Cheesy potato pie

A fancy way to heat up leftower boiled potatoes :P

I usually boil more potatoes than we would need for one meal, because then I am half ready for next one :P

This time thought I won't just heat them to eat with sauce or cook with scrambled eggs and cheese - let's make it look good - so I made a pie ;)

Blanket for sale!

There comes the first time for everything ....

and soo I am finally ready to sell finished blanket! :)

so, head to the etsy and about 2weeks later you'll be able to snuggle in it ;)

Measuring 116x116 cm (46x46 in)

It is rather big baby blanket but it would fit the baby until about 4years old (referencing my own big babies :D we also have smaller older friends so maybe for your kid it would fit even longer than that ;) )

I think it would work as an throw or a lap blanket for any size and age as well ;)

in celebration of 5k followers on instagram ❀ ✩ ✿ ✾ ✫ ❃ ✺ ✭ ❇ ✰ ❈ ✬ ❊ ❉ ☆ ✱ ✲ ★

I organised a giveaway for free patterns over instagram to say huge thank you to all of my wonderful supporters there :)

5k still seems quite impossible but fluttering :)

I wasn't planning to write about it here but i made time lapse video of how I picked the lucky ones and it was too short to post on instagram .. :D so I decided to share here instead so everyone knows it was fate that picked the lucky ladies ;)

Well if you have seen the video you still have no proof because apparently less then 2 sec video (in MB it is even smaller than any of my pictures :D) must be processed to something that is just a blurr :D I should have made a real video (next time I will be smarter!) and this time you just have to believe what I say :P

pattern release: Harlequin (or LongGrannyDiamond)

Do you remember the Granny diamond? this is just like that, but totally different ;P
If you tried that one you can probably figure it out yourself ;) nevertheless, those of you who like this harlequin too and want to support my creativity financially ...

Jump over to the ETSY or RAVELRY and give it a go!

and as always - loads of photos of how it looked on the go 

pattern release: Triangular Madness

Finally came to my senses and finished this thing!
(the pattern was ready more than a year ago but I was just too lazy to write it down)

So last week when I saw the tag craftastherapy_patience - I knew I had to finish my Triangular Madness pattern at last ...

And now it's done - so proud of myself!

Jump over to the ETSY or RAVELRY and give it a go!

Smaller and bigger dots

Loooong forgotten project - but I found these dots when organising and thought I should share the pattern if anyone is interested in making that starblanket like I had envisioned... ;)

Smaller circles or the first round
Magic circle. Ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch 1). * dc in magic circle, ch 1 * repeat from * to * 8 more times. Sl st in the 3rd chain to make the circle complete. tighten magic circle.
(20 sts: 10 dc, 10 ch)

Granny Diamond pattern release!

You can buy the pattern on RAVELRY or ETSY ;)

Feels SO good to finish things!

One and a half month on this lovely blanket (and pattern) .. such a creative month! loved it - crocheted everywhere we went :D and I mean everywhere - I even managed to crochet by the seaside while sunbathing! (if my hubby didn't think I am crazy - now he is sure about it)

But my obsession with Granny Diamond pattern is not over yet ... I have already started another blanket (and pattern) featuring the diamond - this is gonna be awesome ;)
as I see it if you learn to make a diamond and all the halves/quarters I have shown you how

It's gonna be legen
wait for it
dary

but enough of future plans, this is the time and place to brag about the Granny Diamonds!
So here IT is!

Random rambling: Hooked on idea!

crazy
fantastic
obsessive

That great feeling when you get THAT idea :)
you work, you try this thing out, you probably fail .. and yet the idea is so persistent you can't stop, you have to try out something else to make it, have fun .. and eventually - success!

I LOVE IT! ;)
and yes creative madness is addictive :P

Random rambling: yarnends ...

O my ... NO ..
or that is what I usually think when some project comes to a close...

But not this time, this time I allowed myself the time to weave them in not jet starting the next BIG thing and they seemed to disappear on their own ... as I spent those hours patiently working on hiding them in I found myself wondering about a lot of things ... one of those obviously was what should be the next thing and why ...

Honey comb variations!

There is a first time for everything ...

