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It’s been a while…..work in progress Wednesday…take a look at my latest projects

It’s been a while since I have been able to write in my blog it’s been a busy year so far and I just haven’t had a chance. This year I decided to finish a challenge I started way back in 2016. It’s the 365 days of granny squares challenge by Yarnuptopia. https://yarnutopia.com/365-days-of-granny-squares/

It’s a fantastic challenge if you are learning how to crochet want to brush up on your crochet skills. Each day a new square is made using patterns from designers around the world. Each pattern is unique in it’s combination of stitches but they also have common themes such as floral patterns or texture squares. The challenge is divided into months with a new square for every day of that month.

I recommenced the challenge starting on the April square as I had finished all of January to March. Most of the patterns are available on Raverly.com or by following the link above.

If I get time each week I will add more information about each square. Here is a gallery of the squares I have made so far this year.

As you can see each square has its own individual flair. Nadia has put together the colour combinations and each square I think suits it’s chosen color quite well.

I hope you can join in with me on this challenge and I look forward to updating you all soon on the latest squares I am making.

Enjoy your day everyone

Vicky

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Work in progress Wednesday…….. continuing projects from last week…take a look

I am still working on the stash buster granny square blanket and the Tunisian crochet block sample blanket.

Granny squares are a great way to use up left over yarn or odd colours. You can put whatever combination you like. YouTube and Tiktok or Pinterest have a vast array of ideas and patterns to choose from.

I have gone with a combination of granny squares and more solid squares. A mix of small and large squares. This gives the project an interesting look and vibrance. Also the mini squares work perfectly for small amounts of yarn you have left.

The Tunisian crochet blanket is coming along well. I have finished block 5 and commenced block 6.

Block 5 and Block 6

Block 5 is a diagonal texture stitch made up of a knit stitch and Purl stitch in alternating blocks to give a texture affect. Block 6 shows you how to add a second colour and introduces the slip stitch into the body of the crochet item instead of just casting off at the end.

I found this block difficult to start with as I couldn’t find how to do the slip stitch. I was lucky to find a tutorial on YouTube which helped and I was able to continue with the pattern.

So far this is my favourite block. The pattern is from a book called Tunisian crochet from absolute beginners to advanced, written by Dijana Warrender. It’s available on Amazon

Well that’s it for this week. Thank you for reading my posts as always. For those who celebrate I wish you all a merry Christmas and to everyone a happy new year.

Vicky

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Work in Progress Wednesday……Take a look at my latest projects this week.

Recently I made the decision to stop taking custom orders and business to business orders and turn my crochet business back to what it originally was, a fun hobby. Since I have done that I have been able to finish old projects and work on some new ones.

I am onto block 5 of the Tunisian crochet blanket I am making. There are 16 blocks in total so I will be working on this for a while. The pattern is from the book Tunisian Crochet from absolute beginners to advanced written by Dijana Warrender. The book is available on Amazon. Its a wonderful book which takes you through all the main stitches used in Tunisian Crochet as well as fun projects to make and also, a sample blanket to brush up on your skills. I have yet to attempt any of the projects in the book apart from the blanket, but my plan is to be able to make each one.

Block 5

Above is block 5. It is a mixture of Tunisian Purl stitch and Tunisian Knit stitch. with the purl stitch you bring the yarn in front of the project and the knit stitch you insert the hook in the space between the stitches. This gives the project a beautiful textured affect.

The second project I am working on is a simple granny square blanket using yarn I have in my yarn stash. It’s a bit more colourful than my usual choices of yarn but I am loving how the colours work together and they definitely brighten up the room. The yarn is an 8ply acrylic and I am using a 4.5mm crochet hook and making mini granny squares and joining them together in a formation of 4 x 4 squares to make a larger square. This is a great project if you have bits of yarn you want to use up or just want to crochet without having to think to much about the stitches. Its simply a series of treble crochet stitches (UK terms). I love how versatile granny squares can be and the colour combinations are endless.

I am slowly getting through these projects. There are many more for me to finish but I will leave them for another time. Thank you as always for reading my posts and happy crocheting to you all.

