A Finish & my Mega Project

 Yes, my dear friends.. I have my first finish. You guessed right

Here's the all finished Mandala Lotus!! Took me 8 months to complete. I started this in June 2021 and finished in Feb 2022. This is going as a gift to someone very dear

My next project is a very special one and really huge. Am extremely nervous that it should turn out well

I have it all kitted up. The fabric is a 28ct Mushroom Lugana and all threads are DMC. This is a very personalized project, so even more nervous

That's from me today dear friends. Till next time.. stay safe.. Be Happy.. Keep stitching.. Au Revoir

Feb Update

My first post of the year and we are already in the 2nd month!! Wishing all my dear friends a very happy 2022. Hope you all had a great January

I missed posting my wrap up for 2021 also. The brother came down from USA after almost 3 years and it was a very pleasant surprise for all of us. He did not tell us ahead to avoid getting our hopes high, in case due to some reason his travel got cancelled again, given the current circumstances. It was a brilliant end to the year

As we stepped into the new year, my parents and I fell sick. A tough few weeks, as the fatigue took some time to go. 

With so much going on, not much stitching happened the last 2 months. 

Look what I got friends..

..my new Edmund's stitch master!! I had shipped it to bro's place, so that he could bring it whenever they came to India. I am still getting used to it 

On the stitchy front, I have just a little more to finish Mandala Lotus

 

Here's how much is done. Just a bit of stitching on the sides remaining

Here's the Orts from the month's stitching

So, that's the update from me today friends. Till next time.. take care.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir!! 

TUSAL

 Wow, we are at the end of another year! Can't believe that I am posting the last TUSAL of the year already

I am making steady progress with Mandala Lotus

Isn't it nice and colorful! 

The jar has all orts YTD

V's board exams have begun. This year CBSE decided to split the exams into 2 - first will be in December with only MCQs and the second will be in March. The kids prefer this method as they do not have to study the complete portions in one go all through the year

That's my update today dear friends. Till next time.. take care.. be happy.. stay safe.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir

Milestones & TUSAL

Hiya friends, dropped by for a quick update

Celebrations

October was a milestone month for us. First the hubby celebrated his milestone birthday (half century) and we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary! 

The festival that we all wait for from the 1st day of a year, Diwali, just finished. This time our get-together was at our place. We had a whole lot of fun - family, food and of course crackers! 

This year I made thenkuzhal

and boondi laddoos for Diwali

This was the first time that I made laddoos on my own. The last two times have always been under 

Amma's guidance. For the first time, I am quite happy with the outcome 😃

Stitchy Update

Amongst all the festivities and work, I managed to work some on Mandala lotus

Am just loving the colours. I have just the outer most petals and the leaves to finish

These are the ORTS (YTD) from all the stitching this year so far

So, dear friends, that's the update from me today. Till next time.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir!!

Framed & TUSAL

It's festival season and the air is filled with positive energy and love! I will share pictures of our Navarathri in my next post

V and I had stitched a few projects during the last year. We got them framed this week

This is my favourite and very close to my heart. I had asked the framer to give a beautifully carved teak wood frame, but he was extremely reluctant and would not give me the frame! 

These 2 cute stitches are Vs. The shoe was a gift from our dear friend Meari

I somehow forgot to mention to the framer to add boards. So, am not that happy with the framing. I will probably get these reframed after some time

It's time for the month's ORTS

Not much progress as I would have liked last month. Here are ORTS from the month's progress

This is a view of YTD ORTS

This is my story for the month dear friends. Till next time.. take care.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir! 

Vacation Time

Every year in August, we go on a vacation or have a get-together, when our cousins come down for their holidays. Our last vacation was in 2018! We could not go in 2019 due to V's board exams and then 2020 happened. So, it was a really good break and a change to be able to get away for a couple of days to Kodaikanal. 

All tourist spots, except the lake, were closed. So we relaxed in the resort and made use of all the great amenities that they offered. 

Some pictures from the trip

First thing that I noticed was this poinsettia tree. I always thought that they only grew outside India, so was pleasantly surprised to find them here

I was totally in love with these potted beauties that were placed all around the resort. 

Another really pretty wonder of nature

A friend told me later that these were succulents. So beautiful they are

A complete view of the lake from a specific view-point

We stopped over for lunch at a place where these I saw these stone sculptures. Don't they remind you of the dementors in Harry Potter 😁

Now for some stitchy update. 

A quick look at my mandala lotus. ORTS from last month's progress are on the bottom right

These are the YTD ORTS collection

 So, that's the update from me today dear friends. Till next time, stay safe.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir

It has been a pretty quiet month, with not much baking or beading. The onset of tamil month aadi is the start of our festive season. So, baking will take a backseat and it's going to be more of traditional cooking for some time now

I have been able to stitch this month fortunately. After a busy day's work, I find that stitching really calms me down. So, I try my best to put in atleast a few stitches daily

Here's a picture of my ORTS for the month. The lose threads are from working on mandala lotus and the jar has YTD

 

Here's a closer look at the progress. I am loving the colours and how this is taking shape

So, dear friends, this is my update for the day. Till next time.. take care.. stay safe.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir!! 

TUSAL & some Beading

Dear friends, we continue working from home.. online school continues.. we continue to order our groceries online.. and so life goes on

 I have been making some necklaces and my stash, which was quite huge I should admit, has reduced considerably

Here's a picture of some of  the necklaces that I made recently

During the last month, I have been able to stitch for about an hour atleast 2-3 days a week on my mandala lotus

Here's the progress. I love the colours and can't wait for it to finish. ORTS from the progress are on the right

So, dear friends, that's my story tonight. Till next time.. stay safe.. take care.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir

TUSAL & a new start

 Time to share my June Orts 

The lose ones are from this month's stitching and the ones in the jar are YTD

This, my dear friends, is my next start - mandala lotus. I saw this pattern on Pinterest and fell in love with it. So, purchased the pattern from Etsy. The first picture shows the first few stitches 

I am using aida that I received from my dear friend recently and all skeins from my stash. I forgot to take a full picture of the 'kit' I put together 

That's the update from me today dear friends. Till next time, stay safe.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir