Happy Diwali Everyone!

I have had many a lazy weekends up until I discovered the event Patty runs on her blog every week. Its called Patty's weekly story and it just inspires me to do something creative each weekend. I mean I do most of these things anyway but now I remember to take pictures and post them here so that I can share with you guys and get more inspiration :-)

So here's what I have been upto this past weekend. Surprisingly it was quite a busy weekend in the creativity department. It started out with me finishing up a project I had procrastinated for quite a while...a hand embroidered pillow case for lil N's bed.

After this, I spent most of Saturday morning baking a cake for lil N. I have been wanting to re-start baking which I had almost stopped ever since we moved back to India 3 years ago. Reason being I missed the conventional oven that we had in the US and was never sure how the microwave that doubles up as an oven will really work. So I started with a ready cake mix just to see if the baking gets done evenly and I was pleasantly surprised! It was awesome and now I am ready to try my hands at more healthy recipes - inspiration being my friend G and this site here.

On Sunday, I finally wanted to get started on the festivities preparation for Diwali. I took inspiration from Patty's hand made lanterns and got to task. My baby and I worked on making these paper lanterns on Sunday afternoon while dear hubby was cooking up some yummy lunch for us. I plan to hang up some of these with bulbs in them and some I will probably use to decorate the rangoli I am planning on attempting at the entrance to our home. This project was super easy and lots of fun for the kiddo and me. Thanks Patty!

In the evening we wanted to try our hands at cooking up some sweets and snacks for the Diwali season. Now mind you I have never made Diwali snacks at home...have always just assisted my mom in doing these things and even that has been over a decade ago. So each Diwali, we just got store bought goodies until last year when I decided I'd try my hand at just one item - besan laddoos (recipe from here). They turned out yummy which probably got my hubby enthused about doing more at home...just like his and my mom used to do. So we thought why not try a Diwali with homemade delicacies and hopefully set an example for our lil N. That is how we spent Sunday evening making shakkar paare and namak paare. This was the first ever time I made them and they turned out alright. Thank god! Next I plan to make besan laddoos and a few other items such as chivda/bhel, gulab jamun, etc. Ofcourse I cannot make in huge quantities so store stuff will be bought to supplement too. But atleast now I can say I did make some Diwali goodies at home as well :-) BTW I didn't really take pictures of the food since I am no good at food photography (also coz I got worn out doing all the cooking :-))

Other Diwali things on my list - I have been looking online for some very simple rangoli ideas. Want to do something a little more than usual but still very simple. Let's see what I end up with...will post pics if I can :-)

Until then, do let me know all about the new or creative things you are trying out this Diwali. And here's wishing all of you a Very Happy & Safe Diwali Season!

Linking to Patty's Weekly Story and The Key Bunch - A bit of India in Every Home

My first attempt at a frock

Remember how I mentioned in my last post that I was working on a frock for lil N? Well...I finally finished it yesterday (well almost...pending a few finishing touches). So here it is...

So a little bit more about this frock. The design evolved over time as I kept working on the project. I did not start with any pattern in mind other than the umbrella skirt shape that I had already cut earlier. I wanted to make a low waist frock since I think N looks great in them. So the umbrella cut skirt bottom is made of left over fabric I had from my first ever sewing project - a top for lil N (see pic 1 in my previous post). The top portion is made of a blouse piece that my MIL gave me as part of the multiple fabrics she gifted me when I visited her last and demonstrated my new found love for sewing!

I wanted to do something different for sleeves this time. So after browsing online, I came across a video on how to make ruffles. Loved it. And tried it. And it came out fine - am mighty pleased with the new skill :-) Take a closer look...

