Beadz and Quiltz

New Dawn.....New Day.....New World

2011-12-31T07:15:00.000-08:00

Well here we are another year is almost in the bag. Although it hasn't been a great year, it hasn't been all that bad either. Our Family is healthy, happy, relatively well adjusted to the world and life in general.

I am still working, beading, quilting, reading and feeling good. I haven't lost 20#, but I have gained 20# either.

Our computer crashed two weeks ago, but I had purchased a new laptop in July and we will be using it until we decide if we really need a new desk top computer.

Our life is stable, quiet and safe, just the way we like it.

I am ashamed of the conditions in our country and ashamed of the politicians we have elected to govern. Neither party is better or worse than the other, they just don't get the fact that they were elected to do the best possible job for The United States of America, not the political party, special interests or religious convictions that they personally subscribe to.

At midnight tonight, I will be wishing in the New Year with a prayer that God will guide, direct and bless my family, my country and my world. Love to All!!!!

What we've Been Doing....

2011-06-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

Well here it is again months later, can't seem to get back into the grove of posting. But we have been working on a new room addition, so I do have an excuse. The following pictures are of the new sun room. We have been enjoying the room for the past few weeks.

The pictures are dark, because of the light from all the windows....dah! Oh well you will get the idea.....

We have two matching rocker recliners......don't you just love how OLD people think of resting and napping when they decorate.

The ceiling was fun to put up, barn siding, and all the trim match the rest of the house.

You can see what I plan to do in the sun room along with watching the birds.......

The following pictures are a few of the bead projects that I have finished in the last couple months.

Wow Time Really Does Fly

2010-12-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it has been almost a year since I posted here last. There really isn't any excuse for the absence, now that I look back on the past 10 months there were things I could have written about and pictures I could have posted, but it just didn't happen.

The following pictures are of the items I have beaded in the past three weeks. All are from published patterns, either magazine or internet. I know I should give names and publications, but I'd have to find the patterns, and that would take time that I could use to write and add more pictures. Like the one of Tobis in his sled..... or in his Santa Hat......

First sled....it has a seat belt. Or should I say passenger restraint system.

Tobis is now 14 months old, he walks, talks and has more teeth than some people my age. He still has the big blue eyes and the huge smile. He is a world traveler, he went to visit his maternal grandparents in Denmark in September. And he knows the words for several things in both languages, water, shoe, snow and some others we won't talk about here. Hint....what are some of the first words you learned in a foreign language, the ones not in the books.

Can't promise I'll be back soon, but I will try to post more often in 2011 than in 2010.....

February Snow.....

2010-02-11T22:04:00.000-08:00

....No Explanation Necessary

Tobias's New Playstation!!!

2010-02-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

My prayers were answwered they got me a Playstation!!!

This is so much fun.....I don't mind wearing this funny hat.......

Thanks Mom & Dad....you got me this for my 4 month birthday....can't wait to see what you come up with when I turn 16!!!!

New Photos

2010-01-29T16:43:00.001-08:00

This is my swimmer......with a SILVER medal.

Tis The Season

2009-12-03T20:34:00.001-08:00

This is my latest cuff bracelet, it is an original design created with Bead Tool 3.

I haven't actually worn it out in public yet, have been waiting for Thanksgiving to be over and start the Christmas Season.

Yes it actually has a bell for the closure, it is really fun, it jingles when you move your hand.

Don't know if I will sell it at the LBS or keep it for my self, it is an advanced pattern and I'm not sure I would ever make another one. I am not fond of mass production and that is one of the reason I have never gotten into craft fairs or even art shows. I love the challenge of creating a design, but once I have accomplished that task I lose interest in repeating the project.

I have decided to have a drawing for a free PDF copy of this original design (color chart and wordchart too) on December 23rd. If you would like to be entered leave a comment and your name will go in the hat.

Swimmingly

2009-11-26T19:54:00.000-08:00

This is my Granddaughter Sabrina, she has been swimming a little while now and is doing fantastically. This was a big event that took place on Halloween Weekend. she was in six events and did a great job taking a few seconds off each of her times.

She is really concentrating on her technique.

Here is the result of the concentration............ready to touch the wall.

Grandma and Grandpa are really proud......especially Grandma who only learned to float and dog paddle.

Giving Thanks

2009-11-26T19:36:00.000-08:00

No this is not my apple pie, this pie was made by my son Mike! When I was in CO visiting after the birth of Tobias I spent some of the time each day baking. One of the things we made was apple pie, I made one for the friend of Mike's that picked me up at the airport and drove me to the hospital. I did a simple fall leaf pattern on that pie and Mike took notes. This was his rendition of apple pie for Thanksgiving Dinner.

This is Tobias at 8 weeks old, he is growing like a weed and is cute as a button, and that is the unbiased opinion of his Grandmother.

