Crochet Star Blanket

This crochet star blanket has been a work in progress for a while now. I used the leftover yarn from this blanket and giraffe and also this blanket. I had 2 balls of each of the 5 colours so 10 balls of yarn went a long way! I got this far then ran out of white yarn which was needed to continue the pattern. But you know what? It is a perfect baby blanket size. So eventually I weaved in the last of the ends and packaged it up off to one of Dave's workmates who is going to be a Dad sometime soon! They don't know the gender of their baby so I think this is gender neutral enough to work either way.

This blanket uses a Free pattern from Ravelry and it's cool because you can make this sucker as big as you want - although once you get to this stage each round uses up a good chunk of yarn! I like this pattern because it is simple and quick to crochet up but is different then your standard ripple or granny square blanket. It also sits well on the floor and doesn't warp out of shape the way some round crochet projects do. I will definitely make another one using this pattern.

It is the first weekend of spring here and we are stoked to have some ever-so-slightly warmer weather so we can make family trips to the park!
xx

Triangle Cot Quilt

The other day, 6 rubbish sacks of fabric were dropped off at my doorstep to rummage through. A kind soul had done a big clear out and you know how the saying goes - one woman's trash is another woman's treasure!

I managed to withhold myself and only ended up with half a rubbish bag full with the rest passed on to another fortunate crafter. Among my takings were some beautiful vintage sheets. I picked out two blue/teal ones and added a pink striped sheet and a white cotton sheet from my current stash.

I have had this style of quilt in my mind for a while now, but never had the right fabrics to pull it off. With Addison's room coming along nicely, I thought a change of bedding in the theme colours of the room (teal, pink and gold) would work well.

I managed to make a equilateral(ish) triangle template and cut out all my triangles. Then randomly placed them which is harder than it looks. I then sewed together each line and then sewed those together until it was a giant cot sized rectangle. I trimmed the edges, made a quilt-back/batting/quilt-top sandwich and pinned them together using ALL the safety pins. Then sewed along all my seams and trimmed all edges. Next was the tiny white binding which I sewed onto the front piece by machine then hand-stitched the back. Aaaaaaand done. Phew.

I then realised it wasn't quite wide enough to get a decent enough tuck along the sides of the cot. My girl is a wiggler! So I flipped it on its side and used it that way. It works for now!

I also made a cot skirt/valance for the base of the cot in the houndstooth patterned fabric to match. It's so I can hide her porta-cot and other stuff underneath!

I'm pretty stoked with the outcome of this quilt, it is just how I pictured it in my head. I also have a whole lot more fabric to make quilts out of so once inspiration hit again, I'll be ready!

{Crafty Bake} Lemon, Oat and Coconut Energy Balls

You guys, I just made up my very own recipe! The kind where you throw things in a bowl and hope for the best - and it worked!

I am on a bliss ball buzz at the moment, they are easy, delicious and good for me and my toddler. But this time I had no dates. And lots of lemons. After searching the internet for an appropriate recipe, the best I could find was one with lemon (tick), coconut (tick), and cashews (nope - doh!).

So off I went hunting through my cupboards and here's what I came up with:

Lemon, Oat and Coconut Energy Balls

No Food Processor Required!

Ingredients

1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup coconut
Zest and Juice of 1 lemon
3-4 Tbsp Maple Syrup or Honey to taste
Optional - 2 Tbsp of any of your favourite nuts and seeds. I used Flaxseed and Chia seed.

Method

Put everything in a bowl except the maple syrup/honey and mix well.
Add maple syrup/honey Tbsp at a time then test after each addition. The sweet/tangy combination will vary each time.
Once you are happy with the taste, roll in to walnut sized balls and put in the fridge to chill (or eat, whatever!).

*Bonus Extra* - Coat or dizzle with melted white chocolate and chill to set.