NEEDLECRAFT

PICTURES OF KERALA MURAL PAINTINGS III

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:52:00 +0000

Here are a few more pictures from the diary. CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE.

MORE PICTURES OF MURAL PAINTINGS OF KERALA II

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:33:00 +0000

I'd been looking for good pictures of Mural paintings for the past couple of months. I finally found them in a most unlikely place - my husband's old diary. It is a Guruvayur Devaswom Diary.

Here are the pictures.

Since I have not resized the pictures after scanning, uploading them is time consuming. You cannot enlarge and view resized pictures without losing clarity.

Looks like I'll have to post these in 2-3 more posts - or I'll have to get up very early in the morning to take advantage of BSNL's free download time.

FREE KUTCHWORK PATTERN.

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Here is the promised Kutchwork design of the cushion cover.

This design can be adapted for a saree pallu, saree border, border for lower half of Kameez and sleeves.

Before you begin:

1. Observe and understand the design.

2. If you compare this design with the design in the cushion cover, you will observe that a cluster of 5 single diamonds separate the overall square blocks in the cushion cover whereas there are only 4 in the design above.

3. You can increase the single diamond clusters to 6 or 7 to form bigger overall blocks and embellish the centers of alternate blocks with mirrors.

4. As a general rule before you begin any large project with over all diaper patterns, always work a small - in this case - 4 blocks of the pattern - make sure you understand how it works - it will save you a lot of time and headache later.

5. Use an inch graph to first plan your design. This ensures perfect designs. Use yellow carbon to transfer designs to fabric.

6. Then again, if you are a computer whiz, you can generate your own perfect designs. You don't need any sofisticated software, you can even use the drawing tools in MS Word.

7.You can buy inch graph sheets - usually you get 1 m sheets - from wholesale stationery shops - I've found that local stationery shops usually don't stock this. More often than not, they don't even know what it is.

8. There are no specifications for the size of the single diamond. You can draw it as you wish. I usually use all six strands of Anchor stranded cotton as it gives a bold effect. So my squares are 3 square units on the inch graph.

9. Ideal threads for Kutchwork are, 4 strands of machine embroidery thread, Anchor stranded cotton - 2-6 strands depending on the size of your diamonds, cone thread, Anchor pearl Cotton -10gms balls.

10. Always check if your thread is colour fast by actually soaking a bit of it in water and folding it in a damp piece of fabric - even if you buy good quality thread.

HAVE FUN WORKING THIS DESIGN!!!

MY 100TH POST

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:27:00 +0000

With another new year round the corner, more resolutions to make, the question arises - what about the resolutions taken for the current year?

I took just 1 resolution – To stick to my schedules.

Was it a successful year?

In terms of the resolution?

No. In all other ways – YES, IT WAS A LOVELY YEAR!

In trying to follow this single resolution, I learnt a lot about myself. Some good, some not so good.

So what good was the resolution?

For one thing, trying to follow this resolution made me understand, that while there was nothing wrong in trying to follow a schedule - in fact it is a very good thing, I’ve always envied people whose day goes like clockwork – following schedules went against my grain.

Its all very well saying that’s its all in the mind – the mind and the intellect are two separate entities – I should not have my mind telling my intellect what to do – for me, the bottom line is - IT SIMPLY DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY. Plenty of people think I am a lazy person. Just because, I am too lazy to do a particular thing on a particular day, does not mean I have been idle! Luckily for me, there is never a dearth of things to do – reading (my first love), gardening, music, painting, sewing, cooking, needlework, getting into philosophical arguments with friends and family… There probably is some saying that says “the right thing done at the right time…” similar to “a place for everything and everything in its place” but I just can’t do it. I am glad that I have finally recognized it.

What does happen when I try to force the issue? It works for maybe a couple of weeks and then everything goes haywire and I get a severe headache! I REALLY DO!!!

So, how do I get things done? After reading the article on PROCRASTINATION, I realized - by finding something else that SEEMS more important to do?

