Gujarat Travels in Jan, Jaipur Sketching in Feb 2024

 I like to write a review after a tour- helps me summarize for myself what I found, let's you have a little insight into our travels too.

Ahmedabad, it had been too long. We always stay at The House of MG  I think it is my favourite hotel anywhere and feels such a wonderful haven in busy Ahmedabad.

Interestingly they have just had a copy of the Constitution written on the front door- a much needed reminder at the moment in India.

Every vista in the hotel catches your eye. They have a staff member whose sole job is to look after the Flowers! What a job.

On tour I always learn new things about the places we visit- which keeps it fresh for me.

The warm welcomes and hospitality of people astounds me. We always visit the Gods at the start of an Indian trip if we can- a very local culture thing to do. We visited the Swami Narayan Temple in Ahmedabad and just happened upon a woman who visits each Sunday- she introduced us to the Nuns that live there and then took us to the dining hall as guests for lunch. So kind and made us all feel special.

Then we buzzed around the World Heritage listed Old City of Ahmedabad in tuktuks.

There is a wonderful Stepwell we always visit and a mosque next door I always enjoy a chat with the Iman. He is only a young fellow and attained the position not long before Covid. Welcoming and friendly, but times have changed- he looked harried and there were a group of youth who were being disrespectful - a very sad state of affairs India. 

Read the constitution guys, again you are not living up to it. Minorities are feeling nervous, like the world over for political gain politicians try and set up an us and them situation to divert attention from themselves.

The Stepwell is a magical place, fun to explore and take Bollywood style pictures.

And on we travelled, so good to catch up with many long term friends- people we met at craft events and later visited on our summer holidays in Kutch and now take a tour groups to.

Our group really worked hard at "helping the local economy" and through our group chat and still making their way through their stash back home. They have a wardrobe with many great memories attached.

It is fun to let your hair down somedays- as bus therapy we tied these fine cotton scarves I got from our Bengal weaver and when we visited the Ajrakh printers of the Khatri family Sufiyan very kindly dyed them for us in his Indigo Vat [ isn't it great having mates with indigo vats at the ready?]

And we decided to do a bit of a Bollywood photoshoot out in the White Desert. Fun times!

There was a guy out their with sparkly local costumes and everyone got dressed up and shimmied for more pictures- a real hoot.

This beautiful Madrasa on the way to the batik man I have tried poking through the crack many times to see what was inside- lo and behold the door opened this day and we were all invited inside.

This section is where pilgrims stay when visiting the mosque. So kindly welcomed inside and our curiosity quenched. 😊

Learnt something new at the Batik guy, Shaquil's place. When the cloth is washed it is always thrashed on a stone after- this thrashing actually straightens out the fabric and the edges sit flat. It does not need ironing after this. 

We are new to textiles in a way at our workshop- after natural dying Praveen washes in a washing machine and hangs it out to dry- the edges are always crinkly and have to be ironed before cutting- this is the traditional method to fix that.

Hmmm 

We have know Sujna Ben for years and taken workshops with her, always through Somaiya Kala Vidya,. She has taken their courses and really stepped up as an entrepreneur and is running classes from home. Fabulous to visit her, I can see how proud she is with her attainments.

We saw wild Asses on the salt flats of the Little Rann of Kutch and visited some of the salt harvesters. Everyone was touched at the challenge of their lives.

Danced in the evening at our Camp Site near the Little Rann.

The Sun Temple at Modhera is nearly 1000 years old, it is a place with a very warm and welcoming ambience. The sun always seems to be shining and it is saying come and visit. I know that sounds a bit fanciful but every time I go there I hear that.

We lived in a 1500 century Palace for a few days, chilled out, used the jeeps to visit the local sanctuary. You make a wish and put a terracotta horse under the tree.

Great place- so sad to see the government has decided to make it easier to access, and destroyed hundreds of horses as the move them and pave the area. Really what are they thinking?

Old Dadar, the gate keeper of the Fort /Palace loves to have his photo taken and he proudly escorted us around the village to explore all its nooks and crannies.

We had a great group of people to travel with-, some knew each other from previous trips others were newbies. I loved the way everyone folded in together and we felt like old mates very easily.

Thank you to the kind hearts of everyone.

One woman needed to sit up the front travelling, she was inclined to "help" the driver drive. I am usually pretty easy going with people BUT the one rule of the bus is always Let the Driver Drive, your help could actually be a big distraction.

I had to nudge once or twice then she said " ohh I do this at home" hmmm maybe it is not helpful and looking out the window and letting the driver drive is good for my anxiety and the drivers.

I got an email from her saying she has been on jaunts with her husband and he was smiling as he drove. It brought tears to me eyes. We can all have insights along the way- they help us in our life. It is good to recognise them. [ xx A good on you]

After Gujarat it was a quick flight up to Delhi to meet up with Leonie Norton and a group of sketchers and head to Jaipur.

