FOTM SAL November Check in

Hello Friends,

Hope you all are doing good in your corner of the world and have started preparing for Christmas(if you celebrate it).

I continue to be uninspired to stitch and an attack by Sinusitis last week has left me feeling lost and home sick.

So many things have been occupying my thoughts and I haven't stitched much since my last update.

However, the good news is I'm giving stitching using a q snap a second try. I bought a q snap sometime in 2014 but didn't like using it with the sewing method.It has been lying in the drawers for a year along with guilt of wasting money on a tool I would never use.

Sometime back a friend posted a picture of a q snap she bought to inspire her to cross stitch again and I thought I should try it again. The fabric for this project is big enough and would be ideal for using a qsnap.

Here's is my progress as of 30th Nov 2015.

I think I'm developing a new hobby of clicking pictures of the sky as DH drives around.

Here are the two captures I love.

I'm also cherishing handmade beauties my craft group ladies gave me(which I forgot to show you) for World Yarn day and Halloween.

Aren't the palm trees made by Tammy and the Cath Kidston by Z coaster adorable?

My stitchy pie for the month of November.

See you soon in the last month of the year.

A Big Happy Dance - Gifted Gorgeousness SAL November update

I have no zeal to blog these days though I have so much to tell you...

November has been a busy month with festivals, exploring around and my MIL visiting us here in Kuwait.

However I think I need to share with you the finish I'm so proud of... Fractal Bookmark FB-312 from Cross Stitch Collectibles. I loved stitching this piece so much...my first full coverage project and my first time handling 20+ colors.I tried cross country stitching and parking method at times for this project and I think I'm ready for big projects now.

This will be a gift for a friend , I hope she likes it.

Start Date    11/27/2014

End Date     10/23/2015

Stitch count  70H*200W

I'm trying to focus on my only WIP(as declared in my last post), EMS flower piece, not that I have a target in mind to finish it. May be I will start a new project in new year. I think joining a few SALs would be a good idea to get some motivation and I'm hoping Jo continues GG SAL in 2016 or I would be lost.What SALs are you joining?

Don't have any more words...will see you next month for the final GG check in.

Happy Stitching

P.S. I will be kitting a small project today night to carry to office.Things have changed since I drafted this post at 9 am ....lol 

FOTM SAL October Check in( The post where I declare I'm a one project girl..lol)

Hello Friends,
We have been experiencing unusual weather here in Kuwait with thunderstorms,lightning and rain.
Though part of north Kuwait have seen flash floods and water logging ,the part of country I live in hasn't experienced any such problems. I'm loving the cloud covered skies, wet roads and clean trees.

I have finished stitching my fractal bookmark which I will show in my next GG post. I decided to scrap the HAED I started on January 1st as I now longer feel motivated to stitch it, which makes the flower series my only WIP. I'm being a good girl and resisting a new start..let's see how long can i resist.

Here is my progress on the EMS flower series which I'm stitching on a single piece of 14 count aida.
I have finished the March flower,except the back stitching. Started the May flower with the frog visiting 5 times in the little stitching you see below...grrr.

With the weather being so nice ,we have been trying to explore Kuwait. Friday we drove to a public beach but it was dark by 5pm so we took a short walk along the beach and came back in half an hour..haha.
Yesterday we visited The Tareq Rajab Museum which is a privately owned museum with collections from the Arab world and Asia. It was an enriching experience with the artifacts displayed in a good lighting and information available in English and Arabic.

It's been long since I posted about my cooking adventures. I have been trying new recipes but I still need to work on my food photography skills. A picture of Mushroom and Spinach Frittata I made last Wednesday which the family just loved.

Wishing everyone a happy November.

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL October Update

I always smile when people say where did this month go and here I am feeling the same. Looks like the last quarter of the year will be wrapped up soon.

Thank you all for your comments and advice on how to stitch on linen.

A pic of card and bookmark I gave to my boss as retirement gifts. These were well received and he was overwhelmed that I took time out to stitch for him.The bookmark is my first linen project.I can now relate to the praise I always heard about how the look of linen is better than aida or evenweave.

The card was a freebie kit with World of Cross Stitching mag, gifted to me by a friend. The bookmark is a Joan Elliott design from CrossStitcher mag issue 213, again a gift and the linen was a gift from Diya.

I have been working hard to finish my current WIP(will be a gift too) which I have not shown on this blog until now. I have really enjoyed stitching this one, however the confetti sometimes kills the mojo.

This is one of the freebie Fractal bookmarks which Cross Stitch Collectibles releases every month. Its 86% complete now and whatever gaps you see will be stitched mainly in black. I'm hoping once I finish the confetti, the filling will not take time.

Here are few progress pics.

Lets hope I can finish this by this month end.

Hop onto Jo's blog to see what gifts others stitchers have made.

C is for Chai

Hello Hello,

Its detention day at The Alphabet Club and the letter for the month is C.

C is for Chai(चाय) - It may not be an exaggeration if I say Chai is national drink of India. Every guest is treated to a cup of chai  in Indian homes. Chai is Hindi word for tea and can be prepared black, with milk, without sugar, etc. This comes from the Persian چای chay, which originated from the Chinese word for tea 茶 chá.

Until a few years ago I thought tea or chai is native to India ...ha ha the bliss of ignorance. It is prepared in many ways across the country ,here is the recipe my mom follows:

Makes two cups of tea:

1. Boil 1.25 cups of water. Add 2 spoons of sugar . Once the sugar dissolves add 1 teaspoon of chai.

2. Once the chai leaves its essence(the color of water will change ), add 0.75 cup of milk.

3. Bring it to a boil . Sieve the chai and serve.

This is the normal milky sugary version of chai which you will find being served in tea stalls in India . Various ingredients like ginger, cardamom, tulsi are added to it while boiling to add to its taste. Masala chai is one of the popular versions .

