Theme-a-licious August Update

The theme for this month is Altius August - Embrace the Olympic motto--Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger)--by elevating your mind. It's the perfect time to learn something new! Or maybe achieve some goals...
I thought I'd follow Heather's example and set myself some targets and award myself Bronze, Silver and Gold medals for how many I complete.  Here are the August targets, in five categories, one for each ring:

Blue Ring
Band Sampler Round Robin - Finish the current piece and also the one due to arrive next week - Finished the first, the second arrived today -  Bronze Medal
Blue Ribbon Designs - stitch the snowman ornie and scrapbook the two together - not yet

Yellow Ring
Joan Elliott Round Robin - Finish the current piece -  Finished -  Bronze Medal
Birthday cards - stitch two cards for lucky August ladies -  Finished one - Silver Medal 

Black Ring
Giveaways - stitch at least one of the two outstanding prizes - Finished one - Bronze Medal
Needlecraft Haven - stitch the August freebie  Finished - Silver Medal

Green Ring
Papillon Around the World - stitch at least the outlines for Parts 3 and 4, complete Parts 1 and 2 including the metallics. - outlines complete, Part 1 complete - Bronze Medal

Red Ring
Just-Nan-a-thon - stitch at least one design - not yet
12 in '12 - keep up the good progress and either start or finish another one of my 12.  NB this does not include the BBD as it is nearly done even as I type - not yet

So that's a total of four Bronze medals and two Silver Medals so far.  According to the table of medals, that means I am India.  Please feel free to sing the Indian National Anthem and salute "our" flag.

And here as the athletes who won those medals for us.  First is the Band Sampler Round Robin, Laura's Sampler:

This is the Band from Celtic Leaves by Northern Expressions Needlework.

Next up is the Joan Elliott Round Robin.  I stitched on Michelle's Fantasy piece this round.  I chose the Unicorn from the Bewitching Book:

I didn't stitch the dark green background charted as it looked so nice with the gorgeous fabric showing through.  I did find all the grey and white a little boring as it didn't really look like anything much until I got to the backstitch.  Then it really took shape!  And the purple Kreinik was amazing to stitch with (unlike the gold which was a PITA).  Here's the whole piece so far:

I love the variety in this RR, it's not just Ladies, it's dragons and unicorns and geishas and fairies and flowers and Christmas and everything!

Birthday cards - you saw Kathy's recently, here it is again:

The other has not yet been sent, so you'll have to wait for that one!  The same goes for the giveaway prize and the Needlecraft Haven freebie challenge.  You'll see them all on the final Theme-a-licious update on the 31st.

And finally, some sad news, for those who haven't heard; the designer Marilyn Leavitt Imblum has passed away.  She was the designer behind Lavender & Lace, Butternut Road, Told in a Garden and also Nora Corbett's mother.  So she leaves an amazing legacy behind her both in her designs and her talented daughter.  I think it is appropriate to show a photo of L&L's Angelica.  I stitched this while my own Nana Ivy was passing away (literally, in the room with me and my stitching) and it hangs on my wall in her memory.  She was an August Birthday and it seems fitting that Nora has just released August's Birthstone Fairy Peridot.

R.I.P. Marilyn and Ivy