Around the World Blog Hop

It's been some time now that Around the World Blog Hop is taking place.
I was asked by sweet Sarah of Sarah in Stitches to take part so here I am. I am supposed to answer four simple questions.
So here goes:
1. What are you working on?
Currently I am not working on cross stitch. I have so many other things happening. I have been taking part in various workshops and have been learning new techniques.
First I was taught needle weaving by Natassa Fokianidou aka Faraona.
Here is my finished pendant.

Then needle felting by Christina of Celdeconail. Here is my finished Halloween pumpkin.

And then weaving by Anna of inmycloset. Here is my "Sunset at Chalkidiki" handwoven art.

I am hopefully going to continue cross stitching and making my sea glass felted stones and my felt ornaments but I also want to continue with the new techniques I have learnt and get better in them. Of course I have got lots of UFOs (Unfinished Objects) which I wil hopefully continue,too. But Christmas is coming soon and I have to prepare for that.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I don't think my work differs. If we are talking about the felted stones then they are different from other people's because I have added sea glass and other beach finds on them. But the rest of my work is usually something I saw somewhere and got inspired and made my own.
Pink and blue stone, gift to my friend Dora.

3. Why do I create what I do?
I love creating. I love keeping busy. If it is not something handmade, it will be something at interior decoration at home. Or else something on my blog. I love meeting people and learning creative things and making things with them. That's why I take part in so many workshops.
But cross stitch has always been my love. My very first. My grandmother Ariadne taught me how to do cross stitch and we also did it as a lesson at Primary school and I was always good at it. I always come back to it in the end. It relaxes me.
A Michael Powell cross stitch picture I stitched twice, one for my friend Marabeth in the States and one for myself.

My sea glass felted stones were isnpired by the talented Lisa Jordan of lilfishstudios. Her stones I fell in love at once and wanted to try something like that but with a touch of my own so I added beads and sea glass and other finds from the beach. They give me so much satisfaction to make them and each one is so different form the other.

I also do lots of felt ornaments every time I have the chance or if I want to make a gift for some occasion. Recently I made this little closet ornament for my friend Anna of in my closet.

4.How does my creative process work?
With cross stitch I just choose what I like to stitch usually from a pattern in a magazine or maybe a kit if I have one. I always do counted cross stitch and I mainly make things to be framed and I give them as gifts.
With my sea glass felted stones I take a stone and decide by its shape what colour I want to cover it with. Then I take my beads and sea glass and try combinations till I find something I am excited about. I stitch each bead and each item on the stone separately. And the design evolves little by little by itself. No two stones are the same ever.
Well, phewww I managed to answer all questions. Now I am supposed to enroll three people to continue with Around The World Blog Hop. I only managed to find one person so hopefully the rest of you who are interested can enroll yourselves.
So I am enrolling Anna of inmycloset to continue on the Around The World Blog Hop.Anna is the creative organising mind behind all the amazing workshops I have been attending for a couple of years now. I met her through Etsy Greek Street Team as she also has an etsy shop.
Thanks Sarah this was fun!

A great day at Xeirotexnika

Xeirotexnika is an art and craft exhibition with workshops that takes place every year in Athens. This year it was also organised in Thessaloniki.It was this weekend 11th and 12th of October.

Xeirotexnika is organized by two very talented ladies Elina and Valia who were pioneers in this country in the craft world. They started some years ago with a blog about crafting called ftiaxto which evolved into a site with an e-shop. They taught us through tutorials how to make things and I really learnt a lot from them.So I was really very happy to meet them in person at the exhibition and take a photo with them.

I went early on the first day.

This funny little car decorated with crafts was outside the exhibition.

This beautiful huge cross stitch board was in the entrance.

 I went early in order to manage to get enrolled in the needle weaving workshop and I am glad I was one of the ten people who managed to get in! For only 5 euros you had a two hour workshop to learn how to make a mini needle weaved piece of jewelry and it was great!

Our teacher Natassa Fokianidou aka Faraona was great in teaching us all one by one and I hope to finish my piece soon and show you.

Here are a couple of photos of what we did.

 You will soon see the finished piece.

After the workshop it was high time to visit the exhibition. My photos are not very good though.

First I saw this quilting exhibition. Quilting is not very popular in Greece yet but that group here is trying and they have made some really beautiful things.

 They made this fantastic group quilt with the theme of Greece.

 And here are quilts made by people who have fallen victims of Human Trafficking.

 Lots of sellers from around the country were selling their supplies.
I was so eagerly looking around to get ideas and find products that might interest me, that I didn't take too many photos.
There was lots of wool!

There was silk!

There were exhibits to give you ideas.Like this from 2objectrepair who take old furniture and turn them into something new.

And beautiful little nooks.

There was lots to see and to choose from!

 I really loved the idea of making your own book by this couple.(photo from their site)

But didn't take photos of every seller of course.

I did a little bit of shopping too but as I am on a tight budget I only bought a couple of things from two shops fiaxto.gr and crafts and paper.

I bought ModPodge from the former and the felting needles too. And I bought those lovely felt pre cut patterns for my crafting from the latter.

All in all it was a great crafting day!