Thursday, October 31, 2013

Beyond beauty,October 29 in photos

  Beyond Beauty    is a site I look at occasionally this time these photos have to be shared here …….

Melag  Melago Highest n Most Remote Village  Italy Europe

 Village Melag, or Melago, in South Tirol, Italy, is one of the highest and most remote villages in all of Europe. Melag is unusual; despite an altitude of over 6,300 feet and being located in the heart of the Alps, this tiny valley is very dry and sunny nearly year round. Artificial irrigation makes it possible to eek out agriculture. And that’s another claim to fame for Melag: the highest artificially irrigated city in Europe. 


Beautifull Frozen Cherry trees
Frozen cherry trees



October 29,2013,8:40 AM


xoxo

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Thingsorganized neatly

 Thingsorganized neatly  is a site I look at occasionally this time these photos have to be shared here …….

SUBMISSION: Georgia O’Keeffe’s Abiquiu House Pantry, 2007
Photograph by Herbert Lotz

tropical deco

Add caption


decor on my chest of drawers and at early hours of the day........how refreshing .isn't it!!!!!!!!!!!

xoxo

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

My daughter's writting

My daughter's article about carrier choices..................a true story of her friend

विपिन चौधरी

जनसत्ता 29 अक्तूबर, 2013 : नाटकों का मंचन देखने की रुचि के चलते ही हम दोनों दोस्त बने। लगभग चार साल से मेरे और उसके बीच किताबों का आदान-प्रदान होता रहा। इस बार भी अपने व्यस्त समय से कुछ पल महफूज रख कर मेरी सहेली डॉक्टर कुसुम किताब लौटाने आई थी। हमेशा की तरह उसके पास बैठने से पहले मैं रसोईघर में गई और दो मग चाय और बिस्कुट के साथ लौटी तो एकबारगी कुसुम के बदले हुए रंग-रूप की तरफ मेरा ध्यान नहीं गया। अपने बैग से उपन्यास ‘शालभंजिका’ निकाल कर मेज पर रखती हुई वह बोली- ‘इसे लौटाना था और जाने से पहले तुमसे मिलना भी था।’ ‘जाने से पहले!’ -मैंने हैरानी से पूछा। उसने कहा- ‘पिछले दिनों जब तुम्हारा फोन आया था, तब मैंने बताया था न कि मैं अपने घर काठमांडो में हूं। मैंने मिस नेपाल प्रतियोगिता में हिस्सा लिया था, जिसमें मैं दूसरे स्थान पर रही। अब वहां मुझे एक नेपाली टेलीविजन चैनल की तरफ से एक कार्यक्रम में काम करने का प्रस्ताव मिला है। मैंने अस्पताल से इस्तीफा दे दिया है। दो दिन बाद काठमांडू जा रही हूं।’ click here  for complete article 
link .........
 http://www.jansatta.com/index.php/component/content/article/53699-2013-10-29-04-16-53

x

 Photo: जनसत्ता 29 अक्टूबर 2013, को "दुनिया मेरे आगे कॉलम' में (मन की राह ) शीर्षक से मैंने अपनी सहेली की लगन का जिक्र किया था उसी डॉक्टर सहेली की तस्वीर अब एक मॉडल के रूप में, नेपाल के कलेंडर पर अंकित 
http://www.jansatta.com/index.php/component/content/article/53699-2013-10-29-04-16-53
xoxo

Monday, October 28, 2013

Lazy hours at the centre with a crochet hook in my hand


Crochet is the perfect project for a day that you are feeling exposed. I have so much work to do, but can’t get my energy back after a week of being many works in hand + I have to go outside (at the sewing,embroidery and craft center of our NGO) for supervision for two hours in a day, so I comfort myself crafting a single colour and pineapple pattern crochet bag sitting at the center. 

I found this pattern/ picture  a few weeks ago on internet ( it was for sale/ custom made on request with margin of some 15 days)   and have been dreaming of making it, pulling out my little snippets of leftover acrylic yarns so that it will be with the colour I love.

Later I found out The bag is on  one of the  Chinese site and I copy pasted it on M-doc page no link saved, I will post the link if found..later on ............ I can read the pattern with photos, I myself pen down my pattern.........red by this photo of course! 