Anyway, I have learnt to accept my shortcomings. I now have to learn to make my shortcomings work for me.

And what about my resolution? Do I abandon it?

NO! I need to find a healthy balance between what I think is perfect and what would work for me!

I also realized that there are a lot of things I really need to work on –

- patience, I need oodles of it

- I really need to refrain from making comments on peoples’ attitudes and work instead ,on my own attitude

- learning to let go of the past and enjoying the power of now

- Appreciating my family more and never taking them for granted

- My rudeness under the pretext of being blunt

So, for the coming year, I have 5 resolutions!

KUTCHWORK DIAPER PATTERN

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:31:00 +0000

Here's some more Kutchwork.

I made this cushion cover a couple of months back and never got around to posting. It is a hot favourite in the family... Unfortunately, because of the light background colour, it also gets dirty pretty fast.

At one point, I wondered if maybe I should forbid my family from using it as pillows under their heads while watching TV - but then, this is a home not a museum... so, we just enjoy it.

This diaper pattern is actually pretty simply, if you have understood the basics of Kutchwork - the unders and overs.

A diaper pattern is a pattern that repeats itself endlessly.

Here's a close-up.

I'll post the pattern for transferring in my next post.

MURAL PAINTINGS OF KERALA - LINKS WITH MORE INFORMATION AND PICTURES

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:13:00 +0000

THIS is the website of Mural artist Suresh Muthukulam. He has allowed modern art to sneak into his murals. If you are looking for Original Kerala Mural paintings, this is not the place.

This link describes how the wall is prepared for painting.

Here is another link giving a detailed description of the process of mural paintings in Kerala, the brushes and colours that were traditionally used.

The next link is to the website of Mural Artist Sadanandan - he underwent an intensive 5 year training in Mural painting. If you the kind of person who likes art retained in its traditional form, you will be disappointed. If however, you like morden flavours creeping in, you'll love this.

To round off this post, this link has links to all prominent pages featuring mural painting.

Have a nice time browsing! I'll be back with more pictures.

MURAL PAINTINGS OF KERALA I

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:32:00 +0000

You learn to appreciate India's diverse cultural heritage more - if you are interested in art. Indian mural paintings are very interesting in the sense that while the themes are almost always the same - stories from Puranas, the actual paintings themselves are distinct to each region or State.

The mural paintings in Tanjavoor for instance, have their own charm and characteristic style. Unfortunately, I missed 2 different opportunities to learn the Tanjavoor style due to other commitments.

When I learnt that Kerala too had it own wonderful style, I signed up for classes and started scouting around for pictures. We have been in Trivandrum for almost 3 yrs now and I never got around to visiting the Padmanabaswamy temple until someone told me that the temple has beautiful murals.

I finally visited the temple today and loved every aspect of it. No cameras or mobiles phones are allowed inside. So, within the premises, but for the electricity, there are absolutely no reminders of the pollution filled modern world out there. You are transported to another era!

And the murals! They are to die for! Even though I have seen several pictures of this style, the actual paintings leave me speechless with wonder. The temple and the paintings have left me wanting for more. I may go back with paper and pencil to copy the motifs the next time and hope it is allowed.

The picture below gives you an idea of what the style is like - but it is nowhere near the actual murals in execution and use of colour. Click on the picture for a larger image.

ART BOOKS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:43:00 +0000

I have been scouting the web for information on Oil on canvas and other painting techniques.Its amazing the amount of information you can obtain from the web if you have the patience to really look for it.

Here is a tutorial that taught me more than I learnt from the course I am taking.

This is my favourite.

The exercises are really helpful and I was filled with a sense of acievement once I learnt these basic techniques.

Here, is another wonderful tutorial.

Field's Chromatography, by George Field has a lot of information on
colour.

You can learn about the various whites like zinc white and titanium white,lead white and when and why you should choose one over the other etc.

