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

Sorry for the late post. I'm too busy at work since last month. I have been working on weekends and extended hours on weekdays. I haven't been crafting because I'm very tired after work.

Anyways , here is my tiny contribution to the GG SAL this month. I started this scarf in February, picked it up again as knitting is an easier craft to do when one is tired. The yarn was gift from my husband:

These tiny ornaments were decorations on the cake at Christmas lunch organised in my office. I couldn't see them being thrown in dustbin, so brought them home 😀

Earlier this month, Immediate media company was offering December 2017 edition of The World of Cross Stitching and Cross Stitch Crazy free for 2 days. I was quick to download them on my phone app. A free issue is a gift right? LOL

I'm sure I have mentioned before that I love exchanges/swaps. A few days before, I asked one of my snail mail friends if she wanted to do a small cross stitch exchange and she said yes!

Here is what I sent her, you have seen this before though:

Project Name: Felt kit -Pink bow
Pattern source: The World of Cross Stitching Magazine
Kit was a Gift from Kerry in July 2017

As this is the last post for this SAL, I will  show all my finishes and WIPs which I used (or could have used) in the posts for the SAL throughout this year. I'm travelling next week and will not be able to do a wrap up post for the year, so I thought it would be good to include these in this post.

Project Name : Feather
Gift for a girl who helped me with knitting
Finished on 4th Jan 2018

Project Name : Most beautiful things
Gift for my best friend
Finished on 6th Feb 2018

Birthday gift for Tammy
Finished on 8th Feb 2018

Pattern source: All-occasion charts, The World of Cross Stitching Magazine,Issue 203 which was a exchange gift from Jo in 2016

Project Name : Love
Valentine day's gift for Husband
Finished on 12th Feb 2018

Project Name : Finn
Birthday gift for Husband
Finished on 19th Mar 2018

Project Name : Gorgeous Gingham
Birthday gift for Zhraa
Finished on 30th Mar 2018
Pattern source: CrossStitcher Issue 212, Magazine was a gift from a cross stitcher I met virtually through facebook and then in person in London in April 2015 

Project Name : Beef Eater
Birthday gift for Rakhee
Finished on 13th Apr 2018

Birthday gift for Karen
Finished on 6th June 2018

Pattern was a gift from Jo in 2016

Project Name : Flower Mason Jar
Eid gift for my ex neighbours
Finished on 16th June 2018

Kit was a gift from my USA pen pal in May 2018

Project Name : Fabulous Florals
Birthday gift for my mother
Finished on 11th Sept 2018

Pattern source: The World of Cross Stitching Issue 245, was a gift from Tammy

Fabric : 18ct aida was gift from a cross stitcher I met virtually thru facebook and then in person in London in April 2015 

Birthday card for my snail mail friend in Japan
Finished on 15th Sept 2018

Pattern source: Kit was a gift from Tammy in June 2017

Project Name :Luggage tag
Birthday gift for my pen pal in India
Finished on 29th Sept 2018

Project Name : Let it Snow-Penguin
ATC exchange
Finished on 19th Nov 2018

Pattern source: CrossStitcher Issue 217, Magazine was a gift from a cross stitcher I met virtually thru facebook and then in person in London in April 2015 

I hope you like this parade of my finishes. Which one do you like most?
2018 was certainly not a very crafty year when I look at my record of how many days I stitched. Hopefully things get better next year.

Wishing my blog friends a Happy New year !

2018 Online Advent Calendar-Day 4

Hello there Blog hopper,

Welcome to day 4 of Jo's 2018 Online Advent Calendar blog hop.🎄

I hope you have enjoyed the blog hop so far.. it is one of the most fun event in the blogging community.

This year I have stitched this sweet little penguin for an exchange. The theme was Stitcher's Choice and I asked my partner what she liked. She said she would love to receive something related to Christmas , so I chose this penguin . Penguin is my favourite bird , I just adore them.

The scarf in original design was light grey ,I changed it to red to make it look more Christmasy. This was sent with some Kuwait ephemera .I hope the recipient receives it in time and likes it. 

Another Christmas design I stitched was this card in 2016, I hope you don't mind me including it again.

This poinsettia was part of the pattern- EMS Flowers of the month I stitched in 2016.

