Bead Line Studios

Under-dressed & Under-equiped

2012-01-28T21:25:00.008-05:00

I took a break on Friday and we finally drove over to Whitewater Draw to watch the wintering Sandhill Cranes come in for their nooning. I only have a couple of poor photos taken with my little point-n-shoot camera. Here is a YouTube video of what we got to see.

I walked out of the house dressed for a rough outing; old jeans, flip-flops and a plain t-shirt. Oh boy, was I ever surprised to see that me and my little camera were way out classed; birdwatchers in LL Bean-type of clothing, windbreakers all knotted around the waist, cameras, binoculars and unidentified equipment slung around necks and backs.... I didn't know that there were such large binoculars on tripods just to go look at birds! And... cameras .... I swear one camera with a huge long lens was toting around this frail-looking, tiny, grandmotherly woman, instead of the other way around!

(Note: click on any photo to enlarge it)

We drove out of Tombstone, over to the next valley East. Dry scrub and even scrubbier grasslands was all the eye could see. It was hard to imagine that water birds like cranes would pick such a place to spend the winter.

Then you drive down a dusty, unpaved road and see a glint or two of swampy water ponds surrounded with marsh growth.

We sat in the car until we started to see groups of birds overhead. More and more birds looking like large bee swarms overhead and in the distance. All coming in for a little mid-day siesta.

It was a fascinating mid-day outing and the sounds of that many cranes was something to listen to.

The other highlight (oddity?) was watching an American Teal duck swimming around in a tight little circle for about a half an hour. He'd go one way for awhile, then move over and go the other direction. We're still wondering what the purpose of it was.

To finish off the day we kept on going south and made a trip into Naco, Mexico, (a quiet, sleepy, non-tourist village) for a bit of necessary shopping.

It's a lot of fun to look down a side street and see such beautiful examples of texture and color like this.

Now I'm rejuvenated and ready to get back to work and plan for the Tucson Gem show trips.

Native Stripes - three sections done

2012-01-18T14:28:00.005-05:00

Three weeks into the Native Stripes String-along and you can begin to see what some of the ropes are going to look like. The above photo is my master rope. The patterns are building and the colors are as diverse as the participants.

Can't make up your mind as to what colors you want to use? Then do as some have done... start more than one rope. Anne has three very different colorways going, but equally as effective.

Mary Ann added her own twist to the third section and used some other small patterns to replace the bead soup section. Isn't it a bright, happy combination?

I set things up to allow the use of a solid color in place of the bead soup mix. Marty has put the idea to very good use. Her rope has the look of the traditional Balkan bead crochet work.

Barbara threw some terracotta colored beads in to the mix to tone down her bead soup mix. I can't wait to see where she ends up using them in the pattern sections.

As there is no real time limit on this String-Along, people are in all different stages with their pieces. I enjoy seeing what a group of people come up with for colors and how personal the exact same patterns become.

Native Stripes - Design & Colors

2012-01-10T12:18:00.004-05:00

The Native Stripes String-Along has started off with the usual agonizing over colors. I specified a bead soup mix for the background, never thinking that it would cause that much thinking and swatching to get something pleasing. However, the results so far have been, "why didn't I think of that?"

I'm working on the third section and not having a peaceful time of it. So far I've discarded three patterns for various reasons. I'd better settle on something right quick as the participants are going to want their new section by Sunday. The fish are the latest, "nope won't work", pattern, so back to the drawing board one more time.

Sandi is using a mix like my Czech mix, but went for the more uniform Japanese seed beads.

Toni came up with a bead soup in only 2 colors that I really like. I think the final piece will have quite an elegant Folk Art look to it.

Terri has completed the first two sections. Here is another bead soup solution I wish I'd thought of. Take a whole tube of a background color and add just a cap full of each of the other colors. It reminds me of some of the nice old tweed fabrics with their flecks of color here and there.

Now I need to get back to the drawing board and settle on the third section so I can get it strung and crocheted before the weekend.

Urban Stripes ~ More Finished Work

2012-01-10T11:53:00.005-05:00

Here are some more finished Urban Stripes necklaces. Some people needed a bit more time to complete their projects. I'm still amazed at all of the different looks coming from the exact same pattern sets.

If you want to try giving Urban Stripes your own vision, the pattern set was issued as an eBook on http://www.bead-patterns.com/ .

You can find it here.

Liz finished her rope off with a beautiful Basha bead as a focal. It compliments the rope nicely.

Vivianne wasn't satisfied with doing a rope in only one size. She had to do one in 11's as well as 8's. The blue version has a nice deep glow to it.

Buy her a cup of coffee

2012-01-04T20:16:00.003-05:00

You need to check out Beaded Laughter. Sylvie has done a "Hey Girl" series that has had me in stitches. Each one has been better than the last one. She did my heart throb and beading passion and I love it. Magic happened, yes it did. If you get a chuckle out of her humor, look at her sidebar and go buy the woman a cup of coffee. She needs it to keep her going and get ready for the Best Bead Show in Tucson.

P.S. Sylvie also makes some awesome beads.... I have one of her treasures.
Sylvie Beads

New Year's Drive

2012-01-01T20:14:00.004-05:00

We have been in the habit of taking a Sunday-type drive on New Year's Day. We got off on a back street in the border town of Naco, AZ and discovered Camp Naco. As many times as I have been in Naco, I had no idea that these adobe remains were there.

This military compound was constructed between 1919 and 1923 as part of the War Department’s Mexican Border Defense construction project. It was a plan to build a 1200- mile “fence” along the southern U.S. border. American soldiers were the primary component of this “fence,” and the construction project was to establish or to upgrade border military posts to protect the soldiers against the elements and to protect U.S. citizens and economic interests.

The plan for the camp in Naco, part of the Tenth Cavalry Patrol District, was to construct 35 adobe buildings. It's the only site of the nine western camps to be constructed of adobe and the only site in Arizona largely intact today. There are plans "in the works" to preserve and use the old facility for community purposes.

Now, this is today's border fence - an actual fence. Click on the photo to enlarge it and you can see the line of the fence marching across the valley floor. It's that dark line in the mid-ground.

It was a beautiful sunny, 70 degree day with little wind . . . a perfect day to be out 'n about enjoying the scenery.

Out with 2011 ~ In with 2012

2011-12-30T18:49:00.004-05:00

King Arthur Flour Irish Buttered Raisin Bread

100 years ago and more, when hunger was always just one failed potato crop away, many Irish New Year traditions involved food. In County Cork, crumbs were thrown out the windows and door to prove that no one inside was hungry. New Year's Day was always known as La na gCeapairi--the Day of the Buttered Bread. This was possibly a talisman against hunger, or to show that food was plentiful. Sandwiches of bread and butter were placed outside the door on this morning.

I just took this loaf out of the oven and from just the smell of it there probably won't be any left to butter and put outside the door on New Year's Day. The King Arthur Flour baking blog is my downfall... it always makes me hungry and often sends me to the kitchen to bake. For 34 years I've baked with their flours. King Arthur is located in Vermont, near enough for me to visit their store when I'm in NH.

Our New Year's eve celebration will be a quiet one. A good meal, a glass of wine or other spirits and probably fall asleep before the ball drops. We've been in the habit of taking a day trip, sort of the old fashioned Sunday drive, on New Year's Day. Haven't yet decided which direction we'll go this year. The weather promised to be fantastic so we might just pick a compass point and go.

I wish all of you

A Happy & Prosperous 2012

Native Stripes - Last Chance

2011-12-29T14:29:00.004-05:00

There are just a few spots left in the Native Stripes String-Along.

Registration closes at midnight MST on Dec. 31st.

More information Here (Click)

Sign Up here (CLICK)

As one participant said, "I'm done with Christmas, and ready to start stringing." I think she was trying to hurry me up and get started. We're ready to go on New Year's Day, this is your last chance if you've been thinking about it and want to join in the fun with the mystery of new patterns once a week. We'll all end up with unique bead crocheted necklaces.

A Christmas Gift

2011-12-23T19:40:00.003-05:00

If you bead crochet, here is a little something to put under your holiday tree. If Christmas trees are not your thing, then make them white on a black background and call it a winter wonderland rope.

May your days be Merry and Bright.

(click on the photo to enlarge, then save to your computer or print it out)

This young buck came wandering through the yard this evening along with two does and three young'uns. He was only 3 ft from my kitchen window and not a bit worried about me tapping on the window.

Have a Merry Ho Ho Ho, however you celebrate this holiday season.

Keeping the Chill Away

2011-12-14T21:59:00.003-05:00

Tombstone has had a couple of days of chilly rain - 1" over 2 days and I've missed having the sun warm my studio during the day.

In between baking to warm me up, I quickly made a couple of last moment Christmas presents. These double wrap leather bracelets were a lot of fun to do. A button, C-Lon cord, a couple of beads/charms, leather cord, and ball chain from the hardware store. I think they are just funky enough to appeal to the younger generation. Now I can mail my boxes to NH and hope they get there before Santa does.

When I get chilled, I bake. I found this beautiful Blue Bird flour in a real flour sack and couldn't resist. It was such a happy bag of flour. The flour jar is clean and has all new flour in it, now I can whip up a batch of King Arthur's Blitz Bread. Gee, I'm not using their flour this time so I hope it comes out the same.

My one house plant is going to bloom, but not soon enough to dispel the gloom of the gray, overcast, rainy days. It didn't have the label, so I have no idea what color amaryllis it is. Whatever color it blooms, it will brighten the winter windowsill.

Now I need to go see how my bread is doing.

Native Stripes - Open Registration

2011-12-11T12:59:00.002-05:00

click here for more information

Native Stripes, String-Along Registration is open:

Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011 at 12 noon MST or GMT -7

through

Midnight Dec. 31, 2011 or when all 40 spaces are filled

Register Here(click)

Once you pay for the String-Along, you will receive an email with the beginning information, and a link to join the FaceBook Group page. This could take up to 12 hours. Check your Spam folder and be patient before you email me that you didn't get the introductory materials.

Native Stripes - British colors

2011-12-10T12:30:00.005-05:00

One of the members of the latest string-along lives in England. She commented that all of the color palettes from Central and South American textiles were so foreign to her. That made me stop and think.

When I think of England and colors, two things come to mind: Celtic blue war paint and Liberty of London fabrics. There was a time when I'd have given anything to be able to afford all of the Liberty prints I wanted. Could you call them native? To people who sew, they are native to England, and they are textiles.

ABOVE: 1933 Liberty print- great rich colors in darker hues.
Click color selection photos to see them larger.

Here's a 1970's Liberty print - Fresh, lighter color scheme

The only two keys that I'm using for this string-along are: native + textiles. My personal interpretation comes from childhood and Chilean textiles from the high Andes. Your interpretation will be different than mine. This project is about patterns and the use of lots of small patterns in a bead crochet rope lariat. It can be done in my exact colors, or interpreted in your colors.

I've used Big Huge Labs color generator to pull these color selections.

Native Stripes - Dec. 11 Registration

2011-12-09T22:36:00.004-05:00

click here for more information

Watch this space for open registration for Native Stripes, String-Along.

Sunday December 11, 2011

Starting at

12 noon MST or GMT -7.00

We're going to start by considering colors. What colors do you

associate with Native Textiles?

Native Stripes - String~Along

2011-12-05T00:01:00.003-05:00

Get Ready for January 1st 2012
This is the next String-Along that I've been promising. It will be a 60" lariat with optional peyote bands and fringe beads. It can be crocheted in either 8/0 or 11/0 seed beads. I will be using 8/0 Czech seed beads.

The form and shape will be like this crayon bright lariat that I made in 2006.

Click Here for a PDF informational sheet.

Native Stripes will draw inspiration from my Chilean childhood. The Altiplano region of Chile, Bolivia and Peru produces beautiful textiles in bright bold colors. These are knitted or woven on narrow backstrap looms. The narrow fabric bands can be filled with many interesting small decorative motifs. I have a notebook from the early 1960's of designs that I saw. I will try and translate some of them into the fabric of a 6-around bead crocheted rope. Many small patterns will be interspersed with bands of beadsoup or a background color. This will be a very eclectic, many small patterned rope

I know that many of you are in the middle of holiday beading and family things. However, I wanted to give everybody enough time to think about the project and possible color combinations before actually starting the project. You can do my colors, or research and chose your own colors. Native can mean anything from these Chilean textiles to Navajo blankets, or textiles from any country.

Sign-ups will open December 11th and close when all spaces are filled or on December 31st, whichever comes first. Once you register for the String-Along, you will receive an email with all the information on material requirements and choosing your colors. The first pattern section will go out Jan. 1st, via email.

Beading on the road

2011-11-30T11:36:00.005-05:00

Driving the back roads, through small towns and visiting local thrift stores
turns up some real treasures. I found this man's beaded wallet in Oklahoma for $5. You can see that the beadwork was hand applied over a store-bought leather wallet - neatly, but not professionally. It has some wear at the fold, but is a beautiful example of someones beading labor.

The center design would make a great bracelet design.

I'm fortunate to be able to bead crochet in the car, however I didn't prepare enough to keep me busy the whole trip. I finished my 3rd Urban Stripes necklace. It's only a single length as I ran out of the gray background beads. I like the bead color, but I don't think I'll buy any more for quite awhile.

I looked all over the East for these #10 Bell Ends for ball chain and couldn't find them. I remembered seeing them at a hardware store here in AZ. I had to make a small detour when making the first pantry re-supply trip and sure enough, they were still there. I bought all of the nickle ones and a few of the brass ones. I'm going to use them as bead caps (with a short chain between) on the 3rd Urban Stripes necklace. They fit perfectly over a 6-around 8/0 rope and have an industrial look that I think will work perfectly.

I tested some colors in 8/0 seed beads for the Native Stripes String-Along. Doesn't it fit right in with the colors on the wallet? I have an older necklace done in the same Czech beads, size 11/0 and I'm now sure that the designs will work for either size. Now I can pull together the stuff to do the next one in January. Be forewarned, this will be a paid String-Along Workshop.

I finished the trip working on this bracelet that had been lurking in my traveling case for a year now. The daggers are difficult to hang onto while crocheting and I can't put up with more than a little bit at a time. It is going to be a heavy, but oh-so-supple feeling bracelet when done.... almost a decadent feeling piece.

Now I have to finish putting the road weary beads away and get enough chaos out on the work table to feel like getting back to beading. I have a to-do list that seems a mile long and am wondering how to fit it all into my 6 months here in Arizona.

Thanksgiving on the Road

2011-11-28T10:46:00.010-05:00

The beads got packed into their new trailer, the NH house winterized and we hit the road a couple of days later than we had planned on. Dealing with 22" of snow on Halloween weekend didn't help the check list one bit. I actually had to go buy closed shoes to be able to survive. Flip-flops were just not the thing in that much snow.

I think this trip from NH to AZ was one of sunsets.

First evening on the road gave us this fantastic view of the setting sun.

I always like driving through Vermont and seeing the native wildlife.

