Stitches West - This Year It Was Playtime

I've been a vendor at the Stitches West Show for the last 2 years, but this year I decided I wasn't going to do that show.  Instead, I took a class at the show on Friday.  I've been felting for a couple of years now, but I had never taken a class.  I decided it was about time that I learn what I've been doing wrong as well as lots of new tips and tricks.  What a wonderful class it was!  Nuno felting with Sharon Costello... if you ever have an opportunity to learn from her, I highly recommend that you do so!

Here she is, assisting someone with the rolling process.

Here some of the students are looking at the result.

Rolling... rolling... rolling... holy smokes, I was so tired and sore Friday night that I could hardly get out of the chair after I plunked down in front of the TV.  This old back really let me know about it.  But I've been wearing my new scarf ever since I unrolled it and took it out of the towel at the end of the class.  I just love it!  I've had several requests to get pix of the scarf, so when I have a few minutes I'll give it a try.

The number of vendors at this show is overwhelming.  On Friday during lunch break, I went to see Carin Engen, who was doing some spinning and felting demos for Yarndogs.  Carin is the wonderful woman who got me involved in this whole felting journey.  Back in 2008, her booth was across the aisle from mine and I just couldn't stay out of it.  Carin is a felter, a teacher, and she dyes her own fibers.  So of course, I had to bring home some of her roving - back in 2008 AND on Friday.  Here are some of her dyed silk fibers.

And the wool, oh the wool...

I went back to the Stitches Marketplace today, and I was amazed at how many vendors were selling roving.  That wasn't the case last year and the year before.  I guess spinning and felting are becoming a lot more popular.  Well, I now have enough fiber to make a yurt!  I really splurged this year, but I figured hey - that show comes only once a year.  Now I must get busy in both the wet lab and the glass lab.  The Bead & Button Show is going to be here before you know it and I have to have some inventory!

I'll show you more pix of my new fiber stash over the coming week.  Hopefully I'll be able to spend time in the labs.  I got a jury duty notice a few weeks ago and I have to report on Thursday.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can get excused.

Now I'm going to head out to do some beading on my BJP vessel, so I'll leave you with a few pix that I took last week.  Here's the base of a tree trunk - I guess it decided to "take time to smell the roses"...

Later that day, I was up in San Francisco for a bit.  This is such a fun town!

And on that note, I wish you a happy and creative day!

Another Lesson Learned, A New Month's Project

Being back in the world of software development has a down side.  I have so many artsy projects waiting for me that I don't know which way to turn when I have some free time.  I DO know that my January BJP vessel is on hold until I get a package in the mail.  Huh?  Well, I've learned another lesson - the hard way.  While working on the last part of this piece - the collar - I discovered that trying to do peyote stitch using cheap seed beads with irregular sizes and tiny holes was an exercise in futility.  I've been making the collar in sections, and I've now made two attempts at the red section.  Fahgettaboudit!  Not gonna happen.  Nope.  I should be getting a package in the next few days, and I'm hoping that I can finally put this piece "to bed" by the end of the weekend.

I've already designed February in my head, and I've started laying out the fibers for the vessel.  Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, February is always an interesting month.  We always get a warm spell, we always get rain, it's often overcast, and everything turns pink.  Pink blossoms are everywhere!  Lots of redbud trees, and bushes whose names escape me, along with tulip trees and other shades of pink flora.  Here's what's in my front yard right now.

   

And here are some other "pinks in the 'hood".

So I've decided that this month's vessel will be a reflection of February - one of my favorite months.  Here's the very first layer of fiber.  This vessel will be shaped a bit differently from the January piece, despite the fact that I'm using the same template.

But alas, high-tech is calling me.  While I'm working on accounting issues, YOU go have yourselves a happy and creative day!

Friday Favorites

Ah yes, Friday is here already. How did THAT happen? I've been wanting to get out to my glass lab to make beads, but my other commitments have kept me from doing so. Tomorrow I'll be at a glass studio in San Mateo, CA so I'm sure I'll get in some torch time there. It's the montly meeting of our Society of Glass Beadmakers of Northern California, where we gather for chit chat, sharing of our beads, great demos, and great food.

