Yard Update

I've been remiss....last Thursday our semi-custom gate was installed. Semi because we got to pick the decorative panel, one side or two (we picked two) left or right handle, solid or perforated door panel (we picked solid) and sized to your opening. What we couldn't pick was the color of the interior panel which is black. We would have liked the same hammered grey as the railings and other grey yard accents, but black is what we got. With a lot of effort, it could be changed, but I'm thinking I will get used to it before a lot of effort is expended.

The first shot shows a peek through the plants of the veranda



and the second shows a little more of the decorative nature of it.



I find the big decisions very difficult, will I like it when it's complete? It is something about scale and permanence. Beadwork I can tear out, not a huge loss....Honey I don't really like that gate.....not really good, so it intimidates me. But all in all I am happy with this addition to the yard and especially happy with the privacy it affords.

The writing of a book

I've begun in earnest, moving from the conceptual to the actual process of beginning a book. And here are the two books that travel everywhere with me.

The colorful notebook is the planner. I'm a project manager at heart having had that role often in my corporate career. The notebook has a calendar of all my engagements, teaching and personal, and then I slot in the days for kitting, for beading and for illustrating around the travel days. I try to fit in some days for play as well. It also contains my correspondence, my annual kit requirements, show applications and any call for entry information that might interest me.



The black reporter's style mole notebook has blank pages rather then lined which I find easier to sketch on. I don't sketch pieces in detail, just enough to get a sense of the design and some notes about what beads to use. This one is designated for Beads in Motion. All the palettes are listed and there are a number of conceptual designs already planned out. I'll use it to make notes while I'm stitching and list things that need to be ordered. In fact yesterday I ordered size 15, 11 and 8 in each of the 4 color palettes I selected.

This one is tentatively called Forest so that I have a reference, it's alternatively called palette three.



Tabac, olivine, golden shadow, jet nut and a touch of jet.

Now it's time to order some crystal before my birthday lunch begins. No, it is not my birthday, in fact it's not even my birthday month, but I won't be here next Tuesday and the Tuesday after I leave for Europe and the Tuesday after I'll be in Europe. Tuesday is designated five girls get together and birthday lunch day, so I get to celebrate mine early. No doubt I will celebrate again, maybe a few times.

A is for Abacus

The very fitting name of Cynthia's second blogpost on her Adventures in Beaded Opulence blog. I have to agree with Cynthia, I love this cuff, the fluidity of the right angle weave fabric and the relaxed drape as it hugs your wrist make it worth every bit of beading.



My friend Gabriella is in the process of one now with a labradorite gemstone chip in place of the 'squarelettes' During her visit we found the perfect purple haze briolettes for the closure.

A bit of back story on Abacus. The book was ready to be turned in and one of the 24 projects being submitted was a business card case. Lark wanted to position the book as a jewelry book so they advised against having a non jewelry project. The business card case in process was size 11 one cuts with a matte size 15 as the contrasting bead. It was laying on the work table and next to it just happened to be the hot pink squares......I decided with just a bit more beading it could be come a cuff, and there you have it, the rest of the story.

I had so much fun reading Cynthia's latest blogpost as it showcases her ever present humor. It is going to be great fun watching this unfold!

I'm back

From a little unexpected blog vacation.

It was a bit of wild week last week. Starting with Wednesday night when I thought it would be fun to open registration at midnight for Beading by the Bay. Well starting before that as we prepped the website, tested out new inventory program and sent out emails to the interested parties. What was I thinking? Well I was thinking it would be just a bit of fun, but really people would get up in the morning and register. Since we open registration to returning students early it was true that there were a limited number of seats, and a lot of interest in those seats. So folks did indeed set their alarms (sorry East Coast and midwest, next time I will know better) and got up and registered. Which was all very exciting until about 3:00 a.m. when I got back to bed for an hour or two. When I got back up a couple of hours later, we were able to watch the new inventory system in action as it counted down the available seats and posted sold out in place of the Add to Cart button at 7:00 a.m.

Following that bit of fun, a friend arrived for a visit and we spent solid studio time working through color choices for the new book and then beading and visiting. It was delightful as she is an exceptional artist and it was wonderful to be able to talk through design choices of some of the projects I'll be working on.

Which leads me to the dilemma of...it could get mighty boring around here as most of the beadwork I'll be working on won't be of the shareable nature, although I'm sure a sneak peek here and there will work out. So what to do, well I have still have my engagements where I get to run around the world and meet beaders and I'll be sharing those of course. I'm off to Portland on Friday, a venue I've never been to and look forward to. That is almost immediately (yikes) followed by a three week trip to Holland and Germany. In Germany I will join friends Petra, Martine, Kathrin and Sabine and meet many others including Sian from England! This is very exciting as we discovered on another in blog land a couple of years ago and Petra discovered Sian through my blog and they have become fast friends and Sian is coming to Germany!