  
Every year Jo's gives us a topic to share our views on . This year's conversation topic is - Your Favorite Christmas Song.
My favorite (and the only one I know) Christmas song is Jingle Jingle bells.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CWJNqyub3o

If you are wondering why I know only one song, read ahead: My family follows a different religion than Christianity ,so we never celebrated Christmas at home religiously. However as I studied in a Christian Missionary school, I had basic knowledge of how the festival is celebrated.
Every year before the winter holiday, the small church in our school would be decorated and we would peek into it to admire the decorations. Sometimes the nuns at our school would even allow us to go into the church. I was very fascinated by the recreation of scene of Baby Jesus's birth using porcelain figurines.
In my high school year (not the high school grade of Western education system),I participated in the Nativity play.
Until few years back I used to put up a Christmas tree at my home and loved decorating it. 
I don't decorate a tree these days at home, however coming from a diverse country like India, I appreciate and enjoy all religious festivals alike. I firmly believe that festivals are all about love and bringing people together.

I hope I haven't bored you with my story.That's it for the blog hop.🎅

May this festive season sparkle and shine, may all of your wishes and dreams come true, and may you feel this happiness all year round. Merry Christmas!

Smalls SAL November 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.

Can't believe we are entering into last month of this year. Where has the year gone?

I have a small finish which has killed my stitching bug (again!). This was a cover kit with two designs , but fabric provided for one. I picked up a random piece of aida from my stash and the quality of fabric was so bad that I stopped stitching it after 30 mins I started it on Sept 1. But an incomplete project bothers me so I picked it up again but couldnt get myself to complete it.
So my sweet husband , who has always motivated me to craft, picked up the project and completed the cross stitches and half of back stitching.

Ideally this post should have been titled "One where the husband completes the project".

Cover kit from The World of Cross Stitching 

I know you can't tell from the picture the quality of fabric but that's the magic of back stitching ..it makes a sad project look happy :)

I think one of the reasons why I'm not enjoying cross stitching since last few months is that my projects don't have a intended receiver when they are started.

You see, as I have mentioned before, I mostly stitch gifts. I draw motivation by imagining how would the receiver like the piece I'm making , and deadlines of gifting help me keep a schedule.  I'm sad that I don't have more people in my life for whom I want to stitch , ones who appreciate the hard work behind this craft. May be I should not bother whether the gifts I give are appreciated or not, that way I can have more intended recipients ..ha ha. Pls let me if you have ever lost motivation to stitch.

Ok, time to stop the rant and wrap up the post. 

Wishing you all a Happy December.

IHSW November Check-in

Hello dear friends,

It's time to show what I stitched for International Hermit & Stitch weekend . If you don't know what  IHSW is, its a SAL which was started by Joysze at Random Ramblings .Here is how she describes it "International Hermit and Stitch Weekend takes place every 3rd full weekend of each month, from Friday till Sunday. In our very busy and hectic lives, IHSW is a chance for us to squirrel some time away for ourselves and "Hermit and Stitch." It is a time set aside to take care of us and our love for stitching."

As I shared in my last post, Kuwait experienced rains in last two weeks. Schools,colleges and offices were closed down for precautionary reasons. I got a extra half day off on Wednesday and full day holiday on Thursday. Well , who doesn't enjoy a long weekend even if its for safety reasons.

On Wednesday, I finished my Diwali piece. Thursday morning was spent in making some Christmas cards, decorating envelopes and organizing my paper crafts stash.

I started a small project for an upcoming exchange in night. Well I could have finished it during the long weekend, but...

Anyways here is how it looked like after the last day of weekend

Here's how it looks after putting in some time yesterday

Not much left to stitch, hopefully a finish today?

I'm sure you can guess what it it.

I had my regular craft meeting on Saturday. The weather is finally good here, we are able to sit outside and enjoy coffee on balconies.

Thank you all for the comments showing your concern about my well being during the rains. We haven't experienced any rains since past Wednesday, the roads are open now and life is back to normal.

Thursday is again a holiday , so another long weekend . Let's see what I stitch -a WIP or a new start.

That's it for IHSW...keep smiling my friends.

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

Sorry , I have been missing from blog land. I have been busy with work, festivals, holiday planning and musical events.

I missed posting for last month GG as I have not been cross stitching. 

Kuwait has been hit by rains since last week. Though the intensity of rain is nothing compared to what I'm used to in India, it has created quite a havoc. The country is not designed for rains, with an  absent drainage system. 
Government declared holidays on 6th Nov, yesterday and today as a precautionary measure. Personally, I haven't experienced any loss but water has been leaking thru cracks in my house. Last Friday evening it got scary when I saw cars being carried away by water .

