Crackpot Beader

UFOs or USPs? Or Who Will See My Lining?

2012-01-25T11:35:00.007-05:00

My sewing group is having a UFO challenge. We're challenged to finish as many UFOs (unfinished objects) as we can during January, February and the first part of March. There may be prizes!

I don't have a huge number of UFOs--or at least I don't have a huge number of UFOs that I want to work on this winter. I may be competitive when prizes are involved, but there's a limit! My UFOs are unfinished for good reasons. Really good reasons.

But I do have a number--an adequate number--a significant number--a substantial number--an embarrassing number--of USPs. Unstarted projects.

These USPs are projects for which I have the idea, the fabric, the pattern, or at least two of those three. Some of my USPs may be almost vintage USPs. Last winter I completed a nearly vintage project, a lap quilt called Fabric in its Prime.

My first USP was a pair of navy corduroy slacks. Nothing fancy--pockets, front zipper, belt loops. I purchased the fabric last fall so I could replace some slacks that were getting rather worn.

My second USP is a white beaded doll. I've made two white dolls before. You can see the first one in this post. She was sold. The second one was given away. This is what she looks like. But I wanted a white doll for myself so I decided to make one. She's about half beaded.

My third USP is a purple corduroy jeans-style jacket. I've used this pattern McCalls 5191 twice before. Each time I make a few more alterations, but it's a fairly loose fitting jacket. I leave off the pockets which are right below the yoke.

The pattern does not call for a lining, but I'm not crazy about raw edges on the inside of a jacket. My first jacket was made of cotton with a little spandex. I made flat felled seams instead of the topstitched seams called for in the pattern. I bound the edges of the facings with a quilting cotton. My second jacket was made of a mid-wale corduroy. It was too thick to make flat felled seams without big lumps. So I lined it.

This third jacket is made from a fine wale corduroy that is somewhat heavy. So I decided to line it, too. It has a rather bright lining. Make that a fantastically loud lining. Purple, red, fuchsia, blue, green, yellow, orange, even metallic gold. Perfect for a purple jacket. But who will see this lining? No one, unless the laundry elves come in at night. Who will see it? You will, because it's right here:

Starting on January BJP

2012-01-11T20:21:00.007-05:00

I've been working on my January 2012 Bead Journal Project. After a bit of embroidery, I felt the need to edit, to revise, to modify. So I did.

This is before:

This is after:

Yep. I ripped some beading out. See those tiny dark spots in the photo above? They are the holes in the Lacy's Stiff Stuff where the needle and thread went through. The thread is gone, but the beads the thread was holding on are in a very small plastic bag. I'll put them back on starting tomorrow, and I'll use the before picture to put them in approximately the same places.

But what happened in the meantime? What happened after I ripped the beads out? You'll have to come back in a few days to see the final result.

Experiment In Not So Dark--BJP December 2011

2012-01-07T11:00:00.005-05:00

In December 2008 and December 2010, my Bead Journal pages were made with shiny, dark iris beads. You can see December 2008's The Longest Night of the Year Sparkles here and December 2010's The Garden at Midnight here.

Since I enjoyed working with these dark, sparkly beads so much and since they were blue, I had earlier decided to use the same beads in my December 2011 page. But when I began to dig through the bag of dark beads, the matte finished beads spoke to me. They wanted to be used. So I decided to experiment with a combination of matte and shiny beads. This page is the result of that experiment.

Technical Details:
The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with a dilute mixture of Azure Blue and Black Dye-na-Flow.

I used 6/0s, 8/0s, 11/0s, 15/0s, Delicas, Toho Treasures, hexes, 3 mm bugles, 9 mm twisted bugles, 3 mm cubes and 4 mm cubes.

I used the stop stitch, the lazy stitch, the backstitch, and couching.

The piece is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used Nymo size B navy thread.

What I Was Thinking:

When I started on the page with the matte beads, I was not thrilled. They looked dull. Then when I added some shiny beads, the real challenge began. How would I give the piece unity? I'm not sure I succeeded, but this experiment was an experience in determination dominating artistic judgement. I was going to finish this, if not on time, at least close to on time. I finished it January 2.

Issues That Came Up:

The matte beads looked lovely and sophisticated spread out on the tray. But when I stitched them to the foundation, I wasn't so sure. I had painted the foundation with the intention of using the dark shiny beads. The background color created a visual dissonance with the colors of the matte beads. That was distracting. Folding the edge of the background back helped, but I couldn't stitch that way. Now I know why I paint the background to match the colors of my beads.

The colors of the beads and the background changed depending on the lighting. The piece-in-progress looked much better in natural daylight than it did with the overhead lights or with my not-Ott full spectrum lamp. I was surprised at how much difference the lighting made.

I did not go back to look at my earlier dark, shiny pieces until I'd finished. Compared to the other two, this page seems flat. I know which of the three pieces I like best. Which one do you like?

Not So Dark Experiment #2:

Before I put the beads away, I decided to make a small piece using only the matte iris beads. It's pictured below. It's 1 7/8 inches square and stitched on a dull blue quilting cotton backed by lightweight sew-in interfacing. I like this look very much.

Image In The Carnival Mirror! November BJP

2011-12-19T20:12:00.003-05:00

What would my October 2011 BJP look like if the colors were reversed? It would seem as if I were looking in a carnival mirror. I thought the October page was "Almost Over the Edge" with more than one color and all that fringe. But that was before I had finished this month's page.

I started with the same Blueberry Pie Mix of drop beads, added some transparent aqua drop beads and some transparent matte long magatamas to make a much more irregular fringe. All the sparkly beads on this page added even more texture. Putting the two pages together, this one seemed to be a somewhat distorted version of October's page--like you'd see in a carnival mirror.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with azure blue Dye-na-Flow.

In addition to the drop beads and the long magatamas, there are 15/0s, 11/0s, 10/0s, 8/0s, cubes, bugles, and twisted 10/0s.

I used the backstitch and a fringe stitch.

The piece is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used blue Nymo thread.

What I Was Thinking:

This page started to be an examination of what October's page would look like in another color--with the dominant and secondary colors reversed. But the addition of the long magatamas to the fringe added another element of texture. It was interesting to see this page come together. Next to it the October page looks tight and controlled.

Issues That Came Up:

I started with the fringe on both these pages. Before I had added any other beads, the fringe looked floppy. I liked that look. The floppiness disappeared on the October page. The fringe on this page seems floppier. I put the long magatamas on longer stems than the drop beads so they'd move more. And that's what you'd see in the carnival mirror--things moving where you didn't expect.

