MERRY CHRISTMAS!

DIZZY

 You can't really plan the way your life is going to go. About two months ago I felt faint. Then it was constant dizziness. Long story short after two trips to the emergency room, lots of doctors and tests it has been determined I have Atrial Fibrillation. My heart's natural pace maker is all over the place ( racing up to the mid 200s and as low as 32 ) The first cardiologist I saw was talking about a pace maker which was not at all something I wanted. But now my new guy is taking about doing  CryoAblation.  While I'm not crazy about a catheter with a balloon freezing a scar into a portion of my heart to stop the crazy fast beatings, I am grateful for modern medicine and am glad that I am able to get the treatment. A light at the end of the dizzy tunnel when I get the operation. What has all this got to do with beadwork? Well you haven't heard from me in awhile because the dizziness has had me working at a snails pace. This dressed horses order was already a challenge because of the unusual garb they wear, then you add on the super crappy way I've been feeling and this project could have been a bust. But I think it's turning out okay. I still have two more horses to do on the side panels but I think I've got them figured out. One thing about doing beadwork for the past 40 years is that you always remember specific events by what piece you were working on at the time. Somehow these wildly dressed horses seem appropriate for this time when my heart is beating wildly.

SEPTEMBER

After the big push for the show it feels really good to be taking sometime in the yard, harvesting the garden, enjoying the leaves changing and the last of the blooming flowers. With these clear nights, we have already had a frost. I've got lots of orders lined up and have been working on some the smaller ones just to give myself a break.

BAGS FOR THE SHOW

               Finishing up some of the bags for the show…    Right down to the wire around here.

COMING SOON

Working hard to be ready!

16 BUTTERFLIES

For all butterfly lovers everywhere.  HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE!

                                                 A pretty good day to put a fresh coat of paint on the old place. Love the new red color on the door!

SUBTLE SHADES

It's spring, which means migration time around here. I love all the godwits, whimbrels, dunlins, and sandpipers. Watching and listening to these large groups of birds makes this a very special time of year. I thought about this and decided I wanted to give a nod of appreciation to all the non colorful birds. Tan, grey, brown and white are some of my favorite color choices. Also, here's a picture of my adorable snipe family, they nest in the yard...

 Their long beaks are a thing of beauty!

worlds oldest bird skeleton

snipes!

BEAD RETREAT

This weekend I attended Gig's bead retreat on the homer spit. It was beautiful on the beach and there were tons of seals, otters and birds to observe along with the human wildlife having a VERY good time.  It was really fun to commiserate with fellow beaders, see all their projects, beaded bracelets, a gorgeous raven, some porcupine quillwork, and even a beaded dog bone. We ended up playing Cranium late into the night and I haven't laughed that hard in awhile. I learned from Gig how to do a good job on the wire wrap using head pins which I have always been iffy on at best. Heres my little finished project.  Thanks for all the fun gang! It was a pleasure.

MULTI-TASKING

Right now I've got quite a few projects going at once. The big brown leather bag that Robert made is for computers and iPads  and such. I'm thinking of printing some words on there, the extra leather is example of how it would look. Do you like that or just plain? What would be a good thing to print? I was thinking WABI SABI but really it's all up in the air. Then the bracelet on the yellow cloth needs lazy stitch but I'm procrastinating because it's made out of sting ray hide which is very hard to sew through. Really neat looking leather though, all bumpy. (kind of looks like beads) I have finished the wolf and the seagulls. I was going for an all black and white piece and using the black velvet as negative space. Now it needs to be made into a bag. And finally the 14 butterflies bag, really in the beginning phase and won't be done for awhile. I did finish one thing, my little chickadee cuff and it sold right away. The gallery wasn't open but I let the customer in and it was my first sale of the season!

The gallery officially opens May first but I'm ready so if you see me sewing in the window stop by...

And Robert washed the outside of the windows for me!!!

SIX BRACELETS

Getting ready to put these 6 bracelets in the mail for Vivi. If you are in Santa fe you can see them in person at the La Fonda Hotel. There are showcase windows as you first go inside. In about a week anyway...

INTERNATIONAL WOMAN'S DAY

This morning when I was laying in bed, waiting to fully wake up, the radio was on. The news story was talking about May 8th being International Woman's Day. I had never heard of it, so many occasions out there, but to celebrate I thought I would throw my two cents in to the blog. Woman are great, right. Yesterday I had the pleasure of teaching a beadwork class at Gigs and it was a really fun day of hanging with the fairer sex. Everyone was enthusiastic, some funny, some serious and the day flew by with good stories and the bracelet projects getting well underway. Recently my good friend Angela moved away and although my wonderful husband is my best friend I have been missing the girlfriend thing. The class was a smorgasbord of woman gab and truly a welcome experience! Thank you to everyone who came and Happy International Woman's Day. http://heavy.com/social/2015/03/international-womens-day-google-doodle-march-8-2015/

s Day!

FEATHER BAGS

The preparation for my next Santa Fe show has been begun in ernest. Tomorrow I'm sending some bags down to Vivi and she will be displaying them in a window at the La Fonda Hotel starting March first. I'm going to be doing a lot of black velvet work this year. It's a different  price point, less expensive because it's less time consuming to make.  I'm excited about the pieces, the colors are so vibrant and the beadwork really pops when you use the black velvet as a background.  I think using the feathers in with the flowers is a natural fit and a fun design feature. Here are a couple of feather bags, one done and one on its way...

WORKING ON A CLASS

So right now I'm making some prototypes for a class. Using the Elements of Inspiration cuffs we will be making these gorgeous little bracelets. The class is going to be at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gigs-Beads-N-Things/1493871857569113
The class is on March 7th from 11 to 4. We will be learning bead embroidery and all the extras for putting the cuff together into a finished project. It's going to be fun! I'm looking forward to getting back into Gig's because right now she is closed for her annual buying trip at the bead show in Tucson. I know she is going to come back with lots and lots of things to tempt my bead addiction!