Back To The Loom

Last week we had a short trip to the Okanagan Valley to visit with my brother who is in the middle of Chemotherapy, so there was no time for weaving. I did pull a new two scarf warp and warped the loom, but  I’ll save that for next time.

I finished the fringes on the ‘Rhubarb’ scarf as soon as I came home and I can’t believe how much I love this colour pallet. The browns were lightened up by the red, lime and yellow and the whole scarf is a fiesta of fire! I’m definitely filing this colour combination away to work with again.

The Crackle weave pattern is so supple; the drape of this scarf is magical.

Since the Okanagan Valley is noted for it’s orchards I didn’t return home empty handed. I bought a flat of peaches, a flat of apricots and half a flat of lapin cherries. We immediately canned the peaches, made two batches of apricot jam and ate cherries like there was no tomorrow!

Just to fill up our spare time we went raspberry picking the day after our return, the berries were huge and don't they look pretty? We made two batches of jam and have these lovely berries ready to freeze. The blueberries were just starting to ripen, so these are just for eating with breakfast.

The same day, the two dozen French Filet bean plants that we threw into the garden in May decided that they were ready. This is what we didn’t give to our friends and neighbours ~ so lovely, and already blanched and ready to be put in the freezer. We have since done two more batches of about the same size and I swear my neighbours are hiding when we come with our hands full! I sort them into sizes and freeze the smallest ones whole for quick sautéing in the winter. The medium sized ones are cut in half and packaged ready for Greek bean and tomato casserole and the wonky curled up ones and the largest are cut up and frozen ready for soup. I love to be organized!

We stayed with my brother who lives on Predator Ridge Golf Course in Vernon while we were in the Okanagan,and we woke up on Sunday morning to these wee fellas just steps off the patio ~ their mother had stashed them in the shade while she foraged. They were there snoozing in the cool dirt for most of the day. Gotta love it!