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?

You Are You and That's Enough

Isn't this a beautiful quote and something we females need to hear and say to ourselves often...

As females we play many roles of a partner, wife, mother, daughter, daughter in law, sister , care giver...the list is endless.

However, while playing these roles, there are times when we start doubting ourselves- Am I doing enough? Am I being a good mother while aspiring for a successful career? Do I fit the mould of a good wife defined by society?

I'm sure we all have been there, when we felt we could do more. As females, we have high expectations of ourselves , being our worst critics while others around us get may get praised for doing the bare minimum.

I stitched this quote for my Penpal's 40th birthday ... she is a go getter , always trying to fit more in her routine.

When the idea of stitching something for her big birthday came in mind, I knew I didn't want to stitch anything girlie or cutesy...

I decided to consult her what she wanted me to stitch , we discussed some sarcastic work/office related quotes . Well, then life happened and I got late in stitching her gift.

I liked this Emma Congdon design and finally decided to stitch this one.

I have been meaning to use my decent collection of laces and ribbons, all gifted by my mom and cross stitching friends.

Lace selection

Once the ribbon was selected, I explained the framer how to incorporate that in the frame.

As usual, I forgot to take a proper picture before framing. I see some minor issues with framing, let's see if you guys can spot it too.

How did I do for "Stitch every 'Day' in 'May' " ?

 Hello Friends,

Hope you are doing well.

My personal goal was to Stitch every 'Day' in 'May'. I'm very happy to report that I was able to stitch/craft on 29 days out of 31 days of the month. I'm realizing that setting this personal goal helps me come out of my comfort zone(read laziness) .
My main focus was to finish creating gifts for my colleagues . I had a deadline as I had asked one of colleagues in Mumbai to carry the gifts with him. You see I don't trust the postal system to send handmade stuff by mail.  

Here is what I made for them :

For Ms. J -Blackwork version of  a Italian motif  to celebrate her recent vacation to Italy and a wash cloth with her initial

For Ms. K -Cross stitched version of a Indian motif to remind her that she always has a friend in India and a wash cloth with her initial.

Happy to report I managed to finish a gift for a friend's 40th birthday. The gift is late only by 1 year 5 months 😀

Meanwhile , I was chatting with a fellow Indian cross stitcher on Instagram and we agreed to do a SAL from 1st June...details to follow .

This gave me a chance to pick my oldest WIP, Indian Peacock by Dimensions .I started this piece on 1st January 2017. I last stitched it on 31st May 2020.Here are the progress photos.

Progress as of 31st May 2020

Progress as of 31st May 2025

I will make separate posts for these finishes with details.

I hope you had a productive month, doing what you enjoy.

Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop

Hello Friends,

Welcome to Easter Treasure Hunt blog hop organized by our wonderful host Jo... First off I'll start by introducing myself: I’m Mini , an Indian expat in Kuwait. I have been cross stitching on and off since I was 7. My other interests are cooking, travelling, meeting new people and trying new foods.

Before I show you what I have to offer for the blog hop, let me tell you how to follow this blog hop. You must start at Jo’s blog and then visit, in order, each of the participants listed who will display a letter.  These letters will form a phrase and when you know what that is, visit Jo again and leave her a comment mentioning the phrase and you might find some treasure.

Here is an Easter card I stitched for a kind lady in the UK , from whom I bought some charts last year.

The letter you collect here is :

And I would like you to hop on to Kaye’s blog for your next clue.

I hope you have a Happy Good Friday and Easter.

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.

The Alphabet Club - A is for Aarambh & Asha...

Its the first Saturday of the Month and time to post first entry for the Alphabet Club hosted by Chiara at the Grey Tail.

In June, when Chiara and Jo came up with this idea, I literally jumped on the wagon. I thought this can be a great opportunity to introduce my fellow bloggers to the rich culture of India , my home land; and Kuwait, the country I now call home. Also I can talk about my hobbies such as cross stitch, travel and food using the Alphabets of languages I know (except English): Hindi, Punjabi and Marathi. Hindi is the main language of India and is written in Devanagiri script.

So here is my choice of words :

Aarambh (आरंभ , aa-rum-bh) is a Hindi word for beginning. I chose this word as I feel life is series of beginnings. Birth, first day at school, first day of college, marriage ,moving to a new location... aren't these all small beginnings. Beginnings bring "Asha" .
Asha (आशा , aa-sha) is a Hindi word for Hope. Hope of learning new things at school and College. Hope of a beautiful/life long/secure relationship through marriage.Don't you agree Aarambh and Asha go hand in hand ?

Amritsar ( pronunciation (help·info); Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ; Punjabi pronunciation: [əmːɾɪt̪səɾ]) : One of my favourite cities in India, it is home to the Harmandir Sahib (commonly known as the Golden Temple), the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion.

Image source:Wikipedia

I like being at Golden temple not because of religious reasons but the calm and peace which surrounds me whenever I'm there. The temple domes may be covered with gold sheets but its the place where people act most selflessly- cleaning shoes of visitors, mopping the floor, cooking food for strangers. The Langar (community kitchen) at the temple serves free food to millions of people from every race, religion, creed everyday.


A traditional local market for buying cloth in Amritsar. Image source:Internet

Not to forget the yummylicious street food available in Amritsar- kulche (naturally fermented flat bread), pinni (a sweet made of roasted lentils), bun tikki (Indian version of burger) and Aabu Challi (corn on the cob roasted in sand).Oh taking about these reminds me of wonderful time spent I had there during childhood.
It's also the best place to buy ethnic Indian attire Salwar kameez.


Oh yes I can also show you a cross stitch related item, I thinks this entry should qualify as the text starts with an "A" ;)

I hope I have not bored you with a long post ....I'm off to check out what other members of the club are up to

Gifted Gorgeousness Overload (April link up post)

Hello Fellas,

I had a fabulous trip to London and have brought back loads of cross stitch supplies.

Those who have read my earlier posts know that I wasn't quite excited about my trip to London which is not the usual me. Travelling and exploring the world is one of my passions.

The fortnight spent in London was full of meeting new people, exploring the historic places of London, its natural beauty and some yummylicious food.

The weather was a bit cold for spring but I loved it, as I'm a winter person.

May be I'll write a separate post about my London experience.

This is the card I made for Mrs. K from whom I bought a few charts .She hasn't received the card yet so I don't know whether she likes it or not.

Here are details of this piece.

I had a great chance to meet a cross stticher "in person" while I was in London. A while ago, Ms. G posted on WOCS page that she wanted to give away some 18 ct aida . I jumped on to the opportunity and told her that I will be in London shortly and can collect it from her. After a few interactions, she kindly agreed to come down to my hotel. It was lovely to meet her and her son. We talked about cultures, food and the world. This is what she gifted me :

These are the charts I bought from Mrs. K :

Some goodies from Mrs. K:

Ms. G overwhelmed me by sending a lot of magazines, needles and 14 ct.aida, the second time.

Sorry for the flash :(

I plan to stitch Pretty Little London from the latest issue of Cross stitch Crazy some time soon

Few pics from my trip




Chapel at the Windsor Castle



Tower Bridge

One of the exhibits at British Museum



Wouldn't this make a beautiful cross stitch design? Exhibit at National Gallery

I have stitched only once during last 15 days and I'm surely not feeling bad about it ;)

Kuwait has been hit by a series of sandstorms. The one on Sunday, the day I came back, was the worst I have seen till now. I got a little scared and poor DH had to seal close every possible source of air / dust.
Hope I get some stitchy time today after 3 days of consecutive cleaning. I'm planning to complete my fractal since now I have got the colors which were missing.


What have you been guys upto?