pretty special

April was a pretty special month for baby M. He started play school. He is still only two, well, he will be three this July, so in reality it is a playgroup where he goes for two hours every morning to “play” with other kids his age, share tiffins, feed rabbits, and the like. Still, it is a big event and I wanted to make him something special to mark the occasion. I have been eyeing this bag for the last several years, but somehow N was never at the right age for this when the book came out, and I never got around to making one for her.Well, I am so glad I did now. It’s the perfect size for the toddler age group and fits his snacks tiffin and a water bottle nicely. And it was a lot of fun to make. I have made a few other things too from the excellent book I mention above, and really to me, there is no better teacher than Liesl. I even managed the dreaded zipper quite well! The only two small additions/ changes I made were to add a rickrack on the front piece for the sake of some visual interest, and to “bind” the straps with a bit of velvet ribbon. And of course, I added M’s name to it. 

Cars, are M’s thing (probably true for a lot of little boys), and so I was delighted to unexpectedly find some old Echino fabric in my stash. It was just enough for the outside and the pocket inside. The fabric is canvas weight with 55% linen but somehow it still felt pretty drapey; I wasn’t sure if that was enough weight to hold the shape of the bag so I used iron-on interfacing for the lining. The fabric for straps which is 100% linen also comes from my stash, as does the one I used for lining. I have no memory of where I got both, which means I have had them for long.M, I think, quite likes it. He is not quite vocal in expressing his feelings about it, but the fact that he wants to take it to school every single day must mean that there is some love there.

I am truly happy to report that baby M has taken to his playgroup like a fish to water, and we are seeing growing signs of independence day by day. And so, now for obvious reasons he cannot be called a baby anymore!

Asmita/xx

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in need of some cheering

Considering the going-ons of the past few weeks, these last few days have been positively quiet. For me it has meant coming to terms with Trump, figuring out ways to live with seriously bad air quality after days of panic, and now dealing with our latest drama of demonetisation. Things look unsettled, but I think this is about as settled as they will be for a while. For some reason this morning as I was bemoaning the fact of Trump (yet again), I suddenly thought to myself – would I rather be in 1916 instead of 2016, and my answer is a clear no. Because that means being in the middle of one war, then yet another one and by the time I want to live which is the early 1970s I would be dead anyway. So, I guess this becomes a roundabout way of saying -I think I need to settle down into into things as they are at this moment.

Here is some things that brought us cheer during last week.   

This last thing, a mobile of starts and moon something N made in her pottery class. Passing by it when going from one room to another is making me quite happy.

During the past crazy few weeks I also made something. Or rather, I finished a project – yet another one that has been sitting unfinished in my list of to-do pile for long.It’s a  bag is for me to carry my yoga mat to my newly joined yoga class. As it turns out however, the class provides these really lovely straw mats. And they are so much nicer than the generic rubber ones like what I have, that I am inclined to leave my mat and the bag at home. But still I like the bag.It has a cute little pocket and a strap to carry it across my back. Carrying it makes me feel almost sporty!

I am not sure why this one took so long really because the construction of this couldn’t be any easier.  The fabric is canvas weight, and the pattern on it bring peacocks to my mind for some reason. If I remember correctly, it was purchased at Ikea in New York many moons ago. The pattern, if you can even call it that, comes from this book, one of the first sewing books that I ever purchased and still my favourite. As the title says it is really “simple sewing” and just the kind that can make you forget current worries and let all noises recede in the background, even if temporarily.

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pretty pleased

A few months ago, I embarked on bag making. The said pattern was purchased, paper tracings were made, cut, and even the fabric choosing happened, all at relatively good speed. And then, as with many other things right now the project sat in a pile in my cupboard waiting its turn to get set sewn up and see some fresh air.

I am happy to say that I finished making this just a few weeks ago, and since then it has hardly left my side.Yes, I love this bag that much!

The pattern for this handy little tote comes from Noodlehead. Anyone, I think, who has tried making stuff from her patterns will agree that she completely de-mystifies bag making for novices, and even makes one enjoy the whole process. I am pretty positive that without Anna I couldn’t have pulled off a recessed zipper. All I can say, is that I am feeling quite proud of this. Perhaps it has something to do with being able to insert a zipper without any help from the seam ripper.The main fabric is a canvas weight print by Lotta Jansdotter. At first it seemed heavier than what the pattern was asking for and I contemplated on skipping the interfacing that Anna recommends. In the end I decided to not go with my instinct. I have enough bag failures to my credit, and I didn’t feel like taking a chance on this one. It turned out to be a good decision. The bag turned out sturdy but has enough slouchiness to it as well.For the rest of the fabric, I dug into my deep pile of scraps.

So, as I think is clear, I couldn’t be happier with the bag. The inside has a small convenient pocket, but of course my favourite part is the zipper because it makes it safe to carry my wallet inside even on the metro. It’s perfect for me, and I might need to make another one…maybe in a few years…after I have finished my several other unfinished projects!

