Satisfaction

It is quite satisfying to bottle up a little bit of summer.  In fact, I find canning jam one of the most fulfilling of household tasks.  It is not always pleasurable to stand over a simmering pot stirring on a hot summer morning, but organizing those jars of sunshine in the pantry allows me to feel a kinship with the many generations of women before me who canned out of necessity.  It makes me glad to understand the work involved with keeping a family fed over the long winter, and I must admit to a sigh of relief that I can choose to make jam.   Astute eyes will note that my canning leaves much to be desired - the fruit floated to the top of each jar and will have to be stirred in each time one is opened.  I don't know why, I hated chemistry, so we just adjust.

I finished the bag for MiMBY Girl's teacher just before the last day of school.  It came out better than I envisioned (love it when that happens!), and I hope that she likes it. 

Two yards of this not-inexpensive linen made a groovy skirt for MiMBY Girl, two boxy bags that finished approximately 14" tall, with about 1/3 yard left over for a couple of lunch boxes that I found in a book.  The straps were a desperate measure.  Good leather straps cost a small fortune, not so bad for a gift, but if I want to sell these in the future I have to find some cost-cutting measures.  I had purchased two large scraps of shoe leather from the Aurora Shoe Company a couple of years ago so I used a rotary cutter and metal ruler to cut 22" straps 3/4" wide.  For some reason we can't remember we bought a leather hole punch a couple of decades ago which came in handy.

I love how the linen thread looks and the handles feel quite substantial.  Often, planned projects don't quite live up to my vision so it's always thrilling when they turn out better!