It's been a very long time and journey

 A friend from the UK reminded me of my blog. So, here I am!

What's been happening? Loads and loads. Some beading, a lot of crocheting, especially since late February 2020. Our Friends of the Library Used Book Store manager lost her husband and had to move in with her daughter, too far away to manage, so I stepped up, was approved by the Friends board and are now happily doing what I can to keep our bookstore up and running through the current crisis, so that our library will have the funds they need each year.

Our Tippydogg is a bit older, but still spry, happy to go for walks, rides, and bark at squirrels form the deck. Calliecatt went over the Rainbow Bridge, safely at home in my arms. We have an older cat, our black grump, GabbyCatt, and a new kitten, Lysette, who is now in Maserati mode, running all over the house and driving Gabby crazy.

Our youngest is happily living in Silver City, NM, where we visited her early this year (WHAT a TRIP
!- I'll post photos in different missive), working in her chosen profession as Doctor of Physical Therapy, doing home health visits, along with her intended, Rene. They both share interests in plants (Rene does a great bonsai) and in fixing up the home they share, the two Lauren purchased as rentals (helps to have as your intended a guy who does tile, electricals, and plumbing, as well as being a Doctor of PT, so you can put each other back together after a hard day), and golfing- they live next to the community golf course. 

Rene tried to teach me to golf, and I think my efforts provided much amusement. Ah, 3 weeks in Silver City were really fun and I can't wait to visit again this year.

In the meanwhile, we are upgrading our current home as far as lower kitchen cabinets, deck painting and bathroom cabinet, lighting, sinks and shower tile, in preparation for moving closer to Lauren and Rene. Not in the desert, mind you, as my beloved hubby just cannot. He grew up in Chapel Hill, NC, surrounded by trees and forest, and found the landscape of the desert beautiful in its way, but far too bleak and dry. As long as there is an airport close by, and no more than 2 days' drive, I'll be happy with wherever we land. And no tourists flocking. I am SO over tourists. And no crappy mountain roads. I'd like my new-to-me Frontier truck, Sweet Cherie, who replaced my Suzuki Sidekick of 25 years, to last the rest of my life, thank you very much. Sweetie had over 400,000 miles when I sold her, and if the person had bothered to keep up with her oil use, she'd still be going strong, but of course, he didn't. RIP, Sweetie. You were a good and faithful vehicle.

Let's see. Hubby just retired at the end off 2020, 32 years of teaching, most of it as the Bandmaster at Cherokee schools, on the Qualla Boundary, 6th grade through 12th, as well as Film and Music History and appreciation.  He is happily back to writing his books when HE wants to, not having to leave at 6am to drive to school, and planning the HO model RR layouts we'll have in  our new home. AND he has put the sound studio, the Hearken Theatre, back into play with some newer equipment, to turn the books into full production soundplays: actors voicing parts, sound effects, narration, etc. for podcasting!! Woo-hoo!

It's been nice being back. I'll upload some photos next time. Til then, be happy, be well, be as joy-filled as you can!

A-miss, no longer

Yep, bad pun.
But, after being made the 'owner' (read - person who makes sure things run smoothly, but still bows to the original owner in thanks, always!) of the two Facebook groups - Beaded_Art_dolls and Beaddreamz, I seemed to run out of time to blog.
BAD me. Yep, another pun. Plenty of dolls made, still more being worked on.
So, I'm ba-ack. And see, I have been beading.
More photos to come.

The Woodcutter, a review and reveal

OTTBS (Operation Tackle That Bead Stash - a Facebook bead group) has these lovely challenges, one of which is to read from a selection of books, then bead something that the story has inspired.  I chose The Woodcutter, by Kate Danley, for it's powerful messages of how Power attempts to destroy Love, in the format of beloved fairy tales, such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and others.
Here is the book, offered on Amazon:    The Woodcutter by Kate Danley

In the story, Pixies are misused by a Wicked Queen and her Consort, to attempt to remake our world in a fashion that better suits their evil machinations. The Pixie dust they collect appears as a cloud of snow in part of the story.
I wanted to make a bracelet that had the colors and sparkles of Pixie Dust, but show with the very controlled stitch, embellished RAW, the turning of what should be a free-flowing substance is now strictly bound. Here is the final result, laid flat.

The 3mm crystal AB bicones, size 11 white AB charlottes, light blue AB 11s, and crystal AB 6s all provide a look of Pixie Dust.

I used 3mm crystal AB faceted Firepolish Czech beads on the base, so it would be smooth next to skin.

Being of a somewhat practical nature, I made the surround over the top into a pencil holder, so I can keep track of my pencil at work, in a sparkly manner. Of course, this just adds to the idea of turning 'Pixie Dust' into something quite out of its free nature.

Here is how it will look when worn.

I hope this inspires you to try The Woodcutter, by Kate Danley...it is an adventure you will not soon forget!

