Stoneview

Rinse, recycle, repeat...

Daniel's black half-finger gloves went missing at the end of the school year and he requested a new pair right away. I delayed for awhile trying to give the shoulder a good rest but as he's leaving soon and I need his hand present for fitting I've decided I'd best get busy. I'm reworking the pattern to use a yarn that can go through the washer and dryer since I won't be available to wash them for him anymore. This is Knitpicks Essential and since it looks a bit on the thin since I'm reworking the numbers on my fingerless gloves pattern. I'm also doing a slightly different cuff that's easier on the hands to knit but looks much the same, at least to Daniel's eye.

The trouble with having company

I've always had a fairly large request list at the library but it's grown exponentially since I joined Goodreads and began to get all sorts of fantastic book recommendations.  Emma and I stayed so busy last week that I didn't make it out to pick up my books as they came in which resulted in a very large pickup this week. Looks like I have some catching up to do!

Making Friends

The fish vendor at the farmers market must not have a lot of regulars because it didn't take her long to start recognizing us. Yesterday she told us we should definitely let her know if we had any special requests and she'd try to have those for us when she comes. On rainy days (which there've been a lot of this year) she brings a much smaller selection so it can really make a difference. This week we bought a delicious wild salmon which Jason grilled for me. It fit in nicely with the recipe I'd chose. We have fresh green beans and tomatoes from the market, local chickpeas, toasted baguette from the market and our lovely salmon topped with a yogurt dressing that is well worth repeating.

Yogurt dressing for fish

1 cup plain strained yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
juice of half a lemon
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients and chill until serving time.

In the pink

When I learned that a very good friend is expecting this fall I knew exactly what I wanted to knit her. Sadly I'm not physically up for that project at the moment so I pulled out some handspun and had a little dye session. Last week I whipped up this cute little hat and booties set which is very fittingly a pattern of her own design.

Homework

This is the second year Emma has come to visit and the second year I've had homework to finish once she's gone. She spent the night at a friend's house one night last week and while she was there I got busy with the robe so that when we got home the next day I had all the pieces cut out. Later that evening we started putting it together but didn't quite finish. I'd hoped to knock it out on Friday but since I wasn't allowed use of my right arm it had to wait. Yesterday afternoon I made good progress and it's now nearly done.

I've learned from past experience that 2 gallons of blueberries in the freezer isn't enough to make it through the winter so Jason and I went out again for a second batch. We're now nicely stocked and I even had enough to make a batch of blueberry syrup. These were a different variety than what I picked with the girls, it's nice to have an assortment to try.

Strike a pose

On Monday Emma and I hit the 50% off fleece sale as well as the 99 cent pattern sale and bought materials to make fleece pants and robes. These are the pants we made for her after a bit of negotiation. The pattern was for pajama pants but she was apparently thinking super skinny pants and once we discussed she conceded that we'd go with the pattern as written adjusting to fit her waist and height. I think they turned out rather nicely.

She'd heard about Gabby's bike basket escapades last year and was eager to have an outing with the leash. It's difficult to work with a cat on a leash if you're accustomed to walking a dog but they did enjoy their brief outing before Emma and her mom headed home.

Four and twenty bluebirds...

Isn't that how the rhyme goes? Yesterday morning I had a followup visit with the orthopedist to get my MRI results. They didn't find much (hints of tendonitis etc. but nothing major) so he opted to do another cortizone injection in hopes of eliminating the pain so that I can get on with strength building at PT and get back that last bit of range of motion. That meant I wasn't to use my right arm for 24 hours which made for a dull day for Emma. We'd planned to bake a blueberry pie to go with dinner after her mom arrived. Emma baked the pie virtually entirely on her own with just some direction from me. This is a recipe that worked nicely for me last year. Usually my pies come out runny and don't set up well so I tend to avoid fruit pie.

For the crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes (cold)
1/2 cup almonds
ice water

Pulse almonds in the bowl of a food processor until finely chopped. Add remaining ingredients except for water and pulse until butter is incorporated and mixture is crumbly. With the processor running, drizzle in ice water one tablespoon at a time until dough comes together in a ball. Wrap tightly in cling film and chill 1 hour.

Set aside about 1/3 of the dough for the top. Roll out remaining  dough on a floured board and transfer to pie plate, pushing it in a bit to allow for shrinkage during baking. Roll out reserved dough and cut into lattice strips or desired shapes for top of pie. Return top and bottom crusts to the fridge while you mix the filling.

For the filling:

1 quart blueberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

Stir together all ingredients except butter. Transfer berry mixture to the pie plate and top with butter cubes. Bake pie at 375 for 30 minutes, arrange lattice or cutouts on top of pie and return to oven for a further 30 minutes or until filling is bubbly. Cool completely before serving.