Then I focus on my crochet. Really crochet has comfort-food like quality with its simplicity. A shining and glossy crochet hook with one stitch on it at a time. Because the design needs frequent check. But its only some 2-3 stitches worth. I love to make this. Otherwise I had 2-3 other mini projects with single crochet stitch only. With a very simple single crochet, you can make so many things. A calming pastime that is forgiving in its nature. I love to knit first since my childhood crochet came later. But crochet is here to stay.


instructor making and teaching drafting/cutting of a shirt 
Sitting on the chair at the center feeling at ease while crocheting. Seeing the instructor and learner to chat and making drafting's,/cuttings. I took some pics while they were on work.

Stitched shirt
 This craft always takes me back to my girlhood, learning to crochet from my family aunts from maternal-and paternal side. I can still remember the picot edging  session s made by them in the summer noons and at night in the inner parts of mansion they had made. In Haryana it was customary to carry 50-100 teals (suits) for in-laws  to gift and each teal consists of  Chunni laced with crochet picot edgings, colourful piping, tassels, Gota work, sitare and embroidery  

Renu showing her stitched shirt of her mom

Then there was my other crocheting relative, Dadi Pato, my mom’s paternal aunt, a fattty lady who was huge ans as tall as she was wide, with a great big laugh and short tempered used to shout on her sis-in-laws for tit-bits. She has a unique personality and uniquely dressed up figure to match her energy level. She always had her crocheting with her. She was really the fastest crocheter i ever met. She would arrive-for tea at my mom’s mamu’s house, ask you your hand size, and by the time she left she had crocheted you a pair of finger-less gloves. Whether you wanted them or not.
I want to tell another lady who is my relative and a great embroiderer  of course very huge and wide but not tall, very fond of doing embroidery and fast too..............she always insisted me to make something for me with her embroidery.........I never let her to do for me...........rather I preferred to do my things with my hands only......so she got me started  a wall hanging with thick embroidery  on birdies on tree that i never finished. I just was not dedicated to lazy-dazy stitches with mini needle and thin silk threads, i guess.
 Obviously it is safer to choose a project that not need a close attention, as this one does. Though I find it fascinating with pineapple pattern on it. As for as colour is concerned .no planning ahead, just crochet.and crochet stitch by stitch. Believe it or not I decided to make one for each of my nieces-and I planned to crochet them with different colour for each...............I have 8 nieces. 

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Favorite spot for all of us



On her favorite spot: The happiest place for me is this custom made couch because the light is really beautiful there throughout the whole day. That's where the kids and I read together, and there's pretty much nothing more delicious than curling up on a couch reading with your children. It’s also satisfying to see our vegetable garden growing outside.

XOXO

Friday, October 18, 2013

Unique Decor

UNIQUE DECORATIONS FOR DIWALI …………..LOCAL PERSPECTIVE
I was talking to a friend who's about to decorate her first home. She asked me if there was anything I wish I'd known when I went to decorate my first place that would have make me saved time, money and also something unique. I said yes! There are a few things  in my mind ......but just wait……. Diwali is just approaching  and ……It would be better to share those decoration ideas with the reader’s of Woman’s Era ………….here are some for my friend in need and of course! FOR YOU! THE READERS………….
There are many small but important things you can do to get the special atmosphere at your home. It’s not just about having the costly furniture, the latest colour and such things. It's the little decorating details that will give your home a fabulous festive look! The smaller decorating details are often overlooked when we start a home decoration project and we seem to focus so much, and sometimes only, on the big picture like; wallpaper, colour, rugs, furniture and such things. The basic items are important in a home and should come first, but after all that are on the right place you need to add the little things. I always have a picture in my head or a vision of how the result is going to look when I start a home decoration project, and usually with big enthusiasms. But sometimes I have been a little disappointed looking at the finished project and it didn't look the way I planned.
 During the years and with much trial and error I have learned that it is the smaller things, the details that are missing! I will give you some  fabulous home decoration ideas that I use myself!
Lighting and lamps that look unusual: Add lamps for fabulous home decoration! You need many lamps and many different types of lights. First you need a lamp that gives you good light, preferably from the ceiling. The centre light can be placed in other places as well but the main thing is that you can see the whole room when you light the lamp. To give the room a more cosy atmosphere you need to add other lights as well depending on what you are going to use the room for. It can be lamps for the working place, one for reading in the favourite chair and you also need some light just for decoration, on tables and in the windows etc. But apart from that you also need:
Corner lamps …….A great way to make a room look more welcoming and warm is to add lamps and lights in the corners. Nothing can steal a cosy atmosphere like a dark corner. Many people thinks this is a bigger problem in small rooms but I think it is a problem also in big rooms. In a small room a dark corner makes the room seem even smaller but in a big room the dark corner creates an empty feeling. You know the dark corner is there, and it seems like the corner is much bigger than it is because you cannot see the wall! So, I like to have something in every corner and preferably I make sure to light up the corners or at least two of them in a room. If you settle with two, choose the corners furthest away from the door from where you mostly enter the room. It makes the room seem much more welcoming and you want to get in there!
Other type of lamps…….You can let the lamp be all the decoration needed in that corner by choosing a big lamp or you can create something fabulous by yourself.
I found a great decoration in some one’s house; a number of sticks (unwoven chatai sticks) painted in white colour assembled with wires to squares! They look great as they are a fills up the otherwise dull corner. But in the evenings they weren't visible at all. I implemented the idea on past Diwali in my house, I attached a lamp in the bottom of the sticks and directed the lights upwards. I used small point lights in this case. Now I have an even more fabulous decor during the evenings in that corner and the lights creates fantastic patterns in the ceiling!
I also use small lamps and white diwali lights in many different ways.
Storage…..I now mean storage in small scales because now-a-days the big need for storage is solved with furniture. I have several ideas for your storage need for small items. You can use old shoe-boxes and decorate them with some stylish paper or fabric that will match your design, use big or small cans, stylish vases or such.
Personally I am totally in love with jars with lids baskets with lids. They are so useful and come in many different types and sizes. You can use them everywhere and they will make a great fabulous decoration idea wherever you put them in your home!
Pillows and cushions….No sofa or bed can be complete without pillows and cushions! Choose them in many different colours if you have a more or less one coloured room and want to add a little sparkling colour. Or let the pillows take up one or two of the rooms’ accent colours if you want to expose them a little more. Arrange your cushions after taste, and remember to have many of them! You can transform the atmosphere just by adding cushions or pillows!
Curtains……Curtains can also transform a room depending on which colour and fabric you choose. Usually thicker fabrics and darker colours of red, brown, green or orange creates a warm and cozy feeling in a room. If you want some dramatic look you should choose black colour and if you look for a bright and more light feeling choose a thin fabric that bring in the day light and use preferably lighter colours like pink, yellow, light blue or purple.
 Flowers…..Flower will give your home and a room the feeling of health and life. You can choose between green or flowering potted plants depending on what you want to achieve. Flowering potted plants will give you a more romantic design and green plants will give you a more strict atmosphere. But flowers and plants have their given place in any room!
Blankets/plaids……..I use blankets or plaids in almost every room, even in the kitchen! I love the feeling and the sight of a cozy blanket laying casually over a chair, a sofa or a bed. It looks welcoming and inviting. I use them indoors all year around and out doors during summer for chilly summer nights.
They are also very useful if you want to take a nap or just feel a bit cold. I have a base layer with white blankets that goes well with every colour, but I also have some blankets in other colours that I use to match my decoration if it is needed.
Plaids can be used where you want to ”smooth” a surface that are interpreted as hard or when you want to add a cozy feeling. I use them on desk chairs or on any chair and sofas.

