Christopher David Ryan

I love these prints by Christopher David Ryan. These have been taken from his daily postings that you may get to by clicking on the link above. i love all the posts especially finger people!~

I think these would make lovely stick ons as well!!
Via:OhJoy

The Wedding Season

Hi there!

i haven't posted in over a month now...its shameful i know but i have been really busy with three of my cousins deciding to get married within days of each other! so now i am back to routine and will hopefully be posting more regularly. all three weddings were a lot of fun and i finally got to wear the saree i had designed...yay!!!

heres a picture to show you how i looked in it and the link to the saree i had visualised on my computer..this post takes you to the raw material for my saree :)

The saree complete with a blouse costed me rs 7500 which is not so cheap but i think is worth it.

all the wedding shopping and endless trips to the boutiques for fittings etc was very exciting and i will be doing a post on that soon.

see ya!

Finally!

an interesting turn of events today...some excitement after very long...yayee yay!!:)
Lots of thoughts and questions rising inside...

ps: a heartiest and warm welcome to new readers!

mamma mia

before this was across the universe and now there is mamma mia...what is it about musicals and gorgeous set design...more importantly..what is it about musicals and textiles...be it costume or decor? there seems to be a definite relationship between them...i think its the idea of happy fantasy that music (music of the musicals...so far i can think of only happy musicals:) inspires in us...and when taken to a movie based on music what better way to visualise it other than using fantastic textiles?

i have never really paid attention to movie sets as much as i have begun doing now...(meri ankhen khul gayi hain) it started in college when i saw gabbeh and got me more seriously interested when i saw across the universe some time back. two days back i saw mamma mia. i first read about the set design on one of my favourite blogs..designsponge. even though the story was naive...it ofcourse had great music of abba, greek surroundings and fantastic textiles esp. the sheets made out of joseph frank fabrics! so a little bit of research an i have dug out two blogs for you...if you wish to get the look of mamma mia the movie...click here for tips and if you want to find out some more about movies and their sets click here. enjoy!

Ikyaavan

ikyaavan, hindi for 51, is an auspicious number in india {more like a sum of money given as shagun (auspicious/customary gift of money)..we always add one rupee for good luck..i have have to research more on its origin as a custom though}.

and thats the no. of posts including this 1 that i have posted so far !! yayeee!! hurray!! cheers!!



i have been collecting a lot of things and images that i want to post about in these past few days but i just haven't found the time. with diwali knocking at the door, my cousin's approaching marriage and Heimtex Fair coming up in january...life at home and at work is totally hectic.


inspite of this i love this time of the year...festivities in the air...random money spending (yeah thats the best part)..exchanging gifts..cleaning up the house in time for diwali puja..family coming together.. everything is so cheerful, happy and busy!!



with everything being so joyous all around is one allowed to be just a bit mean? mean twised with humour ? oh come on now..i'm sure just a little dig is allowed...:)



OK so Outlook, the magazine has begun to publish a miniature short story book idea which comes complimentary with the magazine every now and then. these little books have a couple of short stories in them that make a fun read..like i finished reading it on my way to work in the morning...it was quick and fun . fullstop.

one such miniature book...here take a look...

is called "the princess of kahin nahin" meaning The Princess of Nowhere, by Khushwant Singh.

i loved the colour the size (A6) and most of all the title. this is where the mean part begins. i wish to dedicate this to a woman i know who fits the title absolutely :P. all through the story i could not think of anyone else and i must add that i had little chuckles all through the story knowing that i know this very name dropping, gasbag of a Princess!

;)

kanika

ps. this has to be one of my more random posts..

