Happy Diwali

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I’m a day late (maybe not, it is a 5-day festival!) because I couldn’t decide whether to post this mangled piece or not. It is my very first trial with lots of mistakes. Also the shape of the diya (earthen lamp) is not exactly as I had visualised or sketched. Nevertheless, mistakes and all – here it is, with best wishes to all...remember it’s the thought that counts !

Made with size 40 & 50 threads. I worked the diya in one colour wound continuously. For the flame, I added 3 colours on tapestry needles to weave a 3-coloured Cluny flame. The stripes go from broad to narrow, and there are 2 yellow shades in there, along with the maroon. Don't look too closely, as a courtesy to me ;-P

I will work this again in size 20 at a more leisurely pace and reshape the diya, too. Diya is my favourite symbol of the festival. See my previous attempts here (tatting) and here (mixed media).
I also intend to use this and another flame idea on a tatted candle for a more universal appeal and application. Hoping for better results ...

And an update on the “unending” Scrappy Doily – Round 6 is completed and it now measures 5”x4”. Yes, the oval shape has held with graduated larger rings around the acute curves.

In a moment of ‘un’decisiveness, I snipped off the tails. I want to continue with a few chain rounds, but realised that there are odd number of rings on this round! Have to work out how to overcome this imbalance before I continue. Guess I'll just add another round of mock rings taking care to even out the number. It will be another confirmation of the doily keeping it's shape.

happy festivities J

lighting up the sky !

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Wishing everybody a very happy diwali 

& a prosperous new year

The brown text below are active links to images, etc. Click on them....

This wasn’t how I had intended to post. I was hoping to tat a few more diyas besides this prototype and share the pattern alongside. Haven’t been able to keep my focus on anything, including tatting, and before time slips away to a lengthy year-long wait, I decided to do a bit of MS Paint jugglery and post as is.

To me, the main attraction, the charm of Diwali or Deepavali ("festival of lights") is the diya (clay lamp) with it’s mesmerizing flame, and the rangoli. My favorite motif for Diwali greeting cards was always the diya. 

Used to spend hours making colourful dry powder rangoli, using freehand designs that I came up with each year. Once sis & I even did a Krishn & Radha theme. 

Many communities use ground rice flour paste – all white or with a touch of colour added to the design.

I’ve tried to imitate the wet kolam in this collaged pic. 

The white tatting is part of a new snowflake I have designed (still trying to get the stitchcount, etc. right) to share later.

This diya doodle prototype is pretty tiny – 1”x1¼” and uses 2 thread sizes.

The mistakes are glaringly visible in the pic :-( 

I had ideas to make it simpler to tat, but have only been able to do the diya again, before shelving all my tatting, etc. for  a while.

A string of diyas is also called a deepmala - garland of lights! 

Can you see a larger diya symbolism in this arrangement?

The mustard oil or ghee used in the diyas actually served to keep away mosquitoes and purify the air. There are tons of environmental, seasonal, social, &/or health reasons for the traditions enshrined in festivals. Over time, they either become dogmatic, or simply blind, meaningless gestures. Other influences take over, as well. For instance, it is so much easier, cheaper, durable and practical to use strings of fairy lights than the cumbersomeness of diyas, especially on a windy night !

I love the brilliant fireworks that light up the sky, too. 

(now, if only they make those ghastly sounds & pollute the air!). 

Yes, that's my Crinoline Doily glowing around ;-)

I hope to share the Craftree butterfly pattern in next post.

happy tatting always :-)

Sparkle pattern

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Snowflake  Sparkle

a free pattern *

For this pattern, I’m trying something a wee bit different. I will upload a proper pdf in my Patterns page after a few days. And being a simple pattern, I have put it all in a one-page layout inspired by the style of some designers. This gives me an opportunity to proofread & correct any late changes to pdf (which I always seem to need), while still being available to anybody who wishes to give it a tat.

Center ring is a self closing mock ring (SCMR) with twisted picots alternating with very small picots. Climb out with a mock picot, the same size as the previous vsps.
One can avoid SCMR & make a normal ring instead. But in that case, load all 6 gold then 18 silver beads on to shuttle 1.
Tutorial for Twisted Picots here.

