Theme-a-licious No-Xs November Check-in

The first project I worked on this month was actually a holdover from Opulent October....

 

This is Victoria Sampler's Heirloom Christmas Sampler, and the gold garland is stem-stitched. I had to get over myself so that I didn't try to "count" it out, since it's on linen.

Next, I did a little on Toccata....

 

I'm not thrilled with my satin stitch on the bottom right there, but at least another block is done!

Finally, I figured it was time to finish off my hardanger ornament. I did some Algerian eyelets, then I cut out the threads for the center.

 

And I was all like, HARDANGER! I know how to do this stuff! And then I looked at the diagram for connected wrapped bars, and my brain turned inside out, and here's how it still stands. I'm going to dig out my copy of Fundamentals Made Fancy and find a real diagram.

By the way, I do have a vague plan for Theme-a-licious for next year...I'm thinking, since participation has waned a bit, that we all might need a little break. What would you think about a theme every other month?

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Have you happily gone off the grid? Or are you going cross-eyed trying to work without Xs? Please add your link below (to your check in post), and visit some other Themers if you can (everyone loves comments and encouragement!) Our next post will be on the 30th of November, when we'll wrap up No-Xs November and talk about Detritus December!

Theme-a-licious Opulent October Wrap-Up

I really did think I had more sparkly projects in progress! So, I was forced (FORCED, I TELL YOU!) to start something new. And I even finished it!

This cute little guy is from a Mill Hill kit. He's now gracing my refrigerator door.

I managed to get a better (read: actually in daylight) picture of the section I did on Sapphire Star this month.

I was working on another piece, too, but I didn't manage to get home from work early enough to get a picture...so it will have to wait for the next update. =)

Hold hands and look both ways before crossing into...

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No-Xs November

What can you make without making an X?? Blackwork, hardanger, embroidery, needlelace, and the list goes on! Don't panic...you can even backstitch for the month!

Ornament Theme
hardanger or blackwork

Now let's all just calm down...you can do this! If you're feeling faint at the thought of not crossing any stitches for the month, just pick one project that's X-free. Try something different...something you've never done before, maybe?

I hope to spend some time with my Jane Nicholas stumpwork class piece, and I do have a hardanger ornament (or two...) that needs finishing. I have plenty of other projects on the go that will work this month, too!

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So how did your Opulent October go? Are your projects all shiny now? Please add your link below (to your wrap up post), and visit some other Themers if you can (everyone loves comments and encouragement!) We'll check-in on November 15th to see what you've crossed off your WIP list (see what I did there?)

Theme-a-licious Opulent October Check-in

Sorry posts have been slim on the ground...work is ridiculous right now. In fact, I just stopped working...but hey, I have two hours to get this post up before midnight!

Fall always takes me by surprise; I'm aware on some level that the amount of light is going to go down, but I always forget how quickly it happens and am slow to re-strategize my picture taking schedule. So Dancer here doesn't look too bad...

 

...though you might be hard-pressed to figure out where I added sparkly stuff (Hint: It's the snow under her feet.)

Whereas Sapphire Star looks pretty rough.

 

But I promise in real life, those colored sections are very sparkly and getting sparklier!

I have to tell you, when I started going through my WIPs, I was pretty shocked at the low number that included sparkly fibers or beads...so of course I had to start one. But I'll leave that as a surprise for the wrap-up post at the end of the month. =)

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Are all your sparkly projects making you feel like royalty? Or is the bling blinding you? Please add your link below (to your check in post), and visit some other Themers if you can (everyone loves comments and encouragement!) Our next post will be on the 31st of October, when we'll wrap up Opulent October and talk about No-XS November (don't panic)!

Finished Object Friday: Lone Column Socks

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I finished another pattern from my Cookie A sock club!

 
Pattern: Artemis by Cookie A
Ravelry project page

That makes 4 finished pairs (out of a possible 8...hmmm...well, one of the others is allllmost finished!) this year. That's pretty good for me, being a super-slow knitter.

And for those keeping (calorie) count, this shipment's cookie recipes were

Lemon Ricotta Cookies
 

Turtle Cookies
 

Tortoise (?) Cookies
 
I forgot to put the thumbprint in these before I baked them, so I just dipped them in the caramel. They were just as yummy. =)

JiffNotes
For more Finished Objects, head to Tami's Amis!

The Geekend That Was, 9/29

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Well, it's been a while since I did one of these updates! I still haven't gotten all the London and Oxford pictures sorted, but at least they've all been transferred to one computer!

This weekend we complemented our London and Oxford tours of art by catching the last day that Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring (among other works) was being exhibited at the High Museum.

 

Of course, no pictures were allowed in the exhibition. But between this one and a couple museums we went to in London, we've now seen the majority of his works. Michael said we should make up a scorecard and check off the last few. =)

After the exhibition we were both really tired from the week, so we took a little pick-me-up to the deck.

 

It was a gorgeous Fall day and perfect weather for a little tea on the deck. I think we should implement a tea hour here in the States during working hours!

Sunday and Monday I was very fortunate to have the opportunity of taking a class with Jane Nicholas. I have been "on call" for jury duty for the past week, so I was really sweating whether or not I'd be able to make it to the class on Monday. I have to call in EVERY NIGHT to see if I need to come in the next day. Bleah. Anyway, when I signed up for the class, I kind of missed the part where I was signing up for the ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE one. So when I read that Saturday night, I kind of panicked and only got about 5 hours of sleep. And I also showed up at the wrong location and was about 20 minutes late for class. Fabulous first impression I make there. But it all turned out OK. I did also severely overestimate the size of the project. It's way tinier than I thought!! Here's what I got done during the two days of class (and a little "homework" Saturday night):

 

Notice the size 28 petite needle in the upper left-hand corner! It was a crazy two days. Also, there were FAMOUS PEOPLE in my class. Janice Love, ya'll!! IN MY CLASS!! I almost passed out when I saw her nametag. She's very nice and had a crazy piece of Elizabethan needlework with her. Of course, I forgot my camera both days!! And also, Barbara Rakosnik! "Fortunately" I didn't realize who she was until later or I'd probably have made more of an idiot out of myself.

JiffNotes
If there's one thing I love, it's taking needlework classes. And I may or may not have squeed a little when I finished that blue beetle...SO CUTE!