You are an obsession, You're my obsession*

When I get into something, I really get into it. I know in my heart of hearts that it's a good idea, a good plan, a worthwhile use of my time. I want to know it, understand it, really experience it. The obsession may not last forever, but while it does, it is glorious. It's how I was with knitting, how I was with cake baking and how I've become with canning. Witness:

The product of my first week of putting up food. So far I've canned cherries and plums, made dill pickles, dilly beans, apricot jam, bourbon cherries and sour cherry preserves, and enjoyed every sweaty (it is August, after all) minute of it. I have to say that this has made me feel incredibly productive. What I mean is that I'm not a lazy person, but the projects I usually work on are small and discrete: knitting a child's sweater, sewing a set of napkins, crocheting a lapghan, baking scones. With canning, the volume of the end product seems so much more significant and takes so much less time to produce, that it's rather gratifying. I'm a little late to the game this season, so I may be doing more pickling than fruit canning this year, but I'm excited about it nonetheless. The Ball Blue Book has lots of intriguing recipes that will keep me busy for the next few weeks at least.

Last week I did manage to do a bit more than simply go to work and preserve foods. I also watched Season 5 of Entourage in it's entirety, met up with the Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill Kitting & Crocheting peeps for some crafting and bingo:

and went to the Flea with Alex and Matt.





Fun! They just moved to Brooklyn from the UWS and have done a commendable job of integrating themselves into the 'hood.

That's the lobster roll they bought for me. It was delicious! Not too much mayo, toasted bread and some green onions, rather than the celery more typically found in a lobster roll. I could not have asked for a better summer lunch.

Details:
Pattern: Springtime Bandit, by Kate Gagnon Osborn, from Kelbourn Woolens
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed
Needles: US7s/4.5mm
Started: July 6
Finished: July 16

It's a gift, but for a non-blog reader, so I think it's safe to show. I started this on the plane to Stockholm and had grand plans of finishing it on my return flight. Those plans were disrupted by my viewing of 17 Again, Duplicity and something else the title of which escapes my just now. This yarn is incredibly soft and cozy, requisite qualities for something that's to be scrunched up against one's neck. I've wet blocked it once, and it did open up quite a bit, but not quite enough for my liking. I'm considering another go-around, as I'd like the pattern to be a bit more visible.



Overall, I'm quite happy with this project, and look forward to presenting it to it's future owner.

*Don't tell me you've forgotten about Animotion!