Jaya's place

fabric shopping at souq wakif, and the first project of 2012

2012-01-12T18:23:00.001+03:00

Souq Wakif.. it is a landmark tourist spot in Qatar. Every visitor who stays for a week will have seen at least a glimpse of it. The area was developed to look like the really old souqs(markets) of arabia, with tiny shops and narrow alleyways, mostly shaded to escape the desert sun. (if you're the couch surfing type, here is a link to a gallery) It is a real market, selling everything from spices to shovels and everything in between.

I went there to buy fabric. The labyrinth is amazingly confusing , especially if you're as directionally-challenged as I am, but I bravely marched in. This corridor leads to the fabric-shop lane.

Sadly, I am rather shy to take pictures of random strangers. so I did not take any pics inside the shops, nor their owners. The majority of fabric shops there sell really shiny, sparkly fabric, more satins and polyester and chiffon and sequins and embellished tulle.

If you have time to explore, you will find a few gems, shops that sell japanese cotton and indonesian rayon, korean satin and thai silk. and many varieties.. cotton satin, charmeuse, poplin, lawn..(well. if you're not into fabric, these words are gibberish.) After browsing through at least ten or twenty shops, I make some purchases. I bargain on the price. I agree with random Arab ladies who say the price is too high in arabic, though I don't know any arabic, i get the gist of the conversation. bargain hunting transcends language barriers :) I let my little one play with the old men tending the shops.. i feel really sad for them.. living so far away from their families, making a living without a life.

then we go to explore the pet souq. where there are many varieties of birds, small animals like rabbits, puppies, kittens, hamsters, and lots of varieties of fish, turtles, lizards, etc etc. she was enthralled by the rabbits, but were scared to go near. she did have lots to say about them later :)

The souq authorities work hard to keep the old world feel of the place, as the covered ATMs suggest. We saw the cavalry patrol through the souq. They were happy to pose for pictures.

I came back with my new purchases, drawing pictures in my head. Spring is in the air. The winter cold is gone. new clothes for the girls, new clothes as gifts.Today, the girls had holiday. so I measured one, drafted, cut and sewed. Took a long time, but finished now. The inspiration, Burda 9697. I am glad to say it turned out almost exactly the same. She wanted wider straps, she got. The tulle peeking out is a separate underskirt, just like the pattern. She loves her new dress, extra points for twirl-ability.

new year celebrations

2012-01-09T10:20:00.000+03:00

We went to the beach to celebrate the new year. It was really cold outside, so I dressed the kids in normal clothes. That did not keep them from jumping in the water...

the water was very shallow, the tide was out. since this area is behind a breaker, there were only tiny shells left from the dance of water.. I found a hermit crab, but forgot to take its picture. Here is a picture of flotsam instead:
Here's to a calm and peaceful year!

New year resolutions

2011-12-29T01:59:00.001+03:00

Last year, I made a set of new year resolutions, and even though some of them fell by the wayside, I am sure I have made a marked difference .. I now speak to more strangers than I ever have.

This year, my resolution is a bit tough. I have taken this as my motto for 2012: . She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:26
This is particularly difficult for me, since I am very quick to anger, and quite happy to be idle in front of the computer, and let life pass me by. Let me resolve to change this, and better my self in the process.

What are your resolutions?

giveaway results

2011-12-17T11:36:00.001+03:00

67 comments in three days! far more than I hoped for, even if I know that sewmamasew has amazing readership. I'm so happy to hear about all your favorite places, to dream about them or couch-surf.

so, i went to random.org and drew up the numbers, and the result is, (er.. the winner is ..) #13, Rebekah!

sew mama sew giveaway 12 december 2011-CLOSED

2011-12-14T10:40:00.002+03:00

Welcome, party people, to my humble place.

I am Jaya, SAHM to three pretty girls , living in the middle eastern country of Qatar, and wife to a pretty amazing guy. I mostly sew little girls' clothes and most of my stash is fabric for clothes. Look around if you'd like to see some of the (mostly) super-easy clothes I made for my girls.

Today, joining the hundreds of generous people out there, I am giving away one yard of pure cotton voile fabric. The same one I used for this dress, but in a different colorway.

So, leave a comment, I'll draw a random comment and you 'll win!

I have no huge hopes of gaining a ton of followers or anything, so won't ask you to do anything like that. of course, any random comment will work, but i would love it if you tell me the favorite place you ever visited. so, go on, comment ! you know you want to :)

of course, since I live in another country, I'd ship internationally :D

This giveaway is now closed.. the winner is Rebekah!

Consciously committing :The Body Warrior Pledge

2011-10-19T10:46:00.000+03:00

Because I understand that my loveand respect for my body are metaphors of my love and respect for my self andsoul, I pledge to do the following:

To stop berating my bodyand to begin celebrating the vessel that I have been given. I will remember theamazing things my body has given me: the ability to experience the world with abreadth of senses, the ability to perceive and express love, the ability tocomfort and soothe, and the ability to fight, provide, and care for humanity.

To understand that mybody is an opportunity not a scapegoat.

To be the primarysource of my confidence. I will not rely on or wait for others to define my worth.

To let envy dissipateand allow admiration to be a source of compassion by offering compliments toothers.

To gently but firmlystand up for myself when someone says to me (or I say to myself) somethingharmful.

To change theinner-monologue in my head to one that sees possibility not problems, potentialnot shortcomings, blessings not imperfections.

To give my body thethings that it needs to do its work well: plenty of water, ample movement,stretches, rest, and good nutrition, and to limit or eliminate the things thatdo not nurture my body.

To see exercise as away to improve my internal health and strength instead of a way to fight orcontrol my body.

To understand that myweight is not good or bad. It is just a number, and I am only good.

To love my body and myself today. I do not have to weigh ten pounds less, have longer hair, or tohave my degree in my hand to have worth. I have worth just as I am, and Iembrace that power.

To recognize my body’sstrengths.

To no longer put offthe things that I wish to experience because I am waiting to do them in adifferent body.

To understand that abody, just like a personality, is like a fingerprint: a wonderful embodiment ofmy uniqueness.

via

http://rosiemolinary.com/2011/10/02/consciously-committing-the-body-warrior-pledge/

halloween free tutorials and printables

2011-10-15T17:35:00.000+03:00

We do not celebrate halloween, yet I had to post a freebie.Go to Shery K Designs, to download some fantastic halloween printables!

click on the images for details.

now, If you do not know about One Pretty Thing, you should. for a wide array of halloween stuff from recipes to costumes to party ideas, check out this link

I was featured on sew mama sew!

2011-10-09T02:39:00.000+03:00

It is 1 am. The house is in utter stillness except for the light of this computer. Not even a little mouse is stirring. I am succumbing to pinsomnia..(google it) when I think of my own blog. I update some stuff, play with the layout, find my blogger stats.. Hey! I have a bigger audience than I expected.! ... from where? sew mama sew.. why? they featured my tutorial! wow. Happy Dance!!

hmm.. this happened way back in july, when I was in India and busy visiting family. So I did not know about this at all.

The SMS post is here.. full of pretty, summery tutorials. So glad to see my little chatterbox (barely learning to stand) in that list. Big smile!

See my tutorial post here on burdastyle:

and here on my blog

Pinterest Love

2011-10-07T17:51:00.003+03:00

I have been hearing about Pinterest all around me, so I finally registered there. The whole world changed! Now I do not have to bookmark all the cute tutorials I find.. No need to save images to multiple places on my hard drive, no need to write up long notes to credit wherever I got the picture from.. This is a huge improvement on the type of surfing I do, so come check out my Pinterest, and be amazed!

Want to know more about Pinterest? Check out this post from the Blog Stylist.

The robin's lesson for homemaking

2011-10-03T16:14:00.001+03:00

" Our robin has been a keeper-at-home ever since those four bluish-green eggs demanded her attention. She has occasionally left, for a few minutes at a time, to procure food and drink, or to take a little exercise; but she has never forgotten her quiet abode, and the duties which there require her almost constant presence. She loves the green fields, the leafy trees, and the clear blue sky, and delights to hop about with her mate over the fresh grass and the clean gravel-walks; but better than all she loves those pretty eggs, which lie so cozily in the bottom of her straw-built nest.

Before she commenced house-keeping, she was very fond of travelling, and many a mile has she wandered, over hill and valley, in company with her friends. She assisted at concerts, and was universally admired; but she had the good sense to give up these enjoyments without a murmur, when higher claims called for her undivided care. Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well; and the robin will doubtless be repaid for the unwearied patience with which she performs her unostentatious duties. Some people are inclined to think domestic labour dishonourable, and the cares of house-keeping a burden; but our feathered friend is wiser than they. She does with her might what she finds to do, and she does it heartily. Every act of duty, faithfully and cheerfully performed, is acceptable to God; and his children do his will when they endeavour to attend to their various occupations in such a way as he can approve."--The Nest Among the Honeysuckles,

The full article here .

how to create image maps

2011-09-28T17:10:00.000+03:00

I found a cool tool!