Vicky

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It’s Monday…….Time to make some tough decisions… See what’s happening with Vickys Handcrafted Designs

Hi everyone hope you are all well. Its been a rollercoaster of a year some great things happened and some not so great things happened. Some happy and some very sad and devastating. Its been a year of great changes, triumphs and tragedies. Its also been a year where some tough decisions had to be made.

Part of my reason to start my crochet page was to develop a business along the way. I did do that and had many years of enjoyment running my own business, but as time went on and the pandemic hit, it became more difficult to keep going. I persevered in the hope that things will improve. They didn’t, I became more disillusioned, more unhappy, couple that with other things happening at the time and crocheting seemed more like a chore rather than something I looked forward to. Something had to be done and now!

I decided to let go of the business component, forget about marketing and selling and just enjoy the art of crochet and all the other crafts I like to do. Its been four months since I made that decision and already I can see the benefits. I am no longer tied to a clock, having to produce product by a certain time. I am free to create or not depending on what my schedule is. It has also allowed to me explore other crafts that I like such as drawing and painting and also weaving. Being your own boss is great but sometimes the business ends up being the boss, that is something I definitely wasn’t happy with.

There are also so many work in progress projects I had commenced and never got the chance to finish.

  1. coasters –
  2. handbag
  3. table runner

I had started projects 2 and 3 quite a while ago and the coaster this week using a loom weaving technique. I am planning on adding some crochet motifs to it. I am hoping to finish as many as I can and showcase them each week. I will also try and include the pattern or if I made the pattern up include that.

All in all its been a great decision and something I am glad I made! What has been your epiphany this year? What changes have you made that has helped in your daily life?

Thank you as always for reading my posts. Until next time happy crafting

Vicky

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Work in progress Wednesday…..Working on Block 4 of the crochet blanket I am making.

Block 4 – Tunisian Crochet Blanket

I am very excited to start Block 4 of the sample blanket from a book called Tunisian Crochet from Absolute beginners to Advanced written by Dijana Warrender. The book is available on Amazon. It is a really good book if you are just starting out learning about Tunisian crochet. It details the stitches in this craft and how to make them and also has a pattern for a beautiful sample blanket which details the stitches in the book.

I am up to Block 4 of the blanket. It is a neutral colour comprising of two different stitches. One being the Tunisian Pearl stitch (TPS) where you leave the yarn at the front of your work and insert your hook behind the front post. Bring a loop through and then yarn over and pull loop through again which remains on your hook. Then you will do the Tunisian Knit Stitch (TKS) with this stitch you place the hook in the space between 2 stitches and yarn over and pull through a loop which remains on your hook. This stitch combination brings a beautiful texture to the pattern. It especially looks good when using one colour only.

With the completion of Block 4, I can then sew the first four squares of the blanket together. Stay tuned next week for more updates. This blanket has been fun to make and I have learnt so many different stitches so far.

Thank you as always for reading my posts. Take care and catch up with you all next week!

Vicky

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Work in Progress Wednesday…..more progress on the Tunisian crochet baby blanket I am making.

Tunisian crochet

When I first started to learn Tunisian crochet I really was horrible at it and thought there is no way that I am going to get the hang of this. I am glad I stuck it out and kept going until I really did get it.

There are so many more forms of crochet I would love to learn still, so far out of what I have learnt this is my favourite.

I have been working on a blanket inspired by a design from crochet designer Dijana Warrender from the book Tunisian Crochet from absolute beginner to advanced.

It’s in 100% cotton using a 4.5mm Tunisian crochet hook. I love the simplicity of this blanket and at the same time the intricate basket weave pattern.

I can’t wait to finish this and continue on this wonderful crochet journey. What is your favourite type of crochet.

Thank you as always for reading my posts. Catch up with you all soon.

Vicky

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Work In Progress Wednesday – My latest projects – Tunisian Crochet blankets

Recently I wanted to learn a new form of crochet – Tunisian crochet – Its been on my to do list for a long time and finally I am able to have a chance to learn this exciting new craft. Its basically a combination of knitting, crocheting and weaving using a long crochet hook to catch the stitches and creating a number of different types of stitches. Its amazing how many different stitches you can make using this method.