Sewing the bottom to the top half was the most difficult part in this project since this was the first time I was making a frock. I had only made a separate skirt and a top earlier. I searched a lot for a tutorial or a video detailing that aspect but found none. So this frock is literally a result of lots of trials, errors and discoveries from my end. I would love to add a red satin belt at the waist or a black satin ribbon at the bottom of the umbrella skirt. Let's see when I get to doing that :-)

In the meantime, fit wise it turned out to be just the right fit for N. Which actually means that she may outgrow it soon! So I really hope she wears it a few times before I have to retire it.

Linking this to Patty's weekly party here. Lemme know what you think!

Updated to Add: Thanks to one of my friends, I also learnt a new trick to alter the length of pants using the free arm feature of my sewing machine. It is super obvious to the pros but was a duh moment for me :-) So obviously I got "trigger happy" and amidst the frock project, quickly altered (read:chopped off) one of my office trousers to turn them into capris! Now I can wear them more often in a totally different style! Pics later...ta da!

My world of sewing

So I wrapped up my sewing class in mid August and have been working on some projects at home since then. The class was for learning 2 basic garments - skirt-top and salwar-suit. It helped tremendously to get the basics right and steer me towards the right direction in terms of exploring the rest on my own.

As promised in my previous post, here is a small list of my initial projects (in chronological order) in the sewing world along with some pictures:

1. Top for lil N

2. Patternless free flowing skirt

3. Re-purposed hubby's pants to make shorts for him

4. Altered one of my nighties

5. Basic Salwar suit (kurta and salwar both)

6. Sleeveless kurta with a fancy neck (using paper canvas)

7. Patchwork Purse for lil N (made out of leftover fabric)

8. Another kurta for my sil (similar to what I made in # 6)

9. Completed a half finished night gown for mil

10. Assisted friends in altering the length and slits of their kurtas

Top for lil N

Skirt for myself

Re-purposed hubby's pants as shorts

Here is the kurta...

Here is the salwar...

And here is the entire outfit!

My second kurta (sleeveless and a little more advanced neck pattern)

A better view of the neckline

Me modeling the second kurta with the first salwar :-)

A small purse for lil N

Lately now, I have been working on a new frock for lil N with left over fabric. Linking this to Patty's 'Weekly Story' here! So whaddaya think so far?

A New Hobby

So I have a new-found hobby lately. Well, its not so new I'd say...it has been on my mind for a long time but just haven't had a chance to get around to doing anything about it. Having a daughter makes you want to learn it even more. Any guesses what I'm talking about? Well...I won't make this any more dramatic. Here goes...

I am talking about...Sewing!!! I mean I always knew how to operate the sewing machine to do a basic straight stitch and stuff since I have grown up seeing my mom sew clothes and such for us kids. But more than machine operation, I wanted to learn how to measure, draft, cut and stitch a piece of cloth to turn it into a pretty frock or a lovely skirt or a ghaghra choli for my little princess. I was always looking for a good tailoring institute or even some one willing to teach basics from their home. But did not find anything until a few months ago when I learnt that there is an institute very close to our home with the entire setup and what not at a very nominal cost. This was like a great find coz what I always got was something far away from home or work which made it impossible to go on a daily basis. This institute taught all the classes I was looking for but the only catch was their timings - they were Monday to Friday from 10am to 1pm. So obviously I couldn't enroll since those coincided with some of my office timings of 11am to 8pm. But then one of my co-workers (we'll call her V) inspired me. She said if I really like doing something, I should find a way to do it. One way could be to enroll in this class and go whenever I can...so don't push yourself to go every day but if you can go to work late once a week or so, you could go to the class in the morning for an hour or two and then to work...even once a week is better than not going at all. She has done the same for her passion to play piano. Taking inspiration from her, I took the plunge in May. I joined and went sporadically once in a while and kept wondering how to continue working at it from home... until finally I made up my mind to invest in a sewing machine myself. So by the end of June I had completed my first project - a top for my lil N. When I saw her joy in wearing it and flaunting it around, it was just priceless. That is when I decided that I was ready to finally own a sewing machine. I mean my mom always had it and so did my mom-in-law. If nothing else, it will be very handy for mending, repairing and re-purposing clothes.