You all have seen those online catalogs where you click on a skirt or a shoe on the model and it takes you to a new page to buy the item. well, this post shows you how to make your own!

I tried.It is so easy to do! now the free skirts page is clickable.

play tents, anyone?

2011-09-28T15:31:00.000+03:00

Last week, we changed all the curtains in our house. That left a lot of curtain rods with nowhere to call home.. and just in time, i see this post about making play tents.. Eureka!! Have. To. Make. This.

http://blogs.babble.com/family-style/2011/09/22/25-stunning-play-tents-to-buy-or-diy/

you understand the word satire, dont you?

2011-05-28T14:21:00.001+03:00

"An ideal homemaker is lovely to look at and lovely to be around--she has a wholesome attitude and a pleasing appearance. She has the courage to be happy and strives to live above the faults of moodiness, sulkiness, and complaining. She is gracious and thoughtful and is consequently adored by her family and admired by all who know her."

---Daryl V. Hoole

(The Art of Homemaking 1967)

from here

the truth is, I personally know some homemakers who fit this description perfectly. It is always a joy to visit them...so it is not utopian, as I want to claim.

I made the party dress

2011-05-23T03:08:00.001+03:00

After bookmarking the page and spending hours daydreaming about the possible fabric combinations, I made this dress, though I did not take the time to make good photos. Loved the tutorial, was very easy to follow and the result is pure couture! No exposed seams, no riffraff, wonderful elegance. I fall in love with the dress each time I see her wear it..

I did not use the pattern, only the tutorial. Now my hands itch to make every dress with hidden seams. Thank you, Lindsay!

a light summer dress

2011-05-23T02:07:00.001+03:00

Sometimes when I look at vintage children's patterns, I think.. Why are they so short? Not modest enough..Little girls' clothes were so much shorter in the seventies and eighties. why? was it the rationing? maybe.

Then I think.... Why not? Little girls are little. There is no concern of modesty of a two-year-old.. or there should not be. They can wear whatever they are comfortable in.

So I made this dress. Not copied or anything, this is just a petticoat dress.. very easy dress that they teach the beginners in our sewing classes.

I had a little bit of arabic cotton- I think voile- leftover from another project. just right for the scorching summer that is beginning here in Doha.

Then I made a discovery. The 3x gathering of the skirt part makes the dress flare out when she sits.. no question of offending anyone's delicate eyes.


Is this too short?

I love this dress.. such a light fabric, i can scrunch the dress up and hide it in my fist. I am making a couple more, to take to India when we next go..because it is sweltering hot and humid when it is not raining. This cotton will work wonderfully.

p.s. her hair is growing fast after we shaved it all off in march..though, sadly, I find no evidence of her babycurls..oh I loved her curly hair. Now it seems it will be wavy like mine. :(

easter 2011

2011-04-27T13:34:00.001+03:00

I made two dresses for easter. Since it was a last-minute rush idea that I had on thursday, I had to work with what I had on hand.

can you see that someone was thrilled with her dress?

litle girl's denim (jeans)skirt - free tutorials

2011-04-27T12:38:00.002+03:00

I have a thing for denim skirts. I dont wear them anymore, but i love looking at different styles. Now that summer is here and ponnu has outgrown her winter jeans, we need some skirts.. So, as usual, i prowled the net for some inspiration.

I had seen lots of denim jeans-to skirt conversions, but they all had this triangle-in-the-middle design like this that i did not like.

Now suddenly, i have options! (click on the picture to take you to the tutorial..)

te rose home jean to skirt tutorial

skiptomylou jeans to skirt

all of these require me to cut up the jeans. i'm happy about that... i felt so bad to hang on to my old jeans that i'll never fit into anymore (sniff) Now they have a purpose! (and my hubs will be happy if I free up the shelf space!)

Now to choose which one... i will have to ask the diva herself..

whimsical pretty dresses at Chasing Fireflies

2011-04-07T14:27:00.003+03:00

Like some people adore Anthropologie, I have a top ten of sites that make me want to copy everything on the site. #5 is Chasing fireflies .see if you like something there:

I cannot think of ever paying that much for clothes that will be outgrow in six months, so i will have to recreate them. however, my kids have too many clothes as is. wonder how will i ever resist making these..

the big conspiracy

2011-02-28T10:06:00.000+03:00

1. get all the children( who need to learn the basics of homesteading) out to sit in one place for 10 hours a day, thereby rendering them incapable of anything else( except recreational sports, which serve no purpose for mother nature)

2. get most the young people( who need to work hard at the farms to make food for the family) to sit in one place and work for 10 hours, getting them unhealthy and scrambling for gyms to reclaim their muscle tone.

3. get all the grownups(who should have years of experience in farming) to go to convenience shops and buy prepackaged goods , so they have no need to think about farming..only about generating MONEY.

4.raise the value of MONEY so people spend their lifetimes trying to make more, go out of the farmlands-- go out of the country-- to make more.

5. leave the old aged ones with no one to share their life experiences with,( when to plant the papaya seeds, how deep to dig the pit to plant a banana tree... ) so the pertinent information gets lost between generations..(and the new gen has to dig far and wide and make another lifetime of trial and error , rather than learning from experience in your own house. )

can you see that i am writing this from an apartment complex far away from my farm lands? or that i am so used to convenience stores that i cannot imagine going near a cow or a goat to get milk? or that bread is such a large part of my diet eventhough it was something my own father did not eat until he was 30 years old?

yes, now that i think about it, shipping and transporting goods to convenience stores is such a large industry .

life was much simpler and more difficult before they invented petroleum :D

the 20 minute dress

2011-02-21T10:52:00.004+03:00

A quick dress to get me outof thenon-sewing spell. very easy to make, just one rectangle of fabric. with inspiration from this post about this peasant top pattern by Enid Gilchrist.

I made it longer, say what? dress! I cut out the neckline and inserted elastic there. Finished the sleeves without elastic. Shaped the body a bit, Sewed the side seam, then the hem. Done! max 20 minutes from start to finish. Tied with a sash I had lying around.

I pleated the neck-cutout and made a flower for her hair.

image from http://inspiredbyenid.blogspot.com/2008/07/peasant-top-3-6yo.html

a blog rec - indianyarn

2011-02-10T08:26:00.001+03:00

i came upon this site by accident.... but was blown away by the content. absolutely amazing, every indian should see this... http://indianyarn.wordpress.com/

the details, the stories, ... i lost at least one hour of my day today flipping thru the pics.....(not lost.... gained a new perspective. ) greatly inspired.

graciousness

2011-02-08T13:23:00.001+03:00

A new neighbor.
A small help offered..
A box full of gracious yumminess in return.

thank you, lovely neighbor.

edited to add.. if youre looking for yummy cupcakes in doha, see this link for a list.

party dress free pattern and tutorial

2011-02-07T10:27:00.000+03:00

I found this awesome party dress tutorial on ucreate. Cannot wait to make one. All I have to do is buy the fabric..

another free little girl dress pattern

2011-01-31T17:10:00.001+03:00

this is a long sleeved dress that is so, SO CUTE and so very easy. If my machine did not eat up knits, i'd have made one of these for each of my girls. get the pattern and instructions over at The Train to Crazy.

about hair

2011-01-26T20:35:00.000+03:00

I've cut my hair on a whim..when i was seated at the stylist's chair, i said "what do you think will look good?" uh oh. never ask your stylist that question.

now it is the shortest my hair has been in 20 years. I like it, though a certain significant other thinks that i look like a schoolgirl. (that pic is me grading exam papers, so I'm quite far from being a schoolgirl, though not far from quite a lot of schoolgirls....get it?).

my hair was long, really long in school. i used to wear it in two plaits all the time. now that i have a girl of mine who loves long hair, i know what a wearisome job it is, to make two plaits in the morning, battling the tangles and bedhead in the middle of morning rush. (to make my work easier, i cut her hair, so now her hair is no longer "long enough to be plaited", to quote her teacher.)

i have to write down my thankfulness for my mom, who loved my hair and never wanted me to cut it, so would sit me down and plait it every morning in the middle of making breakfast and lunch and getting ready for work.

it was after my 16th birthday that i took her scissors and cut my hair.. just long enough for a ponytail. I don't remember what was mom's reaction....the fickle mind of my young self.

well, its only hair, right? hair grows.. so maybe by the time my mom sees me, my hair will be long enough.

a new sundress and some chitchat

2011-01-17T09:56:00.000+03:00

I found a website with step-by-step instructions to make sundresses like these.click on the picture to take you to the tutorial.

the site is riley blake designs , go check it out if you'd like to make a pretty dress for a little girl.
there are other tutorials there, for quilts and accessories and much more.

in other news, i'm not a full time SAHM now. i have a part-time job, so less time to surf the net. this is good, because with less time to read, i hope to have more time to write.

Parenting is not instinct.

2011-01-12T06:42:00.001+03:00

Parenting is not instinct. The new generation, following the TV culture blindly, thinks that parenting should be instinctive. This is why young women go through such a steep learning curve with being a mother. In every other culture including european or american, before two generations (before feminism stuff), mothers raised multiple kids and little girls did all homemaking chores including taking care of younger siblings, and would get “on-the job-training” at home, even while going to school etc. during the day.

