Tucson

6:30 a.m. on the road per the plan! Non stop talking and fun for the few hours to Tucson (mostly fun, except for the speeding ticket, turns out when I talk fast I drive fast). A quick stop at the Bead True Blue show to get our house key. Rooming with Belvia of BSharpArt.com who does great diochroic glass and Taina (sadly no website yet) but great resin jewelry. Turns out I bought a great pendant from Taina last year.

Above is the view from the gorgeous house we rented

Ok, there is heavy linking required for this post.

Last nights interweave party was a great venue for catching up with folks I just don't get to see enough. There was Cynthia and Mark, and Marlene Blessing from Interweave, and Melinda, Beadwork's fabulous new editor and Kelly Angeley and Leslie Regalski , editor of Step by Step Beads and Jean Campbell and Kathy Dannerbeck and Jeannette Cook and Scarlett Lanson and Janice and Tracy the Wired Arts girls ( so fun) and so many who's company I enjoyed.

And then the shopping began....First 'The Best Bead Show' where I saw Devon Somerville and Kate McKinnon and Beki and Shawn of Whimbeads and Leah Fairbanks and Sharon Peters and John Winter and Kelly Russell and....yeah it was fun! And ate the best taco at the Taco Haas.

I must go on in detail about Kelly Russell's work. Her displays were beautiful, her pmc and polymer pieces so eclectic and wonderful, using pencil and polymer and filigree and adornments of all sorts. And then she brings out this double bracelet of liquid polymer and pmc, wired onto pearls, with Paula Radke diocrhoic beads and I just can't tell you how in love I was with this piece. I introduced my friend Susan from the Beading Frenzy in San Mateo California and Kelly will come teach this fabulous piece and more. I only hope a weekend is selected where I can attend, wow I would be so happy!

And I stopped by Out on a Whim to discover that there is now a flyer for the Bead Unique retreat I will do with Beki and Sherri Serafini this year in Tahoe, Ca. Oh my, teaching with Beki and Sherri, I can't wait.

And then Kate was there and I was looking for a Bird ring and Green Girl Studios next door had birds and Kate agreed to make me a bird ring and I will make her a seed bead ring and oh it's all so good.

And I ran into Dee, who took an urchin bead class with me in Bellevue last year. Dee created an excellent colorway and designed the perfect necklace to showcase urchin beads.

Off to 'the Bead True Blue' show where I began to work down the visual shopping list, making good progress.

And selected fire polish beads for my Grove Girls back home. They are my knitting gals who have now declared 'the year of the bead' and have embraced beading in a big way. We will bead a fire polish cuff together when I return.

And a highlight was meeting Andrew, artist,brother, of Cynthia Thornton of Green Girl Beads. I've read Andrew's blog regularly and favorited a memorable post on rejection of one's work which felt profound to me and then there he was and he was delightful. He gave me a beautiful handrawn card with purple to match my shirt.

It's been a great show so far!