Since it’s summer, most of my crafting time is actually spent canning: jams, jellies, chutneys, salsas and pickles. I love visiting various farmers markets and farm stands and watching the season stretch on that way, from cherries to apricots to peaches to apples and so on. Of course, this always raises the issue—no spray vs local? I choose local over no spray, with no spray local the best of all, but much harder to find. Such is the lot of our small farmers, who have to make tough farming decisions, and I’m glad there are so many organizations (including my sister site, Eating Liberally) advocating for them. At any rate, this is hernia season, as I lug back way too many pounds of produce on the subway!

But back to the matter at hand—the canning itself.

I’ve been canning for several years, and every year I learn something new. Last year, I figured out (thanks to the Ball Book) that it’s important to tighten the caps sufficiently before processing jars. My “lose rate” (jars that don’t seal, so that the goodies are fine to eat, but have to go into the fridge immediately and don’t last as long) is virtually nil now. This year, I realize how easy it is to freeze fruit so that I don’t have to make jam right away. Indeed, I probably won’t get to some of it until September and October.

But every year, I’m amazed at how excited folks are to get homemade jams and pickles. In that sense, canning becomes a really participatory process – I make, you eat. It’s the same whatever the craft—knitting a sweater, making a baby quilt, putting together a scrapbook.

So, I hope everyone has had as nice a summer as I have, and a productive one. I’m looking forward to our meetups resuming in the fall – can’t wait for the show-and-tell!

It's been awhile since I posted about the java jacket debacle. Since that time, I took a refresher quilting class, finished a quilt top, and have spent a fair amount of time coming up with excuses as to why I haven't started quilting it yet! (At least I can really help other CLers with their java jackets now....) AND we have our new home as part of the Living Liberally website.

But I've also spent time mulling over the question "why we craft" -- and I'd love to hear from other folks on this topic. As for me, there's something about the tactile experience of quilting -- or canning, which takes up a good chunk of my summer vacation -- that just can't be equaled in the technological world. I get out of my head, so to speak, even if just for a little while. And of course, there's a nifty finished product at the end!

SO: what do you think about all of this? Comment away---