Month: May 2016

Quilting the Off-Centre Mariner’s Compass

Quilting on yet another block completed today!

Here are some close ups of the quilting on Southward Bound, which was the seventh block of the Dreamcatcher Round the Year Quilt.

‘Stitched in the ditch’ with a bit of echo quilting.

I used the walking foot to ‘stitch in the ditch’ all the needles and the inner circles.

i decided against doing any more quilting on the inner circles. Any suggestions?

I debated if I needed to quilt the middle ( blue) offset circle, but decided against that.

Getting the hang of doing free motion quilting with the machine on auto-mode.

I am getting the hang of free motion quilting now! I am absolutely certain that you cannot get good results ( as a beginner, at least) if you do not use good quality thread and needles. For this block, I used a Schmetz needle and Sulky threads and the difference it made was amazing!

A picture of the back will give a better idea o the quilting on the wedges!

The quilting shows up much better on the back, doesn’t it?

This was a block which was more difficult to draft than to put together!  Would you like to make your own 18″ block? You could make a mini quilt with a single block or even frame it! The free pattern is available here.

You could do a really modern version to , like I have done, in ‘Rainbow’ colours. As soon as I finish this quilt, I will start putting together the Rainbow Dreamcatcher too!

The centre circle is also a smaller compass! However, the pattern is not given for this centre.

Here is the full block!

Quilting done! On th Dreamcatcher Round the Year quilt – Block Seven Southward Bound

I move next to the Winding Ways Block. Mulling over how I shall tackle that!

BUY THE PATTERN FOR THIS BLOCK HERE 

Spinning The Wheel! 

I finished quilting the Chakra Block, Block Ten of the Dreamcatcher Round the Year quilt today!

The Chakra – Block Ten of the Dreamcatcher Round the Year quilt

I quite love the way it has turned out! A close-up of the quilting…

The ‘Dharma Chakra’…

You can follow this link to find the pattern for this block inspired by the ‘Ashok Chakra’,  or the Dharma Chakra ( Wheel of Righteousness), which finds the pride of place at the centre of  the Indian national flag and is taken from the edicts of the great emperor Ashok, who ruled over almost the entire sub-continent, in the third century B.C.

Just three more blocks to do, then I move to the outer dark blue fabric panels! Do share your quilt blocks on my facebook page ‘Patchwork of My Life’. Have a great weekend!

…And Venus Was Her Name

Venus – Block Five – Dreamcatcher Round the Year Quilt

Make your own Venus Block! Buy pattern with complete instructions here.

ख़ुशबू पुण्डरीक की

मेरी क़िस्मत की है चाबी मेरे इसी विश्वास में,
कि राह भी हूँ मैं और रहगुज़र भी मैं,
मंज़िल भी मैं, फिर क्यूँ फिरूँ उदास-हताश मैं?

कब से भटक रहा था मैं, ख़ुशी की तलाश में।
यह उम्र गुज़र रही थी उसे मिलने की आस में।
काशी में भी ढूँढा, घूमा कैलाश में।
राम की गलियों में, कभी कृष्ण के रास में।
न बाग़ों के गुलाब में, न जंगल के पलाश में,
यह ख़ुशबू पुण्डरीक की थी मेरे दिल के पास में।
अमृत का यह दरिया मेरे अंदर ही बह रहा था।
दर-दर क्यों गया था? सिर्फ़ पानी की की प्यास में?

न पासे की फेंक में, न तारों, न ताश में।
मेरी क़िस्मत की है चाबी मेरे इसी विश्वास में,
कि राह भी हूँ मैं और रहगुज़र भी मैं,
मंज़िल भी मैं, फिर क्यूँ फिरूँ उदास-हताश मैं?

रस्ता जो अब मिला है, इच्छा है काश में
कोई न अब कहे कि हूँ निराश मैं!
सबको शामिल कर सकूँ क़ुदरत के राज़ में,
कि ख़ुशबू पुण्डरीक की है सबके ही पास में।

कि ख़ुशबू पुण्डरीक की है
हम सबके पास में।

बेतुकबंदी  ९/९/१९९९

 

The Vacuum Cleaner

;

A salesman was here today
Selling vacuum cleaners.
They clean everything,
He said.
The pelmets, the curtains,
And of course, the carpet;
Even the bedcover, the walls,
And that place under the bed
Which I can’t reach.

I wonder
If it can sweep aside
The cobwebs that blanket our lives …
… yours and mine.
Will it help me
Reach that corner
Of your heart
Which I cannot touch?
I wonder,
As I wait for you
To decide
If we need that vacuum cleaner..

                                                                                         Betukbandi  (1986)