104 squares!

Well, I've done it! 

104 granny squares. Ends all sewn in. Looking pretty.
(note they are once again in no particular order, I think it'll take a whole day to decide on the order!)

Waiting to be sewn together.

Yup, I've decided on how I am going to put the blanket together! It's called the invisible seam or reverse mattress stitch. I found a tutorial for it and I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out!

I'm hoping that I can stick with this and get it DONE at some point in May. 5 months for a blanket, that's not so bad! I wish I could have done it faster, but ya know, I have to remind myself that there is no way I could have with aaaaaall the other things going on in life. Isn't it sad that there is never enough time for only the things you love? Stupid obligations ;) 

All I can say is boy, I'm tired! 

I think my next project is going to have to be something fast and colorful. Baby blanket? Perhaps. Flower wreath? Maybe. Granny cushions? A possibility.

Ah, thank you weekend!

Hope you enjoyed yours as well! :)

P.S. Trying to launch my "atelier" this week -- If I can get around to it and remember my password! Lol, if anyone finds my missing brain, let it know I'm looking for it!

Gray granny blanket...nearing the end?

Ah, finally to the crochet!

My granny square blanket was up to 80 squares in these pictures that I took on Easter. Later that day, I made 10 more, and get this, I sewed all the ends in the same day! Whaaaat?! I love making time for myself and my endeavors like that. And yes, I realize it's a small life I live. Lol!

So now I have a total of 90 squares... meaning only 14 more to go. 

 ...Then starts the hard part, sewing them together!

My mom and I set them all out (in no particular order) and admired them before I started snapping these pictures. 

We came to the conclusion that an 8x13 square blanket would be large enough for the throw purposes she would like it for, especially considering there will be a border around it. 

Am I really nearing the end with this project? I still have so much yarn left!

You have no idea how much I am looking forward to this weekend! 14 squares, here I come!

(I made my mama pose with the tower of squares, cute!!)

In the meantime, I am tormented by the ideas whirling around my head for next projects... So many choices, patterns, plans, colors...!!! Aargh, creativity can be burdening sometimes! 

Have you seen my crochet board or baby board on pinterest? I mention the baby board because I have pinned a million cute crochet baby things to it... and Lord knows I'm in love with baby crochet at the moment (cute, fast, colors, need I explain more?).

Well, that's all for me... Off to work for free I go (soon) and I'm just so tickled that it's almost Friday! :)
Hope you're having a nice week, thanks for stopping by!

Granny update: April

Just a quick update on my granny square blanket!

I am up to 80 squares now, in this picture there were still only 76. I have 4 more without the ends sewn in...

I took this picture on April 1st....

I plan on working on some more squares on Easter Sunday, but something else I want to do is to take better pictures of the squares in better lighting! :) The dark pink I used is seriously not as maroon-y as it looks here!

Oh, well, it's off to work for me. Blah!

Thank goodness it's the weekend! Have a great Easter if I don't get around to saying it later! :)

the meringue obsession continues...and so on.

Oh hey hi there!

I have finally started the come-down and re-boot from what feels like a very busy and draining week.

 Lord almighty.

It finally ended this gray and rainy Saturday morning at about 9 a.m. when I finished transcribing my last interview from yesterday, for yup, my bachelor's thesis. 

I thought 3 interviews would be a piece of cake and thought my teachers were a bit dramatic when they said I'd be exhausted...but yeah, I hate to say they were right! 

Add a few days of intensive CPR and resuscitation practice (also somehow exhausting)... I'm pooped!  

So now that I have the last interview done, I'm not thinking or doing anything thesis related until Monday when I interview again! 

Which essentially means that I am going to spoil myself and only do things I want to do! 

I am going to eat well. 

Not that I haven't been, lol!

People wonder how I stay relatively thin despite all the chocolate and nonsense I seem to be continuously shoving into my mouth...

Well #1, I try to walk everywhere. And I usually end up competing with myself, which means breaking a sweat. When no one is around, I walk backwards. I also clench my stomach muscles especially up hills, it's a killer ab workout if you add a twist. (I am so weird, lol!)

#2, I eat "stupid" meals like this sometimes when I am either too lazy to go to the store or just feeling picky. This is a fridge raid!

It was delicious though, and looking at I am getting hungry! 

So now that you see all that beautiful red and those yellow yolks... Look at this!

Remnants of chocolate pudding (the second one I made this past week, shhh).... 

And since pudding requires yolks, I had egg whites. And where does my mind go when given egg whites? No healthy omelets here my friends, but meringue!! Soft, sweet, pillowy but crunchy, marshmallows-eat-your-heart-out meringue (recipe linked)!!

Ok, so I am a little obsessed. 

Today there will be some more meringue business going on... making a sampling for a friend whose wedding is coming up in June and has asked me to bake something. Of course I can't resist a challenge, and it's for such a good cause and happy occasion! :) I've also been asked (and volunteered) my photography "services". Oh experience how I look forward to gaining you! :) 

Anywho, I want to make some pretty rose swirl meringue cookies for her to test. They are a great dessert for a bit event like that since they are milk-free (--> lactose free), as well as gluten-free. Food allergies and the like are pretty big here in Finland, so it's good to have something for everyone!