But right now, I'm going to present you with this week's Friday Favorites. Today's color scheme is called "adobe arizona desert pop" - now there's a mouth full! It's a scheme I'm very familiar with, since I love nature as well as autumn. When I lived in Connecticut, autumn was my favorite season - the cool crisp air with warm sunshine beating down on my back, the smell of crunchy fallen leaves, hot apple cider - OK, enough with the reminiscing. Here are the colors, along with my favorite picks. I've included the names of the shops whose items I've listed, from left to right.  Enjoy your shopping trip!

1.  tattoo dreams
2.  OrganiCeramic




3.  golly bard
4.  Mary Williams Photography



5.  Luster
6.  Tocadora Leather




7.  Beads 4 You
8.  the Mincing Mockingbird




9.  Portland Fiber Gallery
10. ReClaim2Fame








Here are some items I've made that fit into today's scheme.  I think I'm going to have to revisit this color scheme out in my wet lab - I need more of that bright yellow/orange pop!

And that wraps up the first part of my Friday. Now go have a happy and creative day!

Progress on the Bead Journal Project

For those of you who won beads in my OWOH drawing, I put them into the mail yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon.  So you can look forward to getting your little prizes shortly!

Fortunately I didn't wait until today to ship them out.  My 86-year-old mom, Yvette, lives with us and last night she took a fall in her bedroom.  I was working on my BJP vessel while I was watching the men's figure skating short program out in the family room. I heard a crash and went running into mom's room - and there she was, sitting on the floor with a stunned look on her face.  She's gotten to the point where she doesn't lift her feet much when she walks and apparently she got tangled up in the rug on her floor.  Throw rugs and the elderly do not get along well, so the rug is now out of there.  Good thing she's a little pipsqueak - I was able to get behind her and lift her right up.  But I spent a good part of the morning tending to her - she was in a fair amount of pain.  Ice packs and Ibuprofen last night and this morning, and now she's feeling a lot better.  Scary!

Speaking of my BJP vessel, here are some pictures of the "state of things" at this point in time.  Here we are, heading rapidly toward March and I haven't even finished January yet.  Sigh...

I still have a lot of work to do on this piece.  I need to patch up a few "holes" that are obvious when you look at the last picture.  And then the collar... yes, this vessel will have a collar.  I've already started it, but it's going to take a bit of time.  

I sure have learned a lot while doing this piece.  The thing I dislike most about this one is how abruptly the organized stripes begin (see middle picture).  This is totally wrong, both from an aesthetic point of view and from a symbolic point of view.  And I couldn't really rip it out and start over - which is the second thing I learned.  I need to make knots every so often rather than use up most of my long length of beading thread before I make a knot.  Then it won't be such an issue to do any "frogging", as they say in the world of knit and crochet.  Another thing I learned is that it's much easier to bead when the felted base is thicker.  I felted this  vessel a lot more than some of my other vessels and I'm having a much easier time beading it.  But I also learned that I need to pay attention to the size of the holes in the seed beads that I buy.  The red ones have tiny holes, and I've managed to break two needles.  It will be interesting to see what other things I learn as this Bead Journal Project progresses.

Oh, and if you're wondering what I meant earlier about "from a symbolic point of view", I've decided that each month's vessel will be based on what and/or how I'm feeling about life in general that month.  In January, I was feeling very strongly about getting organized.  Before I got heavily involved in craft-related activities I was very organized.  Even my spice rack was in alphabetical order.  But since I've become more artistic, particularly with activities involving beads, my physical environment has become very chaotic.  Not just the beads, my entire environment!  I'm out of control... and I hate it!  So the beading on the vessel represents how my organized life has spiraled out of control and how I want to get things back in order so that I can enjoy my environment and be more productive creatively.  Wish me luck on THAT one... LOL!

Now I'm going to work on that collar while I watch the Vancouver events on the TV.  And YOU go have yourself a happy and creative day!

One World One Heart Drawing - Are YOU a Winner?

