Let the People Choose-June Update

Hello Friends,
First Saturday of the month I join Jo for The People's Choice SAL . Jo takes a poll for people to choose a topic for the month and the participants then post about stitchy projects related to that topic.

This month's topic is Dragonflies.Now, who doesn't love dragonflies...such  pretty colorful creatures.
I have stitched a dragonfly only once for a biscornu swap.

The pattern is a freebie from Stitch Happy blog. She has more dragonfly patterns which can be found under the label.
I don't think I have any dragonfly patterns in my stash, however I have saved this free pattern  a few years back.

Its a freebie which can be found here .
That's it from my side for this topic, now to check what others have posted for this SAL.

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL May 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.

Last Saturday, Hubby and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary and I made a little gift for him.

This is a free pattern from Cathy at Hands on Design. Here is the finish from designer look like

Picture courtesy :Hands on design

As you can see, I changed everything in this pattern:fabric,floss color and finished look.
I downloaded this pattern in 2018 , wanting to stitch it for anniversary in 2018. Well, better late than never.
The buttons you see in this design are my maternal grandmother's . Last year, I visited my maternal uncle's house with my mom. During the visit,my aunt , mom and I went up to the store room on the terrace to see what can be used from stuff left behind by my grandparents. I got my hands on these buttons, some zippers and some crocheted pieces. My maternal grandmother was a master crocheter, knitter and embroiderer in addition to be a wonderful cook.
I also wanted to share this macrame key ring I made after attending a free workshop on Instagram this Tuesday. The workshop was designed to use materials we had at home , yarn scraps, threads etc.

I don't know about other countries ,however a lot of Indian artists, crafters and organisations have been conducting free or minimal cost online workshops to help people cope with the pandemic. My snail mailing friend encouraged me to check these workshops as she herself benefited from one she attended. 
I think it's a great idea to learn a skill or two and/or share your skills with others.
Please share if you have picked up any new hobby or a hobby you stopped pursuing years ago during this pandemic .
That's it for today, will try to put some extra stitches this weekend as it is IHSW .

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL April 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.

I have finished two projects that come under gift category.
First is a late birthday gift for my husband.

This is a design by Jan Eaton published by Tom Pudding Designs, a freebie which can be found here.
The empty space is where a cat charm will be added once the lockdown is over and I order it .
Second finish is a ornament I stitched to join the hashtag #bewellandstitch . As the design is a freebie from designer Autumn Lane Stitchery, I'm considering it as a gift.

I forgot to share in my last GG post that Immediate Media Co offered many of their magazines free last month.
I was able to download The World Of Cross Stitching Feb 2020, Cross Stitch Crazy Mar 2020 and Cross Stitch Gold Jan 2020 for free on my i-phone.
Do you keep any eye for such offers or don't care about magazines?

Also, I forgot to share that I was able to locate my missing Lizzie Kate pattern which I declared missing in my Feb post here. What a relief !

In life update, the virus is spreading like a fire here in India and we are doing everything to be safe. We have local laws where we can't get out of our building more than once a week.It is stressful but thank god for house chores, hobbies and Netflix , which help in keeping mind off.

I hope you are safe and healthy.

Be Well and Stitch

Hello Friends,
I hope you are safe and keeping busy in this worrisome time. It is indeed scary whats happening in the world. My country is under lock down till 14th April , husband and I are following the instructions given by the Govt. to keep safe unlike many stupid people in my country who just don't care.
Anyways , I wanted to cheer you (and myself) up by sharing my latest finish.

Bee Well By Autumn Lane Stitchery

I'm sure you are all aware of the freebies designers in cross stitch community have been offering under the hashtag #bewellandstitch. It is so generous of them to take time out to design something for helping the community in this tough time.

I have always wanted to join and stitch something for such wonderful causes like the stitches for Australia , unfortunately I wasn't able to do it either due to bad postal system(when living in Kuwait), laziness and/or finding out about the the cause a little too late.
However, I'm happy this time I could join. I have saved all the designs being offered under the hashtag on Instagram.
Sharing links for few I like in the caption:

Picture credit :Silver Creek Samplers

Picture Credit: JBW designs 

Picture credit : SewMuch2Luv

Bee Well by The Blackberry Rabbit

You can follow the hashtag  #bewellandstitch on Instagram and Facebook to find more designs.

