2025 :Year of big changes and a loss

Year 2025 was a year full of changes ...some changes which I have been working for quite some time and some which took me by surprise.

To start , 2025 was the year I finally made a come back to crafting and blogging. With the long gap of 4+ years, I always felt guilty of abandoning my hobbies and blog. 

The year started with a professional change when I moved to a Management Role after working in Engineering for 19 years. The new role involved something I love-interacting with people, understanding their challenges and help them find a solution.

January was busy with a wedding , hosting a hobby friend at home and attending Stamp exhibition in Mumbai.

February being birthday month meant mandatory Starbucks Frappuccino and birthday dinner with hubby and brother.

For my new role, I traveled to USA and was able to meet my lovely colleagues and find some crafty stuff at Joann's and thrift shops. I wrote it about here .

Knitting at Dubai airport in transit to Kansas city, USA

By the time I came back from my work trip in mid March, my husband had started conversations around moving out of India for work. It was a happy surprise as I have got bored of living in the same city for 6 years and have been asking him to move. We had some opportunities in the past however some didn't work out due to professional reasons and some due to laws regarding pet import.

Things started to shape up in May when we got Scotland as the country we would probably move. I have always loved Scotland- from the pictures husband's cousin would share and our trip in 2015. So it was a dream come true...

I'm grateful that our move went smooth as the challenges we had were how do I resign from a job I started few months back, that I loved so much and how will my 22 year old cat Twitch travel.

With months of planning, packing, selling stuff, sealing the house, we finally moved in the last week of July.

My babies started exploring the house the moment they got out of the carrier, Gabru on left, Twitch on right

My major concern during these months was will Twitch survive the long journey in cargo. Sometimes it felt selfish to make such an elderly cat travel but then leaving her behind was unimaginable.

When I moved here, I took a conscious decision of taking a break from my job to settle in, set up the house, learn about the new place and culture, dedicate time to my hobbies.

5 months flew by - during these we took some short trips around the city, I attended events related to my hobbies, celebrated our first Diwali in Glasgow.

An old phone booth converted to a library in Dunkeld

Postbox topper at Isle of Cumbrae

In December, we travelled to Morocco and that's when the saddest thing happened.

The Sahara

Golden sunset at the Sahara

While we were away, my most beautiful, resilient and intelligent Twitch got sick. She had age related issues but she was a fighter so I never thought this time would come.

Always the Queen of the house

On 14th of December we had to take the hardest decision of our life-to let her go over a phone call. Its been very difficult for me to accept that my bubba is not with us anymore- she blessed us with her love for 8.5 years, travelled two countries with us and lived in 5 houses in 3 countries.

Twitch the explorer, at in-law's house

My husband has been telling me that she was very old, lived a beautiful life and I should accept that she is not with us physically but the fact that we were not with her in her last time makes it very difficult.

My baby Twitch
1-Jun-2003 to 14-Dec-2025

I have been trying to keep myself busy in hobbies but the grief hits now and then.

During the holidays , we went to the city centre to see the Christmas decorations , our first Christmas in Glasgow. 

It was a nice distraction and I'm thankful to the guest who visited us and helped us get out of the house.

Its been a long post, I think I need a separate post for my crafty finishes.

Hope my friends had good time during the holidays.

Happy New Year.

Good bye 2019!

Hello beautiful people of the blog world,

Its last day of the year and decade 😊.

This year I'm no mood of looking back and accounting my achievements or learnings etc. Neither do I have any resolutions...I just want to be happy whatever year or day it is.

2019 surely brought a lot of changes in my life-Left Kuwait, Moved to India,moved into a new home,decided to take a break in my professional career, crafting bug missing...

The obvious reason I have not posted on my blog is that I haven't been crafting...I have been travelling a lot, attending weddings, entertaining guests and pursuing my hobby of snail mailing. No complaints here..just enjoying this phase.

I thought of posting for the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL today before its too late.

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.

I finished a beanie for myself , as the pattern is a free one from the designer , I'm including this for GG SAL.