I just went out to random.org to get the 3 random numbers for this year's One World One Heart event!  I've been trying to "roll out" the results one by one in this post, but the blog editor is giving me fits.  So I'm going to now post it all at once.  Drum roll.........

First number is........................... 259

And the winner of the single green leaf bead is..................

Congratulations, Carol!!! Carol is also a Magic Carpet ticket holder - number 255 - and you can visit her Creative Expressions blog for some wonderful art.

Second number is........................... 152

And the winner of the short strand of beads is..................

Congratulations, Becky!!!  You can visit Becky at her lovely blog Just A Moment In Time.

Third number is........................... 429

And the winner of the small set of leaf beads is..................

Congratulations, LisaC!!!  Check out Lisa's terrific art on her blog Random Veracity.

I want to thank all the ticket holders who participated as well as all of you who left comments here on my blog!  It was so much fun visiting you - well, as many of you as I could.  I just didn't have the time to go to 1,105 blogs - what an amazing number of people!!

And a great big huge thank you goes to Lisa Swifka for creating and organizing this event.  Lisa, you rock!

Now all of you go have yourselves a happy and creative day!

Catching Up on Friday Favorites

I've been so busy - or out of town - that I've missed posting my Friday Favorites for the last 2 weeks. But I'm back, and here they are. If you're new here, it works like this. The little Google gizmo way down at the bottom of the page gives you a new color scheme every time you refresh or re-enter the page. I've decided to use it on Fridays to find Etsy items that catch my eye and match the first color scheme I encounter on Friday. I also check to see if I've made items that fit into that color scheme. Today's color scheme is called "autumn maple final". I'm not sure what the "final" part of that means, but here are the colors. And underneath that is the group of items that I just love! The shop names correspond to the pictures from left to right.  Have a happy shopping trip!

1.  MarcusBerknerJewelry
2.  GingaSquid




3.  nutmegdesigns
4.  AlchemicMuse




5.  Botanic2Ceramic
6.  shixie



7.  FreshMetal
8.  happylake



9.  AdornMeJewelry
10. BitsyKnits









Here are some items I've made that include colors in today's scheme.

1. Dawn Necklace, 2. Forest Vessel, 3. Pink Poppy Slider, 4. Bog Bead, 5. Garden Vessel, 6. Rose Bracelet

OK, it's lunch time - I'm outta here. Now, YOU go have a happy and creative day!

Doing the Happy Dance!

In case you're wondering, my OWOH post is HERE.

OK, so sometimes the little things get me excited.  I spent a bit of time on my torch yesterday - for the first time in I can't remember how long.  I didn't make a lot of beads, just the beads that I wanted for my big felting project.  This morning when I fetched them out of the kiln, I was very pleased that my project can now move on to completion!  Although I can't let the cat out of the bag yet, I will give you a sneak preview of what I'll be putting on the project.  Here is one of the beads that came from yesterday's session.  Isn't he cute?

I'm hoping to finish up the project by the end of this evening so I can get it photographed tomorrow - time is running short!

In other project news, I'm still trucking along on January's BJP "page".  Trucking very slowly, I might add.  I took the project with me to LA, but each night when I got back to my hotel room I was just to whooped to look at little seed beads.  So now I'm way far behind and the year-long project is just beginning.  I was afraid this was going to happen - but that's OK, I'll get there.  I worked on it a tiny bit more last night.

Right now, though, I'm off to tech land while I knock out 3 or 4 loads of laundry.  My accounting project is calling me...

And it's time for YOU to go have a happy and creative day!

Back From LA!

If you're looking for my OWOH post, it's HERE.