Quite simply you start by making a chain as you would in normal crochet, then you turn the chain to the back and you will notice a ridge between each chain. Insert your hook into the ridge and yarn over and pull through. Instead of completing the stitch you leave it on your hook. Repeat this for as many chains you have made. This is equivalent to your foundation row in normal crochet. Then you complete what is called the “return pass” you yarn over and pull through one loop, yarn over again and pull through two loops on your hook, continuing yarning over and pulling through two loops until you get to the end. And basically that’s it. Simple and quick to start!

I bought a book on Amazon called Tunisian Crochet from absolute beginner to advanced written by Dijana Warrender. Its an amazing book and as suggested in the title, it is quite suitable for a beginner. It details what equipment you need to start as well as how to complete each type of stitch and as I have stated above it teaches you how to start each block. It has a number of gorgeous projects to complete using the stitch library, including a sample blanket with each square dedicated to the stitches you have learnt as well as a mobile phone case, fingerless gloves, bath mat and so much more. You will definitely be able to use your new skills in these projects. I have started on the sample square blanket and I am also making another baby blanket using the pattern for the bath matt. Below are blocks 1-3 of the sample blanket.

Block 1

Block One

Block one teaches you how to combine colours and and also some of the basic stitches. It looks complicated but once you master the art of changing colours you will enjoy making this square. The colour combinations are endless. I chose to use white, caramel and beige to compliment my living area.

Block 2

Block 2

Block 2 is a gorgeous basket weave pattern using two alternative texture stitches. When using one colour texture stitches are great to add detail and interest to the square.

Block 3

Block 3

Block 3 continues the theme of changing colours with each row using a simple stitch and what is called a reverse stitch. With the simple stitch you pass the hook through the front of the post in each chain and the reverse stitch you grab the back of the post in each chain. Similar to front post/back post in normal crochet. This creates a “3D” effect. This works well with contrasting light and dark colours.

Baby Blanket

Basket weave pattern baby blanket

This is actually a pattern for a bath matt, a customer of mine loved the pattern so much she asked if I could make a baby blanket using the same pattern. This blanket is in 100% cotton using a gold thread. It will be available for sale in the Asiki store in Erskineville Sydney, later this year.

And there you have it for now. A little look at what I have been making so far. I really like learning this form of crochet and can’t wait to learn more. What’s your favourite type of crochet? Thank you as always for reading my posts. Have a wonderfull day!

Vicky

  • Please note with the links I do not make any money from them, I have included them in case you are interested in reading further on the products or suppliers I have noted.
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Vanilla Swirl Cake

I know recently I promised you a chicken pie recipe, I am still working on that….But this well it couldn’t wait, after all its cake and cake with two types of chocolate in it!

Yesterday my youngest finished high school and I had promised him a grand dinner to celebrate finishing his 12 plus years at that dreaded place as he calls it. I thought I was doing well getting things organised when my daughter said “mum what about the cake!” (Insert face palm here) How could I forget a cake! I couldn’t believe it. I had an hour left until dinner and there was no way I could run out and get one! So I thought well I will just try and whip one up. With no time to look through recipe books, I came up with this recipe, a one bowl recipe that is quick to put together and only takes 30 minutes bake. So without further ado, here it is!

Vanilla Swirl Cake

Recipe by: Vickys Handrafted Designs

Ingredients

450g Self Raising flour

175g Caster Sugar

2 large eggs

1/4 Olive oil

375 ml milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon essence

50 g milk chocolate

50g dark chocolate

Prep time: 10 minutes Baking time: 25-30 minutes

(See end of post of nutritional information)

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Spray a 20 cm round cake tin with oil and line bottom with baking paper.
  2. In a large glass bowl, sift flour then add caster sugar. Mix with wooden spoon so that the sugar is evenly distributed amoungst the flour
  3. Add eggs, oil, milk, vanilla and lemon essenses and mix with wooden spoon until ingredients are incorporated and mix is free of lumps, use hand mixer if you prefer.
  4. Pour mixture into cake tin and set aside
  5. In a heatproof bowl, break the milk and dark chocolate into peices, microwave on high heat in 10 second intervals until chocolate starts to melt. Once it starts to melt, take out of microwave and mix to combine chocolate into a smooth mixture.
  6. Drizzle into cake mixture and with a toothpick or skewer run it through the mixture in a figure eight formation to distribute chocolate through cake.
  7. Place in heated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Check cake after 20 minutes as some ovens cook faster than others.
  8. Serve with berries and your favourite ice cream or fudge topping.

