I got quite a bit done on the sampler today and think I can finish it before the weekend – woohoo! Here is today’s update…

In two weeks we are going for our annual skiing trip and this afternoon I went through my stash to look for a couple of (really) small projects to take with. I prefer to take a couple of small ones rather than a single big one.  At long last I managed to pick just five from the lot and will get the thread and fabric together over the next few days.

1. Drawn Thread – The Thanksgiving Sampler
2. Drawn Thread – Guardian Angel Sampler
3. Drawn Thread – Mighty Oak Sampler
4. Lizzie*Kate – Love My Dog
5. X-Appeal – Spoiled Rotten Dogs 

After the hard work of fondling stash ( ) I decided to bake a banana bread as I’ve been craving a slice of B-bread slathered with butter for a while now. Here’s a pic of the beauty before it met it’s timely demise…

…but no one is home! This morning I wanted to phone the shop in Bamberg to order some of the pretty fabric I saw on Saturday. All went well till I picked up the phone. I have the phone in my hand but something is missing -  the phone number. No problemo, I’ll just check it online. I have the Google site open but something is missing – the shop name. Oh, that’s easy! I’ve been there at least 15 times and it’s called…???

Here is my progress on the Summer Sampler for today:

I’m getting a bit bored with the sampler. I started it in December but put it aside a couple of times to stitch other projects. I’m eager to start some smaller projects but if I put this aside one more time it’s definately going to become an UFO.  The fact that I’m not getting a lot of stitching done at a time also means that the project is just dragging on and on. Oh well, I only have the house and garden to stitch and then I’m done so the end is in sight.

Tonight the Good Husband cooked for us again and it was delicious! He cooked Chili con Carne and had a novel idea for serving it - ’Build A Burrito’. It was great fun and he had all sorts of yummy ‘building blocks’ on the table. 

I stitched a bit more on my Summer Sampler today.  At the moment I’m only stitching in short bouts whereas I normally have about three to four hours stitching time every day.

We had a very laid-back weekend and our little trip to Bamberg was lovely as usual. It was a dark and dreary day but we had a super time despite the unfriendly weather. I didn’t take a lot of pics but you can see why we think it’s so pretty there!

There is also a tiny, tiny, tiny little knitting/stitching shop that I make a point of visiting when we are there. I do most of my shopping online, but it is nice to see/feel stuff every now and again. The shop mainly carries knitting supplies, but she does have a couple of bolts of stitching fabric and a small assortment of Anchor threads.  This is my stitchy spoils for the day; white 32 ct Edinburgh linen and two skeins Anchor Multicolor Pearl Cotton for another bookmark!

While looking at the fabric, I saw some checkered linen that looks like Graziano, except where Graziano have a cream background, this one have a white background and is called (if memory serves) Palermo. She had four colours: white/pink, white/yellow, white/blue and white/green.  I wasn’t sure what to use it with but (of course) the moment the shop closed I had a brainstorm as to what all I can stitch on it! I’m going to phone her tomorrow to place a mail order for some fabric…

I’m happy to say that I got some stitching done on my Summer Sampler today. Not a lot, mind you, but better than nothing!

I got this from Gina in the mail today – it’s called The Freedom Drummer Boy and it’s by Bent Creek. Isn’t he a cutie?

Tomorrow we are going to Bamberg.  It’s one of our favourite towns in Bavaria and for me it is one of the most beautiful towns in Germany altogether.  I’ll be sure to take some pics to share. 

Speaking of pics – are my pics too big? Do they take long to load? I’m (very) new to blogging and am worried that readers find the page slow. Please let me know what you think.

No stitching on the Summer Sampler today… – again! I am SO definately going to remedy that tomorrow, promise. Got the exchanges wrapped up & mailed them off and I hope the recipients like their goodies. 

For Hilly H. in the Fridge Magnet Exchange – her kitchen theme is lobsters, crabs, prawns, etc:

For Karen W. in the Bookmark Exchange – she didn’t specify what designs she preferred but her favourite colour is pink:

And here they are all dressed up and ready to go:

Now I suppose you ask yourself: what is the point of showing wrapped parcels when you have already shown a pic of what’s inside… Well, I have a confession to make – I love tissue paper and have several colours/designs that I use for wrapping in exchanges so I’m really just showing off!!

Till tomorrow!