We laid over in Memphis and spent time with some good friends, cats and parrots. We also took the time to unload and redistribute the loads between the trailer and the car. As this was the first trip with this vehicle combination, we had a few things to sort out.

Instead of interstates, we drove the older US Highways from Hot Springs, Arkansas west. I love looking at the brick downtown buildings in the smaller towns that we drive through. There is so much detail to see if you look up.

Thanksgiving in Wichita Falls, TX was an adventure as finding something open, still serving food, left us a choice of iHop or Denny's.

Finally back in Tombstone AZ, we stopped for just enough pantry supplies to get us through a day and unloaded essentials. The moon, Venus and remains of the sunset lit our way.

Now to put things away and clean up after the spiders that had moved in over the summer. Just how can an unoccupied house dirty itself in six month's time?

Try Something Different - SALE

2011-11-12T11:55:00.007-05:00

I'm packing for Arizona and don't want to take these remaining kits with me. Between now and 8PM Eastern Time on Sunday 11/13/11, the price has been dropped to $35 each (regular $38) and shipping within the US is Free. My last trip to the Post Office is going to be Monday, then I'm heading West for the winter. This pictured kit is quite different as the variegated thread will show through the transparent beads, giving the bracelet another level of uniqueness. It is a one-of-a-kind kit. It will be a gift to one of the buyers, selected randomly.

Each purchase will also include a pattern card for this alternate design, "Climbing Scales"

The Details:
Email me with your choices (by number) and I'll let you know if they are still available. Pay me with PayPal by Sunday night and I'll mail the kit(s) First Class Mail on Monday. This offer ends at 8PM EST Sunday night.

Major Scales Bead Crochet technique with Magatamas

....was$38 per kit, now $35 per kit. ....

Intermediate to advanced bead crocheters.

1.- Peach transparent matte Maga w/ yellow matte 8/0 (1 kit)

2.- Peach transparent matte Maga w/ blue Iris 8/0 (1 kit)

3.- Pale green transparent matte Maga w/ green Iris matte 8/0 (1 kit)

4.- Pale green transparent matte Maga w/ cobalt matte 8/0 (1 kit)

5.- Pale green transparent matte Maga w/ gold flecked pink 8/0 (1 kit)

6.- Lime Iris matte Maga w/ gold flecked pink 8/0 (1 kit)

7.- SOLD-Bronze Maga w/ green Iris matte 8/0 (1 kit)

8.- Bronze Maga w/ Dk raspberry/brown Iris matte 8/0 (1 kit)

9.- Green Iris matte Maga w/ green Iris matte 8/0 (1 kit)

10.- Green Iris matte Maga w/ blue iris matte 8/0 (1 kit)

Sidetracked

2011-11-09T16:58:00.002-05:00

I need to get cracking......

I need to be packing......

These trays of stuff

need to get into these cases....

so I can leave for a warmer winter place.

But....

Nikia puts the most tempting bits and pieces of vintage things on sale and this gem came in the mail today. It has my mind totally sidetracked. I had an idea for a bead embroidered, hinged cuff and I so want to start on it.

But if I start a project now, the car won't get packed and I'll end up having to wear snow boots instead of enjoying Arizona's sunshine.

Drat!

Count Down to Arizona

2011-11-06T09:54:00.009-05:00

It's ten days to estimated leave for Arizona time. You'd think that after 11 years of doing this I would have it all down to a science. When I put my huge schoolhouse slate board up in the hallway I finally wrote down a check list. Last year we were a couple hundred miles into the trip, wondering if we had forgotten to do ________? At least it wasn't turn off the iron as it's been a lot of years since I've ironed anything!

Now I have to sort and put away all of this.........

....and figure out how much of this I'll need.....

.... then make the beading stuff all fit into these canvas bags.

....so we can pack it all into this for the trip West.

The life of a snowbird beader can get daunting at times, but I am not ready to give up my winter sun in Arizona just yet.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T09:43:00.003-05:00

...and what's your spooky jewelery going to be today?

I actually like working with the various orange colors. So, today I can show off my orange and black work and nobody will say anything.

Snowed In!

2011-10-30T13:15:00.005-05:00

This is the view out my back door. That snow level is more than half way up the back storm door. Of course, a lot of it is what came off the roof in one very loud whooomp!

We still have nice colored fall foliage under the white stuff and really didn't get an Indian Summer. I'm in hopes that Indian Summer is lurking out there to give us a last taste of nice weather before Old Man Winter settles in permanently.

Unfortunately we guessed wrong and didn't believe the forecasts. They always seem to miss on the short side. Nahhh, we won't go buy a snow shovel, this probably won't amount to very much. Usually we are on the road for our winter in Arizona before we get more than a dusting of snow. Hadn't seen hats, gloves, winter boots in years and it was a scramble of senior memories to figure out if we still had any and if so, where did they get put?

Here's what some recorded inches in our neck of the woods:
... Hillsborough County, NH... Snowfall...
Peterborough 24.0" at 729 am 10/30
Hillsboro 21.5" at 102 am 10/30 - nearest to where I live
Bedford 20.8" at 557 am 10/30
Milford 20.0" at 1102 am 10/30
South Weare 19.5" at 730 am 10/30
Merrimack 19.0" at 750 am 10/30
Wilton 14.0" at 1210 am 10/30

There's a Honda Element under there
. . . somewhere.

Making Do when Winter arrives

2011-10-29T09:39:00.005-05:00

My third Urban Stripes necklace is coming along quite nicely now. I am going to finally run out of the gray background beads so this one will not be a doubled-around-the-neck rope. However, It will go nicely with the other two. I did do some planning before I went and had my eyes (cataracts) fixed. I knew there would be a space of time before I could see clearly once again. I can crochet pretty much by feel and figured if I had enough bead crochet strung, I could at least keep my hands busy. If my hands aren't busy, then I get bored and you can only listen to so many books on tape.

Mother Nature threw us a surprise here in New Hampshire. One day it was a nice Fall day and the next morning Winter had arrived with cold and an inch or so of snow. They are saying we will get another 5" this weekend. This just a bit too early for an accumulation of the wintry white stuff. I'm ready to head for Arizona, but there is still too much to do before we can pack the car and go. November 15th, or thereabouts is the schedule for leaving.

The furnace is running and I'm thinking about baking something to warm up. I'm making do with a borrowed pair of glasses to be able to see the computer screen while my eyes heal and settle into their final vision. Funny thing is that back in the 70's I actually wore glasses that were almost as big as these are. Not a big fashion statement here! At one time that would have bugged the heck out of me, but somehow age tends to put function and comfort ahead of what one looks like.

Now I need to start cleaning up the studio, putting things away and organizing the beads for traveling. I'm starting to do some research for the New Year's String-Along. I know what shape the rope is going to take (60"+ long) and I think the theme will be Native Stripes. I have quite a collection of South American native textiles and am wondering if the geometric and animal figures will transfer to a bead crocheted rope. If I expand the theme to include Navajo rugs, then there is a nice choice of colors... from brights to muted monochromatic. I'll be on the look out as we travel west for inspirational photo opportunities.

Bead Room Clean Out

2011-10-21T16:10:00.005-05:00

I'm only a month away from packing up the car and heading to Arizona for the winter. Over the summer I've been setting things aside in the studio that I know I won't use or have dribs and drabs leftover from projects. I also ended up with remains of kits that were made up for events this past summer.

In kits I have a few Cruise Ring kits (peyote technique), some Raised Spiral bead crochet kits (good for beginning crocheters) and about a dozen advanced Major Scales kits (Magatamas in bead crochet). Most are unique, one-of-a-kind color combinations.

Here is a photo of one of the bead groups that need a new home: a slice of a pool ball for a focal, antique French enameled number discs, Sea Urchin spine beads, Antique cutoffs from real ivory piano keys, unique Bisbee AZ cabochons from mines that haven't produced since the 50's or 60's. At half the wholesale value (or what I paid) there are some fantastic deals in the bead groups.

So here's the deal..... On kits, buy enough and you get 10% off of the listed price. On the bead groups the price is HALF, yes 50%, of the value listed on the photo. All shipping is a flat fee of $5 and the only payment I can take is through PayPal (they take credit cards if you don't have an account). What's not to like about a sale like this and I don't need to pack any of this up for the trek to Arizona.

Photos, prices and a kit list - All done with
email me with your list and I'll let you know if it's still for sale.

Urban Stripes & No Easy Beads

2011-10-20T15:22:00.007-05:00

Beverly Herman of No Easy Beads, out of New Orleans is one of my oldest beading friends. We met in Arkansas over 11 years ago and have beaded together all over the USA. We can both remember when all of our beads fit into a single small Plano tackle box. Bev is one of those people with a madcap sense of humor and I don't think I have a sane, serious photo of her. Point a camera at Bev and ask, "What are you working on?" and the above is what you're likely to get . . . along with a few choice off-the-wall comments.

Bev and I have tested each others beading tutorials, instructions and patterns over the years. She has a design and color sense that is precise and unique. I must say that Beverly produces some of the better written instructions sets that are out there in the beading world. When I need a showcase piece for publication in colors other than my own crayon brights, I'll generally ask Bev if she can do it for me in her signature colors. Her favorite colors always remind me of ancient, rich, Russian Icons; dusty, deep mattes with the sparkle of metallics mixed in here and there.

Bev has just finished her second Urban Stripes necklace and both of her pieces together make a fabulous set. Again, she has taken my pattern set to a new level of opulence with her colors. It shows how a simple set of linked patterns can become totally different in someone else's hands.

Here are two other pieces of wearable art that Bev has crocheted for me. See what I mean by the richness of the colors that she chooses to use?

Diamonds and Daggers from "Patterns & Graphing for Bead Crochet Ropes".

Go take a look at what you can find at No Easy Beads - I'm sure you'll fall in love with the unique things that Beverly makes.

Urban Stripes, eBook

2011-10-11T12:59:00.007-05:00

It's done.... the eBook, that is. I'm very pleased with the final product and the way it all came together.

It is up on Bead Patterns web site as a download.

You can find it here.

Now that my eyes are getting better I can start working on a print version over on Amazon's Print-on-Demand.

But then again, maybe I'll go take a few walks and look at the Fall foliage, which is finally starting to show some real color around here.

String-Along

Here are some more beautiful examples of what Urban Stripes can produce. Members of the original on-line group keep posting more finished examples. If you're on FaceBook, you can look at the public gallery of finished items. It's well worth the time to page through the photos to see some great necklaces, and bracelets too.

Here are both of Doreen's necklaces. The brick accents and soft green work quite well. She used a NYC photo to extract her colors and they came out right on target.

This is her Urban Stripes 2. See how well the patterns show up and mix with each other?

Peggy finished her Urban Stripes 2 in a 32" length as she said that suited her a lot better than a double necklace. Now she's going back and making a second Urban Stripes 1 in this length to match. Peggy said, "Your "string X inches" method makes doing the adjustments section by section very easy."

Mary Ann has already made a bracelet from the instructions in the eBook. It's wonderful to have an Editor who is also a fantastic bead crocheter. She used the colors from Terri's necklace set in the eBook's Gallery - also in size 11/0 beads.

if you want to go back and follow the original String-Along from the very start, it's all here on the Blog at http://beadline.blogspot.com/search/label/string-along

Clearer Vision - someday soon

2011-10-02T12:14:00.006-05:00

One more Urban Stripes necklace set finished.

Janice has posted her two Urban Stripes necklaces. She debated on using the green in the first one. I'm glad she did as it pulled the set out of the ordinary into a grouping that really stands out. I'd wear this pair in a heartbeat.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I did all of the layouts, photos and illustrations for the eBook, Urban Stripes, before last Monday. Now I'm just waiting for my good Editor to get the rough draft back to me with the i's dotted and t's crossed.

I've always been nearsighted, very nearsighted, or almost blind according to my kids. Well age finally caught up to me and it was time to have the cataracts taken care of. That's why I hurried and got the eBook stuff done while my eyesight was still stable in both eyes before I had the first surgery last Monday.

With one eye done I'm very lopsided and see like the above photo . . . half clear and half fuzzy. It's going to be very good when both eyes are done, but for the moment, I can either use my old eyeglasses and close one eye, or take them off and close the other eye. Shall we say that walking around right now is quite an adventure. I'm OK with text up close, but don't trust myself to know if a photo is good, sharp and clear at the moment. Mary Anne Weeks Mayo, my Editor, is a boon at any time, but now more than ever.

So, I'll be quiet for a couple of months until everything is done, the eyes are stable and I can get new prescription eyeglasses. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (quite clearly) but it's going to be a couple of very frustrating months.

3:30 EST- addendum:
due to the type of implanted lens and the very extreme corrective difference in both eyes at the moment . . . the option of removing one old eyeglass lens is not optimal - it gives "double vision + haloed effect" to the max!

Urban Stripes ~ even more necklaces

2011-09-26T16:53:00.007-05:00

If you missed out on the original String-Along project, you'll be able to catch up and crochet your own necklaces in a couple of weeks. The rough draft of the eBook has gone off to the Editor and if all goes well, will be published by October 15, 2011. It's 26 pages of Urban inspiration, bead colors, patterns and variations for 3 necklaces and one bracelet.

Here is what my finished ropes look like before being joined into seamless necklaces. I haven't finished them as it's easier to take photos of the parts when I can stretch them out. As one blog commenter said, "...this is beautiful trendy jewelery.. I love the ethnic touch with classics look."

Dolores finished her first Urban Stripes necklace with SoHo inspired colors. I really like the frosted effect.

Terri's Urban 2 necklace - she had to add in length to the last section because she did her set in size 11/0 beads.

Here is Terri's necklace set. Southwestern Urban colors that work quite well together.

No matter what size beads you use, most patterns work well at any scale.

Urban Stripes ~ More Finished Work

2011-09-19T19:39:00.005-05:00

More of the participants have been finishing their Urban Stripes necklaces. Here is some more beautiful ropes for you to look at. Can you believe that these are all the exact same patterns?

Amy decided to use a clasp instead of muddling around with an invisible closure.

Sandy is heading towards Victorian Painted Ladies with the colors in her necklace.

Linda finished not one, but three necklaces as she didn't like some of her color combinations. I think all are keepers, but this one with the different finishes of olive beads is my favorite.

Linda's other combination

And a third from Linda

A few of the original participants have gone on to a second Urban Stripes necklace. I did a second necklace as a paid subscription. It is meant to complement the original necklace and worn with it.

Mary Anne, who's signature is crayon colors, has just finished this beauty. I can't wait to see the two necklaces together.

Meanwhile, I'm busily pulling all of the information and patterns from Urban Stripes into an eBook that will be a pattern set to make three of these necklaces as well as a couple of side trips using the patterns as bracelets. Hopefully by mid October it will be completed.

Urban Stripes ~ Finished

2011-09-09T19:10:00.006-05:00

I'm in the process of crocheting a second Urban Stripe necklace to go with the original one. Here you can get an idea of what the two are going to look like when worn together. I'm quite happy with the results.

