T-Shirts Dress Project.

Since my saga with the aprons is all done and finished, I’ll update my project for the month of Dec. I already hinted that it has to do with giving & charity. Well here it is. I have decided to sew and donate T-Shirts dresses.

Initially I had planned to make these dresses and donate it to girls in Africa through the group ‘Mothers Without Border’......but, then I thought of my friend Evelet Sequeira in Mumbai. Her job as a doctor in 'UNICEF' allows her to travel to the far off villages in India. Evelet has graciously volunteered to donate the dresses on my behalf to the children there. Since this is my personal donation, I have until Dec 31st to sew about 10-15 dresses. So far I have made two of them and I am shopping for more materials. What can I say......I LOVE SHOPPING !!!!!

This is what the dresses look like:

Aprons are here

I was finally able to finish the photo shoot...:) of the aprons with the help of my two friends. They graciously volunteered to do the assignment. Thank you guys!!!!!

Here are the images. I hope you have as much fun viewing them, as I had making them.

All the above aprons have cotton blend fabric with vinyl lining in the back.

 

I made this apron a little bit different. I used a silk fabric and lined it with black cotton lining. I am going to call it my  "Diva Apron". Anyone who loves cooking and entertaining guests & having all the fabulous parties...this one is for you. I, for one will be using this to bring out the cooking Diva in me.  Smiles & more smiles.

December Project

Okay...now that all the festive occasions are over, it is time to reveal my project for the month of December. I am really, really excited about this project. Since this time of the year is all about giving, I thought about doing a something that involves words like 'Charity & Donation'. I still have to workout out some of the details. I will come up with an update next week. So please look forward to it.

As for my Apron project....I assure you I have not forgotten about it. All 10 Aprons are ready. I am looking for Size 0 models to show it off. Anyone interested????

The first one

Okay, so I have finished sewing nine aprons. Not bad for 15 days of work. I will be posting pictures of them in the next couple of days as right now I don't have the time. I am really, really busy with all the Diwali preparations. As for my tenth apron, I have run out of fabric...so I have to shop and hopefully I will complete it and post the pictures along with the others.

In the meantime, I am going to at least write up about first apron. As usual when I don't have things at home, I improvise. In this case I did not have draft paper, so I used a gift wrapping paper to draw up the pattern for the apron.

I pinned it and cut out the pattern on the fabric with an inch of allowance on all sides except the top....

I used the same method to cut out the pattern on the vinyl sheet too which I was using as a lining. The reason for this is......I use an apron  mostly while I am loading the dishwasher. I hate it when the fabric apron gets all wet after I am done. I searched all the stores for an apron with vinyl lining but could not find any.... Its either the fabric or the vinyl. So I decided to make my own. Now, I have the beauty of the fabric on the front side and the functionality of the vinyl on the back.

I will call this particular apron my lazy version of the same. That is because I wanted to finish it really quickly. So all I did  was, I stitched the wrong sides together and kept 4" opening on the top. Inverted it to the right side from the opening and smoothed it out all the way. I then sewed the straps, without really measuring...just eyeballing it. I attached the straps to both the sides near the waist and then both sides around the neck area and finished it with a top-stitch all around.Voila here it is...

Except for the sewing part I have repeated these steps eight more times.

On a side note I would like to add that I am not going to do any project for the month of November. I won't be free because of Diwali and Thanksgiving. In the meantime watch out this space for the pictures of the aprons.

Aprons

My project for this month is going to be aprons. Not one but ten. No, I am not crazy. Sometimes I just like to challenge myself. I have about 15 days to finish 10 aprons...Let me see if I can do it.

Cafe Curtain Adventures

Before I give any update about my cross stitch project, I have to tell you all about my 'Cafe Curtain Adventures'. Since I added the back-splash in my kitchen, the existing curtain started looking like a rag. Thus started my adventure.

