Our Flowers in August

and finally, from pinterest:

Drying Herbs & Freezing Pesto

We have herbs.  Do we have herbs.  Abundant herbs!  Never one to waste anything, my husband has been nudging me to dry those aromatic sprigs from heaven.  He even sent me this information from Michael Ruhlman on drying herbs that said, in part:

The herb garden has gone wild from the heat and rain showers. It’s bursting with more herbs than I can handle or possibly use.  It’s like an herb party with too many rowdy guest showing up.  So now is exactly the time to start cutting them back and letting them dry for winter cooking.  This will both begin the supply of dried herbs and also encourage more growth during the next weeks of summer.  Herbs are roughly divided into two categories, “hard” and “soft.”  The soft herbs are herbs with soft stems, such as parsley and tarragon. The soft herbs are best used fresh; they’re fine dried, but they lose their magic, all the beguiling qualities that make them so powerful.

Looking at my "soft" herbs, I seized the day and picked tarragon and parsley to dry, simply washing off the leaves and spreading them on tea towels laid on the counter for drying.  Ruhlman says to spread them out in bowls for drying, so that must work too.

Candied herbs?  Look at Shuna Lydon's post a few years back about how to infuse herbs into sugar.  She has a way with words:

Custards could be infused but they must drape the tongue briefly and evaporate, smooth and silky. Like a well cut skirt: scissors glide through the grain of the fabric, not against it. An aroma is an elusive sensory experience. We embrace those we have known and loved forever and are comforted because they still smell the same as we remember.

And now for the basil and Making Pesto to Freeze:

from Food Network:

Pesto to Freeze

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese

• Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese.
• If freezing, transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle remaining oil over the top. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and stir in cheese.

I followed the directions, doubling the amounts:

Several years ago I made this recipe.  It is great for gift giving in mid winter, and it lasts in the freezer much longer than three months; don't hesitate to make several batches for those cold weather doldrums when you want to carbohydrate load.   This pesto recipe is delicious with pasta and chicken.

PS: I decreased the olive oil slightly, and added the pecorino cheese into the processor while blending.  Then remember to sprinkle heavily with more Parmesan or mozzeralla cheese as a finishing entree topper.

Green Gates and The Green Man

In 2008, writing about honeysuckle and hummingbirds this was a picture of our back garden gate that leads to a larger garden area down wooden stairs.  This is what it looked like three years ago:

Unfortunately, we had some very cold winters that killed off the honeysuckle vines.  We took down the archway, cut back the dead branches, and were left with just the gate that looks bare and in desperate need of a face lift.

So I went looking for garden gates that were green in color, hoping to find something I liked and would inspire me to repaint the wooden gate.  Here are some pretty gates that I found while doing an internet search:

from madeitonmonday

 

from pinterest 

(from dreamstime)

Using oil paint from a tube, paint thinner and a linseed oil mixture with instructions here, this is our newly refurbished stained gate:

This is the gate yesterday prior prior to staining:

What a difference a little paint makes!

This is a Green Man, cast in iron, similar to one that I just ordered to attach to the fence:

The Green Man

...is that spirit, energy, presence, inherent in every cell of the vegetative realm, and transmitted to the animal/human realms through the foods we eat, the flowers we smell, the trees we hug. He is Pan.

Kilkenny Cowl

Several months ago, Paula the Podcaster at Knitting Pipeline,  mentioned that she was knitting a different sort of cowl.  The name of the cowl sounded Irish (the Kilkenny Cowl) and I thought it might be one I would enjoy making and wearing while in Ireland this fall.  And then on her podcast yesterday, she again mentioned finishing it for her future daughter in law, and showed the pretty cowl on her website.  So I, too, will share this pattern and the end results.

In early July, I shopped online at Quince & Company and ordered the pattern and the yarn to knit this cowl.

(The pictures of the Kilkenny and the pretty girl are from the Quince website)

Yes, you too can order the Kilkenny pattern and yarns here.

The "chickadee" yarn in the color nasturtium, in 100% made-in-America wool was purchased and knit over a few weeks, resulting in my rendition of the Kilkenny Cowl:

Remember those beaded glass bracelets I made to go with it?

Thanks, Paula, for the suggestion of a fun knit project with cables and lace making that was not too difficult.

(More Kilkenny Cowl knitting information can be found here on my Ravelry page.)

Therapy Dogs International and a New Scarf

Last night was the third Friday of the month Sew-In party hosted by Heidi.  She gives away a couple of door prizes, and everyone shows off  their sewing projects they finished on the night of the virtual party.  Then the "partiers" show off their finished objects on their blogs the following day ... which happens to be today.

And yes, I was late to the party.  But it did give me the incentive to quit looking at that scarf that has been lying pathetically on my sewing machine for more than a few weeks, just waiting for me to do some cutting and sewing and applique.  So I joined the party yesterday and finished my sewing project last night.

