A New Year

Another January, looking back on last years 'resolutions'- be more organized with my beading area, get up regularly to play with the pups and cats or just go for a stretch, every-other-day yoga, drink more water- I did pretty well with all of them.

So, here are the new ones; submit more pieces to the beading mags (actually got accepted for the Bead and Button Dec 2011 issue!), bead immediately on RR pieces that come my way, create at least 2 pieces a week for sale at shows.

Not a whole lot.

But added to moderating several yahoo groups, keeping up with the beady challenges there, and having a great life with my DH, that is plenty!

To this end, I did triage in both Facebook and Yahoo Groups, removing 'Friends' who weren't, and whose interests I no longer shared, like games, etc, and whose group owners were more about crowing over their creations, then generally ignoring what the other members did, as well as group owners whose groups have 'died'- no messages for two years. While this isn't a huge deal, it is one less thing to clutter my mind.

In the beady world, did a bit of exploring the Dec 2010 issue of Bead and Button- what IS it with the size 10 delicas everyone seemed to have required for those projects???? I don't have a good local source for them, and don't want to start acquiring alot of one-size-up from the delica 11s I finally managed to get enough of.

I will be trying 'The Right Connection' bracelet by Eileen Spitz from that issue, but using size 11 delicas- funny that the opener for this pattern states 'enjoy the time-saving design that uses 10o cylinders for faster stitching'. Really? Faster stitching? Do they stitch themselves? Faster stitching as far as making a wider bracelet, perhaps, but if you use the same bead count, it goes at the same speed LOL! Geez Louise. It does look like a great little bracelet, and I am going to see if using the 11o delicas and maybe 3mm bicones or even CzechFP doesn't work just as well. I do like that they mentioned using any pattern for the base.

However, in the realm of 'WHAT THE HECK WERE THEY THINKING?', I tried starting the 'Grand Circles' pattern from the same issue, by Jonna Ellis Holston. My DH tried to dissuade me, as he pointed out to glaring markers for this being a failure (the creator teaches at the Sawtooth School of Visual Aaaarts in Winston-Salem, NC- a hoity-toity wannabeeanwishtheywereNCSchoolOfTheArts place, and she uses her maiden name as her middle name), without knowing anything about beading. I should have noticed that there was absolutely NO indication, except in the materials list, that this was a necklace. It appeared to be a bracelet from the photo.

Add to this that I didn't even subscribe to B & B in 2008, because I didn't like many of the projects that year.

I should also have known that the stitch, herringbone, used with size 8 hex on the outside, was NOT going to be strong enough to keep this circle flat, instead of floppy even with 6# Smoke Fireline. Still, I liked the look and so gave it a try.

Even adding more beads to the center didn't help. You can see how wide these babies are! I will not make another, but feel this one will make a good bit of decoration on a beaded art doll, with a nice cab captured in the center and beaded flat onto the doll. Too bad the latest doll from Dian requested bright colors LOL!

So, on to the next, and Happy Beading, everyone!