Saturday snippets

in which our plucky heroine has been keeping busy...

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~ not yet flatpack time ~

The most amusing project of the week so far is part of preparing for the miniature RÅSKOG cart, bit by bit. I've carefully downloaded all the pages of instructions from the Ikea website, then resized them down to scale, and printed them out. While the actual 3D printed parts are waiting on more time at the library, there has been this small zippered bag keychain over on Tansu Terrace... 

I've no memory of it arriving here ages ago, or who may have given it to me; it was much too large for 1:12 scale (almost as big as Nandina herself), but it was excellent raw material: a seam ripper and scissors and some rather awkward time wrestling it under the presser foot of the sewing machine turned it into a tinyworld version of the iconic blue bag. (One more trip to the actual Ikea store will have to happen, so I can photograph the labels on the full size RÅSKOG box, to label a cardboard box to contain the wee flat pack pieces.)

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Turned all the tomatoes in the freezer into a double batch of Awesome Sauce, which came out a bit darker and thinner than last year. In the future will make two single batches instead, as the consistency is better. Still, having 16 jars to put on the shelf feels reassuring. Some for me and some to share...

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It took several attempts over the last few days, but eventually was able to properly seal all the connecting joints in the new handheld shower pieces, and the only place the water exits is through the shower disc as appropriate.  Very spa-like compared to the former unit, and a satisfying DIY job, even if it is also a "give a mouse a cookie" sort of project. There are other tasks in the bathroom that need done, like (nonexistent) decorative molding around the sink. 

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My left foot (outside metatarsal) has been sore on and off for months. No idea why. rather worried. Last night it was really bad.

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Almost finished with the batik popover dress, using the machine hemming stitch to complete the folded hemline (usually I edgebind everything, but not this one). Have had that little Bernette since I was in college, and don't think I've ever used that stitch before. 

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	8 sm jars plum sauce	plums in freezer	greenwaste bin
2	3D print Dala horse	extension cords coiled	recycle bin
3	3D print plant stands	wind chime suspension	recycle bin
4	3 pr dolly boots	more plums frozen	greenwaste bin
5	12+ jars elderberry syrup	new handheld shower	-
6	16 jars Awesome sauce	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -  
- that small sound that jars make when they seal
- new handheld shower
- stove grid overlay, very useful for canning, I can slide full kettles rather than try and lift them.
- the two mid/large cookpots from Acantha this year

Time of Isolation - Day 2255

cloisonné process photo essay

in which our plucky heroine shares the way that my cloisonné enamels are created...

Here is the start, bending the wires to create the outlines of the design

And here you see the all the wires for the design

The first several firings locate the wires on the backing

Then more enamel powder gets added

and the colored design is gradually built up

There are many more steps in the process before the enamel is finished and ready to be set as part of the pendant

Once enough layers of enamel are built up, the irregular surface needs to be ground smooth. Here you can see the beginning of the process, which I find the most tedious part of enameling. The grinding is usually done with a white aluminum oxide stick, by hand, under cold running water.

and here it is further ground down, almost ready for firing

After the first "flash-firing", there are often small areas that need a bit of extra enamel to bring it all up to an even surface. This is preferable to grinding down too far, and maybe losing some of the carefully applied shading.

And here is the piece, ready to have a suitable setting made for it...



Just in case you wondered where I do this kind of work, here is a picture of my kiln (nicknamed "Mr Hot" by my friend Heather when she was about 9 years old), and a bit of one of my workspaces, much less messy than usual

elderberry efforts

in which our plucky heroine agrees with William Morris...

The black elderberry planted in the parking strip is both beautiful and useful. The white flowers and dark foliage look wonderful in the springtime, and the cooked juice of the berries are known to be a good and tasty support for human immune systems.

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~ homegrown immune tonic ~

The five tubs of black elderberry cooked yesterday, then drained their juices into a pot overnight. Today they were cooked again with added sugar and lemon juice in a waterbath safe recipe. Since I want to make syrup, I left out the pectin which is only there to turn the juice into jelly and has no effect on the safety issues...

and oops, I just now at midnight Wednesday finished putting up a dozen + small jars of elderberry syrup, all sealed for shelf storage, and only then realised I had miscalculated the amount of lemon juice added by almost half. Bah! I now need to open all the jars, dump the contents back into an open pan, add the additional lemon juice, and re-process all of them with fresh lids. Annoying to deal with, but food safety is not negotiable. As exhaustion has set in, my plan is to tackle this first thing in the morning, since two different extension service websites say that re-canning (with fresh lids) within 24 hours is okay.

11am on Thursday, and the re-canning is in process.  Lesson learned: do not do projects that require calculation after 10pm. (not sewing, not cutting out fabric, and now, apparently, not preserving) 

 
(elderflowers in the springtime)
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The additional rayon batik fabric to complete the summer popover dress has arrived and looks great. I am very impressed that the shop snipped and tore the yardage instead of just whacking away with shears, so I get the full amount I paid for and don't lose inches in straightening the grain! It will be a fairly quick task to make strips of the new fabric and extend the length of the dress to a better length, and if all goes well I will be able to have it finished in time for our Sewing Nomads meeting on Saturday morning...

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Rode my bike to the launderette early this morning to preshrink the rayon fabric in the electric dryer, and since I was halfway to the big grocery, continued on there to pick up some more of the small size canning jar lids. The kindly cashier gave me the "3 for the price of 2" discount even though I don't have a loyalty card for that shop!

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September SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	8 sm jars plum sauce	plums in freezer	greenwaste bin
2	3D print Dala hrse	extension cords coiled	recycle bin
3	3D print plant stands	wind chime suspension	recycle bin
4	3 pr dolly boots	more plums frozen	greenwaste bin
5	12+ jars elderberry syrup	-	-
6	x	x	x
7	x	x	x
8	x	x	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -  
- Past Me thoughtfully planted black elder
- fabric to finish batik dress arrived early, and looks suitable.
- was able to buy a few more boxes of small canning lids
- a dozen small jars of elderberry immune support syrup

Time of Isolation - Day 2253 

proportions for elderberry syrup:

650 grams elderberry juice (about 3 cups)
130 grams bottled lemon juice
1,100 grams sugar

¼" headspace, process 10 minutes