Anyways, the unexpected holidays have given me time to pick up my needle. I finished a project last night at 1 am which was supposed to be used for decoration last week.

This project has a lot of firsts: First time stitching a Daily CrossStitch pattern though I have dozens saved in my computer, first time stitching a holiday pattern for my home, first time stitching a pattern celebrating Hindu festival. I added the text in Hindi to complete the design.

The pattern was stitched on gifted fabric and the floss was gifted too.The frame was bought in one of the store closing down sales and I think its perfect.

In case , you are wondering why I picked up a Diwali pattern to stitch. We (and millions of Hindus across the world) celebrated the festival of Lights during 5th - 9th November this year.

Diwali is my favorite festival and decorating the house after a deep cleaning operation is what I enjoy most. I made few savory snacks and traditional sweets this year, decorated the house with flowers, rangoli and diyas.

Sharing some pics :

Most of the items you see in the pictures above are handmade by my craft friends and gifted for the occasion over the years.

I had a very fulfilling experience this year during Diwali, I did what I enjoy most:cooking and decorating.

As its a long weekend here this time, I started crafting for IHSW today and made christmas cards thi morning.

That's it my friends for today, I hope you are safe in your corner of the world.

Smalls SAL October 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.

Thank you all for the lovely comments on the last Smalls SAL post. I wasn't able to sell stuff at the bazaar except a card and two gift tags. We, as a group, were disappointed by the sales but I guess it takes time to build a repertoire with customers.

Anyways, I haven't been stitching this month, no reason for that. The one day I did stitch I made these smalls , so I thought to post it to keep the blog alive.

These designs were just made on MS excel to fit the frames available.

I hope to pick up a needle tomorrow, if all goes well.

That's it for today, gotta rush now.

Smalls SAL September 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.

My craft group will be participating and selling stuff to raise money for charity in a monthly bazaar organized by a local art studio.
I stitched these simple cards , quick and easy to make , to be sold in the bazaar tomorrow.

It was a set of 6 ready to stitch cards , one of which I changed to a birthday card and sent to my snail mail friend in Japan.

I'm hoping the bazaar attracts good audience , please check Kuwait Crafters on Instagram to see the beautiful creations which will be showcased in the bazaar .

I can't believe that we are in the last quarter of the year. Its time to check the wishlist which was made in the start of the year and see where I stand.

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last blog post , I appreciate them. Also I see have a new follower, though I can't tell who. If you are reading this,thanks for following .

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

Today I have a finish to show you which is a gift for my mother's 60th birthday . Her birthday is on Monday, unfortunately I will not be with her that day physically but yes in spirit.

Here are some details

Project Name    Fabulous Florals

Start Date          4/13/2018

End date           9/11/2018

Stitch count       121H*129W

Designer           Claire Comerford

                                  Source              The World of Cross Stitching Issue 245

Fabric               18 ct white aida

Number of colors               35

Number of stitching days        55

I'm very happy with the result , though it was a bit challenging project with lots of fractional stitches , back stitching and some metallic . 

The fabric I used was a gift as was the magazine from which the pattern was chosen, so this project is a full blood GG project 😉

That's it my friends for today, I'm off to check other entries for the SAL.

Have a good weekend.

Smalls SAL August 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 have two smalls to show you this month :both are cover kits from magazine.

These were stitched during my stitching slump with the idea that quick finishes will cheer me up and motivate to stitch more..well that's not what happened! What can I say..I'm the slowest stitcher in the universe and each of these took me 5-6 days to complete.

Flower garland Felt stitch kit
from The World of Cross Stitching magazine

My first pincushion

Floral Pincushion
Designer :Jennifer Ellory
CrossStitch Crazy magazine. Aug 2014

To be honest ,the pin cushion wasn't easy to stitch..most of the stitches are fractionals with lots of backstitching. I think magazine editors need to understand that not all illustrations can be converted into 2 inch cross stitch designs.

Both of these cover kits were gifts from Kerry, they can very well count as GG entry.

I stitched these with a goal in mind which will be revealed when I achieve it 😉.

Well that's all for Smalls SAL today, I'm very close to finishing Fabulous florals WIP . In fact if I wouldn't have been on movie watching spree last week, I would have completed by now.

Have a good September everyone.