Pesto 2015

Today was the first round of 2015 pesto making. On Thursday, I picked up 2 lbs of basil at Horse Drawn Farms. Yesterday afternoon, I toasted sunflower seeds before cranking up the oven for Fridat night pizza. This morning, I stopped at Blossom for garlic (and a few other things) and this afternoon I got started making pesto.

I've been using toasted sunflower seeds for a couple years now. When the price of pine nuts skyrocketed, I experimented with a few different nut options. At this point, my favorite is sunflower seeds. Toasting them yesterday really gave me a leg up on today's pesto processing. Here I am ready to go with the first batch.

I've learned to start with the sunflower seeds (or other nut). Pine nuts are soft enough that you can add them later and still puree them into the pesto. Not so with any of the other nuts/seeds that I've tried. It works better to grind them up first.

(Note for next time. Grind up all the sunflower seeds first. After the first batch, there's too much wet residue to get this nice dry grind.)

Other than substituting sunflower seeds for nuts, my recipe is the same as before. Here's the first batch ...

Yum! Summer in a jar.

Four hours and 2 lbs of basil, 2 quarts of olive oil, 20 ounces of sunflower seeds, 10 ounces of parmesan cheese and 6 ounces of garlic later, I had 9 pints of pesto.

All set to place in the freezer ...

Well, except for one jar. We've been out of pesto for over a month now, so I put one jar in the fridge ... where it stayed for, oh, I'd say, less than 30 minutes.

Faux Latte (without a milk frother)

This process is quick and easy and uses standard kitchen equipment ... plus a little muscle power. That's it!

I've been making these for about 6 months now and while they are most definitely not the real thing, I think they're a pretty good substitute.

All you need are your preferred coffee-making implements

... and a "milk" container with a good seal.

Bernat Panama - Traveling Vine Top (2)

Now that UFO week is over, it's time to get back to my Traveling Vine Top. I still like the basic idea from my swatch - lace at lower edge, stockinette stitch above with a reverse stockinette stitch round/row thrown in from time to time.

During the week, I thought about my fit problems - too small at the lower edge, too big at the bust - and added another consideration. Would three repeats (vertically) of the traveling edge pattern be better than two repeats? If I'd been happy with the fit, I probably wouldn't have considered this. However, to make the lower edge bigger, I'm going to be starting over anyway, so everything's on the table.

My first thought was to add another pattern repeat (horizontally). That would take care of the lower edge, but how would I get rid of those extra stitches - and more - as I knit up?

Well, as I was making a dump run last Saturday, inspiration struck. I could start with an 11-stitch repeat of the pattern, then decrease to a 10-stitch repeat and then decrease to a 9-stitch repeat. Also, I could start with larger needles and work my way down. Now, this seems like something that could work!

Twisted Lace Socks - May 2014 UFO Week

For my first UFO week, I decided to work on my Twisted Lace Socks.

It's a little bit of a stretch to call them a UFO. I started them in February. In my knitting journal, I called them "Valentine's Day Socks". I made good progress, but then, about a month ago, spring was in the air and I set them aside.

Back in February, I swatched several different patterns. None were really working for me until I flipped through a magazine my sister Jeanne had given me for Christmas a couple years ago - Quick Knits from Classic Elite Yarns, 37 Fabulous Patterns for Wraps, Socks, Hats, and More. I decided to try the Eyelet Rib stitch from the Twisted Lace Socks pattern and liked it.

UFO Knitting - 1 Week, Every Month

Recently, my friend Linda lent me her copy of Crewel World by Monica Ferris

Being a mystery set around a needlework shop, it was right up my alley. It's fairly light and a quick, enjoyable read. It was published in 1999 and is the first in a series that's now up to 16 books. Yep, I'm a little slow getting to this series.

So, what does any of this have to do with Knitting UFOs (UnFinished Objects)? Well, early on in Crewel World, Margot (sister of main character, Betsy), mentions that the last week of every month is UFO Week.

Bernat Panama - Traveling Vine Top (1)

Now that I had a large swatch of traveling vine lace and stockinette stitch in Bernat Panama Misty Blue ...

I was ready to take some gauge measurements, rough out a sketch and calculate my cast-on count.

My plan is for a simple, close-fitting top with the traveling lace pattern at the lower edge. I'd like the bottom of the top to hit at the high-hip and, while it won't be drapey, I don't want it to cling either. So, I'm going for a loose, kind of floating fit at the lower edge coming up to a close fit at the bust and upper body. Rather than the entire top hanging from my shoulders, I'd like use my upper body to support the upper section of the top.

Bernat Panama -- Working From My Stash

My mom knew all kinds of needlework techniques and, amazingly, she was good at all of them - sewing, knitting, crocheting, quilting, counted cross stitch ... even tatting.

She happily passed her knowledge along to her six daughters and before she died, she also passed along her stash and UFOs. Among the sisters, different ones gravitated toward different techniques. Several of us knit, but I'm the enthusiast and so her stash of Bernat Panama Yarn is now part of my stash.

10 skeins of white, 7 skeins of misty blue and 2 each of petal pink and corn flower blue.