Gifted Gorgeousness SAL February 2020 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 an easy SAL where you have a choice to stitch any designer, color or pattern, just that it should be a gift for someone or gift from someone.

Happy to report that I have something to show this month:

I started a Lizzie Kate pattern on 19th of last month . Here is the progress till now:

The chart was giveaway prize I won on Tiffany's blog and the fabric was received in an exchange with Diya.

I have changed the fabric and colors from the ones suggested in the pattern. I'n using Anchor variegated floss for stitching the design.

I wanted to complete this before posting for GG , however as you can see that's not what happened.
I would like to pass this chart to one of my active blog followers , so if you are interested, leave a comment and spread the word. If you plan to follow me for participating in the giveaway, I accept that you interact thru comments in future.

I will draw a name on my birthday-27th feb and declare the winner in next GG post.I plan to finish stitching the pattern before that :)

An update I would like to share is that I have started working again after a planned break . I now work as a consultant so lesser working hours give me flexibility to manage the house and work properly.

The funny thing is while I was on a break and had so much time on my hands, I couldn't find inspiration to stitch. Now , I try to stitch everyday before going to work-duration varies from 5 mins to 1 hour.

My husband gifted me this cross stitch theme cup for my new office .

Another little handmade gift I got was this coin purse made using a sewing machine by husband's 85 year old aunt . She really inspires me with her zeal to create things at her age.

Not a proper gift but I made this quick card, using a lace heart I won thru a cross stitch giveaway on Instagram, for a secret Valentine's day exchange on Ravelry.

That's it for the GG update.
Its getting hotter here day by day and feels like summer ..not the good kind of summer which people in UK enjoy. 😂
Hope you have a good month with lots of stitching time.

Giveaway winner

Hello friends,

Just a quick post to announce winner of my second blog giveaway.

Only two people participated in the giveaway and the Winner is :

Shami

Congrats Shami, I already have your address , just confirm it is the same thru email .

Something about commenting on blogs:

I have been observing that some of the comments I left on blogs I follow were not appearing . I later realised that most of the comments I made using my phone were not appearing as the captcha and additional security features bloggers are using , don't pop on mobile.

So please know I commented on you blog last week but the comment never went thru...Lesson learnt comment when you are on a computer.

But why is blogger making it so hard for us ? I mean everyone knows social media which aren't accessible thru phones lose their popularity.

Another observation, if someone is not my blog follower, their comments don't come thru email.Its only when I check my blog thur dashboard, I see their comments.

Shami, your case is special, even though you are my follower , your comments never come thru email😜

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL February 2019 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.

The gifts I worked on this month are these wedding cards for a snail mail friend and husband's cousin , both got married in December. The plan was to stitch these before the weddings but you know how some plans never get executed . Better late than never ..ha !

Both designs are from Cross stitch Crazy Magazine,Issue 202, patterns by Durene Jones.
Last month I forgot to show you what I got in my Instagram cross stitch swap with my one of snail mail buddy.She stitched a wee little penguin for me ..she knows me well.

A tiny crochet heart , a gift from my craft group friend Z for Valentine's day.

Thank you for the comments on the "Let People Choose SAL-Hearts" post. I asked you which one of my heart finishes is your favorite. Here are the results :

Roses in Heart -4

Gazette94 -5

Floral Sachet -2

Heart Biscornu -1

Knitted one -2

Now to a part which may interest you..a giveaway.As its my birthday month and month of love, I would like to thank you all my blog friends for their love by offering this pattern.This pattern is up for grabs ...the pattern was bought second hand but has never been used by me.

Here are the rules:

1. Be a follower. I'm pretty confused how the following things works but I can only see people who follow me thru Dashboard or google accounts.

2. Don't become a follower just to win this pattern and disappear on me (I have had this happened to me in past)

3. Let me know in comments if you are interested.

4.Winner will be randomly picked on my birthday,27th February.

5. I would appreciate if you would share this on your blog.

6. The pattern will be sent to you thru registered mail but still it can take minimum of 40-50 days to reach depending on where you are.

7. Send me your address thru email by clicking info in side bar, I will not follow up with you to ask for your address.

This weekend is IHSW and I will try to get some stitching done. Join me and other stitchers virtually for hermitting and stitching .

Have a good weekend everyone.

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL July 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.

Not much to show this time , also I'm really short of time as I'm flying out for a business trip tomorrow and I have to start packing..oops

First is a Giveaway win - I won this Lizzie Kate chart  thru Tiff's blog giveaway in March. Thank you Tiffany for the chart.