The picture below is from the book A Colour Notation- Project Gutenberg

HISTORY OF ART FOR BEGINNERS AND STUDENTS is another book I found in the Project Gutenberg collection. The size of the book is 25.22 MB.

There are quite a few black and white pictures in it. The two pictures below, I liked best.

Here is how you download books from project Gutenberg.

HOW TO SET YOGURT.

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:40:00 +0000

You need milk and fresh yogurt either shop-bought or borrowed from a friend or neighbor.

STEP 1: Boil milk and cool it until it is tepid.

STEP 2: Take ¼ tsp of yogurt drop it into the tepid milk. Stir well.

STEP 3: Keep in a warm place. It takes between 6 to 12 hours for the yogurt to set. It is usually set overnight.

Note: It very cold climes, you can keep the vessel containing the yogurt to be set inside your microwave oven without switching it on.

CONSISTENCY

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:15:00 +0000

Consistency! That's what I lack. I am unable to stick to a formulated schedule.

Given my interest in various activities (I have currently signed up for a course in Mural painting of Kerala- I am halfway through an oil on canvas course), I am always doing something or the other but unfortunately not what my schedule says I should be doing. My cousins agree with my husband in saying that I am a Jack of all trades and master of none.

Letting that bother me is an excercise in futility - as I find that I usually enjoy every second of everyday.

A few days back, my brother sent me a couple of links about procrastination.

STRUCTURED PROCRASTINATION
GETTING THINGS DONE DESPITE PROCRASTINATION

These amusing and insightful articles describe my general attitude towards everything to a tee. And looks like I am not alone!

In my experience, things do get done - just not as and how I plan it or somebodyelse wants it. It is like as if some invisible force takes over my mind. I do make to-do lists. Just don't ask when I actually strike off the contents of my list. I can never tell - maybe an hour from now - maybe this day next year...

HOW TO DOWNLOAD BOOKS FROM PROJECT GUTENBERG

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:35:00 +0000

STEP 1: OPEN THE PROJECT GUTENBERG CALALOGUE PAGE

STEP 2: IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR BOOK BY A PARTICULAR AUTHOR, FILL IN THE BOX UNDER AUTHOR ON THE TOP LEFT OF THE PAGE AND CLICK GO.
TRY OUT ALL THE OPTIONS - ONLY LAST NAME, BOTH FIRST NAME AND LAST NAME, LAST NAME FOLLOWED BY INITIALS ETC. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE SPELLING RIGHT.

ALTERNATELY, YOU CAN FILL IN THE NAME OF THE BOOK YOU ARE LOOKING FOR.
IF THE LIBRARY HAS BOOKS BY THAT PARTICULAR AUTHOR,YOU WILL GET THE LIST OF BOOKS

STEP 3: CLICK ON THE TITLE OF THE BOOK YOU WANT TO DOWNLOAD. THIS WILL TAKE YOU TO THE NEXT PAGE.

IF YOU HAVE ENTERED THE TITLE OF THE BOOK YOU CAN SKIP THIS STEP.

STEP 4: NOW, UNDER DOWNLOAD THIS EBOOK FOR FREE, LOOK UNDER THE COLUMN TITLED COMPRESSING.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR ZIP. RIGHT-CLICK ON MAIN SITE IN THE ROW THAT CONTAINS ZIP.

STEP 5: SELECT THE OPTION SAVE TARGET AS FROM THE DROP DOWN MENU AND YOU ARE READY TO DOWNLOAD AND SAVE THE FILE.

NOTE: YOU NEED THE SOFTWARE WINRAR TO OPEN AND VIEW THE DOWNLOADED FILE. YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IT FROM HERE.

YOU ARE NOW ALL SET FOR READING YOUR DOWLOADED BOOKS.

WHY IS DOWNLOADING ZIP FILES BETTER?

