Inauguration Day

Today is a new day... (my neighbor Laura's flag)


Today is a new beginning... (my neighbors John and Dottie's flag)


Today is a day of...(the sign in my window)

Winter blues

I have the winter blues. If you come by and read my blog, please leave a comment and say hello!

Bobbin lace

When I was in Mexico I had the great fortune to sit next to a lovely woman, Yumi Mutoh, from Japan. Yumi hand makes bobbin lace, and below is a photo she sent me of a piece she recently made. Isn't it absolutely stunning? People always ask us beaders how we have the patience to bead, well, I think that what Yumi does takes far more patience and skill than anything I have ever done. She will be entering this piece in an exhibition this spring. I look forward to seeing more of her work.

Arizona trip

I recently was in Arizona to celebrate my sister's 50th birthday. We had a great weekend, full of fun and eating. This first photo is a close-up of a peyote band I made her. I didn't really know whether to make it a bracelet or something she could hang up (I've made her a cardinal crystal ornament in the past), so I kind of improvised.

Here is the full piece. It covers the top of her wrist and a tiny bit of the side and looked good just with the ribbon tied in a knot.

And here is my family, in front of the lovely old hotel we had lunch at, I believe called the Royal Palm. From the left - Irving and my mother, Buddy and Toby (the birthday girl!), Sharon and me!

A beautiful piece in the hotel lobby.

And the fountain in front of the hotel. Such a lovely setting.

beaded jewelry

This first piece is freeform over a washer. My favorite colors!



I saw a photo on a blog (sorry I can't reference it) of a similar piece and made this set to go with a dress I wore in Mexico.

This beautiful lampwork face is by Sylvie Landsdowne, as is the beaded pattern for the mermaid. She hangs on a tubular right angle weave strap embellished with crystals.

BJP Mandalas

I am very excited to share my September-December mandalas with you! I had a difficult time starting, but once I found my groove, I just took off. These are in descending order, from December to September.

December: I received an email from the online catalog, See Jane Run. The figure was a pink ribbon. But I saw energy, gold, and purple.


November: Peace Mandala. I want to grow peace, which is reflected in my garden of peace.

October: This mandala was inspired by a bush in my neighbor's yard. Just as I was about to take a picture of the bush, my neighbor came out of her gate and surprised me. She says it's not actually a "nice" bush, that it has lots of thorns in it. But she agreed that the colors were lovely.

September: I was getting nowhere with my bead embroidery. Finally, I decided to bead a blank slate. Imagine my surprise when a little color creeped in, and some circles, and...it looks like a winter sunset...you just never know where the beads will take you.

From Sun to Snow

One week we're in Cancun, the next back at home and a major snowstorm. At least one of our son's is home, plus we acquired a snowblower this year (finally).

I just came back from a week in Cancun, Mexico. I was hoping the bright colors and beautiful water would inspire me, but I found Cancun very depressing. In the past, when I've gone to Mexico, I've gone further south and have been exposed to a more traditional Mexico. Cancun is just hotels and shopping, it could be anywhere on a nice beach. But that's where my husband had a conference and that's where I went, too. I love the turquoise water seen in this photo, and the fine white sandy beach. I couldn't do any beading because it was so windy, the beads would have flown all over the beach. I was able to see some beading, though, in the shops, and I admired the patterns and colors used. I bought a few pieces, a necklace and a few bracelets, hoping to somewhat support the women who make them.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. Both boys came home, slept a lot, studied a lot, saw their friends. Here they are at various computers around the house - Sam on top studying for his law school tests, and Jason below, probably doing something on Matlab.

Unfortunately, on their way to pick up Sam's girlfriend, just a short drive away, they were rear-ended and the rear of the car is totaled. It was snowing out and slippery, and the car behind them was going too fast and couldn't stop. Luckily everyone was fine, and that's the main thing I care about.

As those of you who read my blog know, I've been struggling with this years BJP. No creativity, no ideas, no motivation. Nonetheless, I beaded these inchies in the hope that they would lead to something, a spark, an ah-ha moment. But no go. As one of my friends commented, they are nice, but have no soul. I agree, so I'm still searching...

VOTE !VOTE !VOTE !

more photos of "W"

I just wanted to add a few more photos of details from the "W." This shows the lake Donna's house is on, plus part of the long, one lane road to get to her house, as well as gardens. The "W" began in this corner, with a rivoli in the middle of the flower.

We had so much fun making the "W" that each of us wanted to bead more on it than we could. Now Wendy is making a letter for her granddaughter.

Bead Retreat photos

Note: The pictures and story of this entry are out of order - I'm learning to improve my photos and wanted to update this entry to show the better pictures.

Here are some Crystal Elements designed by Leslee Frumin that the group made.

Here are the projects I made at the retreat. The beaded beads is now a bracelet and a pair of earrings.

My weekly bead group had our annual retreat "up north" in Michigan last weekend. This is our 5th year, and a highlight of fall for every one of us. The W below is the house gift we gave our hostess, Donna. Her last name starts with a W. Six of us took turns designing and beading the W over the summer. We picked out "Donna" colors and we included symbolism related to her and the retreat. For instance, the lake her house is on is included, the long road to drive there, and her love of gardening.
We framed the W in a shadow box.




Here is some close up detail.

I woke up to this beautiful sunrise - or storm aftermath - one morning. It was gorgeous.

Here is Donna, who so generously invites us to her northern home each fall.

And here is Kathie, taking a picture of the beading table. She always looks elegant no matter what she is doing.

And finally, this is Wendy below. She looks like she's having a grand old time.

Walking in the Rain

I just got back from a walk in the rain. I was hoping to beat it, but no go. So, with my bright pink visor, purple shirt, I ventured out into a whirlwind of rain and leaves. Here's what I noticed - the gold leaves against my purple shirt was a beautiful and regal combination. I tend not to use golds, because there is too much brown in them, but I am going to try them more now, with purple of course. You just never know where you will get inspiration from!

BJP blogs

People have been putting up their Sept. and Oct. pieces on the blogs and they are divine! The creativity that exists in this world in unbelievable. I want to take it all and solve the world's problems - with art! with beauty! with the generosity of spirit that people show each other!

Today is one of those days that couldn't be more perfect if you ordered it. Leaves changing colors, temperature in the low 70s, football game day (we lost, again).

After struggling (thinking too hard) on my bjp, I think I may have finally found a format that will work. I discovered some hand felted pieces that I bought several years ago. I've been working on one intermittently all this time, but really put effort into it to become my Sept. piece. The only problem is I only have 3 pieces of felt left...but I'm going to go ahead anyway. It's already a crazy year, so why not!