What started as a one day project eventually ended up with three days' worth of work. The fabric that I chose was sheer. It had all the colors that matched with the accent tiles on the back-splash. So I decided to bold it up and pair with  red lining to create a dramatic effect.

What was I thinking? For some reason, I  imagined Simon Cowell of 'American Idol' judging the panels as "Ghastly" & "Horrendous".

Anyway I removed the lining of both the panels. I decided to go for the sheer look. I went ahead and fixed them up with some grommets to run through the rod. When I held it up against the window I was not at all impressed with the look. It just did not work. 

Finally I removed the grommets.....sewed both the edges....hooked on some curtain rings & guess what?? I liked the way they looked. It allows enough light to come through without being obstructive and given its sheer factor I can look out the window and have a beautiful view of my neighbor's homes ..:)

 

Surf Board contest.

Few weeks back our local library held a 'Decorate The Surf Board' contest. To keep my 8 yr old busy I told her to participate. She started with lot of enthusiasm, but slowly lost interest. In order to motivate her I promised her, that if she completes and submits her artwork on time, I will mention it in my blog.

Slowly but surely after a week of drawing she completed and submitted her artwork just before the closing time. I have to admit...her hard work paid off. She was one of the winners of the contest. Congrats T.....I am so proud of you.

Perfectionist

Few years back one of my English Professor had asked me if I was a perfectionist. In my mind at that time I had laughed it off. I felt I was far from being a perfectionist. I lacked the discipline and like everything else in life, being perfect is an acquired art....

Now, I realize that my Professor was right.....When it involves certain activities I am absolutely & 100% a perfectionist. Maybe that is the reason I am having so much difficulty with this particular project. My self-inflicted deadline for this project is July 28th and I am way behind schedule.

I have about 30 to 40 boxes to embroider and I am stuck at box # 1. Below is a preview of the box which I have started and is still incomplete.

It has been three weeks since I started this project and I am still stuck with box #1. I cannot tell you how many times I must have removed and re-stitched the whole thing...WHY?? ...because I don't want to see any mistakes. Not only do I want the front side of the embroidery perfect, I am frantically obsessed with getting the wrong side of it perfect as well. The problem though is my lack of practice. I think it takes years of practice to end up with such sophisticated needlework. I have to be honest....I am no where near the level of Mrs. Restrepo...

The wrong side of fabric of Mrs. Restrepo's work

My amateurish attempt of recreating the same

So with heavy heart I have convinced myself to abandon my pursuit of perfecting the wrong side. Instead, I decided to focus on completing project itself.

View of the Sheesh Mahal Wall Decor

Finally I got back the wall decor. I must say it looks good. Taking a photo of it however was a bit difficult. Even with the flash off, I got some light bouncing off the mirror pieces... Anyway here it is...

Note: Even though my husband did not build me a Sheesh Mahal or for that matter this wall decor....he did hammer some nails on to the wall to hold it....

Next project...

I finally gave my wall decor for framing at ARTS & FRAMES in East Windsor. The Sales Associate was extremely helpful and suggested variety of options. Of course it has set me back by about $200. He told me it will be ready in 6 - 10 days....Still waiting.

Since I am so impatient I have decided to start  my next project. This project is really very simple, involving needlework.....cross-stitch to be very specific. I think the last time I did any kind of embroidery, was in college when I would embelish my dresses.

One of the reason for doing this project is my neighbor's mom Mrs. Dora Restrepo. Last summer when Mrs. Restrepo had visited her daughter(my neighbor), she was kind enough to show me her work. She showed me the table cloth that she had just completed with designs of roses. Her work absolutely blew me off. I could not believe that someone had done that by hand. It was so neat and it looked like it was woven in a machine. I remember mentioning to her that the fabric she used was not available here in the US.... So when she came back again in winter she got me a piece of that fabric...all the way from Colombia. I thought it was really kind of her to do that.Well Mrs.Restrepo.. Thanks to you...I am inspired to take up needlework again.

