Fri/Sat 18/19 Jan 2013
Dave has been making pickles again. Not too sensible - filling the camper van with choking fumes of hot vinegar, but we have to do something in the rain. And we've just finished eating the last lot, which were excellent, especially the pickled onions. Very sweet and tasty with a bit of extravagant imported cheddar cheese.
When we moved the 9 or so jars from the camper to the shed, it took us several trips through the drizzle, and I decided we needed a pickle basket for storage and transport of the jars. So, an internet search later, I found a fantastic website that explained basket making very clearly, called Jon's Bushcraft, at http://www.bushcraft.ridgeonnet.com/basicbasket.htm which suggests that if you can't easily get hold of willow or hazel, you could try brambles. We have a lot of brambles.
So you get a good pair of strong gloves, secateurs, and a scrap of tough fabric. Select your bramble - long, straight, not too many side branches, and quite thin - cut it off and run the fabric in the strong gloves down the bramble from the growing point. The leaves and thorns come off surprisingly easily.
The brambles are dried for a day or so, then sanded to remove remaining lumps and bumps, before being soaked for flexibility (I'm still experimenting with optimum drying and soaking times). Jon's Bushcraft says the first drying has most of the shrinkage, so that after rehydrating they become flexible but don't shrink more when woven.
Dave has been making pickles again. Not too sensible - filling the camper van with choking fumes of hot vinegar, but we have to do something in the rain. And we've just finished eating the last lot, which were excellent, especially the pickled onions. Very sweet and tasty with a bit of extravagant imported cheddar cheese.
When we moved the 9 or so jars from the camper to the shed, it took us several trips through the drizzle, and I decided we needed a pickle basket for storage and transport of the jars. So, an internet search later, I found a fantastic website that explained basket making very clearly, called Jon's Bushcraft, at http://www.bushcraft.ridgeonnet.com/basicbasket.htm which suggests that if you can't easily get hold of willow or hazel, you could try brambles. We have a lot of brambles.
So you get a good pair of strong gloves, secateurs, and a scrap of tough fabric. Select your bramble - long, straight, not too many side branches, and quite thin - cut it off and run the fabric in the strong gloves down the bramble from the growing point. The leaves and thorns come off surprisingly easily.
The brambles are dried for a day or so, then sanded to remove remaining lumps and bumps, before being soaked for flexibility (I'm still experimenting with optimum drying and soaking times). Jon's Bushcraft says the first drying has most of the shrinkage, so that after rehydrating they become flexible but don't shrink more when woven.
First stage - completing the base
Very surprised how lovely the colours of the brambles are when woven, and how varied.
Blues, purples, greens and browns!
Blues, purples, greens and browns!
Second stage, finishing off the base and starting the sides
Final stage - finishing the sides and adding handles
With added jars: Dave bravely testing the handles!
Piccalilli and onions, put away to pickle for a few weeks in the trailer.
The best thing about this process has been changing our attitude to our brambles - no longer a weed and a problem. Now a resource.
No comments:
Post a Comment