In today’s culture, not one child is taught how to be a future homemaker. I DO NOT mean full time stay at home mom.

Making a home while working… it takes a certain amount of work. it takes routines, it takes all familymembers sharing the chores, it means children should be raised to help the parents with the work, not be waited-on-hand-and-foot.

Even a toddler as small as one year old can be taught to fetch a mop when something spills.

Putting the toys back in the toy basket can be a five-minute game after every playtime.

Preschoolers can be taught to hang up their coat themselves.. if they have a knob they can reach. they can remove their shoes and put it in the shoe rack with no help…if they have been taught consistently to do it.

Teaching children these mini-tasks take a certain amount of patience.. but it will result in cutting down your work in the future.

These minor things are things a child should be taught at home, before setting out to face the world. instead, today’s women and men go to college without even knowing how to do laundry!

Do the future generation a favor….. teach them how to keep a home.

Raising kids is not just feeding them and taking care of them and making sure they dont cry… you should remember that one day they will raise a family too.

I found this in my papers. I dont know if i wrote it myself or copied it from somewhere else. but this sentiment echoes mine, so i'm posting it anyway.

new year, new resolutions.

2011-01-02T08:43:00.000+03:00

yes, original title, I know. I thought I would make no new year resolutions this year, like always. then i saw this post at magiaclchildhood and thought, yes, want some changes in my life.

so here are my resolutions for 2011:
1. talk to the people I meet, not just smile and nod.
2. read aloud everyday (i've never picked up a book to read for amy! time to change that..)
3. spend more time in the sun.
4. be more consistent in blogging snippets of my life.
5. exercise everyday, even if it is a walk to the neighbor's house ;)

thats it.. only 5, because I want to do them, not just write them down.

now a picture of the girls, because its been a long time since i posted one.

super simple floormat tutorial

2010-11-05T16:52:00.001+03:00

I have been thinking about washable floormats in my kitchen and bathrooms. I browsed a lot of shops(saw nothing washable at the price range in my mind), saw a lot of online tutorials,

this one looked promising and pretty,

I thought about it a lot, but did not make it. For one, i dont want my NEW fabric made into a floormat. Another, I have neither batting nor old towels on hand.

One day, someone was jumping on the bed and the old bedsheet couldnt take the strain. it ripped! wow. now i have a kingsize torn bedsheet, (it goes into the ragbag). I used it to wipe water spilled on the floor one day, and i really liked the fabric on the kitchen floor. (now comes the tutorial....) so i folded the rag strip into a rectangle that looked about the right size, ( yeah, guesswork, just eyeball it...) this made 3 layers of fabric. I pinned it in place with a dozen sewing pins, took it straight to the sewing machine, ran a zigzag all around the edge. Thats it! 5 minutes! Done!

a new drawstring bag from old jeans- kinda, sorta tutorial

2010-10-11T11:22:00.010+03:00

Chinnu needed a new bag for sunday school. it had to have space for two books, a snack and a water bottle. I could just go out and buy a cute little bag, but then what kind of a crafter am I? ( One with tons of fabric in the guest closet, that kind).

So i decided to make a drawstring backpack. very simple, destri posted a tute to make one in 15 minutes
but did I make that? noooo. I like to make complicated things .

first, my favorite step.. browse the 'net for around 50 drawstring bag tutorials, read all of them, find out which ones have pictures, which ones have step-by step tutes, which ones look like the bag I want to make, etc etc(and read all the other tutorials on each blog, just for fun).
prudentbaby has a good one
noodlehead has an awesome tute with a zippered-pocket too
and of course, martha stewart has one

I started with the idea of making a denim bag. So, even though lots of cute fabric were waving and shouting from the shelves, I pulled out the 'mending' bin. (this is the bin that stores clothes that ponnu outgrew, but chinnu will never wear unless I cut them to half the width.) She had this really cute embroidered jeans that i think chinnu outgrew already, so i pulled that out,

Step 2...cut off the legs....

step 3. cut along the outer seam so that the embroidery was in the top corner.

Cut off the other leg and place it underneath, so both pieces are the same size after cutting.

step 4. The jeans had a slight flare , so I cut off a little around all sides (thru both layers) so it became a proper rectangle.

Now I have the two pieces, all it takes is to sew it up, right? Wrong. It has to have lining. It has to be a backpack- without buttons or grommets or anything like that. and, from my research(hem, hem) i know that denim will not gather much, so it needs a casing for the drawstrings.

okay, step 5. sew the bottom of the denim pieces( right side together), so we have a long rectangle.
step 6. Put it on the lining fabric and cut out the exact same shape. (it goes without saying that this is, in fact, The Lining.)

now, other people explain this way better than I do, so here is a picture.

so, i made the drawstring bag.

Now had to turn it into a backpack.
so i snipped the thread at the bottom side corners(wow. clear, much?),
inserted the ends of the drawstring at an angle and sewed it shut from the inside. et voila! I'm done!

heh heh. I totally ignored the directions for the drawstrings, thats because I just winged it. You can use rope, or backpack cording, or whatever you have.

I cut off (ripped) an 8" section from one selvedge to the other, (of the lining fabric, that is obvious from the pictures) folded it in half, then half again, cut it so i had two 4" strips. then cut it in half again so i had four 2"x44" strips. Sew two together end-to-end to get one loong piece, fold in both ends and sew closed like bias tape.

Now, I have the pocket of the jeans sitting idle.(no, the kids here dont like shorts.) I made a little wallet to take her tithe. just like i made it last year, with clear pockets.

from an email

2010-06-15T14:39:00.001+03:00

The Paradoxical Commandments

by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

summer sewing 2010

2010-06-07T00:29:00.000+03:00

A crossover dress, A kimono dress and a pillowcase dress.
1, I tried to recreate the Criss-Cross Top by jessekate designs on youcanmakethis.com, and i have to say I came close, but not quite. I love it all the same. I am especially proud of the little butterfly I appliqued on the black portion. The original pattern is only $5.00 if you want to make one ..

2, I tested a kimono pattern for the talented Liz of Little Lizard King. The pattern and instructions were very detailed and clear even for beginner sewers. Chinnu loves it. There are a zillion cute patterns at the LLK store, you should definitely check out the LLK etsy shop.

3, I made a simple pillowcase dress with a tiny bit of fabric, using this verry easy tutorial at maya made.
Threaded a bit of self fabric through the casing, sewed it to the dress..so it will not pull out, but ties at one shoulder. Much easier for mothers of tiny tots. If you'd like to make a fancied up pillowcase dress, A step-by-step pictorial for making it can be found at prudentbaby.

The dress I made from scraps

2010-06-05T23:39:00.000+03:00

A little dress with a big ruffle at the hem. Made with a fat quarter of the white and bits and bobs of the black. That is her standard expression.. my friend says she will grow to be quite the chatterbox!

spring clothing

2010-06-03T15:40:00.010+03:00

After a long time of not posting, here I am. here are some dresses I made this past month, in anticipation of the warm months ahead..I made two dresses with an idea that inspired by the border sundress totorial at littleblueboo. she has a lot of amazing tutorials, get the full list here.
My girls dont like little dresses that are true pillowcase style, because it has no defined waist. Barbie fans that they are, every dress should have a waistline! I had this great idea to lengthen the top part to make a bodice-of sorts,down to the natural waistline. without shaping or anything so it is just a rectangle. I made the straps and all, readied the top.

Then I gathered the skirt part, a big rectangle, about double the chest measurement.

Have I told you about the awesome easy gathering technique? just adjust the needle tension to high(i used 7 out of 9), set the stitch length to basting, and step on the pedal.The result is gathered fabric!

I attached the bigger gathered rectangle to the top part. i forgot to reset the gathering settings, so it came out wonky, but I realized it soon. Thankfully, basting stitches are easy to remove! After setting the normal stitching tension and length, i sewed the skirt to the bodice. N1's dress came a bit shorter than the knee, so I hemmed a long strip of white around double the hem length, gathered it and added it at the bottom. Butterick pattern3477 looks a lot like this one.

As she tried it on, I realized why most sundresses have a curved shape around the armhole... the dress was too low at the neck! for modesty's sake, I added a couple of lace layers between the front ties.
After all the fitting and trials, my kiddo declared it "too loose". So I cut it down the centerback and cut off a bit, then sewed up a zipper for ease of wear. When I made N2's dress, I did not need to add the ruffle or the lace, but she insisted on matching her sister. so I made a line of lace at the neckline. As she is a true twig, I had to make a zipper back for her too. This opening has the advantage that i can stich down the shoulder bow, so it does not come untied all the time.
The orange dress is a sundress I made with a circle skirt and chiffon fabric. N1 loves her "soft dress" as she calls it, happy that it twirls so beautifully. Now N2 wants a circle dress...

edited to add, i have entered this in the 'make it, wear it' link party at the train to crazy. visit, be inspired to sew something to wear!

little boy clothes

2010-05-20T15:54:00.002+03:00

i just HAD to blog about this blogger who makes adorable baby boys clothes.. and shows us how to make them! http://ruttunuttu.vuodatus.net/ . the blog is in finnish but any translator will do a decent job, just see this (translated)tutorial on how to stencil fabric... have you seen a cuter tutorial?

i found that she has a newer blog with less tutorials and awesome bigger-boy projects she made: ruttu nuttu.

check it out.. you wont regret it.

where was I?