Details:

• 1) A red Therapy Dogs International (TDI) scarf that belongs to Libby the Therapy Dog, aka Dr. Libby, aka The Corridor Chaplain at our local hospital.  The scarf is HUGE, the dog is small.  Hence, Libby never wears it because the size of the scarf would literally envelope her like a blanket.
• 2.  A small piece of watercolor fabric remnant that was too good to throw away.
• 3.  An inspiration to "save" the emblem of TDI, incorporating it into a smaller kerchief.

After cutting out the emblem and finessing it onto the scrap fabric with interlining and applique, we have a finished product that is wearable by a 10 pound pup.

Results:

Friday Night Party Wrap-Up:

• Sometimes it is handy being your own best friend at a party that only you attend.

Sassy Water

Have you tried SASSY water?  It is the next best thing since... fill in the blank...  And it supposedly gets rid of belly fat.  Ya think?

This is what you need:

8. 5 cups water
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 cucumber (sliced)
1 lemon (sliced)
spearmint leaves, a dozen or so (I leave them whole)

Combine everything and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Drink!

That is the official recipe, but since cukes and lemons are not cheap, I used half the amount called for and it tasted just fine.  Then the next day, I could make up another batch of sassy water.

The taste?  It was refreshing.  But I doubt it gets rid of belly fat...unless you quit eating.

Prevention Magazine has more information about Sassy Water, named after its originator, Cynthia Sass.

Beaded Bracelets

Now that I have been knitting with lots of oranges and red yarns, some bracelet bling in those colors was needed for accessories So I went to Michael Sellick on YouTube for instructions about how to make a beaded bracelet.  (He has over 1,700 videos on YouTube about how to make various things.)

Here is the video I looked at to ensure I was making the bracelet correctly.



Using glass beads, I made two bracelets.  One has a toggle clasp and the other has a magnetic clasp.

For 34 free patterns to make even more beaded bracelets, this site from Favecrafts is an excellent web source.  I especially liked this cluster bracelet:

You might also like the Blue Malibu:

Wilhelmina Shawlette

One of the best digital downloads that I have recently purchased is the book What Would Madam Defarge Knit? (Creations Inspired by Classic Characters).  Over 20 patterns are available in the download, along with live web links.  A great value for the money, since all patterns are included for one low price of $16.95.  And the links are fascinating, informative, and just plain fun.  Note: the first edition hardcover has been sold out, but you can order the digital download here.

Madam DeFarge was a character in Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.  She is known for her knitting activism during the French Revolution, secretly purling names into her knitting of those who would be charged with crimes in the upcoming revolution.  Go to Wikipedia for the quick and dirty about Therese Defarge.

(Madam Defarge found on Google images)

The inside page of the WWMDK book explains a bit about how the book came into being:

What Would Madame Defarge Knit? is a new book of crafty patterns—in pre-orders February 7, 2011 from Cooperative Press—written and designed by the good people who bring you CraftLit, Cast-on, March Hare Yarns, Jen Minnis Artworks, WeaveZine and WeaveCast, Silk Road Socks, Gardiner Yarn Works, and Crochet Compulsive.

It all started back in 2007, while listening to A Tale of Two Cities on CraftLit. Not far into the book, WWMDfK? became a rallying call for t-shirts, knitting, and fun. And now—patterns!

The Wilhelmina Shawlette is the first pattern I'll be knitting from the book.  And the name Wilhelmina? It comes from here:

What would Mina, the heroine of Bram Stoker’s epic novel, Dracula, wear to protect her neck from the bloodthirsty count? Chrissy Gardiner thinks that, as a practical girl, she undoubtedly would appreciate this simple, delicate wool shawlette, featuring Serendipitous Ewe’s Autumn Glow vampire-inspired colorway, one in a series dyed exclusively for SandraSingh.com.

Designer: Chrissy Gardiner, Finished Measurements: 44″ wide and 22″ tall after blocking

(Close up of the knitted lace pattern in the shawl)

This is the variegated Ella Rae lace merino fiber I purchased from Aimee's Yarn Cafe in Paradise, CA for knitting  the Wilhelmina:

My neck will definitely be warm when I wear this, even if I don't need to be protected from vampires.

(Dracula is a book that will be read on the Craftlit podcast in the fall.  I can't wait!)

Parasols and Umbrellas

This is a reposting from a favorite blog, It's About Time. Enjoy the pictures and go to the original blog posting for further information about the artists.

On the History and Art of Parasols and Umbrellas

Too much sun here today. Umbrellas and parasols come to mind. Many 19th-century paintings are filled with parasols, partially a reflection of the Japonisme influence at the end of the 1800s. An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight.

Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). Woman with a Parasol 1872

William McGregor Paxton (1869-1941) Child in Sunlight, The Chinese Parasol 1908

1886 Olga Boznanska (Polish Impressionist painter, 1865-1945)

Jacques-Joseph Tissot (1836-1902) The Traveller

Claude Monet (1840-1926). The Walk, Woman with a Parasol 1875