Baby Blanket

Myself and Sophie were invited to a baby shower last week Wednesday which was a public holiday in South Africa.  The invitation came through on the 8th of March and before I knew it, it was Saturday the 17th March and the baby shower was just 4 days away.  I roped Sophie into helping me crochet a baby blanket as a gift and we did some hectic fast crochet moves.  I then commissioned my eldest daughter to help with sewing the blanket together and with just an hour to spare on the day, we completed the edging of the blanket.  I managed to snap a few photos before wrapping the blanket up and giving it away.  I would have loved to sit and marvel over it a little before giving it away but now I'm inspired to crochet some more and have them ready to either give away or sell.

Pretty Edging

Just a little bunny I crocheted last year as well. 

Mary and Martha

♥ I know that I have not been too chatty on my blogs of late, mostly photos with minimal descriptions.  Not too sure why but I guess I was just not quite ready to face another busy year.  I listened to a teaching today on Mary and Martha from the Bible.  It was a very good teaching on these lovely ladies from the Bible and which character you felt applied to you.  Why Jesus said “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things; but one thing is needful:  for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her,”  Luke 10v41, 42.  The teaching was on how to apply a little of a Mary nature into your lifestyle so as not to tire and burn out doing your Martha duties.  It was super appropriate to me, old Martha I am you know.

Ok so this brings me to the point of self reflection.  How much of what I do is Martha and how much is Mary.  It’s much like a scale, you need to live your life in balance.

A pertinent point was made:  Sunday, is the first day of the week, it’s a Mary day.  It’s the day you spend in worship, sitting at Jesus’ feet, (church) then relaxing with your family, chilling, doing a hobby or resting.  It’s the perfect way to start a week, recharging your batteries.

Monday:  This is my usual week day scenario.  From when I get up in the morning, Martha is in action.  I’d like to change that and be better prepared the night before and in the morning take time to enjoy my cup of tea before the run.  Possibly tea & toast in bed?  From 6.30am – 2pm, I’m off into the city traffic, getting children to school and myself to work, starting at 7.30am.  Better planning means leaving earlier, means sitting in less traffic, no stressing like Martha, and getting to work/school calmly and prepared to face the day.  Then doing my work in an organized, non frantic way until 2pm when I finish.  Slotted into my day are two 15 minute breaks, 10am tea and 12noon lunch. (Mary time)  Get home, relax for an hour or so, I always enjoy a nice cup of tea when I get home.  Then there is homework, supper, preparing lunches for the next day and then the wind down.  The wind down is the evening:   lamps play and important role in winding down after a busy day, relaxing music is preferable to an action packed TV show, reading and enjoying your family’s company.  This is good Mary time.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday:  Repeat taking care not to become worried and troubled about many things like Martha but choosing what is needful for good health and of benefit to you and those around you.  A constant Martha attitude results in working so hard, no time to rest unless stressed (forced to rest), complaining about those who are resting and not helping but being prudent in times of busyness to delegate the work/chores.

Saturday:  I didn’t think much about Saturday, "it’s the weekend baby", you know.  But now without proper planning, Saturday can get filled up so quickly with all kinds of running around, and "doings".  Take care, plan your Saturday.

Does this not all make perfect sense.

Keep your heart a Mary heart when doing your Martha duties.

So in line with Mary thinking, I am going to share an awesome recipe with you to make life easier for you.  It is a 30 day Health Muffin recipe, 30 day, as it can last in your fridge for up to 30 days before baking.  Your life has just become easier.  Mary thinking with a little Martha involved.

30 Day Health Muffins

125ml Oil

2 Eggs

375ml (300g) Soft brown sugar

500ml Milk

5ml Vanilla Essence

375ml Cake Flour

500ml Digestive Bran

250ml Nuttywheat flour

10ml Bicarb. of Soda

5ml Salt

250g Fruit cake mix

250ml Dates, chopped

METHOD:

1.  Whisk the oil, eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla essence together.

2.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

3.  Allow to stand overnight in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

4.  Spoon into well greased muffin tins and bake at 180C for 10 - 15 minutes.

NOTE:

*  This mixture can be left in the fridge for up to 30 days.

*  Bake fresh batches as needed.

*  You can sprinkle oat flakes on the muffins before putting them into the oven to bake.

*  These muffins are different to the bran muffins in that they have nuttywheat flour in and dates.