-FOR ONE THING THE FILES ARE SMALLER HENCE THE DOWNLOAD FASTER.
- SECOND, I HAVE FOUND THAT IF THE BOOK CONTAINS PITURES, THEY ARE RETAINED ONLY IN ZIP FILES

RIGHT HO JEEVES- P.G. WODEHOUSE

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:55:00 +0000

Quaint phrases and words I have never before come across marked my introduction to P.G. Wodehouse.

In an asolute contrast to modern writing style, almost every sentence is amusingly round about.

Reading those days was obviously a pleasure enjoyed by ladies and gentlemen of leisure.
Here's the link to the book RIGHT HO JEEVES

WARNING: Make sure you have a dictionary on hand - and one other thing, make sure you are alone - you don't want startled glances shot your way when you suddenly burst out laughing.

EMBROIDERY BOOKS

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:29:00 +0000

Back again after a long break. Have signed up for oil painting classes. so I haven't had time for needlework. I am now halfway through the course and hoping to find some time here and there for needle and thread.

Speaking of needle and thread, here is a lovely book I've unearthed while digging through the archives of Project gutenberg - Embroidery and tapestry weaving by Grace christie -this book is simply crying out to be shared.

I simply loved the interesting uses the buttonhole stitch has been put to.

I haven't read the book as yet - just browsing through and took me a while to realise that the design above is composed of the buttonhole stitch.

The pictures below are the closed herring bone stitch and some of its applications

When I see such lovely, painstakingly laborious work, I sometimes wonder if, in this quick fix world, we have forgotton that there is joy and immense satifaction in painstaking work.

WOVEN PICOT FLOWER

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:41:00 +0000

I learnt to work this stitch from sharon's blog, you will find the instructions in her new blog - Pin Tangle

Click on pictures to enlarge.As you can see, I have worked the flowers in woven picot stitch. I tried to work buds in plain woven stitch, but it did not have a rounded tip. So, I worked a lazy daisy stitch and wove through the legs of the chain - you can see the finish in the picture below.

The petals of the flowers could have been spaced more evenly.

I realise in hindsight that I should have spaced out the petals before I started working. The sketch below will not win any awards for neatness, but, I am sure you get the idea.
I worked the five short lines first and then the longer ones in between.

YAM FINGERS

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000

Ocassionally I stumble upon some truly wonderful recipes while trying to use left over masalas from some other recipe. Sometimes it is because I can never stick to recipes. I soon forget all about it because I never bother to note it down.

I now try to note down the recipes immediately after I cook the dish.

Yam fingers is one such recipe.

Try it out and enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

yam 1/2 kg

cornflour - 3 tbsp

salt to taste

For grinding:

urad dal - 3 tbsps

red chilles - 6

tamarind - size of 1/4 lemon wedge

chopped corriander leaves - 3 cups

METHOD:

1. Remove skin from yam and cut into desired size - here I have cut them into bit sized fingers.

CAUTION: AS FAR AS POSSIBLE TRY NOT TO HANDLE THE YAM WTH YOUR BARE FINGERS - BECAUSE YOUR FINGERS MAY START ITCHING. WASHING YOUR HANDS WITH SUGAR GRANULES SOMETIMES HELPS REDUCE THE ITCHING.

2. Steam the yam in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle - Or steam it any other way you want. Just make sure that the yam does not become soft.

3. Roast the urad dal, tamarind and red chillies in a dry kadai and powder it.

4. Now add the corriander leaves and 3tbsp of water and make a fine paste.

5. In a shallow vessel, add the cornflour, the ground paste and salt to taste and mix well.

6. To this mixture add the yam fingers mix so that all the yam is coated with the masala.

7. Marinate for about 15 minutes.

8. Deep fry in hot oil.

These yummy yam fingers can either be served hot with hot beverages especially good on a rainy day - or as a side dish with a meal.

MARINATE - MEANS TO SOAK IN

TATTERED HIBISCUS

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:17:00 +0000

I have always been facinated by this species of hibiscus. The buds and the flowers hang down from the branches. The flower, as you can see from the picture below is deeply serated.

