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.

Autumn , Festives vibes and some stitching

Hello friends,

It is Autumn in my part of the world. I don't remember if I had seen autumn in India , though it was mentioned as one of the seasons in India in school text books. I have been enjoying the color changes and now the barren trees around my house. Here are pictures of 1st week of October.

Same tree, 29 days apart

October was Diwali month . I have been busy hosting Diwali dinners , prepping for the festival, decorating the house. We hosted two dinners -one for my husband's team members with their partners and then husband's colleagues who moved from India with us.

Both the dinners were success , however I enjoyed the first one more. The first group were non-Indian people, so whatever items I prepared were new to them. I loved talking about recipes, ingredients and similarities between cooking in different cultures. 

We were so busy chatting and eating that we didn't click any pictures.

Diwali outside India is always interesting-trying to source the materials for festivals, finding shops which sell Diwali stuff. We tried making best of what was available locally, however I missed the lights and flower decoration, sweets we have in India.

Some pics of the Diwali decor.

I realised that I just have two cross stitched items for Diwali Decor, so after days of pattern hunting, I bought two cross stitch magazines and plan to stitch these for next year.

On the 18th,I got an oppurtunity to volunteer at Glasgow School of Yarn , an annual event which invite indie yarn suppliers and designers to showcase their products. 

I haven't got time much time for cross stitch between all this , however I managed to finish cross stitching on this piece. I'm finding it difficult to back stitch this one, as the chart is black and white and one has to keep looking at the kit cover to understand which color to use for back stitch.

I have another update which I will share in my next post. 

Happy crafting