Re-Entry

Hello friends!
 
Amy and I had the best time traveling together. Our travels came with the challenges of being on the road for so long but I can say this for both of us, our lives are richer with the experiences we have had with people we met. We had been talking about this tour and planning it for so long, it's hard to believe we are on the other side of it.

I am happy to be back to our new home. This little guy greeted me with same enthusiasm as my husband did.

He sits on the branch and sings his songs. No matter when I look up, he is there!

Along with my husband and this guy, moving boxes have greeted me. Lots and lots of them. I have been unpacking since the day I got here but seems like I haven't made a headway. Traveling from a world half way around the globe requires at least a week to recover from jet lag. I am also recovering from a cold and a bad throat infection I had during the last week of my stay in Mumbai. It's a slow go but I intend to keep at it until I get tired of it.

Meanwhile, leaving you with few images of India. Enjoy!

Madhubani Paintings on the walls of our hotel room.

On the grounds of once a palace, now a hotel.

A block carver/artist at Anokhee Textile Museum

I wish you all could see him working in person. It was an incredible thing to watch him carve intricate designs on a wood block.

Ruins outside of Amer Fort

Jaipur is famous for its blue pottery

I wanted to bring home every single piece. I settled with one!

Window carving at the City Museum in Jaipur.

I have been posting pictures on The Root Connection fb page. If you have missed them, link is on the sidebar.

Okay, time to get back to my boxes!
Sujata

Textile Tour to India

The day is almost here!

Tomorrow I get on the plane to visit my mom and then off to an adventure of a lifetime with Amy Butler.

Back Story -

I met Amy and David Butler at Houston Fall Market in 2014.
I shared my book and quilts, we talked for a while.
I met up with her again that evening... Few of her pals were also there.

After a picture or two she said, "After meeting you we have been thinking all day of may be traveling to India."

To which I responded, "Seriously? Can I go with you?"

Amy asked, "Really? Would you consider coming with us? We'd love that!"

In my head of course I was saying, "This is not happening.. Someone please pinch me!"

Few days later, when I came home from Houston, I had a note from Amy in my inbox about planning our trip together. I knew she was as sincere to go on this trip as me wanting to visit my mom. 
 
We have spent many months planing for upcoming two weeks in India. Two of us are traveling to Jaipur, Rajasthan and Kutch, Gujarat for an unforgettable experience. We will be exploring the palaces and markets, forts and mud huts, folk artists and museums, meet ralli quilters and embroidery artists, block printers to learn from the best. All to plan out a textile tour for early 2017.

Last year's visit to India is still fresh in my head. I am thrilled to be going home again.

Those of you who have been asking about a possible tour to India, Stay tuned!

Follow us if you will on this colorful journey. I will be posting pictures on this blog, on instagram @therootconnection and on fb www.facebook.com/TheRootConnection

Sujata

Random Thougths at the Trafic Light

It was cold today. Well, the Sun was out and it was warmer than yesterday, but still cold enough to want to run to the car after a very sweaty Zumba class. While running to the car in the parking lot, all I could think of was to get inside and turn on the heat so my sweaty long hair wouldn't turn into icicles.

  

I pulled out of the parking lot and came to a red light at the traffic light. There has been lot of construction going on for past six months on the road. The city is finally doing much needed widening of the road to accommodate the recent growth.  Waiting for my left turn signal, I saw the newly installed traffic light, all covered with tarp and burlap behind old/still working, existing light. I thought to myself, ''I did not notice that before!'' 

As I drove further up, I started noticing things: Neatly lined up orange cones and cans with couple exceptions which may have been knocked over by some drivers. The cement dividers that had moved a few times and the lane markings have shifted to accommodate the construction crew and to divert the traffic. I could still see the old markings and where the lane used to be but new road is emerging. There are new sidewalks and turn lanes with clean bright concrete along with patched up pot-holes on make-shift lanes. I have gone up and down this road almost every single day. These observations were nothing new, but today there was a parallel  thought pattern that went along during my ten minutes' drive. There was chaos along with harmony. 

Contrast is a beautiful thing!

