Wednesday 3 July 2013

Snowing in July








The Flowers in the Snow adaptation is almost finished - just crocheting the border now, which I thought I would keep white, but am tempted to finish with the pink. Will try it and see. I enjoyed this pattern - it is so effective. I hope Breagha likes it too. I will update my Ravelry notes when it is done.



I am reading Momo to James just now, and we are so loving it - it is one of those books where you want wait for bedtime to find out what happened. Trying to savour it by only reading a chapter a night - maybe two if they are short. It is a story about a city where the sinister men in grey are imperceptibly stealing time form everyone. Not James's usual sort of thing, really, but it is so well written that it keeps his attention with out being to scary.

It is getting near to that season now, and I am determined to preserve more of the harvest this year, so I dug out this book.  Canning is not a big thing here in the UK at all, but I am inspired by so many of you American ladies, that I would like to do much more.  I have been humming and hawing for a couple of years now about shipping over a pressure canner. Googling it in, I see various debates over which is best. As they are not sold over here, I have to take a leap in the dark. I had been looking at this one - then I saw this one, but I have heard good reports about this make, but it was an old version, so I really don't know.... ho hum.

So, a new book arrived the other day which may distract me. Kith, the riddle of the Childscape, by Jay Griffiths. I have not long finished one of her other books, an exploration of the history of time - very illuminating and I like the way she writes.

And I also slipped in this lovely book about making wines, cordials and lemonades. Beautiful pictures and wonderful sounding recipes. Cant wait to get going with this - just need some sunny afternoons to sit out with my cooling drinks. It really feels cold enough for snow in July

I am joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along today - do pop over and see what's happening in the world of yarn and books.


20 comments:

  1. Oh I have a copy of Momo on its way right now! I hadn't heard of it but only just read about it here: http://sarahelaing.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/momo/
    Glad to hear it is captivating you & James, not sure which of my boys I will share it with!
    I love the rug, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. James is enjoying it very much. He really doesn't like anything remotely scary and I often have to stop reading stories if he senses a dramatic scene is coming up. He has been fine with this, although it may be an age thing. Hope you enjoy it xx

      Delete
  2. now I am intrigued! what method of preservation do you normally employ? I suppose with less harsh winters you don't have need to preserve as much as we Canadians do?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes , CW - a lot of green stuff over winters well and I freeze a lot of produce. I wanted to get away from that though, and have jars ready on the shelves. I have used the water bath method in the past, so not sure I have enough produce to justify the purchase. If I wanted to preserve near or fish without a freezer though, I would need one.

      Delete
  3. Seeing your blanket makes me want to learn to crochet, it is really so pretty.

    My biggest tip to you in buying a canner is to buy the largest one you can afford. When you are canning bushels of food you really want to use your time wisely and crank out as many jars as you can in the least amounot of time. Let me know if you have any questions, I've been canning food for many, many years and would be happy to help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Tracey - you are a canning guru :)
      xx

      Delete
  4. beautiful blanket and she will definitely love it immensely whether the border is white or pink :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely squares and colours. Looking forward to see more pictures soon:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I can't put into words on how much I just Love this...I love the simple white with the little pop of color. I will have to make one of these blankets...Beautiful!!!

    ~~Renee

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous3/7/13 15:46

    That's funny, I've been thinking about canning too. I saw a documentary about the Amish and one of the young girls showed the interviewer the contents of their pantry, so many jars of lovely things! Let me know what you decide to do. Your crochet is gorgeous, love that design. :) xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tina - yes I love the idea of all those jars in the pantry - at the moment I have a couple of large chest freezers - not quite so attractive :)

      Delete
  8. We do some canning here...not a lot, though. We don't mess with the pressure cooker. We use the Mason (or Bell or Kerr) jars with the lids that get sucked down with heat. It works for us. We've done pickles and strawberry rhubarb syrup (which was supposed to be jelly but it didn't work quite right).

    Also, love the blanket. I'd probably go for the pink border but that's me :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Renee Anne - I'm thinking I might carry on with the water bath method this year. I don't think I will have enough produce xxx

      Delete
  9. What a beautiful blanket. C is desperate for me to make her one. I still haven't learnt to crochet (even after buying the hooks, pattern and all that lovely yarn at ravelry!) but it is on the list. What a wonderful gift.
    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lou - it's such a great craft and easy to pick up. Quite addictive though xx

      Delete
  10. You had me worried there! I thought snow was coming back down the country again!! Your blanket is gorgeous. I really must get my hooks out properly again. xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Gorgeous job on the blanket. I think either color would work. I am eager to see what you pick. And how hard to decide on a canner without seeing it or having other people recommend it. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks everyone for your lovely comments on my crochet :). I am going round in white just now and will try a final round in the pink to see how it looks xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. I can't imagine working on a blanket during the summer..yikes! It's too hot here for that. It will be gorgeous when it's completed.

    ReplyDelete
  14. That is so beautiful, What a lucky recipient.

    ReplyDelete

Many thanks for visiting me. I love to read your thoughts and appreciate each one. I will respond to comments and queries here, so please check back xx

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...