This is a new hat that grandma made, the knit ribbing can roll down and cover ears and neck when the wind starts to blow.

New Projects

2009-11-20T12:55:00.000-08:00

As promised here are the pictures of my Rivoli project.

The earrings are 12mm rivoli, with delicas, 15/0 & 11/0 seed beads and 4mm bicones. The earwires are solid copper.

The pendant is a 14mm rivoli, with delicas, 15/0 & 11/0 seed beads and 4mm bicones. The cord is light brown silk rattail. The bail is brick stitch,11/0 seed beads with a 15/0 picot edge. There are 18 bicones around the edge that gives it a dimensional effect since the bicones can shift to the back or the front.

Just in time to add bling to the holidays. Now if there was only some event to wear them to.

Latest Bead Project

2009-11-12T20:38:00.000-08:00

I was inspired to design a peyote cuff bracelet with African mud-cloth motifs. The Smithsonian website has an interactive design section where you can go through the steps used to make a real piece of mud-cloth.

So here is my interpretation of the motifs in delica beads.......

I like the way it turned out and it was a fun project to make from design to execution.

I'm working on a project using Rivoli, they really sparkle and look so sophisticated. Should have pictures to post in a day or so.......

Food and Babies - What could be more fun!!

2009-11-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

It is fall and nothing is more Ohio, than apples and leaves. This is a deep dish apple pie I made a couple weeks ago. Took time to take a picture of the finished pie, but haven't taken the time to post the picture. It was as good as it looks too, vanilla ice cream and all.....

And this is the latest picture of Tobias. Cute as a button, and Dad says he is growing like a weed, approximately 12 lbs now at 5 weeks old.

I have been doing some sewing, baby accessories to be exact. We are having a baby boom at church so need to get a head start on gifts.

Bib that pops over the head, keeps cloths clean and can't be pulled off by baby.

Receiving blanket 36 in sq with crocheted edging, with matching burp cloths that are peanut shaped to fit over your shoulder.

Made a pink zebra jasper necklace for a friend for her b-day. She now has a set, flat spiral bracelet and earrings and the necklace. I don't usually like plain stringing projects , but this one turned out pretty well.

I have a peyote cuff bracelet to post pictures of but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Need to get to bed......working again tomorrow and probably most of the week.....

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet.....

2009-10-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

The month of October has flown by.... We were awaiting the arrival of our 4th grandchild and had made plans to make the trip to Colorado when he arrived. I had a short window of opportunity since October is a busy month at work with Quarterly Payroll Reports due by the 31st.

Tobias Evert Uncapher arrived on Oct 1st, his arrival was a little less than conventional, so I booked a flight and was in Colorado on 10/3 and helped bring the not so little guy home from the hospital. He weighed in at 8# 13 oz and was 22in long. For the next nine days I helped out by doing laundry, cooking, cleaning and baking treats for Mom and Dad. It was really a great experience to hold a newborn baby again.

This is a picture taken this week..... 14 days old!!!!

He is such a sweetheart......he has his Dads hands and feet (Dad is 6'4") and I don't know were the dark hair came from..... although his Aunt Amanda had dark hair when she was born, but it fell out and came back in blond, maybe Tobias will do that too.

I have been home since Monday afternoon, back to work and have even started on another beading project, so will have more to post soon.......maybe even new pictures of Tobias.

New Beads

2009-09-22T20:52:00.001-07:00

To date I had never made a "set" of bead work, I usually go for individual pieces. These pieces started with the cab, when I finished it I decided to make a rope to go with it and then the bracelet and by the time that was done I just kept going and did the earrings too. The closures on the necklace and the bracelet are more of my vintage mother of pearl buttons, ear wires are 14K gold.

The pearls around the cab are fresh water and all the others are glass.

The earrings are not me, I don't do dangles. I don't want to break up the set, so they will probably go on consignment to the Bead Shop where I teach. Price $90. Right now I have all the flat spiral bracelets there priced from $35 to $45 depending on the bead cost, labor is the same. Anything that doesn't sell will probably be turned into Christmas gifts.

You wouldn't believe that it is the first day of fall.......the high today was 83 and it is still 71 at midnight. I still have green tomatoes so I guess it is OK that it hasn't turned cold yet, I can always use more tomatoes in the freezer.

Projects turn into Gifts

2009-09-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

You may remember we are due to have another grandchild (probably a boy) very soon, and we have had two new babies in our Church family with more due in the next few months. I have started to work on some baby things. I'm knitting another blanket, but it is slow going, I just can't get into the pattern. So I decided to try out some other ideas for a few useful, but quick projects to use as gifts. This bib is one I am working on........
Terry cloth with a little embroidery. I didn't want to use bias tape as the edge finish so tried to do a satin stitch. It was OK , but the terry and t-shirt fabric both were a little too stretchy and it gave me a ruffled effect on the edge. I think I'll try a blanket stitch next time....