Ofcourse by then I had also done my research on sewing machine makes, models, features, etc. and made up my mind on which one to buy. That is how my friends, on June 29 2011, I finally became a proud owner of the Singer Fashion Maker 8280! Oh man and how I loved it since the day it arrived home. Sewing on this machine versus the pedaling one I was learning on, was such a day and night difference! This was far far easier to handle and work on tricky areas whereas with pedaling I am always scared of turning it the other way and stopping it in a hurry when the area to sew is a tiny one. Even things like threading a bobbin were a breeze on this as compared to the pedaling machines where I haven't yet mastered the technique.

I am dying to upload pictures of the sewing projects I have done so far but just so that I do not forget, I will list them out for now and come back later with pics. So the first one was a cute little top for lil N (a simple black top with white polka dots on it). The second was a pair of shorts I created for dear hubby out of one of his old pants. And then I altered one of my nighties to make it more comfortable to wear. The next was a skirt that I learnt from scratch at the institute. Now I am working on learning how to make a salwar suit. Can't wait to buy a nice fabric and start working on it asap!

This whole sewing-bug-phase made me reflect at how at different phases in life, there have always been one hobby or the other that has drawn my interest. So much so that I do not hesitate to make time to learn on my own but also go out of my way to find and attend classes to learn it well. I think it keeps me inspired and gives me a reason to smile other than the daily routine of work and home. I think I took this from my mom who always encouraged me to learn various things at home whether it was embroidery, fabric painting, knitting, sewing, anything. She even sent me to hobby classes every summer vacation to pick up things such as nib painting, tie and die, etc. I loved it and I so thank my mom for instilling that creativity bug in me.

If I were to list my most recent passions, I would say there was a time when I was single and dating my current hubby when I was sooooo into Scrapbooking. I mean I was so into it that I knew everything about acid free papers, embellishments, albums, journalling styles, etc. and have scrapbooked every single memory of our courtship days. Until the time I got married and busy with our new life together. So I still carry all my scrapbooking supplies, tools and clippings that I so want to put together some day when I have the time. Then came various other passions such as making greeting cards, planning theme based birthday parties, etc. but I realize it was mainly because I had sooo much scrapbooking material that I had to find a way to use it somehow. Somewhere in between I also kept doing hand embroidery and made things such as pillow covers, aprons, etc. Now it is the sewing bug that has hit me and god only knows what will be next.

I may not be excellent in each hobby I take up but I love doing it and it inspires me to do more and more. I keep telling my hubby that my dream is to open and run a hobby store one day (maybe once I retire from a corporate job lifestyle) and pass on this love to sooo many others like me out there who just need an inspirational place to let their creative juices run! Ah...for the love of hobbies...and dreams... :-)

Lessons from Mommyhood

It took me forever to pen these thoughts down but believe me, once you are a mommy, you never stop marveling at how much you've changed since you've had a baby. Life teaches you something new almost every day and sometimes it is so overwhelming that you almost forget what you were before this tiny creature entered your lives and changed it completely (for the better I'd say). So taking up this tag was not easy since it made me think and write and actually limit the lessons down to a few key bullet points amongst the innumerable ones motherhood teaches you in its journey. But thanks to Manasi who tagged me on this, I'll still make an attempt:

One thing that has stuck with me over the years is something a co-worker told me when I was in my last trimester. I just met him near the elevators (infact I still remember very clearly which part of the building and the exact spot where I was while these words were being shared with me) and he saw how I am almost there and congratulated me once more for expecting. And he said "This is such a life changing event. Infact let me tell you that after the baby you will not even remember how your life was before you had her. " Such simple yet true to the core words! I still think of him when I reflect on our lives at times or see a new mommy-to-be.

