September finished early

Just something a little different for Liz. I felted some wool on the Pellon backing. I had a wishbone from Thanksgiving several years ago - I guess I do save this junque for a reason! I covered the wishbone with right angle weave in three colors and mounted that on the felted Pellon. Simple. Clean. I really like the simplicity of this month.

September teaser

Any guesses?

Bead Journal Teaser for September

Working on a start for September. I lied. I lied. I am working with size 15 seeds in RAW. Marcia - look what you have done to me!!! I don't know if it's the size 15s, the RAW, the DeCoster patterns that I have come to love or just what I am doing for September. It's different. Very different.

August Bead Journal Page - finished (at last)

Whew - I was worried!! I didn't think that it would be done. Even finished the 3-bead picot around the edge. I like the fact that the design is fairly simple. Done all in beads from my vintage/antique purse. Now, my idea for September? Not going to tell you. Different, I think.

August Bead Journal Page - continue

As I bead this journal page, there is a little song that goes through my mind. It's the song from the "Wizard of Oz" movie - not my most favorite movies, but one that I do enjoy watching every year. Some childhood memories die hard, don't they?

You're out of the woods
You're out of the dark
You're out of the night
Step into the sun, step into the light
Keep straight ahead
For the most glorious place
On the Face of the Earth
Or the sky

Hold onto your breath
Hold onto your heart
Hold onto your hope
March up to the gate
And bid it open

It shouldn't be took much longer - just a couple of evenings. Then I can start on September, which is just a vision in my head. Especially since I lost my note with my "most brilliant idea" - that's a bummer.

But the end is in sight and the dog wants out.

Herringbone colours

Quite a story with this necklace. I think that I started it in 2003 or 2004 after the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee. I bought a kit from Buy the Kit and started working on it. I love the lariat that designer Nikia Angel made with it. After 19 inches, I just didn't like doing it! It sat in my stack of UFO's (Un Finished Objects) for several years.

In late July, I went to my friend's house in Ohio and met up with several beaders who have been on the Bead Cruise with me. They saw the piece and ooohed and aaahed over it. Now this is a piece that I took with me because I was going to take it apart and reuse the beads!!! Estelle, Shelly and Lynn - I finished it over the weekend and I am going to try and sell it at the Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild Bead Bonanza on October 14th. I wouldn't have finished it at all, if you hadn't threatened me with bodily harm!! Thanks!

Casie on the Rocks - Finished!

I was camping in northern Michigan (well, it was actually Mid-state, in West Branch, but anything past mile market 200 on I-75 equates to being "Up-north") for the last 8 days. What great weather - not too hot, not too chilly, just wonderful.

My beads and I did a lot of work this week. I finished "Casie on the Rocks" while sitting in the sunshine, watching Casie and Molly check out all the dogs that walked by their jail - er, pen.

I'm pretty pleased with the way that this piece turned out - I might do a little more on the rocks, but then again, I might not. I used an adaptation of the Nepal or Biva chain to add textural leaves to the piece.

Casie on the Rocks - part 5

My work on "Casie on the Rocks" has continued this week. I promised myself that I would complete some projects before I start something new. I have been working on the rocks - browns and greys, with a little black thrown in. I also re-beaded Casie's one leg - the back one that is to the right. I didn't like the other texture and colour that I beaded it in, so out it went. The new one, on the left looks better.

Progress!!

August Bead Journal Page

This is the start of my August Bead Journal Page. I am using size 20 seed beads from a vintage bag that was just shredding. I've been taking the bag apart slowly - even though almost 1/2 the bag was missing, there are still a lot of beads, especially the "dirty" grey colour for the background. I like the start of this project.

Guesses, part drei

Well? I used mostly orange size 11 seed beads, with an occasional purple bead. My inspiration was an orange and purple starfish picture that I found on the internet. I worked the legs in right angle weave around a chopstick, with decreases along the stick. It's drapy and flowing and just really fun.

Go Me!!!

Dear DCA/GLBG Art Show Participant:

Thank you for sending in your application(s) to contribute your beautiful art work to this show. It has been very exciting to review all the submissions, which are a great representation of the talent this Guild has. What a tough choice to pick the show pieces! In order to display a variety of artwork, we selected a range of beadwork types/styles from embroidery to jewelry to sculptural.