The next two photos are of a sweater I made for Sabrina for her B-day next week. It is in the mail so she should have it in plenty of time. I don't use a light box to take pictures so the colors are not really as intense as they should be, the wool yarn is a hand dyed sport weight I fell in love with .......I hope she likes it.....it is a very bright. It looks small in this picture, but it is supposed to be the short crop style that is in right now.

Close up of the neck and yoke detail. Top button is for looks and does not button.

Sewing

2009-09-19T17:18:00.001-07:00

This is a table runner I made for Tony (one of the guys I work with) and Andrea as a wedding gift. The block pattern is broken dishes.....appropriate don't you think?

The bride chose the colors, and the rest was my choice, fabric, block design and quilting motifs. Since their wedding was today and fall is in the air here I decided to use a fall quilting design, oak leaves and acorns.

The blocks had a double leaf and single acorn design, and the end triangles have a single leaf and acorn design. No, I am not that good at freemotion quilting, these are embroidery machine quilting designs from The Embroidery Library. It still takes some work and talent to get the designs to workout correctly, but you don't have to worry about thread tension and all that other stuff. Actually it is more challenging to do this kind of work than to do the longarm quilting that is done by computer.

I also designed a label for the back........

The wedding was this afternoon and it was beautiful, we had a great time and Andrea was radiant and Tony was so happy........They are both great people and deserve all the happiness in the world.

Music and Stuff

2009-09-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

Steve Jr, our oldest son, works for Julianne Hough. September 4th they were at the Flag City Music Festival in Findlay Ohio. Steve arranged for us and Kelly & Ivan to attend the concert. We had access to the VIP section and got to meet Julianne after the show. I took several pictures, but I'm only going to post the pictures with my son & Julianne in them here, don't know what the protocol is and don't want to cause any problems.

If you are interested in seeing more pictures try this website, they are for sale there and will support the kids program that sponsored the event.

http://www.fatbottomproductions.com/index.html

Steve is the person that keeps all the Guitars/Instruments in working condition and sees that they are on stage at the right time, in the right place. Here he is getting ready to hand Julianne her guitar for the next song.

Helping her with the guitar and the pick

Ok, couldn't resist, just one shot of her big smile.......

We had a great time, got to see Steve and spend some time with him which is a treat since he has been on the road a lot this year. We even got to give him an early B-day present..........

Some Beading

2009-09-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some flat spiral bracelets as samples for a class coming up in a couple weeks. This is one patten that is addictive, it is easy and you can use a variety of beads and they all look different and great.

Pearls

Crystals

Crystals and Cubes

Toggles and loops

Should be a fun class, it is always interest to see what everyone chooses to work with......

Bathroom Curtains

2009-08-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Steve seemed to think it was time to change the bathroom curtains, can't imagine why? We have only lived here 16+ years and they looked fine to me. I decided that if I were going to change the curtains it would be on my terms......
1. I was only going to use fabric from my stash.
2. I was not going to buy a pattern, I was going to wing it.
Of course neither of these conditions included spending money so he was all for doing it my way.

I think both sets of curtains turned out pretty well considering the aforementioned conditions, but the challenge was how to take pictures and prove I really accomplished the task. Have you ever tired to take a picture facing into a window? It doesn't work...... so I waited until dark and tried again. They aren't masterpiece pictures, but you can get the idea.

This is the downstairs bathroom, typical window treatment................

The upstairs bathroom has tile, so the curtain rod is one of those tension kind that fits inside the casing.

Well it was a fun diversion, but I won't be taking any commissions for curtains, so don't even ask.

Hummingbird Stories - Truth or Fiction??

2009-08-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well here is the hummingbird story I promised. If you have read my previous humming bird post you'll remember that the Alpha male had performed his intimidation dance in front of me while I was watering the garden. He did the same thing one time after that, and I squirted him again with the hose. Now before you yell at me for being mean I should tell you that the hose has a setting for shower and that is what I use to water the garden and flower beds. The flow is very gentle and wouldn't hurt him if he was right up against the nozzle.

Up until last week we had not had any rain to speak of for over two weeks and things were pretty dry, big cracks in the ground all around the house and in the garden. One evening while I was watering Alpha male(now named Alfie) came by and sat on a branch near where I watered. He flew at me but stopped about three or four feet in front of me and hung there like he wanted to get my attention. He didn't dive at me or even squawk at me, just hung there. I held the hose up so that the water was near but not on him.....he flew into the shower and hung there a few seconds and then went back to his perch on the branch. He fluffed his feathers and shook himself off and then flew back to the spot he had gotten showered before and hung there.......so I slowly moved the shower over and he again hung in the water and then went back to his branch, shook off the water, fluffed his feathers and buzzed away.