Haathi Chaap

heard of paper made of elephant poo? well now you have! click on the link above, it takes you to this wonderful company that makes paper out of haathi (elephant) dung. the company has shops in New Delhi and makes many paper products such as notebooks/journals, frames, bags, coasters etc. apparently the company puts up stalls in Dilli Haat which i seem to have missed somehow; i'm planning to visit their stores very soon though and get my very own poopaper book yaya!

the poopaper definitely makes ecological sense and here is what the company has to say: "The paper is probably one of the most ecologically safe papers to make and use… Colours, if added, comprise of mostly vegetable and natural dyes. No bleach is used. The waste water is let out in cultivated fields close by... works as a great fertilizer."

kanika

ps: no the paper does not smell...hehehe

Villa Collection for Autumn

I love the Villa Collection colours for fall. deep rich mysterious and masculine.

new blogs and old suzanis

OK so i was looking for suzanis online, i look for them a little everyday.

i land on one of my favourite blogs an indian summer and learn about a great new blog called textile swatches . seema the woman behind the blog is a textile designer now based in Boston and is soon to launch her own line of fabrics. its a young blog but is a great place to learn about some of the traditional textile processes like block printing etc.

it is through textile swatches that i landed in heaven. seema mentioned this place called tessera on her blog and to me it is heaven. its work like this that i want to be doing. travelling the world, learning and surrounding myself with beautiful arts and crafts of its people, selling them to enrich more lives and in my small way give back to the society a little that i can.

tessera has the awesomest collection of ikats, suzanis, furniture and more beautiful things but they do not sell online(or if they do i haven't found it on their website yet, i'll go back to take a closer look). while i study their website a bit more..here are some images to feast you eyes on. and you are welcome:)

oh and i forgot to tell you...remember the turkish bowls i had posted here sometime back?? tessera have a range of similar turkish bowls!! i dunno if i should laugh or cry cuz i see them everywhere but i still don't own them...:/

kanika

sari update

So thats the layout and colour scheme i have zeroed in on for my sari..what do you think? i wanted to keep it fairly simple (i'm talking by indian wedding standards). the gold work will be done by hand using metallic thread and the gold circles are hand sewn sequins. they have an antique finish so aren't very shiny. i have my fingers crossed hoping it turns out good!

mean cards for many occassion

ever felt like sending really nasty and mean cards to someone? i have, and recently so!

i wish there was a customise your theme feature on the website as well. these lovely stick figure cards are by Julianna Holowka. you must check out her about page. its the stick figure story of how she started and is too cute!

came across this wonderful website via Lucky

the life and times of a sari

so i have a lot of "must attend family weddings" coming up in nov-december. till now i have just picked up off the shelves clothes for most any event/function..this time though i decided it was time to stand up on my own two feet and make something on my own. of course by making something on my own i mean i'll have karigars and other craftsmen doing what i ask them to do.

pictures above of the fabric i picked up in chandani chownk a few days back and i'm think of patching up a sari with these.. the white fabric is RFD (ready for dyeing). it is a mysore georgette in self gold weaving pattern which is my current fav. fabric and the deep red you see is a wonderfully rich silk and gold brocade from banaras(varanasi/benaras). i still haven't figured what to do with them...but i'll keep you posted on the progress!

ps: i need to post about a lot of processes that i started on this blog but haven't..apologies for that and yes i remember!

Caravane

so there is this company doing really exciting things...and doesn't talk about it much...i guess they want their work to speak for them...or they are very famous in Europe i don't know.

they sure do have a lot of stores all over. anyway they do really exciting handmade traditional kind of stuff and i think a lot from India:)

clicking on the link above will take you to the website and i will leave you with a few pictures to show you what i mean.

i am still looking for costumes...so this is just in between working, researching for costumes, catching up with friends..cya.

happy sunday!

follow me

know this song by Uncle Kracker? i used to listen to this song a lot at one time.
follow me is a little gadget that i have added on my blog (its at the right). if you do read my blog please do click and let me know you do.
thank you for the encouragement! :)
kanika

i me am Punjabi!

in India traditionally, one is known by the region one belongs to. it defines the culture, language, customs etc. of that particular community (there is also religion and caste but i'm not going to delve into that :). going by this, i am a Punjabi.

