Smalls SAL March Check-in

Hello Friends,

Its last friday of the month , time to show what smalls we stitched during the month. I'm participating first time in Smalls SAL this year hosted by Heather. I decided to join this SAL as I usually stitch birthday cards or exchange pieces throughout the year and this gives me an additional chance to blog.

I have two small finishes, first is the one I wasn't able to show you in February.

I made this very simple birthday card for Tammy. Added some other small knitted items made in December to her birthday package.

The birthday card pattern is by Diane Machin, published in All-Occasion Charts, TWOCS, Issue 203. I have noticed that some designers are regular in magazines but its hard to find their designs otherwise. Diane Machin is one ...

Love Heart by Amanda Berry

The Almost Lost Washcloth by Julie Tarsha

Another small I made was Finn Owlet from Mill Hill for my owl loving husband's birthday.

Quite happy with my first mill hill kit finish, I think I might buy some more .

That's it my friends, I hope you have a Happy Easter if you are celebrating and enjoy your long weekend.

IHSW March Check-in

Hello dear friends,

It's time to show what I stitched for International Hermit & Stitch weekend . If you don't know what  IHSW is, its a SAL which was started by Joysze at Random Ramblings .Here is how she describes it "International Hermit and Stitch Weekend takes place every 3rd full weekend of each month, from Friday till Sunday. In our very busy and hectic lives, IHSW is a chance for us to squirrel some time away for ourselves and "Hermit and Stitch." It is a time set aside to take care of us and our love for stitching."

Weekend in my part of the world is on Friday & Saturday, so I will be stitching from Thursday to Saturday and post on Sundays whenever I participate in IHSW.

My stitching bug has been MIA , nothing unusual, happens to me every time I come back from a vacation.As I wasn't stitching sitting at home, I decided to go out of the house and socialise instead on Friday. Saturday was my craft meetup and I'm very excited to share that a new cross stitcher has joined the group. She is an avid cross stitcher who stitches Mirablias , uses scroll rods and hand dyed fabrics ! It was so much fun to talk in cross stitch lingo..parking, HAEDs,start from the centre or side , linen. As I went out twice during the  weekend, I extended IHSW to Sunday to accompany you ladies.

I worked on two projects, something I don't do normally.
I stitched on Mill Hill Kit- Emma Owlet. This was a new start during my vacation and was supposed to be a  birthday gift for hubby. Well that didn't happen, blame it on my mom , she kept me busy in other things 😁. I don't have a before picture to show, just the latest progress. This is my first time stitching on perforated paper and beading. As much I hated stitching with three strands, I'm enjoying beading to my surprise.

Next I stitched on Indian Peacock by Dimensions.Before and after pics

Though I didn't stitch much during the weekend, I did select a new project to start and kit it.So overall a good IHSW.

I would like to thank you all for the lovely comments on my last post about my husband's stitching. All I can say is :I'm blessed.

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL March Update-When you are spoil rotten by the hubby

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.

I received lots of hand made gifts during my recent visit to India but I would like to dedicate this post to surprise gifts I got from my husband. My husband is an avid supporter of my hobbies and goes out of the way to help me in my hobbies. He has creative genes in his body but chooses to use them only for me,I mean while making gifts for me.But this time he has outdone himself or I won't exaggerate if I say this is the best cross stitch gift I have ever got.He designed and stitched this for my birthday :

A cross stitch of Kuwait Towers, will be a perfect souvenir of our time in Kuwait

This is a cross stitch of Kuwait Towers, most famous landmark in Kuwait. When he gifted me this after a overnight flight , I was so sleepy I told him that I will look at it later.After a good sleep, when I saw it, my jaw just dropped. The colors are just so true to real life monument.He hasn't used pic-to-pat or any free online service to convert a picture. He designed this in MS excel , chose the colors from DMC palette and stitched it. Look how neat, all the stitches go in same direction...Wow ..just wow.Poor guy tells me each day after coming home from office he would eat food and just stitch so that he can complete the gift before I come back.

For people living in Kuwait or in this part of the world,it is very difficult to find patterns representing local culture or history. All the crafters I have met since I moved to Kuwait say there aren't any Kuwaiti designs available. This makes my gift more special...

Can you believe this is stiched by a newbie who has no experience of designing or cross stitch,has only done embroidery in school as part of craft class?

As if this wasn't enough, he bought me a sewing machine.I have been thinking of buying one since few years but couldn't justify the cost as I only use it twice a year . Don't worry I won't be getting into making dresses or clothes, it will be used for cross stitch finishes and mostly to alter my clothes.

Brother JA1400

Wait there is more, I was packing my knitting WIP for the holiday the night before the flight, when I casually said Hubby can you fix me a row counter? He goes out of the room and brings me one...this man can read my mind, I tell you!

A very simple knit counter perfect for my projects...I love it.

I feel so blessed to have a partner who not only supports my hobbies but puts in efforts to understand my craft needs and create gifts which suit my taste.

I will write a separate post for the other gifts soon, first to see if Jo will allow me to link up twice in a month.