Vegan Blueberry Abundance Pie (Knitting Times Three, Sewing Lap Duvets and Waiting for My First Tomato!)

I have a thing for pie. I've thought about opening a shop for yarn and pies. But then I'd never want to come home, and that could be a problem. This weekend I made what I thought was a fairly "large" pie--five cups of blueberries! The pie is gone as of this morning around ten when I lost all self control. 

I have an urge to make another of the exact proportion. 

Blueberry pie is incredibly easy. It's figuring out how much sugar to use that stumps me every time. So I turned to the pro for answers: The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum (Godforbid should anything ever happen to this book). Rose tells you that the blueberry must be sweetened when it is baked because it tends to get a bit sour otherwise. This is counterintuitive to my way of thinking about blueberries. To me, they're the perfect fruit--no sugar is ever needed when I'm eating them straight. So glad I double checked because she's right. I needed only a half cup, though, plus: 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, zest of half a lemon, juice of half a lemon, pinch of salt (and sugar, of course) and bake for an hour or so. You might notice I did NOT add any cornstarch to my pie. It was an honest mistake and well, it didn't kill the pie one single bit. Whew. I realized the omission after about ten minutes in the oven. Blueberries have a generous amount of natural pectin already, they firmed up in their juices nicely after the pie cooled. Of course if you aren't into a runny/juicy pie, feel free to add a couple tablespoons of cornstarch to the pie filling. But I really don't think you NEED it. I sprinkled some sugar over the crust after the pie came out of the oven--I thought it added a nice touch.    

I moved my pie to a cake keeper. Easy to store at room temp this way. Using the ONLY pie crust recipe you will ever need (I keep extras in the freezer for just such pie baking moments as these)--you will be in pie business in no time. After we had a generous helping, the pie easily slid from the pie plate for me--blueberry juice and all! 

I decided I needed a Clapotis. I think I am the last person on the planet to knit one of these. Always late to the party. Over twenty thousand of these have been posted in Ravelry (20,604 as of this moment). I went with black--which is a favorite color of mine--next to gray, pink, teal and then sometimes yellow. Anyway--it's being knit with Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool. As luck would have it, this yarn happened to be in a very large quantity in my yarn stash. I suppose I was once going to knit a cardigan or something with it. I love the stitch definition and the weight the yarn is lending to this pattern. Not too fussy. Perfect all around accessory come this fall.

Also on the needles is this cute number: Cap Sleeve Lattice Top. It's a design from one of my favorite places on the web: The Purl Bee. I am knitting this in a Elsbeth Lavold yarn, too! It's a greenish/tan blended color. Something I cannot honestly say I'd ever buy again--the color, that is, but will work as a neutral tone. I am trying like mad to finish this one before August. That's about five miles of knitting in stockinette there. *I modified the pattern and am knitting it in the round vs. front and back. I hate front and back knitting. I also hate purling, thus the circular approach. One piece/no sew only, please.

And then there's this: Dreambird by Nadita Swings. I just can't stop imagining me flying through the garden wrapped in this thing. Again, stash busting--a Debbie Bliss yarn in a very loud pink--surely purchased once for use in a hat or fingerless mittens. Surely. Well, now using for accent feather color in my new shawl. Brown, grays and pink--totally love this. I have to pay attention to knit this, so it's going a bit slower. Still: Love. It.  

Sewing room problem #1: Pinning giant layers of fabric together while this happens.

This pattern is called the Polka Dot Lap Duvet and came from The Purl Bee site, too! (See what I mean?) Obviously, I selected the non-polka dot route for my choices. Super easy and super fun to whip up. That first one was a gift, the second one is for me (of course)! It called for a trip to my local quilt shop for an afternoon of fabric lusting. I practiced great restraint, let me tell you. So many yummy fabrics in the small stores--it's good to get away from the big box fabric joints every now and then. 

Peppers and tomatoes a-plenty! Well, the heat has arrived. I guess I'll limit my whining to a low whisper. At least we've been spared the 110-120 degrees of last summer. Meantime, I did something I swore I'd never do: I bought a package of store tomatoes! I then promptly ran home and apologized to all of my tomato plants.