Jam making two ways and shopping from home...

 I only make two types of jam. Plum for myself and Cully May, and strawberry for the rest of the family. January is the season for plum making, as is March, and you may wonder why both months?  

January, because plums are abundant and both Cully May and myself are scraping the bottom of our last jars from 2023, and March because plums are at the end of the season and can usually be bought at their lowest price. Thinking about that now, I should plan to make double the amount of plum jam in March so we do not run out by the following January. Now why did I not think of that before?? ;-)

Most of my family prefer smooth jam (I like lumpy) so for the past couple of years I have washed, cut, and then chopped the fruit in my food processor and found this to be the easiest way to make the jams they like best. 

The pulp is smooth, and the jam cooks quicker too. 

Then I add the sugar and a split vanilla pod, and let it all marinate together in a covered pot for about 3 or 4 hours.

We don't like jam that's too sweet, so my ratios are mostly fruit, with about 40% less sugar than most jam recipes. For this batch of jam I began with 1.8 kg of plum pulp, and added 1 kg of sugar. 

(That's around 4 pounds of plum pulp and 2.2 pound of sugar, for those in the USA)

After the 4 hours I boil the mix, and just before it's ready to fill my pre-sterilised jars, I add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and 25g of Jamsetta. Then boil for another 5 minutes before testing a teaspoonful in the fridge.

I use exactly the same method for strawberry jam and it always works perfectly. If apricots were cheaper I'd love to make apricot jam, but the prices at the moment, and usually all through summer, are beyond my budget. Also, I don't make strawberry jam in summer, as here in the tropics, our strawberry season is winter and come August they are the cheapest price all year - so I buy a lot and make loads of strawberry jam. 

Did you notice the lovely lids for my jam jars?

If we want a marmalade, or an apricot jam, I usually buy Bonne Maman, as does my neighbour and Blossom, so I have a regular source of Bonne Maman jam jars (I now have a cupboard full) for preserving my own jams. 

Last year I went on the hunt for new lids for those jars, and discovered these gorgeous gingham ones from Amazon, which fit the jars perfectly, and now I use them for all my jam making. They measure 82mm if you're after something similar and I bought them HERE on Amazon Australia (I am not an affiliate, just sharing the link in case it helps you). 

What I love about these gingham jam jar lids, and the fabric jar toppers I make a lot of, is that they brighten my pantry shelves! Recently I made a new batch of jar toppers from leftover Tilda Sunday Brunch fabric, but I also made a rather different type of jam jar to sit on the shelf as well. 

This is actually a pin cushion, and I made it on the weekend from Amy Sinibaldi's 2014 book, "Sweetly Stitched Handmades". It cost me nothing but my time as I am shopping from my stash this year to decorate my home and make gifts...but I also didn't have to buy a pattern. Admittedly, I failed in the first attempt because of a missed step in the pattern instructions, but I soon worked it out and the second attempt made my heart sing as its so cute on my pantry shelf among the remaining jars of strawberry jam.

It occurred to me last week as I was considering things I'd like to make for the kitchen and pantry, that I have a lovely big shelf of craft books, and some of them 10-15 years old. So I decided to brew a cuppa and sit down with a few and browse their pages for projects to make this year. I mean, after all, they are a free resource, another way of shopping from home!

Here's a project idea that will soon be on my cutting table with associated threads. It's from Caroline Zoob's 2013 book "Hand-Stitched Home", and she has two options in the pattern section for an embroidered shelf edging, one is red...

...and the other is blue.

The book has all the pattern sheets to trace, and it is full of many other gorgeous vintage style designs too. Like this one, an embroidered egding for a chair cover...

I am actually considering using the chair embroidery for my planned shelf edging...it's so sweet and simple and perfect for my kitchen style. 

Do you have craft or sewing books on your shelves that are gathering dust? Perhaps a nice afternoon could be spent browsing through them, making notes, and planning a few slow-stitched projects for your home?

Sewing for the home is an aspect of Gentle Domesticity that I love, especially unrushed, slow-stitching, that has a purpose. Creating beauty in your home is indeed a worthwhile purpose. When God created in the beginning, just ponder the extraordinary joy it gave him, far beyond anything we can understand or have the imagination for, and the satisfaction at the end of the day when He looked over all He had made and said, "It is good." He could have created the world in one instant if it had been His desire, but day by day He added to His vision, until all was complete and ready for us.

Little by little this year I shall be bringing beauty to our home, by the work of my hands, and using what is already here. I'm so excited about this, and added to this plan, I began an extra Instagram account that focuses just on the home, homemaking, home crafts, home cooking, faith...yeh, all things to do with HOME. You'll find it HERE or search for @elefantzhome on Instagram. (My original IG account will now just focus on designing) 

So I'd best sign off for today as my plum jam mix is still marinating in the pot, and it's about time to begin cooking it. Cully May will be thrilled!

Thank you for praying for Blossom and her family. It just might be possible that they'll find out today about a house, after missing out on about thirty others. I designed and stitched this little framed stitchery late last year (inspired by an old one with the same message that I did many years ago), and yesterday the Holy Spirit prompted me to take it over to her, so I did. The message was very clear. 

We do believe in miracles, and we do believe they come in God's perfect timing, so we keep the faith and let Him work it all out. That has brought our family a whole lot of peace recently. 

If you're interested in the pattern for someone you know, or for yourself, its HERE in my shop. 

God bless you today, and every day, and may He garciously impart a portion of His creativity into your own life this year. 

Hugs,

You will find me on Instagram HERE @jennyofelefantz

And my NEW IG account just for homemaking HERE @elefantzhome

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