Yet Another Cowl, A Spot of Baking and a Plea for Help (!)

So I kinda made another cowl.....

It's the same cowl in all the pictures, the light must be weird in my house! It's using the wool I bought on honeymoon in Austria it's a beautiful soft mix with a lovely sheen to it. I can't wait to wear it in the Autumn :) It's just treble crochet, with a 5mm hook, quite a tight stitch. 

I've also been baking, I found this wonderful recipe on Regina's lovely blog 'My Simple Life' (here). It's for a Zwetschgenkuchen, which is a cake with fresh fruit. Really scrummy, I ate a lot of it during my time in Germany (cake is a major part of my love of Germany!) I was so pleased with how it turned out, it was so easy and so tasty. C liked it too, there's not a lot left. I used peaches this time, but will definitely use plums next time... 

Otherwise I haven't been terribly productive, I'm still ploughing away with the blanket, more photos soon :)

I have a question to ask all you wonderful experienced crocheters who pop in here - a bit of a plea for help! Does anyone have an easy, quick shawl pattern that they would recommend? I'm off to a wedding in two weeks and need something to pop over my shoulders. I was thinking maybe a simple V Stitch or granny type pattern, but wanted to see if anyone had any recommendations :) I bought some lovely soft DK yarn, an acrylic/nylon mix all ready and will try and start crocheting before too long. any suggestions?!

Back in Berlin

Back again :) Berlin really is my favourite city, it's become a second home to me over the years.

I arrived on Monday on a very early flight (still catching up on sleep!) and have gotten myself back into my Berlin routine. Unfortunately I'm not as active as usual as somehow I tore my ankle ligament before I came out - I have to try and keep it up as much as possible. I am being sensible this week, and it does feel like it is slowly healing, which is good as I need to be back to full strength next week for when C visits!

The weather has also been incredibly changeable and we have had the most incredible thunderstorms and rain showers - the library actually was more appealing than being outside a lot of the week! Apart from last night and the night before, when I met a friend and my supervisor, I headed home after the library and looked out at the rain from the cosy flat I am staying in.

Of course I brought some yarn with me! I have great plans crochet wise, time permitting! Speaking of which, I started a new cowl using the wool I bought on honeymoon:

I wanted something simple so that you can just enjoy the sheen (which isn't very clear on the picture) and the slightly variegated blue colour. It's so soft and light I can't wait to finish it!!

My morning routine is the same as the last time I was here exactly, and the storms have been kind enough to let me get to work in the sun (the rain tends to start just as I think about turning my computer off and leaving in the afternoon). I am staying in Prenzlauer Berg, which is one of my favourite areas in Berlin (I will write about it more another time, it deserves a photo heavy post). My street is full of old buildings and trees, typical of the area.

 I get the U-Bahn to Potsdamer Platz, which luckily is on the same line as my stop! Need for walking reduced :)

Potsdamer Platz is quite odd, I've always thought. It's very spacious and full of restaurants (mostly chains) and random offices. It was heavily bombed during the war, due to its central location and proximity to government buildings. In 1961 the Berlin Wall was built and used to pass right through the middle of it, so it was a sort of no man's land during the GDR years. It's seen extensive redevelopment since 1989, which includes a lot of tall buildings. The square itself is quite vast and empty, there are often things going on there. Obama stayed in the Ritz Carlton hotel which is just on the left of the picture above when he came to Berlin last year. I saw him leave the building once on my way home, it was quite a spectacle! I couldn't actually leave as they had shut down all possible methods of transport and blocked the roads...

The library is about a 3 minute walk from the square itself, past shopping arcades and a lot of restaurants. There's also this cool sculpture

It says it's supposed to be two boxers! I always start humming Simon and Garfunkel's 'The Boxer' as I walk past. The yellow building just behind in the background is part of the Kulturforum, which is a group of art galleries and other cultural buildings. There's always an interesting exhibition on!

And this is my 'home' here in Berlin, the State Library, most of the resources I need all in one massive building.It's not the prettiest, but I have become fond of it!!

And now I'm off back to my crochet, accompanied by Orange is the New Black and a glass of wine. Happy Friday everyone!

Cs on Sunday

Yesterday the biggest C in my life was occupied on the golf course so I indulged in some blissful uninterrupted 'me-time'. I love lazy Sundays, they're something of a rarity at the moment so I seized the moment gladly with hands wide open.

I happily settled myself on the sofa with some of my old friends, including 'Bridget Jones' and 'When Harry met Sally' and Bella cat, one of the furry Cs in my life, looked optimistic...

