Progress on House and Garden Sampler

Here are the latest photos of my WIP of my House and Garden Sampler. I have completed two houses, and have eight left to do! As you can see, I'm well on my way on the third home.

I am excited to work on it some more tonight.



A close-up of the yellow house:



The top of the trees and the birds:



Another view of the two houses:


Thanks for visiting here!

Cropped for Viewing

The above photo is one I cropped of a piece I stitched and finished quite some time ago. I like how it looks cropped! I will have to get that piece framed soon. The pattern is from an old For the Love of Cross Stitch magazine, and it's designed by Sam Hawkins. It's stitched on 18 count Aida as I began it long ago, before I decided to pretty much stitch everything on evenweave fabric.

I finally stitched some more on my House and Garden Sampler on Thursday evening, and I even started my next square on that project. I will share a photo here soon.


Here's a few more photos. My husband took them of some pansies in our yard. I love pansies!

Take care and thanks for all your comments. I really appreciate hearing from you, it's very encouraging to know that people read this little blog!

Stitcher W/Sue~ I promise to have my niece's Baked Spaghetti recipe here sometime soon.

Chili Time

Two days left, and then I'll have two days off. Hurrah!

I hope your week is going well, and that you're getting in some stitching time. I'm sure not stitching lately at all, but I love browsing on the internet at everyone else's stitching photos. I also love visiting so many non-stitching blogs that are also full of creative ideas, beautiful photos, and thought-provoking ideas.

Last week I made some chili one night for dinner and we really enjoyed it. I decided to (through my niece's request, see below) share the recipe here so that you too might cook some up one evening and enjoy it during these crisp days of winter. (It's crisp where we live, but it perhaps it is literally freezing in your part of the world!)

A-1 Chili Recipe

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 (14 1/2 oz) can tomatoes
1/2 cup A-1 Steak Sauce
1/2 cup water
1 (15-16 oz) can kidney beans, drained

Cook beef, green pepper, onion and garlic in large heavy saucepot over high heat, stirring frequently until beef is browned, about 15 minutes

Stir in chili powder; cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid; chop tomatoes. Add tomatoes and liquid, steak sauce, and water to beef mixture; heat to a boil.

Cover; reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in beans. Cover and simmer 15 minutes more, serve hot.

Makes 6 servings.

I always serve it with grated sharp cheddar cheese. This chili disappears quickly!

I wanted to also send a special 'hello' to my niece. She actually requested I put the recipe here, as she reads my blog. I think she's the only person in my family who reads it! If anyone else in my family does, they haven't mentioned it to me. My niece doesn't post much here, but she's in the picture below. She was the matron of honor at our daughter's wedding, and I love her very much. She was born to my brother and his wife when I was barely 19, and I took care of her many times when she was little. It's great to be close with her still. She's all grown up, and I am very blessed to have her in my life.



I hope the rest of your week goes well. Thanks for all your kind comments, and thanks for visiting here.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you! I hope your year is starting off well, and that you've had plenty to smile about these past four days of 2008.

At the top of this post is a stitching project that I hope to do someday. As odd as this may sound to you, I actually dreamed of this gorgeous piece last night. I'm sure you stitchers will understand! I dreamed I purchased the kit and was beginning the project. It's Chatelaine's Convent's Herbal Garden, and I first saw it displayed in person a little over four years ago when the CATS festival was actually local. Pictures just don't do it justice, and it's unbelievable in person. Perhaps a goal of mine should be to purchase the kit by the end of this year, but then again that seems like a very silly goal. I don't consider a purchase a goal at all. So we'll scratch that one!

Again, Happy New Year to you!