Nutritional Information (per serving size)

8 Servings

Each serve equals : 70.8g

Net Carbs: 70.8g

Protein: 9.2g

Fat: 14.2 g

Calories: 453

Dietary Fibre: 2.2g

And there you have it, a one bowl, easy to put together cake, you can whip it up and serve it to your guests in 40 minutes! Hope you enjoyed this recipe. Let me know if you tried it. It’s a new recipe so I am curious as to how it goes for you guys.

Thank you for reading this post as always and I will try and get this chicken pie recipe to you as soon as I can.

Vicky

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Tools of the Trade….. Take a look at what I use to block my crochet squares

With any type of trade or craft, the tools you use make all the difference in your finished work. With crochet getting that perfect finish is not always easy, but lucky for us there are many gadgets on the market that can help.

I found this amazing blocking square on Amazon. It is cheap and effective and you can move the pegs to suit your size square. Best of all you can layer squares one on top of the other to save space. The pegs hold the squares tight into place and once you remove them they keep their shape. I leave mine on the block for a few days so that they keep their shape. To give them an extra boost. Spritz each square with water so that they dry into shape as well.

There are many more blocking tools on the market. Including large foam blocking squares and pins for blankets and larger items. I have found Amazon to be a treasure trove of many tools and gadgets for crocheting and other crafts. I definitely will be looking there in the future for more items I need.

What is your favourite place to shop for your tools and gadgets? Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post. I will keep you updated on more items I have found on amazon.

Vicky

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Looking for a quick and easy Friday Night recipe?….. Read further for details

Friday night is usually the end of the working week for most people, the night you just want to go home and crash on the couch with your favourite show to binge watch. Cooking is the last thing on your mind! Before you reach for the Uber eats app, take a look at what you have in your fridge or pantry instead, with a few key ingredients you can whip up a healthy meal and still be sitting in front of your tv or computer ready to begin your binge watching marathon in no time!

This recipe is quick and easy and cooks in 15 minutes!

Grilled Chicken fillet and steamed vegetables

Grilled Chicken with mixed vegetables

Servings: 2

Cook time: 15 minutes

Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

500g chicken breast

1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon all purpose seasoning

1 tablespoon plant based butter or margarine

2 pouches of steam ready vegetables (any type of vegies you like)

Method

  1. Pre heat grill and set on a medium heat.
  2. In a microwave proof dish melt butter/margarine
  3. Wash and slice chicken breast into fillets
  4. Place in glass bowl and add , melted butter, herbs and seasoning. Mix through to coat chicken
  5. Place on grill tray and grill until golden brown and cooked through (appox. 15 minutes for thin style fillets) If you cut them thicker leave for longer, appox. 20 minutes) When grilling turn fillets over to other side halfway through cooking time.
  6. In the meantime place one pouch at a time of the steam vegetables into the microwave and cook for specified time.
  7. Once chicken and vegetables are cooked place on a plate and serve. Can be served with a salad or your favourite bread.

If you like you pan fry the chicken instead for quicker cooking. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this recipe.

Nutritional information

Net carbs: .01g

Total carbs: .4g

Dietary fibre: .3g

Protein: 51g

Fat: 10.5g

Calories: 302

Vicky

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Work in Progress Wednesday…..Take a look at my latest crochet project this week

Well its the bane of any crocheter’s existence, multiple projects on the go. No matter how many you have you will always start one or two more. I have lost count to be honest but below are a few.

SOME OF MY LATEST PROJECTS

http://https//:www.instagram.com/vickys_handcrafted_designs

Included in the photo above are: Top left – granny squares to make a throw pillow, top right, the Aster rug Pattern by Stitchedupcraft, bottom left a bobble stitch dish cloth and bottom right sample Tunisian crochet squares. And that is just a sample, there are more hidden away! I have made it my mission to take six months off from customer orders and just concentrate on finishing off these projects. Hopefully I stick to this!

