Link-Yourself Monday & Mandela #3

Happy Monday my Friends! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

After quite a break I have decided it is time to go back to LINK-YOURSELF Monday. So I hope you will join me. You will find the Link-Up at the end of my post.

Today I will share a Granny Mandela Tutorial. Hope I write it in a way you can understand.

We will start by chaining 4 and joining them with sling stitch.

Chain 3 (counts as first dc), follow by 1 dc, chain 1,

repeat until you have 6 clusters.

Rd. 2 - sling stitch in between cluster and chain 3 (counts as first dc),

1 more dc, chain 1, 2 dc in same space, chain 1, repeat around in each space.

Fasten off.

With new color start in any space with a stand-up dc.

Continue by adding 2 more dc's in same space.

Chain 1.

Continue with 3 dc's in each space around.

Fasten off.

Rd. 4 

Once again 3 dc's in each space.

Fasten off.

Rd. 5

With new color crochet 2 dc's, chain 1, 2 dc's, chain 1

in each space around.

Fasten off.

Rd. 6

With new color, crochet 3 dc's, 1 chain in each space around, join with

sling stitch, fasten off.

Rd. 7

Repeat Rd. 6 all the way around.

Fasten off.

Rd. 8

With new color 2 dc's, chain 1, 2 dc's in same space, chain 1

all the way around .

Fasten off.

Rd 9 - Final

With new color crochet 5 dc's in center (chain) of each 4 dc cluster,

chain 1, repeat all the way around.

Fasten off and sew in strings.

Someone ask me where the Mandela came from and that is a question I had ask myself as well. When I googled it, it didn't give much information. Does any of you have an idea what it actually means and if the colors you use have a significance? If you do, please share with us. Thank you!

And now our Link-Up. Please be so kind to visit the other people linking here and leave them a comment to let them know you have visited. Enjoy!

An InLinkz Link-up

A Walk in the Country & Mandela #2

This morning the sun is shining and it made me want to get out of the house for a few minutes. It's still a bit cool, but comfortable. So I decided to take a walk down the road from where I live. It's very country.

This Mom Cow gave me a look like "What are you bothering us for"?

Isn't this a cute calf?

It looked very sleepy

Look, the trees are starting to bloom.

So HAPPY to see that.

And now without further ado:

My reveal of

MANDELA #2

Before I forget it, I found the pattern here

Ok, it is time to return to real life

and get some housework done (yuck, lol)

Till next time my Friends......

Mandel-A-Long - Mandela 1

Hallo my lovely Friends. Hope this finds you all well.

First I would like to say Thank You for all the lovely comments you have left on my posts. They are really appreciated. I am currently working on finding out why I can't answer each of you individually. Hope to solve that problem soon. But I would like to answer one particular question here now, which was if I had a pattern for my Tulpen Garden. No I am sorry I do not, I made it up as I went along. I really need to to learn to write my patterns down, so I can share them later. That would be a new experience for me, as I have never done that yet. When I get a chance, I will sit down and try to write one by recounting what I did.


Now to today's project. I have decided to join a Mandel-A-Long at Lazy Daisy Jones's blog. Here is the link. Everybody is welcome to join and show of their accomplishments. So why not give it a try?

The pattern for this Mandela I found here . It is a very good tutorial and easy to follow. I enjoyed making it very much. Now I am looking forward to making others to join my collection.

As for the yarn I used I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby and a "G" Hook

The Beginning

And now without further ado

Tah Taaaaa

And one more in it's new location.

Joining my Spring Bunting

Love the way it came out.

What do you all think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Till next time......

52 Week Crochet Challenge Week 4

Hallo my Friends!

How did you learn to crochet, or who taught you?

Crochet has been in my life for a long time, over 50 years. When I was a wee bit girl of about 6, my grandmother Poldi, who was a seamstress from profession, gave me my very first own crochet hook and a ball of yarn and declared it was time for me to learn to make things for myself. Until than I loved to watch her work on many different things, from sewing, to knitting and of course crocheting.

My Granny was a very patient woman, even so her schedule was very full with a big family and also with the sewing she did for other people and her family, but also a huge garden. I really don't know how she managed it all, but somehow she did.

Well from that ball of yarn my first potholder came to life. It looked pretty bad, if I remember correctly, but my Granny had nothing but praise for me. You got to love her just for that. So a new passion had been born, as I from that point in time never put down my needle again, well maybe for a minute or two, but never for long.

Granny also taught me to sew and knit, which I still both do from time to time, but my passion will always be with Crochet. Thank you Granny!

Now a little update: This has been a rather hectic week for me and continues to be that way, but I did manage to crochet quite a few more rows on one of my Hall of Shame projects, the Granny Stripe Afghan ala Attic 24. I think the colors are starting to really pop out and I am having fun once again working on it. It might become a finished project yet, lol.

Thought I would leave you all today with a couple more pictures that speak of Spring time finally being here.

See me initials spelled out in Daffodils?

How cool is that?

Till next time.......

Spring Love continues

Hallo Friends! The weekend is upon us. Isn't that just wonderful? Rest and Relaxation. Well, actually the weekend means it's time to get cleaning and taking care of the house. With four little critters that love to leave their hair everywhere, it's a constant battle at the moment to keep it looking nice. But they are so worth it. Love these buggers.

Over the last couple of days my Spring Theme continued in the crochet department. I had to add more fun, colorful stuff to the collection.

First I started with some coasters

I thought they looked bright and cheerful

Than I added the Tulip Garden to the mix

And also a little cover for my flower vase

Remember the flower from my 52 Week Crochet Challenge?

I added it here.

To give it the final touch, I added this little Bug.

Isn't it cute?

One more closeup of the pretty cheery

Spring flowers: Jonquils and Hyacinth

They smell so lovely and every time I pass by

they cheer me up so much.

Ohhh Spring, I am so glad you are finally here.

From my neck of the woods,

I wish you all a lovely, relaxing weekend!

Happy Spring

Yayyyyy, Spring is finally officially here. Are we all excited? I know I am, very much so. The sun is shining beautifully today and it is a bit warmer. The Birds are chirping and making Mr. Picasso crazy. The grass is showing signs of turning green and more and more flowers are popping out of the ground. What an exciting time, don't you think?

For this occasion I even crocheted a little something.

You want to see it?

I call it:

Tulip Garden

What you all think?

Is it Springy enough?

I know it is cheering up my house.

Till next time my friends!

Hope to see you all soon again!

52 Week Crochet Challenge, Week 3

Hallo Friends, here we are in Week three of our 52 Week Crochet Challenge. This week the challenge was to crochet a flower, or make a project that has a flower motif or theme in celebration of the first day of spring.

I decided on separate flowers, which will be used in two further projects that will be revealed at a later time and one that can be worn at any time.

The first one is of a flower in a square

The next two are just simple little flowers

that could be added to anything

They look similar, but are both from a different pattern

They are part of a project

that I will reveal around Easter.

The next one is a Rose

I turned this Rose into a Brooch

which can be worn on any type of clothing.

On the reverse side just add a fastener of some sort.

Till next time from my neck of the woods,

have a creative week.