Sunday Samplers

I didn't have school yesterday, although I do have a take-home midterm, so we headed north to the thick of Northern Virginia for a little stash building expedition and to go out to lunch at a decent Chinese restaurant (something sadly lacking in our area, although for whatever reason, we have about 4 good Thai places). I hadn't been to In Stitches in Alexandria for several months, and I was mindful of all that inventory going unexamined and unpurchased by me. I always see great stuff there that I haven't even seen on the net, which is remarkable, considering how much time I spend online trolling the needlework sites. In fact, these days I feel a little jaded, don't you? Ho hum, another XYZ Sampler. Seen that. Oh, gee, another [name a designer]--a variation on the last 18 she's done. I particularly like In Stitches' deep selection, especially remarkable considering it's also a fabulous framer and a purveyor of knitting yarns and needlepoint canvases. But lookie here--something I hadn't run into in my travels online or IRL:
This is Janet Gibson's Scottish Swan Sampler, a historic reproduction sampler by Hope's Dwelling Place by Whimsey & Wit.

And this is Colonial Seasons by Tristan Brooks Designs (www.tristanbrooks.com). I'm thinking of stitching all four designs on a single panel, although they're designed to be ornaments.

[edited later to add that both are available online--for whatever reason, I haven't seen them, perhaps because their designers haven't been hugely prolific so that their designs haven't saturated the market? In any case, you can get Colonia Seasons from Criss Cross Row's site, and the Scottish Swan Sampler from Homespunsamplar's website]
I bought some other things too, which I'll show you later. And by the way, if you are a fan of Au Fils Des Reves' little French designs, snap up whatever kit or chart you might see; they have ceased business. I don't imagine those charts will fetch on ebay what the Goode Huswife's old charts do since they're less well known, but it's a shame to see them pass out of existence. Their things are sweet and quintessentially French.
And here's a little tease for Carol--remember you said in your RR instructions that you'd like to get a peek at your RR from time to time? LOL--it's sitting there next to the only cat in the house who's too lazy to get up and go lie on it, by the way, although you can be sure that after taking this picture from the catwalk, I ran back downstairs and put it safely away again. I found just the chart for its newest block at In Stitches, and I'll be showing further hints as I go.

I spent some time today stitching on Summer Something-or-Other, which is appropriate, since today it was 90 degrees.

The Chinese food was great, by the way: fresh Chinese leek dumplings, pickled cabbage and sauteed shrimp for appetizers, and then Peking duck for two. There's a new Afghan restaurant in 7 Corners that we'll try next time--which will necessitate another stop at In Stitches, I'd say.