The plant as such looks shabby and is not suitable for grouping. It looks best isolated especially on lawns etc.

POSTING OTHER PEOPLE'S CONTENT

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:27:00 +0000

I had a nasty shock today while browsing the web. I found some of the contents from my Kasuti tutorial copied and posted word for word in another blog and the author was passing it off as her own. There is no possibility of her having copied the contents from the same book I have copied it from as my husband first reasoned - because Whatever I have posted is from my personal notes taken over 15 years of teaching embroidery.

My husband and sons had smug smiles on their faces and if any one of them had said, "I told you so." I would have smacked them. Their constant nagging about other people copying content was one of the reasons why I did not continue the tutorial. Their main concern was the amount of time and effort I was putting into it.

I never worried about copyrights before because thus far I've always found people stumbling on interesting blogs referring readers or directing them to the said blog.
Simply speaking, I never felt the need.

Now it looks like I have to water mark my tutorials and look into copy rights.

LANTANA

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:31:00 +0000

Lantana depressa

This is the species with yellow flowers. This semi-trailing plant is sometimes used in bonsai. It is a hardy plant that withstands any amount of pruning. The flowers as you can see are borne in attractive clusters - probably due to the shape of their leaves, they look like clusters of roses from afar.

I don't know the species name for this lantana. But of the 5 species of lantana in my garden, I love this best. It is truly intriguing - the colours & hues you see during the various stages of blooming.

MOTIFS FOR KUTCHWORK/SINDI EMBROIDERY SERIES I

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:39:00 +0000

Here are some very basic motifs for Sindi embroidey/Kutchwork

CROCHET PURSE

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:25:00 +0000

When I started this project, it was supposed to be a drawstring purse for my aunt.

When my little niece saw it, she asked, "Are you making this coin bag for me? "

so I made a front flap and my mom attached a macreme handle and it became her coin bag.

The scans are not so good and I can't make fresh scans as I don't have the bag.

GROWING YOUR OWN BANANA TREE IN YOUR HOME GARDEN

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:25:00 +0000

The bunch seems to be diminutive and the fruit shriveled – reason I forgot to cut the flower as and when my mother told me to.

Growing a good yielding banana tree is very easy if you know how to go about it…
Here are some tips from my farmer uncles.

1. Dig a pit 1 ½ to 2 feet deep – the pit has to be really deep - otherwise the tree is not sufficiently anchored to bear the weight of the heavy fruit.
2. Leave the pit open for a couple of days. Let it have a good sun bath.
3. Select a healthy sucker – one that has a well developed rhizome.
4. Plant the sucker. Half fill the pit with well rotted manure (FYM – Farm Yard Manure or cow dung), leaf manure or wood ash. Fill the other half with the soil you dug out of the pit. Any soil left is banked around the tree.
5. A ridge is dug around about 2 feet away from the tree and the soil thus removed can be kept on the side of the ridge away from the tree – to be used for further banking the tree when it bears fruit.
6. The plant has to be watered on alternate days.
7. You can apply more Farm Yard Manure after 6 months and again after 8 months.
8. Bank the tree some more after each application of manure.
9. Now your tree should yield fruit in about 10 months.
10. Once the bunch has formed and the flowers start falling without more bananas forming, the flower has to be removed – this ensures bigger fruit and fuller bunches.
11. You get only one harvest from each banana plant. After the bunch is harvested , cut down the tree leaving a stump about 1 feet from the ground.
12. The tender stem in the middle layer of the trunk is used in cooking.

Note:
1. Frequently harvesting leaves from the tree means poor flowering and fruit setting.
2. If you must harvest leaves, then do it from only one of the daughter plants that shoot up around the mother plant letting the others grow unhampered.
3. Don’t let more than 3 daughter plants (tillers) – the growth of the main plant will be quicker and healthier. One of these can be the new mother plant after the mother plant is harvested.
4. The tree might start leaning to one side with the weight of the fruit. Bank the base of the tree with some more soil and support the fruit with a sturdy stick.