Almost Over The Edge! October BJP

2011-12-19T19:44:00.003-05:00

My October BJP started with a tube of Blueberry Pie Mix Drop or Fringe Beads. The ones in the link aren't drop beads, but the color mix is the same. I wanted to do a page based on the colors in the mix because I thought the combination was so pretty. If you look back at some of my other pages here and here, you can see that I have approached this combination before.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with Azure Blue Dye-na-Flow.

Other than the Blueberry Pie mix, most of the beads are cobalt blue--what I frequently describe as royal blue edging toward navy. The lighter capri blue is used as an accent. There are 15/0s, 11/0s, 10/0s, 8/0s, Delicas, hexes, triangles, cubes, and some bugles.

I used the backstitch and a fringe stitch. All the drop beads are on fringe.

The piece is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used royal blue C-lon thread for most of the beading. There is also some medium blue Nymo.

What I Was Thinking:

While I was working on this page I was concentrating on the color combination. If you look at some of my other pieces, you will see that I am a monochromatatist. I invented that word. It means I like to work with only one color. To me, this page looks like more than one color. And the fringe with the drop beads! It was getting wild! It was almost over the edge!

Issues That Came Up:

I have been trying to use up this little bobbin of royal blue C-lon thread all year. I do prefer Nymo, but after all these months I don't mind C-lon so much. But there's only about a yard of the royal blue C-lon left now. Guess I won't be doing any royal blue pages for a while...

I do have difficulty getting a good photo of the cobalt blue.

Let It All Flow Over You! September BJP

2011-12-19T14:39:00.003-05:00

Sometimes things happen. And you have to let them happen. To embrace the happening. And to let it all flow over you.

Easier said than done. For me, anyway.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with Azure Blue Dye-na-Flow.

There are three large (1 cm) square beads, some 4 mm cubes, some 8/0s, but the vast majority of the beads are smaller--Delicas, 11/0s, 15/0s, and some 1.5 mm cubes.

This piece is done entirely in the backstitch.

It is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used blue Nymo thread.

What I Was Thinking:

I was thinking about what life would be like if a person just accepted what happens. That is not my general nature. I'm an assertive, pro-active, take action, be in charge of myself kind of person. At least on the inside. I have a strong internal locus of control. But at times, we just have to let things happen because we can't control them. Out of my comfort zone... But it's good for me to think about that every now and then.

Issues That Came Up:

This page went very quickly. I finished it in mid-September. I started with the three large squares and then worked around them. Well, we all have to do that sometimes, don't we? There are so many tiny beads on this page that the trick for me was to try to balance the larger beads, especially when those silver-lined 4 mm cubes continued to call attention to themselves. The difference between the large beads and the tiny beads is much more obvious in person than it is in the photo.

I painted the foundation at night and wanted to work on it the next morning. To encourage it to dry quickly, I put the Lacy's Stiff Stuff up on a disposable plastic cup. And look what happened on the back! The area outside the cup dried first because there was more air circulation, while the area directly above the cup dried more slowly. Through capillary action, the dilute paint "wicked" to the drier areas of the Stuff, leaving this moon-like scene on the back of the page. Pretty cool, huh? This is the same way sun-printing works with paint on fabric. Equally cool!

Brown Hope Stone

2011-12-19T14:21:00.003-05:00

This brown Hope Stone was a very unusual color. I don't often think of brown when I think of hope. I mean, who's favorite color is brown? But then again, when everything seems brown a person may need hope the most.

Hope Stones are given to cancer survivors at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. When the survivor is ready, he or she can pass the stone on to someone else living with cancer who needs hope.

It was a challenge to find beads that would enhance the brown color and make the stone as beautiful as the thoughts that go with it. I don't even know what color to call the beads I used to embellish the stone. Bronze? Kinda...

In the end, I was quite pleased with the way this Hope Stone turned out. You can see the other Hope Stones I've embellished here.

I'm not sure where this Hope Stone will end up. If you have cancer and need hope, let me know.

Blue Explosion! August BJP

2011-12-19T13:40:00.002-05:00

My challenge for the August BJP was to use a tube of mixed blue beads. I'm not sure what the name of the mix is, but it is a multi-mix, with various sizes and shapes of beads in a range of blues, with some tiny white pearls, some small silver bugles, some gold-lined clear hexes, and three green Delicas also in the mix. The blue beads ranged from size 6/0s and 4 mm cubes to size 15/0s. Most of the blues were royal blue edging toward navy, although they look lighter in the photo. The beads were transparent, shiny, opaque, matte, silver-lined, AB, and various combinations of those. I supplemented the mix with other blue beads in the same tones and finishes.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff stuff painted with Dye-na-Flow. It's a secret mixture of Azure Blue, Violet, and Black. A mixture so secret that not even I could reproduce it.

Most of the beads on the page came from the blue multi-mix. The tube was only half full so I supplemented with other blue beads. There are 15/0s, 11/0s, 8/0s, 6/0s, triangles, hexes, bugles, cubes and Delicas. There are very few beads from the mix left--fewer than 20 leftover beads.

I used the backstitch and the stop stitch.

The piece is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used royal blue C-lon thread, along with some tan Nymo for the pearls and gold-lined clear beads.

What I Was Thinking:

This was a fun piece to do. It was an interesting challenge to have someone else (the Bead Multi-Mixer) choose the beads for me. It just happened, with no planning. That's my favorite way to bead--to let the beads decide where they want to go. When it was finished, it just looked like an explosion.

Issues That Came Up:

I realized that I should have taken a photo of the bead mix before I started sewing. I've looked at the websites of a couple of bead vendors, and I can't find the exact mix I used. Who know where or when I got it?

I had a difficult time getting the colors in the photo match the colors in the piece. The colors are similar to those in my March 2011 page, and I couldn't get a good photo then either.

And then there's the lack of blogging... I finished this on September 1, and here it is December. The less said about that the better.

My Other Favorite Blue. Really. July BJP

2011-09-02T19:10:00.011-04:00

Here it is. My July BJP done in my other favorite blue. Really.

So you think that sounds familiar? My June BJP was done in my favorite blue. Look to the second post below this to find out about it. This July BJP is my other favorite blue.

July is a little darker, more purple, and has more AB beads. I tried to get a photo of the two together, but I just couldn't get the colors to show up. Several kinds of beads are used in both pages. Most of the kinds of beads, however, appear on only one of the pages.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with a mixture of blue and purple Dye-na-Flo.

I used 15/0s, 11/0s, 8/0s, 6/0s, hexes, Delicas, charlottes, bugles, and twisted hexes. There are also some large beads that you can also see in the blog header. I think I must have used a flash to take the photo of in the blog header. That's why those large beads look so different.

I used the backstitch, the lazy stitch and a twisted rope stitch.