On the waterfront

Yesterday we ventured in "to town" to visit the New England Aquarium. It's not really my favorite aquarium, having been spoiled at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but it's been many years since I've visited so I wanted to give it a second chance. We had a lightspeed tour but it was just as well since the fire alarm went off and cut our visit short anyway. We grabbed a bite at the Summer Shack before heading home.

It was actually quite a chilly day (especially for July!) with highs in the 60's so I made some lovely chicken soup for dinner that banished that niggling sore throat I'd had all day.

Berrylicious

Yesterday morning the girls and I went to Tougas farm to pick blueberries. This is a large variety (and quite delicious despite all the talk about the tiny ones being the best) so picking was fairly quick. The girls stuck with it through about half the box and then went to the playground and petting zoo while I finished up. I put away about 2 gallons in the freezer and the rest were kept fresh for breakfasts and pie.

All crafting and baking all the time

Last year when Emma visited a friend's daughter joined us on a few of the days and the two got along very nicely. We borrowed her again this year and yesterday morning the three of us made slippers. It took a bit of fiddling to enlarge the pattern to the right sizes for them but once that was done these were a breeze to put together. I may have to do a pair for myself because they'd be great for traveling as they fold up quite flat. I used remnants of flannel and fleece. On the top we put the fleece on the outside and on the bottom we put the flannel on the outside thinking it would be a bit more hard-wearing and the fleece would make for a cushy insole.

It was Jason's birthday yesterday so the girls helped me make a peanut butter tart and we arranged his gifts on the bed awaiting his return from work. I love peanut butter but I'm not a tremendous fan of peanut butter desserts however, I have to say this one was really delicious. It's great for summer since it's a custard and you don't have to heat up the house with baking.

Potty

On Sunday Jason and I met my sister halfway between our house and hers to fetch my niece home for a week's visit. Yesterday Emma and I took Gwen for her vet visit, stocked up on crafty supplies at JoAnn Fabrics, and potted up some plants for both my sisters. Ages ago I got my aloe vera from middle sister Heather and sometime last year she'd asked for a new start. I'd potted up a slew of them to give away at the sock swap and then saved one for her. I've got a big list of plants I want to bring for youngest sister, Leslie, who's just got a new house with a garden in need of pretties. I thought it made sense to save the little aloe for her so we potted one of the big fellas for Heather and then set to work on the rest of the list for Leslie. I have here a few morning glories, some lamb's ear, plenty of mint and some lilies of the valley. Still on my list to dig are iris, rudbeckia and coriopsis and I've set aside the duplicate violet plantlet as well as. Emma and I also harvested some columbine seed heads while we were at it. That's a nice start on my garden todo list! Thanks Emma!

The tortoise

I'm still working on that Corriedale roving a little bit here and there. It really doesn't seem to bother my shoulder to spin which is lovely because I've really missed the wheel. This week I have an MRI to have a better look at what's going on with the soft tissue there as the PT and doc are not satisfied with recovery. I've got most of my range of motion back (except for turning the arm towards me and reaching up behind my back) but there is just still that spot of pain that doesn't respond. Perhaps there is a partial tear, tendonitis or bursitis. I should have results by Friday when I see the doc for a followup.

Propagate

In Grandma's greenhouse things grew almost as if by magic. Trimmings and prunings would fall to the floor and root lickety split. Of course, as Dad pointed out, there was a mister running twice a day and there was good soil underfoot so conditions were ideal in warm damp Alabama. When I bought the violet leaves at the violet show I was confident I could root them in my front window which has very bright light but not direct sun but I had no idea if the lavender would root for me or not. One by one the lavender cuttings have fallen by the wayside but there are still two of them with green leaves hanging on so perhaps those hardy fellas will grow. I plan to cut a few more to stick in the pot from a different variety to see if perhaps he'll be easier to root. I've been interested in such things since I was little. I remember Grandma and Grandpa introducing me to the typical kitchen propagation whereby you suspend a scrap of potato with an eye over a cup of water with toothpicks and I was immediately hooked. One summer the three of us decided to try it with pineapple and we were well pleased when that rooted. Ten years later they called to tell me it was fruiting and there were congratulations all 'round. I know they'd both be pleased that I still love gardening and use the things they taught me.

Shorn

The house has been so much cleaner since Gabby's cut back in February that we planned to do it again last month. Things have been pretty hectic though so I've only just gotten 'round to it. It's pretty shocking when she first comes home but in a week or two she'll look really cute. Meanwhile, I have snuggly lap kitty who thinks she's a bit cooler than she'd like to be.

Testing, Testing...