Now is that one smart bird or what??? He knew I would squirt him, but he also knew I wouldn't hurt him, so he got a much needed bath without having to share the birdbath with all the other dirty birds.......

They still have their hummingbird wars, and he stands guard on a branch near the feeder waiting for the unwelcome dinner guests. But I guess that is just the way it will be, Alfie is after all Alpha male and in charge of this house, garden and feeder and the occasional handheld birdbath shower.

New Work

2009-08-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been almost a month since I posted last!!! Today is August 1st, the summer is flying by, I don't know how I could have missed June and July.

This post is about the beading I have been doing this month. A week from Monday I'll be teaching a class on the Dutch Spiral technique. It is an easy stitch that can be used for bracelets or for necklace ropes. When I did the Recycle project I did a dutch spiral for the rope for the large center cab.

This green one has a toggle and loop closing.

This red, white and black one has an antique glass button and loop for a closure.

I've also been working on this odd count peyote stitch cuff bracelet. The pictures don't do it justice, most of the delicas are metallic hex beads and they reflect the light and make it hard to get a good photo. I have about half an inch left to bead and the I need to add some beads on the outside and decide if I will use two buttons as the patten suggests or some other type of closure.

I love the way the designer had incorporated the triangles and the curved lines. Pattern is from Bead & Button Magazine and the designer is Eileen Spitz. You can find it on the B&B website.

This bracelet was really fun to do, I think it was 14 colors of delica's all together. The pattern is from the Bead iMag, a UK publication you can subscribe to and read your magazine on line and print all or just the parts you want. They have some really interesting projects and with a subscription you have access to all of the issues ever published plus all the ones published during your subscription term.

I have some bird news and pictures of the new awning on our deck to post too. Hope to get to that later today.......

For the Birds

2009-07-06T17:38:00.000-07:00

We have four bird feeders, including one for Humming Birds. I started feeding them last year, but took the feeder down within a week as we had one male that was dominating the feeder and chasing the others away. After I talked to several friends that have HB feeders they said this was normal and that they all have one guy that ruled the feeder.

I put the feeder back out this year and sure enough he was back to his tricks from the start. We have several bushes and trees near the deck where the feeder is hanging, and this little bully sits on a dead twig and watches for another HB to come around and try to get a drink.

It is so funny, he sits and his little head turns from side to side constantly patrolling the area for another HB to just try.

I have seen him back one of the females up against the house and dance back and forth in front of her just daring her to move towards the feeder. If someone just flies by he will give chase.

About two weeks ago I was watering the garden in the evening and he came flying up and started doing his little intimidation dance in front of me, well he got a shock when I turned the hose on him........he hasn't tried that again.

We also have loads of Wrens, Steve build several houses for them winter before last and they really seem to be thriving in the yard and woods. We found out that they will hatch at least two clutches of eggs if they have a different house to move into, they don't use the same one twice in one year. They do love to sing and are not much afraid of you, so they come up on the deck and sit on the rail and even walk around on the deck while we are out.

This guy was singing and didn't have his tail up...... they are so cute.

We have loads of birds, so we always have bird stories..........

Recycle

2009-07-06T13:22:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of a bracelet that I made about a year or so ago. If you read my blog back then you probably remember it. I really liked the bracelet and all the stones, the only problem with it was that it was too big for my wrist and everyone else's wrist that I knew. I kept it around and would put it on every once in a while and wish it were smaller, but I couldn't bring myself to take it apart and leave out anything.

Yesterday I finally got out the scissors and cut it apart. Here is what it recycled into.........

A bracelet and a necklace!!!

For the bracelet I use the four small components.

And the large stone became the pendent for a dutch spiral rope.

I tried a new (to me) closure out of the same beads as the rope.

It was a fun project and I'm sure I will be a lot more happy and get a lot more wear out of this recycled set than the too big bracelet.

It's Really Summer!!!

2009-06-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it been hot the last few days! It is a little cooler today the high is only supposed to be 82 degrees.

I was in Columbus for five days at The National Quilting Association 40th Annual Quilt Show last week. Had a lot of fun and saw loads of friends from all over the country. You can see a list of all of the winning quilts on the NQA Website I think they will be posting pictures in the near future. The quilts were wonderful and the winners were outstanding.

The rest of the post for today will be PICTURES....... this is what I've been up to for the past three weeks.

This is the new flower bed that went in this spring.

These are my tomato plants......I started them from seeds in March. I think they are doing really well. One plant is an early girl and it has several medium size tomatoes already. Most of the others are Roma and they even have a few small tomatoes.

This is the shade flower bed in the front yard, that is the gardener in the background.