This particular tree took about 20 months to bear fruit. This is my first banana tree. I am hoping to do better next time.

BANANA TREE UPDATE

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:18:00 +0000

Here's the update on my banana tree.

I had to support the tree with a stocky stick - else with the bananas growing in size and number the tree would have fallen down. The monsoon rains wash away the soil bund at the base.

The bananas have started showing. A few more weeks and they'll be ripe enough to eat.

CROCHET SWEATER IN AFGHAN STITCH

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:15:00 +0000

My brother and his family are down here from Seattle. My sister-in -law got me some wool in soft pastels and pink. I decided to use the pink to make a sweater for their daughter.

Here's back side of the sweater. I put the fastening at the back.

The sweater begins at the front yoke. I worked the yoke in afghan stitch.

- for the body I worked 1 dc and 1 tr into each stitch skipping every 3rd stitch in the 1st round. 1 dc, 1 tr into each sc in the subsequent rounds.

You'll notice a differnce in pattern here and there - I just forgot to turn work and work in the opposite direction.

It was interesting the difference that made!

And finally for some embellishment - in brazillian style embroidery.

MOTIF # 16 - ANOTHER BEADED BOOKMARK

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:30:00 +0000

Here is another beaded bookmark. My foray into tatting with beads is inspired by
Teri. Her work as you can see is awe inspiring.

I've always wondered how to get beads into rings - we usually see beads in picots.

I tried and the result is what you see here.

I got a few beads into the ring. I realised after sliding the beads from the ring thread close to the ds that a length of shuttle thread was bare. So I slid in the same number of beads from the shuttle thread before making the next ds.

Looking at the bookmark now, I wonder if maybe I should have used 1 bead less for the inner ring formed by the shuttle thread.

The pattern itself is very simple - just the basic rings and chains.

I have written down the instructions for working the basic ring and chain with beads - the rest, I am yet to write down.

Ring: 12 beads in ring thread and 12 beads in the shuttle thread.
[1ds, slide 3 beads from the ring thread and 3 beads from the shuttle thread close to the ds, 1ds, p] 3 times, 1 ds. slide 3 beads each from the ring and the shuttle threads close to the ds, p 1ds, close ring, rw - the extra p at the end is to join the chain to the base of the ring when working chains on the other side of the rings.

Chain: 8 beads each in ball and shuttle threads. * 1 ds slide 4 beads each from ball and shuttle threads close to the ds, 1 ds, * p, rep from * to * rw.

BEAD COUNT:
- for 1 ring - 24 beads - 12 in the ring thread and 12 in the shuttle thread.
- for 1 chain - 16 beads - 8 in the ball thread and 8 in the shuttle thread.

Criical comments on this pattern, and any pointing out of mistakes will be appreciated.

MOODY BLUES

hari.bhavani@gmail.com (BHAVANI HARIKRISHNAN) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:47:00 +0000

A couple of years of blogging, a few posts some good and some not so good - where am I today? Still trying to find out WHO, WHAT AND WHERE I am.

I am, wife, mom, an avid(addicted?) reader, an enthusiastic gardener, a moody cook and homemaker, a sporodic needlewoman, an even more sporodic seamtress, a good friend, a dedicated teacher I was even a good content writer - My loved ones delight in telling people that I am "A JACK OF ALL TRADES AND MASTER OF NONE" - I drive my own car, fix my own lightblubs, cement, varnish, solder, wind the fuse wire and know my way around the hammer, spanners and screwdrivers. So why the sudden blues?

While I loved teaching in a school, I did not like the rest of the baggage that comes with working in an institution - the internal politics. I loved writing but I did not like working for someone who did not know anything about the topics I was writing about and could not appreciate the amount of time and effort that went into it - so here I am exactly where I started - Jack of all trades master of none - and I am fed up of well-meaning people telling me I am wasting my talents.

Looks like I am in desperate need of mental spring-cleaning...