Asmita/xo

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from here and there

I got a lovely fabric gift earlier in the month and thought I’d share it with you all. The yellow one is Liberty, and has been picked out by N as a favourite, and  I think I am going after the blue. They all come from London where Mr. M had to travel for work. He was good enough to go here and here (of course with directions kindly sent by me) and get back these goodies. I am wondering what to make with them….On the sewing front I finally made the bag that had been on my list for a while. N started dance classes in July and needed something to carry her stuff. Of course she has other bags but she wanted something in the “backpack” variety. This free pattern comes from the trusty Purl Soho. It is really simple to make so I didn’t really take a look at the instructions, but from my past experiences I am sure they are thorough. They have three sizes (I made the child version) and despite some earlier doubts, it’s the perfect size for her.

The fabric is remainders from an earlier sewing project. She chose it because she now likes grey.Well, who knew?! I have no idea what the line is called. I had it saved it for long enough and am glad I made something that would get a lot of use. I used a different fabric for lining inside, but sadly no pictures.

So that’s about it. I am sewing other things in a meandering kind of a way, but mostly I have been spending large amounts of time pottering around the house, thinking that I need to cleanup some spaces small and large while desperately waiting for the weather to change. But, before I go, here is something hilarious that my sister sent me yesterday. If you haven’t seen it before, and I hadn’t, it’s worth a read. Enjoy!

Asmita/xx

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keeping it simple

I have been unbelievably tardy as far as posting is concerned and now it is almost the end of September and four months since I posted last! Summer is almost over; it has been a long one–difficult and exhausting in parts and while I still see not much brightness in day to day life, I am relieved that the temperatures are slightly lower and that good weather will soon be upon us.

Last week N, (who turned 7 a few months ago already) went on her first trip with four of her friends (and one friends’ parents.) This was not her first time without us (she has travelled before with her grandparents) but definitely the first time without any family. It meant that to a certain extent she had to look after her things, speak up for herself, and say when she is hungry or tired. The trip went beautifully well (much thanks to the brave parents who took the four kids)–no phone calls at all (!) and the kids didn’t want to come back.

To mark the occasion as special I made her this: a little something to take with her.

The fabric are all all scraps, and the instructions come from this lovely tutorial by Anna from Noodle-head.

While she was away I also had my evenings free and so I finally finished the dress that has been languishing in the to-do pile for too long.

She loved the little toothpaste case, but oh she has loved this dress! In part it is the fabric, the other part is that it is very roomy and relaxed. The days are still quite hot so she can wear it for the next month or two and its roomy enough to keep wearing it through winter.

And I added yellow buttons at the back, just for fun.

The fabric is from Pune where I think I bought it several years ago. The pattern is from this Japanese book (pattern B in 120 cms). The dress is on the shorter side but having used this pattern before I know the style runs slightly short. I lengthened it with a different coloured fabric. It’s still pretty short but I feel that the roomy style, so common to many Japanese patterns, makes a shorter version look better on her than something longer.

Now about the book: the instructions are excellent and if you are just starting out on Japanese books this is high on my recommendation list. The patterns start at 90cms and go upto 130. This in fact was my first Japanese pattern book and while it has only about five basic patterns with a few variations the drawings are thorough and the photos lovely.

Given how difficult it has been in the last few months to start and then finish anything, I am glad to have finished this one before we finished summer entirely!

Thank you for stopping by. I hope to see you again soon!

Asmita/xo

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something for me

Hello everyone! This is my long overdue, made for myself birthday present.

Making bags has not been my forte. I have made a few pretty bad ones which are right now lying somewhere in the deep recesses of my cupboard where I can quite conveniently avoid seeing them. Nothing dramatically wrong, either just a bad choice of fabric, not strong enough interfacing, that kind of thing. Mostly of the variety, where once I was done sewing it, I felt like I couldn’t care to take it anywhere with me and was already thinking of ways to recycle of the fabric.

But. As it turns out I have a short term memory. So, not so long ago I decided to make yet another bag, very conveniently, and perhaps luckily forgetting the earlier disasters. Maybe it’s all about, try try try and you will succeed?

In any case, here is the latest one, and this time with only one glaring mistake. This is the back-Another view of the front (I love the divided pockets)And the mistake. Can you spot it?But anyway getting back to the positives. I love the inside, in which I can fit in a fair bit of stuff.I even used it today. Definitely a first for any bag that I have made!

The fabric on the outside is by Heather Ross. The orange one is a really nice and light cotton from Commercial Street in Bangalore, and the Green is handspun cotton from Khadi Gram Udyog.

The pattern comes from here, and and on her blog there are also some fabulous tutorials that are worth checking out. I am even tempted to make another one.

Anyway. Lovely rainy weather here. And looks like a storm is brewing up. I am off to enjoy it! Hope you all have a nice evening.

Asmita

 

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