This is the arbor that Steve built with the pickets that were removed from the deck last fall when we replaced the warped rail. The ferns love hanging from the side.

This is another view of the flowerbed/garden. We have green peppers, eggplants, banana peppers, tomatoes and onions here now. The radishes and leaf lettuce are gone, and the rabbits liked the spinach so much we didn't get any.

These potted geraniums lead the way up the steps to the deck.

This is a pot of flowers that I planted from seeds that I collected in Fairbanks AK on our trip two years ago. They are so beautiful!!!

Early yesterday I donned my jeans, tennis shoes, a long sleeve t-shirt and a full spray of deep woods off and went out into the woods to pick Black Raspberries and this is what I collected in about an hour. It is still a little early, I will probably go out again on Monday when more will be ripe.

Later in the afternoon the raspberries turned into a small pie........ which was WONDERFUL!!!!

I finished my June Beaddreamz Challenge entry, it is called Southwest Dreams.

The cab is a blood stone and the chips are also blood stone in various shades to match the cab.

The embroidery was done on ultra suede and is free form, no pattern. The ultra suede was attached (spot glued) to a metal cuff blank that I purchased over a year ago.

Size 11, & 6 seed beads were also used in the design for texture.

I really like the way it turned out, but even if I squash it as tight as it will go closed it is too big for my wrist. Oh well, it will make a wonderful Christmas Gift/Birthday for someone.

Change in the Weather

2009-06-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it been COLD around here this week. The high today was 59 degrees, and it rained the whole day!!! The rain is good for the garden, but it could be a little warmer for heaven sake.

I've been busy since I returned from CA and my visit with the Grandkids. We had a wonderful time and it was hard to get on the plane and know it would be a while before I would see all of them again.

Next Monday I will be teaching a "BEAD" class at Artistic Treasures in Bellefontaine. Right now I have 4 students, it should be fun. The project is an easy bracelet and it can be finished in about 8 hours so the students will have a good start on it by the end of the class.

Only 12 days until the NQA Show in Columbus. If you want to see some wonderful quilts and shop at great vendors come on down. If you want to purchase a small treasure for your very own check out the daily LQA (Little Quilt Auction) Silent Auctions and the live LQA Auction on Friday evening. I have donated a small quilt to the auction since the event started in 1992 at the NQA Show in Bowling Green Ohio.

Flowers and Birds

2009-05-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

We are on the migration route for Cedar Waxwings, and they arrived about 10 days ago. They come in a flock of a dozen or more and stay together. We have a large clump of ornamental cranberry bushed close to the house and the Waxwings love the dried cranberries.

They are a very interesting looking bird, with a top knot, black mask, red wing tips and yellow stripe on their tail feathers.

I started tomato seeds ans some herbs again this year and these are a few of the plants. I started, Roma, Better Boy and Best Boy tomato seeds. I gave away all the rest of the plants.......probably about two dozen. Steve set these out in the garden space this morning.

My parsley.......

Chives and Cilantro.......

Dill.....

Cucumbers, and yes they are already blooming....

This is an azalea that Steve Jr, gave me for Mothers Day several years ago. The blooms are really nice and I love the yellow and white color combination.

Wild Flowers and Iris beside the barn.

Steve buys the flowers for and plant two planter boxes each year for the cemetery on Memorial Day. I think he made great choices for the flowers and colors this year.

The weather forecast is for warmer temps this week, just in time for me to make my journey to CA to visit the Grandkids. I will be leaving on Wed and be gone until late Memorial Day.

I have gifts for everyone, but can't post pictures until I return, they might stop by and that would ruin the surprise.

Have a great beginning of summer holiday!!!!

Random Acts of Kindness

2009-05-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

I was checking out a friends blog a few weeks ago and she was participating in this project.
Jeanne gives a link to the blog that got her started on this journey and offered the project on her blog too.

Here are the rules: Give Away & Pass It On - Random Acts of Kindness Alert - my turn to pass this on after participating with Jeanne.

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:

I make no guarantees that you will like what I make, but I guarantee you will not have anything like it.
What I pick will be just for you, if five people sign up each gift will be individual.
It’ll be done this year (2009).
You have no clue what it’s going to be, you don't get to hint at what you don't like.
It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber.
It may be a little art quilt, jewelry, something made out of clay, beads, or a random treasure. Who knows?
I reserve the right to do something extremely strange, but not grotesque.
And in return, all you need to do is post this text into a blog of your own (or promote it in a way that works for you and makes it random, not just folks you already know) and make 5 things for 5 others.

Those are the rules and the reward. So what do you say, are you up the the journey?

Projects and A Play Date

2009-04-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

The weather in Ohio has turned from cool spring to hot summer over night. The first part of the week the highs were in the 40's and yesterday the high was 84 degrees. The trees are starting to bud and there are even some blooming. The lilacs are filling out but haven't opened.