I have also been busy shopping on Amazon. It is an amazing treasure trove of items for basically anything you need. I purchased this set of crochet hooks and crochet accessories. I needed new hooks as the ones I was using were too long for my hands and they didn’t have the handles like these. I have found these hooks to be amazing, they are the right size for my small hands and have a thumb imprint where you can rest your thumb will crocheting. I have found this has increased my speed and my hands don’t hurt as much.

Well that is it for today. Thank you for reading. I have also bought some new crochet books too. I will talk about those more in upcoming posts.

Vicky

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Learning Tunisian Crochet….take a look at my latest crochet journey.

I love to learnt different types of crochet. My latest journey is learning the Art of Tunisian Crochet.

I love the simplicity of it and at the same time the variety of stitches and projects you can create.

Take a journey with me and learn about Tunisian crochet.

I am learning from a book called Tunisian Crochet from beginner to advanced written by Dijana Warrender.

It’s a well written guide of the different types of Tunisian crochet stitches and projects. I will feature each one as I go through them.

This book is available from http://www.Amazon.com.au

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Learning Tunisian Crochet….take a look at my latest crochet journey.

I love to learnt different types of crochet. My latest journey is learning the Art of Tunisian Crochet.

I love the simplicity of it and at the same time the variety of stitches and projects you can create.

Take a journey with me and learn about Tunisian crochet.

I am learning from a book called Tunisian Crochet from beginner to advanced written by Dijana Warrender.

It’s a well written guide of the different types of Tunisian crochet stitches and projects. I will feature each one as I go through them.

This book is available from http://www.Amazon.com.au

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Cheese Omelette with Vegetables

Cheese Omelette with Vegetables

15 min prep
10 min cooking
1 serving total
441g weight
20 Grams/serving

– 8 ingredients –

2 large 122g Egg whole omelet
1/4 cup 30g Shereded mozza-cheddar cheese kirkland signature
1 tsp, ground 2g Oregano dried
1 tsp 5g Avocado oil plant-based butter by Pure Blends
1 small (5-1/2″ long) 50g Carrots raw
1/2 cup, sliced 46g Red bell pepper
1 pepper 148g Green bell pepper
1 slice 39g Lower carb 5 seeds bread by Helga’s

– steps –

1) Wash and slice 1 medium carrot, half red bell pepper, half green bell pepper. Place in serving plate and set aside.

2) crack 1 egg into a small glass bowl, add oregano and mozzarella cheese, beat mixture until well combined.

3) place a teaspoon of butter or oil in. Heavy base frying pan. Heat up until melted. In the meantime time place your bread in the toaster to begin roasting. Pour egg mixture into frying pan, swirl mixture so it covers whole base of pan. Cook until top starts to cook, flip over and cook other side. When both sides are brown. Place into plate with vegetables and serve with toasted bread.

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Throw Back thursday – Taking a look at some crochet blankets I have made through the years.

As the dreaded cold months approach we all reach for our trusty blankets to keep us warm and safe during this time. Nothing says cosy more than a handmade blanket. My favourite to crochet are the granny square blankets. There is a infinite number of stitches, colours and combinations you can make. The best thing about granny squares is that you can make them a few at a time and sew them together whenever you want to.

In the last few years I have learnt new techniques and stitches. Next to granny squares I love the chevron stitch, where each row is a series of v’s this too can be made in any combination of stitches and colours. Be in plain or texture stitches, the design ideas are endless. Which brings me to my other favourite to crochet, blankets with texture stitches. I love how the texture stitches lend to the coziness and snugness of the blanket. They give it depth and character and are great for when you just want one colour in the blanket.

Below are some expample of recent blankets I have made through the years. You can see the full range in my Instragram account Vickys Handcrafted Designs.

I am currently working on a version of the “Peoples” blanket which is featured above, with bunny rabbits for the border and texture stitches for the body. Take a look at the photos below.

I love how the different stitches all work together to make one blanket. I will be finishing this soon and will put photos up.