Below are more of the finished ropes created by some of the participants in this String-Along. It's all the same pattern set, but what different results. Enjoy looking at what the group produced.

Tobie

Susan

Mary Ann

Julie

Janice

Crystal

Beverly

Terri

Mariana

Elisa

Doreen

I am ever so pleased with how this string-along worked and the results are outstanding.

Urban Stripes ~ Finishing Up

2011-09-02T18:47:00.015-05:00

What a fun trip this has been. Like a lot of the participants, I'm sad that it is coming to an end. Meanwhile, some people are still stuck in the beginning stages of their ropes and others are to the point of struggling with the invisible join to finish up.

Lori's colors are fabulous, but she still has a ways to go here. Don't you like her version of a safety pin to secure her loop?

Tobie got going and quickly added sections to her clean looking necklace. The crisp colors against a white background make the patterns stand out quite clearly.

Sue claims that she crochets so tight that her rope was never going to make it to 42". She stopped short, made a shorter necklace, changed colors and has started over with the last section; Art Deco to the max with the white, black & blue color combination.

Terri took the time to recombine some of the necklace elements into a bracelet. It makes a very nice piece in her colors. She claims her invisible join is not good, but I think it's quite OK.

Finished Necklaces

Peggy is done and I like her unexpected pop of the pinkish spot color.

Julie opted to finish her necklace as a lariat. Now she's looking for the right Art Bead(s) for the end. This is another of the clean looking light colored necklaces. They are so different from the organic, darker color combinations.

When I have a sufficient quantity of finished necklaces to showcase, I'll do a couple more blog posts to show them off.

For those who asked to join this project long after it was closed to new members . . . I'll think about doing another one in early 2012. However any future string-along's will be based on a purchased pattern set. This one was an experiment to see if it would work with the Internet tools that I had to use. It turns out that it is probably the only way to teach a long, multi-patterned bead crochet rope. Such a critter would never work in a 6 hr. physical workshop.

Urban Stripes ~ 6th Section

2011-08-23T15:47:00.006-05:00

It's coming to an end.....

This is the last section of the 42" necklace we've all been working on for a month now. It's hard to think that there will be no more surprises in the email to string and crochet. It's been both a frustrating and very much fun journey.

Section #6 is a joining section. It finishes balancing things out and neatly joins up to the first section. I incorporates bits of the main colors and was designed to allow the participants to shorten or lengthen their pieces to a finished size that suits them.

When everyone finishes this, they will have a unique necklace to double around the neck and wear to town.

There are some changes I'd make if I was to do the whole necklace over again. Many of the participants did make changes, ripped out sections and changed things around. I couldn't take the time if I was to stay ahead of everyone. I am pleased with my results and have plans on making a second necklace completely from the Railroad section #3. It's impressive to wear two or three of these together. They always get noticed, even in the supermarket!

Color has been a hot topic throughout this whole process. We've all commented, offered choices, shared bead color IDs and bought more beads. It's always nice to know that you are not alone in seemingly never having the right colors.

Janice is a good example of one who couldn't make up her mind ..... used one color. Then turned around and tore it out and went with her second choice, lime.

We all agreed that the blue was nice, but the lime took her necklace from pretty to outstandingly Urban Chic.

What do you think?

Members Progress

Bev gave us all a great idea for the bracelet challenge. She doesn't like to do an invisible join and added these great copper discs to the bracelet. Isn't this a beautiful combination with the pattern?

Bev's color choices are always some of my favorites. She is one of my oldest beading friends and has always made my patterns look great. I like the light section she did and can see how it's going to look when doubled against the whole necklace.

Doreen's regal rope has become even more royal looking with the addition of the pumpkin color. I'm hoping she will continue with a bit of the same color in the last section.

What a difference different beads makes. Renate's bubble-looking beads gives the whole necklace a fun feel. This is going to go with so many different outfits.

Now to finish this project up with writing finishing ideas for all of the participants. There has been much discussion about to invisible join or not to invisible join. Then I'll need to re-format everything as I plan on issuing this as a pattern set for sale. A big round of Thanks needs to go out to all of the participants as they have really helped me refine what will go into the publication. I don't think they all realized that they would be Guinea pigs for me to practice on.

Urban Stripes ~ 5th Section

2011-08-16T19:09:00.006-05:00

The 5th section of the Urban Stripes has the second spot color in a stair step pattern. I used a matte sea foam blue-green that is reminiscent of one of the graffiti photos that I started with. After it was crocheted, I was thinking that the yellow eyes would have looked better with the dark red beads. It would have been less of a stark contrast. When the necklace is doubled this portion will lie next to the first silver spot color. I guess I must think of a city as matte as only the red and orange beads are shiny in this piece.

I'm quite happy with the overall flow of this necklace and I think I'm capturing the Urban feel that I envisioned when I started this project.

Members Progress

Sandy is a Bead Society of New Hampshire member who does not Blog and she brought her rope to last week's meeting. She takes some of my patterns to the next level. She brought a Diamonds & Daggers example with her that was done with lentils and large daggers. If you're going to flaunt your beadwork, that necklace certainly did it. Her Urban Stripe is coming along nicely and I especially like the use of the silver in the 3rd section to point up the Railroadness (can that be a real word?)of the tracks.

Tobie's light colored rope has quite a Native look to it. I like the primary colors against the light background.

Sue is getting the Michigan feel into her necklace; city greenbelts and light rail come through quite clearly.

Some of the ladies have been crocheting more than one necklace, chomping at the bit, waiting for the next section. I issued all of them a challenge to try and keep them busy in between times. It was to take section 4 and make a bracelet out of it. Peggy came up with two rather delightful variations. See how she used the same chevron motifs and then reversed them?

What can be more classic than black & white? Karen's is a real classic. Look close, she's used white beads that have a black stripe on them.

Here's a rather regal, subtle version. Doreen was complaining that she didn't think there was enough contrast. It reminds me of 5th Ave, furs and pearls in a bygone era - pure elegance.

This color combination is another favorite of mine - city in a fog...
The matted, grayed out colors are such a nice contrast to the primary colored ropes.

Same patterns, neat how different they all can look. Amy's necklace is close to the original colors, but with her own personality. The touch of green is refreshing.

Julie's use of the Miyuki beads adds that touch of angularity that is seen in most Urban landscapes. Again, the light background accents the patterns in all of the sections.

What's Next?

There is one more section left to do and it will tie things together. We'll have to make individual adjustments to size and make sure the pattern will seamlessly tie into the first section. Then we can struggle with an invisible join or cheat and use a focal bead between the two ends.

I expect to see some change in direction with both Section #5 & #6. Some members have voiced a fear of running out of the background colored beads. I've given them a couple of alternatives here to conserve background colors. It will be interesting to see who uses them and just what they do with it.

Urban Stripes ~ 4th Section

2011-08-09T11:27:00.009-05:00

Section #4 is done and ready to be released to the group. The necklace is now long enough to begin seeing what it will look like finished. This also means that it is time to balance the patterns and color blocks so that it has a unified look. At 42" this necklace is meant to be doubled around your neck and it shouldn't be heavy color all in one spot on two sections of the rope.

Here is the detail of this section. I've added a pattern that breaks up all of the straight, parallel lines. It's something to give the eye a break. Most Urban landscapes are heavy on straight lines, but then you round a corner and there is the unexpected sign, sculpture, bridge or other unusual sight.

Well, I just had to take a break and play a bit myself. I took the pattern, redesigned it a bit, doubled it and made a bracelet in other colors that were sitting on my table. I used a couple of colors that I had thought to use as spot colors in the necklace itself. It points out that any one of the pieces of Urban Stripes would make a great necklace by itself or tweaked a bit into a bracelet. This project seems to have fostered so much creativity that it came back and bit me too.

Members Progress

Talking about creativity and waiting for the next pattern section to be released ..... Julie has a hard time waiting and keeps starting another necklace. If this keeps up, she'll have a whole flock before the project is finished. Colors are like candy - a few are never enough!

Mary Anne says her scanned changed the color of the gray background beads. However, it gives one a taste of what this might look like with a nice matte olive background.

Mariana's rope is progressing very nicely in similar shades of reds, yellows and orange against a gray background.

What great background beads. Evelyn found 8/0's that one would swear are granite. Reminds me of Fall River Mass and all of the huge old granite block mill buildings.

Doreen came up with a palette from a SoHo night photo. This is one of my new favorites. It is just so rich looking. If you look closely, you can see the two greens she can't choose between for her second spot color.

Egyptian necklace, anyone? Isn't Terri's necklace looking more and more like It was found in an archaeological dig on the Nile? What a sophisticated piece this is turning out to be.

The feedback that I'm getting on this String-Along project is great. Everyone has said that they are having fun doing this along with learning about bead crochet pattern work. It isn't all that difficult to do once you understand how things work.

Surprise, anticipation, new friendships, new beads to buy 'n try, and like-minded people to lend a hand when you get in trouble - what could be a better end of Summer project?

It's NOT a Knife Rest!

2011-08-09T08:36:00.007-05:00

I was at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen's Fair on Sunday. I came across this fantastic Potter with out of this world pieces. Plain unglazed porcelain with surface patterning that grabed me. No, I hadn't taken my camera, silly me..... What I really wanted, I couldn't afford right now, but tucked away in the back of her booth was a small display of Knife Rests. I picked one up and then picked all of them up for a closer look.

Holes.... they all had holes through the center! She was wrong when she said she didn't make beads. All of those knife rests had holes and were really beads.

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The one that I brought home is just 2 1/2" long and weighs about 1/3 of what a lampwork bead of the same size would. I'm not exactly sure how I will use it, but use it I will; somewhere, someday.

Lulu's studio is only about 12 miles from my house and I think I need to go down and see her after the Fair is over. She mentioned that she also tended to collect all sorts of organic oddments. I'd love to talk her into making a series of cabochons for bead embroidery.

The Bead Society of New Hampshire had a demonstration booth at the Fair over the weekend. We had great fun showing off beadwork and talking to people. Many of the visitors did not know that there was a Bead Society in Central NH.

Rickey , Jo & Gail at the BSNH tables

After a morning of booth sitting, I had time to wander the Fair. It's the oldest continuous running fair in the US. It gave me a chance to catch up with favorite artists, visit with friends, and look at a lot of beautiful work.

As I was leaving, I ran into this tiny fair visitor. I need to go find out what kind of butterfly it is.

Urban Stripes ~ 3nd Section

2011-08-03T08:54:00.013-05:00

Railroad tracks, red stop lights, and orange traffic cones.... Squint your eyes in a city and you can see so many repetitive patterns, especially in the industrial sections. I tried to give this piece a bit of perspective as well. Although short, it does look like it has a vanishing point. I like it enough to consider using a variation for my second necklace. I do like wearing a triplet of these necklaces - comfortable and they get noticed!

With this third section designed and crocheted, the necklace is about at the half way point. Now I need to step back and think about further color use. The piece is designed to be doubled around the neck so I need to balance two heavy red/orange sections with more of a background color. I also want to introduce some angles that do not run parallel to the length of the rope. I guess it's off to the drawing board to see what I can come up with.

This is one of the first 42" necklaces I did. Tribal Stripes is available at Bead Patterns as a collection of patterns. I think you can see how the design and colors balance each other when the rope is doubled.

String-Along Progress

Urban means different things to different people. It's been very interesting to see those differences expressed in color and bead choices.
Terri seems convinced that the big Phoenix AZ dust storms influenced her colors. Southwestern cities are colored so differently than a large Eastern or Midwestern city.

Susan has used a muted palette and grayed down the crayon brights that I'm using. I look at it and can only think of a city in a fog. This is going to be a very subtle necklace

Peggy has added a lot of texture to the pattern work. She choose to pair different bead shapes to give her rope an added dimension. Bead Crocheted lariats were quite popular Victorian crafts. What a difference our wide and varied modern choice of beads makes.

Glitzy, sparklie, just like any Urban night life scene. Elisa's colors are so in-your-face bright and bold.

With 30+ participants, it's a wide range of Urban interpretation. Some people have had to dust off old crocheting skills, others are impatient for the next section, some are waiting for life to get out of the way so they can start, and many have agonized over color choices.

The overall feel of this project is having fun. It's also become a creative, brainstorming event on the FaceBook Group. It's nice to have a project like this where there are no time deadlines and no pressure to finish quickly. Beaders, in general, are a creative, supportive, and helpful group.

Urban Stripes ~ Color

2011-07-31T07:59:00.007-05:00

A lot of us struggle with color choices. Each of us also has a color palette that we tend to find more pleasing than others. There are a lot of publications, workshops, and words written on color and color theory. I happen to like how Margie Deeb approaches the subject for beaders. I often refer to her book, The Beader's Guide To Color.

For this necklace project I went to the web and my own photo collection, looking for what I considered Urban colors. Depending on where you live, Urban colors can be vastly different. This is not a color combination I would have chosen on my own as I happen to like neon-bright colors.

I ended up with a great gray(A) for the overall background color. It reminded me of all of the concrete in very large cities. Colors B, C, and E are the secondary colors that will fill the major design spaces on the crocheted rope. Think stop signs, city taxi's, traffic cones, and signs. Colors E and F will be spot colors, used here and there to provide points of interest. They are the glimpses of chrome, new steel and graffiti.

It's interesting to see all of the color combinations that the participants have chosen. They are all doing the exact same patterns, but what a different look they have.

Tobie's white background makes for a very crisp rope.

Renate's dark background is closer to the Old World traditional crocheted ropes

Janice chose colors that remind one of stonework and bits of rust

Isn't that the perfect background?

Beverly is using different bead finishes to mute the secondary colors rather than to make them really pop out.

I'm being told that the first section of the necklace has been turned into a few bracelets as people try a color combination and then try another color palette, reaching for a combination that pleases them. I know that I started with about 23 different tubes of bead colors and was still refining the colors I liked into the second section of the rope. I've picked my second spot color, but even it won't be a firm choice until I use a bit of it with the other colors. I may want a more bold turquoise when I get there.

We all struggle with picking colors for beading. It's such a personal choice of adornment. Plus, the beads can look vastly different in the tube or on the hank than they do next to other beads in a finished piece. With the Internet, there are lots of resources out there. Mother Nature is one place I go for colors I wouldn't have thought to put together.

It's fun to watch this project unfold and see what everyone is doing. I hope all of the participants are enjoying this as much as I am.

Urban Stripes ~ 2nd Section

2011-07-27T09:04:00.006-05:00

The pattern for the next section has been worked out and after one false start with black matte beads, I changed my mind and went for some nice Toho nickle plated 8's I had on hand. They speak to me of shine on RR tracks, chrome building details, and bits of bright metal you see here and there in a large city. I may have to balance this bit of bright with a muted, almost dirty, blue turquoise, on an opposite side.

I've also added 1950's looking orange that tends towards red. I like the shine of the yellow and oranges against the matte dark red and gray.