Layered Yarn beanie
Pattern from Gina Michele

The people at Immediate media company were kind  enough to offer January 2019 issue of CrossStitch Crazy magazine and December 2019 issue of The World of Cross Stitching  magazine on the first weekend of this month.

So , I'm shoe horning these as gifts too...

That's it from my side crafting wise.

I hope to craft more in 2020 and promise to be a better blog follower.

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 !

2017 Crafty wrap up and 2018 plans

Happy New Year friends

I hope you had good time welcoming the new year, in whatever way you did. I had a day off and we had a relaxing time at home and I tried a new recipe which was a success.

I have been reading everyone's wrap up of crafty finishes in 2017 and plans for 2018. I love reading statistics...numbers and pictures speak to me rather than just plain text.

Let's see how I did with my 2017 goals.

Goals for 2017

1. Dedicate more time for crafting specially on holidays/vacation   ✔ Non crafting reduced from 42% in 2016 to 34% in 2017

2. Try blackwork       ✔ Made a blackwork ATC for swap

3. Learn 2 new ways of finishing cross stitch ❌ Only one new way, biscornu

4. Pick fabric painting again ❌

5. Keep trying to crochet       ✔ Made a crochet hat

Plans for 2017

1. Participate in following monthly SALs

a) New Year New Start with Stitch Maynia (FB group)- I will start Dimension kit "Indian peacock" on 1st Jan 2017. ✔

b) Tour de Designers 2017 - SODA stitch with Stitch Maynia (FB group) - I will start "The Love Rain" on 1st April. ❌

c) Tour de Designers 2017 - Lizzie Kate with Stitch Maynia (FB group)- I will start "I Cannot Count"  on 1st July. ❌

2. Blog SALs/Activities 

a. I will continue to participate in Gifted Gorgeousness SAL . ✔ Yes managed to post all months.

b. I joined Kaye's Friday Frolicking somewhere near April 2016 but shamefully posted only once in 2016. Will try to post more often. ❌ Posted only once

c. Catch up posts for The Alphabet Club. Haven't posted about this since April 2016. ❌ Posted only four times

Apart from above I joined the blog- A New Stitchy Start 2017 and posted only once. I also joined Theme-tas-stitch 2017 hosted by Kerry in February and posted 5 times for the SAL.

Wrap up for 2017 

2017 was clearly a year of exchanges, I participated in 4 cross stitch exchanges and had fun making things for my partners. I enjoy the process of getting to know my partners, making something they will like .I had a total of 6 cross stitch finishes this year. 

I added 9844 stitches to the only WIP from 2016

Progress as on 14th December 2016

Progress as on 31st December 2017

My new year start will be the second WIP I will carry into 2018.

Indian Peacock by Dimensions.Design by Suzanne Nicoll

Knitting caught my interest this year and I learnt some new stitches .I had 9 knitting finishes, achievement being finishing my first baby blanket. Shown here are 5 which have already been gifted.

I'm very proud to say that I hosted a national level knitting event -WWKIP day here in Kuwait. The event was a huge success with considerable media coverage.

I also helped my friend Tammy with a cross stitch workshop for kids in December.

I'm more confident with crochet now and made one hat for hubby.

A little about how much I spent this year on needlework:

Cross stitching supplies                                                 $51.8

Knitting supplies including badges for WWKIP              $122.4

Needlework exchanges                                                  $36.9

Apart from needlework, I took a dig at a new hobby: Postcrossing. It involves sending postcards to random people in the world and bringing a smile to their face.

I finished reading 7 books this year.

Just noticed that my last post was 100th post on my blog. I would like to thank my readers who visit and leave a comment on the posts. Your comments encourage me to blog.

Goals for 2018

I have set simple goals this year to craft every day and finish the WIP from 2016

Plans /SALs:

My choice of designs prevents me from joining any designer specific SALs. As the idea of a SAL is to stitch along with other crafters, I enjoy stitching and posting for a SAL, when the host is involved. By now I know which are the SALs host who make special efforts to leave comments.

