Reading Not Stitching

Sad to say there was no time for stitching this week.  I had a business trip to Atlanta most of the week - at least it was warm there (it was only in the high 40s here in Chicago - brrr).  I rarely take stitching with me when I travel on business, as I always think I will have the opportunity to stitch but I've learned that it just never happens.  I did start reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle on my Kindle, and so far I'm enjoying it.  When I got home, I picked up a book that my friend Amy recommended - The School of Essential Ingredients.

I loved this book - it's about a cooking class taught by a restaurant owner and how the act of cooking with others affects all of their lives.  It's worth it for the descriptions of the food alone, but I also really enjoyed the story.  It's a fast read (I started it late last night and finished it by noon today) and it's thoroughly enjoyable if you like to cook or eat.

Maria and Richmond WIP Photos

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to my mom who is my best stitching friend, and who is much more prolific than I am, at least these days!  Although I wasn't with her today, we spent some time last weekend picking out frames for our latest masterpieces and I know she's spending her day stitching today.

We finally had a sunny day so that I could take some progress pictures of Maria Antoni and the Richmond sampler.  I haven't made as much progress as I would like but I did finally finish the lower right section on Maria today. Here's a picture of the entire piece (as you can see, I'm skipping around because I want to leave the majority of the satin stitch for last).

Here is a closeup of the lower right portion, finally complete.

 The long-armed cross/reversible cross seems to be taking forever - I've ripped out more on this piece than on anything in a long time!  It does look nice when it's done, however, especially on the back where it's all vertical lines.

I haven't done much on Richmond, but I am about halfway done with the top border.  I worked on it last night while I watched It's Complicated - what a great movie!  I still have one more flower to go, two baskets and the rest of the queen stitches in the border to go.

Here is a closer shot of the portion that's complete, and then a close-up of the basket.

I love how this piece is turning out - of course the next part is the dreaded over-one verse.  I can't wait until I get through that and can start the house and all the fun stuff below!

Milestones

OK, I realize that it's been quite a while since I posted here.  Work keeps me busy as always, so not a lot of time for stitching but I am making some progress on Maria Antoni and the Richmond Sampler.  And, I finally took Elizabeth Yeagers in to be framed last weekend when I was up in Madison.  It was hard to choose a frame but I think she'll look good when she's done!

This week is a week of milestones.  Over the weekend we went to Madison to celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday and had a lovely time.  The weather couldn't have been nicer and we took Dad out for a nice dinner on Saturday and then met my brother and his wife for breakfast and a walk through the Arboretum to see the lilacs on Sunday.  All of the flowering trees are at their peak (at least 2 weeks early!) which made for a nice drive through the Wisconsin countryside on the way up and back. 

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary.  Andy sent me some beautiful flowers and we're going out to dinner on Friday night to celebrate.  It doesn't seem like eight years since we walked down the aisle - how time flies! 

Maybe tomorrow I'll actually get out the camera and post some progress pics of Maria and Richmond!