Always an adventure when you've strung over 36" of beads and go to join them up with the already crocheted rope. Whew! the added in new beads fit into the 1st section of pattern just perfectly. If any of you participating in the String-Along don't know how to join these pieces up, refer to the "Adding in Thread" PDF that You have been sent.

The necklace is now 14" long and beginning to show it's promise. One of the participants who does not Blog or do FaceBook was talking to me about using a brick color for the background. It makes sense if you live in a New England Mill town; blocks and blocks of multi-storied brick mill buildings sitting along the river.

I've a glimmer of an idea for the next section; tire tracks or even RR tracks. A section with repeating short parallel lines. Wonder if it will work?

Weaveabead's black & white color combination is another interpretation of the theme that I like. Especially the black striped white beads. Very minimalist, but effective.

(Photo by Karen)

The Project Itself:

I originally said I'd release a section a week. I'm going to change that schedule as I've been told I need to have Cataract surgery. Wondering what my colors will look like after that? My first appointment is September 1st, so I would like to have all the pieces done by then. Some of you are fast with the hook, some of you are dusting off rusty bead crocheting skills and others are working around life schedules. Please, work at a pace that is comfortable and fits your own time frame. No one is pushing anyone to finish, finish, finish. Save the PDF files, print them out and take the time you need. This is sort of an experiment, follow-the-leader game, just for fun.

Urban Stripes ~ 1st Section

2011-07-24T16:36:00.003-05:00

The first section of the string-along necklace would have been done sooner if I had not made the very same crocheting mistake 4 times. I tore my hair out, riped it out, counted beads, redid the graph and crocheted it again .... four freaking times. Duhhhh.... Always check the simple things first. The graph was right, the table was right, I had strung it right. I had just dropped from 6-around to 5-around in about the same place more than once. It happens to the best of us at one time or another.

Thirty three people have signed up to participate in this experiment. Brave souls as I really have no idea what the finished 42" necklace is going to look like. It's going to evolve as I decide what I want to do in the next section; seven different sections in all.

Since I'm done with the first section and I know that some people want to get going, I'm going to send the emails out to the group a few days early. However, sign-ups will remain open until noon on Wed., July 27th. If you are just now finding this and want more information... Click here to find the information. You can follow the whole thread by using the tag "String-Along".

String-Along - colors

2011-07-22T05:38:00.005-05:00

Picking bead colors for the Urban Stripes String-Along is almost more difficult than sitting down and coming up with pattern ideas. I pulled beads, put beads away, changed my mind and tried different ones. Then I discovered that I really didn't have a green turquoise or a Chinese red that I liked. Two Hundred lbs. of beads sitting on my back wall and I don't have the right size 8/0 colors? Thank heavens for Caravan Beads, they ship quickly and Priority mail to me is only a day.

Sign ups, questions and excitement is happening for this experimental project. I think it is going to be fun seeing what a diverse range of beaders does with it. One of the things I get out of the project is some structure. I still get to think in small increments of what is pleasing in that very moment, but will have to document just what I am doing or did. Too often I design as I string and it is more than difficult to reverse engineer the piece to publish a pattern. I also get to see the patterns evolve in different colors.

Join In:

You have til Wednesday, July 27, 2011 to sign up and pick out your beads for this String-Along. Come join us and make a bead crocheted necklace in under two months. More information is here.... (click)

Urban Stripes - Crocheted Rope

2011-07-20T19:08:00.012-05:00

I have this triplet of 42" crocheted ropes that I wear together all the time. I have another set in black & white. I was thinking that I needed another set in different colors and did some research around the word Urban.

OK, so I'm going at this backwards.... I picked a name I liked and then started thinking about beads and patterns. Happens sometimes.

Cities, big cities make me think of cement, streets, sidewalks and buildings. My daughter lives on the 53 floor of one of these "Corncob" towers in Chicago. They actually remind me of crocheted ropes.

Then you add in all of the bright, neon primary colors that seem to contrast so well with all that gray concrete.
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That gave me my base bead color. They are a Miyuki 8/0 seed bead #2002 (like a DB307). Then I'm thinking matte black as sort of outline colors, coupled with shades of orange, turquoise, dark red and maybe a touch of chrome yellow. This will be an 8/0 rope in 6-around.

While I was doing some Internet searches of city images I was reminded that graffiti can be an unlimited source of color inspiration.

I've had several people tell me that they would like to make themselves a set of necklaces like mine. Seeing as I pretty much design-as-I-go when I make these, it's hard to turn them into a set of instructions or a pattern. So here is your chance to make one necklace with me and then swap around the colors and make one or two more.

String-Along ~ Urban Stripes

I'll break the 42" necklace into 7 sections of about 6" of finished rope (36" of strung beads) and design a section, or two a week. I'll put the patterns up as PDF's on my web site, and email you to let you know that you can download that week's pattern(s). They will all remain up for the duration of this string-along. After that time, they will be removed and I'll consolidate them into a pattern set that I'll sell.

Want To Join In?
If you have an interest, you have a week to join the fun and pick out your bead colors. You can use the same colors as I am or pick out ones that say Urban Stripes to you. Look at the graffiti inspired palletes. Email me (click for email) to sign up. I'll send you a PDF of my color inspirations, materials needed and anything else that may be important for success.

In return, I ask that you Blog or post to FaceBook about what you're doing and send me a link so we can all share in on how it's going.

See the tag "string-along" under this post? you can click on that to get a list of blog posts that only have to do with this project.

High Tech beading

2011-07-12T19:23:00.003-05:00

The programmer, Ken, is beta testing BCPD for the Android tablet. Hmmmm, looks like women aren't the only ones who keep a very messy beading table. Ken says he is out of practice with the crocheting part, but what he designed on the tablet came out perfect in a rope. By this Fall, (cross your fingers) if you have an Android tablet or phone, you should have a portable bead crochet design program. Ken also says that it's very nice not to have papers laying around, taking up space. He strung his flag rope directly from the stringing table on the tablet.

A Summer Sunday

2011-07-10T07:48:00.004-05:00

I'm not a morning person, but this morning the birds woke me up at 4:30 AM. Boy, can they be loud at that time of the morning. Now that the sun is fully up, It's a perfect New Hampshire Summer morning, in the 70's with bright sun, a slight breeze and I enjoyed a cup of coffee sitting on the edge of the deck this morning.

The common orange day lilies that I transplanted a couple of years ago have decided to put on a spectacular show this Summer. They are almost as tall as I am this year.

We're going to sort of play hooky today, go for a Sunday drive and enjoy some scenery. The real reason for getting out is to go look at a replacement for our little trailer that got crunched on the trip East this year. It really became a total disaster (kindling?) after the big propane truck practically backed over it a couple of weeks ago. Do you know how hard it is to turn up a small enclosed trailer that a Honda Element can easily tow in this land of snowmobiles, motorcycles and chainsaws.... ?

In between yard, getting a kitchen counter installed, and having half a kitchen piled in my studio, I've been doing a bit of bead embroidery. Small scale bead embroidery is quick and also instant gratification. I started beading with this technique and still enjoy the freedom of letting a design just flow. It's so different from bead crochet, where everything is planned out before you ever even pick up a hook.

Enjoy your Summer Sunday, where ever you might be. May it be as nice as it is here.

Bead Crochet Theorem

2011-07-07T09:12:00.005-05:00

A pattern with an odd number of beads in the repeat, crocheted in even-around, will spiral in the opposite direction from a pattern with an even number of beads in a repeat. The same remains true when crocheting in odd-around.

It seems like I have known about this even/odd theorem in bead crochet forever. However, I've had some questions about patterns recently that led me to think that maybe everyone doesn't know this happens.

In the sample above, the right side of the pattern actually has a wider color band "A", but visually you don't seem to notice it. It's the reversing direction of the lighter color band "B" that you notice. It's an easy and fun way to introduce zig-zags into a spiral rope.

Bragging Rights - Sandy Sherman

2011-06-30T06:34:00.004-05:00

I've always told people who purchase my patterns and books that the designs are there for you to personalize. My bead and color choices are generally not to everyone's taste. Take the pattern, pick your own beads and run with it. Make it your own.

New Hampshire Bead Society member, Sandy Sherman did just that. This is her version of the Inca Lava Rope found on page 16 of Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes. Isn't it a stunning rendition?

This is my version of the pattern so that you can see how one stringing table can produce pieces that come out looking so different. They each fit the personalities of the individual bead crocheter.

You can find both e-copies and print copies of the book on my website, Bead Line Studios. If, by chance, you want a personalized copy of this book to try your own variations of some different designs - by all means, email me. I have a few printed copies on hand that I'll make a limited time, web special price of $20, postage paid (USA only), signed. You deserve to have a crocheted piece that reflects your own personality. With today's bead choices, there is no limit to what you can do.

Bead Room Cleanout Sale

2011-06-26T19:55:00.008-05:00

It's in the air.... I know of several other beaders who are de-stashing or organizing their beads and/or studios.

The more I dig, the more I come up with things that I wonder why I bought them or why I bought so many of them. Because I snowbird, I have limited space and I've now vastly exceeded that space. Something has to be done. Help me simplify my life and give some of my treasures a new home.

This is the second round of my beadroom clean out. There will be one or two more after this one. I'm going to see if this format works - so bear with me please. These items are all marked for individual sale. Once the interest has waned, I'll re-combine the leftovers into groups and you would then purchase everything in that group. Sort of like a box lot at an auction.... the good with the uninteresting.

First come, first served ..... email me with the group name and what you want. I'll let you know if it's still available. Payment will only be by PayPal. Anything under $25 will ship First Class Mail for $2, otherwise it will go in a $5 Priority Mail envelope.

email me here

Closet Cleaning

2011-06-23T16:28:00.019-05:00

It's drip, drip, dripping outside. The 60 degrees of damp seems to have settled into my joints. It's a good day to play with beads. Sorting beads is playing, yes?Why does a couple of days of rain put me in the mood to clean closets? Well, not exactly closets, but my bead inventory. I guess it's similar because when I get done and close the lids you really won't be able to see that I've done anything at all.

I cleaned out my 40 year fabric stash as I hadn't done any sewing in maybe 15 years. I needed the room and it's time to try and simplify things somewhat. One of my sisters has gone minimalist to the point that my Brother-in-Law mentioned to me that he and the cats were afraid they weren't going to have anything to sit on. I'm not thinking to clean down to quite that point, but years of uncontrolled collecting of neat things has finally gotten to me.

See this pile of beads? That is the second round of beading things that I have purged and really just don't need or want any more. Like I told one of my friends after the first round of bead clean out, it's just the tip of the beadburg.

About 5 years ago I sort of went a bit batty at the Tucson Gem Show and bought freshwater pearls. Not just a strand or two, but hanks of them. I haven't used pearls in my beadwork for 2 years now, so I think it's time to find new homes for some of them. I've had the enjoyment of fondling all the different ones in the pearl box as I sorted them out. Sometime next week I'll be doing a beadroom clean-out sale again. I have to think about it and maybe I'll do it by individual item and maybe I'll do it in groups. There is everything from 11/0 seed beads, hand carved large beads, gemstones. oddities and pearls.... lots of pearls. Stay tuned - one more round after I take care of this batch.

Now back to watching the water drip off of the eaves and the ferns getting bigger and lusher by the hour.

The Creative Eye

2011-06-15T18:49:00.005-05:00

I had to run errands today and took some time to run into one of my favorite Antique stores. I love looking at the large salvaged industrial things they have. Then I have to take a peek into the medical corner... lenses, skulls, strange things in jars, eye charts, large cast teeth, dentist chair, etc. The 3 new balls came home to join my collection. One is a hollow black wooden ball used for some old game, somewhere. The two whitish ones are crude ceramic balls, probably from an old water filtration plant here in the East. See all the little balls? I got them last year and they are "end-of-shift" marbles. The bits of leftover clay were rolled up (some with glaze bits) and thrown into the kiln at the end of a shift - not round and beautifully discolored. It's fun being creative with what many would call cast offs. How about it ceramicists - can we have some "end-of-shift" oddities for Steampunk work?

Update: this store is in Jaffery NH, "Seaver & McLellan Antiques" - they have an Etsy store

I had to look twice at this guy climbing into (or out of) a second story window. It's a printed cover up for a blanked out window. I love it when building owners have a sense of humor and then share it with the whole world.

The next time you take a walk, look around. What do you see? Is it something that strikes your funny bone or is it something that might translate into a beaded work of art. Talking to a young child often brings out things that we (as adults) no longer see. When I lived in California I realized that my daughter's education was sadly lacking one winter. She came running in, telling me, "Mommy, Mommy, there's feathers falling out of the sky!" At 5 she had never seen a snow fall before.

Mother Nature's Colors

2011-06-06T12:17:00.003-05:00

A pink-striped oakworm moth (Anisota virginiensis ) is what came to visit my desk the other night. What a beautiful Moth and such stunning design colors.

The overall shapes of the individual parts also have merit as beadwork possibilities. I'm not sure just how I'd do it, but a layered bead embroidered piece comes to mind.

I used an on-line color picker to extract the color palettes. Do a Google search as there are a lot of them out there. If you want some beading colors for this Fall, you wouldn't go wrong with a combination of these.

Slide Talk in New Hampshire

2011-06-01T10:36:00.005-05:00

Bead Society of New Hampshire

Presentation

June 12, 2011 - A Short History of Bead-Crochet, and the work of Judith Bertoglio-Giffin The fashioning of beaded articles today is not a fad but a continuation of the process of bead artistry begun long ago. Judith will present slides and talk about the history of bead crochet ropes. She will then delve into her personal journey of learning, publishing and teaching the time honored woman’s craft of bead crocheted ropes. The presentation will be heavily illustrated with photo examples of the technique.

I'll be doing a slide talk in Concord NH at the Society meeting. It's the same one I did in March in San Diego. If anyone is going to be in the area and would like to attend, contact me by email.

I will have an eclectic assortment of items for sale: Books, Software, DVD, Kits, and "beadroom cleanout" beads.

Trip East 2011

2011-05-30T07:59:00.011-05:00

I've been home in NH for a week now and I think I've recovered from the trip. We ended up not doing the sight seeing that we had planned on and made a hurried trip from Colorado onwards.

Western skies can be ever so dramatic with the distant mountains.

We spent one night on the trip in the smallest Motel room I've ever seen. The shower was 2'x2' and there was about 2' all around a king sized bed - real upscale 1950's motel on old US highway - it had a phone in the bathroom!

When we checked in I asked about WiFi and this was what I was handed for the passcode. It was bigger than the room!

We meandered from AZ, through western New Mexico and Colorado. I thoroughly enjoyed Gallup.

The going up was fine, however the going down did get quite interesting at times.

In Grand Junction, Colorado, our trip took a drastic turn. Just coming out of miles & miles of nothing but beautiful river scenery we crossed a set of RR tracks ... and an un-marked "Whoop-di-doo"! Up went the trailer, down came the trailer, sideways went the trailer and screeched flat. Tow truck and U-Haul to the rescue. As my Son aptly put it, "A U-Box tow moter putting a U-made trailer into a U-Haul box!"

