beautiful terracotta utensils with non-stick coating

 Being from a potter community have fascination for clay utensils actually anything of clay   I own and use these beautiful clay utensils from my the remote area of chota Udepur in Gujarat. Made by The Dhanak Adivasi of Chota Udepur have an indigenous way of making non-stick terracotta utensils 

the best part is they are having a non-stick coating  made from locally procured lac, had bought these from the potter at a haat (weekly market in rural areas ) few years ago 

this is the most organic way of making non-stick utensils 

The uniqueness about these utensils is that they are made with the local clay, first sun dried, then burnished with application of geru paste and coated immediately with lac while they are taken out of the furnace. The firing is simple and fastest way ever seen anywhere. Dry leaves of Taad tree (local palm) are used to fire the utensils which takes only half an hour to bake them complete. The coating of lac, which is also harvested by the locals make it impervious, smooth and non-stick. 

The new normal

 

We're learning hard lessons lately. The ongoing coronavirus have taught me that to be resilient enough to bounce back time and time again, I need to strengthen my systems, learn as much as I can about what I want to do here and then put in the work to make it all happen.When I work through this season and my new systems start to evolve, those hard lessons might save me in the future.

spending a pandemic making soft and pretty things may seem impractical and silly in certain ways—, maybe, and certainly a privilege when my life and livelihood aren’t (yet) directly at stake. Handicrafts such as crochet, knitting, and embroidery—traditionally practiced by women and by the elderly—carry passive associations that defy most notions of bravery. 

I think of Jo March, the heroine from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, lamenting that she can’t fight for the Union Army in the Civil War but must “stay home and knit, like a poky old woman.” And yet that dismissal belies the quiet strengths embedded in every stitch. Counting the movements of hooks and needles, row after row, over the hours or days it takes to complete a project, requires patience, focus, and persistence. And these cognitive skills—to say nothing of the proven mental-health benefits of crafting—are just the ones needed to weather a disaster that’s defined by waiting.

https://www.create-with-joy.com/2020/10/inspire-me-monday-week-455.html

https://www.sumoftheirstories.com/blog/2020/handmade-monday-196

Meraki link party

https://keepingitrreal.blogspot.com/2020/10/welcome-to-really-crafty-link-party-235.html#more

http://www.sewcando.com/2020/10/hello-october-craftastic-monday-link.html

http://www.stonecottageadventures.com/2020/10/youre-star-blog-hop-october-week-2.html#more

Creative mumbling

 The trouble with daily life is that it's so damned daily It's taken me a long time to come to terms with not going out to work, but now that i've gotten used to it, I rather like it. If the house is reasonably tidy, I can always sit down and do what I feel like

https://grammysgrid.com/unlimited-monthly-link-party-17/

hand made

How are you doing these days? 

Well, this time is really challenging. I don't know if  for you too, but I feel so nervous, overwhelmed with duties and guilty last few weeks that I have so many things to do and still I haven't finished them yet. With all those mess in the house and the fear everywhere... I decided to make something with it. 

Don't be too hard to yourself, just a little bit :-).

Hunar the crafting hands

The Journey of Beads

If you love unique, handmade beaded jewelry crafted one bead at a time, you'll enjoy the history too

https://www.crazycrow.com/site/seed-bead-history-and-use-by-native-american-tribes/

https://www.swcreations.net/blogs/articles/91697415-the-fascinating-history-of-seed-beads-in-beaded-jewelry

https://www.bigbeadlittlebead.com/guides_and_information/seed_beads_guide.php

http://www.tohobeads.net/

Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs

 

Crafter's Block 

You may have the best intentions to get to that crafting project, but other things keep sticking in your brain and you can't make them go away. 

Part of that is no doubt a function of my ADD, but partly it's because I'm stuck in the Physiological Needs zone. The way this works is that you start at the bottom of the pyramid. If your physiological needs are met, you can move to the next level. If your safety needs are met, you can move to belongingness and love needs, and so on until you reach the self-actualization tier. 

This is where creativity lives.

few more face masks

I haven't really done any machine stitching of my own this week.... been happily hand stitching masks though ....

In the meantime I am still doing some more hand stitching ....

seems all my fabric scraps will be used

fabric face mask for Kid

 

Made a protective masks in reusable fabric, for kids

I personally can't stand the rubber bands behind my ears, made an ear saver with a rectangle of cloth paired with the mask where have stitched a button to one edge and made a loop on the other

You should use a 100% cotton fabric for this fitted face mask. This is a natural fabric that is breathable and it tightly woven.

The best mask for our heat in my opinion is this pattern

The curve of the center cut allows you to have a minimum of free space between the nose and the fabric to breathe a little better.

It has no folds, less cloth, less hot.

Only 2 layers of this fabric are enough and therefore less heavy, less hot the mask feels

Step 1) For this mask you need the base pattern, you cut the piece 2 times and then join darts with a straight seam at top and bottom along the center curved line. i have taken a cotton knit fabric and a printed woven fabric

Step 2) Sew the kitten's nose in the center of the mask with a blanket stitch then draw with a pencil and a very light stroke the snout and mustache and hand embroidered with stem stitches.

Step 3) Now place the piece with the embroidered snout and the other piece facing against each other and sew the 2 long edges leaving the sides open, turn on the forehand.

Step 4) On the sides, fold the outer edges inwards Place the elastic (about 12 cm) bent to the slot and with the edges inwards. Sew a straight stitch along the folded edge.

The protective mask decorated with the kitty face is ready

How beautiful

A forest is the last place you’d expect to find a chandelier, but John Grade’s gorgeous creation is no ordinary fixture.

The Seattle-based artist is known for his installations influenced by nature, including “Drawdown,” a wooden structure in Redmond, Washington, inspired by balancing rocks near the Colorado-Utah desert. And hanging between trees in Italy’s Arte Sella Sculpture Park is John’s most stunning piece yet.

Unveiled in 2018, “Reservoir” is made up of 5,000 heat-formed droplets. Each is shaped from casts of cupped human hands and framed by steam-bent strips of Alaskan yellow cedar. These plastic pouches collects rainwater and are attached to fishing line and suspended nets, which fall when it rains and rise when the water evaporates. According to John, the sculpture is about 65 pounds when dry, but can weigh more than 1,000 pounds filled with water.

Rain Turns This “Abandoned” Chandelier Into Glittering Masterpiece.

This is an installation in Italy by John Grade called "Reservoir." He made glass cups and hung them from a net. When they catch the rain they glisten. How beautiful reservoir-chandelier-italy

rag doll

When I was younger and first started sewing, one of the first things learned, to make was a rag doll. This was exciting to me not only because got to learn a new skill, but also because i got to actually make myself a new toy that i could keep playing with afterwards! As you can imagine, my skills have improved and the rag dolls made since then are far better than the finished product was that many years ago, had so much fun making that original doll that have never stopped trying different patterns and making different types of dolls.

tried to make a look a like doll for the little girl

While teaching my niece @hunanv how to stitch a rag doll as a gift for our little Diya #hunarthecraftinghands #handmadewithlove #ragdollsofinstagram #lovedbylittleones @ Hunar the Crafting Hands