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

Christmas in June

My first proper finish in 2021. Isn't he a cutie pie 

 

I stitched this up on brown perforated paper and the pattern is from Pinterest. Used all supplies from my stash. The threads are a mix of DMC and Anchor. I did not use the same shades as recommended, but tried to match to the nearest shade that was available

To finish it off, I used red felt as backing and green ribbon that my dear friend just sent recently

Here's the final ornament. This is my first ever Christmas ornament. Hope I can make more 

I have not yet decided what to stitch next. I am going through all my saved patterns - hard and soft copies to try and decide 

That's it from me today dear friends. Hope you all are safe and healthy. Till next time.. Stay safe.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir!!

May TUSAL

A quick post to show you my progress on gingerman 

You can also see my ORTS from the last 2 months - yeah, progress has been slow but am getting there :) The jar has YTD and the lose ones are for the last 2 months. I missed posting last month

And a closer shot of the progress

That's about it today friends. Till next time.. stay safe.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir! 

Gifts and Stash!

Guess what.. our parcel finally arrived after being stuck with the Bangalore customs for more than 2 months!! We had almost given hope that it would arrive

So, let me show you allllll the goodies that came in the parcel

Look what all my dear friend Meari sent

Crafty pens, Nail art, eye shimmer, stickers, cross stitch kit, aida fabric, variegated threads and ribbons!! It's really amazing how we connect with people we have never met. There are a few people who I know through the blogging world, still feel some connect. And only here I have seen so much love, where we give without any expectations

And look what all I ordered

Some stash from 123stitch - fabric and threads required for my next big project, 2 kits selected by V. The needlepoint book is something that I had been eyeing for very long and finally ordered on amazon

Salt water Taffies!! Do you remember the episode in friends where Ross devours these. Never knew these are so yummy. There's something very different in these from other candies

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

JABBED!!

Number of cases are on the rise in many states in India too now. While some states have already started imposing another phase of lockdown, there is talk that our state is not very behind one too. 

Vaccination drive has started in earnest and since last week, a few hospitals have also started giving the jabs for people over 45.  

We took the first chance that we got to get our first jab. 

Cooking:

Chakka Varatti is a childhood favorite of mine, probably everyone who has a link to Kerala will love it. This is basically a preserve made out of jackfruit

Some dishes have a story/incident/memory associated with them. For me chakka varatti is one such dish, that I always associate with my athais.

We had gone to Coimbatore to my athai’s house for a summer vacation. Athai was going to make chakka varatti and peeling the jackfruit is a task on its own. We were all part of the army who were assigned the task. Then athai got down to the making which was a laborious task. Even more laborious than the making was waiting for the dish, while the whole house was filled with the aroma of chakka, Vellam and ghee. The end result was very well worth the wait

Knowing how much I love it, another athai would always make sure to buy some for me every time she went to palakkad.

I have been wanting to try this for years and finally got down to it

We are a foodie family and love trying various cuisines. I suddenly realized that I have never cooked any Chinese dish till now. I quickly listed down the ingredients I needed to buy and ordered them online

Veg fried rice and Veg manchurian - my first ever Chinese dishes. It was a satisfactory meal, yet not to heavy in the tummy

Stitchy Update:

Here's a picture of my WIP - a gingerbread cookie pattern

I am working on perforated paper and the skeins are a mix of DMC and Anchor, from my stash. 

The lose ORTs are from this month and the ones in the jar are YTD

So, that's about it from me today friends. Till next time.. take care.. stay safe.. be happy.. keep stitching.. Au Revoir