Shelfs……..I prefer single shelves instead of large book cases. And I love shelves that seems to be hanging out from the wall, with no visible hanging devices. It looks clean and smooth and I think they are useful everywhere in the home. Only our imagination sets the limits to how to use them.
Books…….I like books and many of them are so beautiful and it is a shame not having them visible! You can use them as decoration lying on a shelf with the book cover visible, you can stack several books and use them both for adding colour or you can use them just for their beautiful front cover. I use a shelf intended for pictures to display my favorite books, my most beautiful books are just the books that inspires me for the moment. I change my decoration books quite often and I have noticed that I also read the books more when I see them standing there.
Photographs……I also like to use photographs as decoration and there are so many ways to do it! You can collect photos you like and assemble them in a photo frame. Or you can put single photos in photo frames and arrange them on the wall. You can choose picture from many different preferences, for example your latest vacation, your wedding or your family. You can use your pets, your garden or just pictures of things you like or pictures that say something about you or pictures that means something to you. Use the things you like and encourage and help your children to do the same.
Lanterns/candles….Other things I use for decoration is lanterns or candles! Not only do they look great wherever you put them, they are also so useful! I have either a lantern or a candle of some kind in every room in the house also in the bathroom and I use them on ordinary evenings as well as when we have guests! In fact, it is especially useful in a bathroom and creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere for everyone entering the door. Your guests will thank you for your concern when they enter a bathroom where there is light from candles or lanterns to guide them. How many times haven't we fumbled in the dark, used our hand on the walls, searching for the light switcher in an unknown bathroom? Also the entrance will benefit from soft candle light since it creates a great welcome for everyone.
The bedroom is another place where candles or lanterns do wonder. I love to enter a room where there is candle light and the bedroom is no exception! But be aware of the fire risk and choose candles, candle holders and lanterns with caution. Always put safety first! Diwali is the festival to be handled with care…………you Know!!!!!!
 Decor


xoxo

Monday, October 14, 2013

Flower decoration....Nature's way

I plucked a bunch of Jatropa flowers for my vase and plucked some pinwheel to accompany the pink with white.
I have Pinwheel flower ( Ervatama divaricata synonym Tabernaemontana divaricate) crepe jasmine, in a pot in my front balcony. Would you know the local/hindi name? Inspired by a trip to Eden, Beauty Company Estée Lauder use crepe jasmine in their perfume Beyond Paradise to provide a floral middle note to the fragrance. The five-petal pinwheel white blossom is borne in small clusters at the stem tips and are worth a sniff if they are within reach.
How scary
 The 2013 Bohol earthquake occurred on October 15, 2013, at 8:12 a.m. (PST) in Bohol, an island province located in Central Visayas, Philippines

Loboc Church 
Baclon church



Nature 's hands are divine and disastrous too

XOXO



My daughters poem on Maa Durga..

MAAAAAAAAAA...........


कलयुग में दुर्गा  

हंसती, गाती नाचती स्त्रियाँ उन्हें रास नहीं आ रही थी उन्हें घुन्नी स्त्रियाँ पसंद थी 

साल में एक दिन वे  दुर्गा को सजा कर उन्हें  
नदी में विसर्जित कर आते  थे 
और घर आ कर  अपनी  स्त्रियों  को ठुड्डे मार कहते थे 
तुरंत स्वादिष्ट खाना बनाओ 


यही थे वे जो खाने में नमक कम होने पर थाली दीवार पर दे मार देते  थे

बिना कसूर लात-घूस्से बरसाते आये थे  


वे महिसासुर हैं 
ये तो तय  है   

पर  स्त्रियों 
तुम्हारे "दुर्गा "होने में इतनी देरी क्यों हो रही है   


published at the link below


जानकीपुल: पुरुष थमाते है स्त्री के दोनों हाथों में अठारह त...: दुर्गा के बहाने कुछ कविताएँ लिखी हैं युवा

कवयित्री विपिन चौधरी ने. एक अलग भावबोध, समकालीन दृष्टि के साथ. कुछ पढ़ी जाने वाली कविताएँ- ...


Happy Reading!

My daughter's translationsclick to enlarge





प्रसिद्ध रुसी लेखक अन्तोन चेखोव की लघु कहानी "An Enigmatic Nature" का my daughter's
click to enlarge 
हिंदी अनुवाद रविवार ( १३.१०.१३) दैनिक भास्कर के रसरंग में
http://epaper.bhaskar.com/magazine/rasrang/211/13102013/mpcg/1/


my daughter at work

Have a read!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

End of Navratri Puja

Yellow flower of kaner (oliender) offered to "Maa"

‘Kalash’represents Earth and Water element.A ‘Kalash’ is believed to be a symbolic form of ‘MA Durga’ enchanting auspiciousness during ‘Navratras’.Keeping the ‘Kalash’ in the home invokes positivity everywhere. This ‘Kalash’must not be touched during the nine days.

'Jyoti’represents ‘Fire’, ‘Air’ and ‘Space’ elements since lighting of the ‘Jyot’ emanates brightness in the room/house (’Space) and the fragrance (‘Fumes’) which purifies the ‘air’.
"Parsada" is puri, chhole and halva.