2010-03-23T17:20:00.003+03:00

Busy with the random busy-ness of life. Logging in to show a set of dresses I made, from one meter of border print fabric. One Aline dress with zip for chinnu and and a flare dress with shoulder ties for amy.
without further ado, here they are:

and one pic just for the cute factor:
should I make an excuse that it is very difficult to go after them to get them to pose and smile? the truth is, i dont . So some dresses i made need to wait.. let me find a way to chase them down and take a few pics.

how to fabricshop with kids

2010-03-11T12:52:00.002+03:00

i found this so-honest-its-hilarious post at ikatbag and could not let it go without sharing. because i currently have no one who would appreciate its mirth, i'm just reposting it in the web...

http://www.ikatbag.com/2009/06/how-to-buy-fabric-with-small-children.html

sometimes its these little things that make me remember that life is fun.

crepe ribbon roses

2010-02-24T01:10:00.002+03:00

http://filthwizardry.blogspot.com/2010/02/mini-roses-from-dollar-store-crepe.html
love these crepe paper roses. in craft class, we used to make them with satin ribbon to glue onto hairclips.

especially love her video, shhows what life with kids is like!

easy gathering fabric for ruffles

2010-02-24T01:09:00.001+03:00

did you know that you can gather fabric without basting on a normal machine? just turn the tension dial to 9 or however high it will go, and sew with a normal basting stitch. the fabric gathers up like magic! you can control the amount of gathers by how fast you sew. (slowly, and you get light gathers, fast and you get thick bunched gathers.).

if you decrease the tension.. like turn it to 8 or 7, the ruffling decreases. You have to try this on a scrap piece to see how full you want the gathers to be.. you can adjust pedal pressure and play with the tension dial till you get the perfect fullness.

For most of the girly dresses i make, i set the tension at 7, sew the long straight stitch(basting stitch) to ruffle the skirt part, then turn the tension dial to normal (4 or5) and sew regular stitch to attach the ruffled fabric(skirt part) to bodice(top part).

Very easy bag

2010-01-13T10:32:00.002+03:00

I made a bag last month. N1 wanted to buy a bag to take the big drawing book to art class. None of her other bags would fit this long book. like any self-respectng sewist, I decided to make her one. This is a simple book bag, just a long piece of fabric..

Easy instructions:
put book on fabric , 2" from edge. Fold so book is enclosed and fold is the bottom of the bag. Leave 1/2" at sides and 2" at top. cut fabric. Take book out. Fold up, sewn on two sides, hem the top, attach straps. takes 15 minutes to make.

For those who like pictures, a tutorial can be found at ehow here , screenshot:

I took the prettiest pink i had in my fabric stash and made a simple appliq to embellish... a square of polkadot babypink, a length of satin ribbon for the N. just sewed on with a regular straight stitch. I pulled off a few threads from the square to give it a frayed look. Just big enough for her art book and color pencils case.

If you attach the straps lower, the top of the bag will naturally fall into the bag and make a closed look, because there is extra fabric at the top.

using up the fat quarter

2010-01-07T09:54:00.005+03:00

With the fabric leftover from the tote bag, I made mini wallets. I am a big fan of the mini-wallet… just big enough for IDs and some cash, you can stick it in your pocket or the pocket of any bag you might have. Considering that I have a diaper bag to lug around most of the time, I find it is very easy to take just the wallet and leave the big bag in the car.

I used the dimensions of the wallet I already had. It was a simple plastic fold with four pockets. Its best feature was that it had a pocket that opened towards the center, so coins would not slide out.

A simple tutorial for something like this, is available here at purpleperson.

I covered the fabric with contact paper so it was stain proof...Much needed for someone like me.

Then I got the idea of clear pockets with contact paper... Just fold the plastic sticky sides together to make a sturdy clear pocket. I sewed bias tape around the sides to keep it all together. The corners are wonky, but it’s neat enough.

When ponnu chinnu saw my new wallet, they wanted one too... Since I had just enough fabric to make another one, I did. This time I made clear contact paper pockets and put one riyal and a little magnetic phonebook in the pockets.

That’s one hours work. But then, I have only one. What will I make for the other one? Till then, this kids wallet will go in storage… to give on a birthday or some such special occasion.

Edited to add: while netsurfing, i found this tutorial at on how to make a checkbook-size laminated wallet using iron-on-vinyl or oilcloth. that one has a zip pocket and a magnetic snap! Do check out her blog, she has many wonderful tutorials.

sewing a bag

2010-01-06T10:11:00.004+03:00

I made a tote bag. It is so easy, the easiest thing to sew... just sew 3 sides, box the corners, and then attach straps... like this

I bought the really pretty rose print canvas fabric from Daiso. it was a fat quarter and cost 7QR. the straps were from the same shop, thick webbing. I reinforced the bottom with iron-on interfacing and made the bag...

Turns out, I hate the bag... it is too wide and floppy; I think I should have used batting or something heavier. This big bag is not my style , though it is a really nice print. The problem is, I boxed the corners too big and so the bottom fabric cannot be seen at all. I had cut out the corners before bringing it right side out, so I did not notice this until it was too late… now I am thinking about giving it a deconstruction.

I browsed a lot of tote bag tutorials and this one caught my eye at HGTV . This was sort of like I wanted it, but it does not say where to put the handles. I love the look of the bag, but this looks too sophisticated. Will I be able to make it?

Then I found another tute at skip to my lou. Here everything had step by step photos and was the clearest tute I have ever seen. So I am going to un-sew all the seams in this bag and make a smaller tote.

Lets see how that goes.

recycling tshirts

2009-12-09T09:56:00.002+03:00

how to make a toddler pants from an old tshirt... seriously, it takes only half an hour!

http://www.favecrafts.com/Clothing/Recycle-Your-Husband-Old-T-Shirts#

how to make a circle skirt

2009-12-01T17:52:00.006+03:00

I saw the tutorial at this mama makes stuff for a circle skirt and thought, my mom makes it so easily without a pattern!

so here are instructions to make the simple circle skirt for you or anyone else, its that simple.

measure your waist. write this down as W=_

measure how long you want the skirt to be. write this down, L=_

fold your fabric from selvedge to selvedge. fold it down to make a squareish shape.

now draw two circle shapes on the fabric like this:

oh wait, dont just draw them, you have to think a bit first.

the small circle is a bit larger than your W. (little math lesson here, circle perimeter is Rx2x3.14 so R should be around W/6. so divide the W by 6, and round up. say, if my waist were 24inches(oh, the possibilities), we do 24/6=4. but we need to add a bit to this because i would want to pull the skirt over my hip...and i dont want a zip.

so i add 0.5 to that, so R=4.5 inches.

if W=20 (like my baby amy, right now eating pickled onions .........oh no! be right back!)

err where were we? ah yes, w=20. so 20/6 will be... wait, let me get the calculator on this..ok,we get 3.33, so we round it up to R=3.5.easy peasy. hmm i hope you think so. you still with me on this?

0k. mark your fabric with a chalk or disappearing pen. if you dont know how to mark a circle shape, the easiest way is to tie a lenght of string(or yarn, or thread, or ribbon) around your marker and FROM THE MARKER, measure the distance and make a mark on the thread. hold this point to the folded corner of fabric and mark the circle with the marker end.

first, mark the waistline. for another way to do this, check the picture and tutorial at this link.

next, use W+R as the marking length and mark the hemline.

now cut through all layers to make a donut-shaped circle skirt.

attach elastic to the waistline.

finishing the hem:
with doublefold bias tape

with ribbon like in the famous lazy days skirt from oliver+s
with lace, using the same technique

a shirred dress for karen

2009-11-17T01:30:00.005+03:00

this is a simple dress to make if you have elastic thread and a machine that cooperates..mine tried to kill the elastic thread in 20 different ways.

I have been trying to make this dress from the first time I saw this on portabellopixie, when everyone and their sisters started raving about shirring. I tried and tried.... no, my elastic thread got bunched up and knotted and who knows how it managed to break off, not a bit of proper shirring was done. I had to rip out lots of stitches I made in the hope that the thread will come even after running some time..I surfed the net hoping for an answer, I changed the tension, I turned every dial on my stubborn machine. , then left my shirring plans and went and made some other stuff.

One fine day, the planets aligned, the machine suddenly discovered the fine art of cooperation, I was able to make this dress. then the planets went their separate ways :) so I havent been able to shir another stitch yet. well, I'll always have my trusty 1/4 inch elastic.

