Towels and jams

Here are those polka dot towels I mentioned recently. While blue is a main color, you’ll also see lots of lavender, purple and some turquoise. I like the mix. For me, the darker ones appeal to me more than the lighter ones, but I’m hoping others will feel differently. (I like the way I photographed the red & orange ones better, but this is okay.)

Like my first polka dot towels, I decided to try weaving with the treadling that switches the background color. Also like that first batch, I didn’t like it so much, so went back to the ‘regular’ treadling. I actually like it better in the photograph than in real life. Weird, huh?

Yesterday morning after the gym I went to a local farm market. I’ve purchased quarts of strawberries from this market and others, and I think this farm’s strawberries are the sweetest. So when their price for a flat was low, I couldn’t resist buying a flat of strawberries. I brought them home, set aside a quart for my neighbor and a quart for my son, washed a quart and a pint for my frig, and since the berries were fully ripe, needed to make jam. Today.

I made one batch of strawberry with low-sugar Sure Jell. Then I made a batch of strawberry and raspberry, with lime juice and zest, with regular Sure Jell. I would have used low sugar for this, too, if I’d had another box. Both batches actually jelled nicely, unlike some of my experiences. I need to stock up on sugar and Sure Jell (low sugar) so that next time I stumble on the best fruit I can take advantage without an emergency run to the store.