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 ......

Cloister Garden finished

Life's been a little bouleversé lately, with a house guest who had to stay longer than we'd originally planned,  but I was still able to get needle, thread, and linen together from time to time.  The result was, finally, a finish - Drawn Thread's Cloister Garden that's been in my workbasket for several years.  The multiple specialty stitches were challenging but, as usual, tremendously satisfying to master.  Here's a photo of the finished work - I'm still considering how to approach the framing.   The colours are very soft and should work well on the rose wall where it will hang.

Now back to that workbasket to see what else I can draw out of it - I see a couple of small ornaments, another British landscape, and of course some samplers .........

Our weather continues to be very warm but our garden room where I usually stitch  (with a door directly onto our patio) stays cool and pleasant.

Preserving and freezing seasonal produce will be a focus of the next few weeks, but stitching still remains a priority too :)