Some excellent tutorial links for making this dress and cute fotos can be found at MADE
another detailed tutorial from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross is available at Etsy storque.
if you'd loke a visual reference, there's a video from craftzine.

p.s. this was a dress I made in the beginning of summer, now it is almost winter here. that says a lot about my blogging habits, alle? I will try to post some more of my past work in the coming days..

a giveaway at sweet tidings

2009-10-26T12:45:00.002+03:00

hi, i heard about this giveaway at sweet tidings from craftgossip, and since it is open internationally, thought i would check my luck.

Holland fabric house has a lot of colorful whimsical fabric and notions, fabric lovers, check out the shop for a little eye candy.

2009-09-17T18:08:00.002+03:00

i just discovered this jem. see more at the progressiveboink,

blogsurfing

2009-08-29T22:06:00.002+03:00

no time.

amy turned one. published some photos.

she got a bad allergy attack.

should i beleive in the evil eye?

he goes alone, while i am staying..for two weeks.

then it is time to go to that land again.. the land where we dont belong, but me and mine live there.

packing, unpacking.. it is a big job. not a tiny vacation.

relishing each moment left here. will be almost a year before i return.

found a blog new to me.

indian parents with traditional views..check this out.

moslems of any region, i am intrigued by this post..what is your opinion on the subject?

home is where the heart is..

2009-08-16T17:53:00.004+03:00

last week someone labelled me an NRI. my sister told me that he was right, i am instantly recognizable as an NRI. yesterday someone called me an auntie(again!). i found out that i cannot climb the hill near my childhood home in one go, like i used to do. today, i found that i dont recognise any of the faces in the local youth group i used to belong to.

today we cut amy's hair. her baby curls are gone. she had a terrible heatrash problem, so we had to cut her hair. not that she had much to speak of.. still, her birthday photos won't have those baby curls.

i'm finding my hometown has become an alien place. i need a guide just to find a new shop, a good tailor, a clothing store. the only people i know are the dentist, the ....well, thats all.

you know what is the definition of an NRI?
a Non Resident Indian is an indian who lives in a place other than india.. someone who wants convenience and is willing to pay any price for it.. they dont know the actual price of anything, so you might as well quote them something higher. like, a blouse costs 120Rs, if it is an NRI, just say 500Rs.. if they like it they will buy it without bargaining!

as time goes on, i am finding that yes, i would rather have convenience than low cost..because i can afford it..i am becoming used to not-bargaining. i am finding that my travel is limited to places that serve trustable-quality food.. so the kids dont get upset stomachs. i am finding that my shopping time is limited to 2hours.. the space of time before the kids get bored/hungry/sleepy.

more to do with having multiple kids than being an NRI, but , well, i had to write. now back to the precious time spent with parents and siblings, seen for only so little time each year..dad's advice, mom's fussing, sister's backtalk.. things i miss the most when i am away.

a website

2009-06-16T20:49:00.002+03:00

after the comment incident, i read around on sarah mae's site, and i found this wise christian lady, a mother of 14 children, whose blog is calm and quiet and wonderful. these are some of her posts that particularly impressed me..
about population
about fairness
about simple, better living
about housework
about being a housewife aka, being a stay-at-home mom

i am inspired by the way she writes, she speaks so clearly and simply about her ideals. i share some of her work here only because i would like you to see some of my own ideals, written eloquently by someone else.

my take on instant obedience

2009-06-14T09:36:00.002+03:00

i found a new blog today..sarah mae, a lady spouting bible verses left, right and middle. as i went through her blog, i saw that she had a lot of followers, and was wont to give advice on parenting ..the "godly " way.. Her post on obedience raised my hackles.. here is some of it..

"What Is Direct Disobedience?
Direct disobedience occurs when you tell your child to do something (or have told them not to do something) and they don't respond to the instruction immediately.

How Do I Correct Disobedience In My Child?
Commit to being consistent in giving your children a consequence for disobeying. If you say "come" and those little feet don't start moving, they are disobeying and need a consequence. If you catch them painting on the walls after telling them not too, immediate consequence. Now, because we are ultimately dealing with the heart and not just outward obedience, we must make sure to correct in love not anger. In fact, if you are so angry that you can't control the disciplinary measures you choose to implement, don't even do them. Take a breather. Gain perspective. Children are supposed to sin, we must help them learn not too (at least do their best - we all need Jesus after all!""

I used to think like this too.. until i had kids of my own. i am just pasting the comment i made on her blog here, because this is one thing i feel strongly about..

i do not like the term "first time obedience"...are you raising curious, lively, inspired 'future citizens of this world' or starting a nunnery? children are children because they behave like children. they learn to do things by constant repetition, ok.

teaching them to obey the authority figures(in this case, their parents) without question is a potentially suicidial move in my opinion, because the association of authority=obedience will be too deep in their mind. what about a stranger? what about an ill-motived teacher? what about some impostor in a police uniform? heck, what about future bosses at workplaces? "obey the first time", indeed..

if the child says "hold on, wait, give me a minute," remember to GIVE FAIR WARNING.. like, tell them "we're going out in ten minutes, i expect you to be ready by then, close your coloring book after this color, you can finish that when we get back" instead of "put on your shoes on right now".

what will you do or feel if someone comes in while you're working at the computer and switches it off, and says, "get your coat on, we're going to the mall"?

parenting is a lot about respect.. respect the adults they will become. groom them to be respectable adults.. sure, it will take a lot of work , be less convenient for you and will be much tougher than saying "get your coat on. instant obedience", but it will be better for your children AND will make you a better parent.

whats happening in may

2009-06-14T07:41:00.004+03:00

somehow in the past month, i failed to post even once about my family. it is not that they are not here, they are just such a big part of me that sometimes i just want to escape into webland and live in denial for a while, so i did not write about them. ponnu celebrated her 7th birthday, chinnu is discovering reading, amy has started standing up and climbing up onto stuff. no pics, i have edit them and all, too much trouble right now.

15 free skirt patterns for women

2009-06-02T18:56:00.007+03:00

DON'T GO OUT AND BUY A SKIRT PATTERN. Most are easy to sew yourself. There are countless free patterns floating on the web, here are free patterns and tutorials for 15 skirts via threadbanger. Here are some of my favorites.Click on a picture to take you to its tutorial.

free skirt patterns for little girls

2009-05-31T20:19:00.004+03:00

1. very easy oliver+s lazy days skirt takes only very little amount of fabric..
2. aline skirt with ruffle.
3. half circle skirt. so girl-y.
4. my favourite easy twirl skirt. very simple, very cute!
5. adorable drop waist twirl skirt has two layers too..
6. twirly whirly apron skirty ..
7. ruffled tiers xox skirt the picture is misleading, they give you the pattern to adapt ..
just use little girls measurements:).this site has other free skirt patterns too.
8. reversible wraparound skirt this is a basic circle skirt,
9. a skirt made from men's ties if you like that sort of thing.
10. organza-tulle ballerina petalskirt
11. really full pettiskirts from martha stewart
12. tanya whelan's flirty skirts absolute eye candy ! those fabrics!!

and another,
13. justtutes patchwork circle skirt
looks like a lot of work, but isn't. look around that site, lots of tutes.

And that's a baker's dozen of amazingly easy skirts for my girls (and yours) this summer.

romper pattern altered for heavier babies

2009-05-29T12:39:00.003+03:00

hi, just remembered that amy is smaller than most babies of the same age:) she is 16.5lb at 9months, so if your babies are chubbier, they need more ease at the underarms. so you have to add one more inch in all the pattern pieces, like this:

this is just the rough sketch, but you know where to add the inch now, right? and i have not added seam allowances, obviously.

amy's summer romper tutorial

2009-05-25T12:22:00.013+03:00

Little Amy started crawling, so I wanted to make something that would cover her diaper without being tight at her waist. It is summer here and she gets very hot, I did not want to make pants or onesie dresses that would make her sweat. While netsurfing, I saw this picture at babybean vintage, and thought ”wow! I can do that!” so I decided to make something like that.. I traced a denim romper for the chest and bum dimensions, and found that the back is bigger than the front. So I made a newspaper pattern, stitched it out and guess what! It fits! I had so much fun making it, and I’ve been thinking about making a picture-tutorial for a long time now, so I made another romper and made a pictorial too.
So without more ado, here is the tute:
Amy's summer romper
This little playsuit is designed for the crawling age,6-12 months, with no snaps or buttons.
The romper ties at the shoulders for a cute vintage look . The bias tape finish makes it very easy to sew. And guess what? It only takes half yard of fabric!

Requirements:
half yard of a cute lightweight fabric (44’’wide)
two yards of matching or contrasting bias tape.
(option 2) ½ yard of ¼” elastic for legs
(option 3) Contrasting material for ruffles at leg
(option 4) half yard snap tape.

Instructions:

Step 1: Draw the pattern. The darkblue line shows stitching lines, the thinner light blue lines show cutting lines. As you can see, I gave ½ inch seam allowance.

The easy instructions are as follows:

1. cut out the pattern pieces,
(on the fold or cut 2 each.)

2. sew the middles together.

3. sew the sides.

4. finish the legs.,
5.sew the crotch seam.

6. gather and bias tape the neckline.