Yesterday on my way home from interviewing, I stopped by a little craft shop and picked up some paper... Bunting paper... Atelier bunting paper... 

So obviously that is on my list of weekend stuff.

I've also been working on little Luke's gift. It's going to be a semi-surprise (maybe), but let me say (esp. compared) to the last project I 

a) love it!

b) love the colors!

c) love the 100% merino wool!

d) want one for myself, lol!

Once this gift is done (probably today), I can resume work on those gray border grannies. Yaay! I've kind of missed them! If I remember correctly, I am up to 70!

Hmmm....what else.... 

Well, the usual boring stuff like cleaning... Let me tell you, having a 90lbs dog is no picnic during spring shedding!! I feel like I'd have to vacuum daily to stop these tufts, and we all know I am not the daily-vacuuming type! In fact, this week we've vacuumed already multiple times, yet the hair balls just keep on keepin' on. 

(Would it have been weird if I had taken a picture of our vacuum and added it here? lol)

So, I suppose I am off! 

Thanks for reading... You know, I think once the bunting goes up, the last thing to do before I launch my atelier is pick up my easel from the parents. 

P.S. Isn't it funny how life builds up and gets really busy all at once? I feel like the week before last was a breeze...and the week after next will be a relative breeze, too. It's just these two weeks that I know are SO busy and SO exhausting!! 

Catching up! Crochet, St P's prep and more

Wow, what a week!

I have/have had so much (maybe too much!) to do and I am so fortunate and grateful that I we had school only on Monday and Tuesday! I don't know how I could accomplish anything on my list if I had to sit in class all day every day!

I have been crocheting like a madwoman! I crocheted a cushion cover for my new atelier chair (ooooh, reveal to come soon!) and I am finally in the finishing stages of this sad pillow cover... 

Remember this one?

This sad pillow cover had the story of being started in January 2011 (OVER A YEAR AGO!) and forgotten till the summer...when I finished the squares and sewed them together. 

Now let me say, I have gotten a lot better at combining squares since the summer. I think this was my first project where I had ever had to and boy, it looks a mess from the back! 

Live and learn...

Anywho, this cushion finally has a back! And it gets better... It is finally done! Yaay!
Here is the voila part! :)

 Pattern can be found here.

 Hmm, what else have I been up to? 

Oh yes! 

I made lemon meringue bars (recipe here from good ol' Martha Stewart) for dinner on Tuesday.

Yes, I said dinner.

What I didn't realize though, is that it is an incredibly time consuming recipe because of the steps (which didn't take that much time) AND the cooling times (which took so much time!).

So I didn't eat till about 8 at night. Lol!

It was so worth it. And I was so pleased I was able to make such a good lemon meringue. 

If I had more people to help me eat it, I would consider making a proper pie one day!

Yesterday I finally went to a job interview. In fact, I was hired on the spot! It felt good, but boy, I am a bit nervous about it all!! I'll be working as an RN for the first time! I'll be working at a nursing home ward with 43 patients, 60% of them are apparently at some stage of bedridden. It is totally not my forte but live and learn, right?

I should take comfort in the theory that I know I know. And the fact that I will never be there alone. (One of the reasons I chose a quiet nursing home ward as my first RN position). Thank heaven for colleagues!

Oh and the added bonus of the nursing home is that it is all of a 5 minute walk from my apartment!! :) Sweet!

We are having a big St Patrick's Day party on Saturday so some time went to preparation of that yesterday. I made some really festive bunting by cutting out triangles (what a PITA, they are all different sizes, lol!) of thick cardboard/construction paper and then making a little fold. Then hubby helped me string yarn up to the ceiling and we hung the triangles by folding the top a bit, putting glue in the fold, placing them on the yarn and then using paper clips to secure them to the yarn until they dried.

It turned out so nicely!! 

I was thinking of making crochet bunting for the atelier shelf, but I think I might just pick up some nice paper and make one the same way. It was really cost-effective and easy and turned out so cute! 

I have also been so proud because I have finally started work again on my bachelor's thesis and progress is being made... I swear this thesis is such a monkey on my back, I'll be so happy to have it done by the fall.

I have also started getting so STRESSED about my pre-tasks for the art program I am applying for... But I finally just took some photos for one of the tasks in a semi-testing sense and ended up loving them!! I would love to share but I am so paranoid of someone stealing my ideas (which I know is unlikely, but still...). I will just have to release all my pre-tasks on the 4th of April when the are no longer accepting entries!! 

Well, dinner is in the oven and smelling divine (stuffed peppers and garlic bread, mmm!)!