We had only 7 days to get the U-Haul to NH or pay extra. As this made the tow at the outside limits of what the Element could handle, we opted to hot foot it home via the shortest route.

That meant over the Rockies rather than around them. Whew, twice over 10,000 ft and icy cold snow!

In St Joseph, MO, I discovered the original home station of the Pony Express. " The Pony Express was in service from April 1860 to November 1861. Its primary mission was to deliver mail and news between St. Joseph, Missouri, and San Francisco, California."

Found this stone cutter in the Midwest. I've never seen an establishment that had this many samples on view. What you see here is only one quarter of what was in the yard. Wonder if he made that many errors, or expected a lot of people with the same names to come in and buy carved rocks?

Loved this auto transporter. Pull up behind him and pretend you're driving something more exotic than a Honda Element.

I'd almost like to collect small town libraries and old court houses. This Library was most elegant with all of it's copper details.

So now I'm sitting here in NH looking at a yard that has grass high enough to lose a 3 yr. old in it. Everything is green and much more humid than the AZ desert. I did get in early enough to enjoy the last of the daffodils and the lilacs are blooming. I'm trying to make a list of house things I need to get done this summer. Meanwhile the ants and spiders are well on their way to taking over inside.

Question & Gift

2011-05-22T11:48:00.003-05:00

First, the question.....

I've talked to a lot of bead crocheters over the years and recently have been watching YouTube videos on how to bead-crochet. I start all of my ropes like this photo; with a bead in each chain stitch. There are many who start their ropes with just a plain chain, no beads. They add the beads in the next round. How do you start your ropes and why? Does the extra round of bead-less chain stitches make it easier to join ropes - or harder? In your experience, what is the advantage (disadvantage) of one start over the other?

Next, the gift.....

I've just traveled 3,000 miles from the Winter Studio in Arizona to New Hampshire for the Summer. I had three of these glasses cases filled with projects to work on during the trip. One of the great things about bead crochet is it's portability. One of the ropes that I wanted to try

was a simple, uncomplicated spiral with the Long Magatamas. I fell in love with this matte raspberry Iris color. I used LMA-2005 Magatama and 8/0, 8-2005 in this rope. I'm thinking that I just might add onto the rope and use the swirls of scales as lariat ends. This one just does not want to be a bracelet of any kind. It's all a very simple 3A, 3M spiral stringing pattern. I threw the basic information onto a PDF and you are welcome to a copy of it over at Bead Patterns.

THIS IS THE LINK for the PDF - it's a thank you for your support of my work over the years.

If you don't know about Bead Patterns, you really should take the time to look around. They have more beading patterns than anyone could ever use in several lifetimes. I have many other patterns, as well as print & eBooks for sale there also. Go do a search under my name, you might find something else interesting to suit your fancy.

Road Trip - AZ to NH

2011-05-10T22:34:00.009-05:00

It's time to hit the road and head for New Hampshire for the Summer. The beads are all packed and tomorrow we'll pack the trailer, car and shut down the house. Sometime in the afternoon we hope to be on the road. This trip we're going to meander north along the Arizona/New Mexican border, into Colorado and then head East. We'll visit family in Central Illinois and Chicago before driving along the Great Lakes and into New Hampshire.

Some people travel with pets, but we'll have one of our pet tomatoes with us. My Boyfriend had these great plants that he started from seed this winter in hopes of having fresh fruit before we left. Didn't happen, so he insists on taking at least one plant with us.

This is what my huge Prickly Pear cactus looks like after February's big freeze here. It used to be as tall as the house.

2 weeks ago I deep watered the plant as people were telling me that some of them just might re-grow from the roots. To my amazement, I noticed this several days ago.... New growth! Now there are at least a dozen tiny little buds of pads poking through the crusty, dead looking skin on the plant. Hopefully I'll see a rejuvenated plant when I return in the Fall.

I have lots of bead crochet strung up to work on while traveling. I'm ready to get on the road and look at some more of the beautiful country we live in. Time to shut things down and get going.

Wire Play - take 2

2011-04-19T15:28:00.007-05:00

Sometimes a project seems to just migrate in a different direction. That's OK with me as I've been working with materials outside of my comfort zone. In fact, I've been playing and having fun with leather and wire.

It all started with Rings and Things tutorial for a leather and stone bracelet. I need to arrive in New Hampshire with presents for the Grandkids. The girls are easy, but finding (or making) something for the boys gets more difficult the older they get. These bracelets looked like the perfect male-oriented gift for teenage Grandsons.

The best part of these bracelets is that they can be made in a little over an hour. The hardest part was deciding on what stone beads to use; biker hematite, or Southwestern sand stone? Now I'm all set with gifts that I'm sure will be quite different from what their friends will have. After all, the large, expensive stores are selling these for over $150!

Well one thing lead to another and I looked at the black steel wire hanging on the wall. Before I could stop and think it out, I grabbed a length of wire, measured 2X my wrist size, snipped. and applied the same technique to a wire framework.

The 15mm rusty, matted woods agate beads were a perfect foil for the brass and steel wire.

OOPS.....

Sometimes it helps to engage the brain before blindly cutting. Large beads take up more room and 2X my wrist size in wire just wouldn't make it around my wrist. I couldn't bring myself to take it all apart so finished the Xtra-Small cuff bracelet and gave it to my neighbor as an early birthday present. After all, she tried to wear it home she liked it so much.

This afternoon I cut and finished a wire cuff that fits me. This time I made it long enough to take in account the size of the large beads. The technique that I used for the leather translates perfectly to 16 gauge wire for the frame and 28 gauge brass wire for the sewing.

The leftovers became earrings with coffee antiqued ivory strips.

I think that my favorite boys in the family will like the bracelets that started this journey.

Bead Crochet Tip - tight tension

2011-04-10T23:16:00.003-05:00

I've been hearing about bead crochet ropes that are so stiff as to stand upright all on their lonesome. The first thing to try is to go up a hook size or two.

If going up a hook doesn't do it for you, try training your hands to carry your loop a bit further up the hook shank. This will make larger loops/stitches and a more supple rope. You can see where my loops generally are in the first photo.

There are times when you might want a very tight rope. A bangle bracelet is one instance where you want it to hold the round shape. To achieve that, you would want to crochet as tight as you can. Using cylinder beads like a Delica, will also contribute to the overall compactness of the round shape.

What Next ~ Crochet, Wire, or Leather

2011-04-03T11:44:00.004-05:00

I've had one sort of deadline or another for the past year. Now that all of my bits of paper from 2010 have been delivered to the CPA, I find myself deadline free. Yes, nothing hanging over my head to get done - no one waiting for me to finish something.

So what do I do now? Which of the many ideas tumbling around my head should be let loose? It's not for a lack of things, but an over abundance of ideas that has me stumbling around, looking for a direction. I pull out one thing, get sidetracked and pull beads for something else..... Then another idea surfaces and off I go in another direction.

Bead Crochet.....

Tails, scales and rings for bead crochet? I've lots of bits and pieces of interesting ideas in this area. Should I start fleshing them out with another Dimensional Bead Crochet Book in mind? . I can see an outrageous necklace with wire rings, glass rings and lots of bead crocheted rings. Plus, the rings would make beautiful toggles with a minor change or two.

I've also thought of doing an on-line necklace and inviting others to participate. Maybe it could be an 8/0 conglomeration of patterns that I could offer up in my Blog every week or month. Comments... would this appeal to anyone?

Wire....

Then there is this mess on one work tray that's been floating around for the past 6 months. I started playing with wire, got a few things worked out that I like, and have just been adding interesting stuff to the tray for the past 5 weeks. I keep thinking I should put everything else aside and get the wire out of my system. I can't see this as being a permanent path to travel, but it would be nice to add elements in to other work here and there.

Leather.....

I made one leather and stone bracelet for a Grandson that was very well received. I do need to make 3 more bracelets; one for my son and 2 for the other Grandsons. I guess it's kinda, sorta a deadline as I head back for NH in about 5 weeks and I'll need them for gifts when I get there.

However I figure this would be just a weekend's project and then everything could be put away. I just need the will power to get it done. It's just not interesting beading once I figured out how to do it.

Meanwhile, Mother Nature has taken SE Arizona from Winter to Summer with a rush. It was in the mid-90's yesterday. The big freeze killed a lot of things in my yard that were 50 to 75 years old, so I don't have the usual things blooming. The humming birds disappeared completely. The Oriels are migrating through and finding it very slim pickings... no Aloe blooms, no cactus blooms, no ocatillo blooms. They wash up in the big water dish, look around and fly off.

Not complaining, just pondering what direction to take for the moment. Do I start another big project, or do I wander through some of the many possibilities?

Bead Room Clean Out

2011-03-25T12:29:00.015-05:00

Bead Crochet Kit Sale at $33.50

I have a dozen kits left from workshops that I'm putting up for special sale. The original kits were $38 and I'm offering the leftovers for $33.50 with free shipping. Each kit has instructions, beads, 10 yds. polyester thread, big-eye needle & safety pin. They will easily make an 8" bracelet.

That said, each one is a different colorway and there is only one of each.

#1 - SOLD #457 dk bronze Magatama with dk bronze 8/0

#2 - SOLD #457 dk bronze Magatama with matte black 8/0

#3 - SOLD dk bronze Magatama with blue iris 8/0

#4 - SOLD #2001 matte gunmetal Magatama with nickle 8/0

#5 - SOLD #2001 matte gunmetal Magatama with gunmetal 8/0

#6 - SOLD #2001 matte gunmetal Magatama with tawny gray 8/0

#7 - SOLD#142F matte smoky Trs Amethyst Magatama with G/L dk lavender 8/0

#8 - SOLD #142F matte smoky Trs Amethyst Magatama with Toho trs pink/gold hybrid 8/0

#9 - SOLD #470 permanent silver Galavanized Magatama with matte black 8/0

#10 - SOLD #401F matte black Magatama with nickel 8/0

#11 - SOLD #401F matte black Magatama with matte light cream 8/0

#12 - SOLD #401F matte white Magatama with matte black 8/0

As an added incentive, each order will also contain a raised spiral bead crochet kit, color of my choice. I've got to clean out bits and pieces that have been accumulating over the past couple of years.

I will only take PayPal as payment.

email me with your wants - First come, first served.... .... I'll let you know if it's still available with a total.

To the Center of the World

2011-03-23T10:07:00.012-05:00

Balkan bead crocheted village snake.

Last week I had an opportunity to return to San Diego. This time I was giving a presentation to the Bead Society of San Diego about the history and my journey into Bead Crochet. The last time I did a talk I used an overhead projector with acetate slides so I had to do a lot of learning in a big hurry here. New software and digital projectors were new frontiers for me.

It's always interesting to watch and listen to people who have never handled bead crochet ropes before. The feel of them quickly grabs their attention. Several people said that they had no idea beadwork could be that supple and that they'd have to give it a try. It was a delightful weekend with a very hospitable group of people.

Coming into San Diego, we passed windmills; lots and lots of wind power being generated. I had never see so many, of varying sizes, in one place before. It was a mind boggling sight.

Nothing says Southern California to me more than seeing Palm trees everywhere you looked. Everything from the small fan palms to the towering, skinny King Palms. I counted over 15 of these light wrapped palms at our motel. It must have taken ages to get these all neatly wrapped with little lights.

On the way back to Arizona, we detoured to visit Slab City, near the Salton Sea. It's an abandoned World War II Marine barracks (Camp Dunlap) that is now used by RV'ers and squatters. I'd be hard pressed to explain just what is out there. I guess I can only say that it was interesting!

Jesus Mountain is hard to miss; sand, hay bales, heavy layers of paint and some rather fantastic outsider art.

Unusual and creative campsites are tucked into the desert here and there. Generators and solar power are the only way to survive in this place.... or a huge parachute sun shade.

After living in the North East, it was rather startling to come around a corner in The Dunes and see these snow plows.... plowing sand! The wind was really blowing and we could see sand dunes slowly being moved from one side of the road to the other.
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Niland, Calif. is practically a ghost town in the desert. We ran across what I'm thinking is a desert rat. Man, 3 dogs, horse and pack animal. What a disparity of culture with the satellite dish over his head.

I had a good laugh as we were heading back to the freeway. The GPS said we were passing the Center of the World Rd.

You could say

we had been to the center of the world

and back!

Time to Finish - Time to Create

2011-03-13T11:37:00.005-05:00

A Bead Cave is a time out of the real world to get things done, enjoy the companionship of good friends, giggle, teach and share. I spent two days in Phoenix with old beading friends and recharged my batteries. One, whom I hadn't seen in 12 years. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Notice up to the left... Crystal's cat kept a close eye on what was going on the whole time. She had the best seat in the house.

I finished things that had been sitting around waiting for that perfect time to give them my whole concentration.
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I wanted to do a variation of this bracelet to show that making an invisible join is not the be-all, end-all of finishing them. A well thought out use of an Art Bead or peyote embellishment can add so much to a piece.
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This is a piece that has been on my worktable for close to a year now. With other pressures and deadlines, it kept getting pushed to the bottom of the lists. I took NanC Meinhardt's Rapunzel workshop last Summer and made the spiral pendant. In the Fall I had time to play with variation's of Nikia Angel's Sparkly Wheel and made a series of graduated rings to top the pendant. On the trip from NH to my AZ Winter Studio I crocheted the top rope. I'm very pleased with the result as it's one of the few pieces that came out just like what I envisioned in my mind when I started it.

Just before I left, Rings 'n Things posted a tutorial for a wrapped leather bracelet. It was an "Aha" moment as I'd been racking my brain for something to make for two Grandsons. Perfect! I made this prototype as a learning piece and it has some wonky threads here and there. Two of us flipped the papers back and forth, talked about what they meant, tried things and generally worked through the instructions until we understood what was happening. Two beading minds always seem to make sense of printed instructions better than one. Makes perfect sense to me ..... Stymied - then bead with a friend.

Sigh.... Bead Caves always end too soon. Now it's back to the daily grind, leaving just a whisper of giggling good times in the mind.

Tesoros

2011-03-01T23:00:00.001-05:00

I was looking for something and came across these necklaces I did quite sometime ago. They are all made with recycled thrift store broken jewelry. I called them "Tesoros", Spanish for treasures.

With all of the re-purposed items showing up today I thought they might be interesting to some of you. Old costume jewelery or broken bits of things from your past can become alive once again.

Lightweight lucite or plastics, dyed wood and metalized plastic beads make the perfect Summer wear. Lord, knows I'm more than ready for Summer to usher itself in.

Start with a ready made second-hand store necklace; string through the beads, creating branch fringe that ends with odd beads, charms or other interesting pieces.

It's not what you use, but what you do with it that makes wearable art pieces.

What's on Your Hook?

2011-02-20T12:43:00.014-05:00

This is what’s on my desk to crochet a row, or two, while I wait for a very slow Internet to catch up. I’ve got a lot that needs to be done, but some of the parts I need are stuck in the Post Office until Tuesday.

