2008 Bead Journal Project Completed!

Completely completed!! Several weeks ago, I framed the pieces in shallow shadow boxes from Joann, Etc. About 15 minutes ago, they were hung over my dining room window (please no comments about the dust on the blinds!! I don't have time to dust when I am beading!!) - I love them!

6 Word Memoir

My friend asked me to write a 6-word memoir, based on an article that she read in the newspaper to sum up my life:

Working to support my vacation habits.

Here's the link: What would your six-words be?

Did you know?

Did you know that Right Angle Weave actually has a "nap"? I was almost finished with my RAW business card case, when I realized that the way that the beads were laying in my piece were not correct. I had completed a couple of rows in sections, instead of going all the way across the row, and they really stood out - in a bad way.

So, I am on row 30 of my case. Again. But doing it in rows, it's laying correctly.

Lesson learned: RAW has a nap, just like corduroy.

p.s. If you find the case pictured above - it's mine, I lost it.

Chloe and Her Red Sweater

Chloe loves to be outside. Now that the weather is getting colder, when she comes in she's shaking and shivering. Many years ago, we were given a great fleece jacket for our other dog Casie - who hates to wear it almost as much as she hates to go outside. Molly - our chunky monkey dog can't wear it, she's to big (Molly is arguing that the fleece shrank in the wash and it's not her fault). Chloe doesn't seem to mind it.

Here's Chloe, playing with Big Ben, our neighbor's dog (for those of you that know me, this isn't the mean psycho dog), and generally looking good while patroling for those squirrels.....

And to keep this bead related - yes, I started working on November BJP, finished a piece while up north for a swap, and still working on a RAW business card case since I lost my first one.

Back to coffee and beads.

October Bead Journal

October! The skies are clear and the leaves are changing colour.

Brr, it's getting cold out, but that doesn't bother our owl.

He's hanging out and looking for his dinner.

With the leaves dropping, it's easier to spot

supper running under the trees.

Please take the time to vote!!

Next Tuesday is election day. Please take the time to vote for the politician that will hurt you and your family less. Spend 5 minutes looking up your local proposals and determine where you stand.

My mother told me when I was old enough to vote that it was my duty as a citizen. And if you don't vote you can't bitch.

Next Tuesday - take the time to vote.....

Seven Things about Me......

Okay, I've been tagged by Arline - even though I honestly think that no one wants to know anything about me! Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Now to the facts about me:
1. I love shoes so much that I have promised my husband that if I bring in new shoes, I have to get rid of the same number of pairs of old shoes.
2. I love, love, love to travel. It's the reason that I work. That, and health insurance.
3. My brother died due to complications of liver transplant anti rejections medications several years ago. I am still angry at him for lying to me and other family members about his care - he told us that he was compliant. He wasn't. If he was compliant - he might still be alive.
4. I vote in most elections because I was told a long time ago "if you don't vote; you can't bitch."
5. I have done things in my past that were dangerous and stupid.
6. I would love to speak the Korean and Arabic languages. What is stopping me is that it's not very easy being that the alphabet is different.
7. I love Skittles......

I'm not going to tag anyone, but I invite people to leave a comment here with one or two things that we might not know about them........

Have fun with this!

Rachel Nelson-Smith

I never thought that I would actually make this bracelet, but by adapting the pattern for me, I really like it. Of course, they aren't in the "in your face" colours that Rachel loves and uses, but more toned down for Liz (like some of my orange and green colours are toned down, right?). The flat bracelet is using the new permanent finish Toho beads - using them in a bracelet is the perfect place to see if they will keep their colours.

Next? Working on part of my round robin project with members of my bead guild. Diane's piece is at my house now. And I need to finish a swap piece for Diane - she's making me a felted bag, and I am making her a Marcia DeCoster "Etruscan" necklace. Then I need to complete my October Bead Journal piece - it's about 1/2 done, but was put aside for the above projects.

Housework? I need to do housework?

Oct 15 p.s. I've worn the permanent finish bracelet for three days, 9 hours a day, in an office setting. The colours have not changed.

Neuschwanstein Castle - fertig?

I'm pretty happy with it.

I've been there at least 7 times, maybe more.

First time was in 1981 when I traveled with my friend Tricia.

Then when I lived in Stuttgart between 1984 and 1987, I was there

with friends and family who visited.

I followed the Lone Beader's lead with painting a canvas and

mounting the beadwork on it.

I really like it.

Now, I have a crewel embroidery castle, a lace version,

a cross stitch version and a beaded version.

The public debut will be on Sunday, October 5th at the

Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild Bead Bonanza in Southfield, MI

Now to continue on my Bead Journal project

that I put down a couple of weeks ago.

Galveston, TX

It's not often that I have recently been to a news-worthy place. Last January, I was in Galveston a couple of days prior to leaving on a bead cruise. My hubby and I walked around the beach and took some pictures. Char, who lives in Texas just emailed me a slideshow of the devastation in Galveston - oh my goodness.

One picture really caught my eye because I was there - I know that I was there. We bought bottles of water because it was warm, January and we were on a beach!

Neuschwanstein Castle - seite seiben

It's been a while since I worked on this piece as much as I have. Here's the current view of the castle. It's moving right along. Tonight, my friend is coming over and we are going to bead boxes, if we can figure out the instructions......

2009 Bead A Day Calendar

The Bead A Day 2009 at Shop.com or 2009 Bead a Calendar at Amazon.comis now available to the public! What a great source of inspiration this has been for me in the last year. I keep one on my desk and when I don't have a good day - I look at projects. Kudos to the editor and publisher!

