Monday, January 23, 2012

The Name Game: 13 Woodhouse Road


I'm thrilled to have Shruti Dandekar here from 13 Woodhouse Road. All the way from India! By way of introduction, I "borrowed" her profile bio. Get ready for a fascinating story. And LOTS of color!

Hi. I am Shruti. Born in India. Studied to be an Architect. Started my practice. Took a break. Got married. Started practice again. Took a break. Had a lovely kid - Aadi. Started job. Took a break. Learnt to quilt. And now nothing breaks except my thread..
How did you choose the name for your blog?
When I first started blogging I was on wordpress. I used another name. But I was not quite fond of it. Since most of my fellow quilters are not in India, but scattered across the globe, I wanted a name that would make me one with the crowd but yet, keep me different. That was the time I remembered an incident from the past.
I was newly married, mine was an arranged marriage, totally unsure, living with my in-laws like all the nice Daughters-in-law do... I had not yet started working (come on, it was barely a month since we had got married!) And I had so much of leisure time (oh! how I miss it) that I even read the phonebook! You want the proof, the name of my blog is the proof!!! I came across my MIL's name with this address and the home phone number listed in the phonebook. When I asked my FIL, he informed me that this was the old address of this place. Pre-independence! Wow!
I loved the address. 13 Woodhouse Road. 
The search for a name for my blog ended right there. I had found a perfect one. Something that had a touch of awe and oomph! Also, in the past things that were considered normally unlucky for others proved to be lucky for me. I decided to go on and use the "13" for me!

So, 13 Woodhouse Road - it was!
Were there other names you considered, and can you share any of them with us?

Actually, I thought of this one almost immediately after I started, so there were no others. My old blog on wordpress was called Shrutiz though.

Now that you are recognized by your blog name, are you happy with it, or do you wish you could change it to something else?
Oh no. I just love this name. I cannot even think of parting with it. I am even considering keeping the name for my fabric and pattern design company that I intend to start later on!

Please head over to Shruti's blog and say hi. She has a lot going on. She is currently running a series called the ABC of Quilting. Lots of valuable information there.

She has been a contributor twice to Fat Quarterly--the first was a really interesting article on color and the second was a tutorial on how to make those adorable samosa wristlets.
She is doing a twelve-month series where she will be making things designed by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson! I was amazed when I read this: I had never even heard the word "quilt" (I live in a non-English speaking nation!) before January 2010! Shruti has gotten much inspiration from Elizabeth (as many of us have...) and it's amazing what she has accomplished in two years!
And...she belongs to the India Modern Quilt Guild! I'm impressed. We don't even have a chapter here in Fresno, California (although we are current working on that...)
Whew! Shruti has a lot going on. But I know she will have plenty of time to say hi, so please stop by. Thanks, Shruti. It has been awesome having you share your fascinating quilting life.