granny square blanket...it´s finally done

There is a great joy within me when I finished off the last centimeter of the yarn for this project. It took me almost two and a half months of on and off crocheting.

The squares were started during train rides to and from work. Each train ride is 30 minutes to my office and by just constantly making 1 piece per one way, it all added up to the 66 pieces including all efforts to crochet some squares while watching  a film on TV. 

Little times found in betweens at home are a pleasure  and are very much enjoyable if  I get myself indulged in crafting. Crocheting means relaxing, it takes away all the stress after a long and hard day at work, at least it works for me.

The size of this blanket was not planned at all and I didn´t realize that the pastel colored yarns of the 1st order were not that much. I also realized that the pastels were not the exciting colors I wanted , so when I ordered the 2nd lot, I got more of the bohemian colors... 

....the 2nd lot ordered were just enough to finish the blanket minus the border. I tried to finish off the border with 100% cotton yarn available from my stash. Good to know that the interchanging colors blended well with that of the squares.

Overjoyed,  I´m really happy that this blanket is finally done and I can really snug into its warmth thinking of the old days when women made them for their family to give each member comfort on a cold winter day.

Happy Wednesday!

Partying at the following sites:

 Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage

Savvy Southern Style

in betweens......

This blanket is my actual project at the moment.. I ordered pastel colors but  I wasn´t satisfied with the results when the grannies have been crocheted. The overall outlook really had been different as what I hoped for , so I tried  adding color variations.. I´m in the process of finishing up this project in a few more days so I could show more of the complete blanket.

The holidays had been a busy one at home, especially spending Christmas in the hospital when Mom in-law was confined...  We didn´t really celebrate that much, it is difficult when all our heads are  somewhere.. ....

...and in betweens, I have to do my household chores, walking mom in-laws dog named Lily, a chihuahua aged 3, such a lovely dog!!! Although I was having a hard time in the beginning because of the litters, now she´s fine and would love to take the walk...

...and in betweens, I take my morning walk, We live in the outskirts of Vienna and I love the area because of the greenfields and the fresher air... you can feel as if you are along the countryside. 

It was not long ago that we´ve had snow. We are lucky at the moment for it is unusual to have plus temperatures in midwinter. When I took the walk today morning, we´ve had 5°C. 

Armed with a playlist from Jason Mraz´s album Love, it was a great walk and I felt refreshed and tanked more energy for the next multi tasking.....

Enjoy your day wherever you may be!

xoxo,

Mercy

PS: This blog is linked-up at : French Country Cottage - Featherd Nest Friday

a humid weekend and a WIP project....

It really is a lousy weekend , weatherwise.... very humid! 

The weather in Vienna is constantly changing & unpredictable.

 This kind of weather is a torture for those people who have circulatory

  or heart  problems... 

 It is very uncomfortable to be just sitting here and  there and sweat without even doing anything.

Despite the heat, I forced myself to do some things yesterday and today, just to finish-up something.

 Actually, my usual time for the weekend is food buying on Fridays,  marathon 

cooking as well as household chores on Saturdays.

Sunday is spent usually relaxing, read papers, do crafts and some spare time to

 watch a good movie in the evening. 

Yesterday, in between my cookings, I baked an almond poppy cupcakes for the afternoon snack

 and enjoyed a cup of tea... At some point, I got bored with ice tea as I drink it almost everyday at work.

So, here´s that easy recipe ...

Easy Almond Poppy Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups all purpose Flour

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

 1/3 tsp. salt

1 cup powdered sugar or sweetener in powder form

 ( i.e.Stevia)

1/2 cup butter ( at room temperature)

2 large eggs

1/2 cups ground almond

3 tbsps. ground poppy seeds

1 cup buttermilk

Preparations:

Preheat the oven at 175 °C / 356°F. 

Coat the holes of the muffin by brushing it with butter or margarine..

1.

Sift Flour together with the baking powder &  salt. Add the ground almond and the poppy seed, mix thoroughly.. set aside.

