Kitties

My girl and my best friend – Pixie

I very recently met Lara and it was instant friendship. It feels like I have known her forever. Susie is the first friend I made when I started writing here. So it is specially wonderful to be selected by both a new AND an old friend for the One Lovely Blog Award. Susie and Lara are friends with each other as well, isn’t that wonderful?

One Lovely Blog Award | Whims And Fancies

I love visiting Lara at Buzzing Bumble and Susie at Susie’s Sunroom. If you don’t know them already, you must really pay them a visit. I promise you will not regret it!

For the seven things about me that I need to share for this blog hop, I decided to pick seven words and pair them up with photos I’ve taken.

Ink

Love Of Notebooks And Ink | Whims And Fancies A Very Small Subset Of My Ink And Paper Collection

I grew up on top of my grandfather’s large printing business which printed books, among other items. I learned about different stocks of paper, various types of ink, book binding techniques, etc. at a very early age. The sounds and smells of the large printing machines, ink, paper, glue, typesets – it was magical. I was hooked for life to the world made of ink and paper which turned into a passion for art.

Books

Foyles Books London | Whims And Fancies

Advertisement At A London Tube Station

I have always lived mainly within the pages of books, away from the world around me. I walk around glumly for days when a book disappoints me. I stay in a haze every time I say goodbye to my ink-and-paper friends at the end of a book. It all started with my aunt telling me stories when I was too young to read. Then it continued on with my mother taking me to large annual book fairs and with reading from my grandmother’s book collection.

Camera

Valley View, Yosemite National Park | Whims And Fancies

Winter in Yosemite National Park, California

Lenses are an old hobby of mine. I see the world through the camera lens. My camera is my security blanket and the source of my confidence. I wake up at wee hours to catch the first sunlight, I even hike up the sides of mountains despite my severe acrophobia, all for that one perfect shot! ( My husband has the yawns and the droopy eyes to prove it! )

To see the world in a grain of sand,
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

– William Blake

Rocks

Liberty Cap Nevada Falls, Yosemite National Park, California | Whims And Fancies

John Muir Trail, Yosemite National Park, California

I study rocks and I collect them. So, if I get a bag of coal, that is a very good thing. Although it feels a bit nightmarish for me to ever settle down in one place, the diversity of California’s geology has kept me here, camping, hiking and exploring. I specially love the Sierra Mountains.

This picture was taken from the John Muir trail. Towards the end of the hike, instead of checking the map, we decided to follow our instinct. So, a 6-mile hike turned into …. wait for it… a whopping 7-mile hike!!!

Stars

Milky Way | Whims And Fancies

Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park, California

It’s a love affair. When it’s dark outside with clear skies and my nose is not stuck in a book, you will most probably find me peering through my telescopes, with a little help from my husband because of their weight. Currently I am in the process of building a radio telescope at home.

Travel

Fjord, Norway | Whims And Fancies

Heading Into Gairangerfjord, Norway

I have to travel, or I fall apart. Before a trip I read, I do research and I pore over maps. It’s a ritual for me. Then I whisk my husband away on an exhausting trip. I want to soak in everything about the new place without wasting a single moment.

Cold

Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park | Whims And Fancies

Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

I was born in January, and I have a feeling Old Man Winter must have made me using a little piece of himself. I have been in the icy arctic rain with an ear-to-ear smile on my face. Winter is when I am outside the most. Those of you who abhor winter, don’t judge me, I was born this way.

Now it’s my turn to pass the torch. Not only do I love the diverse art these ladies create, I also feel very comfortable nominating them because of their encouraging personalities and their eagerness to share and help. I know you will love them too.

Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts
Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs
Esther @ I Patch And Quilt
Kris @ Kris Loves Fabric
Mary @ Needlemom

Also please remember to visit Lara at Buzzing Bumble and Susie at Susie’s Sunroom.

Weeping Angel Quilt | Whims And Fancies

It is to their credit that I am ready to try Free Motion Quilting on this angel block. Wish me luck!!

And have fun visiting my friends,
-Soma

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Star patterns in my Shop

I will start with a little background story to this quilt. A few years ago while I was volunteering at a shelter, Mr. Montague Wilberforce joined our little band. At the time he was a sick, stressed-out, untrusting, biting middle-aged man. However, over months of care and a lot of patience, he became a healthy, relaxed and loving gentleman who now purrs all the time. He also likes nothing better than to spend a lot of his day with me.

Except, there is the little factor of a gigantic Maine Coon boy named Mr. Tuffleberry who has been spending his days with me while I work since he was a tiny little kitten. He does not like to share his bed. So Mr. Montague comes by now and then in between his romps around the house to cuddle and sleep on my lap for a while. Since he loves to be very close to his humans without being on the lap the whole time, he spends the rest of the day with my husband in the next room while he works.

I really love quilting for my kitties. I made the 2014 Pantone Challenge quilt for Mr. Tuffleberry while he was recovering from a surgery. Now it was time to make a personal quilt for Mr. Montague as well.

My knitting stars quilt patterns – Aran, Argyle, Vale and Fair Isle

Star patterns in my Shop

I had made these vintage-themed star quilt blocks last year. Having read up on the history of British knitting, I based these patterns on traditional knitting designs. I made the Argyle and Vale stars first from a set of Grandma’s House fat quarters, and then a mistake led me to making the Fair Isle Star and the Aran Star with different background colours. I found a perfect Fleur-de-lis grey-cream fabric for the sashing, and I used it for the backing too. Originally I wanted to hand quilt this, but I am a very slow hand quilter and it would have taken forever. At the end I decided to machine quilt it with a crisscross diagonal quilting pattern using a green variegated thread and bound the quilt with Kona Chocolate.

Now my beautiful blue-eyed boy Monty has a quilt made specially for him that he lounges on and I can chalk up another finish.

-Soma

One Lovely Blog Award And Friendship

Ink