I'm finally rested from my trip to LA.  I was supposed to return last Friday evening, but we were deep into the work session and neither of us wanted to stop.  So we worked until a bit after 9 pm, then again on Saturday.  I flew home late Saturday afternoon just in time to get off the plane, fetch my bag, and head straight to BAGI's Great Glass Auction.  Everyone was dressed to the nines and I was in my office "work duds".  Oh well, I had a great time anyhow.  I had donated one of my vessels to the auction - they put it into the silent auction - and I was really happy to hear that one of my students, Lisa, had the winning bid!  She and her husband sat at the same table as we did, and she caused a bit of excitement.  She got into a "bidding war" over a gorgeous piece made by the artist couple Melissa and Keith Bispo, who were also sitting at our table.  And she won it - Go Lisa!  To see the piece, you can check out the auction catalog HERE.  It's on page 8/20 when you use the arrows to page through the catalog (page 12 of the actual catalog on the left), item L-108.  And if you're curious about my vessel, use the arrows to page to 12/20 (page 20 of the actual catalog on the bottom left), item R-303.

I bid on several items in the silent auctions but was outbid big-time, so I wasn't able to take home any of those items.  However, Rich Small had made glass heart centerpieces for all the tables - yes, there was a banquet dinner during the live auction - and those were also available in their own silent auction.  I bid on two of them and came home with the heart that was on our table.  Yay for me!

After I got home from the auction, I went through my mail that had been delivered while I was in LA.  What a thing to be greeted by...

The last time I had jury duty I was picked for the jury, and the trial/deliberation went on for a month and a half.  Yikes - I just don't have the time for that right now!  But I guess I'll have to do my civic duty.  It was actually quite fascinating, being on a jury.  It was also very frustrating.  We spent a lot of time deliberating, and we came very close to having a hung jury.  But in the end we came to an agreement.  Given what I heard during the trial, I was sure that the defendant was guilty - but the prosecution didn't have enough evidence for us to return a guilty verdict for the greater of the two charges.  There were several times during the trial that the defendant sneered at us, and looked as if he was gloating.  I wanted to go rip that smirk right off his face...  ah well, that was awhile back and I need to just forget about it.  I did learn something very interesting, though.  We all wondered why the police report wasn't part of the evidence.  A few of the jurors assumed that it was because it would show something that the prosecution didn't want seen.  I told them that was crazy - if the prosecutor didn't want it seen, then the defendant's attorney would have put it into evidence.  It turns out that the police report isn't allowed into evidence because it is hearsay.  What WAS in evidence was the tape of the 911 call to the police.

Well, enough about trials and evidence and bad guys... today we were supposed to have a huge storm, with possible thunder showers (rare here in the San Francisco Bay Area).  When I went into the bedroom a bit earlier, I saw that Peanut was digging in - a great way to spend a rainy day, sleeping on dad's sweatshirt!

But now we have sunshine, so perhaps there won't be a storm after all.

"Did someone say sunshine?"

Now I'm going to head out to the glass lab to make some objects that will go into my next big felting project.  I have a deadline - the project must be done and photographed in the next three days.  I'm just about there, thank goodness!  Once it's photographed and submitted to the "proper authorities", I can give you a bit of a hint what it's all about.

So go have yourselves a happy and creative day!

Time Got Away From Me!

If you're looking for my OWOH post, it's HERE.  And I've had so many comments on it that I've added a 3rd giveaway item - go check it out!

Wow, this last week or so has been a strange one.  I was supposed to have been down in LA last week for a 3-day business meeting.  I did a bit of scrambling to get stuff done before I was to leave on Tuesday.  On Monday evening I got a phone call telling me that the trip had to be postponed due to illness.  I was teaching a class when I got the call - when I got home that night I did a bunch of schedule rearranging and now here I am, needing to get a bunch of stuff done before I head down to LA on Tuesday.  Deja-vu all over again!

Since I was home I managed to do a bunch of project "stuff".  I completed the little vessel I was beading, and it's in my Etsy shop.  Here's my Tropicana Vessel.

The color on the beadwoven collar really pops!  I've often been asked whether I make the bead - usually a leaf bead - to go with the vessel or if I make the vessel to go with the bead.  I made this vessel based entirely on the leaf.  Sometimes I make a leaf to go with a vessel.  And other times, it's just serendipity - I make a vessel and happen to have the perfect bead to go with it!

I've made a tiny bit of progress on my Bead Journal January Vessel.  I plan on taking it and my beads down to LA with me in case I have time in the evenings to work on it.  Here's the latest addition.