I am finally ready to share my latest creation with you ;)
I hope me and my pattern - Honey comb variations - are ready to take on world :P

You can buy the pattern on RAVELRY or ETSY ;)

Make your own stylish blanket/throw!
Each honeycomb starts with a triangle, that gets rounded and then hexagonalized. And then three of these forms a bigger triangle! (sounds way scarier than it is)

Roundabout pie

I saw a pie here ... and fell in love with the idea of arranging the veggies in circles and then I made my own - of course I didn't follow the original instructions. Apparently I take pride in reinventing the wheel. :P

Now after quite a few pies I have a routine set for my own vegetable pie :)

Base:
3 sheets of frozen puff pastry

Filling:
1 egg
160g curd

200g cream cheese (in Latvia the clear choice is "Dzintars" for all of you who doesn't live here .. well I just hope you have something similar in your stores too)

Decoration:   ;)

1 beet (boiled, cut in strips)
2 potatoes (boiled, cut in strips)

2 carrots (boiled, cut in strips)

1/2 zucchini (cut in strips)

100g cheese (cut in strips)

100g sausage (cut in strips)
drop of oil

as you can see - decorations list may
and should vary from pie to pie ;)

Wavy crochet bunting ▼▽▼▽▼

I bought a lovely variegated yarn and took it with me when I visited my parents and in the car I doodled and crocheted and frogged a lot of random things .. I had no idea what I wanted to crochet and if I wanted to crochet at all .. and then after 7hours in the car when I was almost home again I felt like the yarn wanted to become bunting (it seems like I am having a bunting-fever over here)

Abrevations used (US terms):

ch – chain stitch

sl st – slip stitch

sc – single crochet

hdc – half double crochet

dc – double crochet

htr – half trebble crochet

tr – trebble crochet

tr3tog – trebble crochet three together

st(s) – stitch(es)

Row 1

Ch 30.
Turn.

Row 2
Sc in 2nd chain from hook. * Hdc in next st. Dc in next st. Htr in next st. 3 tr in next st. Htr in next st. Dc in next st. Hdc in next st. Sc in next 3 sts. * Repeat from * to * 2 more times (second time around there will be space for one sc at the end instead of three).

Turn.

 

Row 3

Ch 3. * Htr in next st. Dc in next st. Hdc in next st. Sc in next 3 sts. Hdc in next st. Dc in next st. Htr in next st. Tr3tog. * Repeat from * to * one more time. Htr in next st. Dc in next st. Hdc in next st. Sc in next st. 

Turn.

Random rambling: happy accident

Last Tuesday night I fell down the stairs ... accidents do happen :(
And I cried a lot because of the pain and my own stupidity and because it seemed to me that every plan I had made for the summer just went poof...
Now a week later - I know it's nothing mayor just few abrasions and bruises ... but it still hurts (not just my pride :D) I still find it impossible to stand on full foot but it is getting better :)

Ribbon bunting!

More colour more fun ;)

I had this ribbon drawer .. 

That would be something I could say if I were fancy .. to be honest I just had a seperate plastic bag for them in my big bag of wrapping paper and gift bags .. and yes that doesn't sound even half as nice as ribbon drawer ..

O, well - it served it's purpose well - it held all the ribbons from previously received gifts, from gifts I had packed myself and used less ribbon than I had expected and what not.

And it seamed to me that there are sooooo much ribbons there, that I figured why not ribbon bunting!

Last years garden bunting! :)

Last year for my birthday (and the rest of the summer of course) I made bunting for the first time ever! It looked so cheerful and made the garden look more mine (that was important to me because at that time we didn't live in the house jet, we just used the garden) :)
And of course I have an idea for this years bunting too (coming up soon) - must be quick celebration time is almost here :D

And it cost me next to nothing :P
I used two old jeans (red and violet) from "reuse basket" and some cheap fabric I had bought in store where they sell all kind of fabric scraps on weight.

Floor cushion

I made it last year and it was first time I used continuous join as you go. And fell in love with it.
All the endless possibilities of arranging the squares and so much less yarn ends to weave in - NICE!

Letter of the week: P

Figured out we didn't need to go trough letters alphabetically and well next one we ran across was P.
and this is what we did ;)

We (me and Sam) went to Hesburger for a our First ever (Pirmo reizi) meal (Pusdienas) just us two in restaurant ... we picked Hesburger because kids meal had plus-plus toys in it (this is where we figured out that next letter should be P) ... and I love burgers but I think I like those plus-plus toys more :D so I ate cheeseburger and drank milk (piens) as well as Sam and we built our first P right on the spot ;)

Then we came home and played with Puzzles (puzles) 

what I found out about double-knitting..

