Usually this blog comprises notes on things I've made. What doesn't get reported is that often I receive things other people have made, because I know a lot of very talented and artsy DIY people. Most of them have their own blogs (those that want them), but this one I wanted to highlight because I was given something DIY... so I could DIY with it.
My friends Tara and Rob, in addition to being better at sewing and cooking than I'll ever be, are also very good at creating meta-level, big-picture projects where everyone does a little bit and gets a lot out of it. This year, they made some of their friends — the ones they knew would go in for this sort of thing — preserving jar carryalls, complete with preserving jars. The idea is that over the harvest season we will all make some sort of preserve to go into the jars, then gather for a swap meet when everyone is ready. Make one recipe, get six different types of preserves back. How cool is that?
Tara claims making these carryalls (and she had to make several) wasn't that big a deal. It would take me several evenings just to wrestle one through the sewing machine, so I am totally impressed. Not only do they have individual pockets for each jar, but they have side pockets as well. They might be good for slipping tasting notes/recipes/serving suggestions into.
Now I've got to figure out what to make with them. I've flipped through several ideas already, and will probably go through more before it's actually time to get preserving.