Crochet adventures- Hooked on Sunshine

I apologise for neglecting this blog! I thought I should bring you up to date with some things I've been doing since I've been away. One thing I've done is I purchased two patterns from Hooked on Sunshine, the Briar Rose and the Whatchamacallit!

I tried the Briar Rose first as it seemed to be the easiest one, and it was pretty easy! I completed this small rug in May 2021 using cotton yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills.

My first Hooked on Sunshine pattern, the Briar Rose!

I thought long and hard about which pattern to do next. I had these colours left over from previous projects and wanted to use up what I had before purchasing more yarn, which I usually get from Bendigo Woollen Mills.

A selection of left over cotton yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills

These colours were left over from different projects and I wouldn't normally put them all together, but I took a chance and purchased the Whatchamacallit pattern from Hooked on Sunshine. The photo of this project turned out to be a very popular post on Facebook, with lots of people liking it and commenting. I just wouldn't have thought these colours would go together and people would like it so much. I started this rug in November 2021 and completed it in February 2022.

day one of this Whatchamacallit

day two of this whatchamacallit

Whatchamacallit, with cotton yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills

I still have a lot of yarn left in my stash, including this silky acrylic that was given to me by my mother many years ago. I have made other things with it, like a pair of hats for my sister in law and niece, but I still have a lot left. So I started another whatchamacallit in February 2022 using this pink yarn, its all just the one colour. I've been having a lot of trouble with motivation so haven't done much. I am no longer gaming at all, gaming all just feels "finished" and a waste of time. But what I now fill my time with is another dilemma! I think I might work on this rug and try and get it finished!

work in progress,a single colour Whatchmacallit!

New AI biscuits!

I've been fooling around with the new chat AI I got yesterday, mainly I've been asking it to help me with meal planning. I told it the dietary requirements of my family of three, mainly that we are dairy-free and meat-free. Then I asked it for a simple cookie recipe using some of the ingredients I have in the back of my pantry that need using up. I told the AI that I had cacao nibs, wholemeal self-raising flour, coconut flour, powdered psyllium husk and sunflower kernels. This was the recipe it came up with, which we tried and it turned out great!

ingredients for the AI cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sunflower kernels
• 1 cup whole meal self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup cacao nibs
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 tsp powdered psyllium husk
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup honey/golden syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the sunflower kernels, whole meal self-raising flour, cacao nibs, coconut flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract.
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until well combined.
5. Using a spoon or cookie scoop, drop balls of dough onto the lined baking tray and flatten them slightly with the back of a spoon.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.
7. Let cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy your delicious vegan cookies!

the new AI cookies before they went in the oven

how the AI cookies looked coming out of the oven

Simple House Warming Gift

 My sister in Darwin is building a new house so I made a simple house warming gift! These drink coasters are based on a pattern I found from Ravelry. I also included this dishcloth, pattern also in Ravelry. I used 8ply cotton and a 4mm hook. I hope my sister likes them!

A stack of six cotton drink coasters

six cotton drink coasters

folded cotton dishcloth

simple cotton dishcloth

I won at yarn chicken!

Vegetarian Bolognaise Pies

 David just made these pies from scratch! He just made up some shortcrust pastry and filled them with left over lentil bologanise! Yummmm!

Review of Lite n Easy

 Firstly I will say I absolutely loved being on Lite n Easy! The food was great, always fresh and lots of variety. I really enjoyed being told what to eat and looked forward to every day to see what I would be eating. I ate a little something every 2 hours over a 10 hour period so I was never famished, its really helped me adjust my appetite and learn more about portion sizes. I chose the 1500 calories per day option and was on it for 7 weeks in total and lost 2 kilograms in weight.

Flexible

Lite n Easy is very flexible, and it has no contracts which is fabulous. I was able to choose 5 lunches for each week for the 1st couple of weeks, then I went with the full 7 days with breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

Choice

There is a lot of choice with the evening dinners, and for Spring they have just added a 3rd choice for lunches so you can now choose vegetarian meals. This was a big bonus for me as when I joined I could not go vegetarian every day, but now you can. It would be great if you could choose which fruits you can eat, as you can clearly substitute fruits. I was given a lot of oranges which I didn't eat but substituted with apples or strawberries.

There are heaps of choices for vegetarians like these yummy frozen dinners that can be heated in the oven.