This piece is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

The thread is C-lon AA royal blue.

What I Was Thinking:

I did not look at the June piece as I worked on the July piece. When I put them next to each other a few minutes ago, I was surprised and pleased to see how different they are than each other. That's what I felt as I was beading. Again this time, it was fun to just enjoy the blue.

And I was thinking that I would never catch up...

Issues That Came Up:

Recently I've been using a John James size 11 sharp needle, and that's what I used for the July piece. This needle is much stiffer than the size 10 short beading needles that I usually use. And the hole is smaller. Way smaller. But it worked out well, and it's hardly bent at all. It wouldn't go through all the charlottes, so for those I switched back to the size 10 short beading needle. And then I wondered why the 10 would be smaller than the 11. Maybe it's like clothing sizes. It depends on the brand.

And now for the really good news. August is finished. And only one day late. Woo-hoo! I'm embellishing another Hope Stone right now, so I won't start September till next week.

Endless Hope

2011-08-28T19:31:00.003-04:00

This Hope Stone was made in response to a special request from my niece. It's for someone I haven't met. But I can still send hope and good wishes. There is no end to the hope a person can send.

Hope Stones are given to survivors at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Whenever he or she is ready, the survivor is invited to pass the stone on to another person with cancer--to share the hope for the future. By embellishing the Hope Stone with beads, I add my own special wishes. If you look closely, you can see the word HOPE on the front of the stone.

You can see the other Hope Stones I've embellished here

My Favorite Blue. Really. June BJP

2011-08-05T20:35:00.002-04:00

I'm not exactly falling behinder, I'm just getting busier. But here's the June BJP. It's my favorite blue. Really. At least it was in June. It's a sort of periwinkle blue. Blue with a purplish tinge. It's hard to get that color to show up in the photo.

Even though it's now August, I did finish it in mid-July. I keep thinking I'm going to get caught up, and July is half done. Hmmm... Still three-quarters of August to go so there's hope.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with Azure Blue and Purple Dye-na-Flow.

I used 8/0s, 11/0s, 15/0s, charlottes, triangles, hexes, Delicas, cubes and some drop beads.

I used the backstitch and the stop stitch. I did have fun with the fringes. If you look at the lower right hand side, you see a row of fringe. On the right hand side it is two beads tall. In the middle it is eight beads tall. On the left hand side it is five beads tall. She Who Shall Not Be Named thought this was interesting. I also did some brick stitch picots to make little sticking up triangles.

The piece is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used AA C-lon thread in royal blue and Nymo B in blue.

What I Was Thinking:

For this piece, I just enjoyed the blue. No deep thoughts--just me and the blue beads.

Issues That Came Up:

Honestly, I'm trying to use up the C-lon. It will show up again in the July page. I do prefer Nymo thread.

Size 12 Colonial Short Beading Needles. After I bought out the entire supply on clearance from Hobby Lobby, I can't find them any more. They're bendy rather than durable, especially when going through the Stiff Stuff. But I like them. They have large holes. And before long I'm going to use up all I have. EEEK!

Jewelry to Wear to a Wedding

2011-07-22T20:02:00.004-04:00

I needed a necklace to wear to a family wedding last weekend so I made this bead embroidered pendant to go with the dress I made.

The pendant is 2 inches long and an inch and 5/8 wide. The embroidery was done on a piece of quilting cotton backed by a lightweight fusible interfacing. The pendant was mounted on piece cut from the plastic top of a coffee can, with several layers of thin cotton quilt batting for padding. It is backed with blue UltraSuede. A beaded picot stitch joined the front to the back.

I didn’t have a silver chain or neck ring, so I went to a local department store and bought an inexpensive necklace at the “Take an extra 60% off sale.” After removing the store-bought pendant, I had to find a way to attach my pendant to the neck ring. Because of the size of the clasp, I had to make a fairly large bail. I used the two needle ladder stitch, and attached the bail to the UltraSuede backing about half an inch down from the top.

The most interesting beads in this piece are the little cubes. They are about about 4 mm, but they are diagonally drilled. That makes them stand up away from the background.

I’d like to make some beaded earrings to match, but I don’t have pierced ears. If you know of a source of clip earring blanks, I’d like to know about it.

Artistic Inspiration From Far Away--May BJP

2011-07-13T19:40:00.006-04:00

This piece has been done for quite a while, but I've been a blogging slacker. Bad Marty! Or maybe that should be busy Marty. I've done some sewing, which involved lots and lots of fitting and alterations. Photos will come later, after the grand debuts of the outfits.

I realize that I keep going on and on about our trip to Turkey in April. To repeat, it was super-fabulous! And this BJP was inspired by some of the things we saw in Turkey. I showed some of my photos here and here and here. Think turquoise. Turkey. Turquoise. The sea, the sky, the tiles. My inspiration for May.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with Azure Blue Dye-na-Flow.

The piece started with the two vintage 30 millimeter bugle beads. They were on a short piece beaded trim given to me by a friend. Thanks, K! Other beads used are 8/0s, 11/0s, 15/0s, charlottes, triangles, smaller bugles, hexes, twisted hexes, and some drop beads.

I used the backstitch and the stop stitch.

The piece is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used AA C-lon thread in turquoise.

What I Was Thinking:

While I stitched this piece, I remembered the beautiful Iznik tiles from the 16th to the 18th century we saw in Turkey. If want to splurge, you can buy reproductions here. Or you can just look.

Issues That Came Up:

It was harder than I expected to work around the large bugles. The piece didn't turn out at all as I originally thought.

I kept remembering the June 2009 piece here, and wanting to make sure the two didn't turn out the same. I did not get the older piece out, but when I see the two photos, they look quite similar. The beads must know what they want.

I used C-lon thread in this piece, as well as in my April piece and in the soon-to-be-finished June piece. I prefer Nymo. For me, Nymo seems to stay twisted better than C-lon.

So now to finish June and then to think about July.

Emerald Hope Stone

2011-07-13T19:28:00.003-04:00

If you look carefully, you might be able to see the word HOPE etched on this stone. Hope Stones are given to cancer survivors at our local American Cancer Society Relay for Life.

The stones are intended to give a survivor hope when he or she needs it. Survivors are encouraged to pass along a Hope Stone when there is someone with cancer who needs this physical symbol of hope.

This stone is emerald green glass. I mounted it on Lacy's Stiff Stuff, backed it with UltraSuede, and added the edging, fringe and ribbon for hanging. I donated it to our Relay for Life to be used as a door prize at the dinner for survivors. I wanted to give someone some extra hope.

You can see some of my other Hope Stones here.