C is for Chandrama(चन्द्रमा)- Hindi word for moon. Also called as chand (चांद)  in Hindi and Urdu.
Moon is considered as epitome of beauty hence its common to compare beauty of your female partner with the moon. Also its looked upon as  a sign of simplicity. Children all over India and even elders call it affectionately as "Chanda mama". Mama means the maternal uncle in both North Indian and South Indian languages.

C is for Chakda - This is curious vehicle used to carry passengers in North western state of India, Gujarat.

It is improvised from a Royal Enfield with diesel engine, some sort of shaft  drive and arrangement to seat people. Its decorated with colors and pictures and can be seen being used for carrying passengers in rural Gujarat.

Image source:Internet

C is Camper Van - This is a piece I stitched for DH on request. He selected the design and asked me to stitch for him. Look at the VW logo--My first attempt at back stitching. VW may sue me after looking at this ...lol. Finished it using old magazine papers and it now hangs next to his desk.

Looking forward what others TACers are talking about.

FOTM September Update and other ramblings

Hello Friends,
Another month has come to an end ,which makes me look back and realize how little I have achieved in terms of goals I made when I first posted for GG SAL. Three medium sized stitched gifts for my college buddies.. ha what was I thinking.
September by far has been one of the most productive stitchy month. I finished stitching January and February flowers ,they were missing two colors. Made some progress on the March flower...

I'm now targeting to finish my biggest piece ever and that has been the focus since 23rd.I hope I will be able to post a finish picture soon.

I won Rosey's blog giveaway in July and this is what I received ...You must be wondering what took it long to reach me ..well the same postal woes. I didn't wanted to lost my prize in post ,so I asked Rosey to post it to Tammy ,who was in USA then.

Gifts from Tammy

Thank you Rosey and Tammy !!

The best thing that happened with my rediscovery of love of cross stitch (which happened in June last year, see my post here) was introduction to so many cross stitch blogs and bloggers. I have learnt so much thru these blogs- various stitching techniques, fabrics, storage, shopping places ,giveaways and exchanges.
The cherry on the cake are the letters / postcards/greeting cards I receive from my stitchy friends . I had almost forgotten the happiness one gets when you open a letter and read somebody's handwriting ..as if the person is talking to you in real.

As I am writing this post I ponder how the few letters, which my dad and mom wrote me when I was in college, are my life long treasures. My mother in law used to write us letters occasionally whenever she used to send us her home made spices and sweets .
My favourite activity of childhood was to write postcards to my grandmother. This is how a blank postcard issued by Indian postal offices looked like..I wonder is it still available.

Until I shifted to Kuwait , I wrote letters to my brothers for Raksha bandhan and they used to make fun of me.

I think art of letter writing is dying a slow death with the emergence of all this fast communication methods of phone and internet.
May be I am old school who enjoys the warmth of a hand written letter.

Do you like writing and receiving letters?

Here's my monthly stitch pie chart

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL September Update

Welcome to the blog of World's Slowest Stitcher..ya that's me...
Because I have only a small card and unfinished bookmark to show you this time.
Can you believe this tiny card took me 5 days to stitch?

This is free cover kit from World of Cross Stitching mag, gifted  to me by my friend G when I met her in London . I love how the finished piece looks like ,however I'm not happy with the chart . This design had at least 5-8 fractional stitches which weren't specified in the key.

Next is a bookmark I'm stitching on 28 ct linen gifted to me by Diya and the pattern is from Cross Stitcher mag ,which again is a gift from Mrs. G .This is my first time stitching on linen, in fact first time anything other than aida. I'm stitching it over 2 using 2 strands. I miscounted somewhere and the piece is now off by 1 square. Initially I felt my stitches weren't neat so I took advice from my fellow stitchers and they advised that I should use a hoop or frame to stitch on linen. Also they suggested that the sewing method shouldn't be used for stitching on linen and I should use the stab method. So I'm stitching this piece in a hoop, using stab method and sometimes using railroading to get neat stitches.

Both the card and bookmark will be a gift for my boss who is retiring next week and has chosen China as his retirement home.

It would be helpful if you my friends can advise on following:
1. Is it necessary to use hoop/qsnap/frame for stitching on linen?
2.If the answer to above is no, can we use sewing method on linen?
3.Do you use railroading to keep your stitches neat?

Sept. 12th was International Crochet day and Sadu house (a traditional art house in Kuwait, more about this in another post) opened its gates to public for this event. It was small fun event where I met my friends from ravelry group. I didn't click any pictures ,if you would like to see some, please visit Tammy's blog.

I tried my hands at rock doodling and this is how my first rock doodle looks like. I picked this rock at the beach side at Nigg,Scotland.

I think I didn't show you guys one of the office merchandise bag I painted to use as my craft bag .Just some free hand Warli painting...

Life has got busy all of a sudden..until 3 months back I complained about being bored in this country and now I have so many events to attend, people to meet, places to visit and I have started reading again..I'm about to finish my 3rd book in 15 days.
Well I like being busy ,exploring new places and meeting new people..may be that's the reason I get less time for stitching now.

Oh before I end this post , here are 2 pictures some of you Sampler lovers may like which I clicked at Skaill House, Orkney.

Click on the picture to get details