7.gather the armscyce, then finish the edge with bias tape, leaving enough to tie at the shoulders.

DONE!

for those who need more detail, I have uploaded the full detailed step-by-step instructions with photos at burdastyle here for the BLUE romper and here for theLILAC romper.

Edited to add: whimsycouture has a very easy tutorial for adding snap tape at the crotch seam, so you can unsnap the romper for diaper changing. you can get the free tutorial pdf here.

Further Edited.. Slightly bigger pattern for chubbier babies.. see this post

sewing for the summer

2009-05-20T22:05:00.006+03:00

i made something new..

she learned something new.. she is pulling up to stand!

we were all hit with a bad case of the tummy bug . after taking turns at being sick, we are all ok again.

i made this vintage style romper with the leftover fabric from ponnu's dress..i loved making this very simple romper, so I decided to make another one and a tutorial.. will post that soon. As soon as i get the photos in order and type up the directions.. wow this tutorial thing takes a lot of time and effort :)

this is the dress that i made and ponnu did not like..she still has not worn it outside the house, she wore it for the photos because she likes matching clothes with the baby. chinnu was quite put out that she did not get one too, but I ran out of fabric. well, maybe a white blouse with a patch applique?. .we'll see..

a new dream

2009-05-12T11:38:00.003+03:00

today i was (finally) reading all the accumulated posts (in blogs that i follow via blogger), and i found this post. I have always admired Jen's photography , but to see that little cutie at six months and my own photos of amy at 6 months.. wow . what a difference .

so i'm deciding. i want to learn how to do that. that wonderful light, that amazing ambience.. i am going to learn professional photography. well, sometime in the next few years. wish me luck.

Just so this post is not without a picture, here is one from last month..

i'm done!

2009-04-23T08:54:00.006+03:00

I did it, I did it, I DID IT! YEAH! (those who watch Dora the explorer will know this happy dance:)

the playquilt is done! I used an old fleece blanket as batting and self-bound the quilt. it looks so nice, and is 35"x35" finished.

I can't beleive that I made it!I'm so proud of this! Thank you, Kim, for posting such clear instuctions with photos. If it weren't for the photos, it would not have been as easy for me. .

testing..
testing...
approved!

i'm so glad i finished this before amy started walking;) I made it, but just barely. she can crawl now!

easter

2009-04-16T01:39:00.005+03:00

i know a lot of us do not have family with us for easter. this is one of the more painful moments when we acutely miss our loved ones.

luckily, we had our cousins to share and brighten our easter celebrations. it was a wonderful day, and we watched our weddingCD again.. that brought back so many memories, and we miss you guys, our farflung family, even more.

i'm finding that life with 3 kids is hard . managing and scheduling and feeding and schooling.. sometimes loving and listening and praying and playing are put on the backburner. sometimes i just wish i could take a day off and go somewhere..but then i'd miss them all day. life here now is such chaos that every day goes by in a blur. kids get bigger in the blink of an eyelid.

amy is blossoming, growing into her personality..loving, laughing, dancing, reaching, bouncing, crawling...yes! crawling! and she is adored by her big sisters.

chinnu's ashtma symptoms are under control with singulair, she has to have a chest CT scan this month. thankfully, she has started finishing what is on her plate..provided we feed it to her. well, someway is better than no way, right?

ponnu is under a lot of pressure..new school has a faster pace than her old school and to catch up, she has to study more. sitting in one place for that long is simply not possible here, one or the other little one will be in her books at all times. she comes after amma and appa to sit with her while she studies, amma is busy and appa is exhausted after work. i am wondering how to make two extra hours in her day, when she has to wake up at 530am , go to school at 630, come back at 3pm and sleep by 9pm. well, we will find a way.

one day, i will look back at these moments and say wow, we had it so good. but till then, everything is chaos.

2009-04-13T13:59:00.004+03:00

a tiny glimpse of the person-to be....

new school

2009-03-30T09:07:00.001+03:00

waiting for the "new" bus.

is that it? no. that doesn't look like a new bus.

the kids had vacation..

2009-03-30T09:03:00.001+03:00

and thats why i got no sewing done!

amy 7 months

2009-03-30T08:56:00.000+03:00

amy is learning to scoot backwards..i keep finding her stuck under the couch. she doesnt like it that her body is going backward when she wants to go forward!

BEFORE

AFTER

2009-03-13T00:04:00.000+03:00

how cute is this? see the tutorial from goingsewcrazy here.

quilt top progress

2009-03-12T12:25:00.000+03:00

one border done, now i dont know what fabrics to use for the outer border..

prathe is making fun of me.. he says by the time i finish this quilt, amy will be up and walking! in my heart i think he's right. but dont tell him i said that!

amy has another cold again. it is tough living with two kids carrying in all the germs from school. ponnu and chinnu are finishing up this year, we are planning to transfer them to another school for next year. i had half a mind to pack up and go to india for a vacation, but the kids get only ten days leave. the logistics aint worth it. ponnu is totally against leaving the current school, she thinks she will have to learn evrything in first grade all over again. once we cleared that up, she did not want to lose her current friends..chinnu loved the new school when we went there to visit. she keeps asking "can i go there tomorrow? "

after a few sandstorms, the winter and cold have left for good. the days are hot, the nights warm. we are finally taking the comforter off our bed. i hope this weather stays for a couple of months..before it becomes scorching hot and we have to live with fulltime A/C .

i made these!

2009-02-25T16:36:00.001+03:00

ignore the goofy smiles, we were having a funny face contest.

i made ponnu's dress in the clasic peasant top pattern, lengthened to make a dress and full sleeves. very easy, just threaded elastic through a casing at the neck , sewed the elastic directly at sleeve end, loops for a sash, gathers at the hem.

chinnus dress was a bit more complicated, but i went with tanya whelan's free ruffled skirt pattern, and just added a lined bodice instead of a waistband.

kiddos are pleased. well, that was my intention, right?

infant potty training

2009-02-25T13:03:00.001+03:00

I chanced upon this article today, and I was thinking that even in countries where diapers are the norm, they try. Infant potty training was a normal thing in Kerala where i was born. Newborns had nappies made of squares of cloth, and around three months, a
caregiver (someone in the vicinity-mothers, grandmothers, maids) would put the baby over their feet and they would 'go'.

Backtracking here, not long ago, in kerala, expectant moms would go from her husband's house to her parents' house for birthing. This journey, usually accompanied by a ceremony, would be in the 7th month of pregnancy. From then on, she could relax in her parents home and be taken care of. She has a special diet rich in proteins and green leafy vegetables, she will have ayurvedic medicines to prepare for birth, and she has a readymade support structure after birth.

After birth of the baby, the new mom will have ritual baths involving massages and medicated oils, more ayurvedic medicines to increase milk supply, ward off anemia, special foods to make fat and mineral stores for roughly 2 years of breastfeeding . Beansprouts,whole lamb soup , desi ghee, fenugreek, fresh coconut, etc were spewcially prepared for the new mother. The newborn would sleep in a cloth hammock hung from the roof, covered by a light muslin dress that covered only the front. The climate in kerala is always hot and humid, so this is ok.

So, I went rambling there. I promise, i am getting to the potty training part. The tiny infant was bathed every morning, after the air had warmed..around 10 am. Before the bath, he has an oil massage. After the massage, he is laid down on (let's say postpartum doula for the sake of clarity.actually , a usually old lady trained in massaging the new mom and baby, and skilled in babycare..) the doula's feet. baby's body on her legs, bum at her ankles, almost like he's sitting in a chair and he's free to pee or poo without hitting anything. Amazingly, all these babies poo at this time, before their bath. During the day, he is in the hammock, pee just falls through to the floor below and and onto a rag lying there.

see, no diapers at all. Once baby hit the 28 day mark, his father and the whole extended family will visit . This visit is accompanied by a ceremony of tying a hip chain on the baby. When the baby gets to 90 days old, there is a ceremony marking it and mother and baby were dispatched off to her husband's place , the new mother now armed with a lot of hands-on babycare skill.

In this period that she spent in her own parents place, she is not obliged to cook, or clean, or do anything except take care of the baby so by 3 months, she is really attuned to baby's cues and confident of her mothering skills.. this was invaluable in the era before telephones or the internet.

hey, i am not from that era, though my parents were. The very first newborn i ever held was my own, so mom tried her level best to teach me at least the basics of babycare before i left home with the said newborn after two months. Flash forward to amy.

With babe-of-4-weeks in my arms, i flew to Doha because the older girls could not miss more class. Having many things to do, i decide to let sleeping babies lie..just put a pampers on and remember to change it... and, it was winter, i can hardly put her in a muslin!

Fast forward again. At 6 months, she has not spent one full hour without a disposable diaper, after we left kerala. Suddenly, the rash i have ben seeing on her shoulder is red and matching rashes form in her diaper area. Seeing it spreading, we consult a dermatologist. "It is not fungal", he says after testing. "Just baby eczema." he prescribed the usual . I am convinced that she is allergic to the stage 1 wheat I fed her last week. So before applying any medicine, I discontinue that. My friend, a gifted homeopath, suggests oil massage before bath, a good moisturiser after, and that she go diaper free.