It's a gray, overcast day here in Tombstone AZ. It feels like rain, however rain in the desert is iffy. It can rain a mile away, but never reach where you are. I'm in waiting mode: waiting for beads to arrive, waiting to see if it will rain, waiting to see if I feel like sweeping the sand off of the floors .... just contemplating having a lazy Sunday in general.

I’m playing with beads that are not seed beads and liking the results very much. The brownish beads are sandstone heshi. They crochet up into nice, neat tiles in a tube. I have a cross drilled sandstone center piece that these go with. No crayon bright colors, just the muted rock colors of the desert floor. If you've not tried crocheted ropes with different shaped bead, you should do so. You can get some very pleasing results.

The other piece is done with matte black long Magatamas. I bought some last fall and have strung several test pieces to see how they worked. It took several trials to get them to lay right as these beads are quite directional.

This orange toothed triangular rope is one of the pattern ideas in my last book. Here, the random orientation of the Magatamas worked great as a Halloween bracelet.

If you want a more ordered look, you need to pay strict attention to stringing the Magatamas all in the same direction. The black one was done with nickel 8/0's and gives a nice curve to the rope. I have some ideas for a Medieval-looking bracelet with this iteration.

This is what Bev, No Easy Beads, did with this stringing pattern. Now I just need to finish up my bracelet and publish the stringing table for it. Be aware that the Magatamas are not the easiest thing to crochet. They want to fold themselves into the center of the rope if you're not careful.

So..... what's on your hook?

Have you tried any beads other than seed beads? If you have, send me a photo and I'll post some ideas of working with unusual beads in bead crochet.

Bead Society of San Diego

2011-02-15T13:56:00.003-05:00

I have an opportunity to return to San Diego on March 19th & 20th. I was in San Diego last year for a photography workshop. However, I didn't get a chance to explore as it was just a month after coming down with a nasty case of the shingles. Sure didn't want to go and look at things as it was all I could do to extract something useful out of the workshop itself.

So, here's what I'll be doing........

Presentation:A Short History of Bead-Crochet, and the work of Judith Bertoglio-Giffin

The fashioning of beaded articles today is not a fad but a continuation of the process of bead artistry begun long ago. Judith will present slides and talk about the historical context of bead crochet ropes. She will then delve into her personal journey of learning, publishing and teaching the time honored woman’s craft of bead crocheted ropes. The presentation will be heavily illustrated with photo examples of the technique.

Books, DVD and a limited number of kits will be available for sale　

Workshop: Textural Elements for Bead-Crochet Ropes

An intermediate workshop that shows you how to add texture, shape and style to bead crocheted ropes. You will be presented with at least 4 texture patterns and learn how to add in thread. You will string and crochet a sampler that may then be used as a key ring, bracelet or one end of a lariat. Kits will be available at the workshop.

Tucson 2011 - Day 5 - last day

2011-02-11T18:07:00.015-05:00

I always treat myself for the last day trip to the shows. I plain like rocks; big ones, small ones, fancy minerals, and faceted gemstones. The shows that line the frontage road along I10 are a bit seedier than the big tented wholesale shows. That plus the conglomeration of cultures, languages and rock specimens makes them fascinating.

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The copper specimens have always been some of my favorites. Just imagine that the color from one copper penny could paint the whole world blue-green.

Then there are the beautifully cut stones. I love the big ones. It's a good thing I live in small houses or I'd have at least one huge ball.... that is if I could figure out how to afford one.

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And there are the characters on the sidewalk and in the parking lots. This was a California juice bar, tenanted with long haired, tie dyed, beaded, old refugees from the 60's. Sorta like me.

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No matter what your interest might be, if it was a rock, you could find it here.

Big dirty pieces just out of the ground

Slices and rough on the tables and in bins of water
Beautiful specimens nestled in cotton or paper

Carved objects in boxes or on pedestals

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I got a huge kick out of several tables full of animal carvings all line up in their boxes - looking at me as if to say, "take me home with you."

I did lots of dusty walking and poking around with the sun warm on my shoulders. It was a great end to my Gem Show wanderings. Now the last of the vendors are packing up and Tucson will go back to it's quiet drowsing in the sun.

Tucson 2011 - Day 4

2011-02-08T15:22:00.010-05:00

The older I get, the longer it seems to take me to recover from a whole day of Tucson Gem show. It's noon and I am still in my robe, drinking coffee and taking it easy.

Yesterday I hit the Grant Inn (old Rodeway) show. I've always enjoyed it as there is a range of the $1.30 booth (cheap beadwork) to clothing designers and a great source of bulk findings in different metals. Rumor has it that there will not be a show at that location next year.

I had not been to the JOGS show before and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was in a large building, not a tent. Walking in reminded me of an old downtown department store. The displays were nicely done and a lot of them were a cut above the messy table of things for sale. There was a whole wing of Russian amber and it was like being in a different country. There was Guatemalan bead work from a cooperative, Native American silver & turquoise and lots of just plain interesting things.

I found these agate beads that they were calling Wood Agate. What great rusty colors that made the beads look like they came out of an old iron factory. I was right to think they would make a good combination with the black steel wire work that I have been playing with. Wrought iron looking wire and rusty beads- great pairing. What do you think?

One of the most interesting thing I found was this old ivory. Mr. Doak found a lot of ivory scrap in England 35 years ago tucked away in a warehouse. It was decades of the cutoffs from making brushes and piano keys. He bought it and brought it to the States. It's legal, old ivory. He, and his family do this as sort of a hobby and take a booth at Tucson about every 4 years. As it's a hobby material they don't sell at any other time. I bought a baggie of piano key trimmings. Don't know what I'm going to do with it, but the thin strips fascinated me. I could have totally ruined my remaining budget buying other bits & pieces, including pound bags of interesting scrap. I enjoy manufacturing scrap of any sort. Finding jewelery in such castoffs fascinates me. Update: they do have a website, it's
William V. Doak.
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I realized that I had not shown you what I had to purchase as I was leaving the Best Bead Show the other day. I guess you could say that Beverly Herman, from New Orleans, made me do this. She tried the Dragon Bracelet in the latest BeadWork and we've been going back & forth about bead crocheting with these long Magatamas. So far no success as they are difficult to crochet and they are directional. They have to be strung in all the same direction. However, we've not given up just yet - there has to be a way to make them work correctly.

Tucson 2011 - Day 3

2011-02-05T22:41:00.003-05:00

I was back at the Best Bead Show today for my second day of book signing. Being the weekend it was much more crowded. I enjoyed talking to a lot of bead crocheters and helping a few others decide to take up the craft. All they had to do was play with my pile of rope lariats and big bunch of bracelet samples. They are going to get hooked!

It was warmer and the beads were sparkling in the sun - lots of beads.

I did run into an oddity of measure though . . . I've always known that a hank of Czech beads was 12 strands of beads. Longer strands for 11/s, 8's, etc. and short strands for Charlotte's or gold beads. In 2 days I've run into 6 and 8 strand hanks as well as 12 strands labeled as a hank & a half. I looked at very similar 8/0 beads and was amazed to find that the prices on these 3 different quantity hanks were within 20 cents of each other. These were all found at retail bead shows. If you're buying beads these days I think it's prudent to count the strands if you're price comparing.

I didn't get to wander around much today as I was busy talking to people and showing them how bead crochet is done.

I did get to visit with Nikia (Buy the Kit), Betcy (Beyond Beadery) and Jill (Tapestry Beads). Dang, I knew it was a mistake to spend any time at all in Beyond Beadery . . . . I couldn't resist getting a good selection of the long Magatamas from her. She had some very nice colors and mixes. I guess I'm going to have to try the Dragon Bangle from the latest issue of Bead work. Then I will have to try and translate the idea into bead crochet. The problem is that the beads are directional and will have to be strung in a strict sequence to get them to angle in the same direction.

I guess 18 tubes of long Magatama drops is a small bead purchase at a bead show.

Tucson 2011 - Day 2

2011-02-04T13:46:00.004-05:00

In the rush to find a hat, gloves, heavy socks and my winter coat, I forgot my camera. Low temperature records were broken all over southern Arizona. Wednesday night posted 5 degrees here in Tombstone and I lost most of my huge Nopal cactus. The poor thing looks very sad today. Water pipes were frozen & burst all over the place. Add to this interrupted natural gas supplies and daytime temps that hardly got out of the 20's. The Mayor of Tucson declared a sever weather emergency and closed all non-essential services & schools. Outside Gem Show vendors were either closed or wrapped in blankets or anything warm they could scare up.

I spent an hour at To Bead True Blue and it was a frustrating show as their vendor list didn't match the map and they couldn't tell me where people I wanted to see were. The layout was not good either as you couldn't flow from one place to another. Booths were tucked behind large plants, in odd corners and other out of the way places. I saw who I needed to see and left.

I was after some more 8/0 Toho nickel seed beads. Funny thing happened as a whole 4.5 lbs of seed beads got into my basket. They just jumped right in and said, "I'm going with you!" I picked up a couple of the newer Hybrid colors - luscious little things. Crystal AB - what the heck was I thinking? I don't do much with whites, but oh the sparkle. Must have been that AB sparkle.

I spent the afternoon at The Best Bead Show, meeting people and signing the new book, Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes". Which is now available in paper format from Amazon.

I've now restocked my stash of daggers and lentils. The Czech's are doing a glass that looks like a cross between moss agate and opal. So I now have daggers to go with some other shapes I bought Monday.

I saw slices everywhere at both shows. Sliced and tumbled glass bottle rings; slices of geodes, slices of other rocks and glass with large center holes. Large lamp worked glass rings as well as the same in resin. I'm wondering if some of those might work along with my black wire work experiments. I may have to get a few when I go back to Best Bead on Saturday and see what works. Or I need to figure out how to slice a bottle up and throw the rounds in my tumbler.

The weatherman promises that it will warm up now. I sure hope so as this area is ill equipped to handle sub-freezing temps. I guess I shouldn't complain as it happens about once in a hundred years. It could have held off in my lifetime.

Tucson 2011 - Day 1

2011-01-31T20:45:00.006-05:00

I didn't get too far today as it was only 40 degrees and raining. On the way home to Tombstone it also started snowing - Brrrrr! I did the Gem Mall and skipped the other 2 shows I had planned on visiting as they were outside tents. I wasn't going to wander around being wet, cold and miserable.

My first impression was . . . PINK . . . and a lot of that dyed pink. Yes, there were a lot of neat new slices of every kind of gemstone, including geodes. However, it just seems that every time I turned around I saw pink stones in rings, pink pearls, pink jewelry creations, pink shawls and dyed pink gemstone strands. I'm hoping it was only my impression on a cold wet day inside one huge tent.

I found nice new shapes and colors in Czech pressed glass. See the medium & small daggers in the middle of my pile? Those are mine - a great mix of old fashioned pink with streaks of sage green. That combination of pink & green I can live with and is the color of a lot of my personal beadwork.

I'm not sure just what shape to call these Czech beads . . . bells, teardrops or? Most had a solid color overlay on the top that was then faceted away around the belly. I bought 4 strands of every color they had. What great fringe beads and color combinations that are very rich looking.

These were more money than I really wanted to spend, but I had been kicking myself for not buying dotted daggers last year. The purple beads are a brand new-to-me shape. I'm wondering just how to use them in bead crochet. What would fit between them in a Caterpillar or Triangle rope?

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Chinese Crystals were also everywhere. The quality was about the same as last year - good. Bicones and faceted roundels were about the only shapes I saw. I bought a few, but now I need to check my crystal box as I think I already have a bunch of the red. I know I've done that when buying seed beads - buy more of a favorite color without remembering I already have them!

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This Czech chain was also something I found quite interesting. I think at least one piece of it is going into my current wire work. The wire links are black and the fire polish glass is in great color combinations.

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Hmmmm, looks like I bought Czech pressed glass today. Not a single strand of stone in the bunch.

It's a good thing that the shows go on for 2 weeks. I'll have to go back for a day more than planned because I decided to come home early on account of the weather.

Before the Lights Went Out

2011-01-30T12:45:00.004-05:00

An accident 9 blocks away left me without power most of the afternoon into the evening. It's been a long time since I've read by candle light. It makes one realize just how much technology has become ingrained in day-to-day life.

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Before the lights went out I had been doing some wire work. I'm still exploring black steel wire in conjunction with a bit of found objects, gemstones and crystals. I like the idea of the contrast between the materials. Somehow the crudeness of the wrought iron looking wire sets off the fineness of blue opals and faceted crystals.

The worst of this whole process is having to unlearn things. Some 35 years ago I was trained as a silversmith and spent a lot of time learning how to make perfect wire wrapped loops. Things were round, polished, buffed to a fine shine and everything had to be dead even. Now I'm trying to achieve a loose, semi-crude, casual effect with the black wire. I have to stop my hands from settling into old habits of controlled even wire wraps. It's been a lot of fun exploring with materials that are inexpensive. My old adage of, "it's not the materials but what you do with them" holds true here. I'm quite pleased with the end results.
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The funny thing about yesterday is that I went from a technology overload to reading by candle light in the same day. My business partner had been over with his collection of Android tablets to sort through which ones would really work for a portable beading tablet. We had tablets spread out all over the bead room. There were all sizes: 7", 8", 10" and different versions of the Droid systems. I'm strongly leaning towards an 8" tablet as it's big enough to see things on, yet small enough to put in a purse or stand on a beading table. I like the size and configuration of it. It's pleasing in the hands.

Now he just needs to quit taking tablets apart to see what makes then run and concentrate on finishing up the program. Some men just never seem to grow up and can't resist opening things up to see what's inside.

So far, I'm very pleased with what he's developed. Things like being able to touch a line of the string table and have it move up. That makes keeping your place so much easier.

Most weeks here in the Arizona winter are nice and dull quiet .... then along comes a day when so many things happen that it leaves your head spinning. A batch of quiet hours to do nothing but read or bead was a gift that finished off the day quite nicely.

Tucson Gem Show 2011

2011-01-28T10:40:00.003-05:00

It's that time again! I have a budget, I've made a list and am ready to attend several of the Tucson Gem Shows. I'm looking for polka dotted daggers, funky, ethnic metal charms, finished jewelery for my Daughter-in-Law and anything unusual and interesting. Oh and maybe a fossil specimen to hang on the wall.

Despite it's name, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is not a single show, but rather a large group of shows and exhibitions appearing in Tucson over a two week time frame. This year there are over 40 separate shows. Every self-respecting jewelry lover, beader and rock hound should make it a point to make the pilgrimage at least once during their lifetime.

Vendors descend on this sleepy town in huge numbers to peddle their wares to a crowd of hobbyists, retailers, rockhounds, wholesalers, and deal-seekers. Hotel rooms and rental cars are as scarce as hen's teeth.

Characters abound.....