I have been working on a couple beading projects. This one is a bracelet pattern by Julie Ann Smith and will be a gift for my daughter who will soon be finished with her Masters Degree in Education. It still needs a clasp, I haven't decided on what kind to use yet.

The second project is a Byzantine Chain Maille bracelet and earring set. This was a kit I purchased at Hobby Lobby. I wasn't sure how I would like this so I thought a kit would be the best way to find out. I have a small wrist so there were enough jump rings in the kit to make the bracelet and a pair of earrings to match. You should be able to click on all of the pictures and see the items close up.

Yesterday was an ART filled day. Marilyn came up and we worked on some projects. We had a wonderful time and actually accomplished several projects.

Marilyn is hard at work drawing a template for our metal leaf pendent.

This picture shows some of the supplies we were using to accomplish these very simple (?) projects. We took a lunch break around noon and I served a Spaghetti Frittata. It was a new recipe to me, but it was very good and we had Cheesecake Brownies and coffee for dessert before we started back to work.

When the time came for Marilyn to head for home we had some great stuff to show for our fun day.

The first project was a metal work pin that has copper and aluminum metal sheet stock and a Chinese coin. We stamped the copper with a rubber stamp, cut out the shape and attached to the background, then glued the coin on and the pin back. We also did a little wire lacing on the edge.

The picture shows my primitive metal working skills. But it was fun and will be worn.

The next two projects are made with thin metal sheet stock that is self adhesive. We stuck the pieces together, cut them out and drew the vain in the leaves. Then we coated the top with a clear air dry (1-2 hours) glaze called Glossy Accents by Ranger

The metal in this leaf was a gold with a green over color and I use some brown ink to tone it down. We also tried our had at a little wire work and there again I would call my skills on the primitive side.

The second sheet of metal was a bright gold and I toned it down with the brown ink and then added a little silver ink to one side.

We also tried our hand a making jump ring, which turned out to be easier and a lot more fun than I expected. We twisted some copper wire and made some larger rings and then use some brown wire that matched a chain I had to make some large and small rings.

We had a wonderful time, but didn't even get started on the second book of projects we wanted to work on so I'm sure we will need to schedule another Play Date very soon.

Art Work

2009-04-03T10:56:00.001-07:00

When I had lunch with Marilyn we exchanged Christmas gifts. We had not been able to get together earlier with her treatments, my work schedule and my bout with bronchitis. Marilyn is an artist..... she draws, paints and works in mixed media.

Her gift to me was this wonderful Folk Art Snowman mixed media picture. It was matted, framed and ready to put on the wall. He is so cute and just the kind of thing Marilyn is so good at.

I tried to take a picture off center so that you could see the dimension. Beads, twigs, and even an orange toothpick for his nose. My gift to her was a bracelet, the flat spiral that took our bead group by storm during the holidays.

While I was cleaning today I dusted another picture that hangs in the guest bedroom. This one was made by my Mom several years before her death. She was in the nursing home for 12 years before she died in November 1994 and this was made before she went to the nursing home. The flowers are made of tiny sea shells that she collected on vacation in FL. I have another picture that is more a display of the different shells, not at all like this one, it is nice, but this is my favorite.

My Mom was a very talented crocheter too. She made dozens of the large round pineapple table cloths when I was very young. She also crocheted dresses for the small fashion dolls that are becoming popular again. I remember she and my grandmother would share patterns for the dresses.

I lived for over a year with my grandmother when I was six, while my parents built our house at the lake. Grandma was the one that taught me to crochet while I lived with her. She also taught me to read patterns and I think that was the most valuable part of the lessons. I have been able to read and create any crochet pattern that I found interesting, I even subscribed to a french crochet magazine in the 80's and followed the patterns from charts without translating the text.
All of this makes me a very poor student in quilt classes, I would much rather buy a book or pattern and learn the technique that way. I think it also makes me a good teacher since I love to draw patterns and write good clear instructions.

Spring Fling

2009-03-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

I've been busy this week, but took time to go to lunch Thursday with my best friend from High School. Marilyn has been doing Chemo for breast cancer and she is finished and feeling good so we went out to celebrate. Had lunch at a great little restaurant and we took half our entree home in dogie bags so we would have room to split a piece of Double Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake, and Oooooo was it ever good!!!

I think I told you that we are having a Herringbone Challenge on the BeadDreamz Group. Well I found a picture of a wonderful bracelet in one of my bead books and I really wanted to do something like it. I couldn't figure out how they got the outside rows of herringbone to stay slanted. Every time I tried it the outside rows flattened out and so I gave up. Then someone one the list posted a link to another site with the same kind of bracelet and you could see that they did the outside thread turn differently than what I had been trying to do. I revised my technique and this is the result......SPRING FLING......