I'm finding that I bit off a lot more than I can chew on this one - way too ambitious!  I think February's vessel will be a bit lower key in the beading department.  But I think part of the issue is all the things I have going on in my life right now.  I'm working on another felting project that's been very time-consuming and it has a deadline!  All of the wet-felted parts are done now - I just have to make some glass objects to go with it, then assemble the piece.  I can't show it to you yet - it's a special project that I'll talk about more at a later time.

If you know anything about my work, you know that I love trees and leaves.  I take mom to Starbucks fairly often during the week.  There's a tree that I can see way at the end of the parking lot when we sit in the window, and it caught my eye awhile back.  I'm going to use it for inspiration - maybe on a felted item, maybe on a bead... maybe both!  Here's the tree - you just might see something like it showing up in one of my Etsy shops.  (I think I'll leave off the BevMo sign, though...)

And now I'm going to go add more beads to my BJP January Vessel while I'm plunked down in front of the Grammy Awards.  Have yourselves a happy and creative week!

One World One Heart is Here!!

Comments Are Now Closed For This Event On My Blog

      There may still be some blogs open for comments - click on the Magic Carpet logo to find out

Thanks to all of you who participated - and thanks for all the new follows!  I'll be getting those random numbers shortly - stay tuned for the 3 winners!

Welcome to my blog - today is the day!  Do you know about One World One Heart?  This is an international event that was created in 2007 by Lisa Swifka. It's a way for bloggers to meet and get to know each other a bit.  Curious?  Click on the One World One Heart logo to find out more.

Now that you're here, I have a couple of creations that I'm giving away for this wonderful event.  I'm going green!  The first item is one of my lampwork leaf beads which was made on a 1/8 inch mandrel.  It's 2 inches long (51mm) and just shy of 1 1/2 inches wide (38mm).

And the second item is a short strand of my lampwork beads along with a Hilltribe silver bead and charm.  These beads were made on an ivory base, encased with amber, gray, and peridot glass, trailed with silvered ivory, and lightly etched.  Yum!

How can you win one of these items?  Leave a comment on this post along with a way for me to contact you in the event that your comment is chosen in my random drawing.  That would be either a link to your blog or your email address.  Now, how exciting is that?!  We'll be drawing for these giveaway items on February 15th.  Make sure you post your comments here by 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on February 15th to be eligible for the giveaway!

On February 15th I will announce the winners of the giveaway on my blog.  Thank you for visiting me and leaving your comments.  Good luck to you, and enjoy your Magic Carpet Ride!

>>> Wow!  I've had such a great response to this event that I've decided to add another item to my giveaway.  In keeping with my "going green" theme, I'm adding this small set of my leaf beads that were made of a creamy yellow glass with patches of green added here and there.  Now you'll have another chance to win some of my beads!

Some Beads are Showing Up On My BJP Vessel

Today is the 3rd day of our winter storm week.  We actually had some thunder and lightning, which is rare in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I love thunderstorms - when I lived back in Connecticut, I would often stop whatever I was doing when a thunderstorm arrived just so I could watch the lightning.

Ah yes, winter in this area is our rainy season - and some of the trees are just loving it!  Don't they know  it's not spring yet?  With all these blooms, I think they're confused.

I went into the wet lab to take a picture of my January bead journal "page" progress.  I had to teach last night, so no bead work for me.  Tonight I'll make great progress, though.  Wow, black/gray/white is really difficult to photograph - especially when the lighting is lousy.  But here's where I am so far.  I need to make a slight modification to this - I'm finding it a bit difficult to "draw" with needle, thread, and beads without a picture on the base.  But for the most part, it's going well.

As soon as I walked into the wet lab, my Niki dog flew out there with me, then out her doggie door.  She had been barking all morning at the sound of the wind and rain pounding on the windows.  I looked out the window and saw what used to be our lawn umbrella creeping up on the house.  So again, I'll have to buy another one for the summer months - it will be our third one!  This one broke quite awhile ago - the crank to collapse it stopped working.  Our winter winds picked it up right out of its stand and sent it sailing across the yard - yikes!

