Spring is here ...some stitching and updates

Hello Friends,

Hope its getting warmer in your part of the world..

I have been meaning to write a post since long ...I wanted to share all the pics have been clicking of spring signs here in Scotland. I'm currently addicted to spotting new to me flowers that are popping up here.

First Daffodils spotted on 23rd Feb during my walk

Glory of the Snow at Kellie's castle garden

Daffodils at Kellie's castle garden

I wanted to write about Spring on Easter day , funny it snowed here in Glasgow on Easter. We have been told its not common to see snow in Glasgow even in winters ...so this was exciting. I really enjoyed the experience.

I have been stitching regularly apart from some days when we are out exploring places around Glasgow. We visited Kellie's castle and spotted many samplers there:

Dated 1791

Dated 1812

Dated 1929

The days are longer now and we have sunshine for few hours most days.

I participated in Spring Exchange at Needlecraft Haven hosted by Clare . I was a bit nervous about fully finishing the ornament , however Clare was very encouraging .This is what I stitched for her

I also included an ornament for her church tree, pattern is from Ruth 

I'll be honest I'm not very happy with the finishing of ornaments, its hand sewn. I miss using my sewing machine , I'm clearly not good at hand sewing.

I received a lovely parcel from my partner Christine, such neatly finished ornaments and goodies.Thank you Christine, the chocolates have been exclusively claimed by me.

I have finished few more small pieces, which need fully finishing.

I think I missed sharing this finish from January- a gift for my penpal's daughter who was born few days after I moved to Glasgow...I feel lucky to be able to send such gifts thru mail now that I have moved to a country with a reliable postal system.

Hope you like the spring blooms , and get to enjoy them in your region.

Valentine Stitching

Happy Valentine's Day friends!

Sending you all love from my corner of the world.

The temperatures have dipped here again with the lows of -5 deg C.We have ice on the grass and cars though no snow in vicinity.

I wanted to share my latest finish , a valentine gift for hubby.

This pattern has been all over Instagram and is a generous freebie from Primrose Cottage Stitches.

I got inspired by the seasonal displays shared by stitchers over social media and arranged a small display of all heart and love inspired handmade gifts I have received and stitched.

The crochet hearts are gifts from my friends in Kuwait , we used to exchange during our meetups often.

The two small ornaments are freebies from Hands on Design .

You may remember the "Do everything in love" piece I finished in August last year, I had multiple ideas to finish it- a heart shaped frame, stick it on a heart shaped wooden piece or an ornament. I wasn't able to find a heart shaped frame , bought a pink frame but the display space was a bit too tight for the piece to fit. Then I bought a wooden blank heart to stick the piece on it , that didn't work out it either.

Finally finished it this way, always super happy to use laces I have gathered over years.

Hope you have a nice weekend and get some time to do what you love.

Crafty Recap of 2025

I wanted to talk about my crafty finishes in my last post, however it became too long with my life updates. So lets do it now . 

2025 was year I restarted crafting and blogging and I'm quite happy with what I achieved .

First finish of the year was this cross stitch wedding sampler I stitched for an Instagram snailmailing friend whose wedding I couldn't attend due to work . 

The wedding was in Feb 2024, I was able to send her before her 1st wedding anniversary. I love the vintage look of this project and quite happy with the framing too.

Second finish of the year was this Knitted scarf , gifted to Instagram snailmailing friend. I wasn't sure about the color, I thought it was gaudy. To my surprise , everyone on IG has liked the color.

Some more knitting gifts , which I showed here 

These cards were finished in May .

40th Birthday gift for my penpal, I was late only by 1.5 years

My next finish is a freebie from Silvercreek Samplers which was a SAL with a Instagram friend. This one I'm keeping for myself.

Knitted washcloths were my next finish, gift for husband's colleague

Husband asked for gloves, I knitted mitten because they were easy :)

My last finish of the year was this ATC I stitched for ATC swap organised thru Instagram

I entered 2026 with 3 cross stitch WIPs and 1 knitted WIP . The knitted WIP was finished last night. Hoping to finish the other WIPs soon(read in 2026)

I will add details of each finish on my finish pages if anyone is interested in pattern names.

Which one do you like most?

First 45 days in a new country-What I have been upto ?

Well people, Today is the 45th day of being in beautiful country of Scotland...How has time flewn by.

It was summer when I landed , so enjoyed few warm days of sunshine . The first 2 weeks were fun , we just had a bed with mattress and some utensils for cooking. Funny how we manage with bare minimum when we are willing. We bought a pair of sofas and some storage units within a week.

Our air shipment arrived on 15th August and then the house was full with clothes, furnishings and most important my hobby stuff.

My husband's colleague had rented a car in August and they were kind enough to take us around for some sight seeing /short day trips.

Sharing some pics here

Devil's Pulpit at Finnich Glen

Devil's Pulpit at Finnich Glen

I had carried two cross stitch projects with me in luggage and rest of the stuff was sent via Air shipment. The first day I picked up cross stitching was on World Cross Stitch Day. I stitched on a SAL piece I started  with a stitcher on Instagram for a Silver Creek Samplers pattern on 1st June.

I loved stitching this as Heart and pink color are my favourite things to stitch. I used Anchor variegated floss for this project.

Next weekend we went to visit the historical town of Culross. It is Scotland's most complete example of a burgh of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Sampler spotted at Culross Palace

Culross Palace

Tapestry/needle point spotted at Culross Palace

I finished the SAL piece on 24th and asked hubby to click some aesthetic pics 😅. I have been foraging thru charity shops for a heart shaped frame to fully finish this.

Another weekend we walked to a historical place in the city. Spotted this sampler there.

Holmwood House, Glasgow

That day I walked 8.9 km , so proud of myself.

I realised I stopped sharing pics of my cooking adventures on my blog, so I'm starting that now. New recipes I tried in these weeks -baked brussels sprouts, celery and broccoli soup, stir fried edamame , no pictures were clicked though.

The only one I clicked a picture is baked butternut squash rissoto:

I have started a new project, a DMC kit I will convert to a baby sampler by adding name and date on top and bottom. Lets see how this customisation goes.

Last friday , we rented a car and have been exploring places in 2 hours driving distance. Hope you enjoy the pics.

The Dunmore Pineapple

Rhu Point

Oh this has become a picture heavy post . I hope my blog friends are well and doing what they love.