We are happy to inform you that the following item(s) of yours will be shown at DCA/GLBG exhibit in late October, early November 2007:

• "phases of the moose"
• 'intermoosal relations"
• "lord ganesha"
• "om"
• "mayan god"
• "allah"
• "star of david"

Downriver Council for the Arts (DCA) and Home Gallery

I might become "somebody"!!!

Guesses, part dieux

It's more than the last picture......

The Loomatics continue to meet in Michigan

A nice Friday evening in Dearborn Heights! The Loomatics study group of the Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild continues another summer. In this picture are: Diane, Madeline, Sue, Linda, Sandy, Liz, Jeanette and Sharon. Once a month we meet for a nice evening of beading, socializing, man bashing, ghost stories, truths, lies and everything in between. Tamaya, who is also a member, was unable to attend this night - (but with a little baby - has a good excuse for missing the fun) and Deb was off probably photographing Rick Springfield!

Guesses, please?

This is the start of a project in orange and purple right angle weave. What is it?

Urchin bead

Following instructions from Marcia Decoster's lariat, I have a sea urchin of unusual colours living at my home. It will end up hanging from a silver chain. I used lime green, peacock blue seed beads and tourmaline 3mm swarovski crystals. It's yummy!!

Bead Journal July - finished

This is my finished square for the month of July - it's the Big Dipper and the North Star in a field of the Milky Way. I was inspired by all the stars that my husband and I see when we go camping in Northern Michigan - away from the lights of Detroit, you can actually see a lot. I used shades of blue and silver size 15 seed beads for this month. The "stars" in the dipper are pearls. The finishing touch will be a 3-bead picot around the sides. I like the flow of the sky, the whorls of the dark sky, so very typical of a July night.

Bead Journal July

Working on it slowly, but I have managed a couple of hours over the weekend. The milky way is giving me a headache, but the majority of the people that I showed it to knew what I was doing.

Busy, busy, busy....

....I haven't even done my housework (which won't surprise any of my friends), but I have been beading. Working on my July piece for the bead journal, finishing the previous piece (Urchin by Marcia Decoster), and the current piece - Crayon Colours. The beads are Bellisimo beads that I learned from Marcia - and tubular netting over a plastic tube. The spacer beads are from Trudy E. Barnes - Trudy's Colour Creations (trudysbeads@kc.rr.com) which I purchased at Bead and Button in Milwaukee, WI in June. What do you think?

Good Wednesday to you......

....I haven't been working on my BJP, but still have a good headway on July's page. I hope to get back to it over the weekend. At this time, we have no weekend plans (and would like to keep it this way, but you never know).

I have had time to finish a Marcia Decoster Urchin Lariat - and I think it's wonderful. I think with enough time, I might actually become a fan of RAW....

The weather has improved, it's been in the 90's, and today, the upper 70's with a great breeze. Tonight, I am off to my friend Sandy's house for several hours of beading bliss.

Alas, no progress pictures this time

What have I been working on? I have been making components of a Marcia Decoster lariat, that are looking pretty good! I have been working on my bead journal piece for July, it's just over half done and I like the look of it. I've ideas for many more of them and have been writing them down so that I can remember what I thought about.

I was out on Friday with my Loomatic buddies in Ypsilanti at Stony Creek Bead and Gallery for our monthly hang out. Sue Schwartzenberger offered the classroom at the store to hang out in, have dinner, do some beading. She has a really nice store - and it's closer than Ann Arbor, and might be closer than Pam's Bead Garden in Plymouth (in these days of $3.00 or more a gallon of gas, that is important).

I've been doing a lot of gardening - I do like being out there in the sun and just hanging with the girls and working on my skin cancer (just kidding, I take precautions - my father's skin cancer taught me that). I harvested a ton of bamboo stakes this year, I must have 30-40 of them. It's nice strong stakes that I am getting now. Some of the bamboo is over 18 feet tall. Wonderful!!

It's been a nice summer - good temps, good sun factor, almost enough rain. Let's hope it continues.....