Granny wheel square

I have had my eye on this square for awhile.I have not blocked it merely  put some pins in to show the pattern.It is such a beautiful square.I have made it  with a cone of cashmere I have had forever, thread weight, hook 2.5mm.

The reason i have had this yarn for so long is I have no idea what to made with it. It is beautifully soft , luxurious and I regularly get it out and rub it on my face, yes, I know I'm crazy but it is cashmere, however it is so very thin and would take forever and a day to make something with it. I have just had a thought perhaps I will wind some off and double it. I don't know why I have not thought about doing that before. I normally make squares in cotton as the stitch definition in cotton is so perfect but I really want to use this yarn.

Pattern from here
Row 1: 5 ch, close the ring with a slip stitch
Every next row starts with 3 ch to replace 1 dc, and ends with a slip stitch around the first dc.
Row 2: “1 dc, 1 ch” 12 times
Row 3: “2 dc, 1 ch” 12 times + 1 extra slip stitch to reach next ch
Row 4: “3 dc, 1 ch” 12 times + 2 extra slip stitch to reach next ch
Row 5: “4 dc, 1 ch” 12 times + 3 extra slip stitch to reach next ch
Row 6: “4 dc, 1 ch, 4 dc, 1 ch, 4 trc, 2 ch, 4 trc, 1 ch” 4 times
Row 7: (grey) 1 dc between each dc of row 6, 2 dc around each ch of row 6 and at the corners 2 dc, 3 ch, 2 dc

Enjoy ,I certainly did I'm off to wind off that cashmere, I post results once I had made another square.

Funny

I love this ,it is so funny also I can fit into the bracelets I had at school .

My latest pattern

My pattern has been published in this month's Inside crochet. I hate throwing things out and i love to recycle. This is the perfect solution for using those scraps of fabric we all, I have just added a border. quick simply and very kind to the environment.

Florida

We spent 14 days in Florida.The best holiday I have had in years .I have so many beautiful pictures to share but first I thought I'd share the best yarn store in Florida. An amazing place filled from floor to ceiling of amazing colour.

The shop is called http://theknittingpatch.com/. The lady who runs it is called Lora .She is quite possibly the most knowledgeable yarn person I have ever met. She is awesome, ( god ,I seem to have picked up an americanism, they seem to say it all day in every shop I visited, everyday.It got on my nerves after day 2)

Lora knows everything about yarn ,I arrived with a list and came out with a completely different yarn such was her knowledge it was almost as though she knew me and the yarns I like. I hav been buying yarn for years and cant be forced into getting any yarn simply because of the brand name ,if I dont like the yarn i wont buy it I dont care how popular it is .Lora seems to be the same .I bought some unknown to me yarns they handled beautifully and such great value.I love a bargaint least in the shop is housed as you can see with all labels hidden i have no idea how Lora knows where everything is, you seem to be left to staring at the most delightful colours and textures all housed together and it works .I stayed in that gorgeous place for far too long and i could have stayed a few more hours butt the girls and his highness waited patiently in the car whilst Lora tempting me with yet more delights.I will post pictures of my loot once my new camera arrives. If you ever visit Florida do stop by and please do tell her I recommended it to you.The shop is a delight to the senses .

Feasting

We have arrived back safe from two amazing weeks in Florida.I have taken far too many photos but my priority has been to cook some healthy tasty food. Two weeks away from my cooker and I'm desperate to cook .

Two ways with mackerel.

picture 1.

Terrayaki mackerel with wilted garlic greens served on a bed of jasmine rice

This to me is pure comfort in a bowl, it always make me feel at home.

Fillet the 4 mackerel and marinate with 6 tbsp terrakayi sauce for two hrs.In a frying pan add sunflower oil and fry the fillets until cooked, turn over and add the marninade and cook until it has reduced and becomes syrupy.

The spinach is simply wilted with a crushed clove of garlic and a big knob of butter. Serve on the rice.

Dish two.

Fillet of grilled mackerel with a herb and olive dressing.

1 red onion diced, 2 sprigs thyme chopped, 2tbsp olive oil, 1 crushed garlic, add 4 fillets and marinate set aside for at least an hour.

In another bowl add 3tbsp chopped parsley, 2tbsp chopped chives, 15 kalamata black olives chopped ,50ml red wine vinegar, 1tsp sugar, 4tbsp olive oil, 2chopped green chillies. 1 punnet of cbaby plum toms, salt and pepper, for more sauce add a little more oil.

Add fillets to a pan and grill the fillets skin side up until charred and browned.

To serve take some salad leaves and spoon some dressing in a bowl add a fillet and spoon over more dressing serve with plain rice or with crusty bread and a large glass of wine.

For pudding I made some chocolate brownies with a great big handful of brazil, macadamia and almonds. Totally Lush.I am restored and happy to be back home .I will be sharing my pictures shortly have a lovely weekend.

Love hearts

Do you remember love heart sweets? I could not resist this gorgeous project bag from Nik's knots. I'm on diet and thought well at least a girl can look without one single calorie. I wish that notion actually worked I may not have eaten any love hearts,but i did manage to devour some gorgeous cupcakes my daughter and her boyfriend made.Delicious.

Crochet meet up

My latest pattern in this months Inside Crochet .I named it 'The middleton Shawl' after the shawl that the aforementioned wore on a day out shopping .Apparently sales of green shawls sold out within a week.

I seem to have fallen in love with this colour combination.I'm going to call this shawl Mint chocolate chip.It is made with the delightfully soft drops alpaca.This yarn rocks .I have not decided whether i should add a few more rows of chocolate ,I'm thinking of continuing with the mint and then adding a deep chocolate border.I cant wait to see how it will turn out.

Yesterday, I organised a crochet meet up. http://www.meetup.com/knitting-1271/?a=shareimg .I had a great evening.I managed to teach three new members all of whom I'm pleased to add could crochet by the end of the evening. It was such a lovely evening helped along with a tipple or three.As ever the company was fabulous.I'm really looking forward to the next meet.