So cooool!
My goal is to grow ALL OF THE CUCUMBERS this year and I would really love to make some pickles, but preserving is a little scary to me … I’m not sure why 
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@PrincessP, I felt the same way. I was curious about canning but worried that I’d make a mistake and someone would get sick. So a few years ago I gave myself a challenge (an Advanced Studies project in the HPC actually), to make 7-11 canning projects over one summer; including 2-3 infusions, 2-3 pickles, 1-2 condiments, 2-3 jams/jellies & 1-2 dry good mixes. I ended up making 20 recipes, that resulted in 105 jars of food!
I just tried to find my post on Craftster to link to, but it looks like it’s not viewable now. 
In it, I gave a list of detailed advice on how to get started canning, based on what I had learned that season. I have a PDF of the post tha I saved before the site was frozen in December. I’ll try to post it here on LC later today. For now, here are my top three pieces of advice:
#1. Get the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It is totally affordable from Amazon, but you can also certainly find it at your local library.
#2. Read everything about the canning process first. And read about it in the Ball Book. They are a time tested company, and their recipes have been tested and perfected over those years. If you find a shiny looking book full of pretty pictures by someone else, by all means, check it out too. But consider the Ball Book the bible of canning. Everything I made out of it came out exactly as described.
#2.5. Read the whole recipe you are about to create, top to bottom. Double check to have everything you need before you start. Go to the store for the thing you forgot. Then read the whole darn thing through again, just to be certain.
…
#4. Start with something simple, that you won’t mind eating all of right away, if the jars somehow don’t seal. And something that doesn’t require expensive ingredients. If you are growing a pot of tomatoes on your deck, or your neighbor gives you 30 zucchini, try something like salsa or zucchini pickles.
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Class or Challenge Title: Quidditch - Ballycastle Bats
House: Gryffindor!
Project Name & Page Link: Navy Blue Dice Bag
Brief Description: I’ve had a lot of success with my dragon egg dice bags in the past, and I’m trying to stash bust more yarn and scales, so I whipped up another one. This time in navy blue ands silver.
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Class or Challenge Title: Quidditch - Sweetwater All-Stars
House: Gryffindor!
Project Name & Page Link:
Brief Description: Yesterday I made a batch of Peach & Jalapeno Pepper Jelly. Sadly only 5 out of my 9 jars sealed. But the color and texture came out great.
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Class or Challenge Title: Detention - Reparo
House: Gryffindor!
Project Name & Page Link: Saving the Pepper Jelly
Brief Description: Today I managed to reprocess my unsealed jelly from yesterday’s batch, with new lids. I dumped the 4 unsealed jars back into a pan, and warmed it slowly, while heating the canner, jars and lids. Then I resealed it into 5 jars (replacing a half pint with 2 4-oz jars) to fit the new lids I had.
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Class or Challenge Title: House Unity
House: Gryffindor!
Project Name & Page Link: Hufflepuff Dice Bag
Brief Description: I have a friend who is the very epitome of Hufflepuff. A fiercely loyal and true friend, who values hard work and fairness. So I whipped him up a Hufflepuff themed dice bag.
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Class or Challenge Title: Muggle Studies
House: Hufflepuff
Project Name & Page Link: Pillow Covers
Brief Description: I’m taking over the basement to for our homeschooling room. It’s a dungeon in there. So, I made pillow covers to hide and protect the extremely old and ugly pillows on the couch. I had SO MUCH fabric, so I used some cute flannel and fleece. They envelope pillow covers so they can be taken off and washed. Three pieces of fabric sewn together.
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Class or Challenge Title: Detention - Stash
House: Gryffindor!
Project Name & Page Link: Star Baby Blanket
Brief Description: This project was created for an LC friend who is expecting. I don’t think she’ll see this post, but I’m blurring the picture anyways. I wanted to go gender neutral, so I found this buttercup yellow and soft turquoise in my stash, and picked up a skein of white with color speckles. The pattern is called 6 Day Star Blanket, and alternates bands of dc with bands of granny.
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Class or Challenge Title: Study for Ancient Runes
House: Hufflepuff
Project Name & Page Link: Bib Bandanas
Brief Description: My littlest niece is starting solids and my sister realized she needs way more bibs. So I whipped her up some real quick last night. They have a print on the front and a solid on the back, all flannel.
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~ ADVANCED STUDIES PROPOSAL ~
Project Name: Stash Busting Hygge Holiday Throw
House: Gryffindor!
Brief Description: I’m attempting to transfigure as much of my stash as possible into useful objects. A friend gave me 10 skeins of Sugar Bush Yarns Canoe, in Purple Rain. While 10 sounds like a lot, it wasn’t quite enough to make a blanket, but was too much to make much else. So I scrounged up a few skeins in Pink Paddle from Zulily, to have enough to make the Hygge Holiday Throw. I’m not sure who it will go to when it’s done, but I’m sure I’ll find someone who needs a cozy afghan to snuggle with.
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Love the pizza fabric!
Oh my… I’m not doing well with my Advanced Study. Another week with no progress! I got side tracked, getting to know my new-to-me sewing machine, making masks… :: SIGH ::
Advanced study update: I’ve made pom poms, a bunch of them, and still not enough. But at least I’ve begun.
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Class or Challenge Title: Flying
House: 
Gryffindor!
Project Name & Page Link: Paris Pouch
Brief Description: Something inspired by a place you’d like to visit in Wizarding, Muggle or fictional world.
I made this clear front pouch in the Common Ground swap. I would LOVE to go back to Paris one day, I only had 2 days there the first time. It was SO beautiful 
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Class or Challenge Title: Quidditch Cup - Ballycastle Bats
House: 
Gryffindor! 
Project Name & Page Link: Clear Front Pouch
Brief Description: Craft something that you have had success with in the past.
I really enjoyed making the first clear front pouch, so I made another for myself 
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Class or Challenge Title: Book Club - Ch 14; Norbert
House: Gryffindor!
Project Name & Page Link: Frog and Toad Tags
Brief Description: Something you will pass on to a friend.
I was so happy to make friends with @grenouille78 in the Common Grounds swap. We both shared a love of the classic characters Frog and Toad and I was very happy to make these tags for her. I had SUCH fun making them, and it really got me back into paper craft.
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Class or Challenge Title: Quidditch Cup - Sweetwater All-Stars :: Scrappy Crane Blocks
House: Gryffindor!
Project Name & Page Link: This is the pattern I used - but there are lots out there on the internet
Brief Description: Something that incorporates the number 5; 5 of the same item.
I’m part way through a private swap with a friend. I’m going to make a few scrap fabric baskets as the finished product and I’ll be sending along the scrappy cranes in a variety of colours so she can continue to make some more baskets for herself 
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Great projects! I love that maker fabric!
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Now I know where all of the projects are “hidden”!!! WOW…you guys have quite a gallery here…we need to promote this page…I am blown away at the food, the sewing, the art,…fantastic stuff!!!
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Those cranes are amazing! In the dead space, we did quilt block swap and that was one of the blocks…
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Class or Challenge Title: Quidditch - Fitchberg Finches
House: Hufflepuff
Project Name & Page Link: Batch o’ Dresses
Brief Description: I needed to make a lot of doll dresses at once, so I put on a good podcast and several hours later (with some breaks for regular weekend activities) I had a batch of seven dresses sewn.
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