Thank you for reading my posts. I hope you enjoyed this venture into my world of blankets.

#crochet #crochetblankets #grannysquare #grannysquareblanket

Vicky

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Is Pizza Tuesday a thing?

Cooking dinner during the week can be a challenge. How do you feed your family a healthy meal in the short amount of time you have available to cook during the week?

I find the ready to cook range from Woolworths a godsend. They have a really great tasting cauliflower pizza base ready to be baked, all you need to do is add your favourite toppings! The cauliflower base is low gi/low carb which is a great start if you are watching your sugar levels or weight. It has a great taste which will even be a winner with the younger children and best of all you can buy a few and freeze them so you have them ready at any time. Below is a quick recipe which I like to use when making pizza’s using the cauliflower base.

Vegetarian Supreme Pizza

Ingredients – Pizza Sauce

1 x 750ml bottle Italian passata

1 x 400g diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt/pepper to taste

If you wish add 1/2 diced onion and 1 glove of garlic if wanted

Method

  1. Place oil in the bottom of a heavy based pan, add oregano and if you wish onion and garlic. Lightly fry for a few seconds to allow oil to coat oregano or onion or garlic.
  2. Add passatta and diced tomato. Stir and allow to boil
  3. Once boiled reduce to simmer and simmer for half hour. If sauce thickens up too much add some water to thin out. Once cooked thoroughly (oil should come up to the surface) set aside

Pizza topping ingredients

1/2 cup fresh chopped tomatoes

1/2 large capsicum diced

1/4 cup sliced black olives

2 sliced plant based cheese or 1/2 cup grated plant based cheese

1/2 teaspoon oregano

Method

  1. Place thawed pizza base in oven 180 degrees Celsius and bake for 5-10 mintues.
  2. Remove from oven and top with pizza sauce, cheese, tomatoes, capsicum, olives and oregano
  3. Return to oven and bake at 180 degrees Celsius until cheese is melted and toppings are cooked.
  4. Serve with garlic gluten free bread.

Hope this recipe takes some of the stress out of preparing a weekly meal. I will put up a few more recipes soon to help you navigate weekday meals.

Thank you for reading my posts.

Vicky

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Brrr, it’s getting cold outside!….Warm fluffy blankets are what I am thinking about!

Can’t believe it’s nearly winter. For those who know me, it’s not my favourite season that’s for sure! The only thing I like about winter is the food and fashion and decor. It gives me a reason to take out my warm fluffy blankets, eat delicious soups and casseroles and adorn myself in scarves and fluffy sweaters.

I have been working on a gorgeous baby blanket using the front and back stitches in alternative rows. This gives the blanket a beautiful soft texture as well as making the blanket more flexible. This blanket once done will be 1 metre by approximately 1 metre or 40 inches by 40 inches for those that aren’t familiar with the metric system. This is perfect for a crib or toddler bed. Its extra wide on the side of the blanket so you can drape it over and tuck it in.

Can’t wait to show you the finished blanket. That will be in a few weeks. I am using 4 seasons Marvel 8ply for the main body of the blanket. I recently ordered some more from my local Spotlight store. I love how soft and flexible this yarn is! You can use it not only for blankets but also hats, scarves and many more items. It comes in many colours too! Spotlight has an awesome online store too!

Here are a few progress photos along the way. This blanket is also inspired from a pattern from the talented designer Catherine Crochets. You can find her patterns on Instagram.

This blanket also represents my first venture in design. I am thinking of writing up the pattern but I will see once I finish the whole blanket.

Thank you as always for reading my posts. I hope you have a wonderful week.

Vicky

ps. any links that I put are my own opinions and I am not affiliated nor do I receive any income from these links.

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It’s been a while……why I haven’t posted in my blog lately.

I actually can’t remember when I wrote my last post! It’s been one heck of a year so far. So many sad and distressing things are happening around the world it dashes your hope in humanity, add to the the bustle of everyday life and things get ahead of you.

I have a ton of recipes I want to share with you. Perfect for the start of the school holidays. I have started a new crochet project. Something exciting. I have a sneak preview below. I will document it as I go along.

