2015 Crafty Achievements & 2016 goals

Hello Friends,

Welcome to the last post of the year. Blogging has been so much fun this year and I have met some wonderful friends thru this.

I started my blog in 2011 to record my experiences of travelling and then I went MIA.
2014 was the year I started writing about my cooking experiments .
I have been part of cross stitch groups on facebook since July 2014 and I also follow various cross stitch magazine pages there.
One day (end of Jan I think) while browsing thru one of these pages, I saw Jo's comment. She was complaining that how she hadn't received her prize from one of the competitions run by that magazine which she can include in her Gifted Gorgeousness SAL. The term "Gifted Gorgeousness " caught my attention and I searched for it on Google and found Jo's blog. Rest is history as they say...ha ha
I asked Jo if I can participate in the SAL, posted about my cross stitching on the blog, back dated the posts to show the work I did in 2014.

2015 has been year of so many firsts cross stitching wise :

1. Participated in a blog SAL
2. Made a cross stitch card
3. Made a cross stitch ornament
4. Participated in a cross stitch exchange
5. Made a cross stitch cushion including the sewing
6. Stitched a cover kit
7. Bought a cross stitch magazine
8. Stitched on linen
9. Stitched a 20+ color pattern
10. Used  DMC floss (I know your jaw will drop after reading this)

I managed to finish 15 projects this year, however I can't show the 15th as the receiver hasn't got it yet. All were/are gifts.

My favourite finishes of the year

Cards I made during the year

Smalls stitched for exchanges and gifts

Here is a pie chart showing my year round stitching ,quite better than 2014.

Here are my crafting goals for 2016

1. Try blackwork
2. Learn 2 new ways of finishing cross stitch
3. Stitch on evenweave fabric
4. Stitch a medium/big size kit
5. Use stash the maximum
6. Pick fabric painting again
7. Try embroidery other than cross stitching :)
8. Keep trying to crochet. I have now finished making a single crochet coaster :)
9. Learn quilling . This has been pending since 2010.

I will be participating in GG SAL 2016 and EMS Flower of the month SAL on facebook .

I have been blessed to receive so many beautiful handmade gifts/cross stitch supplies from my blogging/crafty friends from all over the world all thru the year. I would also like to thank you all for your comments and appreciation of my work.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL December update

Hello Friends,
Welcome to the year's last post for GG SAL hosted by Jo. I'm not sad when I say last as Jo is going to continue this next year.. isn't that wonderful.

I'm late this month for good reasons. I wanted to end the year with some substantial stitching.

One of my craft group friend mentioned that she is going to travel to the States on new year day and asked me if I wanted to get some stitchy stuff from there . For those of you who don't know , this is the way most of Asian cross stitchers buy stuff . We have kind friends who bring us stuff from USA/UK, which we buy online and get shipped at their addresses. Most of the stash I have acquired is this way because the post here in Kuwait is unreliable and the shipping costs are huge.Blessed to have such helping friends.

So, I decided to stitch a gift for my niece and my friend will post it from the States. I'm sure my cousin doesn't know that I craft and blog so its ok to show what I made for her baby girl.

I'm really happy how the finished piece turned out. At first , I was skeptical about the fabric choice , but I think its looks pretty. This is my first attempt at sewing a cushion with lots of help from DH. The pattern is from Cross Stitcher Mag, Issue 201 .Please see my finishes page for other details.

I also stitched small hanger ornaments in spare time in office for gifts.

I have developed a liking for small kits/cover kits as with these how to finish the stitching is never a worry .

Yesterday was our craft meetup and I tried my hands at crocheting again with help from my friends. I'm so proud to tell I got success in third attempt.

I'm going to practice the stitches I have learnt before I start making something.

I'm thinking of writing a post for my craft achievements for 2015 and qualitative goals for 2016. I know many of you will be joining SALs and monthly challenges, however I'm only joining GG SAL as of now so I think writing down goals would be a good idea.Would you be interested in reading about my goals?

Wishing all my friends a Merry Christmas. Hope you have a good time with family and friends during holiday season.

I'll be back on the last day of the year for my FOTM SAL update and may be a list of stitching goals.

D is for Dosti

Hello TACers,

Welcome to the The Alphabet Club Detention club. Sorry I'm late but I'm sure you will excuse me for that. I have been acting lazy, its my favorite season Winter... I love being in blankets, sipping hot chocolate.

As I missed my last month entry, so will cover letters D and E in this post.

D is for Dost (Hindi word) meaning friend , Dosti meaning Friendship.  I may not have as many friends these days as I used to have when in was in college, I still cherish friends who have chosen to continue to be with me all these years.

D is for Dhayawaad( Hindi word) meaning thank you. I'm thankful to all my blogging friends for their continued support and love.

D is for Deepawali or Diwali meaning a festival of lights, my favorite Hindu festival. Skipping the religious reason behind it, I will like to talk about how it is celebrated.

The preparations starts with cleaning the house almost two weeks prior to the main day.

The festivities long for almost 5 days, with kids firing the crackers, adorning the house with lights, buying new clothes, jewelry, making sweets and prayers.

The part I love most about Diwali is putting up the lights...Diyas or earthen lamps are used to light up the whole house: walls, terrace, everything is covered with these flickering tiny lights. Candles and electric lights are also used these days.

Here are some pictures of our Diwali celebrations over the years

The floor and entrances are decorated with Rangolis. 

Hand Made Lantern or Kandil.

Set up for Pooja/Prayer

Pooja thali made by me

Shopping malls all decked for Diwali

D is for Dhow (Arabic داو dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with lateen sails used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. The older ones were made of wood and I have spotted a couple in Oman and Kuwait.

Here's a picture of cross stitch I completed last year which was a freebie from DMC Club. My first big project which brought me back to cross stitching.

I'm really struggling with Hindi/Punjabi words starting with E.
So I'm going to show you two cards I made, designed by one of my favourite designer Emma Congdon.  A birthday and an Easter Card.

 I would love to stitch some designs by Emily Peacock. Here is one i like:

Oh I think its been a long post...will see you soon for GG SAL.