Saturday 17 June 2017

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL June update

Hello lovelies,
It's that time of the month when we show what gifts we have been working on or/and what crafty gifts we have received. If you don't know what I'm talking about , check Jo's blog for more info.

First, baby blanket which I'm knitting for my friend's baby due in Aug, however the target is to finish by next week. It seems almost impossible now, even though I have been knitting it every free second of my time. I carry it in car to utilise the 15 mins of commute to office, at least I'm trying.
This is how I look it after 26 days....

DH and I have joke where we say "oh it looks like its grown to 15 inches" and find it to be always shorter by 2 inch of our guess 😁. Any guesses how long is it now?

I had to think very hard what else can I show you for this post and I remember that I missed showing some gifts I gave and received like the next two:

Presenting my first ever design....ok I know its pretty simple and is not a big deal for many of you, however for a person who doesn't have a single creative bone, it is a big deal!!

One day strolling thru one of the dollar tree equivalent shops in Kuwait , I spotted blank luggage tags. I bought a few to stitch something and insert in it. I gifted this to Expat Panda , fellow Kuwait expat bloggers who is an avid traveller.

My friend Z also an avid traveller brought this cute traditional ornament from Ukraine for me, she knows me well..addicted to cross stitch.

I'm lucky to have friends who bring me gifts from their travels..like this magazine CrossStitcher , Issue 317, my friend Tammy bought from Jordan .

Thursday I started reading the magazine with a motto to select designs which I can stitch in future. Of course ,first is the cover kit designed by Susan Penny.

Next is the cushion design called "Floral Fancy" by Emma Congdon.


The magazine has started new series of four house pillows , one for every season designed by Becky Spencer. This is the Spring one

This unusual design caught my attention, good for people who like word puzzles.

Next not a theme I would usually stitch but very appropriate for a cat crazy friend of mine.Designed by ThuHA Designs.

Again not my style but this birth sampler is cute and I may stitch it someday. Not too primitive or vintage ..Designed by Faye Walsh, Little Dove Designs.

Last but not the least, a design by Becky Spencer again , such beautiful use of colors.

What I liked about this issue is how the magazine have provided patterns by new designers. I don't buy many magazines however from various internet sources I find that magazines these days are publishing patterns by 3-4 designers with single issue containing multiple patterns by same designer. I don't have anything against these popular designers but it makes me wonder what happened to the designers who were popular a few years back.

Have you heard of these new designers I mentioned? While writing this post, I started thinking how many different designers have I actually stitched? I will try to get this number for my next post, join me and let me know how many have you stitched in your next post as well.

That's it my friends for this time, wishing you all a happy and relaxing weekend.

12 comments:

  1. I haven't heard of any of those designers except for Emma Congdon, I have stitched one of her designs, you may remember it. It was called Dream Big and I stitched it for my nephew as a birth sampler. She has an etsy shop called Stitchrovia. Lots of gorgeous designs! I am really going to have to think on how many different designers I have stitched. Great idea for a post!

    And lucky you to have such wonderful friends!! And I think that must be a reflection of how good of a friend you are :)

    I love your luggage tag design! What a great idea!

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  2. Your baby blanket is definitely growing. And no doubt, it will be finished in time.
    Such a nice idea to stitch that luggage tag for your friend.

    There seem to be some nice designs in the Cross Stitcher magazine that you received. No, I have never heard those designer names you mention, besides Emma Congdon. Some of the designers whose designs can sometimes be found in the magazines also have etsy shops, it seems. But I must admit that I'm not up to date with magazine designers because I rarely buy magazines - although I love them. But they are not easily available over here.

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  3. Very useful gift this luggage tag and as a great fan of balloons and cross words I love the patterns you show us from your magazine. xxx

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  4. Thanks for taking part in GG this month. Hopefully the baby blanket will have a growth spurt this month!
    Great review of the magazine, I have been sent this instead of Cross Stitch Collection and I must say it's getting back on track again. It used to be very good and then went over to very simple designs with big chunks of colour. These are much nicer but still very modern looking.
    I checked through my Happy Dance blog and there are 133 named designers plus some from the magazines who don't name them. Plus my WIPs and UFOs...So a round guess of 150?

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  5. How lovely your baby blanket is looking in those wonderful colors, Mini! And I really love the idea of cross stitching luggage tags. That is something I'll definitely keep in mind for future gifts :)

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  6. Your blanket is looking pretty!! And the luggage tag design is lovely as well. I had a luggage tag design shortlisted from a magazine to stitch but unfortunately the magazine could not be restored after it released a new app. Lovely gifts from your friends. Thanks for sharing the review of the magazine issue, looking forward to see you stitching those.

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  7. Good luck with the blanket! It's very pretty.
    You are certainly going to make the most of that magazine!

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  8. Beautiful baby blanket, sometimes it feels as though these designs never grow, but they do. Good idea stitching the luggage label and pretty magazine patterns.

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  9. Great idea for the luggage tag. The blanket is lovely, I hope you get it done in time. I've only heard of Emma Congdon too.

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  10. What beautiful cross-stitch designs and patterns - I will have to look for a few of those for myself! Your design is great - I totally appreciate how lovely it is for a design to work when you're not very design savvy! Good luck with the baby blanket - have you got much more to go? x

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  11. The baby blanket progress looking lovely

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  12. Well done, Mini! Your first design worked out really well! There will be no stopping you now!
    I hope you were able to finish your friend's baby blanket in time ..... was there much more to do?
    Nice to read your review of the magazine..... I especially love the pincushion! I was nearly tempted to buy that magazine for that alone ..... but how many pincushions does one really need ...... tee hee! And don't start counting them on my blog! 😉
    Hugs, Barbara x

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