I learnt a lot about Jaipur traffic- it is a pain to get around, patience is needed. Usually Jaipur is a place we buzz through for a few days and you don't notice it as much. 

For another sketch tour it has some great opportunities but it would be good to spend a night or 2 at a country palace along the way..... always things to refine when arranging tours.

We have all have challenges in life.

It is your attitude and reaction to such things that determines their impact on you and those around you.

My yoga teacher says- lift the edges of your lips UP- it really helps with everything.

People teach you things along the way.

Lovely places to visit and some wonderful work was made

We visited the Elephant Village- interesting conversation about domesticated elephants. I learnt Government decree is that their will be no breeding allowed, so the old girls you see will be the last domesticated elephants once they pass.

Our girl was Rani, she was happy to stand there and be fed by her mahout, his kids came over and tangled around her legs, she was not interested in us until a camera came out and she posed. 

We noticed that- and watched it happen Elephants are perpetual motion creatures but if you brought the camera up she would stop and kind of lift her face to you. Such a gorgeous girl - a delight to meet her.

Meet Rani- isn't she elegant in that pose?

Our palace in Jaipur

Lots of gentle interest in our sketchers- lovely way to meet locals.

There are lots of great places to sketch- look at that roof.

I knew we could not draw in the Taj, but thought I had found the perfect alternative. The sunset point across the river. Praveen and I did a reccy there in August, chatted the gate keeper and he was happy for me to sit and sketch at that time. BUT apparently in the crowds of peak season it is not allowed. 

Bit of a grrr moment but it was noice to be part of an excited crowd watching the light change and make photos for later use.

Ohh well, we tried.

The colours, and the sunsets all add up to a romantic place to sketch and wander.

Saying sunset made me think of Sunrise and a jaunt to the flower market- so beautiful Our gang made this Chai sellers morning- cheers everyone for a great memory.

bit busy

Running out the door next week to see my Ozzie Grandkids,
Can't wait

All a bit busy here,
Got lots of new ideas happening at Creative Arts Safaris, workshop is ticking along nicely even if a bit soggy still.
The rain still has not left.
Bulbir our pattern master and his cutting department have been kicked out of the machine room and he is so happy, he has more space and a bigger table on the verandah and we can fit 3 or 4 new machine people in the machine room.

One of our new ideas at Creative Arts Safaris is to Collaborate on tours.
We have a sketching tour coming..... more later. Well OK a hint.

and

We have Collaborated with the dynamic Gaelle Beech of The AnjelMs Project to craft a Rajasthan Tour for 2020.

Gaelle is passionate about khadi, natural dye, hand stitched recycled sari silk, fair trade and women's work...just look at her outfit. She has been a huge supporter of our workshop The Stitching Project .

This trip came about because she wanted to let friends and her loyal clients share what she loves about India.

Great itinerary so we are sharing it with everyone as our Rajasthan offering for 2020.

"Rajasthan- Community, Culture & Craftsmanship” inspired by Gaelle will be escorted by Fiona and Praveen

Hoping to get a CAS newsletter out this weekend.
We have had so much interest in our new Romanian Ramble.... only one more detail to sort.
Had everything in line only to realize EU Football cup rounds will be held in Bucharest on the weekend I want to arrive.
I want to be in Muramures for a Sunday and the first Monday of the month for a big farmers market so have had to make Bucharest a one night stop to start with and wait until the end to come back and really appreciate it. OH well.
Romania itself was so easy and home like but the getting there has been a long trail.

Life is never boring :)

media, marketing, why oh why?

Goodness me,
It seems a lot has changed with websites and ranking and stuff.
I used to tweak our website every so often.... I also had time to tweak our websites every so often and Creative Arts Safaris especially used to get front page ranking for those who wanted
small group tours
craft tours
textile tours
India, Morocco. Vietnam, Ghana tours..... now it is lost in the depths of Google somewhere.

Apparently you should tweak the website often, write blogs and link them to said websites and anything else but not over do it and be kind of spammy.

Link to other websites and get others to link to you.... again be real not spammy.

Tweak your SEO-  well I thought that would be a simple google and fix, but they use way to many thingamajigs I have no idea about.
Seems Facebook  is becoming old hat and Instagram is making its way down the same gurgler, as far as I can see.

and frankly I have got to the time in my life I can't find the energy to be enthusiastic.

if it was a make by hand thing I would be all over it- but a fiddle with computer and other nerdy stuff- call me a Luddite and let me out of here.

Do you know how I find a SEO tweaker? - how do you know they are good? How much will this cost? Happy to work with them and update and edit content on our website, want someone to do the back end tweaking.

Will have to quizz Gaelle at Anjelms, I think she has been learning a lot about this stuff.
She recently did an interview with moi for her website, and I do admire the look she has going.
Also love the working with her, she is fun, and supportive.

