Summer stitching and a distraction

First they had to be sorted

 Market season's in full swing now, and though I don't do the amount of preserving that I did at one time, I still like to "put up" some of the produce that's special.  Recently I was able to source some sour/tart cherries from my fruit supplier, and froze about 15 pounds for later use in jams, pies, or sauces (particularly with chicken or pork). 

then washed in smaller batches

Then finally pitted individually,  frozen loose on baking sheets, and later bagged. 

I think they're beautiful :)   

Now back to stitching (after scrubbing my hands really well LOL - though I did use food prep gloves for most of the pitting work! - I still use a vintage hand-held pitter)  .....  In the past few days I've pulled out another of the Derwentwater Designs kits and I'm concentrating on stitching it with the goal to have it finished before mid-August.  Here's the photo from the kit package, and my progress to date.

 It's a little finicky, with multiple colour changes and some blended threads, but so far not too stressful.

But another trip to the market today - I'm just hoping that the apricots aren't quite ready yet, as I need to do apricot jam this year, and I'd like to get more stitching completed first :)  

Till later ......