Punjab (From Persian-meaning Land of Five Rivers) has a long history and rich cultural heritage.The area that is now known as the Greater Punjab was a location comprised of vast territories of eastern Pakistan and northern western India. It comprised, in its original sense, regions extending from Swat/Kabul in the west Delhi in the east i.e the area including parts of Afganistan and the plains up to the Ganges. It was a centre of the prehistoric Indus Valley civilization and after c. 1500 BCE the site of early Aryan settlements. The region, populated by Indo- Aryan speaking peoples, has been ruled by many different empires and ethnic groups, including Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, ancient Macedonins, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Mughals, Afgans, Balochis, Sikhs and British.

In 1947, it was partitioned between British India's successor states with the bulk (4 out of the 5 rivers) going to Pakistan and the remaining river was alloted to India.
The Pakistani Punjab now comprises the majority of the region together with the Hazara region of the North-West Frontier Province and Azad Kashmir. The Indian Punjab has been further sub-divided into the modern Indian states of Punjab Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi (my home). Besides the Indian Punjab, the region also includes the areas of Jammu region and Himachal and Haryana states of India that were created out of East Punjab in 1966. Punjabi is spoken by 92.2% of the population in Indian Punjab. The capital city of undivided Punjab was Lahore, which now sits close to the partition line as the capital of West Punjab. Indian Punjab has as its capital the city of Chandigarh. Indian Punjab uses the Gurmukhi script, while Pakistani Punjab uses the Shahmukhi script.
i can go on and on (thanks to wikipedia) there is so much more i wish to share about Punjab here, as this is where i come from and to a great extent it makes me (if you would like to read more you can here).
Text via Wikipedia
women performing the folk songs and dances, Punjabi Giddha.the traditional punjabi female attire consists of a salwar(stitched drawstrings)/ghaghra(long skirt) along with a long tunic like shirt called the kameez and a duppatta that is used to cover the head but now mostly rests on the shoulders. so this is how i got talking about Punjab as i wanted to do a post on the costumes and textiles of india. what better than to start with textiles that come from my community?

these are some examples of Phulkari Embroidery of Punjab, traditionally used for Dupattas, extensively used at the time of marriages. women used to embroider the phulkaris for their own use and not for sale.
the term Phulkari literally means flower-phul kari-work. some say that this kind of embroidery came to us from Persia where it is called Gulkari (again Gul meaning flowers). the thread used is untwisted silk filament yarn with mostly geometric shapes depicting everyday life, gardens in bloom etc. using the darn stitch. the fully covered patterns are called Bagh (garden).

reds and oranges are popular hues along with yellow for these were primarily used in marriages

i'll be posting next about the panja durries from Punjab.. so stay tuned:)

P.S. click on John Robshaw on you right (under My Favourite Sites) for stunning examples of contemporary Phulkari used in bed linen!

Photos from India

i wanted to do a post on the costumes of india and thought of starting with ladakh. while researching online i found some really nice photographs from India taken by Adam and Tina on their blog. you may feast your eyes on their wonderful images while i research the costumes from my country!
be cool
:)

Across The Universe

ok. so my boyfriend has given me a lot of movies to watch. he loves to do this. make me read and watch what he thinks is a must read and a must watch. its great as i do get to see and read some beautiful stuff but i'm not as motivated or initiated as much as he is. i want to be but i don't want to make any efforts for it. you know what i mean...i would rather that it came naturally to me..but it doesn't. i do watch recommended movies and read recommended books...but thats that..i don't google the authors or directors and then try and watch all their movies , read all their books etc. i'd much rather be a "now that's a wonderful movie" person than a "oh now thats a wonderful director" person. is that so bad? i'm sure there are many more like me out there..HI!

so the wonderful images above are from a movie called ACROSS THE UNIVERSE which i still have to see the last part of (i dozed off...its a wonderful film really but i was watching it really late in the night).

now what i loved about the movie....

its all about Beetles Songs. their music is my fav. and the movie is a musical

this movie has some wonderful art(like the strawberry field above)

the movie also has wonderful set design and i want to know more about the textiles used in the NYC apartment where these kids come to stay. there are beautiful susani bedspreads,traditional Indian textiles adorning the door entrances...etc. do you know more about it? please do let me know if you do..i couldn't find any stills of the bedroom to show u what i mean.