Variety

The menu is on a 4 week rotation, with lots of choices so you never get sick of eating the same thing. Every now and again you even get a little cake, like double choc cake, walnut and date loaf, appple and banana bread and the delightful orange with chocolate chip cake. The little cakes are definately on the small side but you can really savour them and they are all you need! 

The little cakes are delightful!

Some food is Frozen

Heating the frozen food in the microwave was okay, but I found that heating the frozen dinners in the oven was much more preferable. For the first dinner I didn't realise you could heat it in the oven and microwaved the tortellini, but when I had it again on another night, heating it in the oven it was much better. I found I needed to heat the dinners in the oven for 55 minutes for it to be hot enough, instead of the recommended 40 minutes.

Price

Everything is individually packaged (so there is a lot of plastic) but you are paying for the convenience. I could feed myself each week for a fraction of the price, but I still really appreciate going on it as I have learnt so much in a short time. My budget just doesn't allow me to be on it all the time which is disappointing, but I will find the funds for next time I go on it.

Concluding Thoughts

  I'm hoping to continue losing weight (I have about 20kg to lose!) by mimicking the diet, but intend to get Lite n Easy again when I need to reset my appetite. If I find the diet I design is not working I will definately get Lite n Easy again.

A Modest Harvest for 2020

Here is our first harvest from our lemon tree! We planted it seven years ago and it has finally provided some fruit! We aren't very good gardeners, but tumeric and chilli is very easy to grow! We also have some rocket, we harvest that right when we are ready to eat it. Of course we grow herbs too, rosemary, oregano and chives are also easy to grow! At least we have something to grow in our garden! We have been inside for this social distancing for the Covid 19 pandemic, this week is week 8, our son hasn't left the house for 8 weeks! But I am living my best life right now, going no where, seeing no one, just my little family at home safe and sound is bliss! I know we are safe here! But week after next our son has to go back to school, I hope he will be safe!

our modest harvest of lemons, chilli and tumeric 2020

Blue and Round Bunny Rug

I just don't remember when I made this, but it must have been months ago, maybe even last year. I've just sewn in the ends this morning and took some photos! I used a 3.5mm hook and 4ply acrylic yarn. I didn't make it for anyone in particular, just did it for fun!

Water Bottle Cosy

I just quickly made this cosy up for my water bottle, it was easy and quick. I used 8 ply cotton and a 4 mm hook. The base is just a flat circle of 3 rounds, then straight up the sides with mesh. Lastly, I finished with a length of chain to weave in and out of the last row of stitches to form a string pull. Fun!

water bottle cosy in 8 ply cotton

Crochet spiral bunny rug in leaf, stone and lavender

Well this year is almost over and I haven't written here since January! Where has the year gone?? I just finished this spiral bunny rug that I have been working on for years. It doesn't lay flat because I think I may have changed size hook midway. I was sure I used a 3.5mm hook, but maybe the beginning was done with a 3mm hook? The yarn I used was 4 ply luxury wool from the Bendigo Woollen Mills. Its just a pattern I made up and I can't remember where I found the edge pattern. I don't know what I will do with this bunny rug, its imperfections make it unsuitable to sell. I guess I will just hang on to it in case I ever meet a baby that needs a woollen bunny rug!

Crochet spiral bunny rug in leaf, stone and lavender.

A close up of the crochet spiral.

A closeup of the crochet edge.

Tiny White Soap Bag - FREE PATTERN

I was given some lovely handmade soaps for Christmas, so I made a small bag for one of them, the others are a little bigger so if I make another bag it wil have to be slightly larger.

a tiny white cotton soap bag

FREE PATTERN
4 ply cotton, 3mm hook
chain 3, sl st into 1st ch to form loop
1. ch 2 (counts as 1st st), 11 dc into loop, sl st into 2nd chain of 1st st (12 stitches)
2. ch 2 (counts as 1st st), dc into same, 2 dc in each st around, sl st into 2nd ch of 1st st (24 stitches)
3-8. ch 3 (counts as 1st st and 1st ch ap), sk st, dc into next st (ch 1, sk st, dc into next st) around, sl st into 2nd ch of 1st st (12 chain spaces)
9. ch 2 (counts as 1st st), (dc into next ch sp, dc into next dc) repeat to end, dc into last ch sp, sl st into 2nd ch of 1st st (24 stitches)
10. ch 30, fasten off, weave length of chain in and out of stitches in round 9 to end, sl st into 1st chain to form large loop, weave in ends