I had a bit of a struggle with the mitten top and it took four tries to get it right. The first time through I missed an instruction, the second attempt was much too pointy, the third attempt had two many decrease points and on the fourth attempt I finally got something that looks like the photos included with the pattern. There's only the thumb left on mitten no. 1 now. The nurses and office staff were really impressed with this one. They are always interested to know what I'm working on.

Heeling in

The stonecrop out front next to the steps is always a favorite with it's brilliant pink blooms. Apparently this grasshopper (cricket?) likes it too. Nasturtiums have been a favorite of mine since I was very little and I nearly always plant them in the garden. This year I have them in pots with my herbs where they seem quite happy. The Skyp socks are coming along slowly and I've just rounded the heel on sock #1.

Daylilies on parade

  The daylilies are really outdoing themselves this year. It's a constant parade of one surprise after another and they're all lovely. It's nice to finally have some color in the backyard and in a few years they'll really fill out and be quite nice. The mystery daylilies out front must be late season bloomers since they don't even have buds on them yet. There are still weeks worth of blooms left to enjoy in the backyard and the hostas will join the action any day now.

Moving Day

We haven't really had any hot weather to speak of but over the past week Jason noticed the a/c wasn't blowing very cool air so he put in a call to the repair guy. We might have skipped getting it serviced in the spring a time or two. It wasn't long at all after the repair guy's arrival that he reported a mousikin nest inside the unit. They'd chewed through the wire. Sound familiar? As in exactly the same report we got on the car a/c earlier this year? Ayep. Well, the mice have been evicted and the a/c is hunky dory again. Repair guy was even so kind as to show Jason how to turn off the breaker in the winter so that there's no warm spot to attract said mice again.  I think the catnip for neighbor cats campaign has just gained even more momentum.

I also worked up one more experimental batch of soap. Jason asked for something with sea salt in. I'm not ordering new supplies until the fall so I had to go with what essential oils I had on hand and since I've just done sandalwood and lavender I went for mint this time for a change of pace. The sea salt is in rather large crystals and those don't seem to have behaved very nicely. It looks like those candles we made as kids with ice cubes to make holes  when they melted. I'll give it a few days and then try it out to be sure it's okay. It does look like the soap set properly so I suspect the salt is just drawing out extra moisture.

 

Evolution of a Quilt

When I learned a good friend was pregnant I had a brief moment of being bummed because I'd had something in mind to knit for her for ages but I cannot do that much knitting at the moment. I've also always known I'd make her at least one baby quilt. I perused the local fabric shops  but couldn't even come close to my list of criteria: bright, non-directional and not baby prints and if possible, flannel. It was the perfect excuse for a day trip up to Keepsake Quilting, the fabric mecca. I spent an entire afternoon and I swear I pulled out every single bolt of fabric off their shelves. I went back and forth, round and round and finally settled on the sun and moon fabric as the start of the quilt. After that things fell into place. I planned to sew a "quilt in a day " version of Trip Around the World. You number your fabrics 1-6. I usually try to have a good variation of light to dark and a variety of big and little prints mixed with solids. You start by cutting or tearing your fabric into strips, then sew those strips into panels and cross cut those into strips again (which creates strips of squares). In the photo with the blue cutting mat you can see my stack of panels before cutting and the next photo shows the strips of squares laid out into the preview.

Next you pick up those strips of squares in order, one stack for the top half of the quilt and another stack for the bottom, setting aside two strips for the center. Those two stacks get sewed together to form panels for the top and bottom. Next you must choose a color for the center square. I lay out the top and bottom panels and the two center strips and then place each fabric in the center to decide which I like best. Once the quilt top is  put together it's time to add the borders. I learned a new trick this time which improved my quilt significantly. I taped the quilt backing to the floor and then taped the quilt top over that before pinning them  together to sew. As you tape you pull gently until the fabrics are just taut. When I sew them together I have wrong sides facing out and I leave about a 12 inch gap along one side. That allows me to use the pillow case method to make the batting sandwich- it's fitting that I learned this from Martini Knitter.

After the quilt is everted and laid out nice and flat, I pin starting at the center and working my way out to the sides. Each time I do one of these I learn something new and gradually they are getting a bit less wonky and a bit more rectangular. I felt this one was true enough to do a little actual quilting so I machine quilted right along the edge of the border strip and then top stitched along the outside edge to close that little opening I'd left for turning. The last step is doing the ties. I used white embroidery floss for this but yarn would also work quite nicely. I usually tie every other diamond of squares. I'm still using the curved needle Martini Knitter gave me back when she helped me do one of these for Daniel. The cats were really fascinated with the quilt at this stage and every one of them had a wander across to inspect my work. I'd originally planned an orange backing but it turned out a few inches to short which ended up being a good thing because I was much more pleased with the galaxy fabric I used.

