A is for...

April! Which is coming to an end soon, so I have less than 2 months in Katowice ahead. I'm very happy about it! Living away for home for 6 years is more than enough for me!

Avocado! My sapling has grown so big! I put it in a small vase that was once used to grow a hyacinth. It took over 4 weeks to finally sprout, but in only a month it grew big and strong enough to be planted into a pot.

Allergies! Funny thing! I was never allergic to anything. This year I experienced my first hay fever. Luckily for me merciful rains washed some of the pollen away and I can use less paper tissues per hour.

 Ants! Well this is what you get for trying to dig out some wild pansies from a lawn. But aren't they beautiful?

Another stripe! My Ripple Blanket is 88cm long now and I'm starting to have problems with arranging colors. I didn't realise "random look" would be so hard to achieve.

Also..
Awesome gifts! Like this lovely bag I got from my sister! Yeah, it's probably a blasphemy to keep crocheted items in a knitting bag, but shhh... no one has to know!

and finally...
Appendectomy... which means I need to get back to work and study for my next exam :(

Have a nice...
Afternoon!

Gosia.

The cake is NOT a lie!

Ha haa! Just showing off my first birthday cake ever!

Happy birthday, Husband!

I just hope that violets aren't toxic :)

I made a tiny panda, and my dog made a friend... kinda.

I love microamigurumi! I'm not skilled enough to make super-tiny animals, but I'm doing my best! Lately I made a Tiny Panda. I used free pattern by Sharon Ojala from Amigurumi To Go.
Made with 0,8mm hook and embroidery thread split in half (leftovers from the friendship bracelet).

I had to improvise as I ran out of black thread. That's why ears have 4 instead of 6 base scs, and patches were painted on. There's a safety pin in the back, I might replace it with a chain later. Tiny Panda is now a key ring for my car keys.

I also made the head and body in one piece. The less joining the better for me!

As for my dog making a "friend"... He is a one nosy creature! That's why he just can't leave anything be without at least trying to smell it. As you can imagine... sniffing a hedgehog ends up with multiple puncture wounds and a furious dog.
Yesterday I had to evacuate such a careless hedgehog from my backyard. He wasn't too happy about it,  and neither was Korek who continued to drool for the better part of the evening.

Now I need to get back to baking my first birthday cake. It's for my husbands (and mine) birthday party tomorrow. No pressure, right? I just hope I won't end up on Craftfail.. again.

Remember those lovely cherry flowers I posted last week? Well that was just a prelude!

Have a nice evening!

Gosia.

Ripple Adventure countinues...

What a crazy week!
Lots of traveling,  swift weather changes, my birthday... My progress on Ripple Blanket slowed a bit, mainly because I didn't have a free Saturday this week and did not take my work home with me. I study nearly 80km from my home town, so I have almost two hours on a train to crochet.

I'm using an old "C.F.I.010" steel hook. It's approx. 4mm.

I'm now a little beyond 50-60cm. And I love it more and more with every stripe! Maybe I will stop at 150cm and make it a baby blanket? Not that I need one already, but judging by the progress rate...
Also I am beginning to feel a bit worried about waving all the loose ends in.

And now it's time for garden news!
This year's spring is here for good now! 

Here's a lovely daffodil in morning sun. Full-sized this time:

And cherry blossom! Those are my very favourite cherries. Sweet and juicy, almost crunchy!

Have a lovely spring afternoon!

Gosia.

I love you, Ripple Blanket!

Ah, ripple blankets, don't you just love them?

Mine has now about 1/4th of planned length.

All loose ends are hidden on the other side :)

I bought one additional skein of yarn. It's a lovely shade between blue and grey (second one on the right). Also, I found one long-forgotten skein of turquoise acrylic in my stash! Fits perfectly! 

I love how I can choose whichever color I like to work with next. I am changing colors in an "interlocking" manner. This means making one double stripe and two single stripes of each color, Just like here. It turns out great with all those shades of blue and greenish blue. 