In this next picture you can see the flower and leaf embellishment in the center and you can see the seed beads that I added on the turn at the end of each row.

The seed beads are hardly noticeable since they match the cubes so well and the outside rows stayed angled correctly.

The orange and yellow cubes are very bright, when I added the flowers and leaves it toned everything down some. Now the bracelet just yells SPRING instead of screaming it.

Happy St. Patricks Day

2009-03-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

Happy St Patricks Day!!!!

This is my oxlis plant, it is several years old and spends the spring and summer in the flower bed and the winter in a pot in front of the South patio door with all the other plants we dig and keep blooming.

These are the crocus in the flower bed by the garage, a sure sign of spring since they are NOT blooming in a snow drift.

Each year in March the local lumber yard has a dinner and trade show, we attended last Thursday evening and I won the table decoration. These beautiful yellow tulips are just starting to open.

Even though the signs of spring are evident we still need to have the wood stove burning, so Steve keeps the wood ben supplied.

For the past two years I have been growing some of my garden plants from seeds. These starter flats contain: Roma, Better Boy, and Best Boy Tomatoes, Patio Cucumbers and Basil. I want to start some mixed salad greens and some Bell Peppers too. We will have more garden space this year since we finished the flower/garden bed last summer. I'll try to keep you up to date on the plants with weekly or bi-weekly progress reports.

New Work

2009-03-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

On the Bead Dreamz group we are having a new technique challenge for March and April the technique is Herringbone or Ndebele Stitch. This is a technique that I haven't tried yet so I am doing some practice pieces to learn. You can click on some of the pictures and get a really close up look at the beading.

This first bracelet is a variation that is called Seed Stitch. You do the traditional two bead flat herringbone stitch but you very the size and color of the beads to give it the different look.

The button closure is an antique glass button from my collection. The color doesn't look very true in this picture, it is actually a cream and brown. The pattern for this bracelet is from the book Mastering Beadwork by Carol Huber Cypher.

The next picture is a little fuzzy, but the close up pictures are better. This is a sampler of variations on the tubular herringbone stitch.

The center of the necklace is a spiral herringbone done with size 8 seed beads, in a matt and transparent rose color. The two sections above the center that look like beads are actually just a herringbone stitch done with size 8 beads.

The section with the bright blue beads shows how when you very the size of the beads you get another effect. There is also a small section of spiral at the top of the photo.

My Amazon.com book order arrived yesterday, all three new beading books are wonderful and I'm sure I will be posting new project pictures soon.

The weather was very spring like yesterday and today, we had highs in the 60's and 70's. I am more than ready for winter to be over. I had to go to the Dr Tuesday, had been sick for several days and it wasn't getting any better. I had acute bronchitis, from what the Dr said it seems to be effecting people who don't normally get bronchitis (non-smokers) even the Dr was just getting over a bout. I still have a pretty good cough, and I'm very tired, but I feel better each day.

2009-02-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

I have been working on learning new beading stitches since I joined the Bead Dreamz group. For March I'm working on Herringbone Stitch. This green herringbone color sampler is my first attempt at herringbone. The pattern is from the book Mastering Beadwork by Carol Huber Cypher.

The pattern has a very distinctive weave which makes it easily recognizable. The beads are grouped in twos and set next to one another at an angle that looks like the cloth herringbone weave. DAH!!!! you may say, but if you look at the above section, the placement of color

changes the look.

I'm working on another bracelet that is herringbone, but it looks like seed stitch. The size of the bead as well as the color placement really changes the look of this one.

It is very easy with herringbone to leave openings in the weave, so it is great for using a button and buttonhole for the closure on a piece. The button here is a vintage button from my collection. I looked through the jars and tin for just the right size and color.........

This next bracelet is also a new technique to me Brick Stitch. It is made with 11/0 delica beads and crystal bicones. I started at one end with two declia beads and increased and decreased each diamond shape to the length needed. Then I added the arches of delicas and bicones. This first picture is a truer rendition of the colors than the second one......matt gold and raspberry.

The button on this one is actually a crystal bead that I purchased on the 60% off wall at Hobby Lobby. The pattern for this bracelet is by Anna Nehs and is from an old Bead & Button Magazine

I am ready for spring.....the weather has been changing so much that I have gotten a very sore throat and feel awful today. I hope it gets better, I haven't had strep throat for years, but I'm afraid this one could move to that very easily. If I don't feel better I may stay in all weekend and hope it is better before I need to go back to work on Monday.

I'm beginning to feel tired again so maybe it is time for a little nap before I start supper.

New Things

2009-02-13T15:17:00.001-08:00

The temperatures have been very mild for the past few days and all of the snow is gone!!!! The wind that went through yesterday didn't do any damage in the woods. We do have some small branches down in the yard that will need to be cleaned up before the first lawn mowing, but that is still down the road a few weeks so we aren't too worried about it for now.

