We Be Jammon'

Bob Marley put it so succinctly -- that's what I've been doing for most of the long weekend - Jammon (or maybe Jamming?) Anyhow - smashing the bejeepers out of fresh fruit, then cooking it with lots of sugar and pectin, and putting it into cute little jars. I make blueberry and peach every year, and sometimes make a Bartlett Pear or plum jam too -- this year, I'm sticking to the tried and true -- there are 20 jars of blueberry and 16 peach, so far.

My friend J had a birthday on Thursday and when we went on a shopping/lunch/gabfest together on Saturday, I gave her this little bag I sewed for her, filled with treats for crafting

it is tiny -just big enough to hold a dishcloth in progress, and some notions (ie; scissors and a darning needle (or , since J is multicraftual, she could carry a bunch of yo-yos in progress for her quilt, or some tatting or some other tiny project). It's sort of funny - I was going through my fabric stash, looking for some material that reminded me of J, and came across this paisley, which I thought would be nice for her ... then started to think about what I originally bought this material for (and when!). It was bought when I was 20, home for the summer on university break, and wanted to make a pair of funky jean shorts (where you cut open the side seam, sewed in a cool-looking fabric, and cut off the jeans to knee length. They were worn low on the hip (this was before hip huggers were in vogue) and rolled up to the knee ... sooo kool! LOL!). Then I did the math -- that black paisley is 21 years old! I can't believe my stash is that old ... I can't believe I am old enough to have stash that old!!

I have to change the subject ...

Speaking of sewing - I have been bitten by the bug again -- I used to dabble in quilting a bit (but knitting soon took over my life). Well, the other day I discovered that our local fabric shop is closing in October, so I went in to check out the sale, and see what I might be missing out on ( I am a hoarder of fibre - whether it's cloth, yarn, or unspun fleece - I have a stash of it!). I left with over $100 worth of fabric, and a renewed interest in quilting. I currently have 2 on the go (one for my nephew's birthday on Sept. 20 - think I can make the deadline? - and one for my in-laws for Christmas). Both are lap quilts, so they shouldn't be very difficult, and I'm thinking of trying machine quilting (I always thought of it as cheating, but I get tennis elbow from hand quilting, and I really like the stippled effect people do on machines - plus , I might actually finish these 2 quilts on time if I quilt them on the machine!) Oh my goodness, I have been reading a few quilting blogs too - and am so inspired! It will never replace knitting for me, but I definitely see more room in my crafting time being made for quilting!

Never fear -- I haven't quit knitting -- I am in craft sale mode and trying to get a bunch of stuff finished before the sale on Sept. 19 & 20. Once I have some progress made, I'll post pictures (unfelted purses are as dull as dirt- once they are felted and assembled, it is much prettier to look at!).

I'm on vacation and so is T this week ... hopefully, I'll be blogging more this week than I have lately!