The Alphabet Club Catch up post : Letter M

Hello Friends,
Here I am with a very late entry for the Alphabet Club Letter M. This is going to be a long post, as so many interesting words that start with letter M.

M is for Maa , Hindi word for mother ( Pronunciation similar to how its said in English). I'm sure not many can deny the importance of a mother in a living being's existence. Personally I can't even imagine where I would be without my mother: from loving selflessly, to fighting with society to let me choose what I wanted to be, to accepting who I am , to teach me how to take care of family and last but not the least, passing down the love of crafts like embroidery, home decor and cooking .I always thought I was a papa's gal , but as I grow old I can't help but see how similar I am to my mother.
One day ,after a break of few years from cross stitching , I was looking for information on DMC on the Internet. My mother would often mention how DMC thread was available in India in her young age and how good the quality was. I was amazed to find so many beautiful designs on Internet . I started searching for a pattern to make for my mother's 60th birthday which was "then" in 10 years. This is the pattern I selected .

Design by Katherine Martin Tripp

Though my taste has changed ,since I have found the new world of cross stitch designers , I still may stitch this for my mother.

M for Mushakal- a vegetarian Fatayer. Its a turnover pastry/ sandwich made of pizza base type dough and baked in oven. As you know, I am a big foodie and when we shifted to Kuwait, I was looking for new Arabic vegetarian dishes to try . An acquaintance suggested why don't I try Mushakal. Since then its one of my favourite Arabic food,nothing beats the taste of oven baked closed sandwich stuffed with potato fries, fried egg plant and falafel served with pickled vegetables.

Cheese fatayer

M for Mujaddara is a Lebanese dish made of lentils and rice served with fried onions. You know how we Indians love lentils and rice , so any new way this combination is served excites me.

M for Ma'amoul is a middle eastern sweet delicacy. These are stuffed cookies made from semolina with ground date, pistachio or walnut filling. Shaped in a wooden mould called a tabi.

Ma'amoul

M is for Mor or Mayur( Mor has the same pronunciation as English word More), Hindi word for peacock. Peacock is national bird of India , found in dry areas like Rajasthan ,Gujarat. It is believed that a peacock dances during rain or to invite rain . There are many folk and movie songs about rainy season and peacock in India . 
I currently have one peacock WIP , I'm having so much fun stitching with blended threads, half stitches , still long way to go though.

Indian Peacock by Dimensions

Another peacock design I have my in stash

Stunning Peacock by Amanda Gregory, Published in The World of Cross Stitching, Issue 245

One of my favourite designer is Maria Demina who designs under the name Little Room in the attic. Though I have only stitched one design of hers, her water color designs are drool worthy.

Paisley freebie from Maria Demina, stitched in Aug 2015

Aren't these lovely?

That's it my friends for letter M, I will be back for next alphabet entry.

Theme-tas-stitch 2017 : March Madness check-in

Hello Friends,

Another month has flown by... and here I am with my check in for Theme-tas-stitch SAL: March Madness being hosted by Kerry.I didn't forget to post about the SAL , I was trying to get a few projects started/finished for the check-in. I'm essentially a OAAT stitcher , so this theme was difficult to meet.

I don't how but the march madness actually made me mad. Ya real mad. Mr. Frog has been in the house , sitting on my shoulder and bothering me. First I had to frog 400 stitches in my Candamar project and that almost killed my mojo.

As if that wasn't enough , Mr. Frog decided to interfere in a very simple swap piece I'm stitching. I'm telling you never in the past I had to cut the thread while frogging...but this time that too happened. At least my ORT Jar is happy.

I started three new small projects this month , one is FFOed, second is finished(can't show as its for a exchange)  and third I just started today to show you guys.

Started :4th March 2017
Finished :12th March 2017

New start , 31st March 2017

ORTs from the swap project

Fourth project I worked on or rather re stitched on after the frogging was the Candamar design WIP.

Candamar Project

The portion circled black is off by 1 row but I'm not going to frog it. Portoin circled pink was frogged and restitched.