It is not that hard once you try it but it obviously takes at least twice the time you would spend knitting normally ... and it is worth it! you get two-sided piece of magic ;)
I wanted to make my own circular Latvian scarf, but o well ... while trying little pieces to figure this double knitting thing out I made a tiny blanket for Sam's doll...
And then came a painful discovery .. the dimensions in knitting are 2x stitches 3x rows to make it a square so anything that is not mr. simpletons is either squished or have to be really thought through... and this time I wasn't up for over-thinking .. shocking! So I postponed that latvian circular scarf ..
 

Well that dimensions thing might not be the case with thiner yarn, but I've not jet tested my theory ...

Random rambling: good old fashioned housewife ...

Thank you! To those who read my previous post about money and a few of the friends and family members I called upon that had no Idea I wrote a blog before (well - now they do! :D ). Thank you for supporting me and clicking on those relevant and mainly irrelevant ads ...
but Apparently we all overdid it a bit ... 
And as a result google adsense has suspended my account ...
This means that next time in yarn shop I will have to count pennies and just droll over most of the yarn ... this is the sad part. But I am really grateful to have such a great friends that actually clicked and supported me in my madness of thinking I might earn money with ads :D
So all is good and pretty much back to normal, they (meaning adsense) will eventually sort all those clicks and maybe I even will put them (meaning ads) back on my page .. but for now - it's just me here rambling on (for mostly myself)..

Letter of the week C

This is the first post I'm gonna write half latvian ... just because there are not that many words starting with the same letter and meaning the same thing in both english and latvian ... (and obviously right now I am teaching my kids latvian, english will come later when they are a bit older)

This is a pic I took for instagram - C - Computer (dators), Crochet (tamborēšana), Cup of Cofee (kafijas krūzīte), Capricorn (mežāzis)
so you see what I mean ...

Letter C in our household started with CILVĒKS (human).
We took big piece of paper and drew Sam and Oli on it :) they loved it (because it tickles) and the end result looks a bit weird so we talked about CITPLANĒTIEŠIEM (aliens) too..

Then we looked CAUR (trough) legs just for fun and went outside to play ;)

mix match spring hats

I made myself a hat! :)
beanie to be precise. I love it, kids love it. Sam liked it so much I made her one too :)

Random rambling: Trial and error

How often do you try to reinvent the wheel?

Just think about it for a moment ...

I love making something special! Something my own. just yesterday I tried to make a slouchy hat in granny (square?) style ... well by mistake of adding to much stitches in the beginning I actually made a fitting hat :D and thank god I love it and I am going to wear it :)
Will write a post about that bit later .. actually now I wanted to write about my latest crochet obsession Honey Comb Variations as I call them :)
I spent almost two weeks crocheting and frogging and crocheting and throwing aside and crocheting and frogging and ... well you get the point ... I loved the process of creation even thou there were times I was frustrated and angry and I thought it is impossible to make what I had envisioned ... and then after a while it just worked! And when the pieces just happened to fit together i was startled and had to pause for two days just to believe that it really actually works :)
Now I am procrastinating with the pattern writing and I can't decide how thorough it should be ...

This is just a tip of the iceberg of all the half done not just there yet crochet pieces ...
And further is more revealing photo of what is this all about although I think the name Honey Comb Variations says it all ...

Happy shawls

5 done, sent off and well received :)

Each and every one of the five ladies got a different color combination for two reasons: 

1. because those lovely ladies are completely different
2. because it was way more interesting for me :P

If you would like to make one for yourself then head on to the ravelry for pattern and few posts back here for my explanation on how to join it like a cowl..

Random rambling: money

I am now looking for ways to earn some money and still be a stay at home mommy ...