Three little piggies went to camp

Someone's having a birthday and yesterday was the party out at camp. I rode up with a friend to stop in for a couple hours and bring pressies. After having a little peek at Mary's queue and favorites on Ravelry I thought she might like these little juggling piggies.  Happy Birthday Mary!

Modifications: I turned my cast-on backwards so that I got a row of purl bumps to start which helps form the snout. When I got to row 17 I used my cast on tail to sew on button eyes and stitch around the snout. I pulled that tail back to the inside and wove it in a few stitches, then I finished knitting as directed. I used chickpeas as filler and it helps to squash them down so you can get him fairly full. I left about 3 feet and threaded it through the last 9 stitches before filling so that needles were not in the way. I cinched that tight and stitched the opening closed but I went back up that stitching and then used my tail for some i-cord for his little tail. I left about 8 inches after the bind off and threaded that down thu the tail and out at the base of the snout- this pulls the tail a bit curly. I stitched a few times around the snout to secure it then pull it back inside piggy to hide. My ears are scraps of felted sock sewn on with a needle and thread. Clear as mud?

The very busy day

An email from Tougas Farm yesterday morning reminded me that if I wanted strawberries this season I'd better high-tail it over there and get picking.  The siren call of fresh berries was strong enough to over-ride common sense and I managed to pick 9 pounds before my sore back forced me to stop. Most of them I sliced and mixed with a bit of sugar and lemon juice. They are now safely stowed in the freezer for a bit of summer in winter later this year.

In the afternoon I made a quick batch of lavender soap with some ground apricot kernel as exfoliant. I've never tried adding that before so I had to guess how much and when to add it but it worked out perfectly.

For dinner I pulled some of those veggie burgers out of the freezer. I let them thaw for a few hours and then heated them in the oven at 400F for 15 minutes, they were perfect. We had some fries and farmers market beets as accompaniment. For dessert I came up with a dish using puff pastry that we quite enjoyed.

Strawberry Mascarpone Pastry

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
1/4 cup cinnamon sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
6 ounces mascarpone
3/4 cup heavy cream
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Grand marnier
3 cups ripe strawberries, hulled

Preheat the oven to 425F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lay out the puff pastry on these. Spread with butter and dock with a fork (poke holes all over so pastry will stay flat). Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 425F until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet. Mix together mascarpone, cream, salt, vanill and Grand marnier until smooth. Cut puff pastry into quarters and serve topped with mascarpone mixture and then strawberries. Serves 8.

Corn Shrimp

For many years Daniel's favorite food was corn dogs. I used to make them myself so we could have something slightly healthier. A close second favorite was shrimp and one night as I was making corn dogs he asked if I'd do shrimp ones the next time. We aren't the only ones to come up with the idea. Recently he saw this over on Food Network which reminded him that I hadn't done our version in quite awhile. I was still not able to chew so we had to wait a few weeks but here they are.

Julie's Corn Shrimp

1 pound Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons canola oil, more for frying
1/2 teaspoon salt
cornstarch for dusting

Pat shrimp dry and dust lightly in cornstarch. (This will help the batter to stick) Mix together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, mustard, and salt until thoroughly combined. Stir together egg, milk and canola oil and then fold into the dry mixture just until mixed. Put about 3 inches of oil into a deep saucepan and heat until a sprinkle of flour sizzles. Add shrimp to the batter and spoon them into the hot oil one at a time, browning each side well. Slice the first one open to be sure it's getting fully cooked, it should be opaque all the way through. Fry in batches of 4 or 5 and drain on a rack. Serve immediately.

This same batter can be used for corn dogs. We skip the sticks but it's easy enough to add them if you wish.

March of the daylilies

This year it's especially exciting to see the daylilies bloom since I've got so many new interesting ones after discovering Seawright just down the road from us. Last year I picked up several $5 "surprise" daylilies so this year we get to find out what we've got. The first few news guys have shown their faces but we have several more to discover this summer. They are all beauties so far!

Squeaky Clean

I love when I get a special request for something I can make. I know it's much more likely to go over well when it's been asked for so I was especially pleased when someone asked me to do some sandalwood soap. Yesterday I mixed up a batch and the house is filled with the lovely scent of sandalwood. A few folks have said that the scent can really fade so I doubled the amount of fragrance oil I would normally add. Time will tell!

All wound up

My first skein of the Corriedale yarn is dry and twisted up into a soft little skein. I'm continuing to spin at a fairly slow pace. I took advantage of the break in the rain to pick some peas yesterday for a nice garnish on the dinner salad. They are predicting a mosquito explosion after such a rainy June and I believe it. I got at least three bits just in the few minutes it took to pick a handful of peas. Light up those citronella torches folks!