Frames

Currently I am shopping around for frames for my Sheesh Mahal wall decor. I did not realize how expensive framing can be here.. The quotes I am getting are simply ridiculous. Lets just say....for that price, I can easily buy a 30" flat screen TV...OMG...What was I thinking??? Well, anyway looks like I will be spending another weekend shopping for other framing options. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Grouting completed.

Look at what I have done. Messed it up...no just kidding...






I finally finished grouting the whole thing yesterday. Took me about 4 hours. I have to allow the grout to set for 48 hrs and then seal it with a grout sealer. Then I have to paint the borders and if possible next week give it for framing. As soon as I am done with that I will upload the image. Until then I have to be patient.

Done

Finally I finished gluing all the pieces on to the board. I have to wait 24 hrs for them to set in. Tomorrow I will begin the process of cleaning and grouting. I think I will be done with this project by this weekend.

Sneak-Peak

Still working on it... Here is a sneak-peak.

Last couple of weeks

Since last couple of weeks I have been on the 'Mom & Homemaker' mode completely. I have been overly and exhaustively busy. Here are some of the activities I have been busy with:

•  Since the start of spring my soccer mom duties have officially started. Soccer practices, games, swimming and hindi classes have pretty much taken over my life. Waiting for summer break to do the happy dance.

• The weather for most part has been wonderful. I am having a great time gardening. The only downside to the gardening is all the bugs & earthworms that I encounter. I am not a very worm, insect or bug friendly person...yuck. 

• My front lawn is adorned with beautiful flowers. All the annuals I planted last year came back. It  is a mystery I cannot understand. They have inspired me to reconnect with my camera after a long time. I am glad that some pushing from my DH towards that direction has also helped. 

• I was also busy with the some renovation work being done in our kitchen. I wanted to have back splash installed in the kitchen. Shopping for the tiles was time consuming as I had to make couple of trips to home improvement and tile specialty stores. Eventually I found these beautiful olive glass tiles in Home Depot... had to go to 4 of them because they did not have enough tiles in stock. Found the other accent glass tiles from a tile specialty store in Edison. Below are the pictures. For all of you who jumped the gun to think that I installed these...wait...I would like to correct you..... I just designed it. Installation was done by a professional. Good or bad..let me know what you think.

Before:

After:

In conclusion:

As a result of being so busy I have not had the time to even glance at the Sheesh Mahal project....

I am not making any excuses. Infact I am going down to my basement right now.

Confusion

It's been too long since my last update. I have been busy working on the project. I think I will be working this project well until mid May. It is a very laborious project and a pain in the neck. I mean that literally...every morning I wake up with a stiff neck. On top of that, in my craziness I committed to sew 5 aprons. My dear hubby knocked some sense into me and advised me to finish one project at time. He told me not to rush this thing & to take my time, cause so far it has turned out well and he did not want me to mess it.

I also wanted to clear all the confusion occurring in the minds of my friends. Some wanted to know if I am building the real Sheesh Mahal...I would rather bungee jump than attempt something like that.

No, I am creating a mosaic wall decor (wall hanging) made of all broken mirrors inspired by the Sheesh Mahal. The space on the wall above the couch area in my living room is empty. I need something to occupy that space. Here is a see-thru.

Incomplete

So it is official. March came and went, and I was unable to finish the Sheesh Mahal project on time. I am still hunting for materials.  It is so frustrating. According to our guide at the Amer Fort...the materials for the Sheesh Mahal, especially the mirror pieces were imported from Belgium. So,  it was easier for the Maharaja to get all the materials from far off places in the 17th century, than it is for me. Even with all the progress that we have made since then, I am having trouble finding small golden glass pieces today. So my new deadline for this project is April 30th.

In the meantime I have decided to start with the a new project for the month of April. Being aware of my habits, I did not want to give myself any time to waste. So for this month's project, I will be sewing aprons. Five of them. My  current Apron is on its deathbed....waiting for a proper burial at a landfill somewhere. I need 2 aprons for myself...while the other 3 are just for challenge purpose. I want to see if I can finish the Sheesh Mahal project and 5 aprons by the end of April...

