Exploring Craft and Chennai

Mom and Dad gave me a surprise visit last week. They had to attend a small event in chennai so they came down to see me after that.Mom got me the saree she was embroidering for me for the past 1.5 years ( She finally completed it She wanted to give it on my first wedding aniversary (last year), but made it before my b’day this year :-). I love the pallu especially… Its looks tooo good. Hope I can get the blouse stitched before my b’day
Here are some pics.
I couldnt get the exact color in the pictures, tried a lot of settings
Its a simple kantha work done in silk thread. But the beads add a lot of dimension.

She also got me a big transparent box and small transparent containers to organise my beads and other embroidery stuff. The small containers are dead cheap @ 3 Rs/piece. I will look for similar boxes to organise my other stuff also, else i will ask my mom to get me some. Needless to say, already filled up the boxes

Finally i signed up for a swap on Ravelry, a mini purse swap….. looking forward to know my partner 

Nothing crafty goining on in the past few days as office is eating up my leisure time
So this time I decided to blog about the things i made, that are in progress and a part of my stash.

“The girafee” is my favorite though “The Duck” gave me the confidence. I was so proud when i completed the girafee that i showed it to my collegues in office also.
Yarn Used: Local wrosted weight yarn.
Yarn amount: Half Ball - yellow (both the things combined)
Hook Used: 3.5mm
Remarks: These two amigurumi things i completed in 2 days. I caught the time between the housework and those precious moments before bedtime to complete these. They are quick to make and the assembling does take time
I forgot from where i picked up “The giraffee” pattern. “The Duck” was from a baby book.

This simple fillet was my first crochet attempt after school.
Yarn Used: Coats Knitting cotton.
Yarn Amount: 1   Ball - Pink
                    0.5 Ball - Cream
Hook Used: 2.5mm
Remarks: Never mind the combination of color  

The fillet Table cloth was my second attempt.
Yarn Used: Coats Knitting cotton.
Yarn Amount: 2.5 Balls - Cream
Hook Used: 2.5mm
Remarks: The pattern was picked from internet. I am planning to add a border in contrast color.

The baby sweater was my first knitting attempt of a garment.
Yarn Used: Local Wrosted weight acrylic yarn
Yarn Amount: 6 Balls - 25 gms each - Grey.
Needles Used: Pony Brand - 6
Remarks: The pattern is on “Lion’s Brand” website called “Baby Kimono”. I did the math to suit my yarn and needles. Still some more knitting and I will be finished with my first sweater.

This yarn i bought long time back, but still didnt decide what to do.
I have a knit/crochet bag/tote in my mind, but i need a really inspiring pattern to start off
Yarn: Wrosted weight - unknown material - soft feel
Remarks: 1kg costs 250Rs. In the comings days
1. I want to finish the sweater.
2. Start looking for a pattern for a tote.
3. Finish giving a border to the table cloth

i think am getting addicted to this…..making ear drops
Here is the second pair that i made…
It all started a week back on saturday afternoon… when i was looking at a pack of ceramic powder that i bought long time back. I started playing with the ideas that were revolving in my head and the resultant is the pair below.

I just gave out a brief of what i did and the pictures below say it all…

1. I mixed ceramic powder with fevicol(white glue) to a dough.
2. shaped them as i want. Used a piece of wire to put in holes.
3. Left them to dry for a day.
4. Once they are hard, smoothed out the rough edges with a nail file.
5. I actually used glass paints(just coz i have them at my hand) to color them.
(I blew some gold dust onto the green pieces…)
6. Allowed them to dry for a day.
7. Then used my electrician pliers… to get the job done.
8. The white discs used are nor made by me but some bone beads that i have in my stash.

