Picking herbs at an open farm day at our farm share, Spiral Path Farms.

Michael and I have promised ourselves that this is the last week of apple processing.  Really.  We’d promised ourselves that it was going to be the last 2 weeks ago, but I was tempted by a crate of apples for $25 (it worked out to be less than $1 per lb, which is a great price in these parts!) and have been drying apples for camping and snacking.  Michael on the other hand found a few coworkers who wanted to buy apple butter off of him, and Michael was only too willing to sell jars to them.  So he, also, is replenishing the stock of canned things.  At the end of this, we will have processed more than 150 lbs of apples… quite frankly, it probably was more.  And after we finish the apples?  We’re going to try our hand at cheese and yogurt.

A couple of our friends have questioned our sanity, spending so much time canning and preserving when things are much cheaper and less time-consuming if you buy them at the grocery store.  However, when I talk about canning and such with knitters and crocheters, I receive far less of that attitude.  I think knitters and crocheters “get it” far more than others.  Why?  Because we all see the benefits to doing things ourselves.  So for those of you stumped by the stitchers, canners, or other DIY people out there, here’s a list of reasons why we love taking the time to do it ourselves.

Our apple peeler, slicer and corer.  I love it.

• You know what is in it.  When you are canning fruits and vegetables, you have control of every little thing you put in the jar.  It can be exactly the way you want it.  The same thing with knitting and crocheting.  You have control over the yarn and it’s contents, the pattern, fit, style and feel of the fabric.  Either way, you can make intentional choices about what goes into the final product.

• You know where it’s come from.  In the same way you have control over what you create, you have control over the object’s origins.  For food, that means I can choose the freshest, best ingredients.  If I want organic, I can procure organic food.  If you make your own sweater, you can choose what yarn you want, and you can make informed choices about how it is sourced.  Since you are the one making the garment, you know it was made in ethical conditions.  If you want to support the local economy, you can choose yarn that is made entirely in the United States (Like Shepherd’s Wool) or a local dyer (like Dragonfly Fibers, for me).

• I find a meditative quality to making my own things.  The repetition of stitch stacking upon stitch.  The motion as I crank applesauce through our food mill.  There is a thoughtfulness and deliberateness to doing the same thing over and over, where it acquires more meaning because there’s more thought and deliberation put into each step.  Or maybe it’s just me.  I’ve always liked repetitive tasks.

• There’s satisfaction in doing something yourself.  On our fridge, we have a magnet that reads, “I eat Local, because I CAN.”  It’s both a reminder and a boast.  We eat local, because we can and preserve.  We also eat local because we are fortunate enough to have access to local produce. Either way, it’s a boast, because when it comes down to it, there’s something really satisfying when you pop open the top to something you canned yourself and you make a meal out it.  I get the same feeling when I knit or crochet.  There’s something incredibly satisfying about having someone compliment something you made and being able to say, “Thank you. I made it.”  The socks that I made myself are warmer, even if it’s only my imagination.  The food that I can myself is tastier, even if it’s just because I remember making it.