Gifted Gorgeousness SAL January 2019 update

Hello Friends,
Welcome to the first check-in of my favorite SAL, Gifted Gorgeousness hosted by Jo of .
I just realized I have been participating in this SAL since it started, well almost, one month after it was started 😁.

I’m at my parents house now and it is coldddd.. not the cold winter where it snows but  where one has to wear two layer of warm garments inside the house.Houses in India are still not equipped with heating , we use traditional methods of putting on layers, thick blankets and closing windows to avoid the chill.
Most parts of India celebrated the harvest festival with different names Lohri, Makar Sakranti or Pongal yesterday or today.
Its time to get together and celebrate the harvest and eat traditional winter foods.
I was fortunate enough to celebrate Lohri with my family (parents, brother, sister in law and nephew) this year . Lohri is the name of the harvest festival in states of Punjab , Haryana and Delhi.
A bonfire is lit outdoors with wood and cowdung cakes, prayers are offered and lots of dancing to folk songs is involved.Lohri is celebrated with offering popcorns, raw flattened rice(poha), peanuts 🥜, rebdi (sweet made of jaggery and sesame) to the fire.

I know you must be thinking that why I’m telling you all this in a GG post, well I think it is one of life’s biggest gift to be together with family on festivals and special occasions. I’m sure many of you agree.

I was able to gift my mom the birthday gift I made for her 60th birthday in September. Though she still thinks she has completed 58 😂.

This is how it looks framed. I bought a photo frame from a sale and just fitted the fabric in the frame with no glue .
I have a small gift planned , all kitted up , just need to be started.

That’s it for GG post, I will try to visit blogs and comment while on vacation .
If you see this post, that means I’m able to write a blog post and successfully post it first time from my mobile .

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL September Update

Hello Friends,

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. This is a easy SAL where you have choice to stitch any designer, color or pattern, just that it should be a gift for someone or gift from someone.

Today I have a finish to show you which is a gift for my mother's 60th birthday . Her birthday is on Monday, unfortunately I will not be with her that day physically but yes in spirit.

Here are some details

Project Name    Fabulous Florals

Start Date          4/13/2018

End date           9/11/2018

Stitch count       121H*129W

Designer           Claire Comerford

                                  Source              The World of Cross Stitching Issue 245

Fabric               18 ct white aida

Number of colors               35

Number of stitching days        55

I'm very happy with the result , though it was a bit challenging project with lots of fractional stitches , back stitching and some metallic . 

The fabric I used was a gift as was the magazine from which the pattern was chosen, so this project is a full blood GG project 😉

That's it my friends for today, I'm off to check other entries for the SAL.

Have a good weekend.

IHSW August Check-in

Hello dear friends,

It's time to show what I stitched for International Hermit & Stitch weekend . If you don't know what  IHSW is, its a SAL which was started by Joysze at Random Ramblings .Here is how she describes it "International Hermit and Stitch Weekend takes place every 3rd full weekend of each month, from Friday till Sunday. In our very busy and hectic lives, IHSW is a chance for us to squirrel some time away for ourselves and "Hermit and Stitch." It is a time set aside to take care of us and our love for stitching."

Weekend in my part of the world is on Friday & Saturday, so I will be stitching from Thursday to Saturday and post on Sundays whenever I participate in IHSW.

I had a busy weekend this time: hosting a dinner for a cultural group my husband is part of and attending my bi weekly crafty meetup. Well I enjoy hosting people and seeing my craft friends, so nothing to complaint about.

I think my crafty bug is back with full spirit. I'm enjoying stitching again and stitching for longer than 15 mins. in one go :)

I added few colors to the pansies and grape hydrangeas, stitched the water at the bottom of vases while working on WIP "Fabulous Florals" and I feel I can finish this project by month end if everything goes well.

Here is a before and after picture :

Fabulous Florals 

Designed by : Claire Comerford

Pattern source : The World Of Cross Stitching Magazine, Issue 245

And now another good news, we have public holidays from tomorrow, 20th Aug to Saturday, 25th Aug.
Do you think I can complete this project in 6 day holidays?
Will I start something new - another cover kit?

Keep those guesses coming..
Have a good Sunday everyone.

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL August Update

Hello Friends,

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. This is a easy SAL where you have choice to stitch any designer, color or pattern, just that it should be a gift for someone or gift from someone.

Thank you all for the comments on my last post and ideas on how to get my stitchy bug back. Thankfully I have found the bug and I'm trying to stitch a little each day. My job has become stressful and I have joined gym after office to work on my weight , so I have very few hours at home when I can pick up the needle. Anyways I'm still happy to stitch for few mins every day.

I have been working on magazine cover kits which I will save for my Smalls SAL post. 

Let me show the latest picture of the gift I'm making for my mom's 60th birthday. I have stitched on it for 6 days since my last GG post.

Not sure if any progress is visible.

