The Chatai Fish Kantha

 

After the Kantha Workshop last year, I bought  Inspiration Kantha by Anna Hergert on Amazon to learn more. The book is very good if you're looking for some in-depth knowledge about Kantha, which I also learned during the workshop. Anna also wrote very detail about what kind of fabrics and thread to use, etc. Well, reading the book is not enough, right. We must try and experience it to learn more.

Frankly, when people heard about Kantha, the most common response would be "ah it's only running stitch, right?" but believe me, this "only running stitch" business can be overwhelming or intimidating especially for beginners. I mean, you have this notion that "it's easy" but when you get down to work on your piece, you will start to feel anxious because your stitches are not even, too big, too small, too ugly, etc. Also, there's a question of where should I start, how to end the stitches neatly, and a lot of other things going on inside your head. Well, at least that's what I felt when I started working on this Chatai fish design. 

When working on the fish, I tried to follow the book. The outline work was not tough but when I started the running stitches, I made a few detours. By the way, I am using 2 layers of cotton khadi which I got from the local market just before the pandemic. I tried my best to do smaller stitches but in the beginning, I did a lot of unpicking, because as I said, I feel the stitches are too big or the gap between the lines is too wide. It took me a while to get into the rhythm because I was doing this piece after I finished the placemats which have bigger stitches. 

I love the texture of this khadi fabric

Now, doing the fill-up stitches, I was confused should I work from inside out or just working from the top row by row. It's pretty tricky. I decided to work from inside out by echoing the fish. I imagined the echo stitches are like the splash on the water as the fish swimming away. After a few lines, it's time to take the stitches in a different direction. 

I worked on a section here, one corner at a time started from the bottom. When filling up the top part, I decided to go row by row moving upward. You can see the stitches are going in different directions in the picture above. It showed how confused I was while working on this piece. I even browse Instagram and blogs/websites to learn more about Nakshi Kantha and stumbled upon Fairly Worn website . Valerie is working with an NGO in Bangladesh and Tripty Boutique. Check them out, they are simply stunning. 

The back

Well, I still have a long way to learn and I really really enjoyed doing the hand quilting /hand sewing and this ancient technique is really intriguing and interesting to learn. Yes, there is a lot of work that goes into one piece of (original) Kantha, fair trade or not. But as you start learning the art, you will start to appreciate it more. Kudos to Valerie who decided to work with the NGO in spite of everything. It takes courage to support those people, especially across many continents. 

I hope more people especially in India and Bangladesh will revive this art of Kantha to its former glory. Because Kantha is not just a running stitch! I hope one day I can travel to Bangladesh (which is actually pretty near to my state) to see more about Kantha. 

Now this Chatai Fish Kantha is done, framed, and put up on my wall. I still have a few hand quilting projects for my small quilt shop and have a few ideas for my next Kantha project! Stay tuned! 

Check out more of my Kantha Journey 

Until next time,

Happy Sewing,

Elvira

*****

Linking up to this wonderful BLOGS

Reopening My Etsy Shop after Vacation Mode

 As you know, I really enjoy making simple and small quilts. And since I took the Kawandi Quilt Workshop last month, I've been hook to hand quilting. I have many small patchworks waiting to be made into something, but always got sidetracked. Well, I always have several projects going on besides working on orders. But you know what? Working in something you love is a great mood booster. And no, you don't have to follow so and so design or style or trend. Just simply do what you're happy to do. Even if it's a simple project. 

Last week I finally open my UFO/WIP bins and started working on small hand quilting projects and I am so happy with the result. In the Kawandi workshop last month, Saba told us about big stitch quilting (check out this post), which apparently trending now. I looked up about it on Pinterest and it's basically running stitch hand quilting like sashiko, Kantha, boro, and kawandi. Now, there is more than just running stitch! All those arts have a significant style and history behind it. And I'm so happy I'll be learning more about Kantha in next month's Workshop with Brinda Ma'am. so stay tuned and make sure to subscribe to my blog :D. 

I've been procrastinating about re-opening my small quilt shop on Etsy and finally a few days ago I did it! Wish me luck and if you have a little time, do check it out and favorite the shop! Thanks!!

VISIT MY QUILT SHOP

Right now, I only listed ready to ship items. Mostly are mug rugs and coasters! I really love the rectangular coasters. I used solid color at the back, so it will have a unique design and make it reversible! 

The coasters come in a set of 2 and since the gifting season is here if you buy 3, I offer free Express Shipping (5-7 days delivery)! The offer is also valid in my Handmade Shop.

What happened during Vacation Mode? 

Well, if you also thinking of re-opening your Etsy shop after a long hiatus like me, there are a few things you have to keep in mind.

According to Etsy, here's what happened when you put your shop on Vacation Mode:

• Your shop will still appear if someone searches for your exact shop name, but will not appear as an auto-suggestion in Search or other shopping tools.
• Your items won’t appear in Search.

And when you re-open your shop, it's basically like starting a new shop. What I noticed tho, my products still WON'T appear in searches for at least 24 hours after I activated the shop. Well, I used to put my fabric shop and handmade shop on vacation mode when I travel for a month or two, but I always able to bounce back within a few days. 

I think it's because the shop was not active for a long period of time, and during that time many changes have happened in Etsy, and all my previous data sort of deindexed. Now, I will have to work from scratch again! How exciting is that! :D

Now, how to get your shop up and running again after a long vacation mode?

I've been reading a few blogs and articles and I'm trying out a few things right now. When I checked my stats, I still have visitors every month even though it's very minimal. The visit mostly comes from my other shops. 

Here are a few things I am doing now:

• Edit my shop - fill up all the shop policy, announcement, about info, etc
• Editing the listing photos. If you have stock of your previous products, you can retake the photos, editing the title, tags, and description. 
• Adding new products at least one every day! If you have many items to list, DO NOT list them all at once. By listing one or a few products each day, your shop will get a little booster in search placement. 
• Post shop updates every day and
• Share it on Social Media as much as you can. Using Etsy social media updates comes with a link to your listing. It's very convenient instead of copy-paste the link from the browser.
• If you have a blog, it's a good time to post about it too (like what I am doing now).
• If you have a small budget to spare, you can consider using Etsy Ads, starts with a minimum amount, and increase it as needed.

I've seen an increase in views and visit since yesterday and hopefully will hear a ka-ching soon :D

If you're thinking of opening an Etsy shop, use this LINK to get 40 free listings! 

Thank you for stopping by today.

Happy Sewing!

~ Elvira

Linking up to these wonderful blogs