Valentine Stitching

Happy Valentine's Day friends!

Sending you all love from my corner of the world.

The temperatures have dipped here again with the lows of -5 deg C.We have ice on the grass and cars though no snow in vicinity.

I wanted to share my latest finish , a valentine gift for hubby.

This pattern has been all over Instagram and is a generous freebie from Primrose Cottage Stitches.

I got inspired by the seasonal displays shared by stitchers over social media and arranged a small display of all heart and love inspired handmade gifts I have received and stitched.

The crochet hearts are gifts from my friends in Kuwait , we used to exchange during our meetups often.

The two small ornaments are freebies from Hands on Design .

You may remember the "Do everything in love" piece I finished in August last year, I had multiple ideas to finish it- a heart shaped frame, stick it on a heart shaped wooden piece or an ornament. I wasn't able to find a heart shaped frame , bought a pink frame but the display space was a bit too tight for the piece to fit. Then I bought a wooden blank heart to stick the piece on it , that didn't work out it either.

Finally finished it this way, always super happy to use laces I have gathered over years.

Hope you have a nice weekend and get some time to do what you love.

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL May 2020 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 an easy SAL where you have a choice to stitch any designer, color or pattern, just that it should be a gift for someone or gift from someone.

Last Saturday, Hubby and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary and I made a little gift for him.

This is a free pattern from Cathy at Hands on Design. Here is the finish from designer look like

Picture courtesy :Hands on design

As you can see, I changed everything in this pattern:fabric,floss color and finished look.
I downloaded this pattern in 2018 , wanting to stitch it for anniversary in 2018. Well, better late than never.
The buttons you see in this design are my maternal grandmother's . Last year, I visited my maternal uncle's house with my mom. During the visit,my aunt , mom and I went up to the store room on the terrace to see what can be used from stuff left behind by my grandparents. I got my hands on these buttons, some zippers and some crocheted pieces. My maternal grandmother was a master crocheter, knitter and embroiderer in addition to be a wonderful cook.
I also wanted to share this macrame key ring I made after attending a free workshop on Instagram this Tuesday. The workshop was designed to use materials we had at home , yarn scraps, threads etc.

I don't know about other countries ,however a lot of Indian artists, crafters and organisations have been conducting free or minimal cost online workshops to help people cope with the pandemic. My snail mailing friend encouraged me to check these workshops as she herself benefited from one she attended. 
I think it's a great idea to learn a skill or two and/or share your skills with others.
Please share if you have picked up any new hobby or a hobby you stopped pursuing years ago during this pandemic .
That's it for today, will try to put some extra stitches this weekend as it is IHSW .

Smalls SAL February Check-in

Hello Friends,

Its last friday of the month , time to show what smalls we stitched during the month. I'm participating first time in Smalls SAL this year hosted by Heather. I decided to join this SAL as I usually stitch birthday cards or exchange pieces throughout the year and this gives me an additional chance to blog.

I stitched two Smalls this month, but can't show one as it has still not been gifted to the recipient. After finishing  my big project and first Small, I wasn't feeling inspired to pick my WIP-Indian peacock. Stitchers on Instagram were showing some cute Valentine finishes and one particular design caught my eye. You see, hubby and I are not very particular about celebrating Valentine's day but if we find something good for each other for the occasion , we make or buy it.

I stitched this freebie from Hands on Design , though I must confess that the reason I chose this design from all of Cathy's freebies was to use one particular fabric in my stash. You see I bought half yard of 32ct Misty blue linen in 2015 but never got around to use this. Unlike many of you talented stitchers, its difficult for me to deviate from called for floss and fabric in patterns as I like or shall we say my mind works best when I follow instructions to T.

As this was a surprise, I had to stitch this in hiding. Pretty easy for most people, but not me. Hubby and I work in same office, so we are practically together 24 hours of the day. I'm not complaining, I won't have it any other way. But the situation makes it difficult to arrange surprises. I stitched this piece in office while husband was sitting in the same cubicle, with his back towards me. 😉

I made a counting mistake in the border and I'm not happy with the finishing. However, hubby liked the tiny gift and we talked about how I stitched it in office while eating the yummy cake.

I'm writing this post in advance and will schedule it to be posted on Friday as I'm travelling to India for a short vacation.Will visit your blogs when I'm back.