Stained glass quilt - my first attempt

Thank you for your thoughts on my last post , everything is under control now .

I have been away from the blogland due to my health reasons again and was advised bedrest :( I was mostly surfing pinterest and reading . I did complete my Goodreads reading challenge of 24 books this year so that's a consolation.

I had attended a stained glass quilt workshop organised at a fellow quilter's home . I am not into quilting but wanted to try patchwork . I chose the easiest pattern and also generated lot of learn-by-mistakes events for everyone in the workshop ...lol . But I braved the entire patchwork with sewing machine because I am not good at working with machine .

I made it in Dec, 2016 but completed the border just two months back . It took me almost one year to get it here. It measures approximately 16"x16" . I also tried the mitered corner while making the border and it wasn't that intimidating .

And yes, please don't comment with a get-well message as I don't want to make it a norm for me . I should better get used to these new-to-me health issues but it is slowing down my life often when I am about to or in a mode to speed up . I would rather appreciate if you share a link of your choice to a free pattern or tutorial to just feel happy :)

Can't wait to see what you all have been upto , I hope all is well and you are preparing for Christmas :)

Happy crafting!
Preeti

A caring and inspirational thought

Completed the cross stitching on the inspirational and caring thought which I loved and look up to it in both good and bad times .

I won this chart in a giveaway from Tiffany . Thanks again, Tiffany !

Designed by Zindagi designs

I need to iron and frame this . Hopefully I will order a frame next week .

The Alyssum in my balcony garden has flowered . I never knew they were so tiny . They aren't flowering profusely as I see in the images on internet . I have added flower fertilizer and it receives lots of sunlight as well . Any tips are welcome .

My extended family is going through a difficult time and there is sadness around . I don't share sad personal things here but hope for better days ahead .

Keep crafting!
Preeti

Thread Catcher

Thanks for your comments on my last post . Finally , I have a sewing finish to show .

After seeing thread catcher on various blogs , I decided to make one . It is a one day finish item and I  did both hand and machine sewing . It was good to use sewing accessories - mat, rotary cutter , quilt ruler , marking pen which usually are rarely used . The free tutorial can be found here  .

I have run out of some threads for my cross stitch WIPs and will hopefully receive in few days .

Here are some great pictures of the skyline as viewed from our seventh floor apartment and taken by Anshita in last two months .

views from bedroom balcony during monsoon rains

Rain arriving from a distance

Below are the views from the front main balcony

dark clouds just after sunset

October skyline

Hope you enjoyed seeing the pics . Our front balcony is west facing so we get to see sunset everyday :) Some of these are very beautiful compared to the sunsets we have seen at various tourists places .

Have a crafty week ahead
Preeti

What am I upto? let's see :)

I may not have been blogging but I am upto something and everything :) Sharing my finishes and WIPs . I made few doilies in last two months but I forgot where I kept those while our house was getting painted . Just found them a couple of days back .

 

Star Shine doily . Free pattern here I used S&N fingering weight cotton yarn . It is soft like pearl thread

Spring Brilliance doily . Free pattern here

I made this with variegated Lizbeth thread size 10 but I am not happy with the outcome . I just had one ball of it and I wanted a perfect sized doily to use up the thread . The design is quite beautiful but I did not do justice to it . I did not have similar type solid thread to give a better finish. I will try again without variegated thread .

Floating lights for Diwali celebrations

floating lights video . Not sure if this will play on windows

Anshita made this Rangoli at the main door

Started a new cross stitch Design by : Zindagi designs

I won this chart from Tiffany at Tiffstitches in one of her giveaways .  Thank you Tiffany !

I started another Durene Jones design and I am working on DMC 28count linen. It is very difficult to manoeuvre the shadowy effect of threads on thinner motifs and I am finding it boring to do so .  Any stitching tips for stitching on linen are welcome . I am contemplating to switch back to aida . 

Height chart . I made good progress completing the lower neck of the giraffe , some part of tree and a toucan on the left . Now I am bored of stitching people, fairies and animals . 

Spinach in my balcony is going great !

I am doing fine and my treatment for gynecological issues is working fine too . I just need to go for a checkup every six months for four years . I have many things on my todo list and I am way behind in gardening . Need to sow seeds this week . I hope to show little sewing finishes in next blog post . Till then,

Happy crafting

Preeti :)

Same again...

well, I mean working on the same project . I did put lots of stitches on the height chart , here is my progress .

After : Completed flower and giraffe's face

Before

Cherry tomatoes from my plant

Made Chilli paneer last week . It is a vegetarian Indian Chinese dish made from cottage cheese .

I want to work on sewing projects but I am feeling tired and I am always returning back to my comfort zone of stitching height chart . That is making me feel self suppressed :(

I am going good on my reading targets . I hope I will find the courage and energy to work on sewing projects . I want to make cushion covers , needle book and thread catcher but even the smaller projects look tiresome in this lazy mood .

I wasn't able to edit and save image using picmonkey which I use to add my blogname  to the images. Is there any alternative good free site to edit? Which one do you use?

Happy crafting!
Preeti

Some stitching progress....

Thanks for your well wishes . I did some stitching on Height chart and then again had to stop due to a hurt on my right hand . It is ok now and I hope I can start stitching again by weekend .

Worked on Toucan and the flower at the top

Few more miscellaneous things to share .....

Ixora in bloom from my balcony garden

Crochet cotton threads from shuttlesandneedles

Chillies from my balcony garden. A single plant gives these many every 3 weeks.