This same road used to be a one-lane highway about one hundred years ago. It was the only link between the mines up north and nearby highway. As I write, I wonder about numerous layers of tar this road is covered with up until now.

Those who have not witnessed this change as it happening, will never know the past. From them it will be a wide, clean and efficient route connecting them from point A to B.  

Layer is an interesting element. What you see on surface is not the only thing present. Every other layer from the past, may be covered or unknown to the world, remains as crucial as the one on surface, like life itself.

Life is beautiful when all those layers, old and new, combine with new textures and bring peace and calm.  

Speaking of unknowns and layers, I have yet to share many layers of my life with you all.

This might be my last long post for six to seven weeks.Layers I am about to reveal have been building up for few months now.

Do you have my book?

I am leaving for India in couple of days to attend my nephew's wedding. It is time to surround myself with colors and textures not just in the studio or my house but everywhere I turn. I will post pictures on my Instagram (therootconnection) and The Root Connection facebook page (link on the side-bar). I had planned this trip for a while but the news had to take the back seat and let my book bask in all the glory! 

  

After the wedding, I will travel to Rajasthan and Gujarat with few friends from college. In 2012, I traveled to Rajasthan with my family, most of them are engineers. This time it will be with my artist friends and to the cities I missed during my previous visit. That's six sets of eyes and cameras focused on all things arts! Can you imagine that? 

We met when we were 16. It's will be 30 years since we graduated as graphic designers. No matter how long the time between each visit, our friendship is still the same. My visits are hectic yet I have never left Mumbai without spending time with my best friends. Traveling together is going to be a special experience. We all will be adding another layer to our lives. 

I also plan to meet people who make Godharis. My wish is to learn from people who know it first hand. I hope I get to stitch with them. A visit to the Textile Museum in Ahmadabad and meet folk artists in Gujarat is going to be a treat! 

That's all for now! I am taking copies of my book with me. My mom is so eager to see it and I am anxious to see her face when she opens the pages for the very first time.

I will stay connected with pictures and quick posts from the land of peacocks and paisleys, I promise!

 

 

Day 9 Cultural Fusion Quilts Blog Tour

I had given a lot of thought on each of the blogs and their authors to review my book. It is my pleasure to tell you all that Bonnie Hunter is hosting the tour for today. I am sure I am not the only one who thinks she is The Queen of scrap quilts, Am I?

Here is the reason why I had to ask her to host my tour. 

Couple of years back, I had the pleasure  of attending her lecture and presentation at our local guild Calico Cutters. Bonnie's quilts are as lively as she is in person. After the presentation I bought her book, Scraps & Shirttails II - Continuing the Art of Quilting Green. The tittle alone resonates with how I quilt most of the time. When I opened the book, I found quilts reminding me of India. I know you all are scratching your heads wondering about the connection between the traditional American quilts and India.

Here is the root connection.

I saw these patterns all over the country while growing up. Here is an image of centuries old temple in Rajasthan. Click on the picture to see the close up.

Walls and windows full of traditional quilt blocks! Can you imagine being in the middle of all this as a quilter? 

Click on the image and let me now how many quilt blocks you recognized.

They are hand carved with lot of variation within the pattern. When I see Bonnie Hunter's quilts, I think of patterns from India. When I see her scrappy quilts, I see them as tapestry of Indian landscapes. Bonnie teaches to use a pop of color to tie the entire quilt worth of blocks....What an amazing and effective concept!

It's like a man wearing an orange turban who stands out in crows of  hundreds of people on the street! 

I am honored that Bonnie agreed to host the tour. Go over to  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/ for your chance to win a copy of my book.

A reminder that lot of the previous hosts are still accepting comments on their blogs. Visit my friends if you haven't already and if you are here for the first time, you are in luck!