Diaper free?! I look out the window..it is spring. Where has winter gone? Anyway, perfect weather for IPT. So i pull out all the tiny bloomers and little Tshirts that dont have snaps at the diaper--no hanging tails to get wet. The first day, she pees in every little bloomer i have. pooed in the thick aio that takes so long to dry. In the night, I put her in a disposable diaper, and load up the washer.It is such a tiny load, full of teeny knickers. The second day, i remember to put her in poo position after the oil massage and guess what? she did it!!

So these days, she is diaper free in the daytime. After a few days, I am remembering old methods of predicting when she has to pee. I have a much smaller load of disposables to throw away, her rash is looking better, without medication, and i dont even have a big load of laundry.

if you want to know more about elimination communication (aslo called infant potty training), you can go here or here. or http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/

Did you have experiences with baby eczema? if so, i'd love to hear them. please comment.

Has anyone tried infant potty training?

amy is 6 months old

2009-02-23T10:07:00.000+03:00

amy just turned six months old.. so we had a photoshoot.

pretty miss..

sitting up for a few seconds,

rolling over in cramped spaces,

playing with her leg, eating her leg,

having fun in the sun

yesterday, i opened the 6-12 months box of hand-me downs, so there are lots of pretty clothes to choose from now! thats one good thing about having big sisters :)

amy was such a quiet child, never even fussing unless she is hungry. she has been discovering her hands, trying to eat her toes, and the latest is she's starting to be interested in toys. if i give her a teether, she turns it this way and that, inspects it from all angles, and then puts it in her mouth. then promptly pulls it out, drops it on the floor and starts screaming until someone retrieves it.. seems like the quiet child is gone..she's very vocal now. well, she needs it, seeing she is the youngest. needs something to capture attention, right?

sewing news, the quilt top needs four corners, i am having a lot of trouble deciding on fabrics for the border. i made two dresses for the big girls, forgot to take photos.. will do it once they are back from school. ponnu did not like my original choice of fabric, so i had to stop one after it was almost finished..the girl wants full sleeves! in spring! after i was telling her all winter to put on something with full sleeves...NOW she listens !!

blog wanderings

2009-02-19T09:52:00.000+03:00

today i found that teresa got a stash of tanya whelan fabric.. that took me around the net for some fabric goodness, i reached hancocks of paducah..they have a pretty site. after inhaling the goegeous fabrics for more time than i should, i visited the grandrevival blog and sat there reading it..far into the archives. from there i saw some wonderful blogs, like jenn's and jona's, full of wonderful pictures, inspiring designs and these girls are just so dang cool!! blame blogging for making it feel like i've made lots of new wonderfully crafty friends.
so if lunch today is ramen noodles with frozen veg on the side, dont blame me..blame ima le arba ;)

2009-02-17T17:06:00.000+03:00

it takes time and two hands to write a blog.. takes only time to read other blogs. so i was reading a lot, sewing, cooking, and cuddling amy. thats all that i did in the past month..oh yeah, i went out for a lunch once. even with this self-induced isolation, i did not have enough time to help ponnu with her homework or play with chinnu or sit down and do a craft together.

these days are really fun.. wake up at 5:30, wake ponnu, get her fed and on the bus.. send prathe off to office, wake chinnu, park her in front of cartoons with a glass of milk till she actually wakes up, get her dressed ,fed and onto her bus. then wake amy, feed her, bathe her, take a shower myself, then play with her till she falls asleep.( ha ha, that phrase sounds funny) then surf the net(thats the most time consuming chore;)), do some sewing, cook lunch, prep dinner, fold the laundry, and the kids come back. then we all have lunch. this takes about an hour because chinnu wont eat by herself without constant prompting..(those who have seen her will know this is true) by this time prathe is home. then the kids go out to play with the neighbors kids. evening, they comeback, hit the showers, do their homework, wind down a bit (a loooong time) while i cook dinner , feed amy her daily solids, put her to bed and by that time it is past 8. somehow we get the older ones fed and off to bed, and we stay up a while longer.. then do it all over again the next day. weekends there is shopping, and church.. and i get even less things done. thankfully, its takeout on weekends.

my brain is going haywire. problem is that i dont stick to a schedule..so everything is late. once things are late, i get stressed. once i am stressed, everybody knows it. how do other mothers-of-three manage?

pinwheels done!

2009-02-11T10:31:00.001+03:00

all done...

these are all 16 blocks.. pinwheels done, ironing too.

as i did not have a rotary cutter and ruler, i used kei's tutorial to square my pinwheels to 6".

yes there are wonky pinwheels, it had to happen on the black ones!

here they are , all arranged on point. now to stitch them together.

2009-01-27T12:04:00.000+03:00

all triangles made.. now press them, bulk towards darker side.

a sample pinwheel..hmm i like!

now i have to square up and sew...mumble grumble....would have been soo much easier if i had a rotary cutter and mat.. hmm let me think of alternate ways to get there without all that fuss.

a new day

2009-01-27T10:58:00.001+03:00

at last! everyone's finished with the flu and out of the house. its just me and amy now, and amy is taking her nap..so time to bring out the sewing machine..expect updated fotos on the ycmt quilt soon. i'm just starting to make the triangles, then have to press, trim and square it up. fun!!! uh, lets see.

after the flu

2009-01-25T01:15:00.000+03:00

everyone caught the flu.. appa, amma, ponnu, chinnu and amy. fever, cough, cold, wheezing, ER visits, antibiotics, antihistamines, antipyretics.. well, you get the idea. and so, the computer stayed off.

so did everything else but food and rest. and work for dear hubs, coz he has a deadline to finish 3 peoples' work..3 people who did not care about the deadline and submitted unfinished work one week prior for "finishing and polishing".. so he is spending days and nights trying to make some sense of each - on top of fever and chills and sinusitis.

amy's sitting well when propped up, but not that interested in rolling over. trying to sit up straight from the bed.

the three girls. one has fever, the other is wheezing, baby just got out of one whole week of flu. does not look like all that, right?

2009-01-18T15:40:00.000+03:00

today i sat at the computer and browsed my favourite haunts..and guess what, i'm not the only one feeling blue! in fact trent at the simple dollar wrote a post with the exact same sentiment..a feeling of wanting to curl up somewhere and hide from the world. he went shopping, guess what i did?

i made this:

one new kurta top. yes, i know it is a fuzzy pic, i posted this picture so that you wont get to see the model in all her unwashed glory.

i dont remember the whole process - i was 'zoned in'. this is a knockoff of an old top i had, from which i traced the pattern for this new top. i wanted it longer, so i added 3 inches... the funny thing is, i had not prewashed the fabric (i never do) and the top shrunk in the wash. to the exact length of the 'original' top...God has a wicked sense of humour.

and by the way, the hem does not curve up in the middle. thats my tummy, that i am slowly gaining 4 months after the baby was born. that i plan to push back in by the time amy is one. so i did not give extra allowance in the center front of the top.

note to self: consider it a reminder..dont finish the chocolate cake all by myself..

ycmt quilt

2009-01-18T12:59:00.001+03:00

my progress on the quilt.. all squares cut, matched, now to sew the patches.

totally sad today

2009-01-17T22:33:00.000+03:00

today has been the bluest of all days for me. for one thing, i am stuck in the house, coz the baby is sick and i dont want to expose her to more cold weather, chinnu is wheezing again, prathe is still working on that office thing and totally out of the house..comes home to eat, then run off again. ponnu had a storytelling competition at sunday school and she told noah's story.. obviously with only 2 days planning. now i know that she isnt bilingual at all.. of course she can understand english and malayalam, but if you tell her to speak, it quickly becomes obvious that she has big gaps in the vocabulary of both languages. it doesnt help my mood any that i know i'm the reason for those gaps..if only i was more talkative, she would know more words. i totally miss having extended family around..

our cordless phone is broken, so i have to sit in one place to call someone. everyone knows how difficult that is with a sick amy and a sick chinnu and all the chores too. so i cant sit down to talk to anyone, and havent called anyone in almost 4 months..except home to india. life is becoming more lonely..thats my fault too..if only i had kept up contact with everyone...

feels like years went by after christmas..now its just me and the kids and nothing else..totally missing my dear hubs and his presence..these days its like "hi, chinnu is running a fever, bye". he will have his semester break soon..so there is light at the end of this tunnel.

no one writes to me..my inbox has nothing but newsletters..my old friends have new friends now. seems like todays the day for me to be sad.

amy's in a a growth spurt..so i'm totally 'touched out'...all moms will know what that means. i need a break. but i wont get any, because ponnu has a test tomorrow, chinnu needs me to hold her hand while she sleeps, tomorrow there is school so there's laundry to do, meals to plan, a whole house to clean.

well, tomorrow is a brand new day. hope this feeling gets better.