Oh and I should label pictures in a searchable way and use lots of them.... maybe embed something but I have no idea  what.... not hammer in computer I guess.

Haha Happy Sunday,
workshop is working so we can be closed tomorrow for Shiva and Pravati's [Hindu Gods] wedding anniversary.

patch this, patch that

patch this,

patch that

patch me happy.

yep a silly mood....workshop will be closed for 2 days due to Pushkar Camel Fair traffic, so I can't be asked to come in and do something.

I will be home in my garden with dye pots and veggies.... making like a vegetable myself as the mood takes me.

yippee!!

This last week or so, I have seen some of the things my mates have been using my offcuts for, yes I am that type of friend who likes to share an addiction around- haha or pose a challenge.

Patched bags this is what I came up with...
my mate Anne made this cute, petite organizers

My staff drool over a pin case Anne made, me, the stitches are tiny and perfect, everytime we sit together and stitch they always comment on my lovely friend making me such a treasure. I know she will read this and turn a little pink at the compliment, it is genuine awe at her work on the girl's part .
and Dijanne has set off on an Indigo version of her travellers blanket. Her Traveller's Blankets are divine, to run your hand over one is such a treat....all that stitching adds a whole new dimension to them.

want to grab your own offcuts and have a go? Click

 

I know they are only offcuts, but they have too much life in them to be thrown away and I think these pieces do pose a question- how to use up leftovers creatively, they are not waste just opportunities to think in a new way.
Big question all around in the current state our world is in.
I saw Dijanne's pictures of the beach on the remote island she has a residency ...littered with trash, last time I was in Halong Bay I was gob smacked at the island to island rubbish.
We must start re-thinking things. start close to home and broaden your picture day by day.
We're going through the workshop and trying to cut the usage of plastic bags- hard when we live in a world of dirt and are trying to produce a clean product, but we have a few improvements coming along. Even our new storeroom will be better protected to keep dust out to.
What small change can you instigate today?
It gathers momentum and you might add a few tomorrow.
Compost, say no to plastic, solar power....walk not drive-oops a big one!
be creative :)
oh and I have made a vest our of dhoti patches- Well Mrs Rameshwari did a lot of the stitch for me...

We have done scarves and are now working on a jacket...it will be so cosy.

 

Steamy

We really are a sweat shop today.
I like to make jokes about it because we are so un-used to humidity, but a few showers of rain and we are all wilting.
Not enough rain to ensure a crop but it is a start and we all hope the Gods will be kind, break this drought, please!
My glasses keep steaming up.
Our artist-in-residence, Anna Reynolds is a tough cookie, she keeps on going and is working up a storm, piles of samples, raiding the offcuts piles transforming sari silk offcuts into spectacular jacket, shrug type things.... playing with her new wood blocks, a very happy visitor.
Lots of fun and laughs abound.

 We've been out to see our old mate Om-ji and order some handmade shoes, it has been ages, in fact not since our Indian Inspiration Creative Camp When we work it out we say " Tthhhhhaaattttt Looooonnnnggg- doesn't time fly?"

Madly, madly working, new samples need to be made...I am trying to bring an element of handstitch into our khadi work, it is an extra little touch, I love the texture and lift it gives items and most importantly it involves our women and creating work for them.

Got a suggestion from someone who would like to organize trunk shows in the US, like a Tupperware party idea [that is how I would describe it as an Ozzie] we make up a kit of our latest samples, it is purchased by the person who will organize parties- party leader! sounds like a good title. Orders are taken and we then make and send to party leader who delivers.

Do you have experience with such ideas, comments suggestions very much appreciated :)

Praveen is steaming up his glasses sorting out silk for the etsy shop...it has slowed down and when we look that is because it is nearly empty!! Heard back from many who have received our little envelopes of offcuts and such, can't wait now to see what they do with them!

 

Got a new office guy, who seems to be working out well, early days but please, please, please let it be true.

Accurate record keeping is so important but being left to me, I have no time for the juicy, interesting stuff and I must admit I get grumpy and frustrated not following up my ideas and making new things.

 

Funny year, we had so many names on our Rajasthan Tour list for this year at this time last year, yet now the we are not certain we have enough to run- what happened?

Hopefully they all turn up this week or we might have to pull the plug, frustrating for those already on the bus and us who so love the trip and seeing our mates and finding new and interesting things.

Ghana tour is looking healthier but still got a few seats- been blissing out following a Ghana food blog...some tasty things to fuel fabric lust and craft adventures

Praveen nearly has a new pile of pictures to add to etsy so I must be off....

Grrrr pattern making guy, stockroom guy and print guy did not turn up....I so rely on our staff to find things these days....with the rain staff get called out to the fields to help the family plant....my cutting guy is here and making up some new samples for me, so that is a little good.

