How to mend a knitted blanket - unconventional method

My youngest has a lovey that she refuses to sleep without.  It was the only blanket she would sleep with as a baby.  She is so possessive over it, she has fits if her sister even touches it.  It is almost impossible to even put it through the wash every now and then. When I saw a hole in her knitted blanket, our house went on Red Alert.  I was thinking "No!  I don't want to wean her off of that yet!  HELP!  What are we going to do?!"  It wasn't pretty.  

I called my mum and she didn't know what to do without looking at it and I'm hopeless with anything that involves yarn.  In desperation, I posted my plight on Facebook in hopes of some advice.  I got something, the mom of the friend who made the blanket saw it and asked Heather what to do and told me that I should take a yarn needle and sew the loose ends back together.  So I look at the hole.  All I see is a large spot and one tiny loose end.  I had no idea what I was supposed to do with the yarn needle.  I gave up.  Later, I was talking to my husband about the possible horror we were about to experience without it.  The brilliant guy he is suggested I put a patch on it.  In my head I was saying, but that isn't very pretty.  A light bulb moment...but a cute heart shaped one would be!  So that is what I did.

If you have a knitted or crocheted blanket that you desperately need mended and can't do a thing with yarn than this is for you.  

I simply cut out two hearts from some fuzzy pink fabric I had...

 zig-zagged around the edges...

 sandwiched the hole between the two hearts and sewed around the edges.  

Super easy and I think it turned out pretty cute.  Thank you, Michael, for the idea!  I'm sure by the time she gives this thing up it will have a few more.

(Sorry for the extra terrible pictures, I was trying to do it before Laurel noticed, so I was in a little bit of a hurry.)

Thimble Berry Goodness!

As you know I live at a summer camp next to a lake.  Well, all around our house and the back acreage of camp has thimble berries.  Last year, I decided to try making jam with them and found out that we really liked it.  So I decided I'd do it again this year.  This morning we woke to buckets of water falling from the sky.  So there went my plan to pick them today.  Luckily, the sun came out in the late afternoon.  While my husband watched a movie with the girls, I went out and picked as many as I could find.  I wandered all over our backyard area and down the back dirt road.

(After a quick tick check, yuck!) I washed them all up in a vinegar wash (1 part vinegar to 10 parts water) to kill any possible mold, bugs, and disinfect, thus helping them to last longer.  Then I put them in a container and froze them till I feel I have enough berries and time to make jam.  

When I do go to make it, it is super easy.  Here's the recipe:

 Equal parts berries to sugar

Boil for 2 minutes.

Pour into jars and let it set up.

That's it.  Super easy.  Be sure not to boil too long, otherwise it becomes impossible to spread.

This fall, I want to pick huckleberries, since we have those too and make jam from those.  I hope to have enough for gifts at Christmas.  

I hope you enjoy all the great food nature has to offer this summer!