Competition is fierce in terms of both price and quality. With tight margins and lots of products, the market is often skewed in the buyer's favor. What's at the Tucson Gem Show? Everything from "rough" minerals (unpolished rocks) to finished jewelry. Beads are in abundance, including glass, semiprecious, precious metals and obscure cuts and species of stone. There are wholesale shows and retail shows, shows for high-end stones, bead shows, shows that focus on rough, and everything in between.

Vendors come from all over the world, just to sell at this once-a-year extravaganza called the Tucson Gem Show. It's mind boggling......

AZ wild life!

2011-01-25T12:59:00.012-05:00

This has been an interesting Arizona winter so far. I'm beginning to think I live on some sort of game reserve. I actually live within the City limits of Tombstone, not out in the unfenced range.

My large Nopal cactus is getting very raggedy with both the cows and mule deer chewing on it - almost nightly.

I've had to really limit what I put out for the birds. The mule deer had gotten used to making a pass through the yard to see if there was anything good to eat. They knock the bird feeder over and chew on anything green. I go out and yell at them and they sort of look back as if to say, "what?" One evening I was cleaning up, looked up and the big buck was nose to my kitchen window. Sort of startled me!

Then there have been the cows.... We almost back up to BLM land and open range. There is a fence between them an the town streets. It took several weeks for the police & the rancher to figure out where they were getting out. They would amble down the street, chewing on anything that stuck out within reach. The police would heard them back and an hour later they were right back. Nice landscape plants were more attractive than range plants.

It's sort of unsettling to be half asleep only to be woken by loud mooooing right outside of your bedroom window.

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The rabbits have been too quick to get a picture of them, but we've had both cotton tails and jack rabbits come through the yard. The jacks are all ears and legs. They are big enough to stretch up and eat the cactus along with the cows and deer.

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I've always fed the quail as I love watching them. They are so like a large flock of chickens, scratching and talking to themselves.
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We have an occasional road runner come through. They don't stop, but just move on by.

We get a kick out of watching a large flock of buzzards that comes back every spring. They are so graceful in the air and so clumsy on the ground and when they go to roost at night. They hang out in a large pine tree just a block away.

Some days I wonder if we're feeding more bees than hummingbirds.

There are days when all of the birds just seem to disappear. That's when you look up and see a hawk sitting on one of the telephone poles. They are regal birds to watch. However yesterday got a bit exciting. I had the back door open and was working just off of the hallway. The next thing I know, there is a flurry of feathers, noise and bird squawks in the hall. The hawk was after a dove for dinner and as near as I can tell, the dove dove for the open door to get away. Didn't happen and I had enough feathers in the hall to make a large pillow.

City living? Somehow I'm beginning to wonder......

Piles of Files & Projects

2011-01-23T22:31:00.003-05:00

It's been a busy month as I've been trying to decrease the amount of piles on my work table. Unfortunately not enough of those piles are beading piles. I'm getting ready for the Tucson Gem shows, a San Diego Bead Society presentation and workshop.

Technology has caught up with me and my old acetate overhead slides are no longer any good for presentations. Guess I'm going to learn how to do a Power Point presentation. It also means that I've got to do all new photographs of the material and examples.
I'll be talking about Bead Crochet in general and my work in particular. That will be followed by an intermediate Bead Crochet workshop; Dimensional Bead Crochet. That means kits will have to be made up.

I'm looking forward to the Gem shows as I'll have a chance to go bead buying and also catch up with a lot of different beading people. It's fun to touch base with all of the creative people, even if it's only once a year. I'll keep you posted as to what I find and what's new and different.

Amazon Book

2011-01-08T22:00:00.007-05:00

You can now order a print copy of Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes from Amazon.

It's a print-on-demand copy and although the size isn't the same as the first two books I had printed, it's quite decent.

Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes Book on Amazon

I will have copies with me at Tucson's Best Bead Show if you would like a signed copy. Once again I'll join Judy Kintner, the Bead Spinner Lady, at her booth on two afternoons. If you'll be in Tucson, you can find me there from 2pm to 4 pm on Thursday 2/3 & Saturday 2/5. Stop by and say hello.

it's a real book!

2011-01-05T17:38:00.004-05:00

I got my proof copy from Amazon's Print on Demand service today. Overall I'm happy with the results. E-Books are OK, but I'm till a paper person and having a printed copy in my hands is so much nicer than looking at a copy on a monitor.

Those of you who wanted to wait for a printed copy will be able to order it directly from Amazon within the next couple of days. I will place a small order for myself to have copies to sign and sell at the Best Bead Show in Tucson in 4 weeks. If you want a signed copy directly from me, email me and we can make some sort of arrangement. The price is $21.95.

Goodbye 2010

2010-12-31T16:34:00.005-05:00

May your new year

be filled with

joy and happiness.

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Happy New Year

Meanwhile, here at the Tombstone Winter Studio it really is winter. Thirty degrees, spitting show and sleet. I actually dug out a coat, hat, gloves and heavy woolly socks. I can't see the Huachuca Mountains under the clouds, but I'm sure they are snow capped by now.

Happy Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T15:31:00.005-05:00

Happy Christmas

Best wishes for the Season

I had some black steel wire left over from my recent necklace projects. This quick idea came to me with my first cup of coffee. Little bits of wire, round nose pliers, bending, wrapping, spiraling around a toothpick and adding some orphaned crystals gave me a 15 min. completed project. Hang it on your Christmas tree, in a sunny window, or add it to a last moment gift package. Feel free to take this idea and run with it. Bend your own wire, use up some of those orphaned beads and have something just a little bit special to give to someone who might need a holiday lift.

As for me, I'm singing, "The weather is delightful, nothing frightful . . ."
Frost on the ground early on, bright sunshine, classical music on the radio, and no snow anywhere.

Have a happy, joyous Christmas.

Quiet AZ Sunday

2010-12-19T14:17:00.005-05:00

The sun is out in full force and it's a cool 60 degrees here in Tombstone AZ today. It's sort of a puttering, lazy Sunday before the last of the Holiday rush. Had a nice brunch of home made waffles and NH maple syrup (local made by a friend).

I finished all of the components for this necklace while driving West last month. I'm finally getting around to putting it all together. It's been out & put away several times and I think it's really time to get it all done. Hopefully my table will stay clear of other projects long enough to finish up.

I confess . . . I collect old cookbooks and read them for fun. It seems that when you collect, you collect all sorts of odd things. Besides beads, I do cookbooks, returnable pie plates, balls, kitchen tinware, frosted glass shards, rusty metal and other interesting trivial bits & pieces. This book's title bothered me until I figured out that I'm used to seeing cooky spelled cookie. Somehow this seems appropriate reading for this time of the year. In fact, it has been back porch reading, in the warm sun today. Warm sun, rocking chair, good book and a glass of something cold - my idea of relaxing.

Last night the sunset was fantastic. Watching the sunsets from my studio window is one of my favorite pastimes here in the winter desert. Each one is better than the last. No clouds in the sky, so tonight may well be no color with just a flash of light as the sun goes down.

It's a nice feeling to let Sunday develop as it will with no plans, lists, or ideas of gotta do. The best part is that I still have the rest of the day left to unfold as it will.

Take it to your beading table?

2010-12-17T10:08:00.003-05:00

Bead Crocheters . . .

What would you think of having your bead crochet patterns on an Android Tablet? Being able to design on the same tablet and taking it to your beading table to string from either the graph or a stringing table? Yes, I know it isn't an "i-anything", but the 8" Android tablets are way less expensive and more in the price range of beaders like myself.

Do any of you have (or plan to have) an Android Tablet? If this project keeps going like it is right now, The programmer will be looking for someone other than myself, to do some testing. What I've seen so far impresses me as it's so quick & responsive and I can rotate the graph to see how things line up. I can't wait to see how the stringing table, with the working line highlighted, looks. I'm excited and never realized something like this might be on my wish list. For heavens sake, I don't even use a cell phone.

If you want me to get back in touch with you, you'll need to give me your email or other way to contact you.

Oh, and another thought:
. . . other nice thing is that you can put other beading patterns on this if they are PDF's. This tablet (sigh, the programmer's, not mine) has the full content of "Bead Crochet Ropes" & "Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes" on it in PDF format and I can scroll through the pages with a flick of a finger. Could I even think about getting rid of my piles and piles of paper patterns?

Wire Play ~ Done

2010-12-11T16:14:00.003-05:00

This is the first necklace that I finished. It was a learning piece and I think the clasp should have been a lighter weight wire than what I made. All, in all I'm happy with it and it has that nice combination of wrought-iron looking wire with pearls and faceted gemstone beads.

Once I was comfortable with what the wire did, I bent, twisted and hammered away on the components of this necklace. I'm most happy with the way this one finished up. I had fun rummaging through my collection of beads to combine with the nice blackened wire.

I gave you a rundown on most of the wire experiments in Wire Play. I did clean all of the wire with rubbing alcohol and then rubbed it down with paste wax. The wax cleaned more of the coating off. Once it was buffed out the surface color was very stable and no longer left black streaks on my hands. It also left the wire feeling nicer than in it's untreated state. I think these spools of wire will go on my studio shelf and get used from time to time. However, that galvanized steel wire has already been relegated to the garage - not nice stuff to work with.

Wire work isn't my first, nor even fifth choice for beadwork. However, one of these will be a gift, and I did have fun playing with it as a complete change of pace.

Wire Play

2010-12-07T11:57:00.016-05:00

I've had a request from a family member to recreate a Vogue necklace in less expensive materials. Not the actual design, but something that resembles it. The original was done in gold and faceted gemstones and cost the earth. I'm going to use it as an inspiration to make an industrial-looking necklace for a gift.

I started with galvanized steel wire from Home Depot. Well, that's where I was when I wanted materials, and wanted them right now. Research said that I could use vinegar and salt to either remove the galvanized coating and/or darken the wire. Yes, it worked to a certain extent, but the results were all a dull, ugly gray with a not-so-nice feel to it. Plus, the 18 GA. was almost too stiff to bend right. I might try the 24 GA for some wire bead crochet with 8/0 or 6/0 beads.

That meant another trip, this time to an ACE hardware store. The guys in there have learned to not ask what I want it for and just tell me where to find what they think I'm talking about. This time I got Dark Annealed Steel Wire in 24, 19, & 16 GA. It was in the fence and stove pipe section.

The thinner wire was in nice small packets at very reasonable costs. The large wire only came in a 5 lb. spool - cheap at $4, but what the heck am I ever going to do with 5 lbs. of this stuff?

One thing I've learned is to not use my jewelry tools for this stuff. I went out to the garage and grabbed the utilitarian, heavy duty pliers and cutter.
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The wire also comes with a black, greasy coating. Again, research said to clean it with rubbing alcohol. Right now I'm trying to figure out how clean is clean. Will a quick rub of paste wax keep the finish at a color I want? That's next on my list to try out.
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So, I've made a few jump rings.

...and tried out a couple of components. I like the way the gray rock pearls look. I'm thinking of using them as singles in the necklace and as dangles with multiples.
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I'm not sure I want any bling in this necklace, but a grouping of faceted and matted gemstones along with the gray pearls.

Today I've got to get some more yard cleanup done while this beautiful 70 degree weather is here in Arizona. Then maybe I'll have some time to get back to playing with the wire. It's always fun to try something different, even if it turns out to be a one-time project. I've always found that stretching creativity in another medium gives me fresh ideas all the way around.

balls, balls, balls

2010-11-28T13:03:00.008-05:00

Over the years I seem to have collected enough balls to now call it a collection. Everything from clay, glass, plastic and gemstone.

Finding display artifacts has been a challenge and I think I like the old manufacturing parts holder and candlesticks the best. In NH I also have a steam-bent wooden container full of smaller balls.

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This is one that I'd love to have, but alas .....

no room for something that big, nor the $8,000 to make it mine.

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So here's a quandary. Last year I bought the small set of pool balls at a flea market and yesterday I found the larger vintage set. I only want 4 balls out of each set, leaving 24 orphaned balls. The large vintage set from Belgium is probably worth about $75 according to eBay.

Should I split the big ball set up or try and resell them as a whole set? Gary Wilson, gem/rock wizard, from Tucson Gem show says the older pool balls are solid color and he cuts them up for cabs and other jewelry items. Should I chance it and cut into one of the vintage balls and see if they are solid color or not? I really don't have the space to store the extra balls as it would mean taking space that beads would occupy.

Maybe one of you might like to buy my extras (1 or more) and relieve me of having to agonize over splitting something that maybe shouldn't be split? Comments on what to do would be welcomed - please.....

Settling in for the Winter

2010-11-22T11:11:00.003-05:00

It took the quail less time to settle back in than I have. We got back to Arizona Sat. evening, put some bird seed out on Sunday and this morning nine quail were here for breakfast. It was 30 degrees overnight and the quail had their feathers all fluffed up, looking like big puff balls. They are so much fun to watch every winter.

Now that it's Monday, I can run over to Sierra Vista this afternoon to re-stock my own pantry and look at the new addition to the town - great big, brand new, huge super Wal-Mart. Oh what fun!

While I was gone the burned out house to the East of mine was bulldozed down. Now I can see Tombstone's Courthouse from the beadroom. It also lets in a lot more morning sun. Nice bright Arizona sun in a clear blue sky, that's one of the big reasons for being here in the winter. I probably have a touch of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and the light filled days always make me feel better with tons more energy.

Then, to get filled in on all the local gossip, I'll go have coffee with my neighbor on the West. She was my high school room mate from Illinois. We often comment on fate; who would ever have thought we'd be wintering next door to each other in Arizona 47 years later?

I'll leave you with a photo of my welcome home visitor......

Last night, I looked up and this guy was sitting on top of the window molding. He got caught in a jar while I did my best to find out if it was a dangerous spider. Turns out that we think it's a 3" Huntsman Spider, not dangerous, but beneficial. So, I evicted him outside, across the road.

Back in Tombstone

2010-11-21T17:30:00.005-05:00

The sun is bright, it's high 60's, there are mountains on the horizon and I'm back in Tombstone AZ for the winter. The house was opened back up for me, but the yard needs lost of work right away. The grass and tumbleweeds are thigh high, evidence of a good monsoon season this summer.

We didn't find any outstanding things to stop and look at on the trip across country. However, just the country is always worth looking at. I had heard of the Dismal Swamp and the name always fascinated me. It's nothing like the New Orleans swamps as it's almost more tidy than what I think a swamp should be.

Here are the remains of an old gas station in Texas. I loved the sign on the door which advised one that the Sheriff's posse would most certainly chase you with guns drawn if you defaced the building.

The old Texas county seat, courthouses were beautiful in fanciful brick and high towers. By the time I decided I needed to photo at least one of them, what we saw were modern buildings. It's not the first time this has happened and I seem to have a list of missed photographs.

Once you got west of the Mississippi River you really begin to notice the sky and watch the weather approach. We were lucky that we only hit spitting rain and heavy overcast on just two days of the 9 day trip.

We had to drive through the White Sands National Monument once again. We wanted to test a lingering New England mindset that driving on something that white would be slippery. They plow it like snow, it looks like snow, but it is white gypsum sand. Funny how the subconscious tells you one thing when reality is something else.

