Gifted Gorgeousness SAL October Update

I always smile when people say where did this month go and here I am feeling the same. Looks like the last quarter of the year will be wrapped up soon.

Thank you all for your comments and advice on how to stitch on linen.

A pic of card and bookmark I gave to my boss as retirement gifts. These were well received and he was overwhelmed that I took time out to stitch for him.The bookmark is my first linen project.I can now relate to the praise I always heard about how the look of linen is better than aida or evenweave.

The card was a freebie kit with World of Cross Stitching mag, gifted to me by a friend. The bookmark is a Joan Elliott design from CrossStitcher mag issue 213, again a gift and the linen was a gift from Diya.

I have been working hard to finish my current WIP(will be a gift too) which I have not shown on this blog until now. I have really enjoyed stitching this one, however the confetti sometimes kills the mojo.

This is one of the freebie Fractal bookmarks which Cross Stitch Collectibles releases every month. Its 86% complete now and whatever gaps you see will be stitched mainly in black. I'm hoping once I finish the confetti, the filling will not take time.

Here are few progress pics.

Lets hope I can finish this by this month end.

Hop onto Jo's blog to see what gifts others stitchers have made.

C is for Chai

Hello Hello,

Its detention day at The Alphabet Club and the letter for the month is C.

C is for Chai(चाय) - It may not be an exaggeration if I say Chai is national drink of India. Every guest is treated to a cup of chai  in Indian homes. Chai is Hindi word for tea and can be prepared black, with milk, without sugar, etc. This comes from the Persian چای chay, which originated from the Chinese word for tea 茶 chá.

Until a few years ago I thought tea or chai is native to India ...ha ha the bliss of ignorance. It is prepared in many ways across the country ,here is the recipe my mom follows:

Makes two cups of tea:

1. Boil 1.25 cups of water. Add 2 spoons of sugar . Once the sugar dissolves add 1 teaspoon of chai.

2. Once the chai leaves its essence(the color of water will change ), add 0.75 cup of milk.

3. Bring it to a boil . Sieve the chai and serve.

This is the normal milky sugary version of chai which you will find being served in tea stalls in India . Various ingredients like ginger, cardamom, tulsi are added to it while boiling to add to its taste. Masala chai is one of the popular versions .

C is for Chandrama(चन्द्रमा)- Hindi word for moon. Also called as chand (चांद)  in Hindi and Urdu.
Moon is considered as epitome of beauty hence its common to compare beauty of your female partner with the moon. Also its looked upon as  a sign of simplicity. Children all over India and even elders call it affectionately as "Chanda mama". Mama means the maternal uncle in both North Indian and South Indian languages.

C is for Chakda - This is curious vehicle used to carry passengers in North western state of India, Gujarat.

It is improvised from a Royal Enfield with diesel engine, some sort of shaft  drive and arrangement to seat people. Its decorated with colors and pictures and can be seen being used for carrying passengers in rural Gujarat.

Image source:Internet

C is Camper Van - This is a piece I stitched for DH on request. He selected the design and asked me to stitch for him. Look at the VW logo--My first attempt at back stitching. VW may sue me after looking at this ...lol. Finished it using old magazine papers and it now hangs next to his desk.

Looking forward what others TACers are talking about.