Theme-a-licious July/August

Although my main focus for Jubilee July was celebrating Christmas, I started off with something different. Around here, there is always a huge celebration when Spring arrives! So I did some work on Spring Garden Gate.

I took a couple shots of to show the cool knotted stitch (actually a knotted stitch this time!) below the bunnies in progress. There will be three layers eventually. I'll get some better closeups for my next progress picture. That first shot is of the first layer...

...and this second one is of half of the second layer done. I didn't get around to finishing it, though...it was time to move on to celebrating Christmas!

First I worked on this lovely ornament by Milady's Needle.

It's lovely, but it's also on 40 count. FORTY! COUNT!! Therefore, I can only work on it during the day...the lighting I have isn't good enough to work on it at night. I think I started it last January and quickly had to put it away because there weren't enough daylight hours! (Remember my celebration of Spring? I desperately dislike Winter. After two weeks once I've worn all my sweaters once, what's the point??)

Then, I put in some serious work on Dancer.

He's coming along nicely; but I discovered I was missing a color of Kreinik. It's on the way, but it may be a while, since I took advantage of the Picture This Plus Christmas in July sale. I was very good and only ordered one piece of fabric for a chart I already have!

I did get some work done on a nice little squirrel ornament, but I neglected to get a picture!

On the "setting projects free"...well, I did start to go through my stash, but so far I only identified one kit that can go away. ;)

Now let's talk about THIS month, which is...

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Author! Author! August

The words are speaking this month! Hunt out those WIPs with a verse or two. It's time those projects with words and sentences grew.

I've already pulled some projects for the month. I may even start one, because I'm not sure the others are "wordy" enough. ;)

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So how was Jubilee July? Was your stitching a celebration or did you want to set it ALL free? What will your needle write for August? Please add your link below (to your latest Theme-a-licious post), and visit some other Themers if you can (everyone loves comments and encouragement!) Our next post will be on September 1st.

July Just Nan SAL Check-in

I actually got a band done this month on Lady Scarlet's Journey!

I'm still behind where I want to be, but these constant color changes are killing me. The fabric is a very open weave, too, so I can't cheat and carry over the thread...I have to end and begin for every one of those little flowers. The "knotted stitch" below the sheep was a lot of fun, though. Why did I put "knotted stitch" in quotes? Because there are no knots in this stitch, and it honestly doesn't even look knotted to me. It's just a long-arm cross variation. Anyway, it was a pleasure to do after all those color changes!

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July Smalls SAL Check-in

I'm continuing with Dragon Dreams's 12 Dragonlets series...this month, it's Seven Swans-a-Swimming...

...or IS it? This little dragon is suited up for Summer; perfect to stitch in July, even though I have not set foot in a pool since June! I love this month's take on the 7th day of Christmas!

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The Geekend That Was, 7/27

Click now for JiffNotes

Gee willikers, it's been a long time since I've done a Geekend post...the last time was in November!!

Neither Michael nor I were feeling great this weekend, plus it was hot, so there was a lot more indoor time than outdoor. We managed to make it out on Saturday to try a new place near us for lunch...

Amelie's is a French Bakery with a couple locations in the Carolinas. We had a roast beef sandwich on a croissant, carrot ginger soup, tea, and some dessert...

Overall, the food was good but not earth-shattering, and I thought it was slightly overpriced. The cream puff you see there was a good representation of the quality...the pastry was a little overcooked, but it was the best-filled cream puff I've ever had. There were no air pockets in this baby! The blueberry tart was good but not as flavorful as it should have been. We'll probably give them another try; especially since they are so close to us and will eventually be open 24 hours.

From there, we went to a place we'd driven by a few times, Crafted Westside, filled with art and goods made by local craftsmen (and women =). We ogled some nice art, but ended up just coming away with some macarons (please stop saying "macaroon," everyone!) and a nice piece of jewelry.

Here's a closeup of the jewelry:

I failed to capture how sparkly the amethyst is!

On Saturday afternoon and Sunday after church, we succumbed to playing the Destiny Beta (and, rats, it was fun, so now I want to preorder it!) I wasn't completely unproductive; I did make a cake that I read about on pepperknit's blog...a Cherry Olive Oil Polenta cake!

I didn't have a 10 inch pan, so I used a 9 inch one.

Maybe that's why mine came out so much taller than hers! Or maybe it was because I used cherries instead of a juicier fruit.

It's pretty good, but the jury's still out on whether I'd make it again or not. More research and sampling is needed. =)

There was also some stitching, but you're going to have to wait for all the month-end updates to see it!

JiffNotes
This weekend: Food. Next weekend: Exercise.

Theme-a-licious August is...

Author! Author! August

The words are speaking this month! Hunt out those WIPs with a verse or two. It's time those projects with words and sentences grew.

August's theme has sprung from the pen of Jan Gartlan! Actually, she suggested "Ode to October", but I've got another theme I like for October. =) Ooooo, aren't you all so curious now?? Jan, please email me your snail mail address so I can get a prize off to you!

I'll definitely be working on Shakespeare's Garden and Spring Garden Gate, which both have verses on them, but I'm going to look through the stash and see what else is wordy and telling me it should have some progress next month.