I want to thank you all for reading and liking my posts. It’s been a tremendous inspiration for me, especially on my most difficult days. Hopefully it won’t be too long between posts from now on!

New baby blanket project

I have designed a blanket for a customer inspired by the Peoples blanket designed by Catherine Crochets. It’s something I haven’t done before but am excited to learn how to do. Can’t wait to show you the finished blanket.

Thank you so much again everyone. Have a wonderful day!

Vicky

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Throw Back Thursday……..Back to where it all began

Next month will be 10 years since I started my crochet business! Where has the time gone? One minute I was thinking what can I do to earn an income from home and here I am 10 years later doing just that! A lot has changed in that time, but my love of crochet certainly has not!

My love of crochet first began years before when my mum tried to teach me how to crochet. As a teenager I did not grasp the concept and quickly gave it away. When I was looking for a business to do from home, I remembered my mum trying to teach me and I thought well maybe I should give it another go. Our local news agency has an “Art of Crochet” series so I thought why not! Here is my chance.

I was slow to start but as I bought each issue, I was learning more and more and growing more confidant in my abilities. I wasn’t able to to finish the first series blanket as I couldn’t get all of the issues. When series 2 came out I was super excited as this time I thought well I can do it, I can get all of the issues and finish the blanket this time. Well that wasn’t the case, but lucky for me my sister had the series and lent me the missing issues and I was finally able to finish the blanket! So here it is the finished blanket. Not sure if I have shown you guys before as its been awhile since I have been able to blog.

This blanket now proudly sits in my lounge room as a constant reminder of what I can achieve and how far I have come in the last 10 years! I have so many new projects to talk to you guys about this year. Despite the dreariness of Covid, I am determined to make this year my best year yet!

Thank you to all who have joined me on this journey and have supported me throughout this time. I really appreciate each and everyone of you.

Take care and thank you as always for reading my blog. I am hoping to hop on tomorrow and show you my lasted work.

Vicky

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Sunday Brunch Sorted! A quick & healthy recipe to make for Sunday brunch

Ok so we all know Sunday’s should be for relaxing, reading, sleeping in but at some point you are going to have to eat! I love this delicious open burger recipe I make for my family. It’s quick and easy to make and full of nutrients. Perfect for those who are eating Keto style foods or gluten free and lactose free.

Mushroom open burger

Serves 4 cooking & planning time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

500 g beef mince

Salt to taste

2 large or 4 medium sweet potatoes

4 teaspoons Chives

4 tablespoons Lactose free cream cheese

4 very large mushrooms (for burger base)

4 slices lactose free cheese

1 tablespoon plant based or lactose free butter or margarine

Method

1) place mince in a large glass bowl and add salt, mix salt in and split mince into 4 equal size piece and form into balls. Place in fridge until needed.

2) Fill a medium size pan halfway with water, add salt to taste and peel and cut sweet potatoes into chunks, place in pan and set to boil. Once boiled, remove and drain and set aside until ready to use.

3) While sweet potatoes are boiling, heat up a grill or grill pan. If using grill pan add butter/margerine, once melted add one ball of mince at a time and squash down with a metal spatula to form burger. Set on medium and cook 2-3 minutes then flip and cook other side for the same amount. if pan is big enough add mushrooms and fry a couple minutes each side or do one a separate pan.

4) when you flip burgers over add a tablespoon of cream cheese on top, sprinkle chives and add cheese on each burger.

5) Mash sweet potatoes and once mushrooms are cooked place in a plate and add burger sprinkle at chives if you like.

Serve with French fries or healthy salad.

This burger is not only delicious and healthy but very filling. All the flavours blend beautifully and is perfect for not only brunch but lunch, dinner and breakfast!

Thank you as always for read my post! Hope you enjoyed this recipe.

Vicky

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Work in progress Wednesday…….The Art of Crochet Blanket

https://www.instagram.com/vickys_handcrafted_designs

Well I did it! I finished all the squares in the Art of Crochet blanket and have sewn them together. I am still deciding on a border so I am hoping to get that sorted by the weekend.