April BJP--Robin's Egg Blue for Spring

2011-07-02T19:36:00.007-04:00

If keeping up with this blog is an optional--no obligation--activity, why do I feel guilty about being a blog posting slacker? And why does the blog nag at me when I ignore it? Enough of the philosophical questions and on to the April BJP.

The April BJP was completed in May. I first blogged about it here in early April on the day we left for our super-fabulous trip to Turkey. At that time, I counted 32 different kinds of Robin's Egg Blue beads in the lower part of the piece. As far as I can tell without using a jeweler's loupe or making myself crazier than usual, I seem to have succeeded in making each column a different kind of bead. There are a few additional kinds of beads in the top part. I'm not going to count them mostly because I don't want to know exactly how many different kinds of beads I have in this color. Too embarrassing.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with Dye-na-Flow, probably a combination of Azure Blue and Emerald Green.

Although we weren't going to discuss this further, I think there are close to forty different kinds of beads in this piece. An embarrassment of beads. The largest ones are five lentils. The smallest are 15/0s.

I used the backstitch and the stop stitch and a bit of couching in this piece.

The piece is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used size AA C-lon thread in turquoise.

What I Was Thinking:

This Robin's Egg Blue color is a nice color for spring. Robin's Egg Blue is definitely a 50s name for a color. My mother used to describe this shade of blue as Robin's Egg Blue. When our older grandson was about five, we found a robin's egg (already hatched) on the sidewalk in front of our house. It was this color. Finding an egg was very exciting so we brought it inside and put it on a table in the living room. He didn't take the egg home with him, so about a week later we disposed of it.

But seriously, I was thinking about the trip to Turkey--both before it and after it--as I stitched this piece. It was the Best Trip Ever!

Issues That Came Up:

I wrote in the earlier post about my Persistent Goal-Directed Behavior. I do suffer from it. I'll try to learn to embrace it.

And then there was the embarrassment of beads. Get a grip, woman!

The May BJP has been finished for several weeks and the June BJP is about 3/4 complete. Both are blue. Watch for another post in a day or two.

I Haven't Been Blogging Because...

2011-06-08T20:28:00.003-04:00

I've been jumping. Look carefully. My feet are totally off the ground.

And look again. See the basketball on the ground. And the backboard almost hidden behind the man. I put the basketball through the hoop. By throwing it. Woo-Hoo!

This was taken at the Madison Wisconsin Komen Race for the Cure. Our team had five runners and two walkers. OK, so I was one of the walkers. I'll admit it.

The two grandsons raced in the 18 and under age group. Nine-year-old grandson number one was the fastest in the family with a time of 26 minutes 25 seconds. This was his first 5K run. He hadn't trained at all, but he plays a lot of soccer. Seven-year-old grandson number two had a time of 30 minutes 27 seconds, his fastest time ever! Out of the two 5Ks he has run. Woo-Hoo for the guys!

And special thanks to She Who Shall Not Be Named for organized the festivities. And for providing the totally stylin' pink socks for the female team members.

Artistic Inspiration from Far Away

2011-05-05T11:13:00.005-04:00

We recently returned from two-and-a-half weeks in Turkey. It was a fabulous trip! We spent a few days in Istanbul before joining a Rick Steves Europe Through The Back Door Tour. After the tour we went back to Istanbul for another two days. Our great group of tourmates made everything fun. Our wonderful guide taught us a great deal--and he was fun, too!

It was Istanbul's Sixth Annual Tulip Festival. The tulips were gorgeous. We had fun walking in Gulhane Park, watching parents take photos of their kids with the tulips. It seemed very familiar... When someone sat down in the tulip beds for a photo, a policeman blew a whistle to tell them to move along.

Everyone thinks of the Netherlands when they think of tulips, but tulips actually originated in Turkey. Tulips came to Holland (Netherlands) in the 1500s, and by the 1630s Tulipmania erupted. It was a period of wild financial speculation when a single bulb could cost as much as a house.

This is a window in a tailor's shop in Istanbul. I couldn't resist the combination of wooden shoes and a sewing machine.

The tulip motif is everywhere in Turkey. These are some beautiful pillows in the Spice Bazaar.

A lovely rug with the tulip motif in the Arasta Bazaar in Istanbul. I would have liked to get a closer look to see the construction techniques. From the street, it looked pieced, but it may have been woven as a tapestry. The salesmen were quite enthusiastic, and Dr. Mathematics, my associate traveler, and I decided just to look from a distance.

A tulip motif from the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. It was in a display case. I can't remember why exactly it was there--so I've got to go back!

Before we left and since we returned home, we've had a number of questions about safety in Turkey. We NEVER felt unsafe in Turkey. We did keep our passports, credit cards and big money in a money belt, and we looked both ways before we crossed a street. Turkey is legally a secular democracy, although not quite like the USA. We found the people helpful and friendly, the food delicious, and the scenery stunning. The history of Turkey is long, complex, and fascinating. If you have a chance, go to Turkey!

More Artistic Inspiration from Far Away

2011-05-05T11:00:00.004-04:00

Fresco at Chora Church, Istanbul. Notice any quilt block patterns?

Tiles in the Harem at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

Handwoven Turkish carpets at the Hereke Carpet Weaving Center, Capadocia, Turkey

Even More Artistic Inspiration from Far Away

2011-05-05T10:30:00.010-04:00

Fantastical rock formation in Capadocia, Turkey

Sailing on the Mediterranean

View of the Aegean Sea from Starbucks, Kusadasi, Turkey

Sunset over the Aegean Sea in Kusadasi, Turkey

Blue Again for April

2011-04-07T11:34:00.003-04:00

In the description of my March BJP, I admitted to having an embarrassingly large number of cobalt blue beads in my stash--so many that I couldn't find the space to use them all in my March project.

And then came April. No joke, I think I have a larger variety in this Robin's Egg Blue I am using. While the March cobalt blue piece had almost no variation in value, these Robin's Egg Blue do vary in value. Even the beads that show as silver or pearl have a Robin's Egg Blue cast.

When I began to see the pattern developing in this piece, Persistent Goal-Directed Behavior kicked in. At that point each column was constructed of different beads. I became determined to see if I could complete the entire lower part with each column different.

So far, so good. With the exception of the beads used as stop beads and spacers with bugle beads, each type of bead appears only once. That would be 32 different kinds of beads. I have three more spaces to fill, and I may be able to achieve my goal.

And what will the top part look like? I don't know, but it will be Robin's Egg Blue.

Note: No shopping was needed to make this piece. Well, no shopping in March or April.

It's Not Boring! March BJP

2011-04-04T14:19:00.004-04:00

It's not boring! It may be the most monochromatic piece I've ever done, but it's not boring!

