Traveling Bracelets

The brainstorm of long time beader Sig Wynne Evans, The Amazing Adventures of the Traveling Bracelets is indeed an amazing adventure.

Sig has created ten different bracelets and sent them out in the world to be worn for one week at a time and passed on to the next person.  Her blog tracks the travels of each one and it's great fun to see their journey.  I always marvel at  how inter connected the bead community is and so I watch with interest the number of people I know who are connected to the bracelets. Here you can read how I came to have Memories of Istanbul.

Cynthia who writes her own blog post here, has been a Facebook friend for some years.  When I posted a travel plan that would take me through her hometown earlier this year, she wrote to invite me to stop and we did, and then we did again and now I think we've created a tradition. Cynthia happened to have Memories of Istanbul at the time of our last visit in Morro Bay and as she tells it the sparkle in my eye when I put it on made her decide that I would be next on the list.....really I begged, it's not flattering (Liz knows how I can beg) well I tried to be gracious, it was low-key begging....and this week Memories of Istanbul came to me.   Thanks Cynthia!

And so I will show you pictures of Maya posing and Amy posing and the bracelet will have a fine week here, but before I do, I want to tell you of my quest.  I am so enamored of this idea of the traveling bracelets and the inter-connectedness of the bead world (not mind you that you have to be a beader to participate, but it seems beaders do know one another, worldwide) I got it into my head that I would love to visit with each bracelet during it's travels.  I couldn't decide if that was an appropriate goal, lot's of people would like to have them of course, but they have a lifetime of journeys and so one week stop in San Diego in the scheme of things should be ok.....but I decided it was polite to get Sig's blessing and so I wrote and she's ok with my quest.

It came up when I read A2Susan a long time friend who I first met at the Great Lakes Bead Guild had Caribbean, another of the bracelets.  Susan and I have cruised together and had many a class together.  I restrained myself from begging yet again....but the idea was born.

So....if you have a traveling bracelet and you would like to support my goal of visiting with each one, I promise that I will show it a good time and if you had a special someone you wanted to send it on to, I would be happy to send it on to that person.  I'll think of way to let you know which ones I've had already....perhaps a link on the sidebar, so far I've had only the one, Memories of Istanbul, but I'll keep you posted.

If this is your first introduction to the bracelets, there is a 'sign up' on the comments block of the blog if you would like to participate.

Sig has put a lot of work into tracking the travels and keeping us updated, not to mention making each of the bracelets, and I'd like to thank her for her efforts.

And now, the first photos

Amy Blevins of Glass and Bead Boutique in Ptiman New Jersey came for a visit.  I met Amy when I traveled to Southern New Jersey early this year and again at Bead and Button.  I got to visit her beautifully stocked store and large comfortable class room. Miss Maya always takes the opportunity for a pet when I have visitors.

 Here is Maya, the reluctant model for Memories of Istanbul.

A group of gals I bead with re-arranged their timing and location so that they could have a visit with the traveling bracelet.  I suspect there will be a trip to Balboa park during the week, and then on Thursday I head off to the One Stop Bead Shop in Ohio.  The bracelet will go with me, enjoy the weekend and be passed on to it's next recipient!