Progress on 31st May

Progress as of today

Fabulous Florals 

Designed by : Claire Comerford

Pattern source : The World Of Cross Stitching Magazine, Issue 245

Nothing else to show today, its bed time and I will sign off now.

Hope everyone is having a good time in summer and keeping safe during the heat.

How did I do for "Stitch every 'Day' in 'May'"

Hello Friends,
May month has come to an end , I hope 'Maynia' in the cross stitch world has settled down. I have enjoyed looking at the various versions of Maynia . I hope you enjoyed whatever version you followed, after all its about enjoyment right?

My personal goal was to Stitch every 'Day' in 'May'. Many of you commented that stitching daily is a routine and you don't have to make it a goal. I on the other hand sometimes have to push myself hard to get my ass up from the couch and the TV and sit to stitch. I'm pretty happy with the what I achieved during the month, there were initial hiccups but things smoothed after a while.

Let me show you how I did statistically using a pie chart.

And here is the progress on my WIP.

Progress on 28th April 2018

Progress as of 31st May 2018

Fabulous Florals 

Designed by : Claire Comerford

Pattern source : The World Of Cross Stitching Magazine, Issue 245

I made a new start for an upcoming birthday and managed to stitch this much.

New start on 27 May 2018

Can you guess what this is going to be?
I love the color of the variegated thread and blackwork is one of my favourites form of cross stitch/embroidery.

I wish to continue this streak next month but looks difficult as we are travelling to Georgia for vacation . Its hard to carry needles ,scissors , patterns and floss during travel. That's where knitting comes handy ..no scissors, patterns required. It easier to knit when the light is dim or when the road is bumpy.

Let me know in comments how did you do stitching wise this month.

IHSW May Check-in

Hello dear friends,

It's time to show what I stitched for International Hermit & Stitch weekend . If you don't know what  IHSW is, its a SAL which was started by Joysze at Random Ramblings .Here is how she describes it "International Hermit and Stitch Weekend takes place every 3rd full weekend of each month, from Friday till Sunday. In our very busy and hectic lives, IHSW is a chance for us to squirrel some time away for ourselves and "Hermit and Stitch." It is a time set aside to take care of us and our love for stitching."

Weekend in my part of the world is on Friday & Saturday, so I will be stitching from Thursday to Saturday and post on Sundays whenever I participate in IHSW.

Can you believe its third weekend of May already?This year is flying by so quickly, it needs to stop.
I had a very productive weekend. I stitched to my hearts desire and very happy with the progress I made .
Here is a before, after pic and picture of what the finished piece looks like.

Fabulous Florals 

Designed by : Claire Comerford

Pattern source : The World Of Cross Stitching Magazine, Issue 245

On Thursday I was chatting with a fellow cross stitcher and she asked what I was stitching these days . I replied to her "Flowers again" . I don't know why I have started to believe that there is no variety in my projects. I mostly stitch flowers and I think it is kind of boring. Well I have reasons why I stitch flowers which I have talked about before on my blog. I mainly stitch gifts and the recipients are not big fans of fantasy, Star wars, GOT and they don't have a clue what a sampler is ! So my safest bet is Flowers.

With these thoughts in mind, on Friday I was discussing with my husband can I start a new project which is not flowery ? He said, well you can but didn't you say in your last post that you want to  finish current WIP in a month? Reality check is what was needed 😏😥and I was back to stitching what you see above.

I know many of you have a eclectic taste and stitch wide variety of projects so I ask do you find it boring to see same themed projects in my posts. I wish there were more Indian themed designs other than the peacock, tiger and the elephants 😞.

Do you discuss cross stitch with your partners? What projects to start, how much money to spend on hobbies?

Let me know in comments, interested to read what you ladies think.

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL May Update

Hello Friends,

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. This is a easy SAL where you have choice to stitch any designer, color or pattern, just that it should be a gift for someone or gift from someone.

My stitchy bug is back and I'm enjoying adding stitches to my main WIP which I'm making for my mother's 60th birthday. I'm trying to keep up with my personal challenge of "Stitch every Day in May". Life is getting busy with changes at work and some days I'm too tired to stitch.

Here is how my WIP "Fabulous Florals" looks like now:

 Fabulous Florals 

Designed by : Claire Comerford

Pattern source : The World Of Cross Stitching Magazine, Issue 245

I have managed to reach the top and left most point of the piece. I have stitched all the stitches of DMC 164 and Anchor 243 , so 2 out of 35 colors are done. I must confess the number of colors and fractionals in this piece scared me in the beginning. The designer seems to be fond of fractionals and the pattern has single stitches of one color spread throughout the design. Some pics to show you progress thru the days:

I will be working for shorter hours for a month starting tomorrow . I work 48 hrs in a week, for the next month it will be 36hrs a week. I have set a target to complete this piece in the month, lets see how it goes.

That's all I have to show for GG post.
I would like to thank you all for the sweet comments on my blog and specially to friends who liked the idea of "Stitch every Day in May" and agreed to participate with me in this challenge.

Happy stitching !