Winter Sunshine

A quick knit, this simple scarf in Jaeger Merino Aran.  The double moss stitch gives a nice tweedy fabric which doesn't curl and the five fifty gram balls  knit up to the length my husband needs to provide a loop of face coverage in the frosty weather.   Very satisfying to have the right amount af a suitable colour in the stash, instead of having to buy more yarn.  Also in evidence is the taupe sweater I was knitting when I started this blog.  This has a simple geometric texture, but somehow looks modern because of a tiny design feature - garter stitch for a couple of rounds after picking up for the neck-band.

Home-made marmalade.  One of those seasonal tasks as the year turns, storing the fruits of the season in the old way.  It never ceases to amaze me how so few oranges can produce so much marmalade.  In terms of effort this is quite unlike the blackcurrant jam I made some weeks ago from our own frozen currants.  Each one picked by hand, then topped and tailed by hand. But both preserves have that unmistakable intense flavour of fruit. I remember being given blackcurrant tea for a cold when I was little - just blackcurrant jam diluted with boiling water.  So the belief lingers that it is a health food - and I suppose it probably is rich in vitamin C.