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details: christmas jammies

christmas jammies

I wish I had more to tell you about these jammies, but I didn’t even follow a tutorial. I used last year’s pajama bottoms as my pattern and just added about an inch to the seam allowance. The only thing I really paid attention to was adding extra length for the rise and the inseam.

christmas jammies

There are quite a few inches in the hem, and I’m hoping that I can let them down next year and she’ll get another season out of them. I may have to re-hem, though, because she tripped over them while dancing in the kitchen.

christmas jammies

The top is just a plain white shirt from Target. She picked the fabric and art directed the tree. I used heat-n-bond to hold it in place while I edge-stitched it down.

I’ve made pj bottoms before and had lots of links to tutorials in my old google rss. When I transferred everything over to feedly, I lost everything. Years worth of linking gone in a flash! If you are looking for specific instructions, here’s what I can remember: Don’t Get Out of Bed Tutorial, How to Make Easy Kids Pants, and Vintage Pillowcase Pants. The last two are more for little kids, and I used the Vintage Pillowcase Pants five years ago. (Five years ago?!?!)

christmas jammies

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the long and winding yarn

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Last night at knitting group, one of our members brought two huge bags of yarn she was destashing. I told her I had a friend who would love it and brought it home with me. I’m pretty sure my friend doesn’t have a ball winder and lot of the yarn was from abandoned projects. So I sat down in front of the tv and started winding balls.

I forgot how fun it is to deconstruct knitted items, especially handmade ones. Everyone weaves ends and sews seams a little differently. It’s interesting to reverse engineer the process.

resources: I’m sure I’ve posted these before. Some of my favorite tutorials for unraveling sweaters are from Neauveau Fiber Art. Photo tutorial here and video tutorial here. Also, here’s a short video on finding the “little v stitches” to unzip a seam super fast.

If you live in Lincoln, this weekend is the Goodwill 99 cent sale. A sweater’s worth of wool for under a dollar? You can’t beat that!

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emergency swift + ball winder

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Last night I was knitting while watching a movie and didn’t pay too much attention to my yarn. Today when I pulled my project out at soccer practice, I found I only had a tiny ball left. Luckily, I had a second hank in my bag, but it needed to be wound before I could use it.

I learned this trick from a fellow knitter, and it works like a charm. Untwist the hank and put it around your neck like a necklace. Untie the threads holding it together and find the end. Start winding it into a ball, unlooping around your neck as you go. There may be times where it feels tangled up, but don’t take it off your neck. Just keep winding and unlooping until you’re finished.

I can’t tell you how many times this little trick has helped me. I hope someday it will be helpful to you, too!

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casting on the honey cowl!

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Boheme #3 is finished! Pics to come soon.

I’m finally casting on the Honey Cowl with my new yarn. Yay!

resource: A friend of mine has been talking up the crochet cast on and I had her show it to me last week at knitting group. It’s nice and stretchy; much better than the long tail, which I tend to do too tight. You can find a tutorial video here.

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speaking of daisies

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I spent some time at the library the other day flipping through the craft books on display and guess what I found: embroidered daisies! These wouldn’t hide a t-shirt hole very well, but they’re really cute. I like that they’re not your average stitched daisy.

resource: The book is The Gentle Art of Stitching: 40 Projects Inspired by Everyday Beauty (amazon link). It has some interesting projects — too bad there isn’t a “look inside” option on amazon.

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fabric infinity scarf

fabric cowl

I’ve had this fabric in my stash for so long that I don’t remember where I found it. It has always been destined for my sister-in-law who loves horses. I always thought I’d make it into a tote bag because it’s a tricky print. Lay it out flat and it’s kind of busy. I never imagined I’d make it into an article of clothing.

But then I happened across a pattern for a fabric infinity scarf and couldn’t stop thinking about it. I dug it out, wrapped it around my neck and you know what? It looked really nice! I liked this pattern so much, I even set aside some brown and black flannel to make a scarf for myself. Now I just need to sew it!

resource: You can find the tutorial for this scarf over at The Cottage Home.

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reading: nora ephron

When I read that Nora Ephron passed away, I literally gasped out loud. I surprised myself, because I wouldn’t say I was an avid fan of hers. All I really knew about her work was Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally and You’ve Got Mail. I spent that morning reading stories about her life and her writing, and when I came across this quote, I knew I had to learn more this woman.

Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women.

That afternoon I downloaded I Feel Bad About My Neck and I Remember Nothing from the library. I breezed through them quickly, and was stunned that I had fallen in love with her style of writing more than her stories. Don’t get me wrong. Her stories are good, but how she tells them is even better. Her sharp wit and humor will make you laugh out loud.