Poor Bella cat, she was most perturbed when she was unceremoniously plonked on the floor in favour of some WIPs! I plodded on with the cowl I've had on the hook for far too long now. I'd started to find it a bit tedious to be honest, very slow and repetitive. So I don't know if my Ta Dah! moment was actually because it reached the length I was aiming for or because I just got a bit fed up...

nevertheless it is very snuggly and warm. I shall enjoy it in a few more months (although today is somewhat chilly so maybe I should use it right away!)

I also dug out my WIP that makes me feel ashamed. A few months ago I was blogging about cross stitching a gift for a baby due in the family... Well said Baby is now a month old and the cross stitch piece is still rather unfinished! I'd managed to go wrong twice the last time I had it out so I unpicked and restitched a bit and now intend to try and get it done this month... watch this space!

I've enforced a 'no wine whilst cross stitching' rule as I fear that a glass may have clouded my counting abilities!

My next C is more crochet.... coasters! I love picking up inspiration from blogland and when I read Deb's post here a week or so ago I promptly lined the coasters on my 'to do' list. I loved the colours she used and they looked so summery and pretty! I want to make some as a housewarming present for a friend, and some for my Dad for Father's Day (he is used to getting his presents a week or so late!). I love the fact the original pattern dates from 1893 :) see here.

I dug out some cotton, I wasn't too sure about the variegated stuff so am starting some in just a plain block colour as well...

And my final C was at the very end, made as a team when C returned, a Creamy Courgette Lasagne

The photo doesn't do it justice but I was so hungry I couldn't be bothered to take more! The recipe was from the wonderful Good Food website, here. It was absolutely scrummy.

So that was my Sunday, I hope you all had lovely weekends and have great weeks ahead :)

Spring Cowl

Ta Dah!

It only took me two evenings in the end, I went to visit my Nana on Monday and just sat and crocheted while I talked to her. Really pleased with the finished result, I think it looks pretty and I'm loving the colour: it's a cheap acrylic yarn off Ebay: Cygnet chunky. I used a 6mm hook, and this pattern from the wonderful Fiber Flux blog.

I don't think the lines are supposed to be there technically - I think I only crocheted through the top loop or something by mistake - but I quite like the effect :) The pattern's so easy and looks so nice I'm going to buy some nice variegated yarn and make one for a friend's birthday.

It's very snug without being too bulky for Spring: perfect!

I hope all your projects are going well :)

Helen

Cherry Cake and Sneaky Crochet

I realised the other day that the 'tag line' or whatever it's called for my blog is 'crafting, cooking, camping' and I have clearly been very biased towards the former!! Yesterday I decided to make my favourite cherry cake recipe, so thought I would share it here. I cannot for the life of me remember where I got it, but it's written down on one of those scraggy old bits of paper and in my recipe book. It's very easy (as most of my cooking tends to be!) and C loves it.

You will need:

200g Margarine (the recipe says butter, but I use flora to feel a bit more virtuous, it works fine but you probably won't need to add much milk at the end because of the higher water content)
150g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
225g Plain Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
100g Glace Cherries (I ignore this and do it by sight: I love cherries!!)
Milk

1. First of all the oven needs to be heated to 180 degrees (mine's a fan oven, so 160 for me). Cream together the marg and the sugar until it's fluffy and smooth. (The other benefit of the marg is it makes this stage SO much easier than butter... I don't even cheat and use the food processor!)

2. Next of all add the eggs separately and beat well to incorporate (mix looks gooey but this will soon be rectified :)

3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and mix gently.

4. Favourite Bit! Add the cherries :) I coat mine in flour to try and stop them sinking, but this works to varying effect.

5. Fold cherries in gently and then add milk if required. Pour mixture into cake tin (I use an 18" silicone one from Lakeland). Bake in the oven for approx 55 mins. (Now this is the bit I find the hardest as my oven seems so unpredictable, I tend to set the timer for 45 mins and check every 10 mins thereafter. The original recipe says 1 hour 15 but mine would be burnt to a crisp by then!)

6. And Ta Dah! forgot to take a picture of the cake cooling so here it is all nestled up in its stylish (!) Roses tin.

Yum yum yum.

And in other news I neglected my firm promise to focus on more wedding crochet and started a new project. It's using this cowl pattern from the Fiber Flux blog, and I am going to use up some of the wool I bought that wasn't right for the blanket I'm working on... Here it is so far,

It crochets up really quickly so hopefully I will get it done soon!

Have a lovely week everyone!