In fact, I LOVED working in this narrow range of color. Well, calling it a "range" might be an overstatement. Nearly all the beads are the same shade of cobalt blue. A few edge toward navy, but they're all cobalt. Even the large beads with the AB finish are cobalt.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with a mixture of azure blue and black Dye-na-Flow.

There are at least 28 different types of cobalt blue beads in this piece. I counted them. The largest beads with the AB finish are octahedrons. There are also some fire-polished round beads with an AB finish. The remaining large beads are hearts and leaves. The rest of the beads in this piece are the usual combination of cubes, triangles, hexes, drop beads, bugles, tubes, 6/0s, 8/0s, 11/0s, 10/0s, 15/0s, and charlottes.

The three stitches used in this piece are the backstitch, the stop stitch, and the lazy stitch.

It is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used navy Nymo thread in size B.

What I Was Thinking:

While I stitched this page, I thought about how interesting it was to work in only one color. Eliminating differences in color allowed me to concentrate on shape, line, finish, and texture. The forest became invisible so I could focus on individual trees. The individual trees have many interesting characteristics that would not be seen if one only looks at the forest. To get the best picture, one should look at both the forest and the individual trees.

Issues That Came Up:

Twenty-eight different kinds of cobalt beads? Whoa... And what about the twelve other kinds of cobalt beads in my stash that I couldn't find a place to use here? Perhaps it is not necessary for me to go shopping for any more cobalt beads.

Octahedron. I didn't know the name for this shape, so I had to go to my associate homeowner, Doctor Mathematics, for more information. An octahedron is a polyhedron with eight sides, and Wiki can tell you all about it here. Right. I knew you would want to know that.

It was very difficult to get a photo that showed the color of the blue. This cobalt is a deep royal blue. I tinkered with the photo, but I still didn't get the color right.

So far, all three of my 2011 BJP pages have been blue. I've started April, and it's blue, too.

The Blizzard of 2011 and What She Did

2011-03-20T14:19:00.010-04:00

Remember the Midwestern Blizzard of February 1 and 2, 2011? What would you have done in that blizzard?

What would you have done if you opened your front door on February 2 to find this?

Or if you pushed the snow off your back steps and looked across your courtyard toward your garage and found this?

Or if you trudged around the block and into your garage and opened the door to look across your courtyard from the other direction and you saw this?

If there were snowdrifts taller than you, what would you do? If you were She Who Shall Not Be Named, you'd get your snow shovel and twenty (20) minutes later you'd see this:

And this:

Her name must be Superwoman!

And if you were the mother of Superwoman, what would you do? You'd print the photos on fabric and make them into a wall hanging for Superwoman's birthday present.

Happy Birthday, Superwoman!

It's All Connected--February BJP

2011-03-12T14:36:00.003-05:00

Another blue page. This time the theme is It's All Connected. I'll let you interpret that anyway you want, but I think it's all connected.

In January I considered the possibility of using blue beads for all 12 journal pages. That's going to be an interesting challenge, but so far I'm two for two. This blue is capri blue, more or less, depending on which bead manufacturer is naming the beads. I have to admit that I prefer the blues with a purplish cast--such as copen or periwinkle, but this was a nice color to work with, too.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with Azure Dye-na-Flow. Actually I painted this background for the January page, but it was not the right color to start the year off.

The beads are primarily 11/0s and 15/0s, with some 8/0s, bugles, cubes and triangles. My favorite beads are the little hearts that connect the two upper circular gears. The silvery-colored beads that go between the gears are Toho Treasures in dyed indigo AB. Who'd guess that was the color?

The backstitch and the lazy stitch were used.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used Nymo B thread is a medium blue.

What I Was Thinking:

I was thinking about connections. And about disconnections. I don't mean un-connections, I mean disconnections. And I was thinking about how blue sometimes gets a bad rap. I mean, I love blue. It's my favorite color(s). It's not sad or the blues. It's beautiful!

Issues That Came Up:

Things got sorta busy, so even though I finished the piece in February, here I am posting it in mid-March. It was my turn to host my book group, a situation that results in 10 or so days of hysterical housecleaning. Generally, I lean more toward casual housecleaning than toward perfect housekeeping. After all, my associate homeowner lives here, too. Even though members of the book group are lovely, kind-hearted women who are more community activist than socialite, I feel internal pressure to get the place up to snuff. So now the place is clean for another year. Or until the Queen comes for tea. (For anyone interested, this month's book was The Living Great Lakes by Jerry Dennis. Everyone in the group would recommended it, especially to those who live near the Great Lakes.)

And now I'm in the middle of my March BJP. Guess what color it is!

Kimono Ladies

2011-03-11T13:25:00.010-05:00

Last week our Lakeshore Fiber Arts Guild had a program on "How to Wear Kimono." Mayumi Balfour was our instructor. I volunteered to be one of the models. I can't believe members weren't pushing and shoving to be dressed in kimomo. The front of the kimono (with me in it) is above, and the back of the kimono is below.

This is a close-up of the obi.

I was surprised to learn how many layers went around a woman's middle. The idea is to have a straight up and down figure, with the back of the neck being the most sensual part of the body. I'm sure you can tell that from the back view.

Here is Wendy wearing kimono:

And here are some other members of our group wearing yukata, with Mayumi on the right.

I Found My Underwear!

2011-02-22T11:35:00.003-05:00

Woo-Hoo! I found my underwear. Woo-Hoo! Fifteen months later. Twenty-five miles from home.

A couple of friends told me they'd seen my underwear. And they told me where they'd seen it. So I decided to find it myself.

And here it is.

It's hard to see in this photo (more about that adventure later), but this is the beaded bra I made and donated for an auction that raised money for mammograms for uninsured or under-insured women. The bra cups are covered with flower, leaf and butterfly beads. The sides and back are covered with pink fabric. I named the bra "Garden of Hope."

It's hanging in the fitting room of Dockside Clothing in Grand Haven, Michigan. I believe the store owner must have purchased it at the auction.

Taking the picture was itself an adventure. I walked into the store and told the clerk that I understood there was a beaded bra in the fitting room and that I was the person who made the bra. She did a double take. I guess I don't look like the highly embellished undergarment type.

At lunch a friend had shown me how to take a picture with my relatively new phone. (See what happened to the old one here.) So I took the photo with my phone. Then the issue was what to do with it. Apparently my $20 not-very-smart phone and my $5 a month plan do not permit me to send email or to download info from the phone. So I texted it to my daughter-in-law's smart phone and she emailed it back to me. I think I should be able to take better photos with the phone, but the instruction book is not too clear. I'll have to experiment.

But when I get back to Grand Haven next month, I'll take a real camera and get a better picture.