I will be joining following SALs this year:

1. Gifted Gorgeousness

2. IHSW

3. I may join an Instagram SAL called #gardengatesal later in the year.

I'm thinking of joining Smalls SAL as usually I stitch birthday cards all thru the year. Need to check what the perquisites are for this SAL.

I will also like to blog more often and leave comments regularly on blogs I follow.

So that's it my friends for 2017 and I hope you have lots of crafting time in 2018.

Year 2016 review and Crafty plans for 2017

Hello Friends,

Another year has come to an end and it is time to reflect on the year gone by.

2016 was a good year to say the least...I think I grew as a human being and have found ways to be happy(read avoid circumstances/people which/who make me unhappy).

The year has been good one with vacations, visits to meet family and some surprise meet ups with friends...something I always wish for.

As you all know, 2015 was a major breakthrough year cross stitching wise, 2016 may not have been so exciting however there are some new things I did in this year.

1. Participated in a cross stitch mystery SAL.

2. Started to write a daily and a craft journal.

3. Participated in postcard exchanges.

4. Won a cross stitch giveaway on Instagram.

5. Bought a cross stitch magazine in Kuwait.

6. Joined a book club and have managed to finish listening to one audio book.

7. Participated in a cross stitch blog hop.

8. First independent knitting finish.

9. Participated in a cross stitch ATC swap on Instagram.

10. First charity stitching.
11.Participated in monthly handwriting challenge on Instagram.

I managed to finish 15 cross stitch projects this year, 7 of which have not been gifted so can't show you yet.

I also made 1 knitted scarf, 1 crochet coaster, 1 quilling card , 1 washi tape card and a embroidery hoop this year.

Here is a pie chart showing my year round crafting,less stitching days compared to 2015

At the start of the year, I set up some crafting goals .Let’s see how well I managed to achieve them

1. Try blackwork - ❌

2. Learn 2 new ways of finishing cross stitch - ❌

3. Stitch on evenweave fabric-Yes stitched on 25 ct vintage lugana ✔

4. Stitch a medium/big size kit - Yes stitching a kit bought in 2014, however have swapped the fabric✔

5. Use stash the maximum -I only bought one cross stitch kit this year and my spending on needlework stash was half of what I spent in 2015.😅✔

6. Pick fabric painting again - ❌

7. Try embroidery other than cross stitching :) - Yes did some free hand embroidery ✔

8. Keep trying to crochet- I have now finished making a single crochet coaster 😁 ✔

9. Learn quilling. This has been pending since 2010- Yes made a birthday card for DH✔

The score is 6/9, not bad haa!!!

I enter the New Year with only one cross stitch WIP and have made some plans for year 2017.

Candamar Designs kit-My only WIP from 2016

Monthly SALs I will be participating in

1. New Year New Start with Stitch Maynia (FB group)- I will start Dimension kit "Indian peacock" on 1st Jan 2017.

New Year New Start 

2. Tour de Designers 2017 - SODA stitch with Stitch Maynia (FB group) - I will start "The Love Rain" on 1st April. This was a gift from Justine.

3. Tour de Designers 2017 - Lizzie Kate with Stitch Maynia (FB group)- I will start "I Cannot Count"  on 1st July. The Kit was bought in 2015, however the patterns calls for specialty threads which I don't have.

Blog SALs/Activities 

1. I will continue to participate in Gifted Gorgeousness SAL .I recently found out that my bestie is pregnant ,so that means I have 2 birth samplers to stitch now.
2. I joined Kaye's Friday Frolicking somewhere near April but shamefully posted only once. Will try to post more often.
3. The Alphabet Club . Haven't posted about this since April. Need to catch up

For goals, I would like to work on goals 1,2, 6, 8 of 2016 which I wasn't able to achieve. My resolution for 2017 is to dedicate more time for crafting specially on holidays/vacation.

The goals I have set are not stringent , however I'm sure I will need encouragement from time to time from you my friends.

Wishing you a healthy and a crafty 2017.