Rainy week

It must be spring break for the public schools here...it's been raining every day.  Poor kids! 

A friend's son loves to fish and he occasionally comes here to fish on our lake.  Despite the rain , he was itching to stitch the other day when he had some unexpected time off.  Mostly it was a light rain but suddenly the sky opened up and it started pouring.  Luckily he was dressed appropriately...I think he  had even more fun because of the rain.  Here he is with his catch of that day:

I've mostly been model stitching lately but made so much progress last week that I took one day "off" to work a bit on Hetty Child.  I'm really enjoying this sampler. 

I've become quite a Brenda Keyes (The Sampler Company) fan.  I'd already stitched her Plymouth Sampler.  It's framed now and hangs over my "stitching nest".

I've since acquired several of her books and leaflets.  Just recently purchased one of her books and a sampler (Country House Sampler) on ebay and bought another sampler (Red House Sampler) from Down Sunshine Lane.  My biggest "problem" with these is deciding which one to start next.

I finished the LHN exchange block (Wool Needebook) and sent it off to the exchange co-ordinator.  I'll be stitching another one for me although may choose a blue for the house...or maybe not.  I'd like to finish finish it into a needlebook.  As long as I've been stitching, I need to make nice one for myself.

On the cooking front...we tried out a couple of recipes from the most recent Bon Appetit magazine.  Pork Ragu' with Creamy Polenta and Raspberry-Ricotta cake.  Both dishes were excellent with the bonus that they weren't that hard to prepare.  I loved that the cake satisfied my sweet tooth without being overly sweet as many desserts can be.

Pork Ragu over Creamy Polenta


Raspberry-Ricotta Cake

Here's what ours looked like:

Seeing everyone's stitching has inspired me to buy more designs either on ebay or through the shops.  I need to slow down a little....but I probably won't.  lol!

I hope to finish the model this week or next.  I'll then start the next exchange block (a BBD design) and the next Halloween ornament.  (I've ordered supplies for both.)  I'll also work more on Hetty and then decide on the next sampler start.

Happy stitching!