No End in Sight

I got my last shipment of golden glass tiles yesterday. I had ordered the tiles from a dealer online. I have to say the shipment process from this particular dealer was very, very efficient. It took maybe 3 days for me to receive the tiles from the date of placing the order. However, a big however....I can't use those tiles. They are not the color I need. I need dark golden tiles to use for the borders. These tiles are nowhere close to that.

So off to Michael's I have to go again. I have run out of ideas. Maybe I can find something in Michael's that I can improvise with.

Crossing my fingers.........

Update on the Sheesh Mahal project

I am afraid I will not be able to complete this project on time. I realize it was very ambitious of me to undertake this project. I received part of my supplies of scrap glass. I have to individually break them by hand to make smaller pieces. All 7 lbs of them. I have also placed an order online for the glass tiles that I need to use for the borders. It will take another 4 to 5 days to arrive.

In the meantime I am having the time of my life breaking glass. It is a huge stress buster. Here is a peek-a-boo of my work so far. Enjoy

Naive Self

I knew while starting this project, that it is not going to be easy. I assumed I would get all the supplies in Michaels, Walmart or JoAnns. OH man....I was so naive.

I need mirror tiles, glass tiles, glass gems (pebbles) etc. I need these supplies by the pounds....but these arts & craft stores have them either in pieces or in ounces.  I have been checking online stores and Ebay too for supplies.  I don't like to order these things online as I like to see and feel the stuff that I am buying. I have very specific things I am looking for with regards to the size, colors and  weight. You cannot do that online.  Plus these stores charge an arm and leg for the shipping costs.

On a positive note after a lot of searching, I found a dealer online who had the glass pieces I needed....so I ordered about 7 lbs of those.  I hope I get them within the next week. I found the piece of plywood I was looking for in Home Depot and had that cut to 20" x 48". I am planning to hang this wall decor in my living room above the couch...so it had to be of that specific size.

I still need a lot of supplies...I may have to spend this rainy and stormy weekend hunting for those in the local stores again. Wish me luck. I have this deep feeling that I am not going to finish this project by March 30th.

The only thing that I have done so far is sketch the pattern on the board.

The Big Reveal

I know, I had promised to reveal my next project on Mar 1st...but guess what? I was very very busy. Doing What???

Well after completing all the necessary housework, I started watching TV. Then I spent 3 hours watching 'The Real Housewives of New York'. You see I had missed the last season's episodes...so I tried to catch up. I also spent the next day watching reruns of ‘The Real Housewives of OC’.

No, I am not a fan of the shows, but somehow I have to admit that it is addicting. What can I say…These reality shows are better scripted than the scripted shows. SHAME ON ME for having wasted my two days.

Anyway now that I have confessed let me proceed to reveal my next project. Last December, I had traveled to Jaipur with my whole family. It is a city in Rajasthan, India. One of the places we visited and which was really memorable to me was the Amber Fort (also known as Amer Fort). It was memorable for two reasons:

First --- the SHEESH MAHAL 
Second --- my fall at the end of the tour and the twisted & sprained ankle that I suffered as a result of that.

I will not write about the fall, but I will write about Sheesh Mahal. It is located within the Amber Fort. If you literally translate it --- it means Palace of Mirrors. Actually it is more of a large hall whose walls and ceilings are decorated with thousands of tiny mirrors. The details in this hall are very intricate and spectacular. It was built for the Queens by the Maharaja. The fort was built in the 16th century and completed by the 18th century. I was really amazed and mesmerized by all the workmanship involved in creation of this beautiful piece of architecture. I can only imagine what it must have looked like in those days...in all its glory. I remember telling my DH that he has to build me a Sheesh Mahal too. After all I am his queen.