Fabric In Its Prime

2011-02-12T12:33:00.005-05:00

I just finished the lap quilt to keep my legs and feet warm while I do hand stitching, read, or watch TV. It's 60 inches long by 40 1/2 inches wide. My plan, as it developed, was to finish the layering and quilting and machine stitch the binding on by last Sunday afternoon so I could hand stitch the binding on to the back during the Super Bowl. I did that, but it took till this morning to get all the hand stitching completed, due to numerous distractions along the way.

Because this is an item that will be washed frequently, I used polyester batting. For the quilting, smoke polyester mono-filament thread was used on the top and brown Gutermann polyester thread was used in the bobbin. I thought the quilt was busy enough with the variety of fabrics and blocks so I machine quilted in the ditch. I used a 75/11 quilting needle and a walking foot.

I wanted to limit my starts and stops in each block and the retracing of any stitching so I consulted the local topologist for the best way to plan the quilting. He referred me to Eulerian Paths and the Bridges of Konigsberg problem.

Aha! Or it would have been Aha!, except that I was distracted by two things. First, I realized we had had this discussion before. More than once. In fact, if I recall correctly, the Bridges of Konigsberg problem was used as a pick-up line some 40 years ago. (It worked.) Second, there was a loud Whooshing noise. The Whoosh was the sound of all that information going right over my head.

Now I know you're not hearing that Whooshing sound because you read and fully comprehended those Wikipedia references. But this is what I took away from the detailed explanation: Sometimes you can quilt all around all the pieces without stopping. Sometimes you can't. I can usually figure it out by eyeballing it. That's because it's Ayrt, not mathematics.

Because this little quilt will not be treated gently, I decided to use a French (double fold) bias binding. Being a book-larnin' kind of a person, I did a little research about how wide to cut my bias strips. What I found was a range of recommended widths. After auditioning the various widths, I went with the Sally Collins recommendation of 1 7/8 inches wide. This worked very well. (For your information, Fons and Porter recommend 2", 2 1/4", or 2 1/2" and Nancy Johnson-Srebro recommends 2".)

I named this quilt "Fabric in its Prime." Shortly after my mother died in 2002, my dad gave me some money for my birthday. I decided to spend it on something both my mother and I both enjoyed--fabric. Most of this fabric in the blocks came from a bundle of quarter yards I bought at that time. I think my dad was pleased to see that I spent it that way. The fabric brings me happy memories of both my parents.

This is the label. You can see the backing fabric in the photo. The dark brown sashing and border fabric is used as a frame for the label. I did have to purchase the backing and border/sashing fabric from our favorite, locally-owned fabric store.

If you want to see the individual blocks, scroll down to earlier posts.

Starting The New Year Right!

2011-01-31T14:21:00.003-05:00

My January 2011 Bead Journal Project is Starting The New Year Right. For me, starting the new year right means using my favorite color for beading. I really like all shades of blue, but this periwinkle blue is my all time favorite. It makes me happy, happy, happy!

When I was very little, my sister and I would help my mother bake Christmas cookies. My sister, 14 months older, decided that red was her favorite color and so the cookies with the red sugar were hers. I can remember my mother telling me that green was my color and the cookies with the green sugar were mine. For a long time green was my favorite color. I still like green, but I love blue.

I've used blue in other Bead Journal pages. I used blue to show Abundance here and Tranquility here and to remember Morocco here.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with watered down blue Dye-na-Flow.

This page contains the usual combination of 15/0s, 11/0s, 8/0s, and 6/0s plus some hexes, cubes, and charlottes. There are also some flat teardrop shaped beads and some flat round beads.

I used the backstitch and the stop stitch.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches. That's the same size as my 2010 Bead Journal pages.

The thread is blue Nymo D.

What I Was Thinking:

Happy thoughts! I love working with blue. This page has a very small range of color and value, and it was interesting to see myself continue to try to limit that range. And I wondered whether I could really do all twelve pages for 2011 in different shades of blue.

Issues that Came Up:

The most challenging thing about this page was trying to get it balanced. The three "wallpaper motifs" above the row of bugles went on early. The three "eyebrows" (that's the way I think of them--call them what you want) of 6/0 beads seemed so heavy. I didn't have any more of the 6/0 beads to use elsewhere on the page. In the end, I think the teardrop beads and the three smaller "wallpaper motifs" above the "eyebrows" helped to balance the page. Ripping was not required.

And now, can I really do all twelve pages for 2011 in different shades of blue? No need to decide till tomorrow, when February starts.

The Satisfaction of Working Without a Plan

2011-01-31T13:38:00.004-05:00

Here's the final--fifteenth--block for my small lap quilt. It's called Eddystone Light. I always thought this block had a pretty cool name, but I had no idea what it meant. For more information, I went to The Real Source Of All True Knowledge, Wikipedia. You can read about the Eddystone Lighthouse here. If you want to hear the song about the Eddystone Light, go here.

My next step in this project is to add sashing and borders. This will be the perfect project for our expected snow day(s) Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday.

I made each block (see previous posts for the others) one at a time. I either picked out a block pattern and chose the fabric, or chose the fabric and picked the block. Then I cut the fabric and sewed the block. As I got most of the blocks finished, I started thinking about balancing the shapes of the blocks and the fabrics in the blocks. As far as I can recall, I have not made any of these blocks before, except possibly Ohio Star.

I really enjoyed working this way because of the variety in activity. The figuring, planning, cutting and sewing were spread out so I did some of each with all the blocks. It was always interesting.

Of course, there can be pitfalls in not planning ahead--a design that veers off to an unsuitable side, no unity in design, running out of fabric, the constant mess of having everything out all the time (so that one doesn't bother me at all). But for a sampler quilt, the no-plan method worked well.

I'm anticipating an attack of quilt block withdrawal. This project was so much fun that I need to start thinking of the next one I can do the same way.

And right now I don't think it will be my traditional January/February project, trying to perfect a pants pattern. Although I do need to adjust my pants pattern (lost 4 pounds--woo-hoo!), I'm in the mood for more fun. If you want to find out about my adventures in fitting pants, go here and here and here

Some More Blocks And A Non-Block

2011-01-24T20:22:00.009-05:00

A few more blocks:

Darting Minnows:

Gentleman’s Fancy:

Beacon Lights:

Westland: This was an interesting block because the corner squares had to be inserted with a Y-seam. I hadn’t done this in quite a while, so I needed the directions. There was a minor disconnect between the directions on the block page and the directions on page 223-224 about how to stitch that Y-seam. However, no ripping was required, and I think the corners match pretty well.

For the next block, ripping was required. It is Review:

This is Not Review: As was mentioned elsewhere, it is a perfectly good block--even an attractive one. But I decided it was too similar to Birds in the Air (lower left in final picture) for me. And it was not what I had set out to make!

