Ingredients

I had a grand time with my Gelli plate, textile paints and acrylic inks.   Mark making on fabric and painting tissuetex paper.

the paper was placed on bubble wrap interesting shapes revealed

the ingredients 

now, I am not known for embracing 'green' I'm more of a 'brights' person  

guess it's looking out on the lush fresh foliage in the garden that is influencing me

the tea light?   it will play a part when I get down to constructing the Journal Quilt

right now it's out with the dye pots

hello world!

the last three weeks have passed in a blur

so, what have I been doing?

dyeing lots of these, plus fabric

to keep up with demand

My little emporium has been out and about.   First to the Dorset Quilters Day, and then
on Saturday an appearance at the SW Embroiderers Guild's Festival Day in Marlborough.

I will spare you pictures of lots of little bags being filled with beads, sequins, metal jingly bits, shisha and other goodies gathered on my travels

Both shows were great and I got to meet up with fellow stitchers I haven't seen in a while.

Two summer workshops here at home.  The first one on what to do with all that dyed fabric
produced last summer.    We did get a little sidetracked after looking at contemporary quilts, experiments with paper lamination were included in the workshop.    I love taking workshops at home, the day can meander in unexpected ways.

Indian applique with a great group of students - four had recently returned from a trip to Rajasthan and Gujarat,  a very Indian atmosphere indeed.   Lovely work produced by all those busy stitching fingers.

As you may imagine, cupboards and drawers were delved into over the past weeks. 

a little treasure lost, but now found

I need to have a major spring clean in there, which might include a pot or two of paint!    

My little room is bursting at the seams.

But first I have to get dyeing again.  I'm giving a talk at Romsey Quilters on Tuesday, taking along some of my quilts, Indian textiles and the travelling emporium.

Today I managed to 'play'.   My Gelli plate was unwrapped and put to use, printing fabric and papers for this month's Journal Quilt.   Must keep an eye on the date, hard to believe it's coming up to the end of the month!    I can see a busy weekend ahead.

My next Summer Workshop at home is on 8 June - Procion dyeing.   A couple of places left.

Contact me if you are interested.

April JQ

All done, thank goodness.   Since my theme is Recycling, what could be better than using some of the offcuts from my Kurta Quilt?

The method I chose for making the 2"block was foundation piecing, using paper.   Haven't done this for years, and it was a very messy business! 

                                                                     Leftovers Quilt

Now it's time to play with Ben.   We have some drawing to do first, then we might do some gardening together before Daddy arrives and Granddad comes back from golf.

April

It was always going to be a busy month, hence the long drawn out Indian blog.

Workshops, some stitching, visitors, alas no gardening until this weekend.  A blue sky 
day,it was almost hot.   A gentle weeding, revealing what survived the winter.    
Enjoying being outside in the mess of the garden,   Lots of work needed here.

A March Journal Quilt, finished before we started our travels,  see blogpost 10 March.

Germination

thoughts of seeds and growth in the garden

six weeks on and we are still waiting

detail

April's Journal quilt is almost done, which is good since the deadline is days away!

last day in the sun

So we have one day left to have a wander around town before we fly home

There is always something new to see.   Udaipur is known for it's Art Schools, painting miniatures in the Mugal style.  We found one artist who has been employed by a very rich man to paint the outside wall of his house.

I just love these trees

I was snapped purchasing a pot for dyeing

I can't resist the pots and pans shop

as for the shop selling tin trunks!

A delicious meal on the roof restaurant, savouring the food, the view,

and the warmth of the evening.   

We have seen the weather forecast for UK and I think I would

rather be in India!

Time line - 31 March 2013

I've been busy since my return

more on my next blog!

Holi

The drive to Udaipur only three hours, no rush, time for a leisurely breakfast.
We would be there to celebrate Holi.

a fellow traveller

stops for chai  

monkeys making a road block near Rankapur

nobody would disturb them

an old lady insisted we bought two small pots for the grand price of 80 rupees

an old man got cross 'cos they should only be 20 rupees each

80 rupees = £1.00

Back in Udaipur we puchased cheap white outfits as our canvas for Holi.

Come the day, we donned our whites and covered exposed skin with baby oil.

I added a turban to my outfit.   The fun starts around 10 am and finishes around noon.

Oh my goodness, off we went.  What to expect?   Already there are signs of coloured 

powder everywhere.   Our first greeting of Happy Holi was very civilised.   A pat of colour on both cheeks, the neck and a big pat on the back.   And so it went on, everyone very Holi Happy.    Once we arrived at the temple the fun really began,  coloured powders in the air,

a great deal of laughter, and some very colourful  people.

Keith pretty in pink

and myself back in Lake Pichola Hotel

now to try to clean ourselves up

we tried to contain the mess in the bathroom

put our cloths in bags but the evidence was

there  the shower curtain turned a lovely colour

amazingly the baby oil worked and most of the

powder washed off, except for Keith's hair

and scalp  which looked as though it belonged

to a faded parrot

We had been told by well intentioned folk that it might be a good idea just

to stay in the hotel and watch from the roof!  We really enjoyed ourselves,

so glad we didn't take that advice.

Later in the day we walked around the old part of town.  There was much

washing and cleaning going on and surprisingly hardly any sign of the

mayhem of the morning. 

On the road to Udaipur

After the delights of Balotra we headed back south, stopping over night
at The Royal Palace, Ghanerao,

 the main gate

the view from the roof

A totally lazy day for me.   Keith went leopard hunting with a group of friends,
on foot, accompanied by two guides, a young boy with stick and a man on a bicycle.   
A leopard came down from a hill looking for supper, probably a goat or farm dog.
Photos taken before a hasty retreat.

Meanwhile I spent time on out balcony catching up with my journal and reading.I did have a visitor, a civet cat.  Not sure who was more surprised.   It had come down from the roof.   We looked at each other, then it jumped to the next ledge.   Keith was a tad disappointed to hear I had no photographic evidence!

The camera did come out to record some of the lovely textiles in the room.

patchwork cushion 

detail

applique diamonds, patched centre block

with the tiniest sawtooth points

on the wall behind our bed a marvellous wall hanging

cut work applique, it sparkled with sequins and mirrors

really difficult to photograph and too big for me

to manhandle, so a few details

and finally a lovely old textile slowly fading away

the background looks like linen

the outline of the shapes is stitched with a cotton thread

the petals a closed herring bone stitch in silk or rayon

the threads are worn away in places

only the outline stitches are left