TAST Challenge Week 8- one more chain stitch work

This is one more hand embroidery work in chain stitch . Using chain stitch ,
  I embroidered the neck line of a saree blouse and decorated with Zari and Kundan.

A closer view.

 Making a crochet sweater(as a gift ) for a baby girl. So yarn is ready ! 

Hope to complete a sweater and a hat by this weekend.

So wait for that post,

Until then ,

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

TAST Challenge 2012- Week 8

When I read about this week's TAST challenge , I was very happy. This week's TAST challenge is "Chain Stitch"! I  thought, if I cannot make any new piece, I can display  my  previous works in chain stitch. Last week was hectic at office, so could not make any new piece. Yesterday I had some time to play with this stitch. So embroidered neckline of a salwar-top with combination of tatting (I will write about my works in tatting in coming posts) and chain stitch.

Brown and beige combination neckline design is here:

The motifs are tatted flower motifs and 

embroidered vine designs with chain stitch, attached kundans and highlighted the kundans with chain stitch. Hand Embroidery has unique elegance!

Here are my previous chain stitch works on sarees. For these I had used Crochet needle.

Hope you liked them.

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

Screen printing - Peacock motif

This is a plain black saree with Golden Yellow border. The owner of this saree likes very simple designs. So printed this with Peacock and Paisley designs , in Green and Gold color. Attached Green and red kundans

Printed the Pallu with small Paisley motifs.

Here is the closer view of the peacock and paisley motifs. I always like Peacock and Paisley motifs. These give a traditional look. 

Aren't  these very beautiful? 

In between completed a quilt with cartoon painting on it. 

Next post will have very interesting story behind the making of the quilt,

So until then,

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

TAST Challenge 2012- Week 7

Already 7 weeks of  TAST challenges are completed, you can read about the TAST challenge here. But I could participate in only 2 weeks' challenges. Feeling good, as I'm slowly  getting back to hand embroidery.  Fingers are getting adjusted for hand embroidery. Thanks Sharon.
This week's challenge is "Detached chain stitch". So here is my work:

While learning hand embroidery chain stitch is taught first. I remember I  had worked on some of my dresses with chain stitch, during my college days. But I don't have any of those dresses to display :( . 



Hope you liked it.

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

I'm recharged- My trip to Ramanashrama

From past 30-35 years,every year I visit this place, but every time I go , I feel I'm visiting to my mother's place. While returning I pray God, I should come to this place again and again.That's the kind of attachment I have with this place called Ramanashrama.

My attachment with Tiruvannamalai started from last 35 years. As my father is devotee of Shri Ramana Maharshi, I used to come with my parents here. This time visited Ramanshrama with some of my friends.

On the way , I could capture photos of some temples in Tamilnadu. The architecture is different from the architecture of temples in Karnataka. Most of the temples have huge colourful idols. I really like these.

The travel was pleasant, at 2 PM we reached our destination, the Ramanashrama. Once I enetered here I felt, I'm purified, all my agonies vanished. That's the sacredness of this place! 

Shri Ramanshramam

Shri Ramana Maharshi Shrine

We started Giri Pradakshina, (  About Giri Pradakshina,you can read it here), at 3 PM. Giri Pradakshina, is nearly 14 kms, and we have to walk   barefeet.

I didn't have any doubts , that whether it would be possible for me to complete the Giri Pradakshina .Because , every year , I try to do atleast one Giri Pradakshina. My friends had doubts, but by the Grace of Arunachaleshwara, we all completed the Giri Pradakshina by 9 PM. Its really wonderful experience. 

 

I remembered the Giri Pradakshina , I used to do, with my father , when I was a kid. He used to tell me all the stories of the temples and  about  Bhagavan Shri Raman Maharshi.
Next day we visited Arunachaleshwara Temple. I really get astonished by looking at these kind of Huge Temples! The craftsmen should have taken years to build these kind of huge temples.

 

Again back to Shri Ramanshrama, I could capture a photo of a beautiful white peacock, which was roaming fearlessly .

Why it will have any fear, in such a sacred place of  Great Saint Bhagavan Shri Ramana!

Shri Bhagavan Raman Maharshi- Image Courtesy -Google images

We returned with hearts filled with peace and devotion. That's why I compare , my trip to Shri Ramanshrama ,with my visit to my mother's place. Everytime I visit my mother, while returning my heart will be filled with love and joy and bags full of sweets my mother gives. And while returning from Ramanshrama my heart fills with peace, eternal joy and devotion. My sufferings and pains are vanished , mind filled with peace. I again  prayed Bhagavan to forgive all my past sins and show me the  right direction to move in my life and also grow spiritually. The smile he has on his face assured me the same.

May Bhagavan give all that you want in your life

-Ranjana

Screen printing on a silk saree

I've used screen printing to make over ,many old sarees. This is a new silk saree, on which I used screen printing.

This is my sister's saree. When I saw this saree, I liked it very much . Some creative idea flashed in my mind.When I told her about my idea, her first reaction was big "Noooooo!". :-) Expected! Because already I had spoilt two sarees of her.:-) I begged in front of her, but she was reluctant. I promised her that if I spoil this saree, I would buy her two srees. Then unwillingly, she gave this saree. Still she had doubts!

While printing on this saree, I took utmost care, as if its saree of any Goddess and if its spoilt I would  be cursed by the Goddess :-) 

The result is below :

I used one of my favourite Peacock motifs. I have already used this motif to design a dress. In between printed peacock feather motif designs.

And on the Pallu again Peacock feather motif design.

Here is the closer look of the peacock motif

My sister is happy to see this. She is planning to add some Kundans on this. She tried to find out mistakes, so that she could get two sarees from me. But could not :-)

Designing a "Tie and Dye" saree with lace and embroidered motifs. Hope will be completed by next weekend. share that in the coming post,

Till then,

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana

TAST Challenge

This is a stitch challenge. You can see the details here http://www.pintangle.com/. I took this challenge to get back to  hand embroidery, as I was not doing any hand embroidery work, due to lack of time. I missed 4 weeks :(.

Here is this week's challenge, http://www.pintangle.com/journal/2012/1/31/take-a-stitch-tuesday-week-5.html.
My work  is here; I used herringbone stitch to fill the leaves in the design.

I know , not a great work. But happy that I could take up at least one week's challenge.

Love , laugh and live the life to the fullest,

-Ranjana