Another lesson I have learnt and never forget to impart to mommies-to-be is this. Please enjoy all your sleep before you have a baby. More importantly, enjoy the lifestyle which lets you sleep in to late hours during the mornings. Coz once you become a mommy, you will not have that luxury anymore. I know they say sleep is precious but for me, it is the early morning sleep that is the most precious. Coz I am just NOT a morning person. But once you are a mommy, you have no choice but to be one or atleast force yourself to not just get up early but even function like a clock early in the morning. I mean even weekends, when you think there is no rush in life, the baby decides to be wide awake, chirpy and playful early in the mornings!!! Whew! I get tired just thinking about mornings :-) But its not all bad you see. Mommyhood wants you to be up that early so that you can enjoy the baby a little more before the mad rush of routine starts. Or so that you can enjoy a few minutes by yourself before motherhood calls.

Patience is my new virtue. People who know me since my childhood marvel at the amount of patience I have grown since having lil N. Including my own brother! Especially at the age when your babies turn into toddlers and are discovering life on their own and have millions of questions every single minute. It is sometimes hard not to lose patience and to tell them to go do their own thing. Believe me, most times I make an effort to answer her questions to the best of my ability and in a language she can understand. Coz I strongly believe, if we curb this curiosity, the kids will either lose all interest in discovering and questioning ways of this life or worse still, will go find ways to get their answers from sources we may not like.

I always knew that I worked very well under pressure and that I can be a superwoman, multitasker queen when I need to. So I will not elaborate on that here and infact will just say that mommyhood has honed that skill of mine to perfection. I am sure this applies to most mommies in life :-) What I did learn is that now, as a mommy, I will keep worrying about almost everything. Infact I remember when I was talking about something I was worried about regarding my pregnancy to my boss at the time, she had said "Welcome to motherhood dear - you'll always worry about something or the other for the next 18 years until your child leaves your home...or even after that". Now I know what my mom must have gone through every time I wanted to do something reckless or even as simple as go on a school trip out of town. I used to tease her then but now I can sooooo relate to every emotion that must've gone through her heart.

Another lesson I learnt - that my husband is truly my rock in life. And that with him, I can face every challenge thrown my way. I am so glad that after all the childhood and teenage crushes, I finally found, loved and married a man who is just perfect for me. He and this event called motherhood taught me that come what may, if life throws a challenge at you, it also gives you the strength to endure and come out of it with flying colors. Or in other words, if God brought you to it, he will take you through it. You know how I know this? When lil N was born, we used to live in the US. And due to many reasons best left aside in this post, both our sets of parents could not come be with us when our baby was born. So we had to figure out how to raise this little bundle of joy all on our own. Not one single extra hand to help. Not even a maid. (We had hired a nanny once I was back home from the hospital but she turned out so devastating that we had to fire her within a week or so). That was the time my hubby and I bathed, fed, changed, rocked the newborn to sleep, took shifts at night all on our own 24 hours a day with no prior experience or help. Our love grew stronger than ever during that time and still makes me believe that come what may in life, if I have my husband by my side, I will be just fine.

During that same time, I also learned that when you are far away from home and your own families, your close friends become your extended family. So while we were learning how to be a mother and father to our little one when she arrived, our friends did the most amazing thing. They all got together (virtually over email) and created an Excel spreadsheet listing out who will take turns to deliver food (lunch and dinner) to our place every single day until we find a new nanny. And these were people who had kids and full time jobs of their own to worry about. I will never forget how our doorbell rang every morning with one of our friends coming by to check in on us and drop our lunch on their way to work. Some of them even had their mothers visiting them in the US and sent nutritious laddus, drinks, etc. that are given to new mothers in their own families. God bless them all.

There is soooo much more and like I said, each day teaches you something in this new life as a mommy. But it is not easy to write it all down. I can keep going and going but I think I'll stop now and pause to think who else can I tag. I am pretty sure most people I know have taken this tag up already but I'd still love to hear from Simran, HVP, Choxbox, Shruti and any other mommy who'd like to take it up. Take it away ladies!