I checked out Heartburn next and I can’t believe such a short book could be filled with so much emotion. How could someone tell the devastating story about discovering her husband’s affair while seven months pregnant with their second child and still make me laugh? She even manages to share some of her favorite recipes, like she’s chatting with you over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.

The woman in Heartburn, Rachel, is a cookbook writer. Her love of cooking and how it relates to our emotions almost makes food itself a supporting character in the story. It’s a hint of Julie & Julia 25 years before the movie.

Nothing like mashed potatoes when you’re feeling blue. Nothing like getting into bed with a bowl of hot mashed potatoes already loaded with butter, and methodically adding a thin cold slice of butter to every forkful. The problem with mashed potatoes, though, is that they require almost as much hard work as crisp potatoes, and when you’re feeling blue the last thing you feel like is hard work. Of course, you can always get someone to make the mashed potatoes for you, but let’s face it: the reason you’re blue is that there isn’t anyone to make them for you. As a result, most people do not have nearly enough mashed potatoes in their lives, and when they do, it’s almost always at the wrong time.

Ephron doesn’t tell a story, she tells you a story. And she does it brilliantly. I’m looking forward to reading Scribble Scribble and learning even more about the woman who said, “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.”

Nora Ephron’s speech at Wellesley College’s commencement in 1996 and her obituary in the New York Times.

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csa bags 7, 8, 9: leafy green pesto recipe

csa pesto

week 7: potatoes, carrots, summer squash, cucumbers, kale, lemon basil
week 8: potatoes, beets, cucumbers, summer squash, parsley
week 9: potatoes, carrots, cucumber, summer squash, kale, tomato, eggplant

One of the things I wasn’t expecting when joining a CSA was the enormous amount of greens I’d be receiving each week. In addition to chard, kale, spinach, bok choy, cabbage and lettuce, there are the greens that come with beets and turnips. I didn’t know you could eat them. They’re usually removed by the time they reach the grocery store.

Luckily, my daughter loves pesto. As long as it’s green with garlic, lemon juice and nuts, she’s happy. I’ve made it with broccoli, asparagus and all kinds of leafy greens. She never fails to eat it up, especially if it’s tossed with cheese tortellini (her favorite!).

When I found my crisper filled with greens that needed to be used up soon, I threw this together and it turned out so good. Try mixing it up with different ingredients. Enjoy!

Leafy Green Pesto

1 bunch kale, blanched
1 bunch beet greens,* blanched
1 cup almonds, blanched
1/2 cup fresh italian parsley
grated peel and juice from one lemon
1-2 cloves of garlic
sea salt to taste
olive oil optional

Whiz ingredients together in a food processor until mixed thoroughly. Add small amounts of water or olive oil if necessary.

Toss it with white beans, chick peas or pasta. Use it as a dip. Try not to eat it by the spoonful. Don’t forget to top it off with a little grated parmesan cheese. Yum!

*I used the greens from candy-striped beets (Chioggia beets). Red beet greens are too messy for me and go straight into smoothies.

Tips

  • I blanch all green veggies, especially broccoli and asparagus, when making pesto. The only exceptions are herbs and spinach. Give them a whirl in the salad spinner to drain excess water.
  • Don’t spend extra for blanched almonds. Buy raw with the skins on and drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Pinch between your fingers and the skins pop right off!
  • Bread and bagel bags are the perfect size for storing long, leafy greens.
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csa bags five and six: recipe planning goes improv

csa cabbage cole slaw

week five: green cabbage, beets, kale, garlic, summer squash
week six: potatoes, beets, bok choy, green onions, parsley, basil

Planning how to use my CSA veggies has pretty much gone out the window. My kitchen faces west, and it gets too hot in the late afternoon to use the oven. I’ve just been grabbing things out of the fridge and making things up as I go.

  • I’ve been pan sautéing anything and everything: beets, turnips, carrots, cabbage, zucchini. I find you can’t go wrong with a base of red onion, garlic and lemon.
  • I’m still making kale chips in the mornings when it’s cool.
  • Extra greens are finding their way into smoothies.
  • The cabbage came just in time to make some slaw for a potluck picnic. I’m not usually a fan of traditional picnic sides, but this lime and peanut coleslaw was deliciously different.
  • Speaking of non-traditional picnic sides, I’ve fallen in love with this no-mayo potato avocado salad. I skip the chives and add lemon zest. It’s good either warm or chilled.
  • My favorite new-to-me veggie so far has been the candy-striped chioggia beets. I hope we get lots more of these. Aren’t they pretty?

csa candy striped beets

There’s no CSA pickup this week. I’m looking forward to using up all of our odds and ends with generous amounts of basil and parsley.