Gifted Gorgeousness SAL September Update

Hello Friends,

I'm back from a two week vacation in Greece . I had a time of my life and left a part of my heart there. I will probably dedicate a post to my Greece vacation. Between planning,packing and travelling ,I managed to stitch some gifts.

First is a small birthday gift I made for dear Jo

I made this washi tape card on handmade paper .I used to collect handmade paper in mid 2000s and recently brought my collection to Kuwait from India.

I also added a small pouch to her gift which I stitched during my vacation at my parent's house in February. I was saving it for the right occasion .This was a kit from Vervaco ,given to me by friend Linda, which I mentioned in my earlier post here,on her last day in Kuwait.

As all of you know about the postal issues in Kuwait, I'm always looking for opportunities to send mail to my friends , participate in swaps when I travel. My Greece vacation couldn't have happened at better time as I was able to send Jo some handmade love.

I also participated in a cross stitch ATC swap on Instagram.For those of you who haven't heard of ATC, here is what Wikipedia says Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) is a conceptual art project initiated by the Swiss artist M. Vänçi Stirnemann in 1997. He called it aCollaborative Cultural Performance. Artist Trading Cards are 2¹⁄₂ by 3¹⁄₂ inches (64 mm × 89 mm) in size, the same format as modern trading cards (hockey cards or baseball cards). They are self-made unique works or small series, signed and dated on the reverse by the artist/producer, exchanged and collected by the people who participate in the collaborative performance.

This is a monthly activity with rules and themes to follow. The theme for September was Astrology and my partner's sign is Pisces..what a coincidence.

After looking for patterns all over the internet and magazines , I decided to stitch Lesley Teare's astrology freebie. All except the February month freebie were available on her blog. I wrote to her and she promptly send me the pattern.

I had to skip the borders to meet the size requirement.It was sent along with a postcard with some envelope art.

If you wish to join the ATC swap on Instagram, I will happily pass on the details to you . The group is looking for more international stitchers.

August marked the end of vacation season in Kuwait with all the expats coming back from their respective home countries. My friend Tammy brought me wonderful gifts :A dimensions kit(does she know I'm addicted to Dimensions)? and World of Cross Stitching Magazine. Look at the freebie...a thread cutter .,appropriate for taking on airplanes. It did travel with me to Greece :)

My vacation in Greece involved a lot of travelling by bus and ferries. So I packed a cover kit and my knitting in my luggage . I love cover kits bcoz of the ease of carrying them around with all that's needed for stitching already available.This cover kit was also a gift .

Most of the days I worked on my knitting as its so easy to knit when you are travelling , no counting involved.

This will be a gift for my sister in law.

That's all for GG that I have to show you this month.

I have a developed a new hobby/interest lately ..Postcard exchange. I had mentioned about my love for postcards some time this year on my blog. While searching on Ravelry for yarn shops in Greece , I stumbled upon this group where members particpate in a Geographical Postcard exchange which is open to anyone.

I participated in 4 exchanges and postcards were sent to USA and Finland.

Here is what I sent.

I decided to put the postcards in an envelope(I'm always scared of loosing the mail) and decorated them. Happy to say that these were well received.

I received two postcards :one from USA and one from Finland.The one from Finland is of Aurora lights , reminds me of the famous dimensions kits.

All these swaps,gifts and postcards were sent and received in Greece , it was one of my favourite activity during my vacation.

One of the postcards was sent well before I started my vacation , so I'm guessing that Greek post liked the postcard so much that they decided to keep it. The fourth one was posted late and couldn't make it in time.

If any of my blog friends shares this interest and would like to receive a postcard, let me know. I will happily send one your way, when I travel next time.

I'm a bit behind in reading the blogs and I will visit you soon and read what you guys have been upto.