Thank you for joining me on this wonderful journey of this gorgeous blanket. I still have a few more squares to show you so I will be keeping this series going for a while longer.

After this I am hoping to recommence the 365 days of granny squares challenge i started back in oh 2016 I think! So I hope you can join me in that one soon!

Thank you so much for reading my blog posts and talk to you all soon! I have some exciting recipes to share with you at the end of the week.

Vicky

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Monday motivation – but first coffee!

Well here we are the beginning of the working week for most and for some the start of the new working year.

Usually it’s when we make a whole bunch of promises to ourselves to be more productive, to eat better and to exercise more. All goes good the first week and then slowly, slowly we fall back into the same pattern.

How do you keep the momentum going when it all seems all to much? First of all you need an end goal, a finish line in the distance. You need to visualise what you want the end result to be, without this you won’t be able to work out the path to get there.

Once you do this, work out how you are going to achieve your goal and keep motivated. What works for you. One thing that works for me is to do weekly checks to see if I am on track. Don’t worry if you have fallen off the path it will happen, get right back to it otherwise you will let it go.

One obstacle I often face is the worry of not getting enough support or feeling like I am in this alone. This is enough for me to let everything go. What I am learnt is that I can be my own support. My own cheerleader. You don’t need anyones encouragement or approval to keep going. You just have to have faith in yourself. Prove it to yourself you can do this!

Make sure to reward yourself when you reach your goal or goals along the way. Be kind to yourself and allowing yourself to celebrate a victory no matter how big or small it is will give you the encouragement to keep going.

Make Monday your best day. The start of something good and exciting. And if all else fails there is always coffee. Coffee solves everything.

Thank you for reading as always. Have a wonderful week ahead.

Vicky

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Want a quick, healthy & delicious brunch/lunch recipe keep reading!

Fresh sushi platter

This year I am making a big effort to lose 10 kg that I have been hanging onto for the last 17 years! It’s been an on/off dilemma that I feel no matter what I do I can never win.

I started last year with a calorie counter app which helped me keep control of what I have been eating and then of course the holidays kicked in and out went my diet! So here I am again new year and hopefully new me!

Here is a recipe I put together that’s fresh and easy to make and very delicious and filling!

Salmon Sushi Platter

Ingredients

100g salmon

1 small avocado

3 mini cucumbers or 1 medium one

1 tablespoon chopped chives

2 tablespoons fat free mayonnaise

1/2 cup cooked basmati rice

1 tablespoons white vinegar

Salt to taste

Method

1) Wash and cut cucumbers into strips

2) Peel and slice avocado into thin strips

3) In a small bowl place rice and pour vinegar on top, mix thoroughly.

4) in a large plate place rice in the middle of the plate and place the vegetables and salmon around the rice. Place mayonnaise on the plate.

5) Sprinkle chopped chives on top and salt to taste and serve.

Hope you enjoyed this recipe.

Vicky

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Throw back Thursday….. Looking back at some of the Art of Crochet squares I have made!

I have finally finished all the Art of Crochet squares and am now frantically sewing them together.

The Art of Crochet Throw https://instagram.com/vickys_handcrafted_designs

This blanket is a departure from my usual muted earthy tones. To be honest bright colours scare me! This blanket though changed all of that! I love all of these colours and how they all interact and mingle together.

This is series 2 of the art of crochet series! I hope they do a series 3!

Vicky

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2022 hear I am! It’s been a challenging few years for everyone – How to stay Positive

Well here we are the start of a new year and many a new resolution. Already the year has started with disparaging news as Covid runs rapid.

This year is a significant year for me. I will be 50. I have spent the last 49 years in a somewhat negative and only slightly positive mindset. Turning 50 has made me realise that life waits for no one and that we are the master of our own destiny. So I will be adopting a glass half full attitude from now on.

Unfortunately in life we will encounter many sad and devastating situations. Things that will definitely break us. It’s important to keep going and remain strong. By doing this you will find that you will achieve so much more and conquer many of life’s tribulations.

These holidays I have been busy working on my Art of Crochet throw. Crocheting helps me keep focused and given me confidence to handle any situation. I have now finished all the squares and am joining them together. Can’t wait to show you all the finished throw.