Thanks for reading, see ya soon I'm sure! :)

 P.S. Here is the piece of cake we had left for our first anniversary. It was soooo good, lemon cake with strawberry filling. Oh yes! I had forgotten already about what I had made but this was delicious and I should definitely make it again!

home improvements

We've been working on some home improvements. Well ok, nothing dramatic, just hanging some stuff up on our walls! :)

We have had some tapestries and stuff to hang for a while now... well depending on the tapestry from 6 months to a year! We were going to frame them, only to discover the expense and fact that suitably sized frames just don't exist... So then we got to thinking, why not just staple them around a wooden frame like a canvas? Voila! Hubby made them all! Gotta love a good DIY-er! :)

This is a slightly faded kitchen towel we found in a flea market last fall. I loved it though and immediately pictured it in the kitchen. Now, it's finally in the kitchen! 

It makes me laugh to look at it and in an "Italian" accent say the veggies. "Pomodori! Rapanelli! Cavolfiore!" and so on... Lol!

The living room walls finally got more stuff on them. It's kind of hard to adjust to something being there now. It is super nice however, to see all the Japan memorabilia we brought back from our honeymoon. 

Oh, Japan ♥

Close ups!

Yes, that is a group of cats in a boat! Ahahaha....

This is what they had as kind of door hangings....

 Hubby ordered me a Kiki's Delivery Service GiGi jewelry box for Christmas. I just got it now. It goes so nicely on the top shelf of our china cabinet, next to the Japan bowls and a wind-up sushi. 

The definite highlight of yesterday was going to Ikea. We bought some stuff, nothing too exciting. But I couldn't not share these napkins! Aren't they cute! So bright and summery!

Today is International Women's Day. I wasn't expecting anything since our anniversary is coming up so I know I will get some flowers then... but sure enough hubby surprised me and brought me some very bright and sunny tulips! 

I have also been doing some crocheting lately. I shouldn't be, but I've been a little stressed and anxious and it's a good way to just tune out and calm down. 

There has been progress with the grannies. I've brought myself up to an even-steven 60! Isn't this bag just joyful?

I've also been working on the surprise for an expected little one...

Well, it's off to bed for me once I finish this popcorn "dinner". Hey! Don't judge!

 Heeeheee. 

A test tomorrow morning that I am poorly prepared for...followed by some time with my mama...and I'll be relishing the weekend. Despite all these stupid tests and school things coming my way!

Should I break out the crochet hooks now to control my blood pressure? 

Thanks for reading! Hope you have a wonderful day! :)

Overwhelmingly inspired

I am feeling a wee bit overwhelmed. Everywhere I look, there is a project I'd love to tackle. Every other thought in my head is a new amazing idea for a painting, crochet project, baking or cooking idea. And oh my, the photo opportunities and ideas swirling around! Ooooh, and this sun energizing me...This is baaaaad!

I get like this and I want to quit a regular life for the sole purpose of indulging myself. I know why I am suddenly overwhelmed with everything amazing...my vacation ends tomorrow. :( 

If only. If only...

I have been really productive creatively this week though... and it's all just fuel to the flames. Guess how interested I will be next week in surgical patients and my bachelor's thesis. Uh oh, what a pickle!

I suppose I can take comfort in the fact that I have had a lovely vacation!!

Hubby made pancakes for breakfast yesterday. We devoured them covered in Pure Maine Maple Syrup courtesy of my mom-in-law! Deeelish!

 (totally going to save that bottle, how cute!)

I got to hit up a thrift store with my mom... The first time since her surgery. Life going back to normal? I like it! We also stopped by another store and bought a bunch of seeds for the garden this summer! :) Yaaaaaay!

 

I found two of these gorgeous Finnish Arabia vintage bowls. I looooove them! It's a part of my new year's resolution (wow, am I really sticking to them?!) because to take better photos, I need more props! ;) Muahahahah, let the collecting begin!

I also found this cute little green cherry blossom tin. It goes so well with our Japan themed living room! 

(Lol! pardon the dust!)

I ♥ thrifting!

This week also saw me getting back into the groove with my granny blanket. I'm up to 48 squares! Only 52 more to go till 100! I think I am actually going to make more than 100 squares, but it's nice to  have something to count down to for now. :)

It's really kind of sad how little justice these pictures do the colors! They are so BRIGHT in real life! You're just going to have to take my word for it though!
I have had the strategy of using one of the 50g skeins up at a time by using it in every square and just switching out the two other colors. I like being systematic. I think it's a gemini thing, lol!

So far I have almost totally used up the dark pink and dark purple skeins. The next color that I have started a few squares with, is the beige-y color. Something lighter for a change. 

Before I make anymore squares though, I should probably sew in the ends to the 11 latest squares! So I don't get behind! :)

Another thing I have thoroughly enjoyed this vacation are these amazing coconut cookies. We had to make them twice in the past week because they are that good! Here is a link to the recipe. 

Try them dipped in your morning coffee. Oh-em-gee! And it doesn't hurt if you decide to change it up and drink out of fancy cups. :) You should have seen the look on hubby's face when I broke out these cups, hahah!

I best start getting ready to go on a sunny walk with a good friend... It's a seriously gorgeous day!!! :)

Thanks for reading, hope you have a nice weekend!