Stay tuned.

Sunday, lazy, melting....

One of those Sundays, I am melting and even though here Sunday is a day of work I feel in slug mode.
Wednesday is our Sunday but I am usually much perkier on that day....a life time of routines and programming!
Our workshop is buzzing along nicely, we have lots of work to do and are slowly but surely getting through it.
One of the weavers we work with is always asking for orders and then when we make a big one he is always distracted or having this, that or the other misadventure, slowing everything down.
Well I hesitate to mention him at the moment because he is doing very well and we are getting a steady arrival of parcels of 120 m of lovely Bihar khadi every 5 days....one more parcel and we will have a little mountain of Bihar khadi, Rajasthani khadi from Mr Gaffar and silk cotton from Bhagalpur and be able to head up to our dye guy and make colour.
Dye guys! we have had to change, our old faithful had been driving us nuts for ages with lost fabric, sloppy work and sssslllllloooowwwwwwwwwww work. We have had lots of chats and tried to fix it but got nowhere.
New guy has done a few batches so far and seems to have a lot more to offer in variety and colours and care so we are planning to leave some extra cloth and say what else can you do? Praveen thinks the guy will be quiet exciting to work with.
Hope so.
This week has been rather exciting,
The lovely World Travel supplement In Today's Quilter put together by Jane Rae arrived- the whole booklet is inspiring, she talks of textiles around the world and what people are doing. So there are stories of travel where hands on and real people contact is the focus [smile, smile our Creative Arts Safaris comes under that mantle] and the other aspect of many of the interviews are businesses that  also have strong social commitments to the people they engage with- fair trade ideas. Businesses where informed choices are being made in production and sourcing to make sure everyone involved gets a fair go [ smile, smile again!! our The Stitching Project comes under that mantle]. Business not charity is a sustainable way to the future, training people and letting them find a chance to build their future is empowering and it is where the best and most exciting work is produced, which is what all we textile people love to see.

 

Rather proud to be included in this :)

And then another notice in a journal written by visitors from a few months back- lovely photos make our place look rather exotic...usually I just see the dust. It is nice to take a minute to appreciate home.

A big thanks to Poppy and Jaz.

If you are in the UK Koumis and Kettle will be having a pop-up shop with some of the haul they collected at our place.

Just getting wound up on tours work this week.

Bengal is full- very pleasing,

Still got seats left in Glorious Ghana and Rajasthan: A Tactile Textile Tour, Teacher's Tour might have a seat or 2- definitely close to being full too.

Booking bonanza starts now with emails flying off left, right and centre!

 

Visitors

Friend's of a friend dropped in the other day, a pleasure to meet them,
One of the ladies, Hazel wrote this about us.
Amazing to see yourself through other people's eyes.
Hazel caught all the little things I love about living here in India along the way, there is always something to see.
And in the workshop, me with brow furrowed in concentration and a photo I love of Praveen laughing. We both spend quite a bit of time cracking up together- amongst furrowed brows!
She has a good eye for detail, thanks Hazel :)
Yes our workshop is an amazing place, thanks for the reminder.

I am sorry to be hitting you with multiple images via Instagram...something wrong this week but now sorted.

 Amazing things you find in the vegie market- these are carrots- almost black on the outside, once peeled and cut the aroma was super sweet carrotness and taste extra sweet. An old heirloom type variety, what a pale comparison to what you generally find in the market.

 A not so new block, I have been trying to catch up to for a while. Design by Marty....it offers such variety for print, and stitch.....I can't wait to catch up with it....

 One of the resons we have been so busy os our work in collaboration with Gaelle of Anjel MS based in Fremantle. The first delivery went almost before it got out of the boxes and so more has been made, and yet more....love getting pictures of our work out in the big wide world.

Praveen and I are still reaping benefits from our Mumbai event, being asked who are you and what do you do, gave us a chance to think it through a bit.
Wednesday - our Sunday we had lunch out and enjoyed talking about where we have come together. We have learnt to be more friendly with each other over the years, laugh a lot more than cry or fight. I think that is what I love about the picture of Praveen, there is my man, he can just crack up with laughter now, so much more than the man I met all those years ago....I think I have also grown in a similar way. Lovely to be free to become a lot more silly with the years, it makes it so much easier to get through all those moments of furrowed brows.


 

Recreational stitching

I am certainly not a how to person... mostly I am a bit rebellious and see every recipe there as an indication to be tweaked..... as you could imagine sponges never work. You do need to follow that recipe! ....
I have been doing a bit of recreational stitching as a result of Dijanne Cevaal being here and what fun it is!
2 layers of our Rajasthan light khadi handloom (thanks to the Mr Gaffer  workshop) and patches are a delight to stitch into.... Great weight....Great little texture to finish.
Just saying :)