I gave them to my friend at office yesterday and guess what???? she wore them today to office….
Though they are a bit bright for today’s chennai weather…. they are simply lovely(probably coz i made them  :-))

Leave your comments on them……

Bead Jewellery Making, yes…. Bead Jewellery making is my new hobby.I crossed some sites over the web while surfing and i could stop myself from trying out this popular hobby. I searched over the web for availability of materials in chennai and i couldn’t find any. I found 2-3 persons in chennai taking classes over the weekends but i could not find time and also it was not my style of jewellery (Kundhan Jewellery).Last Weekend, I finally took time off to pick some yarn for the table doiley i was crocheting. I headed to “Raja Thread Stores” off Ranganathan street in T.Nagar. It was closed as it was sunday and thats where i hit the jack pot. I dropped into “Pandian Thread Store” which is opposite to “Raja Thread Stores” and picked up the yarn. I asked the sales woman in my primitive tamil for a ear loop, as she could not understand me, i had to drew it on paper - she told that for any jewellery making stuff i have to go to first floor…. I could belive my ears Jewellery Making Stuff … that too in chennai…

Khader Nawaz Khan Road in Nungambakkam, is lined with some of the swankiest branded stores is the city’s high street. There are many high-profile brand stores on this road.Evoluzione, the lifestyle store is on this stretch. Evoluzione has two stores here, one selling furniture and household bric-a-brac and, the other, clothing. 
Ffolio, Jones Lang LaSalle are on the same strech.

To reach the KNK road from your place use www.mapmyindia.com.

I heard about this little cute shop from my friends….
The store is owned by Maria D’souza, who also designs the clothes. The clothes can be altered to fit and if you have something in your mind put it across the table to get it desined. Tara Brand clothes, bags and stoles are available here.
There are also some accessories like bags, footwear, silver jewellery, wooden beads, glass beads, candles, handmade soaps.
Clothes are from 350 on wards,
Bags from 1000 onwards,
Footwear from 500 onwards,
Jewellery from 50 onwards….
Drop in at 21, Arundale Beach Road, Kalakshetra Colony, Besant Nagar.#24463532

I am back to blogging after a really long time. With my husband scheduled to travel on this weekend on 6week tour, I think I will be free enough to blog regularly for the next 6 weeks J 

Its an old news, but for those who missed it JFabindia opened another store in Chennai on valentine’s day at New No 84 (Old No 90)Dee Vee Kay Towers,G.N.Chetty Road,T.Nagar.

My favorites are the kota cotton dupattas that can be mix matched with kurtas. I am not into furnishing so cant comment on that much though the textiles are great to look.

Do drop in to check other stuff also, the store is open on all days from 10 am to 8 pm.

Finally I got some time to blog about my kanchi trip
There are probably hundreds of web pages and blogs that have talked about kanchipuram - Tamilnadu. Here is my version….

It was saturday and the day was cloudy, it was past the breakfast time when my husband came into the kitchen saying lets make a trip to kanchi. The idea was not bad and afterall kanchi is only 2 hrs from chennai. Last time i went to kanchi was to pick sarees for my marriage (which also happens to be the first time) and i only had time to see the kamakshi temple after the shopping. We had a quick lunch and we were in the bus to kanchi by 2pm. The roads have very much improved from my last trip which was one and half years back.  

30 mins after we started, we reached Padapai, famous for its plant nurseries. Kanchi is another hour from here. One can spot some weaving and dyed yarn hung out, under the shades of trees as kanchi - temple n silk town gets nearer and nearer. We negotiated an auto for 175 bucks to tour around 4 temples and then leave us at the busstand. We went to ekambaranath temple, kanchi kamakshi temple, Perumal temple, Varadaraja swamy temple. The last temple is in the outskirts of kanchi town and we were fortunate to be there as the diety was taken around the streets when we visited.
Some of the photos from the trip are here





Things to keep in mind:
- All the temples follow strict opening and closing times. Either reach kanchi early in the morning or reach in the late afternoon.
- Bargain hard with the autowallas (remember its a tourist place)
- The priests in most of the temples try to be sentimental to get some money.
- One is not allowed to take photos in the main temple like everywhere, but photography is allowed in the temple premisis. Insist on ticket for camera charges.
- Take your time and explore every nook and corner, sure you will find some surprising stuff.
- The famous Saravanas is present near the busstand and off the gandhi road (the silk sari shopping road), also present is Adyar Anand Bhavan.
- If thinking of shopping ask an experienced neigbour/friend/relatives to recommend some good shops.
- Got time, do visit some weavers in the backlanes.
- Try to keep the temple town clean from your side.

Whole trip time - 7 hours.
Budget - shoe string (below 500 for 2 people).

Comments are welcome….