2.

 In another container, put the electric mixer at high speed, beat the butter about 2 minutes until it´s fluffy, add the eggs, beating it properly until well blended.

 Add half of the sugar alternately with half of the buttermilk, mix once more,  then add the rest of the sugar and then rest of  buttermilk. Mix well and add this to the flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon, mix everything , see to it that the dried ingredients are well coated and moist.

3. 

Fill in  2/3 of the batter in each cupcake hole of the muffin tray....Bake for about 20 minutes or until cakes are done.

To make sure that the bottom of the cake is done, insert a toothpick in th center of the cake...if it comes out clean and dry...the cakes are done! Serve warm or cold.

And speaking of a WIP,

below is my work-in progress project..It´s going to be a night gown.

I used up 20 granny squares all in all.

The body part will be the embroidered cotton below and I would love to put cute buttons for the back closure..

Note: The finished nightgown will be featured

 here soon!

Thank you for reading this blog!

xoxo,

Mercy

More Glass Coasters - Holiday Over

 Hello everyone!

It feels good to be back home after a month of being away....although home sweet home, the freezing temperatures here in Vienna make me want to go away for another holiday.  We were blessed with a wonderful weather in Spain as from day one and I was able to scout for some craft materials for a few  projects I wanted to do. I was also able to crochet some glass coasters like the ones above which I will be giving away to promote my page at  https://www.facebook.com/Challenging.ArtsandCrafts?ref=stream. I´m still preparing the technicalities of the give-aways and will let you all know when it´s ready just in case you´re interested to join in.

These are the pearl crochet yarns that I have discovered at a local chinese store in our area...there are so many chinese shops emerging in Malaga the last 3 years, you can find threads that they sell off at a fraction of a cost....but, one has to look for the quality of the thread...

The yarns I used for the coasters above were brought along in my suitcase, I was afraid to have dull moments during my holiday..... so hooks, books, mp3 player  were also packed  and  voila, the result got me finishing 27 glass coasters.

Almost all of them were crocheted while watching TV,  and I´m glad that I have made many. A girlfriend secured the set of oranges that would fit her dessert plates...I guess, they would look lovely and would give  her spanish stone table that vibrant look when she serves coffee and cake the next time around.

 I´m really glad to be back here and am wishing you all  a nice time.

Thank you for reading this blog and hope to see you here soon!

Til next,

Mercy

A Tablecloth For A Lifetime

Getting inspired by a tablecloth seen in a magazine is wonderful, but to make it yourself because you are inspired by it is a different thing....this requires patience, patience patience....



First thing I did was to get the materials and those are: the cotton fabric, the crochet thread, crochet hook and a white DMC thread  for stitching the center.



The technique I used to make the center lacing is a famous spanish craft called "Vainicas", this is a stitching method where the horizontal fibers of the fabric are being pulled-out to create a hole in the middle leaving the vertical fibers intact, then with the use of a white thread , stitch it to the vertical fibers based on a  repeated pattern forming the lace.

A closer look at the stitches, you will notice that they are actually a method similar to tying knots. The lace is created following a repeated pattern...

When I finished the crocheted lace for the edges of the tablecloth, I measured the inner square or the hole which later became the size of the cloth. It is of course, very important to crochet the lace first before cutting the fabric... thru the taken size, I´ve considered the seam allowance for the edges of the cloth whose inner edges as you see, also stitched.

Then, the last part is the most fun thing to do, and that is .... attaching the crocheted lace to the cloth by a simple stitch...





  

I sometimes use this tablecloth with a different background depending on my mood. Just  like the flower designed fabric above, it adds a feeling of Spring or Summer,  the table could enhance a fresh-looking-like feeling especially on a weary grey and grey winter...

I hope everyone´s enjoying a nice evening and wish you all a pleasant weekend coming up...

Thanks for being here and for reading me today!

Til next,

 Mercy

Shared at : Feathered Nest Friday