2009-01-09T12:57:00.000+03:00

I've been following flylady's "babysteps" for a long while now, so when I saw a ycmt babysteps quiltalong, i had to join in. There are a lot of scraps from all the clothes I made for the girls, and new fabric is just sitting there because I dont have much time to sew with the kiddos competing for attention. Amy is just starting to roll over, and i want a playquilt for her , made from scraps of her big sisters' clothes. The first step seems super simple, so i'm sure i can make the time!

The 'one post a day' resolution is already broken, now i'm going for 'at least one post in a week'. Let me see if i can do that:)

Amy is in the middle of a nasty flu right now, so guys, we need prayers!

2009-01-04T00:09:00.000+03:00

today is saturday. holiday for everyone in the house. things are finally winding down at 1 a.m. will try to get up earlier tomorrow. I hope amy cooperates...

new year celebrations

2009-01-04T00:00:00.000+03:00

Happy new year!

well, skipped post on the 2nd. I was busy, tried to host a formal lunch for 5 people,(including us), and decided i wont try that again without proper backup. lunch was served at 3pm, and at least the victims said it tasted good :) now, a picture.

yeehaaa! amy rolled over! (from the blanket to the carpet) and did it continuously till she got tired of the whole thing and slept.

happy new year

2009-01-01T14:11:00.000+03:00

new year..nothing new here.

making some resolutions..for the first time in my lfe.

1.blog everyday

2. think before i speak

well, those are the first two. we'll see.

ഫമില്യ്ഫോടോ 08

2008-12-19T22:42:00.000+03:00

അവസാനം ഒരു നല്ല ചിത്രം

2008-09-20T01:22:00.000+03:00

lots of pictures to show, but no usb cord to get them to this pc. i'll upload them soon!

amy is 28 days old today.. time went by so fast. ponnu is still at tvm, chinnu looking a lot better and running around at kottayam, prathe working so hard in doha, and me, i am dreading going back to "work".

2008-09-05T15:45:00.000+03:00

2008-09-02T08:32:00.000+03:00

been resting at kottayam after amy's birth. she spends most of daytime sleeping,to make up for all the time she spends awake at night. fortunately, i dont have much to do except rest, so i get time to catch up on my sleep:)

chinnu has been completely given into the care of deepachechy, who takes care of kunjamma. so she is running around the house,helping to do all the work, cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, and all the while talking and eating..really, she seems to have gained a kilo or two. daddy is worried about her wheezing, and she is still on medication, her condition seems to be improving too slowly. guys,we need prayers!

ponnu is with papa and mummy at tvm, where jullin mamma and kochu panju are still there.they will go on the 4th, then she will be alone with appacho and ammachi. its the first time ponnu is staying without appa and amma for such a long time, but i guess all the one-on-one time will be good for her before becoming chechi to 2 little ones.

2008-09-02T08:25:00.000+03:00

restarting the blog with a happy news..

Amy(M-E) Treasa Joseph, born 22 august,2008

so,in order to show off the fotos, i will be posting more often.

chinnus first day of school

2008-04-09T13:24:00.000+03:00

chinnu went to school, i sat at home with dread in my heart..

will she like it?

will she hate it?

will she be afraid?

will she miss her(sob!) amma?

i couldnt bear it.. so i went out, went to the supermarket, bought icecream, and ate it(he he).

then i tried to cook and clean and all that, waiting impatiently for my scared and crying baby to come home.

here comes the schoolbus!

I run to the bus, there comes ponnu, where is chinnu? did she fall asleep in the bus? the 'conductor' looks at me quizzically as i frantically look around the bus..where is she? there! she is....(pause for dramatic effect) playing with the driver! yeah, the same driver uncle that ponnu talks about so much..they have come to be such good friends on the first day itself.

and here she comes, skipping down the steps of the bus, her hair out of her ponytail, , looking like huckleberry finn..overlarge pinafore making her look so small and cute(hey, i can say that, i'm her mom), and says "amma, chinnu tiffin finish cheythu!" no tears, not homesick, just another day of school.

pinne, school visheshangal..

amme, avide oru big girl karayuvaarunnu, (hey, everyone looks big from her point of view)

amme, ma'm enikku blue color olla kunjuvavene thannu..

ponnus comment: "njan LKGil aarunnappam avide kunjuvava onnum illarunnallo."

amme chinnu snowwhite-ne varachu. gets a scrunched-up, rolled up paper from her bag."ammene kaanikkan vendi chinnunte ma'm thannu vittathaa. (picture includes 'snow white,' a boy figure and a flower.)

"chinnu, ithentha?"

" athoru bad boy-ya. "

and today, woke up, did everything, got ready and just went up into the bus without even a "bye".

ponnu yesterday went to dance class(in school itself, during class hours.. i dont know if thats a permanent thing or just for the first week of the year), and the teacher there taught everyone the classical "vandanam".

later, when appa asked her what she learned in that class:" malayalam dance"!

chinnu's off to school

2008-04-08T09:55:00.000+03:00

awww my baby's off to school.........

she's too small for her uniform, and more than a little afraid, but she went like a trooper and did not cry either!

now to see if this bravado lasts till tomorrow.

2008-03-31T17:09:00.000+03:00

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/family/specialfeature/aprilfools-food-pranks-ms/

great ideas.. check it out:+)

ponnu graduated!

2008-03-26T19:35:00.000+03:00

well, thats the diploma.

this is a performance, just a cute foto, no ponnu.

2008-03-12T10:31:00.000+03:00

hey!!

happy new year, everyone!

so sorry its the 12th of march, not exactly a good time for that greeting. . well, i was busy! not really. i was visiting some of the amazing blogs other ppl write. if you have time like i do, visit some of these:

pinspinners http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/2006/04/pinspinners.html

montesori by hand http://montessoribyhand.blogspot.com/search/label/practical%20life

portabello pixie http://portabellopixie.typepad.com/portabellopixie/

ponnu and chinnu are now enjoying the return of warm weather, waiting to see if today the pool is warm enough to go swimming. ponnu is reeeally excited to be part of the "graduation day" song. (i send my kid to school, heave a sigh of relief, and whoa she's graduating next week!! i guess no parent had to do this so fast...(snicker)) and now, here, the next one is ready to go off to school already!

i am coughing my throat off , i am sick with "instant flu" one of those viruses that give you the full '"sardi, sar dard, badan dard" in 4 hours...and go to "sinusitis, bronchitis, pulmonery arthritis" (err, you get the drift) in the next 12 hours.

finally, to wind down this post, one good shot of ..

me!

oh i loooove this pic.. makes me look so much better than i really am:)

of course, you all know the amazing guy who took this foto.

and that teeny head near the corner is chinnu.

have fun!

chinnus birthday

2007-12-02T14:25:00.000+03:00

can she blow 3 candles?

yes, she can!

now its everyone else's turn..

chinnu and manna .. born 2 weeks apart.
he is good at expressions..

all the chechis at the party.

ponnu's annual day

2007-12-02T14:17:00.000+03:00

the actual dance

ready and waiting..

we have red nailpolish!!

view from the back

around our house..

2007-12-02T13:11:00.000+03:00

playing with kevin

outside in the playground

the view from our road
some fotos of our apartment complex...

2007-11-17T11:00:00.001+03:00

long time, no post. so these are some fotos from october:

kids all ready for keralotsavam

this was long before ponnu fell and hit her chin.

ponnu's program in the keralotsavam..

waiting to start, just after the bharatanatyam.

kiddos posing at home, not long after waking up.

eid vacation photos:

2007-10-19T22:21:00.000+03:00

day 1 - went to city center mall.

day 2- got kiddos to cook

day 3 - took them to play at the mall

day 4- ponnu was bored, so she baked a cake and wrote N on it

day 5- went to sanddunes, and then to the beach.

day 6 - went to the food festival at church.. a lot of people, the out doors are hot..

day 7 - taught ponnu to shoot pictures..

day 8- went to see fireworks..

2007-08-27T23:56:00.000+03:00

goa vacation.. good or bad? it was Wonderful..

it was rainy, so there was no hot sun to bother with,
it was off season, so there was no long q's at the restaurant to bother with,
it was in the middle of a field, so there were no vehicle sounds/smoke to bother with,
it was near the sea, so there was no packing the beach things to bother with,
the people were so friendly, the places are so green,
buffaloes and dogs and frogs and goats,
maruti omnis and picking shells on the beach..
old regal churches, chapels and crosses,
blue seas, soft waves, life's all peaches..

running in the rain, on a beach by the sea:)
its worth catching a cold just for that feeling free.

all of us were together, so watching kids was a breeze,
the restaurant was good, so the girls liked what they ate.

kids learned these few things from the trip:

for a cold to be gone, go swimming in the pool,
if another wave comes,
watch out! its gonna go in your nose.
(coz youre sitting in the water already:)

2007-08-27T23:45:00.000+03:00

HAPPY ONAM, EVERYONE!

kottayam

2007-08-18T02:45:00.000+03:00

appa, nokkikke, meenondu!
we went to kottayam, and this is a thodu from near our tharavadu.

ponnu chinnu near some kutti vaazhas.. above the ktm house.

we'd gone out for a walk, and now the sun is shining after so many rainy days. at least it has washed away all the dust in the leaves..so the trees are green again.