Here is the link on the publishers web site: http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/products/?isbn=0740771639

p.s. Yes, I do have a couple of items in it - thanks for asking!

Sunday morning.....

....just a nice Sunday in Detroit......

Labour Day Weekend 2008

I had a really nice, quiet weekend camping with my husband and dogs in Monroe, MI. This wasn't the skunky campground - this is the one that is just 28 miles from our home, but feels like we are very far away. What a great feeling. Alan and I took Friday off work to make it a nice long weekend. I spent a good amount of time this weekend with needle, thread and beads in my hand working on month one of the Bead Journal Project.

I originally was going to have a hawk as my first month, but I really love this owl. For some reason, when my mother visited me in Germany (while I lived there), she learned the German word for owl: Eule.

From Wikipedia: Owls are an order of birds of prey. Most are solitary, and nocturnal, with some exceptions (e.g. the Burrowing Owl). They are classified in the order Strigiformes, in which there are over 200 extant species. Owls mostly hunt small mammals, insects, and other birds, though a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except Antarctica, most of Greenland, and some remote islands. Though owls are typically solitary, the literary collective noun for a group of owls is a parliament.

I also worked quite a bit on Neuschwanstein Castle. I finished work on the castle towers and started some of the trees in the front. I hadn't really worked on this since April but I do like how it's coming along.

Couple more camping photos

Check out these woodcarvings that were near the campground entrance. Aren't they awesome? The turtle is actually carved into the stump from the old tree that fell over. It was massive! Here is the picture of my husband and dogs showing how large the tree was.

Bead Journal Project - September 2008

I have my idea for the first month. It hit me when I was driving home today for certain. I work in a very urban area - downtown Detroit. But as I was entering the expressway to come home, I saw a hawk/falcon sitting on the lightpost over the road. OMG! It was such a clear sign - and ties in perfectly with the square that I started on Monday and should have done for October.

Here's my September square and yes, I am going to sign this year's pieces as I complete them. As artists, we don't give ourselves enough credit and my co-worker Kathy actually fussed at me and told me that I need to start "autographing" or signing my embroidery. The first piece that I did was the Korean Dragon.

August Beadwork

While I was camping, I did find time to work on a couple of projects.

The first is an ID badge holder for my bead society. Maybe I'll actually remember to wear my tag so that the guild members know who I am. That is, assuming that they want to know who I am. Funny, some people may not want to know. But that could just be the voices in my head.

Then I worked on a heart for Jeanette Shanigan's bead quilts for breast cancer that are auctioned off every year at the Bead and Button show. I'm happy with the way that this worked this year. Jeanette wouldn't know what to expect if I didn't put a moose in the square - so it's in there, with the required heart. Imagine Jeanette's surprise when she sees that I actually followed the instructions this year - without veering too far outside the box!

August Camping and another dog story

Yes, another Chloe story - my dogs.....endless amusement....

Alan and I spent the last week about 48 miles from home at the Brighton State Recreation Area in Brighton/Hamburg, Michigan. It was a great week with good weather, not too hot nor cold and we had a really nice campsite.

Well, see the grass behind the camper? That backs onto a forest. I was woke at 4am one night to watch the racoons trying to eat the scraps in Alan's potato chip bag. That was cute to watch the two of them.

The dog story. On Wednesday, Alan opens the camper door to let out the dogs before I go to bed and Chloe bolts out. Bolts. Like the greased lightening she can be. And bolts back to the camper just as quick. Alan yells "oh no!!" as he sees the black and white "kitty" that Chloe saw. I came out of the camper and grabbed the dog - my first mistake: the kitty was a skunk and now it's on my hands.......

....Alan makes the 10pm run to find an open store in the wilderness - tomato juice isn't the answer any more. It's woman's douche - vinegar and water variety.....Man, does she stink. Man, do my hands stink. My eyes are watering and I am thankful for once for my allergies - if she stinks that much for me, she must really stink.

Alan returns with his feminine hygiene products and Chloe gets an 11pm bath with douche and cold water. She still stinks. It's close to midnight and it's going to take us at least an hour to pack up and go home (which neither of us wanted to do). We couldn't leave her chained outside to find another kitty and we didn't want her in our bed. Gods, no!

The travel kennel that Patty (from work) bought me! It's under the bed in the camper. We pop that open and lay a dog bed in it and hope for the best. She still stinks, but she's now 5 feet from the bed and can't jump on us.

I crawl in bed, nauseated from the skunk smell, and curl up in the bed. Gods, my hands stink. No curling them up under my chin......nasty. The next morning Chloe gets two more baths.....she still stinks....but it's better. We stayed at the campground until Sunday morning - just a wonderful week.

Except for the stinky dog.....the picture is pre-stinky.

p.s. My hands don't smell like skunk anymore. Either that, or I have gotten used to it.....

New stuff - it's been a while....

Dogs in the Tub

In an email to my buzzard friends, I mentioned a story about my dog Molly in the bathtub. Bead artist Bev Herman directed me to her blog at No Easy Beads where there is a story about her dog and the bathtub.

My dog story (yes, another one): Al's working midnights this week. He got home from work on Tuesday and only two dogs met him barking and happy at the door. His first impression was that "Liz locked her in the bedroom" - nope no dog in the bedroom.

He hears a small bark - and finds Molly in the...............bathtub. Where she obviously was in there for hours - sometime between 6:30 when I left for work and 12:30 when he got home, Molly jumped in the tub - she loves to lick the water off the surface. And then she couldn't get out.

Alan said she looked so pitiful.

That was on Tuesday. Tonight Alan and I went out to dinner tonight. We came home to: At least Chloe was keeping her company. Thanks for the chuckle Bev! Dogs will be dogs.