Many a times i have discussed it with my friends that if you are engaged in something requiring manual skill....working with your hands in a rhythmic manner , it relieves you of your stress . Think of playing a musical instrument , painting , pottery , knitting or any kind of needlecraft , molding something to create a new form....it fills you up with a sense of achievement , a sense of control and above all a sense of happiness.......a very infectious happiness , because when you are happy , you receive more smiles .simply because you spread more smiles...........
I like doing many things , depending on my whims .............and depending on what the day to day routine allows me to do....i went for shopping yesterday and after returning , was obviously exhausted ...had to feed Mithi and to cook for ourselves too...and had to watch the finale of Big Boss too....after preparing Mithi's food n feeding her n doing a few more chores i just looked at an empty carton of darjeeling tea ( which i had kept for making a medicine box to be placed on the dining table......i keep forgetting my medicines and it has to be kept in the most frequented place as a visible reminder ) ...............checked out the threads n needle and a few denim scraps i keep stashing into a bag every time we buy a new jeans and it's length is altered............
i just sat with it for the next hour watching the Big Boss finale.......cutting pieces from the scraps , threading the needle and piercing the hard fabric with my cracked fingers....it hurts in winters you know....:)
I realised the time when Arvind said he is feeling hungry n if i had cooked the dinner ........ i hurried to finish the medicine box and got up to prepare a quick dinner later ..........
The final product was not a very fancy and neat piece but it made me incredibly happy....i had done something like this after years , especially this quick.....i have been in a habit to finish a painting or a craft piece in one sitting ( sometimes it used to be several hours for a sitting ) just acting on a whim ....it worked for me always and it worked this time too.........see how it looks .....i placed a flower pot with my garden's red chrysanthemums in it for the pictures..........
and here it is with my medicines.............
posing with a pot of cactus...the cactus is planted in a coconut shell to fit in this beautiful bamboo basket , i love all handmade things.......
and here it goes to be placed where it was meant to be.....
Since it was done in just one hour , you will see a lack of finesse and i am showing you the seems too........
just in case you want to make it yourself..........
The crochet doily which can be seen in the background , is made by my maid , who was a pretty teenage girl and i taught her the school subjects as well as the crafts i knew ..... she made many woolens for herself and her family at my place and this doily she made for me ...... i discovered this in a forgotten carton where it was stashed to protect some glassware during our last transfer , which was opened to search something we needed ......... i am using this piece on my dining table these days and it is featuring in some of my food photographs too.........
Three reasons to be happy in this post ......plants can make me happy any day !!!
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