A small finish :)

Just a quick post to share this cute little bear finish ....

Design - 'Paws for thought' from the magazine Cross stitch collection Feb 2012 issue.

Probably my shortest post ever....life is busy and is zapped by rising temperatures now hitting 40 C. Spending most of the time in AC still there are tasks to be done in sweltering summer and we need to increase tolerance level to brace up for 46-47 C in May.

Have a crafty week ahead!
Preeti

Status update....

Thanks for your comments on my last post ! I have nothing new to share but that doesn't mean life was boring at my end .

On the International women's day, while the Air India created history by flying an all-women crew (including the ground support staff) flight across the globe from New Delhi to San Francisco and back , I got a big cut on my right thumb and enjoyed a humble day off from the house hold chores :D

My needlework came to a standstill but I continued most house work imagining myself as a leftie . Also, my eyes were paining a lot so I couldn't enjoy reading , surfing or watching TV either :(

Anyways the good injured time is over and I have been certified healthy by my own conscience and therefore I got to work on so many pending tasks which nobody at home felt were necessary.

Here are my WIPs, so less compared to those of my blogger friends . I want to work on these projects and maybe start a few small ones too . Which one is your favorite?

A floral border from the book "Embroideries and patterns from 19th Century Vienna"

This is how it will look when done . It requires some DMC to Anchor conversion work as the book refers to only DMC codes .

Kitty litter by Dimensions

Height chart by Durene Jones

Cross stitch blooms by Barbara Baatz Hillman, Leisure arts.

We went to a new restaurant recently where I ate a 'paan icecream' . A paan is usually a betel leaf filled with different things. I don't usually eat but this one was a sweet one filled with just 'Gulkand'. 'Gulkand' is a kind of marmalade made out of rose petals, it is considered good for health in hot weather . It came with all fanfare of dry ice which was fun to look at as well :) I also liked the metal and stone decor at the entrance door .

I sowed some summer flower seeds this Monday and most of those have germinated . I hope they will survive . For the first time , I have done some proper seed saving . These will be sown in the month of Sept. I have seen so many nice free printables for seed sachets but I am still a novice in seed extraction so I will wait before wasting printer ink .

We could not play Holi (festival of colors in India) as Anshita is having her final exams . I am looking forward to more stitching time :) I have been doing some stash shopping for past few months but couldn't get to take any pics , hope to share soon .

Thank you for reaching until here :)
Have a great weekend!
Preeti

Few little things and some stash !!:)

Thank you all for your wishes :) I so much wanted to personally reply to each one of you but it just didn't happen . I finished a cross stitch project but it is meant for an exchange so I cannot show it here .

Anshita made this wonderful card for me and also designed a cup and got it printed online :)

Isn't it cute ? She hasn't ever paid attention to how many spools are used in a sewing machine because she follows hobbies other than mine . She used perler beads to create the sewing machine and wrapped endless amount of crochet thread on the spools and near the needles :))

Raj cooked my favorite food in the evening , gave me some jewellery , a 12-slot earring box and loads of chocolates which I ate up :D I didn't take any pictures of those , even the above one I asked Anshita to take it for me as I was lazy to do my own job . He also ordered a cross stitch chart I asked for and some more are still pending to be ordered as I haven't shortlisted . Probably , they will merge with my own stash shopping :) We also played few games and enjoyed a great family time !

I went to a newly opened linen clothing store nearby and enjoyed seeing the colorful stacks . These aren't as such meant for cross stitching but for experimental basis I just bought two flax linens .

large spools of colorful threads at the billing counter

stacks of pure linen fabric

I am getting a consistent harvest from my single chilly plant .

I got some more plants from the nursery, will try to share next time .

Keep crafting !
Preeti :)

Happy Birthday to me !! :D

Thanks for the great response on my Lady Bird fairy in the last post ! :)

Today is my Birthday and here is some beauty to share .....:)

Pointed Harmony Doily

I made this doily with size 20 Anchor crochet thread and 1 mm hook and it measures around 18 inches at the farthest points . It was very difficult to block so many picots on the doily .
It is a vintage pattern from the book , 'Old-Fashioned Doilies to Crochet ' edited by Rita Weiss . It is also available for free here . Hope you like it .

Have a great day !

Preeti :)

The Gorgeous Lady Bird !! :))

Not yet the finished finish to share , but still there is no stopping from sharing the gorgeousness :))

'Lady Bird fairy' by Joan Elliot stitched on 14 count aida fabric from the magazine , Cross Stitch Collection, Feb 2012 and completed in Dec, 2016. Those are the only details I can give . I don't keep the exact dates/hours statistics for any project and I am happy I have one less task to do there :D

I have framed it but still could not find the best place to hang it and take images without reflection . Even these images were taken in a hurry before framing so they are only few . I did not stitch the swirls of beads showing the track of lady bugs as I felt it was cluttering and I was satisfied stitching until this

I got tinier seed beads online and those are smaller than Mill Hill beads, just see the spots on the lady bugs . Definitely, the best replacement I got for the french knots . Now I am not afraid of the designs with french knots :)

So much is still in the pipeline but looks like time is just slipping away . I have completed three crochet doilies but none blocked so far . And much more to share iff I can squeeze 48 hours in a day :D

Happy crafting!
Preeti

Rescuing my blog from oblivion ....

I wasn't left behind in 2016 !! :)
Thank you for your wishes and comments on my last post . It has been more than a month I did not post and in between few days I was away from the blog reading too . Thanks to some of my blogger friends who felt my long absence and checked on me , it means a lot to me :)

I had guests and followed by that , soon after , I went on a family vacation to Mumbai and Goa . Even today , I had a blogging block and wasn't much interested in editing photos . But still I need to give a proof that all is well with my needles , so here it is ....

These are two black and white crochet doilies that I am working on as part of a Ravelry group challenge to make as many as one can in 2017. The white one is complete but needs weaving-in and blocking , so I hope I will be back soon .

Well that's what my first new year post turned out to be but , don't worry , I will not let the blogging block hit me again :) And yes, I might be the last one among the bloggers to say ........

Happy New Year :))

Preeti

Crafting new things :)

Hello , hope you are having a busy creative time . Two weeks back , Raj and Anshita had their Birthdays and apart from store bought gifts and cooking their favorite food ,  I also made something handmade for them .

Crochet Scarf for Anshita :)

I had this Red Heart boutique ribbons yarn in my stash for a long time and I used this free scarf pattern . There is a video on the same link which is more helpful than the written pattern and one has to wind the yarn in a specific way which is also shown in the video . The scarf turned out a bit long as I just wanted to finish that one ball :)

We went out with few of Anshita's friends to play laser tag . They aren't yet ready to grow up :)

For Raj , I made a zippered passport bag :)

Not sure if he will use it but he was happy to get one . I used chain stitch to embroider 'Bon voyage' on a patch of felt fabric .

I made an eggless vanilla sponge cake which turned out very well and spongy . Recipe here .

I have completed cross stitch ladybird fairy but I don't have time to take nice pictures . Hopefully, I will share before the year end .

Happy crafting! :)
Preeti