:) 

Th past weeks I had set up my sewing machine at the kitchen table as usual. I just couldn't bear (or is it bare?) the thought of my house seen like a big mess when the crew arrives. So I had no choice but to finish the top.

Here it is in one piece. Yay!

Painted Zigzag 81'' X 90'' Blocks 9'' X 9'' squares 3'' X 3''

I am pretty pleased with it. This picture really doesn't do the justice to the top. The quilt is too big to photograph anywhere but in the basement. The light is never that great. 

I tried taking some shots in the day light in the office on a gray day.



And by the fireplace.


But they all turned out more of the same.

This is the last of this Painted Zigzag you will see for a while. Most likely I will send this one out to a long-arm quilter.

I have so many other Zigzag tops I could be working on right now.

Here is the one I made in 2008 for my sister. For some reason I can not find any pictures in my files but take a look at the flickr page to see it. It was made from five inches finished squares.

I do have a 'thing' for zigzags. Now to start another one? I heard from a lot of you that the ebay quilt (previous post) has been around for some time. And a lot of you have been inspired by it. 

It will be fun to see what everyone does with this inspiration.  

I will be back with my version of it for sure. Hopefully this next one wont be as wild and crazy!

 

 



Saturday, February 2, 2013

Another Zigzag?



May be!

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this quilt on Pintrest. It's an antique quilt that's for sale on ebay. I don't know what it is about the zigzag pattern that's so inviting. I love the movement. This one in particular is so simple yet so attractive!

It is interesting that I found it during this week while working on my other zigzag. Yes, that..

I admit it. I had never finished putting the top together. I needed one or two extra rows to make it a usable size. So past week I spent some time making few more blocks.




This morning spent few hours before my Zumba class putting a panel together.




Last week I was little down missing the colors and textures in my life. My friend Kelly helped by suggesting that I would have to surround myself with colors of my own! She was so right!

I am loving working on my queen size zigzag made from the Goodwill cloths. 


This is the final layout. Unless I goof and something has to change. 

Mean while, I am wondering.. Would you all be interested in making another Zigzag?

The one I saw on ebay reminded me of something I recently saw during the visit to India.  Flags.. In India we call flags or flowers strung in a strin, 'Toran'. Pathways are decorated with colorful flags during religious and cultural celebrations. These pictures below are from the fort we visited. 

They make me want to go back!!!






I am going to go back by making a Toran quilt. If you are interested in a quilt-along, look for simple instruction in coming week. 

Have a great weekend!



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