Peanut, on the other hand, doesn't much care what it's doing outside.  As long as she can be with her peeps, she's a happy camper.  When "dad" is home, the best place to be is under his office chair - as long as nobody is in the kitchen doing foodie things.  And yes, "dad" is wearing yellow socks - he has a large collection of them!

My final comment for the day will be on how radically things have changed in the advertising world.  Years ago, you would NEVER have seen something like this out in the public eye.  This flier came in the mail a few weeks back, and I just couldn't resist posting a picture from it.  OMGosh, how did this pass "corporate inspection"?  LOL!

Now it's time to go have yourselves a happy and creative day - that's just what I'm going to do!

Monday, Monday

Wow, we started the "work week" on a very rainy note!  I was out in the wet lab this morning, and between the rain and the wind, it was very noisy in there.  I actually like those sounds - it brings back some nice memories of college camping trips in New Hampshire and vacation camping trips in Oregon.  When you're sitting in a small tent, the sound of the rain can be almost overwhelming!

Speaking of the wet lab, my January journal vessel is dry and waiting for its coat of beads.  I made a run to my local bead store yesterday to get the few colors I was missing, and stocked up on some bugle beads while I was there.  I've been patronizing this place for many years now - actually, since 1996 - and I always enjoy spending time there visiting with Joanie, the owner.  I mean, how could anyone NOT have a good time in a place called The Bead Asylum?

Here's my little January, just before I felted it.

And here, it's ready for some fancy clothes.

Last night I decided to make another small vessel.  This was not on my list of must-do projects, but I couldn't help myself.  I came across a small leaf bead that I made a few years ago that had gone into a jewelry project with 2 other matching leaves and a flower made by my buddy Nanette.  I had taken the finished piece to BAGI where I teach bead making classes.  One of the other instructors picked up the cord it was hanging on, thinking the clasp was closed, and the piece slid off the cord and onto the concrete floor.  The flower and one leaf broke, and I've had the other 2 leaves hanging around just waiting to be placed into another project.  I decided that one of those leaves had to go on a vessel, so now the vessel is drying.  I think this one will probably go into my Etsy shop.

The leaf...

And the vessel (bad lighting, bad picture - but will have a dynamite picture when it's finished)...

When I came in from the wet lab yesterday, Peanut was hanging out in my TV-watching chair.  She was probably attracted to the book I had on the arm of the chair - I sure don't blame her! "Masters: Beadweaving: Major Works by Leading Artists" is chock full of wonderful eye candy and inspiration!

Gosh, if only Peanut had thumbs...

And now I'm off to start beading my January vessel.  Have yourselves a happy and creative day!

Journal Progress and Friday Favorites

Ah yes, it's Friday again - already!!  I did manage to make a bit of progress on my January journal page for the Bead Journal Project.  These are the colors I've chosen for the vessel.  I mean, hey, it's January.  And rumor has it that we're going to get smacked with 4 major storms over the next several days .  These colors look pretty stormy to me.

And here's the first layer of fiber.

As I build the layers, I'll blend the lines between the colors a bit so that they aren't quite as distinct.  It will be a bit challenging because I'm using different types of fibers.  Some colors are Merino wool, another is Harrisville fleece, and another is Columbia/Lincoln.  I can't wait to see how this one turns out!

And since it's Friday, I consulted Google's little "Random Color Scheme" that appears at the bottom of my posts and found some Etsy items that I just love!  Today's color scheme is called "spruce blue", and under that is a group of items I found that fit into that scheme.  The shop names correspond to the pictures from left to right.  Enjoy your shopping trip!

1.  Sand Fibers
2.  Do-Rah! Designs



3.  Artisan Clay
4.  Lucky Lather Soaps



5.  Joolz by Lisa
6.  The Millinery Shop



7.  JMN Pottery
8.  lisa peters ART



9.  frank IDEAS
10. house of beci





Here are some pieces that I've done that have some hints of that color scheme.  Perhaps the next color scheme that comes up on the little color inspiration gadget will send me off in a direction I haven't pursued yet.

Now it's time for me to get a start on my other Friday activities.  And it's time for you to go have a happy and creative day!