After my return back to US, I just was not able to forget about it. As a result of this blog, I got an idea to create a wall décor inspired by Sheesh Mahal.I will give more details tomorrow. In the meantime enjoy the pics.

Taking a break

For my next project, I will take a break for a week. Instead of starting right away, I thought it will be better to start on March 1st.

During this break I am planning to clean out and organize my basement.....especially my work area. My kids take out all my stuff from the arts & crafts cabinets and don't bother to put it back...I can't find the things I need when I need it.....I am sure most of you moms must be suffering from this too and can understand my plight.

For the next project....I have an idea in my head. Frankly speaking this project really scares me, as I have never done it before...never handled anything remotely familiar. It will be challenging, therefore I have planned to research it well.

Along with research online, I have to make a trip to the local library and see if I can get my hands on some crafting books. I am also planning to go to Michael's today.... I have to checkout and see if they have the necessary supplies. They are the biggest arts & crafts store....I am sure they will have it.

Hopefully all of you join me on March 1st for the big reveal. Take care.

I did it...Yay!!!

Yep. I met my deadline last night. It was a mad dash.....actually to the finish line...... Yeah I know...Winter Olympics is going on so I am in that spirit. It was not without hiccups though. Yesterday when I was working on the ottoman, I was very cool about the whole thing. I thought it was going to take about an hour at the most. All I had to do was staple the fabric to the wood using the Staple gun. What I did not realize is, the wood was not a piece of thin plywood, but actually 1/2" particle board. The pins from the staple gun just would not penetrate through the board.

So after careful thought, I decided to use nails. Fortunately for me I had some nails lying around in my husband's toolbox. After hammering my fingers several times I was able to nail all sides of the fabric to the board. I have to say the corners are the most difficult to secure. I was also simultaneously directing my three year old to take pictures of me hammering. I think she did a pretty good job. Oh one more thing...I also had to rush upstairs to the bathroom cause I had accidently superglued my fingers while trying to glue the fabric to the board just wanted to make it nice and neat. 

                                                      Here it is all nicely finished  

I screwed the ottoman cushion back to its wooden frame and that part was easy.....

Wiped RC properly as it had collected quite a bit of dust.....and piece by piece I put it back together....first the arm rests...then the seat cushion and lastly the back cushion.

Looks pretty doesn't it

Now my DH wants it in the living room as he wants to use it while we are watching TV....unfortunately for him we have no room to spare....our couch and loveseat have taken up all the space. Let him figure it out. My work is done.

LESSON LEARNED:

-- Do not wait until the last minute

-- Plan everything ahead of time

-- Make a list of supplies

-- Be very organized

-- Don't superglue your fingers

Sick, sick, sick

No I don't mean sick of this project....I mean I am really sick. I should not have waited this long to complete it. I could have easily finished RC last week. But, I was overconfident I guess. Since then I have been suffering from one thing or the other. First it was the cold and cough, then the fever and now only the lack of energy. I cannot  muster up the energy or the will to do anything. Plus I wish it wasn't so cold.

My deadline is Feb 20th, so I still have two more days to go.....but I wish I had finished it early than wait till the last minute. This is what happens when you procrastinate. LESSON LEARNED.

Update on RC

So far I am done with the following:


I ripped out the old fabric, used it to trace it on the new one. Cut it into shape and sewed along all three sides and stuffed it with the padding. Hand sewed the bottom portion and attached the straps with velcro on them.


 Traced the old back cushion on a piece of paper. Cut out the new fabric and sewed all three sides. Stuffed it with batting from the old cushion. The batting was in pretty good shape, so I decided to use it. Voila.....all stuffed and ready. Made straps and hand sewed them to the cushion...

For the ottoman I separated it to get the top portion.  I wanted to remove the old fabric as it wall totally messed up. I decide to remove each and every staple pins that are holding them together...

This is the work in progress. It is very tedious, as I have to take out each an every pin. Hope I don't injure myself in this process.