Anticipation!

April's Bead Journal Page was all about Anticipation! It was a wonderful example of how anticipating something can take over one's mind and crowd out all other thoughts. In this case it was the anticipation of something wonderful and very exciting--a three-week trip to Spain and Morocco.

The trip was beyond our expectations! We had a great guide and assistant guide and a very congenial, but small (only 17), group of travelers. For me, the highlight of the tour was the two days in Morocco. Those two days were satisfyingly stimulating and challenging sensory experiences. I loved it! The side trip to Morocco added depth to our understanding of the history, art and architecture we saw in Spain. I was glad that I had spent time reviving my 50-year-old high school Spanish before we left.

We spent a few days before and after the tour on our own in Barcelona and Madrid. Apparently people debate about which city is better. I preferred Barcelona. The early 20th century architecture is fabulous! Our timing was perfect. We completely missed the travel disruptions caused by the volcano in Iceland. There were quite a few empty seats on our flight home last week, and we wondered if some people had canceled travel plans.

Thinking creatively was difficult during the first part of April. I was busy with preparations and distracted by anticipation.


Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with a blend of red, black and white Dye-na-Flo.

This page has more than the usual number of bugle beads, along with 15/0s, 11/0s, 8/0s, and 6/0s. There are some hexes, triangles, fringe beads and Delicas.

I used the backstitch most of the time and the lazy stitch with the bugle fans.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used mauve Nymo D thread.

What I Was Thinking:

This was a non-thinking page. It was automatic handwork while my mind was distracted and elsewhere.

Issues That Came Up:

I may be learning something about mixing colors. The combination of red and black and white paint came close to the color I wanted for my foundation.

I will often do needlework while I am distracted by anticipation. This time, it seemed to free my mind so I could think about the trip. At other times, it occupies my mind so I don't think about something less pleasant.

I finished the page in mid-April. I considered whether or not to post the page before we left. I finally decided in favor of waiting so I would not notify the public that the house will be empty for three weeks. Ok, so maybe this blog isn't exactly public. But I would have been irritated if I'd come home and found my bead stash gone.