OTTBS, or how I learned to love blogging, again

Beading is my passion! Designing, creating or just playing with the little bits of colored glass, stones, thread and needles brings me great joy. Left to my devices, I would do little but bead, morning to dusk.  If it weren't for my immediate family getting me up for walkies, play and food, I would be found, shriveled to a husk, needle in hand and beads before me!
Blogging used to be so fun. It was easy to add some photos, write a bit of text, then post and see who shared in your dreams and excitement. Then, Google made it all 'important looking' and much more 'nerdy'. I am sure that, with time and poking about, the new format will make sense to me and I will dash off a blog with no more care than before the changes.
The newest impetus to do so comes from a wonderful Facebook bead group Operation Tackle That Bead Stash. The group sponsors several challenges a month to help us reduce our stash, so we are not overwhelmed and covered in all the beads we have, along with all the new bead styles, colors, shapes and sizes we covet. Part of the challenge includes blogging about your entry. This is just the push I needed!
The earrings above are from the newest challenge, Beads In Motion, Beads, Book and Bounce . Mouse over the wordage, then click on the link for more information on either OTTBS or the book and challenge.
  The pattern for the earrings pictured above is a free one, and the link is contained within the Beads in Motion, Beads, Book and Bounce post on the blog. I didn't have the chain required for the bottom bit, so got creative and used size 15 seedies, instead. I substituted Swarovski Element Crystal Pearls, Chinese faceted roundelles and Czech FP in the dangles, as well, to go along with the fun look created by the colors of the main parts.
The pattern was easy to follow, and I had only a little bit of trouble with the flat part that holds the dangles. When it was embellished, it was much too tight to allow my seed beads through. I think even the chains would have had difficulty being pulled through, next to the main circle. I created a second piece, adding two rows to the base, which solved the problem. I really feel part of this was due to the beads I chose for the main circle, which were frosted, matte 11s. Those can be slightly thicker than plain, opaque seed beads. Add to that my tight tension, and it needed just the two extra rows to be a perfect fit.
My loving hubby, Kurt, bought me both copper and black, diamond-cut fine chain, when he visited our chiropractor earlier this week, as a surprise! Now, I think I will make the pattern just as Marcia DeCoster designed it!

Freya's Cat

Freya, Norse Goddess of Beauty, Love, and War- loves the moon(his real moonstone crown), spirals (on his back), tritek (the symbol on the back of his head), and the Rune 'Cen' or Torch, symbolizing magic and knowledge. Her cats pulled her chariot, or cart, sometimes flying if needed.
Strangely enough, there are images of cats with vestiges of wings, and these real, everyday cats have extra bones at the shoulders, and their feathery fur looks much like the Angelina fibers shaped for this cat.


Created for the Stone Goddesses and their Winged Creatures Challenge at Beaded_Art_Dolls yahoo group, he started out as an ordinary Mickey D toy, that was rescued from being pinned to a wall as a joke at an art exhibit. Now he is his regal self, ready to serve the Goddess Freya, as needed.

Update and Spring

This is a completed piece, from my free pattern a few weeks ago.
It is always interesting to see what direction a particular piece of beadwork decides to go. I thought this would be a nice bracelet, and it would, for someone in cooler climes, or who doesn't sweat like a racehorse! I was afraid the dyed purple Delicas would not stand up to it.
But I just couldn't stop. There was all that warping that would be wasted, and the nit-picky needling through the beads, avoiding the warp threads. Soooo
One day, it struck me! This is to be a bit for the center of a piece that will be a wedding gift. It will be sewn to a fabric-fronted piece of heavy Pellon, then bead-embroidered around the edges of the loom piece, then open space all around, then bead around the edges of the Pellon. Sort of like a double frame, is how I see it. My DH will do some nice calligraphy with their names and wedding date on a piece of hand-made paper, and that will be appliqued to the bottom, and bead-embroidered around.
Now came the fun part; picking the beads that will embellish this.
Why, oh why do I always want to pick the beads at night, when it's dark in the house, no matter how much light I shine?? At least I had sense enough to go to bed afterward, and play Let's Triage This Project's Beads in the morning on the deck.
This is what I started with- lots and lots of colors and styles I thought would work.

This is what was left after triaging, and will probably be further culled, but I like that each of the colors in the loomed piece is represented in each seed bead size.

I can't show you what the fabric looks like, because I used a spray glue to attach it to the Pellon, and it needs an hour to dry, so that will be later.

But, in case you thought this was all I was doing, here are a couple more projects;
A pair of wire and lampwork earrings- Sharon 'Harry' Solly made the lampwork- I did the rest. Tracy Smith of the UK designed the original. I played with it, and made these from her photo.

Also did a bracelet from one of the bits that got torn apart in my cleaning and clearing frenzy!

Embellished it to within an inch of its life!

Then, there is the 3-4 mile walk around our loops every day with TippyDogg, who also got a bath and a haircut. Lots of wildflowers to see and learn where they are. Here are just a few- more at another time.

I know these are the more common ones, but they are the only ones I have ready to go!
Happy Beading, Walking and I hope your Spring is wonderful!