Cherry Time
In addition to my quilting addiction, I am also slightly obsessed with canning. Commercially canned food is easy to buy and it's so much cheaper than I can make it using all fresh, locally grown produce, but for some unexplainable reason, I enjoy the home canning process.
Jam is my favourite thing to make and this week I made some delicious cherry jam. There are a range of fancy tools available for pitting cherries, but I still use my mother-in-law's old cherry pitter. After pitting a few cherries your thumb starts to sting and after you pit enough for a batch of jam, your thumb is really sore from moving that plunger up and down. But it's only once a year, so I power through. But next year I'm going to try this youtube method which looks too good to be true!
This batch resulted in a jam maker's disappointment called "fruit float". The consistency is okay (even though I never add the recommended amount of sugar), but perhaps I didn't cut the cherries small enough? Oh well, it tastes great and that's the main thing.
On the same day as I was pitting and canning cherries, I was hand quilting a cherry block for my Life is Beautiful quilt.
What are the chances of that?!?
And now... for your smile of the day, hop over to quilt historian Barbara Brackman's blog post about the "alarming trends" she has noticed - click here.
14 comments:
Ooh ouch-ey!! Still looks like yummy jam...and your embroidery cherries ar lovely...
Sunbonnet sue is morphing for sure...lol thanks for the smile hugs, Julierose
I can tomatoes if I get too many ( though that is hard lately because the grandkids help to eat the bounty ) but I have made jam and love doing it, though I know the work involved. Lovely quilting to go along with your jam! :)
For me the best cherry pitting tool is still a bobby pin. I find the best use for runny jam or jelly is as topping on pancakes or waffles.
I love that you are "putting up " your own food! Delicious and you know exactly what is in it. And your cherry embroidery is sweet.
How cool is that cherry pitting method? My "pitter" is one you just squeeze, scissors style. I have never made jam with cherries. I just pit tart cherries when making pies.
The perfect Life Is Beautiful block for the week of cherry jam making. :)
Now I have to hop over and see what has Barbara "alarmed".
Your cherry block is the perfect one for today! Bet your jam tastes delicious even if the fruit is floating. Feel free to bring some with you to my house!!!
Looks yummy, I love cherry preserves and cherry pie filling! I like the pattern you are using - cannot find the book though. Guess I missed out on that one!
Mmm...cherries! Your cherries looks delicious. I'd love some of that "fruit float" to pour over ice cream. Mmm... Your cherry embroidery looks fantastic and fun that it fits in with your cherry canning. Happy stitching! --Andrea
I love your hand sewn cherry project! And thank you for the great link about Sun Bonnet Sue, that was hilarious!
I inherited the family Cherry pitter. It goes on a mason jar. One by one you push the spring loaded pitter, pits fall into the jar. In George, Washington they make a Big Cherry Pie for his birthday.
I am not a jam maker...I tried making my husband raspberry jam once but it jelled too much and he did not like it that way...he did appreciate my efforts though! I love eating fresh cherries!
I was thinking of you as I was searching the internet for a pattern. Here is a link to several Canadian Flag free patterns: http://quiltinspiration.blogspot.com/2012/07/free-pattern-day-canadian-flag.html
Sorry the jam didn't quite work out as expected. Happy stitching this week.
OMG, I've never seen that method for pitting cherries. Thank you! I think I need to make a cherry clafouti now.
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