As you will see I've been busy playing with my beads, in my spare time. I am only working four day a week now, this is fine with me. I have enough stuff to keep me busy those four days and that make the hours go by quickly.

This first bracelet is called Romance, it is a Julie Ann Smith design. I really like her designs and her site is very user friendly. She also takes Paypal my preferred way to pay on line.

The beads are tiny peyote stitched tubes, capped with a flat spacer bead, and there are red crystals and seed beads in between.

This next pendent is a pattern from a blog, the triangle and the tubes are hollow. I followed a graph to make this pendent, the directions were in French. I made one mistake and didn't realize it until it was too late to correct, so I just worked with it.

The next bracelet is another of Julie Ann Smith's called Red & Black, it is odd count peyote stitch. I have found that I really like working in odd count, even though it is a little more difficult because of the way you add the left side bead and step up to the next row.

I really like how this one turned out............it is just so ME!!! The button shows up darker in the photo, but it is an antique glass on a silver base and it is really the same bright red as the delica beads.

This bracelet is another flat spiral, I picked up the beads (lapis) at Hobby Lobby for half price.

These are the last of my beaded beads for the exchange later this month.

I have two more Julie Ann Smith peyote bracelet patterns. I ordered the beads for the next one, New England Garden, and they arrived yesterday so I will probably get to work on it later tonight.

Have a Happy Valentines Day..........

Hugs and Kisses to all...........

2009-01-25T20:53:00.000-08:00

I've been working on my Beaded Beads for the Beaddreamz exchange.

This is the side view of an adaptation of a pattern from the magazine Beaders Handbook

Top view shows a five pointed star.

This is a dodecahedron......a 12 sided sphere, each side has a star design and is made individually then zipped together to form a self supporting bead.

This one is a peyote stitched strip added to a miniature thread spool painted black. I have another one of these finished too.

These are called Sparkly Wheels and are from the book The Art of Beaded Beads. They are really easy to do and are really nice looking too.

It has been very hectic at work, so I haven't had much time to work on beading, knitting or quilting lately. Things should slow down towards the end of the month and I will have some extra time to work on projects and maybe even have time to post more often.

More Beads

2009-01-04T12:58:00.001-08:00

I've been working on more bead projects.

This is a bracelet and earring set that I made for my daughter. The beads are actually Rhyolite (semi-precious stone) that she sent to me a year or so ago. They are a beautiful green and tan color. The picture doesn't do them justice, but I never claimed to be a photographer. The seed beads and findings are a bright copper. I haven't mailed them yet, if she reads this post I suppose she will probably let me know and I will have to get them in the mail soon.

This leaf is a pattern from the Bead & Button website, they were having a half price sale on patterns last month and I purchased several. I plan to make this into a pin, haven't added the pin back yet, I think it will look great on a sweater.

This next picture is of a beaded bead, the Bead Dreamz Group is having a challenge and exchange in Jan & Feb for Beaded Beads. I have collected several patterns and am doing some practice beads. This one is netting over a 25mm wooden bead.

This is the top

This is the side

I have tried out a couple other patterns but haven't taken any pictures yet. Right now I'm working on both a dodecahedron and a tetrahedron in delica beads. If you are not sure what I'm talking about I'll post pictures later, so stop by again.

Strange Weather for December

2008-12-27T11:50:00.000-08:00

The temperature today is in the mid 60's and the sun is shining. There is a wind advisory in effect until tomorrow afternoon. The direction of the wind is what prompted the following pictures.

This tree, a sugar maple, is at the edge of the yard and close to the deck. As you can see the top is in very poor shape, the result of the bad ice storm we had a few years back. Steve decided today was the perfect day to take care of this problem before the wind did it for us.

Since the tree has a huge rotten spot at the ground on the side facing the house Steve decide to tie the tree off in the direction that he wanted it to fall, he is setting up the rope and come-along.

He was cutting the notch out and we could hear some creaking and cracking.

He started doing the back cut and there was more creaking and cracking.

Then it stated to go.......

And it landed just where he wanted it to go, back into the woods away from the house and the yard.

Now he will spend several day cutting up the tree and saving the wood that is good for the wood stove and using the rest for his erosion control projects.

Well I have some beading project pictures to post, but it will have to wait till later. I need to get back outside and enjoy the balmy weather while it is here, the forecast is for more winter like temperatures starting tomorrow.

Moving Right Along

2008-12-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

My subscription at Brave Journal runs out after the first of the year, so I will be changing my blog name and moving to blogger soon. Check back in a few days and I should have an update on what has been happening in the last month complete with loads of pictures!!!

More soon,
Sue