Almost like a lake surface. 

Actually it reminds me of this beautiful mountain pond we visited last summer. It's in Adršpach-Teplice Rock Town in Czech Republic. It looks different every time! The surface color depends on the weather, time of day and angle you are viewing it from.

My fingers are starting to itch... I think I need a couple more rows done today!

In the meantime we got from snow last Friday to over 20°C this Saturday!

Our dog enjoys the sunny day and is chillin' on our porch all day long. He adjusts his position only when the sunlight moves away :)

Ah, it feels so good! 

Have a lovely afternoon!

Gosia.

Yay! Tiny daffodils!

Easter

It's time for Easter eggs! Dyeing eggs in a "soup" made of onion's peelings is a common tradition in Poland. It gives them a rich, rusty color. The key to achieving a dark, even tint is degreasing eggs at first. I wash them with detergent, and then swab with 95% ethanol to get a dry, clean surface.

I also add few drops of vinegar to the mixture and cook it together for 10 minutes. 

Color can also be enhanced by greasing and polishing finished Easter eggs.

A year ago I found an interesting modification to that method. It involves different leaves (the more complex shape - the better) and old stockings/tights cut into pieces. I was a bit sceptical at first. We all now the bitter taste of failed Pinterest projects, don't we? But this is soooo great! 

I made those with my husband. I took us less than hour to complete it, including a trip to garden in a search of leaves.

My (Sn)uggly project has been suspended for the moment.

Why?

 Last Tuesday I got a message from my former classmate, who asked if I would like to "adopt" some yarn that she wouldn't need anymore. 

Best Easter Surprise Ever! 

Hasiok is also happy about it!

I got it all organised in my huge wicker basket and started working on my dream project! 

Ripple blanket!

 I adore all blankets made by Lucy from attic24 but the Neat Ripple pattern is my all-time favourite! 

Here are my small samples of all blue-ish yarns. They are different brands, but all of them 100% acrylic and in comparable weight.

I'm planning on making it approx 1x2 meters, so I can put it across my bed,over the pillows.  Oooh! Can't wait to get started! 

Have a nice afternoon! And Happy Easter!

Gosia.

Bunnies & Chicks!

Easter is just around a corner. However judging by the weather I'm not really sure if it's Easter or Christmas...

Aaanyway! Today I had a lot of fun with a marzipan bar & some food coloring.

 Believe it or not was my first time dyeing food! My mom was never fond of artificial sweeteners, dyes and flavors. I have to say at first I was a bit disappointed with the effect. I imagined that adding just few drops of it will make my marzipan bright yellow or red & so on (yeah, thank you Pinterest). Not really...

The overall effect is sweet, but I admit... I did let out a malediction or two while trying to mix it all properly.

Sooo...

I mixed 200g of marzipan with 50g of powdered sugar, and split it in half.
Here's a short photo-diary of my work:

Part I: Chicks!

Bigger ball is supposed to be yellow :) The red one could be smaller, I didn't use it all up.

And here are chicks basis! There were 15 of them. I split the big ball of dough into 16 smaller ones and left one for decorations.

Then I took small nubs from the leftover ball and created curled feathers for each chick's head.

Beaks are simple cones made from red dough. I didn't think they would hold... 

...but they did!

I don't like painting with those sugar markers so I made eyes by poking my chicks with a toothpick. Cruel, yet good-looking!

Pat II: Bunnies!

For bunnies I used undyed marzipan. Rolled it into small balls and then into cylindr-ish shapes.

Aaaand then I noticed that my camera is all sticky with sugar, and so I stopped documenting my work :(

Ears were made similarly to chick's feathers, but they're a bit longer. And tails were made from tiny marzipan balls. I attached them by poking it with a toothpick near the basis. That's kind of gross but effective... and somewhat anatomically correct :)

Tadaaaaaaah! 

Have a nice afternoon!

Gosia.