Nothing like a good barter . . .

When you live deep in the countryside, bartering is a way of life.  I love to make jams and chutneys but they nearly all get given as gifts or, as today, bartered towards something else, or as a BIG thank you for something else.  The guys who have the Shoot on Next Door's land (and shooting on ours too) have been promising us some venison for a while.  Today they arrived with it, and in return I sent them off with a bag of windfall apples (more to follow, little do they know!), and a dozen jars of jam I made when I was clearing all the old brambles from the freezer to make room for this year's pickings.  The venison is a big haunch from a Fallow Deer, and will feed us heartily over Christmas and then what's left will be made into casseroles to go back into the freezer.

I have been feeling a bit yuk all day (several nights of sleeping badly, or waking at 3.15 a.m. and not sleeping thereafter).  I gave myself the day off and did some hand sewing and tried my hand at a pretty patchwork pin cushion I had been using at my Patchwork class (made by our teacher).

I should have put this on a light background as the flash didn't go off.  Ah well, you get the general idea.  It is stuffed with sheep's wool.  Only after I had sewn the last stitch did I realize I should have use the much coarser staple wool and not the nice soft one (Shetland I think) I found in a bag in the Junk room, so I may unstuff it tomorrow and use some from the other hank.

I had sewn these hexi's (to finish an unfinished 1970s quilt I bought a while back) over several nights, then realized they should have had velvet or different special fabric centres, so had to unpick the centres and replace them.  The blue material was a quality one and SO much easier to sew with!

Two bags of crab apples from a friend's domestic trees. She helped me solve my dilemma for making crab apple jelly, since the tree I always used has been chopped down and the roots grubbed up.  No reason except that someone bought the land and "cleared" it . . .  These are currently defrosting.

Above and below: I finished the afternoon making the first batch of Country Mincemeat which I make every year using the windfalls (though I normally start earlier than this).

Recipe below:

I also added the juice of the lemon and orange I used the zest from. This can be added to with layers of more chopped fruit, sugar and dried fruit as it gradually sinks in the jar.  I find mine keeps well in this earthenware jar, though I know this doesn't work for everyone, so by all means add suet and cook and bottle it.

Finally, two gifts from Keith on his return home.  He knows me well . . .