No RW, but SS where required. Tatted in one pass in clockwise direction.
Twisted picots in 2nd round chains are of different lengths for a bursting-out effect.

Following Frivolé’s recent tip to capture the sparkle as well as the gold & silver beads.
Tatted in size 40 thread, the finished snowflake measures 2" from picot tip to tip & 1" from ring tip to tip.

As one progresses, the long picots do tend to come in the way, making it a bit fiddly to handle.
Some stiffening will be required obviously . This is not stiffened yet.

And what if I stiffened it in this whirled fashion ?! It reminds me of the spinning wheel firecracker, or a cosmic phenomenon . It could be used as a symbolic motif for Diwali, with the use of multicoloured beads !

Here is the concise layout of pattern & the pdf download for easier printing

Many thanks to Robin for her Excellent Inkscape tutorials ! This was drawn after reading & applying part 1 (11a) of her latest in the series here. I think the diagram has emerged much better than all my earlier drawings, right ? I have been exploring a teeny tiny bit, but still a lot to learn from the Master.

Play out your own variations & hope you share a pic or link & any feedback . In case it is not possible to print out the pattern, feel free to leave a comment & I will convert to a pdf download.

happy tatting :-)

Motif #15/III for 25 Motif Challenge

Related Posts : Twisted Picot Tut

Art : Diwali

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Original Artwork

Looking for some quick & easy designs for Diwali greetings ?

Want to add a dash of festivity to simple earthernware diyas?

Do you enjoy the satisfaction of a handmade creation?

I

 t has been a long time since I posted anything on art ... anything other than tatting in fact ;-P

With Diwali just a few days away, I slipped down memory lane & pulled out the very few remnants of past work that have been “captured”. Unfortunately, no photographs of rangoli. No good photographs even of these cards, that look much better & color-rich in reality :-(

Nevertheless, this was part of my life journey too .... Sharing pics/scans of my original artwork.

M

 y favorite Deepavali theme/motif remains the diya ! I am always drawn to this traditional form of lighting with it’s mesmerizing & majestic flame. Probably the reason why I tend to let the flame dominate ?! And the humble earthenware red mud diya is a perfect receptacle – unassuming yet nurturing .

This humble diya is soon vanishing due to the glut of artificial fairy lights. Well, yes, they are undoubtedly cheaper and more practical ;-)

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Painted Diwali Diyas

   

I enjoyed painting diyas … Here I’ve used only poster colors & quickly free-handed the very simple design using broad brush strokes. I added some silver poster paint along the upper rim.

If you look closely, you will notice that these diyas have already been used (the dark soot at the top left rim of upper diya), yet the paint has stayed fresh !

TIP : Always soak diyas in water for a few hours. Remove from water & let them dry completely. Only then use watercolors or any other decoration over them. Soaking & drying is a must before oil is poured in otherwise the diya will soak in humungous amounts of oil !

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Freehand  Watercolor  Diwali  Greeting 

Another freehand watercolor , with a dash of glitter !

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 Mixed-media  Diwali  Greeting

 

This is a multimedia design. After drawing the diya, I cut the cardstock to create a cutwork/lattice effect. Since a scan did not show the lattice, I have inserted a white sheet under it in the adjoining picture. White is where the black card paper is missing.

The outlines have been done in white 3D paint (it might’ve been fabric paint …. I forget) with a brown watercolor wash over the white once it had dried.

I then rummaged through my stash of glossy magazine paper to find graphics where the color scheme matched that of fire. This sheet was then scissor-cut into a collage & glued, to create the flame.

TIP : Ads in glossy magazines make for great collage scraps ! One can find myriad colors, shades, & patterns & no 2 collages will ever be the same !!

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Stenciled Watercolor Diwali Greeting

This last card is the very same design as in the multimedia card, which was used as a Stencil for the diya ! Water colors were used, along with some markers probably, for the flame, resulting in the yellows & oranges not gelling together ;-( …

                                                     
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Wishing Everyone A Very Happy & Prosperous Deepavali 

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