This is Review:

I chose Review because I needed a block with larger pieces to show the design in the fabric. It was an easy block to make wrong and an easy block to make right. It doesn’t matter how fabulous the diagrams are if a person doesn’t look at them. And I didn’t.

Here are all fourteen blocks I’ve finished:

I’ll make one more block. I’m leaning toward Eddystone Light, as suggested by Cathy. It has such a cool name. The first Eddystone Lighthouse began functioning in 1698. It is off the coast of England near Devon. I’ve tried several color schemes, but I haven’t found the right one yet.

The target size for this little quilt is 41 inches by 63 inches. I don’t want to piece the backing. I don’t know what color(s) I will use for sashing and borders, but perhaps this weekend another Crackpot and I can arrange for a fabric store session.

A Few More Blocks

2011-01-21T15:48:00.001-05:00

I’m continuing to work on my small quilt. I was going to say lap robe, but that sounds so old ladyish. Anyway, here are the next blocks, in the order I made them.

Goose Tracks (as opposed to Turkey Tracks or Duck Paddle):

Birds In The Air:

Free Trade:

Grandmother’s Favorite (although I have three favorites):

Big T (not Capital T):

Memory Lane:

And here are all but Memory Lane together:

The more discerning viewer will note that there is now a fourth light colored background fabric. It came from our favorite, locally owned fabric store. After a horrible block mishap that had the possibility of causing seizures in vulnerable individuals, it was clear that I needed at least one more quiet fabric. So I got some. You will note also that I have resorted to some fussy cutting, in particular with Grandmother’s Favorite and Big T. I have also strayed off the no smaller than 1/8 inch measurements with Grandmother’s Favorite.

Just a few technical details:
-I’m using my 1/4 inch with guide foot. This foot lets me run the fabric right along the guide for a perfect scant 1/4 inch seam. And it works spectacularly well ever since I asked the repair man to move the needle position slightly to the right so the needle goes exactly through the center of the hole (even though he said it wasn’t supposed to be there).
-I’m using a #11 quilting needle.
-I’ve only broken one needle. To use the 1/4 inch food with guide, the needle needs to be in the center position. When I turn the machine off, the needle defaults to the left position. I forgot that once.
-I’m using Gutermann polyester (gasp!) thread. It’s a medium tan.
-I’ve been quite determined to use a fabric scrap at the beginning and end of each batch of chain stitching pieces. Fons and Porter emphasize this, and it has worked well. I knew that, but I didn’t always do it.
-The only times I’ve pinned pieces together are when I sew the large sections of each block together. So far, not using many pins is working well.

This little project has shown again what a great book Marsha McCloskey’s Block Party is. The directions are clear and complete, and there are several diagrams for each block. Even info about which direction to press the seams is included. I was feeling a little rusty, and I haven’t made any major errors (well, except for the broken needle and the horrible block mishap which didn’t have anything to do with the book or the instructions).

The Plan, Should There Happen To Be One,

2011-01-16T14:49:00.006-05:00

is to make a new lap quilt. The old one is dated 1984, and it’s getting a little grubby.

This is the fabric I’m using:

Most of it is a collection of quarter yards purchased in a bundle at Schoolhouse Fabrics in Floyd, Virginia, in 2002. Yep. This is fabric in its prime.

Since I can’t decide on one block, er, am flexible in my choices, er, prefer to be spontaneous, er, like variety, er, am a Crackpot, er, don’t have a plan, it will be a sampler quilt.

I haven’t done any serious piecing in a while so I decided to go back to the old standby–Marsha McCloskey’s Block Party. This means that however many blocks get done will be nine-inch blocks. To make it easy to get started, I decided to group my fabric into sets of three, with varying colors and values. Then I looked for blocks that used just three colors. I eliminated all the blocks that called for measurements of 1/16 inch (indicated in the book as +) because my rulers don’t have that marking.

My first block was Ohio Star, and here it is:

The second block was Perpetual Motion, and here it is:

My third block is Weather Vane, and here it is:

So now you can see the three light pieces of “background” fabric I have. They’re not extremely light, and the value differences within this set of fabrics is somewhat limited. Because of that and because each fabric has either more than one color or a variety of values, the divisions between the pieces in each block don’t stand out. I like it that way. It’s mellow.

Now, what shall I make for the next one? Get out your Block Party book (I know you have one) and make some suggestions.

Thoughts on the Universal Sewing Machine Needle

2011-01-11T20:53:00.002-05:00

A long time ago in a land far away, someone developed the universal needle. It was not really sharp like those old fashioned sharp needles. It was not really rounded like those formerly new-fangled ball point needles. The universal needle would sew anything. Anything at all. Woven fabric, knit fabric, stretch fabric. Anything.

And it did. Except that it didn't do quite as good a job as a sharp needle on finely or tightly woven fabric. And it didn't do quite as good a job as a ball point needle on fine knits.

Once I learned that sewing machine needles actually wear out by blamming themselves against the fabric at 100 miles per hour, I started to rethink my approach. I could change the needle before it broke. (What a shock! Sometimes back in the previous millennium, my needles lasted a long, long, long time before they broke. They probably lasted years, and I sewed nearly every day.) I found out I could hear the difference as the right needle went through the cloth. I started to get picky. And then JoAnn's started having periodic sales with 50% off the notions wall. It was downhill from there. I became a sewing machine needle snob.

The reason I wanted to use a universal needle for the project in the previous post was to make it easier to put the woven zipper in the knit fabric. Plus the only ball point needles I had were 9s. I needed a heavier needle with the Windbloc barrier between the two layers of fleece.

NOTE: If a universal needle works for you, go for it. They usually do a good job. As a point of information, I usually use quilting needles on my machine, unless there's a specific need for something else. I also use topstitching needles, embroidery needles, microtex needles, needles for metal thread, and twin needles. I have never used a wing needle or a leather needle. I'm not proud to be a needle snob, but I've sewn through my fingers enough that I won't apologize.

The Reversible, Windbloc, Polar Fleece Jacket

2011-01-10T15:03:00.004-05:00

I was freezing! Standing outside at the soccer game, with the wind blowing right through my Gore-Tex jacket and my Polar Fleece pullover. It was clear that I needed something more to keep me warm. A Windbloc Polar Fleece jacket would be just the thing, and if it were reversible, then it would (no doubt) be twice as effective.

I found some reversible, Windbloc, Polar Fleece at our locally-owned fabric store. And on sale, no less. So I bought it and a reversible zipper* to make the jacket.