"Akhand Jyot" non-stop lighting of Diva in front of "Maa"
Preparation for ‘Akhand Jyot’:
 Mix saffron (‘Kesar’) and turmeric powder (‘Haldi’) in pure ‘Ghee’(Clarified Butter) and use this ‘ghee’ only for the ‘Jyot’ during ‘Navratras’and while preparing ‘jyot’ always put ‘Chhoti Elaichi’ (Green Cardamom) in itvand offer this to MA Durga.
XOXO

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Crafting, Community Workshops, and Handmade Dreamcatchers

It's Navratri time, and the weather today is much cooler than over the past few days. Around 2:30 PM, a thunderstorm brought some welcome rain to nearby areas, bringing down the temperature here as well.

I spent this pleasant afternoon doing what I love most—crafting!

Empowering Through Craft Workshops Lately, I have been busy conducting workshops and community sessions:

  • Rag Rug Making: I taught the girls at the center how to craft useful rag rugs using waste materials.

  • Tailoring & Sewing Supervision: I visited the sewing class at our center for supervision. Around 24 girls have registered for the sewing and tailoring program. My goal is to gradually encourage them to dedicate at least one day a week to creative craft activities.

  • Community Outreach: I have started a small craft group in the slum area (Dhakk Basti). Recently, the Shiv Nagar local community center also approached me to launch a similar group. I am currently working out the logistics, especially ensuring we can generate funds to pay the craft teacher.

  • Best Out of Waste: I continue to give live demonstrations on the theme "Best Out of Waste" across all centers of our NGO.

Crafting Handmade Dreamcatchers

Today, I worked on making dreamcatchers using materials I already had at home.

My niece immediately claimed the second one for herself—the one still under construction, rich with colorful threads and frills! It gave me a sweet moment to remind her to pray and trust in God for good sleep, telling her that the real peace comes from simple faith rather than feathers or handmade trinkets. Children’s prayers are so pure and uncomplicated.



Handcrafted dark-themed dreamcatcher made with recycled yarn and colorful beads.


 A colorful collection of handmade dreamcatchers displayed together on the wall.





Close up of vibrant dream catcher
Delicately hand-crocheted pink dreamcatcher crafted from leftover yarn.


Detailed view of the intricate hand-woven web structure and bead accents.




Vibrant dreamcatcher featuring a crocheted center, colorful threads, and long tassel frills.


My very first attempt at weaving a dreamcatcher took hours to figure out, but I am really happy with how all of them turned out. Most importantly, my niece thinks they are awesome!

Creativity is not just about making new things; it is the art of finding beauty and purpose in what seems ordinary or discarded. When we create with our hands and share those skills with others, we spark meaningful change in our communities. I hope this small effort inspires you to transform leftover materials into something lovely and encourage those around you. Keep creating, and do share your own craft journeys with me!




Dreamcatcher, Quote of the day

These round trims wrapped  with leftover yarn were lying with me.

Quarter round trims are used for the panels of the doors and windows see the pic below



i didnt used these panels on my doors I kept them simple and the trims were lying since 2001

Mom wrapped the yarn around them in this way: 
Start by tying the end of your thread to the hoop. Simply twist the thread all the way around your hoop – alternating colours if you prefer.

http://wiki/Dreamcatcher
I made this dream catcher within 10-15 minutes.
I love it 


Then you need a Dream catcher.........Make one.its simple to make 
XOXO

Rags to reaches , my balcony garden, Quote of the day


I visited a village some time ago and found Durries with rag strings and  pillows using rags string blocks. believe me or not i found them in each and every house of that village i visited............is it a flue of string blocks?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durry



If you haven't made a string block before, consider yourself warned: they are majorly addicting, as I mentioned in the name of flue! I Made an oath! I will make these blocks after completing my pending sewing projects ..yes I will use leftover pieces for making these strip blocks . It was so incredibly fun, quick, and easy, that I just HAD to have another go. Just to make sure. So I scurried home and squirreled away into my rag bag to plot. The next day, this happened. Have a look at the picture below!

Leaves of Jatropa's are equally awesome as the colour of flowers

My jatropa 

Isn't it!

XOXO