Not a very good report, but I'm happy that I stitched most of the days in the month which is shown in the monthly pie chart.

March 2017 Stitching pie

Change in plans

If you remember from my Jan goals post, I decided to start a Soda Stitch pattern for Tour de Designers SAL in April for Stitch Maynia FB SAL. This project also fitted the theme for Theme-tas-stitch : April Showers.

Well I have decided to withdraw out of the SAL and not start this piece. I have to work on 3 smalls in April, given my speed I know that will take the whole month. I don't want to start a new project and stitch it for a day and add to my WIP basket.

I hope you have a productive April stitching wise.

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL March 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.

As you know it was my birthday last month, I received a wonderful package from Tammy when we last met at our craft meetup in the Secret Garden. What's the Secret Garden, well I would like to write a post about that ..

The package contains goodies she brought me from Sri Lanka:tea, cinnamon,soap, and hand crafted crochet heart, doily , wash cloth, brooch. My favourite is the heart 💗

Yesterday was my husband's birthday, and I made him a card. He loves Owls and has requested me to stitch owls in the past.. This was a surprise for him and why do I mention it specifically ? Well my friends, my husband and I are together 24 hrs a day(not complaining). We work in the same office , in the same department and even can see each other's computer screen. So arranging surprises is tricky.

Designer:Jayne Schofield
Pattern: Cross Stitch Crazy, May 2015

Whenever I want to stitch a surprise for him, I have to wait until he sleeps or goes for grocery shopping... ha ha. See what I did here, I want you to steal some limelight as DH has been getting all the praises for the gifts he has given me in last few months which I showed here on blog😁

Not much else to show, I have a new start and tiny progress on a WIP which I will save for the March Madness post.

We were hit by worst of dust storms on Tuesday. The visibility was very low and driving was a challenge. Thankfully it has subsided now..but it marks the start of summer , not a welcome season in this part of the world.
I have been reading on blogs how the weather has been unpredictable in other parts of the world, blizzard, snow or high temperatures.Sometimes these things make me sad and wonder is it global warming ? I hope you are safe in your part of the world.

Trip to Mirror House, Kuwait

Hello Friends,

Winter has come to an end here in Kuwait and the temperature has started rising..some people call it spring though.

We completed 3 years of living in Kuwait recently and this winter was the best of all years we have been here. The temperature touched 0 deg C and below this year, something I always prefer over 55 deg C. This was also the busiest of season for us, my husband jokingly said that the petrol expenses have doubled in last two months. We have been attending crafty meetups, book club meetings, exhibition, fairs and lastly exploring tourist places when my family visited.

This post is dedicated to one such outing to Mirror House,Kuwait. We visited the Mirror House on 24th Feb for a evening tour.  The House of Mirrors or Mirror House, also known as the Khalifa & Lidia Qattan Art Museum is like a wonderland where every wall, floor and nook of the house is covered with mirrors. Mrs. Lidia Qattan single-handedly transformed an old house into piece of art which is now open to public to admire.  Mrs. Qattan gives you a personal tour of the house , with stories of how she started making one wall for her daughter's room in 1966, how supplies were difficult to get in those days , how termite destroyed the mirror work and it was built again.

Front wall of the house

Entrance 

Main entrance of the house

Mrs Qattan, originally from Italy has passion for art, world peace, humanity which is aptly reflected in her work.

The museum has been divided into sections to experience a magical journey into a world of fantasy, science, mental stimulation and spiritual enlightenment. The journey thru the house is an experience guaranteed to illuminate your heart and soul with its enchanting, energetic, and heart warming host, the artist and creator of this magical place, Lidia Qattan.

Stairs to the upper floor

The hostess has a knack for recycling objects we use in our day to day life like tube lights, water filters, pots and you can find many interesting decorations made of recycled stuff.

Decorations made out of recycled stuff

Close up of one of the painting using buttons

At the start of tour , you are greeted by Mrs. Qattan lovely granddaughter and treated to world's best ginger tea ,cakes and other home made snacks. The best thing about the tour apart from the mirror art is the personal touch Mrs. Qattan adds to the tour by narrating stories of old Kuwait and her life. It is extremely kind of her to give a personal tour instead of hiring a employee to do so.