My talk with Pat Sloan is available to download. Click on the link below to listen in.

http://www.creativetalknetwork.com/2014/12/pat-sloan-bob-shaw-virginia-lindsay-sujata-shah-and-nancy-mahoney-chat-with-pat-.html

Tuesday December 2 Sujata Shah @ C&T Publishing  Open thru12/12

Friday December 5 Rachaeldaisy @ Blue Mountain Daisy  Open

Saturday December 6 Lori Dejarnett @ Humble Quilts  Open
 
Sunday December 7 Casey York @ The Studiolo   Open

Monday December 8 Malka Dubrawsky @ A Stitch in Dye   Open

Tuesday December 9 Sherri Lynn Wood @ daintytime Open

Wednesday December10 Bonnie Hunter @ Quiltville's Quips and Snips Today

Thursday December 11 Jake Finch @ Generation Q

Friday December 12 Jan Burgwinkle @ Be*mused

Saturday December 13 Janet Treen @ Quiltsalott

Sunday December 14 Lindsay Conner @ Lindsay Sews

Human Hands

Do you ever wonder about why you like certain kind of quilts?

We all know we can not make every quilt that inspires us. There are certain ones that always catch our attention more than the others.

I am still reminiscing my trip to the Brooklyn Museum. Thinking about the quilts and also the exhibit of Egyptian artifacts.

I may have been in a quilting state of mind then and was 'seeing' things. 

This almost 10-12 feet tall carving of a King in the Garden on the wall looked impressive.

But then I got a little closer...

Even more amazing, right? Doesn't it look like hand stitching on a quilt? Like an overall running stitch pattern of quilts from India.

This is neither a kantha quilt as it's widely misrepresented nor a Ralli quilt. I am sure it is a leftover or rejected sample of an export order. I bought this one while I was in Rajasthan last year. Love the colors and all those stitches!

Back of that quilt is so muted, it was a surprise to me. But then how would these stitches show if it was as bright as the front? Do you see those with minds of their own going every which way?

Notice the edge of the quilt? It has no batting and it's finished with some sort of blanket stitch.

I like hand work on a quilt. Whether it is an applique or hand quilting, hand stitching for embelishing the quilt or just for fun. More time I spend on a piece, more of my life lives in it.

I saw this applique quilt at the museum and was immediately drawn to it.

These beautiful blocks with birds alone were enough to take me back home!

I stood there and smiled thinking - With mismatched corners and not so 'perfect' applique, in the eyes of today's judges this quilt may not even make it in top 10. Yet, it's in the museum! Teaching us history!

Human hands - That's what's important to me when I see a quilt. Slight imperfect and mismatched seams here and there, a trace of distracted mind in those uneven stitches and worn look of being loved to threads. I  have come to admire that in a quilt. No matter what style, colors or age they are.. They all have some personal stories behind them. 

I took pictures of  four different blocks with the circles in the center.

Each one has it's own personality!

No templates, no pre-cut plastic circles when it was made. Just two hands, a needle and thread! May be few friends by her side and lots of laughter!

I like that!

Something to think about, right?

What do you like in a quilt and why?

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.

India Part 1

It has been just about a week since I got back from India.

I have been unpacking and rearranging my life here. After the overload of colors, textures and inspiration my brain has sort of frozen in these current time and temperatures. All I can think is how much fun these past few weeks have been. Meeting long lost friends and traveling with family has made me want to visit India more often from now on. I am also feeling a bit lonely. After spending so much time with loved ones, being back in my quiet house with all the time on my hands makes me a little bit disoriented if that's the right way to describe it.

It's difficult to make the switch, change gears and get back to the life here but I am almost there. I think you all will enjoy some pictures from the trip. Must warn you, it is a picture heavy post. All other stories and information will trickle in as time goes... I hope!

Peacocks in wild

  Parrots with best seats in the house!

Elephants frozen in time

 

 Did I say peacocks in wild? 

Shepherd heading home at the end of the day

This was the view from the top of an intensely carved stone temple . Although pictures can't do the justice, I am going to try anyway. You may want to click on the pictures to see the true beauty of it all.

My favorite men

Can you tell I like birds?

  

There was something definitely mysterious up there. 

Hundreds of years old leftover half carved and unused stones still remained on the ground telling their own stories. How beautiful is that? I wish I could bring home one or two in my suitcase.

He must have done something right for having this as his bed.

I spy a sparrow... can you?

She walked around with her journal at all times.

There was lot more to see. The Blue City, nestled at the foot of the fort was absolutely breath taking. 
I will be back with those pictures.

Happy New Year everyone! Hope this year has begun with nothing but good for all of you.