Holiday Gift Making

r ranson wrote:

It's based on a fibonacci number sequence and here's my test run to see if the pattern would work out okay.

First, I'd be happy to be adopted by anyone in this thread.  I'm in my 50s, though, so maybe that ship has sailed.

R Ranson, the double Fibonacci sequence, with the spaces between each stripe forming their own Fibonacci sequence, is spectacular, as is all the excellent work in this thread.  Just in case anyone thought Permies was only about poop beasts....

Karen Donnachaidh wrote:I am amazed at the talent I see displayed on this page! I would love to be the recipient of any of these fine wares. Lucky folks.

My humble gift is almost ready to be delivered (tomorrow) to my in-laws at the retirement home. As I posted above, applesauce, sliced pears, grape jelly, cranberry jelly and orange marmalade. The marmalade recipe made exactly 6 half-pints, so I only had a taste when I scraped the pot and licked the spoon. Delicious! But, it looks thin in the jars (moves when you invert the jar). Oh well. Now, I'll make some buttermilk biscuits (mother-in-law's recipe) and it's ready.

When I moved back to IN from CA, as a 65 year old dude who had never cooked much, I learned the canning process all over again. Had to do that as a kid and hated it but it kept us fed through the winters. Learning new with squeaking through the Y2K fiasco I needed to do some prepping. You learn as you go, not just from reading and recipes. I developed an Apple Sauce recipe from an on-line version, one that "I" liked! I have a Niece who not only owned a restaurant, but also made & sold lots of Apple Butter is a very good cook. It was great, but, yuk, apple butter, when you could make apple sauce? It's a no-brainer. I gave the Niece a pint of my apple sauce. She eMailed me for the recipe! And that was one of the best "gifts" I've ever received!   :-)    So, sometimes gifts can come from very unexpected sources!

Some hints for you: Try a Cranberry/Orange Jam from recipes on-line. Also, instead of Buttermilk Biscuits try making Biscuits from just TWO ingredients from recipes on-line. They come out GREAT with fluffy layers that taste great right out of the oven, split open, and smothered with butter! ENJOY

Another couple of stocking style samples made. I've still got a couple to go, but the end is in sight.
Not sure if anyone in the family is going to bite on them. If not, I guess they will go to friends or be sold. At least I tried.

Last pair of style samples. My grandparents had a bunch of First Nations beaded pieces, from their time in the north, and it's been fun finding ways to show them off.

Sorry no pictures, but I upcycled 4 pieces of material from a damaged cotton T-shirt, into cute hankies for my daughter in law. Blanket stitched the edges and then did a chain stitch to represent the ground, and little yellow flowers. I will tuck them into her Christmas stocking. I do hope she likes them.  I know she uses hankies at least for drying her hands on when out and about.

Sharing one of my favourite gifts I recieved this year. My friend kindly agreed for me to share the photos he took of the making. Nearly 2 years ago he helped us cut a limb off a sycamore tree here

the donor

From the chunk he took home, he made me two beautiful chopping boards. The chunk of bough was slabbed and end grain sealed, then left to season untill a few weeks ago. Then the boards were planed and shaped, and the faces oiled. Beautiful hardwood, they should wear well, although I'm going to just take them out and caress them every now and then for a while!

Not a quick gift however - definitely slow gifting!

I made a pair of bookends for my wife. She was thrilled!