The museum also houses Mr. Qattan's paintings which are a visual treat .

If you are in Kuwait or plan to visit in near future, a visit to Mirror House is highly recommended.All the info can be found on http://www.mirrorhouseq8.com . Booking a tour just requires a phone call and you can pay when you reach the museum.

P.S. I'm writing this post as a thank you to my fellow expat bloggers who have helped me explore Kuwait in last three years thru their informative posts abt expat life specially in Kuwait.Being in Kuwait , I know from experience that adequate information is not available online and it is thru these blogs that we find tips how to make our lives easier and more enjoyable in this country.I hope this blog post will be useful to new expats in Kuwait who want to explore the country.

The Alphabet Club Catch up post : Letter L

Here I am with my next entry for The Alphabet Club- letter L

L is for Loot - Another loan word from Hindi , the meaning being same in both language .

L is for Laksa  is a popular spicy noodle soup in the Peranakan cuisine, which is a combination of Chinese and Malay cuisine.Laksa consists of rice noodles or rice vermicelli with chicken, prawn or fish, served in spicy soup; either based on rich and spicy curry coconut milk, or based on sour asam (tamarind or gelugur). It can be found in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Southern Thailand.

I love Laksa (vegetarian version) and can't forget the first time I had it from a bazaar stall in Singapore 

in 2011.

L is for Lassi - A popular yogurt /curd based drink in the Indian sub continent. This is served in summers 
to ward off the heat along with meals.Lassi can be sweet or savoury with flavourings added according to 
taste. Laban is arabic name/equivalent of Lassi.

I'm sure many of you living in the UK must have tasted Mango lassi atleast once.

Here is a picture of a healthy version of Lassi I made: Salted Ragi(Finger Millet) Lassi .

One more popular variation of Lassi is Chaas -salted drink similar to lassi, but may contain more water than lassi and has the butterfat removed to reduce its consistency. The english term for Chaas is Buttermilk.

L is for Luskentyre beach: One of the most beautiful beaches I have visited till date though a bit too cold to swim . I think the picture below describes its beauty.

L is for London: One of my favourite cities in the world. I can talk for hours about how much fun I had in London when I was there on a business trip. I know I should have written a dedicated post for that, but you know me..how lazy can I get. Call it serendipity or synchronicity , the first ever cross stitch magazine I bought was from London and it featured "Pretty Mini London" by Satsuma Street.I will stitch this design one day I promise.

Picture from Satsuma Street website

Some other lovely patterns on London 

Tiny Modernist

Thea Gouverneur

That's it for Letter L, I will be back soon with my entry for Letter M.

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.

Theme-tas-stitch 2017:Focus Finish February

Hello Friends,

Its time for first check in for Theme-tas-stitch 2017 SAL. What's that I hear you ask? Theme-tas-stitch 2017 SAL is easy ,no fuss SAL being hosted by Kerry. Each month we are given a theme  and we choose a project which fits it.
The theme for February is Focus Finish . Work on a WIP in your stash that you would love to get finished.  When I joined the SAL I decided to focus on my Candamar Designs kit called Most Beautiful Things Picture, however I knew I can not finish it in one month. But I do want to finish this asap.

I have been able to add 2948 stitches since I started stitching for Focus Finish . I thought of tracking the number of stitches for this as it would give me a better perspective . Then I set up targets, 100 stitches in a week day and 400 stitches each day during the weekend. Looks easy right ...only if I stitch every day. I stitched 13 out of 20 days in February till now.

Here is a before and after picture.Sorry the pictures in night time under a lamp.

Before

After

If I would have stitched all days and met my stitch target , I would have completed the project this month.
However, I'm happy to report that I have reached the full width and height of the project.

Not much stitching will happen in coming days as its my birthday and Kuwait National day celebrations next week. This is my favourite time of the year in Kuwait with everything decorated with lights.

I'm off to check what other participtants have stitched.