While we are talking about giveaway, let me announce winners of my first blog giveaway:

Winner is Khristine from http://cross-stitching-mama.blogspot.com/ 

Winner is Sherry from https://countrycrossstitchersmusings.wordpress.com/

Please send me your address at my email address :minizinbox@yahoo.com or if you are connected to me thru facebook or Instagram, send me personal message.

I stitched a small design on this pre-sewn pouch in December for keeping some tit bits for babies. This will now be gifted to grandson of one of my colleagues. The design is from a magazine gifted by my friend Tammy. I will add details of the design later, if anyone is interested.

That's it my friends for this month, I will be back with a post on another exchange I'm participating in.

First blog giveaway

Hello Friends,

Its time for a giveaway..first one on my blog.

Apparently 30th June was my my 6th blogaversary ...hard to believe. Only 3 posts in first 3 years though.What started as a diary to write my travel experiences , then as a cooking journal is now mainly a cross stitch/ crafting blog.

22780 page views, 38 followers , 870 comments(including some replies by me) later, I think its time for a give away..First of all thank you to all my blogging friends who follow,comment and visit , like my work and encourage to blog .

I have 1 chart and 1 booklet to offer

Item 1 :St. Paul's Cathedral chart by The Heritage Collection Designer Susan Ryder

Item 2 : A Stoney Creek Sampler Collection, Book No. 105 Contains 9 sampler patterns . This is front view of booklet

Item 2 : A Stoney Creek Sampler Collection, Book No. 105 Contains 9 sampler patterns . This is back view of booklet

Both these items have been bought from a charity shop in Scotland so I'm guessing they are pre -loved. However both are in good condition.

Here is what you need to do:
1. Be a follower.
2. Comment below which item would you like to win: Item 1 or 2.
3. If you are a no reply blogger, leave your email address so that I can contact you. If you win, send me your address within 3 working days.

Giveaway closes on 14th July and results will be announced thru next Gifted Gorgeousness post.I will be mailing the item(s) in a simple A4 envelope.

I would appreciate if you could spread the word.

Happy stitching.

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL Feb Update

Hello Friends,

Thank you for the lovely comments on my last post and birthday wishes . My birthday this year was extra special  as my brother visited us here in Kuwait and we had a blast . We explored new places in Kuwait, ate good food and talked for hours. Isn't spending time with family the best way to celebrate a birthday?

I know I'm late for the GG post this month as I was saving the post to show you gifts I sent and received .

So here it goes, first are the gifts I received from my craft group for Valentine's day.

Starting from top: Crochet heart from Tammy, Middle one from Z, tiny yellow heart is my attempt to make a knitted heart and was given to DH.

This year I decided not to buy any stitchy gifts for my birthday as I'm trying to finish what I have in my stash. My humble stash of 3 years of cross stitching is nothing compared to what I see here on the blogging land but I have been trying to optimize what I buy and keep in my stash.

DH surprised me with this beautiful photo frame of my stitching finishes . I love it. I have been trying to make a dairy of my finishes with photos of projects and details, so this gift is right up my alley.In the center, it says "Wish you a stitchy year ahead"

Moving on to gifts made

Two small finishes for Tammy's birthday.

As I mentioned I have been optimizing my stash, I conducted a giveaway for a facebook group I moderate. Nothing fancy, few duplicate charts and patterns for cover kits I have stitched.

Last but not the least, is the gift I'm stitching for my bestie. Some progress since my last update , even though I made a big boo boo and I'm trying to work around it .

Bottom section

Top right

That's it for this month. Tomorrow starts March Madness for Theme-tas-stich SAL and I will  start a few small projects for that.

TUSAL March update and Wonderful giveaway from Maria

Here's is my entry for the TUSAL this month. As you can see I have added some aida trimmings to my jar...well I want to fill my jar as soon as possible ;)

I have also updated my pie chart and I'm happy the red portion has come down to 54% from 59% from the last update. This week was a good one as I got two hours daily for stitching.


I would like to talk about a fellow cross stitcher in this post of mine. Maria Demina ,is a very talented lady who creates most gorgeous things from cross stitch. I know her thru my facebook cross stitch group and I'm a big fan of her work. What makes Maria's work different from others is the way she finishes her cross stitched pieces....none of the ones I have seen are pictures for framing, pin cushions etc. So what does she do with her pieces...go check out her blog(use the google translate button) to find out for yourself.

Maria is having a give away on her blog until May 22nd and you know what, she is going to give away one of her own creations in the giveaway.. I'm not going to miss this chance....

Hoping to get some stitching done this weekend..

Hugs