Wild Alaskan Salmon

As a treat today we had wild Alaskan salmon, it was really fresh so I gently pan fried it with a little olive oil and butter plus fresh lemon grass, ginger, garlic and seasoning (only enough to flavour, I like to taste the fish). I served it with roast potatoes (well a sort of alternative Sunday roast still needs roast potatoes) and steamed asparagus. Very nice :)

(& no that's not my plate, if I eat that many potatoes I would explode!)

Candle cage

The candle cage is an all in one piece made on the loom with a crochet hook (I posted a pic earlier of the loom).

The light sparkles off the glass beads and looks pretty in real life, but it is so hard to photograph. Its a small cage for a tea light candle. The wire was hard on the hands so I will have to play some more with different wires to see if they are easier before making a larger item.

Looms

I have been playing with wire and glass beads, testing out some looms. I am trying (I'll see when I finish) to make a candle cage, this is what it looks like so far.

My friend the Bread Maker

I got time to make some bread today, something I really like doing. Fresh bread smells and tastes so good. When I say I made the bread I had help from my friend the bread maker (I made Soy & linseed bread). My friend does all the hard work kneading the dough for me and does not complain.

I used to make a lot of bread before by hand, but I have arthritis so kneading the dough, while relaxing couses a lot of pain. The bread maker is excellent (and kneads the dough better than me anyway) bread with no hand pain :)

I don't let the dough cook in the bread maker I prefer to put the dough on a baking tray. Make a nice shape, add my pattern, let rise than bake in the oven. I find it makes a much lighter loaf. Plus I can pretend I make it all my self :)

Free crochet patterns available from www.nezumiworld.com

Dolly Bobbins

I have been playing with dolly bobbins or french knitting (it has lots of names) You can use a crochet hook or knitting needle. I used wire and glass beads and am very happy with the results, so will play a bit more. I hope to get a larger frame soon (psss....I am trying out a lightweight frame for a company soon, I have been told it comes in two sizes and has metal spikes or nails which would be perfect for wire) and will try the techniques out on that maybe make a wire and bead bag :)

Crochet Lites

My latest purchase via eBay (I love eBay)- crochet hooks that light up :) called Clover crochet lite crochet hooks. They are battery operated with an on/off stitch, have a nice ergonomic handle and are very lightweight.
OK they do seem gimmicky and yes even though I bought them I was a bit skeptical , but after having a play with them I can see how useful they will be for crocheting with dark colours. They really do show up the stitches.