Oven baked potato wedges which I made for the first time

When I am frustrated or overwhelmed with pending tasks , I like organizing things around . Gives me a little feeling of decluttering the mind even if it is an unrelated thing to do . Even watching some home organizing videos/blogs is fine although I am not an organizing maniac . Does that happen to you? What makes you feel better when you get overwhelmed with daily little things ?

Have a nice day!
Preeti :)

Hello again !

Hope you are doing great . I was not keeping well and thanks to my friends who checked on me .
I did not do any crafting for the past one month other than these rakhis that I made for Rakshabandhan - a festival for brothers and sisters . You can see my previous rakhis here and here .

 Got this crochet book for making socks . Also received few fabrics for cross stitch & Hardanger embroidery and stitcher's lotion from 123stitch when Raj went to the US in July .

28 ct Jobelian fabric

Chalk board cross stitch  and Hardanger fabrics

I hope to catch up on blogs this week . I am having a gynecological problem , not uncommon , and will go for a treatment next month . If it doesn't get cured in 3-6 months then I will have to go for a major surgery .

And yes , last week I got my first ever reading glasses :)

Have a great weekend!
Preeti

Winter Fairy Soda Stitch :)

Thank you for your comments on my previous post ! Before I end up posting about the progress on my Kitty litter self SAL again I decided to fill-in with a finish I completed in May :)

Winter fairy from Elf Garden by Soda Stitch

Stitched on 16 count Zweigart Aida fabric

There are four fairies and my favorites are summer and spring fairies . But I did not want to do injustice to others so I have kept the favorite ones for the last .

Life was busy last month spending time with my mother and lots of seed sowing . I have been lagging behind in reading blogs these days . Few years back I used to read multiple times which later turned into a schedule of twice a day . Since last year , I have been reading once a day often missing out on weekends . But from last couple of months I sometimes end up reading alternate days or once in 2-3 days . It is not that I am that busy or reached any blog fatigue where many bloggers , recently , feel like abandoning the journey . I very much like to be on the blog land and I don't have any local friends with same hobby interests . I find reading blogs everyday easier as it doesn't create too much of backlog . How is your blog reading schedule ?

Have a nice time!
Preeti :)

A quick update

Thanks for your comments on the last post ! Just wanted to share a quick update on my kitty litter project . Here is where I am at the end of June first week.

After : Added a grey kitty

Before

I have decided that I am just going to stitch the main design including the floor but not the wall in the background. I don't have patience to stitch that and I feel it is not necessary to stitch everything. So probably with this monthly rotation method I may complete this project within a year. This is what the main design looks like.

Anshita's school reopened yesterday after the summer vacation and life is back on track and disciplined for all of us . My mother is here for a month and we are all enjoying her company :) The Monsoon rains have arrived and the temperatures have dropped down a lot and it is very pleasant now .

Have a nice day!
Preeti

Another finish and a lovely exchange ! :))

Thanks for your comments on my last post !!

I have a cross stitch finish to share today which was meant for an exchange long due with my friend Mini from Miniz Diary . She received yesterday and now I am free to post about it :)

Cross stitch 'Blue bird' by Lesley Teare from the magazine Cross Stitch Collection April 2013 issue .

I framed it but unfortunately the glass frame didn't survive the long journey :(

We agreed for two handmade items but I forgot to take the pictures of the second handmade which is a crochet heart hanging . These are my goodies that I had sent .

Buttons, burlap ribbons, mini easel, sketched card from Goa and a set of cookie cutters

I received Mini's gifts a week ago . She made her first lovely Biscornu  for me and now it is mine first too :) And her knitting coasters are soft and sweet as well! Thank you Mini !!

She pampered me with lots of goodies which don't fit into one screen shot .....:)

linen and cotton fabric, mill hill kit, postcard, earrings

Needle minder and a scissor fob - both made by her

Lovely stationery and a crochet needle organizer which she got custom made

And yes, a spice mix also but I couldn't take pics as I already opened it

I enjoyed the exchange a lot and was happy to do it because we (read I ) had been missing deadlines with some or the other reasons :) Thank you Mini for the wonderful gifts !! Looking forward to see more exchanges in future .


Have a great week ahead!
Preeti

Falling for the stars crochet doily....

Here is another crochet doily I completed blocking . It is made with Anchor knitting cotton and 2.5 mm crochet hook and measures 18.5 inches across .

The pattern is known as 'Falling for the stars' and is designed by Kathryn White for the Crochet World magazine, June 2011.

Hope you liked it . I am almost done with one more cross stitch and also I have a lovely exchange to share with you in my next post :)

Happy crafting!

Preeti

Crochet doily and Cross stitch progress

Thanks for your comments on my last post . I completed blocking two doilies , here is a small black doily from the book series , ' A year of doilies ' book 5. Made with size 20 Anchor crochet thread, it measures 10 inches across .

My Kitty Litter project is on track and I worked on it in the first week of May . Although I couldn't make progress as I wished for but still it's good

After : Completed the leftmost kitty

Before

My belated Bday gifts from Raj - I got the Soda cross stitch 'Elf Garden' (from Soda Stitch Indonesia) in March and a new iPhone 7 plus in April . I have started working on the cross stitch :)

I got some fabric stash few weeks back of different varieties to understand working with those , maybe , in distant future :D 

Crepe silk , Rayon and velvet fabrics

Cotton printed

Jute and Handloom cotton printed

Woolen printed fabrics

I got these online from Fabriclore.com

Happy crafting !!

Preeti