I love the patterns that the wind makes on the dunes. It's too bad that there were so many people prints in the dunes that it was difficult to find unspoiled wind patterns like this.

I was tired of sitting in the car at around day 7. I had finished all of my pre-strung bead crochet, my body wanted to do something besides sit and I got more than a bit cranky. I was tired of strange motel beds and even stranger motel decor like bright pink bed sheets and swagged drapes with huge tassels. Granted, we got off of the interstate and looked for clean, cheap motel rooms. Too bad that they tried to modernize 1950's motels and just missed the mark most of the time.

It's good to be back in the South West where there are mountains on every horizon, it's warmer than New Hampshire and there is abundant sunshine. It'll take a couple of days to re-stock the pantry, clean up the house and get back into work/beading/designing mode. But first will be Thanksgiving with my sisters, nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and general crazy family.

Over and Out . . .

2010-11-10T14:58:00.003-05:00

The bead cabinet is empty, so is the fridge and we're 95% packed. We'll pic-nic here in the house tonight, winterize it tomorrow and leave by noon.

See you all on the other side of the country in the wild west of Arizona sometime around Thanksgiving.

Shutting down the computer after this blog post.

Open road, here we come.

Heading West

2010-11-06T21:38:00.007-05:00

It's time to pack up the car and head to Tombstone AZ for the winter. It's getting so we've less and less light and lots colder temps here in NH. Gray, overcast, wintry-like days just give me the shivers. Tomorrow I'll start cleaning the studio and packing the beads into their travel bags.

This week I'll be putting the house into cold storage mode and hope to be on the road by next weekend. It takes longer to shut the NH house down for the winter than it does shutting the AZ house up for the summer. So many little details of things that might freeze.

We're going to try again to do the Chesapeake bay bridge and hope that nasty weather doesn't shut us out of that route like it did last year. Then we'll do a swing through the Carolina's. Georgia, Alabama and visit friends in Memphis. From there we'll head mostly west to Arizona. I've never visited some of the Eastern seaboard, so it'll be a good change of route.

This was my NH yard in 1997 and I'm getting too old to navigate in these conditions any more.

This blog will probably lie dormant for the next month, but I'll post travel updates to FaceBook as I progress across country.

Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes

2010-11-03T12:27:00.005-05:00

It's done

Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes

A Pattern Book of 3-Dimensional Bead-Crochet Ropes

is now complete and available from Bead Patterns as an e-book for $19.95.

It has take me 5 years of procrastination, trial and error crocheting, and collaboration on a software design program to bring this book to actuality. It contains a new way of graphing rope patterns; one that allows you to see your patterns as they really are. This is a stepping stone to being able to design patterns that run parallel to a rope, especially dimensional ropes. Flat Caterpillars, Triangular ropes, Square ropes and other parallel patterns will be easier to see on the Zipper Graph.
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Comments and photos of what you crochet using this book will be welcomed. As it was designed as an e-book, I did not include a gallery. I would like to put a Gallery on Bead Line Studios web site. So, please let me see what you come up with using this information.

Enjoy

...and now I can pack for Arizona and a couple of weeks vacation on-the-road.

I Had Plans . . .

2010-10-29T16:32:00.005-05:00

later . . OOPS, new motherboard, etc. Date and clock was wrong! Yea, it's still Friday. Duhhhhh

It's Saturday already and I had plans for a special blog post 2 days ago to celebrate 5 years of this blog. Murphy's Law of Computer failures took care of that plan. I've been without my desktop for several days.

Other than the inconvenience of it all, Lenovo has stood behind their warranty. As of yesterday they have now replaced every danged component in my black desktop except the hard drive. And, I'm going to replace the hard drive myself this winter as I'm running out of storage space. I still think it would have been cheaper for the company to have just given me another computer than have an on-site tech replace components one by one. One more thing goes wrong though, and they're getting it back, in itty, bitty pieces in a great big box!
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Book 3 is in it's final editing round. It's looking good for the eBook to be released before Nov. 15th. I forget just how much work all of this takes and then sitting and waiting for others to do their piece - making me look good, real good.

Keep an eye on this blog for the announcement.

Yellow wood road

2010-10-22T15:03:00.004-05:00

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

This view from my bedroom window reminds me of the Robert Frost poem. This is very much a yellow Fall here in NH. I ran rural errands earlier. Trash got taken to the dump and things left in the "still-good" building there. Needed stuff was bought from the hardware store, where things crowded the aisles and the uneven floor in the old building creaked under foot. Then I took the time to kick some dry leaves down this same path in the woods. Chilly with the sun in and out from behind the clouds. It's a good afternoon to bake and use up the last of the peaches in the freezer for a peach/pear kuchen.

Advance Copy - Galley Proof Sale

2010-10-17T23:06:00.002-05:00

ADVANCE COPY, Galley Proof Sale

Midnight on Sunday, Oct. 17 through midnight on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010

(date corrected on 10/18/10)

(November 4, 2010)

Sale is extended until the last 15 copies are sold or I shut down to leave for Arizona.

This will be an emailed PDF copy, only through this BLOG

PayPal will be the only form of payment accepted

now that the e-book has been published the Galley Proof

is now $21

allow 48 hrs. delivery

it's 30 pages

The cover and layout will not be the same as the finished copy. However, all edited content is included. It will contain a special front piece & extra page of design hints with bracelet pattern. Only 50 copies will be sold during this advance sale. It's digitally signed by the author.

More information on the content can be found here.

This book contains a wealth of patterns that run parallel to the length of a rope. It covers the theory of how triangular ropes are designed with well-illustrated examples of each concept.

If you have mastered the basic art of bead crochet, you will want to explore these more advanced slip-stitched concepts.

Galley Proofs

2010-10-15T11:39:00.004-05:00

In the printing industry, galley proofs are so named because in the days of hand-set type, the printer would set the page into galleys, the metal trays into which type was laid and tightened into place. These would be used to print a limited number of copies for editing mark-up. Galley proofs are also issued as advance reading copies. They contain complete, edited content, but final cover art and/or layout may not be the same as the published copy.
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I decided to issue 51 galley proofs of Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes.

The first copy, and only printed copy, is being donated to the Bead Society of New Hampshire at this Sunday's meeting. It will be auctioned and half of the proceeds will go towards their Bead Retreat Scholarship fund. The remaining 50 copies will be sold through this blog in PDF format with PayPal being the only payment accepted..

This sale will run from Midnight, October 17th through midnight October 31, 2010, or until all copies are sold.

The proceeds from the sale will allow me to go ahead with an Amazon print-on-demand copy of the book in January of 2011 . . . and have printed copies to sign at the Tucson Gem Show in February.

So check back here next week if unique copies of beading books are something that you would like to add to your library.

Milestone - Book 3

2010-10-11T10:03:00.002-05:00

Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes

A pattern book of 3-Dimensional ropes

The Summer's work is almost done. I printed myself a proof copy last night, only to run out of blue printer ink. It looks funny in shades of rosy pinks. But, it's ready to pass off to my layout/stylist graphic artist to tweak it into final shape. I need to re-shoot 2 photos that I'm not happy with, but it will go into the mail tomorrow. And then I wait for the final results.

November 15th is still a good date for the release of the e-book copy. When I get to Arizona, I'll work with Amazon's "print-on-demand" vendor to have a printed copy sometime in January 2011.

The book will have 28 pages of theory, designs, patterns and photos of beadwork. Intermediate and advanced bead crocheters will have something new to create with. I enjoy giving the community something different and can't wait to see what they do with this process.

I've had some fantastic help doing this book:
Mary Anne Weeks Mayo, picky good editor
Jessica Giffin, graphic stylist and layout artist
Bead fairies:
Crystal Fox, Elisa Gnatt, Bea Kimball, Jen Kubeck, Kim Latona, Linda Miller

Also Ken Campbell, Bev Herman and Mel Simmonds, who helped me keep my sanity and critiqued where I had doubts of making sense.

It's a book, and I think it's a good one.
Now I sit and wait. That's a very hard thing to do sometimes.

Saturday Finds

2010-10-09T18:25:00.006-05:00

Not quite peak foliage here in New Hampshire, but getting close to it. It's supposed to drop into the 30's tonight and I expect we'll have a frost. It was a beautiful day to be out and about after a week of gray rainy days.

I had to go grocery shopping and decided to also poke around a bit in Jaffery. I haven't been down that way in quite some time. We stopped in at a new (to me) antique store and I had a hard time keeping my plastic in my pocket.

This pegged board came out of an old Starrett factory. It has that well oiled old factory patina to it. I collect balls in all sizes and it'll be the perfect way to display some of them. What you see on the board are "end of shift" marbles from a ceramics factory. I'm told it was take what clay was left over, roll it up into balls (glaze and all) and stuff it into the kiln before going home. Sort of beads without holes. Now I need to dig out a selection from my collection. I have a large mercury glass ball, marble water treatment plant balls, glass witch's balls, cue balls, and gemstone balls. I thought these few things were quite unique and the peg rack will be useful too.

The best find, though, was a large 6 1/2" circumference plastic rod. I had been playing with photographing beaded bracelets on a water glass and saying I'd really like a piece of large Lexan rod for a mandrel. . . . and there it was in this antique store.

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However, what the heck am I to do with all 3' of it? That's a bit of overkill for what I wanted it for. It just doesn't fit anywhere that I wouldn't trip over it.

All in all, it was a nice break, away from my desk, looking at what Fall is like in this neck of the woods.

P.S. now I need to find a candle pin and/or boccie ball for my collection.

Not very Interesting

2010-09-30T11:23:00.005-05:00

I went to the Bay of Fundy to see this; a Tidal Bore. Not exactly what I had envisioned when I was about 12 years old. I guess my younger self thought it would be more of a wall of water rushing along. OK, I waited 54 years to see the ocean run upstream in the Bay of Fundy. I can cross it off of my life list of things to see and do!

The fossil beaches in the Joggins area of Nova Scotia were quite interesting and I could have spent many more hours combing the beaches for interesting tidbits.

We had to watch the tides as there is about a 30 ft difference between high tide and low tide. If not careful, you could find yourself all the way around the bank to the right with no way to get back without swimming.

Here's a record of what was growing many years ago in the dawn of time. Beautiful fossil patterns in the shale.

Like sea glass, these pieces of coal have been washed, smoothed and rounded by the water and tide action. I thought they might make a different and interesting pendant with a beaded bezel. I need to figure out if they would be hard enough to withstand the wear.

Not everyone is interested in the flotsam that washes up. I am and came home with rocks, rusted iron and pieces of driftwood. I guess if I ever find them in the way I can burn them for a bit of warmth.

I like what NanC Meinhardt does with sticks and beads. I may well try my hand at some freeform beading around one of these pieces of driftwood.

I could show you many more photos of water and scenery, but it

was my vacation and I hate to bore people with loads of vacation photos. I'll leave you with one beautiful touch of color on a very gray day. Nice wooden chairs, painted great colors.

Trip Finds

2010-09-29T08:57:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post with a couple of things I found on my recent mini-vacation. We just got back and I really don't feel like moving much after driving to Canada and sight seeing for a week. I'm going to have to get going sometime today as the larder is bare; as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard.

I'm in LOVE, in love with the Lucite that Beadin' Path in Maine stocks. I see them at the shows, but it is so much more enjoyable to visit the store and walk the wall of Lucite arranged by color. I can pick, choose, fondle, put back and find things that take my fancy. And, I can do it in quiet, surrounded by other beading things.

Here is what came home with me. The Deco polygon drops (at the top) in orange, sage and pink are going into the next bead crocheted lariat I make for myself. However, in the light of day, in my studio . . . I'm wondering what possessed me to get 30 silver drop shapes that now remind me of the old soda pop tops? Must be something like comfort food, reminding me of my youth. What would you do with these silver thingies?

I met a knife sharpener at the Farmer's Market on Prince Edward Island. He had some vintage, sharp edged things for sale in his booth. I got an interesting historic perspective on North American knife makers from him as well as a beautiful pair of shears for the unheard of price of $20. I don't need any more shears, especially this large, but they were a thing of beauty. They fit my hand and cut cleanly all the way down the tip. You can see their size against my regular Gingher sewing shears. Ah well, maybe I can just hang them on my studio wall and just enjoy them for the fine tool they are.

All of the other trip photos are still on my travel camera which is still in the car. I'll share more later.

Oh Dear . . .Peaches, Bead Book & Vacation

2010-09-21T08:34:00.004-05:00

I'm feeling pushed. Somehow too many things have come down to needing to be done TODAY!I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow morning to go see the Bay of Fundy - be gone a week.

Meanwhile Laundry needs to be done, fridge cleaned out, mail put on hold for a week, suitcases packed, and sundry other life things. So, along comes a gift of another bushel of local peaches . . . they are not perfect and dead ripe. They also won't hold in the house for a week.

I gave away 2/3rds of them and still had a lot left. I spent yesterday evening making another batch of peach salsa and peach hot pepper jelly.

This morning I'm wondering if this peach hot pepper jelly will set up. If it doesn't I'll have to find a use for hot pepper syrup. Don't think it would be good over ice cream.

Bead Crochet eBook

I've hit a milestone in getting my "Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes" book done. The copy is off to the Editor and my layout person is expecting all of it on her desk the first week in October.

This is the other part of feeling pushed . . . I'm only 1/3 of the way done with all of the photos for the book. When I was supposed to be doing photography, I was dealing with peaches.

I hate being hurried as that is when you make mistakes and compromises you later regret. So I guess we'll see how far I get today between life's other chores.

I have some really great bead faeries. They help out by testing patterns and making samples. This is one of their samples. This is one of the projects and ropes in the eBook. Isn't this Triangle Twist bracelet a simple, beautiful color combination. It would also be great with coral and turquoise for the fall.

Hopefully the November 15th publication date is still a good one. I'll have definitive information here on the blog when the time comes closer.

Now back to work and hope I can cram it all into today's time frame. Then off to relax and look at the scenery driving north, up the coast of Maine, New Brunswick and into Nova Scotia.

3rd Book Teaser

2010-09-06T20:32:00.007-05:00

I think I've twisted my brain with this one. It's taken me three tries to work one bead bug out of it so that it's a smooth transition from triangle to twist all the way around and back again.... 3 different colored sides.

It's the last pattern page in the book and I was sure that it would do what I graphed it to do. That is until I woke up in the middle of the night and just had to string it one more time to make sure I didn't have a brain flip and get something wrong. I'd much rather be sure myself than have a book owner frustrated with a pattern that doesn't work because of my mistake.

These primary colors look neat and show off what's happening with this bead crocheted rope. However I can see it done with metallic base beads and maybe freshwater pearl drops. It would be an eye catcher, "how ever did you do that?" type of bracelet.

I'm still on schedule for an early November eBook publication. I have a great Editor making sure that the i's are dotted. My Graphics Gal has saved me layout time in October unless they come in first in a Korean Design contest. You'd think I had more pull with my daughter, the Graphics Gal!