Merry X'mas to all

a piece inspired by tree of life done in crochet

the first expossure of my niece to heritage site, she enjoyed it thoroughly

nature is beautiful everywhere, this photoes were taken from the balcony of my office building, one of the busiest commercial area's of the city

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. GOD is awake

Victor hugo ( 1802 - 1885 )

its been a while i would have tried my hand with camera, bought a new mobile instrument and the first feature i used is the camera, my new cell phone has 3.2 mp camera and zoom lens too.

took self portraits with it

"And in the
sweetness of friendship,
let there be laughter and
the sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of the little things,
the heart finds its morning and is refreshed."
By Kahlil Gibran

the whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this : the thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed : but the thing created is loved before it exists ~ Charles Dikens

If I could have been brave enough to listen and act accordingly i would have been somewhere else

I have learned that if you must leave

a place that you have lived in and loved

and where all your yesterdays

are buried deep...

leave it any way except a slow way

leave it the fastest way you can

never turn back.

and never believe that an hour

you remember is a better hour

because its dead.

passed years seem safe ones,

vanquished ones,

while the future lives in a cloud,

formidable from a distance.

the clouds clear as you enter it

~ beryl markham ~

all friends accross the world would have recieved my ATC's so now its safe enought to put them on the blog, i enjoyed making them and have used the fabric scraps for making them so feel good about contributing to the green world, after very long have worked something creative, even if i say so i find them creative

"I don't feel no ways tired,

I've come too far from where I started from.

Nobody told me that the road would be easy,

I don't believe He brought me this far to leave me.

~Rev. James Cleveland

an Indian at heart a tassel to everything, u find tassels to every possible piece of textile, bags, belts, turbans, shawls, etc almost everything, old textiles are full of tassels of various kinds
the first ever tutorial am posting

Making tassel out of fabric scraps.
Scraps of fabrics,
seed beads of your choice ( matching or contrast)
hand stitching needle and thread

Cut a fabric scrap to 4” X 1”,

my fabric had zigzag lines on it so I have cut it along the lines,

even straight fabric works fine.

Thread a hand stitching needle with thread, pass some beads through the needle and stitch running stitch along length of the fabric cut for tassel
Pull the thread to make gathers,

pass the needle through the beads and secure the end

Will post tutorials for all the differet kinds of tassels i can make :- part 2 continues after a break

Any further clarifications please feel free to mail me

"Confusion, tension, and depression all contain energy that can be used for us as well as against us. When we can calmly face our difficulties without trying to escape, without trying to manipulate or suppress our feelings, it is possible to see something that we have never seen before. We may realize very clearly that we simply do not want this pain any longer. We can then discover in ourselves the motivation to change the habits that lead us into difficulties.
We can use the energy of our emotions to skillfully cope with our problems, to rediscover the clear interplay of mind and senses that allows our energy to flow in more positive directions. Our emotions are really only energy; they become painful when we grow attached to them, and identify them as being negative. We can transform this energy into positive feelings, for ultimately, it is we ourselves who determine these reactions. The choice is up to us: we can dwell on negative emotions, or we can take their energy and use it to encourage a healthier response to our problems."
-Tarthang Tulku
from the book
Yoga Gems: A Treasury of Practical and Spiritual Wisdom from Ancient and Modern Masters

When you finally go back to your old hometown, you find it wasn't the old home you missed but your childhood. ~Sam Ewing

Who knows what women can be when they are finally free
to become themselves?
~Betty Friedan

There are many things happening in my life but somewhere I feel am nowhere to be found have been loosing on my creative activity its been long have been craving to get to my roots, trying hard too, but don’t understand where my time escapes, Sometimes I think that I am too hard on myself, that I come off too depressed or angry or whatever. I think that's a function of being hyper all the time. I am always frantic, and I'm trying to find the "off" switch. took 3 days off at work to get control of my chaotic life, once again I misled myself to my spending time decluttering and replacing items and cleaning the house. I find it so irritating that so much of my life is being absorbed by an obsession with cleaning. where did this madness come from??? I feel everyday I do nothing but clean, cook and go to work

In our life there is a single color, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love. -Marc chagall

"To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face;
to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains;
to approach my work with a clean mind;
to hold ever before me, even in the doing of little things, the ultimate purpose toward which I am working;
to meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart;
to be gentle, kind, and courteous through all the hours;
to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep and the joy that comes from work well done -
this is how I desire to waste wisely my days."
Thomas Dekker (c 1570 - c. 1641)

“As women,

many of us have been taught to be too cautious,

too nice,

and to play it too safe.

That overly conservative style may inhibit the emergence of your creative self.”

Gail McMeekin

life's journey is circular,

it appears.

the years don't carry us away from our fathers

-they return us to them

-michel marriott -

Love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go,

and it makes the end so easy. – Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)

Life is a patchwork

here and there,

Scraps of pleasure and despair Join together,

hit or miss

In everyone's life, at some time,

our inner fire goes out.

It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.

We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

Albert Schweitzer

Obstacles cannot crush me,

Every obstacle yields to stern resolve.

