a purple shopping bag.....

You may be wondering about the color of my new shopping bag...  well,

 read on please!

This was my former WIP ( work in progress) project some

2 decades back... wondering why 2 decades...?

Well, I had an ambition to own a purple pullover, so I bought the woolen yarn to make one..

As I come from a tropical land, I didn´t realize I was not supposed to make this at all, reason is....I found out that I´m allergic to wool, with those tiny micro fibers getting into my nose and I always had to sneeze... and soooo, that was the end of my love affair with wool.... In short, I can´t wear any of these cozy pullovers because they irritate my skin tremendously and I get colds from this allergy... so what to do?

....decades after, I discover in the attic of our house that the basket full of yarns were still there untouched.... so I thought of at least to make something out of those yarns...

so, the idea of making a  purple shopping bag came into my mind as I do  not have to wear it anyway...

The yarn colors varied because I crocheted and knitted an abstract sort of pulli..

........ but, I guess the various hues made the bag interesting...

When I finished crocheting this bag, I sew in a lining out of a fabric from my stash. It´s a fabric  that looks like a tafetta...

Then, I crocheted that closure piece and used a vintage button that I already once used for a jacket..

In a matter of a week, I was able to finish this bag...

I just thought this can be used to make an errand to the fresh market or  supermarket to buy little things such as milk, diary, fresh bread or whatever little things one may need for a quick errand...

That´s it, ....I hope you like today´s bag post!

Coming up on my next posts, a book bag and many more ideas.

I hope all of you enjoyed Easter with your loved ones!

 Wishing you joyful days ahead..

xoxo,

Mercy

a quick dinner.... Mozarella & Ham Tart

Here is one idea for dinner which is also good as snacks.
I always have a ready made phylo sheet ( butter dough from local supermarket) in the fridge and by the time dinner is nearing and haven´t decided what to serve, I make this  quick   and super easy tart..and as I said, it´s also  good for snacks or in betweens...

Quick Mozarella & Ham Tart

(makes 4 pieces) 

Ingredients : 

1 ready made  phylo sheet ( from supermarket)

1 pack  Mozarella cheese -light
thin slices of ham

Optional : salt & pepper 

Preparations:

1.
 Take out the dough, cut into 4 parts
and spread  over 4 teflon tart forms, trim  the sides
 putting a bit of more dough to thicken the rim of the form.
 Bake in a preheated oven of 180°C (lower rack) for
 10 minutes  til golden brown, take out from the oven and 
 set aside.   Blind baking is not necessary here.

2.
 Cut 1 pack Mozarella light ( 30% less fat)  into slices and 
 and spread  the pieces together with the sliced ham on top of the baked tart casing. 

3.
 Put the filled tart cases back in the oven and bake for
 10-15 minutes more  at 180°C. 


 Tip: I don´t season the tart with salt & as the ham and mozarella are already seasoned with it....

Happy Baking!

the flowers of my apple tree

A closer look at each flower led me to believe that they maybe related to roses...the wild roses I have seen along the countrysides, in the outskirts of Vienna are almost  identical to these ones...

And so,  it´s now Springtime here and my apple tree is fully blooming....

.....in pale pinks & whites, oh how lovely they are!!!

All of its flowers are prospective apple fruits ... it´s kinda long process!

First, they start blooming in Spring, mostly in the begining part of April....

some of the weak ones will fall off the tree and the more robust 

ones will become the crispiest, juiciest and sweetest apples

 I´ve ever eaten so far.

I make my harvest into a jelly or use them as fillings

 for my Apple Strudel.

My wish is that I hope to harvest many fruits in Autum, then 

we´ll have to trim the tree again to prepare for the next season.... 

and I  just love that process.

Have a nice Thursday everyone !

a caddy for my yarn...

Today, I´m blogging about a caddy I recently did for my yarn. It´s a bag

 I crocheted while watching night movies at home. A carry-all bag that will hold all my crafting materials...yarn, threads & needles, scissors, etc.

Blue & white are my fave colors so I used both for this project.

This blue yarn was supposed to be a sample yarn that I brought 

along from Spain during holiday. The skein was a 100 gram/100 % Acrylic and the off white is made of 100% cotton that I´ve ordered from an online shop.

The bottom of the bag is a simple granny square, the sides are made of 8 smaller grannies that I handstitched together to form the bag base.

The acrylic yarn was thick but a bit softer... here, I used hook nr. 5

After handstitching the small granny squares to the bag base, I went on crocheting the blue yarn until it was finished, then I added the white yarn and the straps..

Basically, I couldn´t decide what to do with the blue yarn..

...I thought of making a bread basket, but I needed a pouch, a carry all bag for my craft materials and then came up with this one.

Crafting is my way of relieving myself from all the stress after a

 long day at work....glad to have done this one finally!

Have a nice Saturday!

Shared @ Bewitch Me & Titi Link Party

first day of Spring - Naschmarkt, Vienna

Oh my, Vienna´s weather yesterday has been so beautiful!

We´ve had cloudless blue skies with temperature of  20°C.. 

We´ve been waiting for this moment after a grey in grey winter.

It´s the first day of Spring!!!

 So I thought of making a stroll, walked down the road not so 

far away from the city center to Naschmarkt ( in Vienna´s 6th District).

Some 6 years before, we used to have our old office here,

 to be exact, it´s the building parallel to the tram in the pic below 

... I could see from my office window the comotions down the market

 on a busy day.. 

The pic below depicted the original market a century back and though

changes evolved,  it still maintained its form up to now.

Google photo

It´s Vienna`s most popular market which historically existed since the

 16th century.. The vendors sell all fruits, vegetables and other 

food from around the world. 

It is also the food mecca of the city. The restaurants , bistros and cafes are always full  that you would hardly get a seat as in the above image and the photo that I took below.

Flowers are also sold in abundance

as well as condiments, dips, antipastis ...you name it! 

Each stall gives passers-by a sample to taste....

....dips and spreads you could hardly resist and ask yourself that you

 would like to buy a few grams...which makes the stall owner smile in all directions.

Lots of fresh vegetables

left & right....

Sweets & spices are nicely and neatly packed to invite locals and 

tourists to buy their products

A stall full  of dried fruits, berries as well as nuts of  all kinds

 are  also sold here

Oriental spices are one of the top selling items here.

Teas, coffee and chocolates are also being offered as well as locally produced wines direct from winemakers

Tea culture, anyone? 

more sweets

A stall that offers colorful tablecloth, fabric bags as well as wall hangings and other accessories from the orient.

Buildings are full of architectural details

If it´s Architecture you´re looking for, Vienna has plenty of those..

Hope you enjoy the tour of Naschmarkt.... and if you plan to visit the city, do keep in mind to pass by this interesting place....you´ll love its flair!

Happy weekend !

a simple granny square pincushion....

 It started as a thought on what else can be done out of  crocheted

granny squares...

Choosing the yarn colors is the easier part than to start the

 first crochet stitch....

This is my form of relaxation after a busy and stressy day at work.

...and while watching a film at home in the evening, the first round

 was done.... and there was no stopping.....

then,  I ended up making two grannies for the top and the back side.

....and this pincushion was born.

 TGIF.....hope you have fun and an enjoyable day !!!

Shared @ Bewitched Me & Titi Link Party