Creativity Overload

Who never finishes their slice of chocolate cake, millionaire shortbread or any other decadent treat that suits their fancy!  Today I have a load of creativity to share with you, hope this will fill you with excitement and cause seeds of inspiration to sprout up in you.  There is nothing like a hobby to give you pleasure and endless hours of fulfillment. I refer you to a previous blog of mine titled "LOVELY", see the link on the right hand side of my blog further down relating to the definition of a hobby.

My new range of Floral tea cosies by special request from customers at the coffee shop.

Sitting all "PRETTY", waiting to find new homes!

          Trying my hand at some new block patterns.  So rewarding.

My favourite, most delicately beautiful rose in my garden.  Life's natural inspiration.                                                                                    

A cheeky Morning Glory growing up the Lemon Tree. If you need help with colour combinations, just take a look at flowers.                                                         

Granny Squares in brights, still need to crochet a back for this cushion cover.

Just a plain Red Tea Cosy!  Beautiful Simplicity!

Some Inspiration

I have a collection of inspirations to share with you.  As I have an I-Phone, it comes in very handy when sitting in the doctors rooms, vets rooms or browsing through a magazine at a friends house, coffee shop etc.  Now admit it, we have all been tempted to tear a page out of a magazine as it held inpiration or a recipe you wished to try but the magazine was not yours to tear?  Well now I have an I-Phone so, I promptly whip out my phone and snap the page/article in the magazine.  I will be sharing some of these with you.

Saw this scarf in the "Your Family" magazine.  Love the colours.

Just love these cute cupcake scatter cushions, might implement the idea into a crochet to create warmth for Winter.

I would like to crochet myself a handbag, saw this one in a crochet magazine in the local news agency.

Cute cushion idea.  Think I saw this one in a magazine in the vets rooms.

I am busy crocheting a cushion cover, it started as a cover for my Bible but didn't seem to work, now it will be a cushion cover.  I will blog some of my latest crochet items soon and maybe you'll find some inspiration from that. 

One last one, it's just such a cute idea, to paint on an enamal plate.



A Work of Art

Today I'm posting an email I received from my dad this morning.  My mom started crocheting her blanket last year in October when they visited me in Johannesburg around the time  the "one a day" project started. She couldn't stick to the one a day and worked very hard to get it finished.  Here is the email: 

Hi There,

After many hours of hard labour and millions of crochet stitches, Yvonne completed her blanket this weekend.  She bought the wool in Vereeniging in September and started this mammoth task in October.  If you would like to write to her personally, her address is yvonec@telkomsa.net.  She enjoyed this past week's colder weather when doing the edge of the blanket as she had to work with it on her lap.  I am now looking forward to the winter when I can cover up.

Lots of love

The pattern that was used is from  http://crochethealingandraymond.wordpress.com/ thank you Alice for all the inspiration and tutorials.  You are such a honey!

Finally I attach a little Valentines crochet I made over the weekend.  xxx

A bit of this and that!

As promised, a little bit of what was on the go in my life towards the end of 2011.

 Tea Cosies ... always my favourite.  Planning on making some cute baby blankets this year.

 Knitting a tea cosy while my parents were visiting us at the end of September/October 2011.  I gave the tea cosy to my mom to take home in the end.

Had an order for 6 tea cosies, made a whole lot of cup cake cosies.

 Tried my hand at crocheting toys.  Love the way the little ballerina turned out.

 Coat hangers, such a beautiful luxury to hang ones clothes onto, compared to the "gorgeous" plastic hangers we use these day!!

Just something fun, a jumble of colours and styles all in one!

Lillydew Updates - I'm here!!!

♥ Hello all you dear and wonderful bloggers out there.  I am pleased to announce that I am back and was never reported missing but just got caught up in the end of year business of 2011.  I have much to blog and many photos to paste.

I have not stopped crocheting; in fact I gave a lot of tea cosies as Christmas presents.  I also gave homemade jam and peanut brittle.  I am just a week back from my glorious 2 week holiday on the Natal coastline of South Africa.  It is tropical and exquisite in Scottborough, a little coastal town with cute and quaint shops. We (my husband and 3 children) spent most days on the beach, swimming, picking up shells, reading books and just sitting in the little rock pools staring out to sea.  A definite place to holiday away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

So, look out for an update of what I have been up to from my last blog, I will bring you up to speed in the next week or so but definitely before the end of January 2012.

I hope that 2012 will be a blessed year for you and your families.