Butternut squash and ginger jam

Today felt very autumnal and while we waited for the sun to come over the hills Matilda and I made butternut squash and ginger jam. We used this recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, but with the squash instead of pumpkin. It was really easy and tastes lovely. I think maybe I need to test for the setting point a bit earlier as I was waiting for it to thicken up but then when I tested it, it was very sticky - not sure how spreadable it will be!

After the jam was safely in the jars we headed out for a windswept but sunny walk to the park. On the way back I experimented with carrying Matilda in the ring sling as I find it very uncomfortable/tiring to carry her in my arms these days. She mostly walks everywhere these days but if she's tired she does still need to be carried really. She loved the ring sling but I found it hard to position her so she wasn't pressing down on the bump. More experimentation needed!

Pinterest and planning

I feel like I've been fairly productive of late. I borrowed a preserving pan from my parents and have since made a few jars of damson jam and a few of spiced damson chutney (using fruit very kindly picked for me by my neighbours from their damson tree). It's the first time I've tried any jam or chutney making and I have to say I really enjoyed it. The first batch of jam took a while to reach the setting point, but the second batch worked perfectly and tastes delicious. But we'll have to wait and see how the chutney tastes when it's finished its 3-month 'mellowing'.

Hopefully some of them will be suitable for Christmas gifts - although as we are having a very quiet one this year I don't have to worry too much about presents. I've started planning for Christmas already - just in terms of things I'd like to make - as I feel like I need to get organised if I'm to stand a chance of making Christmas presents/decorations as well as things for the baby. We are also halfway through decorating our spare room and as part of that we'll be fitting some shelves for storage of (among other things) my sewing/crafts supplies. I'll also hopefully have a dedicated sewing/craft table in there, so I won't have to keep tidying it away all the time, meaning I should have more time for actual crafting!

I've been using Pinterest to get some ideas and also keep tabs on my plans (not much room in my brain for this kind of thing at the moment!). Here's my Pinterest page if anyone's interested: http://pinterest.com/carrots/


In other news I have finally grasped the basics of knitting thanks to some patient tutors at our WI meeting last week. I'm off now to carry on with the knitted flower we started making - need to make sure I keep it up so I don't forget what I've learnt! I'll try and upload a photo soon! Not sure I'm up to knitting anything for the baby yet, but my friend has offered to knit a cardi or something if I buy the wool so I just need to decide on a pattern and yarn for it!