MADDesigns News

I've been beading and planning and kitting and book signing and I expect very soon for much of it to come together and be ready for you.

I recently made several of these and have written up the tutorial  It's a very pretty cubic right angle weave bracelet with a very elegant integrated clasp.  The clasp is beautifully made and is a very strong magnet, no falling off or attaching itself to your car door!  It's also a great way to try out cubic raw.  I find that although some remain scared of right angle weave, the problem is usually the every otherness of the stitch.  One time you clockwise, the next time you go counter clockwise.  One time you pick up two beads first the next time you go through the side, top, side and next bottom then pick up two beads.  Sometimes our mind just doesn't work like that. So!  The great news for those of you who have felt RAW impaired is that in some ways CRAW is easier because you skip through the intersection which means you are always traveling in the same direction.  And if you start with pearls and crystals the cube is pretty easy to see.

Soon I will have a couple of colorways available as kits.  I'll be sure to let you know when!  I'm especially fond of this platinum pearl and light metallic gold crystal combination with a gun metal clasp.

I'm also working on putting together some book kits for you.  I suspect we'll have some ready by the end of next week.  One of my personal book favorites is the leaf slide necklace so I decided that is first up.

I'll be doing a book signing of Beads in Motion at the Beading Bar in San Diego on August 10th at 2:00 p.m. and I'll be teaching there as well on August 8th.  A collaboration with Cooky Shock combining metal and seed beads!

MADDesigns packaging is getting a new look which I hope to finalize this week.  Something just as pretty but a little less labor intensive and hopefully a little more transportable.

My late summer and fall schedule is pretty full and balancing that can be challenging.  Next I'll be at Fusion beads in Seattle followed by a weeks romp around Seattle with my good friend!  Ferry rides, Chihuly and who knows what else.

I follow that with a nephews wedding in Santa Fe and I mean follow as in fly home from Seattle, land, get in the car and drive to Santa Fe!  But it should be beautiful and nice to have some family time.

I am fortunate enough to spend another week of cruising in Alaska with Dallas and Nancy Cain.  Classes at Beads Gone Wild will happen in late September and I am told they are approaching full so you may want to have a look.  Then a long anticipated trip to England and Germany for more teaching.  Returning late October I will do my annual Beads by Blanche classes in November, and I have some really good ones! and then off to Japan.

How's your fall shaping up?  Will you be beading?