During summer there is vacation from kindergarden and during the winter when there is kindergarden my kids are 98% at home anyway (one, the other or both of them coughing, snotting or vomiting) even tough I hope next year will be a bit better I am not jet looking for a job from 9 to 5 ...
But I do love to eat and I wish to make it a tad easier on my hubby as the only provider for the family.. so I have joined the AdSense and I am currently allowing them to place some ads here in my space ...
I do get that with the stats that I have there is no way I could ever make enough of the "right clicks" for at least weeks grocery shopping, but you have to save every penny to get a buck, so please click on the ads when you visit ;)

letter of the week

My kids are now 2 and almost 4 years old and they like to type on computer. They already now the O (as Oli letter) and S (as Sam's letter)...
As we moved last summer we have not jet found a place for our alphabet wall. and all letters at once is hard to remember so I thought we should make a new feature at our house - a letter of the week!
so far we have visited A and B ... not sure they now know them .. I would prefer them writing these letters of the week but all in good time. we will revisit them after half year and no doubt by then they both will have shown me how they find it easier to remember letters.

For now I exhibit the letter somewhere and we talk about it.. I say some words that starts with that particular letter .. but till the end of the week even I can't find where the letter has gone off to ... So I plan to make a pin board from cork and an old frame I just happen to have to place the letter and pictures of stuff that starts with that particular letter.

Sweet curd pie

Sweet pie that my kids loved so much :)

and why wouldn't they - it had soooooo much sugar in ...

Base is the sweet shortcrust pastry:

160 g butter
100g sugar

220 g flour
1 egg yolk

Filling:
1 egg-white

2 eggs
300g curd

100g sugar
200g flour

1 grated apple

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

a pinch of vanilla sugar

a little bit of Knitting

and even less words ...
as I already said in my dreamcather post - last year for Christmas I made presents myself ..  :) well at least some of them :P

I hadn't knitted for a while so I thought I should :)
and i knitted reyna shawl for my mom. She loved it and is wearing it a lot now - this makes me happy.

I didn't follow the scheme fully (shocing! :D) I just changed lacy rows and simple rows as I felt at that moment ... 

Chantarelle pie second eddition

Few days ago was a pie day in my household :)

I baked 2 (one savory and one sweet) and they both had dissapeared till we went to bed ... we must have been verrrry hungry :D

This time I changed the filling (and it worked for better):
300g cooked chanterelles
1 egg-white
100g cheese in small cubes (although grated probably would have been better)

150g sausage in small cubes

1/2 paprica in small cubes
a pinch of salt and pepper

Base is still the same old shortcrust pastry:
220 g flour
1 egg yolk
160 g butter
2 tbsp cold water
a pinch of salt

Rustic Chic Blanket

Now when Rustic Chic Blanket is finally at its new home I will share the story here too :)

It all started with an idea like everything does!
And then across the virtual world spiked the first motif from talented Kate (you probably heard of her SignedWithAnOwl) that got the avalanche going :)
Then I made a pineapple heart .. and thought to myself how could they possibly be ever joined together properly ... but I wasn't ready to give up so next doily I chose to make was much bigger ... very much bigger ... and then I pretty much tried almost every lacy pattern I had ever liked or come across while hung up on on this blanket ... and during all the doily madness i just got brave enough to improvise the joining of the doilies and it was great when I had muse watching over my shoulder but most of the time it was pain in the ● ... and a lot of frogging ... and there still are some parts I think I could or maybe even should do better but then again - when I am not as picky as most of the time it looks just great :)

and I know for sure I will make more of this type of blankets, because they do look chic, they are surprisingly warm and I already have picked the yarn for the next one .. altough I might change my mind till I'll get to the yarn store (I tend to do so :D) ..

progress as seen on instagram :)

and a few closeup pics of finished blanket :)

What happens on the rug - stays on the rug :D

Me and sometimes my kids exercise on my yoga mat - ScrappyRug :)
I document my exercises on instagram acount UnderTheChandeleir ;) I hope this will help me to exercise daily because crazy enough - endomondo doesn't really make me want to exercise more, I use it just to log my workouts ... :) (i think instagram will work better on inspiring me on my daily yoga because I love to express myself and of course I like the likes too ;D )

I did actually just take a two day break after a month of exercising every day and today I started again because I missed it! more than I am willing to admit...

Here are few of my most favorite pics yet, but I hope there are many more to come :)

Happy body - happy soul! ;)

p.s. I used to hate working out because my kids wouldn't let me alone - now I like that they join in and "crash" my poses or do them with me .. ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!