I hope these links help you a bit to take your mind off .

Take care friends.

Let The People Choose-March Update

Hello Friends,
First Saturday of the month I join Jo for The People's Choice SAL . Jo takes a poll for people to choose a topic for the month and the participants then post about stitchy projects related to that topic.

This month's topic is Coffee. I'm not a fan of hot drinks,be it tea or coffee. However I drink tea twice a day for psychological reasons.
When I started my career, people in my office used to take tea or coffee breaks. At first I didn't join them, then I realised these tea breaks were a way to relax one's eyes as we used to work on a computer for 9 hours, also time to chit chat a bit.
After working in the industry for 15 years , my mind asks for tea or coffee at defined hours of the day otherwise I feel tired.
I prefer coffee over tea , however coffee served in India contains milk and sugar unlike the bitter one I tasted on my first trip to USA.
During my time in Kuwait, I met people from all over the world and came to know that coffee is a big part of western culture. Our craft meetings were held in Coffee shops  and never in 4 years did I drink hot coffee.My go to drink was Frapuuchino.
Having said that I love cold coffee specially one served with one scoop with vanilla ice cream. Have you had one?
For obvious reasons I don't have any coffee patterns in my stash , however I stitched one for my friend in Kuwait.

This is a free pattern from kincavel krosses. 
I have saved this free pattern to be stitched for my coffee loving friends

Tea or coffee by Palko Lap 

Palko lap has many cute coffee patterns , go check the link out.

That's all I have to show related to Coffee.Have a nice day.

Let the people choose-March-Freebies

Hello Friends,

Today I join Jo for another SAL which she is hosting called THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE SAL. You can read about it on her blog.

The theme for March is Freebies..I can bet that there will be 0 stitchers in this whole world who haven't stitched a freebie in his or her lifetime.

I, myself , have stitched quite a many ..In fact somewhere in 2017 I realised that I'm not stitching any thing from patterns I had bought 😁 .

Let me share freebies which I have stitched over the years without repeating the ones I already showed in  February's Hearts post.

Pattern Name:Life is not where you go
Stitched as a Mystery SAL ran by House of Margaret in 2016

Freebie from DMC club
One of earliest pieces, size is 144H*217W

Freebie from www.cross-stitching.com

Freebie from Whispered by the winds

Freebie from Whispered by the winds

Freebie from Tinymodernist

Freebie from Maria

Freebie from Cross Stitch Collectibles
Stitch count :200H*75W

As you can see I have stitched some big freebies which have taken me months to complete.
As a stitcher, I would like to thank all the designers who are generous to offer beautiful freebies to the stitching community.

While we are talking about freebies, I would like to talk about a topic close to my heart: legal patterns and respecting copyright.
If you are a new stitcher who is just starting and doesn't have a stash , take some time to read about legal patterns and try to keep away from Pinterest and other dubious websites. Most of the designers are kind enough to release weekly or monthly freebies , so much that one can stitch legal free patterns whole life and never run out of designs.
If you are a stitcher like me who comes from a country where cross stitch as art has died and there is no availability of magazines , kits or patterns, please use internet to get information on proper ways of buying craft supplies. Respect copyright , don't share patterns thru emails , don't show parts of patterns on your blog or other social media. It is OK to not know things in beginning, but once you become aware about copyright , please follow the rules.
Our designers work very hard , most of the times they have full time jobs in addition to their design work. I have seen designers shutting down their websites or shops due to copyright infringement.And its a sorry state.
One of the other mistakes I have seen being committed by stitchers is sharing patterns when talking about freebies or what they are stitching on their blog or social media groups . Please don't share the actual pattern if you want to show what you are stitching , share a picture of cover picture (sample picture of pattern stitched) and link to freebie.
Ok, enough of preaching ..now some info about legal freebies. Cross stitch Crazy Magazine and The World of Cross Stitching Magazine are giving their March 2019 issues free until 3rd March. Go get some lovely patterns free by downloading thru their app.

 

No these magazines aren't paying me for promotion, I just like to spread some joy by sharing information about legal freebies.

Wow, this has become a long post..I'm off to brunch with my expat friends now.I will announce the winner of my giveaway in my next post.
Till then take care friends.