I'll have plenty to share, just not necessarily photos of new beadwork.

Will this do? It's sparkly, my new little Swarovski studded purse from Kippys, an institution in downtown Coronado. We visited the Artwalk yesterday where I visited with many friends who had booths there this year.



I've panicked myself with that little realization that I return home from Portland on Wednesday and leave for Europe the following Tuesday. I need to organize travel beads as I plan on getting a lot of book projects done. Fortunately I have some excellent palettes to work with, but I do need to order some beads. So I'll be going now. Bead well.

My Inner Nerd

Whenever I bead in public the first statement is 'You must have really good eyesight' Followed by 'How long does that take?' and the classic 'You must have so much patience' (which I by the way have never considered my strong suit).

In the eyesight department I did require glasses to read, bead, knit pretty much any thing close, the day I turned 40, I swear it was that very day! I opted for progressives since the whole on off, finding the readers or wearing them on a chain around my neck didn't appeal. For the most part this worked out and I also like the fashion of glasses, kind of like jewelry for your face.





So I have a couple of pairs or 3 or 4.....

When I was approached by Craft Optics to use a pair of there loops and provide feedback I wasn't sure I was there best candidate. I was doing pretty ok with my glasses, well except when the light was dim or the beads were particularly tiny or I had a knot....but ok.

And then I received a pair of Craft Optics, with my own prescription in the glasses and two telescopic lenses on the front (think your dentist). I wasn't wild about the fashion statement, but after a tiny bit of adjustment I was able to see detail like crazy. The beadwork appeared so close I was stitching air for the first few passes until my eye hand coordination caught up. I could see but I still didn't fully adopt them, getting up to get them if I had something I needed to see in more detail, or putting them on in a class to examine a students thread path closely.

Somewhere along the line I realized I was not using them for their full potential and I decided to give them an all out try wearing them every time I do beadwork. I'm really sensitive to different lenses so it took a little getting used to, but I noticed that my eyes didn't get fatigued, and my beading position was more comfortable. And I could see in gory detail (I do need a better manicure) every bead, every thread path, every knot that needs untangling. Ever bead in less then optimum light and wake up the next day to huge drag of thread that didn't get woven in and you didn't see it? I've overcome that.

So here I am....made only slightly more nerdy by the fact that I am also listening to a book on tape while I read, this one State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.




If you are doing a lot of fine detail work you might consider looking into these. Price is relative, not as expensive as my fancy framed progressive lensed eyewear that I usually wear but more then a pair of readers or magnifier, or other lower tech solutions.

I just got the light option, clipped to the middle of the frame above your nose with a wire running to the battery pack, yes nerdier yet, but when I was beading in bed last night I could see like daylight and I will no longer be at the effect of low wattage lamps in hotel rooms, or carrying my ott light, I'll just bring my glasses and light and try not to order room service (lest I scare someone)

Jeff Caplan owner of Craft Optics has been a pleasure to work with and very responsive to any questions I've had. They were at Bead and Button this past year and will be in Tucson at the Bead True Blue show as well as some other beady venues where you'll be able to try a pair on for yourself and see if it's a solution for you.

Could it be a color rut?

It happens, I get enamored with a certain bead or combination of beads and all of a sudden it shows up in multiple projects, and usually without intent. I wish I could say that it was planned, but I think it's rather subliminal. I don't even always realize I am gravitating to the same palette until I take photos and it becomes obvious to me.

I think at the moment, deep raspberry, fuchsia and dorado are making an appearance.

I showed you En Pointe bracelet yesterday but this is a better shot (I hate it when I'm lazy on the photos)

Here is Lilliana (a name I've always loved, and a person dear to me) which I will be teaching at Bead and Button next year. I think it's really graceful, and it's cubic raw so it has a lot to offer in upping one's right angle weave skills

And here is the Dream Keeper Vessel Ring in new colors. I could make this ring day after day and not get tired of it. It's doable in a reasonably short period of time (5 hours, that's short right?) and it such a good opportunity to play with color, and placing a dream inside, you have to love that and it's a great gift. I just sent off one of these to Beads by Blanche where I will teach it in November and the other is destined for City Beads where I will teach it in December.




It may be a color rut, but I don't think I'm ready to stop exploring it yet. Do you have a set of go to colors? Are you color challenged? Do your colors change with your mood or with the seasons? Inquiring minds want to know.

En Pointe

The bracelet version that is.



I decided to do a size 11 version of En Pointe using 3 mm crystals on one side




and 2 mm crystal on the other




The back join is smooth and even with the points, the front side is raised adding depth and texture. I love the structure of this piece. I am waiting on a magnetic bar clasp from Ezel Findings that I think will finish it perfectly. The challenge will be to size it for different sized wrists, so I need to give that a bit of thought.