I'm still a little bit surprised to see my strawberries still producing, but every now and again when I check on them in the mornings I'll find a sweet little red gem waiting to be plucked and eaten. Even after all this rain!

I've forgotten to mention that the reason I might be missing out on Monday postings is because I've gone back to school... part time at least. I'm doing a Certificate II course of Horticulture through the local TAFE. Just one day a week (Mondays). I'm doing the nursery and gardening focus (there's landscaping and parks/gardens as well). I'm enjoying it VERY much. I'm going to have to make a serious attempt at learning all of the botanical names of plants though, and I'm finding that especially daunting; I'll try and start with what's in my garden already, so perhaps I should say I'm surprised that my Fragaria ananassa is still producing this late in the season(!)

Making Pesto

What does one do with a glut of basil from their garden?

Why, make pesto of course!!

I had no real recipe, I just picked off all the basil leaves; I have sweet and purple basil here.

I can not begin to tell you how good this smelled!

Garlic and pine nuts...

and of course parmasan cheese!

Blend it up very well...

Don't forget the olive oil! Lots of it!

And finally give it a freeze in little homes; pack them away in an airtight container once solid, they should keep for a while!

I made another batch using macadamia nuts instead of pine nuts because I had that much basil to use up!

If you don't want to freeze your pesto, store it in an airtight container, but make sure you have a layer of olive oil on top.

Enjoy!

I've been enjoying pesto for breakfast (on toast with some sliced tomato), for lunch (spreads on sammaches!) and for dinner (spread ontop of grilled eggplant with tomato sauce, or stuffed into hollowed out cherry tomatos with cheese! ) Delish!

Colour + Colour: Weeks 8 and 9

Playing a bit of catch-up, this should bring me up to date with the challenges going on over on Color + Color on Flickr!

Week 8's challenge was "Silver and Green"

(With a bit from the previous week "Red and Silver!")

The current, week 9's challenge is "Green and Tan"

Sunset

When there begins to be too many grey and dull days in a row, I find it's important to remind myself that my world can be full of colour as well.

Endpaper Mitts

I wish I was able to get a better photo of them then just this one here.

These have been works in progress for the longest time; a classic "second sock syndrome"... although in this case, it was a second mitten syndrome!

I finally picked it up in January, knitting the second mitt took no time at all and I was left with a -gorgeous- pair of fingerless mittens.

I had originally intended these to be for myself, but it struck me as I was finishing them up how suitable they would be as a gift for a dear friend of mine, and as I was going to be crashing at her place in Sydney for a little while I thought they'd make a perfect late christmas/thank you for letting me stay at your place gift... so it goes with knitting gifts, it seems. I can always knit them again for myself (and I probably will!)

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang

Needles: 2.00 mm ( 0 US)

Yarn: Debbie Bliss, Baby Cashmerino; Colour Navy - 1 ball

...some other cashmere/wool sport weight yarn in a green/blue/purple range.. I'm sure I kept the label somewhere... - 1 ball

Laundry Fail

The perils of living with no dryer during the wet...

Can there be a more depressing sight?!

Skully Sweater

Another step forward in my knitting!





Woooo!!! Finally I completed a "big" project, a jumper for myself. I've been meaning to take the plunge into making a jumper for myself.
The endless stockinette was incredibly tedious at some points, but I'm glad I stuck with it!
The skull pattern was a great way to break up the monotony as well.



Pattern: Skully from Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook
Yarn: Moda Vera, Poetic. Earth: 10 balls, Cream: 2 balls
Needles: Size 6.5mm (US 10 1/2)

It's a very simple sweater; it's big and baggy with no waist shaping at all. I have discovered the evils of having to sew massive stretches of knit fabric together. It's well worth it, just.. tiring.
It fits well, although a little bit tight around the upper arms. It's a 100% wool yarn as well, which means it's a little bit itchy; best worn with a long-sleeved t-shirt under it.
Happily (in this sense only) it's been quite chilly here, especially in the evenings, so I've had a couple of opportunities to wear it around the house.

I'm very proud of myself! Onto the next one!