Let's try this again!!

Hi Blog Friends,

Exactly 1 year ago I posted on this blog trying to explain why I have been absent for years...

I was expecting little more engagement and may be got discouraged by the absence of comments on that post.

Though I have not been blogging this last year, I have been reading blogs on my reading list and leaving comments here and there.

Today I observed that some bloggers continue to blog even if there is no engagement from readers. This got me to thinking that may be I should also start blogging again...it may not serve the purpose of connecting with other cross stitchers , at least it will serve as a diary for my projects .

You see when I started blogging in 2014, it was to connect with other cross stitchers around the world . Instagram was still new and not used for cross stitch by many people . Blog and Facebook groups were common media for cross stitch related interactions back then. 

Things have certainly changed in last 10 years, people are moving to more easier to use platform -Instagram . So many bloggers stopped blogging ...Hats off to the ones who still blog regularly .

I don't want to give up on blogging yet , so here I am ...

Sharing a project which I finished in Mar 2021. This was custom order from my close friend for her nephew. I gave here the design options and she picked this one.

The recipient lived close by to my then house, so I hand delivered it .

              Pattern name :Ten Tiny Toes Sampler
              Designer: DMC
               Pattern source: DMC

I still enjoy this finish ..hope you do too.

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL July 2020 update

Hello Friends,
A very late post for the SAL due to absence of stitching Mojo.

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.

Like my post, my gift is a late baby gift/sampler for my best friend's daughter who just turned 3.

Sweetet Feet
Maria Diaz
CrossStitcher Magazine, Issued 209

I didn't want to stitch a traditional birth sampler , so I selected this Maria Diaz design and added name and date to it.
This is my first time stitching something depicting human body part ..it was interesting to see how different shades grew into a shape.
I haven't been stitching at all this month, though I have spent some time on my other hobby of snailmailing. I have started another gift for a baby..actually a kid now, hope to show the finished project in next GG post.
That's it from my side..Happy stitching and stay safe.

Let the People Choose-April Update

Hello Friends,
First Saturday of the month I join Jo for The People's Choice SAL . Jo takes a poll for people to choose a topic for the month and the participants then post about stitchy projects related to that topic.

This month's topic is Modern Samplers. Now this is a tricky one-I had never seen a Sampler before 2014 as I don't think they existed historically in Indian Subcontinent as they did in the USA or UK.
This partially explains my disinterest in traditional samplers, however I have stitched a few modern samplers or lets say my take on modern samplers:

Birth Sampler from Anchor Design Studio

The birth sampler I stitched for my nephew in 2014 has few elements of a traditional sampler-numbers,alphabets,border,name and date .
I made this birthday card and I think it looks like a portion of band sampler. It has specialty stitches in it.

Gorgeous Gingham by Joanne Sanderson

Another birth sampler which I stitched for my niece in 2015.

Pretty in Pink by Helen Phillips

I did get a chance to see two historic samplers at Skaill House, Orkney, Scotland. Here are pictures:

As I write this post, I'm reminded that I need to make two birth samplers for my friends' babies. I better start looking in my stash for patterns !

Yay another first!!

I'm not sure if there is a word to describe the excitement of doing a thing/activity for the first time.
'firsts' always excite me...be it the first car ride,first view of the sea or first salary in new job. personally, I feel that firsts are an assurance to ourselves that life has much more to offer than we what see in our daily life.
Someone very rightly said everyday is a new learning. I try to achieve this in my professional as well as personal life.
I have already talked about my wonderful cross stitch group on fb.im always learning something  new about the art of cross stitching because of this group.
I wanted to make a personalized gift for my new born nephew since he was born and learnt about birth samplers on the group. I think they are a beautiful way to capture arrival of new baby.
here are pictures of the birth sampler I made for my nephew and the family loved it. I have made few changes to the design: I have stitched birth time instead of birth weight and changed the font to a simpler one as the original one had backstitching(I'm still not good at BS).

Started on : 5-Sep -2014
Finished on: 22-Oct -2014
Stitched on:14 count white Aida
Floss used :Anchor
Designer: Anchor design studio
Pattern source: Cross stitch collection, Sept 2014
Number of colors: 19
Stitch count:214H*144W
Type of stitches: Full cross stitch, back stitch, half stitch, french knot
Number of strands used :2 for Full cross stitches,1 for back stitch,3/2/1 for half stitch

I used the loop method to start the thread for the first time....thank you Pat Carson for the tip.
I also serged the fabric to prevent fraying.

This is my first birth sampler for the first member of new generation of my family :) .The cherry on the cake is..the only French knot in the design was made by my MIL..