Castle Sampler/Misty

Here's the latest on Castle Sampler. I've done almost all the over-two stitching now, just over-ones and backstitch to go ... there's still quite a bit. It felt a bit weird coming back to this after so much beading on Celtic Christmas, felt strange putting thread in the fabric without putting a bead on it!















As promised, here are some photos of our new puppy, who we've named Misty. She is gorgeous! Everyone who meets her likes her, even my sceptical Dad. She really is our dog even after just a week, she settled in after just a couple of days. It is a bit strange having a new household member, a bit like having a baby, but she is a very welcome addition! We chose the breed(English Springer Spaniel) and gender(female!)very carefully, and are delighted to have her.

My stitching progress has been slower since we've had the dog, also because I have read a book in the past two days! The recent enthusiasm for Harry Potter with the latest release reinforced how woefully behind I am with my reading of the HP books. My children have joined a summer holiday reading challenge at the library so we've been visiting regularly, and I managed to get our The Chamber of Secrets .... can't wait to get onto the next one now! Its really bad but I forget to use the library at any time other than when the children are doing summer reading, very bad really since my daughter is an avid bookworm easily getting through two books a day.

At the weekend a new branch of Hobbycraft opened up in Romford, the town I work in. This will be very useful for the odd skein of thread etc. I need, I will be able to pop in pick up in my lunch hour, rather than having to drive to my local branch and pay to park, which can make one skein of thread very expensive! I won't be stocking up on loads of new stash because everything is full price and I am a bargain hunter, but it was really nice to browse through and see all the stock in good condition and neatly arranged, a nice lunch hour treat!