He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.

Leonardo da Vinci

People don't use thier eyes.
They never see a bird, they see a sparrow.
They never see a tree, they see a birch.
They see concepts.
-Joyce Cary

These paperwoven garment photos are very dear to me as my garments are destroyed by a friend, God knows why? and am doubtful if i'll ever get time to remake, please excuse for the picture quality

"There is a crack in everything.

That's how the light gets in."

...Leonard Cohen

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for and
if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk looking like a fool for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money
you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where
or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.
Oriah

The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. ~ Ecclesiastes 7:8-9

". . . great things do not just happen by impulse but are a succession of small things linked together."
Vincent van Gogh
"You may know that the peony is Jeannin's, the hollyhock belongs to Quost, but the sunflower is mine in a way."
Vincent van Gogh (to Theo)

"I have long since come to believe that people never mean half of what they say, and that it is best to disregard their talk and judge only their actions”
... Dorothy Day

today i found a pic of a piece which i made for a friends wedding pretty big size 3 ft wide and 6 ft height, it seems am more inclined towards graphical images as majority of my work revolves around square, circles triangle etcs

If anyone interested in the making please contact me will give you details of making it

“Expect to have hope rekindled.

Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways.
The dry seasons in life do not last.
The spring rains will come again.” ....

Sarah Ban Breathnach

"True inspiration and creativity comes more readily when you learn to enjoy the journey through your art, no matter what direction it might take you. Learn to follow your artistic voice as well as guide your Art to its completion." Mary Hettmansperger

Have been doing a lot of paper crafts but not able to document to show, will do it very soon

“Surviving a loss and letting go is only half of the story. The other half is the secret belief that we will find, in one form or another, what we have lost. And it is that potential, shimmery as a star on a clear night that helps us survive.” – Veronica Chambers

i suppose it would be a little challenge for the kids to go to school after a break, i hated going to school, as today morning was a chaos in our house, both of them were relectant to go to school after travelling back from wedding ceremony of their maternal uncle last night, trying to search for things that were lying in front of their eyes, purposely doing things late, elder one took 45 minutes in the bathroom God knows doing what.

Finally went to school

kids are fun to be with inspite of all the extra efforts you have to put in.

a forward from my friend Nisha
Real Good One…!Just thought of sharing the same.
We all are in some way a crack pot, but what is important is to take
advantage of the same and even make that so beautiful. Read on….
*A PRECARIOUS BALANCE IN LIFE**
*
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole
which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and
while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water
at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the
cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one
and a half pots full of
water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its
accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor
cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was
able to accomplish only half of what it had been
made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the
water bearer one day by the stream.
"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the bearer."What are you ashamed of?"
"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load
because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to
your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work,
and you don't get full value from your efforts", the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion
he said,"As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the
beautiful flowers along the path."
Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun
warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered
it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had
leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its
failure.
The bearer said to the pot,"Did you notice that there were flowers only on
your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I
have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted
flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from
the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick
these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being
just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."
Moral : Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But
it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very
interesting and rewarding. We have just got to take each person for what
they are, and look for the good in them. There is a lot of good out there.
There is a lot of good in all of us !
Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape

Nish u're a darling friend, thanks for a very inspiring story

this project is a little different from all i keep doing this was made out of tissue paper and the technique is plysplit braiding, made in jan 2006

I grew up in a home where my parents put everyone else's needs ahead of their own, and my mother who goes out of her way to make others comfortable at our home. I grew up feeling that life was not safe and that I must struggle to survive emotionally, with all the failures in my life, I felt, strong and at peace with my life, as i attached myself to my nieces Netra and Hunan with those hippie slings, taking them everywhere with me, not missing out on anything in life, but simply adding them to it. Self care and self focus seemed to fly out the window in favour of putting them first. It's so very easy to lose my "self", when i become so hyper-focused on them, especially when they both are so close to my heart, my nieces They have healed me in more ways than I thought possible...it is them who have led me to refocus on my creativity. We bake, cook, draw, knit etc together thier creative interests has strengthened my passion for creativity

Motai (Loving name of Uncle) who I will never forget Who took a piece of my heart with him when he left this world, and that's ok.......because I gave it to him, made a huge impact in my life and my heart, left for heavanly abode in 2005,
*Who taught me that when you're at death's door, it doesn't matter how much money you earned, what kind of car you drove or how big your house was, but rather how you lived your life
*Who taught me that even the most insignificant choices we make, make a difference in our lives

this was not needed but had to take this snap as this was the only sign that you are crossing the tropical line

Very important i do some creative work to keep my sanity, and have started doing a little work everyday on either my unfinished pieces or new ones

I like the way the colours move in the piece, promise to finish the endings very soon

Its been almost after a year and half had not worked on my braiding pieces, partly because my injured finger took almost nine months to heal perfectly and partly was a little upset with life, nothing unusual the whole world goes through this facade of life. this project was left unfinished in the box for years had started in 2001 sometime after earthquake but took really long to finnish the piece yet the finnishing braids are left, am not able to decide which one to do my regular 8 strand sinnet or something else