This was one of those projects where the engineering is more interesting than the sewing. Sort of like conceptual art. Other than the pattern for the basic jacket (front, back and sleeves), there was no pattern and no instructions. I made it up myself. This is how the blue side looks.

And this is how the black side looks.

I wanted both sides of the jacket to be finished, so I could wear it either as a blue jacket or a black jacket. Since Polar Fleece doesn't fray, I decided to lap the seams and then trim off the excess. On the black side, you can see little bits of blue accents along the seams and vice versa for the blue side. I set in the sleeves as usual, using the black as the right side. Then I trimmed off the sleeve seam allowance close to the stitching, and topstitched the body of the jacket over the sleeves, from the black side. Then I trimmed off the excess jacket seam allowance close to the stitching. I faced the neck and the bottom hem and the sleeve hems, sewing the black side of the facing to the blue side of the jacket. Then I trimmed the seams, turned the facing to the black side along the seam line, topstitched it, and trimmed the facing close to the stitching. On the blue side at the hems and armscyes, all you see is the stitching and on the black side you see the facing with the little blue accent line. This is what the overlapped seams look like up close.

I wanted zipper pockets, too. I made secret zipper pockets with polyester lining material, and attached those to patch pockets. Now I have a patch pocket on the outside for gloves and a secret pocket inside the patch pocket for, well, secret things. I didn't want too much bulk, so I only put pockets on the left side of each front.

Making this jacket was easier because I got to use one of my newest toys--Gingher duck-billed applique scissors. I got them at the JoAnn's Black Friday sale--50% off plus another 10% off with coupon. Still not cheap, but I love them. They are sharp! I'm amazed at how dull all my other scissors must be, compared to the new ones.

Hints:
*Reversible zipper--The slider has a pull that can flip over the top so you can pull it from either side.
I used both blue and black thread, changing the bobbin and the thread on the top so it would match what I was sewing. Most often I used one color in the top and the other color in the bobbin.
I am not crazy about universal needles, but I used one on this jacket. It worked well.
I lengthened my stitch to 3.5, instead of the 2.5 default on my machine.

In The Garden At Midnight - December 2010 BJP

2011-01-04T16:25:00.010-05:00

Who knows what happens in the garden at midnight? I don't. But I can imagine. And I imagine that during the time of the longest nights of the year, some irrepressible flowers just have to show themselves, but only to the lucky few who are watching. And if it is too dark and too cold and too snowy for the flowers to come above ground, they remember what it was like to bloom during the bright, warm, sunny days, and they dream of blooming again. Perennials have strong spirits, and they use the dark, cold, snowy time to build strength and to look toward the future.

In December 2008, I did another dark, sparkly piece. You can see it below. I enjoyed working with these dark beads so much that I decided to do another one. I deliberately did not look at the older piece before starting this one, and now I find they look quite different from each other. This year's page above is darker than the earlier one below, and it's even darker than the photo shows. Perhaps I acquired some (ahem...) more dark beads. This year's page seems to have a simpler, more unified design. And of course, there are the larger flower and leaf beads on the new one.

Here is the December 2008 page:

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with Dye-na-Flow Azure Blue with a little black mixed in.

In addition to the larger leaves and gold flowers, there are three very cool 30 mm (1 3/8 inch) bugle beads. There are 5/0 triangles, rounds in 8/0, 11/0, and 15/0, some 10/0 rounded triangles, 11/0 pointy triangles, hexes, Charlottes, cubes, cylinder beads, fire-polished round beads, and some 3 mm bugles. A large majority of the beads are dark blue or black with an AB finish.

The backstitch dominated (again!) but I did use the stop stitch and the lazy stitch in a few places.

The piece is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used both Nymo navy size B thread and C-Lon black size D thread.

What I Was Thinking:

I really enjoyed working with these dark beads again. After November's page, which seemed to take forever, this page went fast. I started after Christmas and finished it on New Year's Day. I didn't finish it in 2010, which bothered me somewhat. but I could have. I just couldn't manage to stay up till midnight to keep beading (and to look at the garden). As I was working on it on New Year's Eve (We know how to celebrate!), this page was my glamour. It was a perfect complement to my LLBean flannel-lined jeans, sneakers, and fleece top.

Issues That Came Up:

I did not enjoy using the C-lon size D thread. It really seemed to drag through the Stiff Stuff. I think I'll save it for fringe.

It really did bother me that I didn't finish by the end of the year. I know that makes no difference to anyone else, so I'll try to get over it.

Now on to BJP 2011! I'm ready to start!

The Perfect Way to Start the New Year

2011-01-01T12:34:00.003-05:00

is by wearing a pair of custom made socks, hand knit by my favorite knitter, She Who Shall Not Be Named. They were my Christmas present. They fit perfectly and are in my super most favorite colors. I love them!

Sometimes It's Just Too Much! November BJP

2010-12-29T11:20:00.002-05:00

Sometimes it's just too much. Too much to do. Too many meetings. Too many social events. Too many newsletters to publish. Too much food to cook. Too much food to eat. Too much to clean up. Just too much.

Late October through early December were just too much. Not that I'm complaining. I volunteered for (or at least agreed to) all this stuff. And for the most part, I enjoyed it.

But I felt as if I were being pulled in too many directions all at once. It was hard to focus and concentrate. I had voluntary, self-induced ADHD.

These feelings came out in my November BJP. But I ripped some of them out. My original intent in this page was to revisit Abundance, a concept I pondered in November 2008's BJP. In this year's page, Abundance became Just Too Much.

I started with golden yellow beads, creamy yellow beads, and some light brown beads. But the light brown beads were just too much. Too much contrast, too much busyness, too much distraction, too much lack of focus. So I ripped out the brown beads. And I finally finished the page last week.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff, painted with yellow and orange Memories Mist spray.

The beads are the usual suspects--15/0s, 11/0s, 8/0s, with some hexes, Delicas, and triangles. In this piece I also used some larger beads--6/0s and some even larger than that, whose size I don't know.

In addition to the backstitch, I used the stop stitch, some fringe, some ruffles, a twisted stitch, the moss stitch, and the picot stitch.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used yellow C-Lon thread.

What I Was Thinking:

It was interesting to think about how Abundance moves to Just Too Much. How do we know when we have enough, when we have an abundance, when we have too much? And what does that mean when we think about those who do not have enough? Beyond that, I spent a certain amount of time thinking that I had better get this done and that I hadn't blogged in a very long time. I tried to prioritize what I had to do so I would not be overwhelmed, and the beading and the blogging ended up at the bottom of the list. I'm sure that my discomfort with the brown beads slowed me down, too.

Issues That Came Up:

I am SO much more comfortable working with a limited range of color and value. Very limited. How do I balance my comfort (artistic preference?) with the desire to challenge myself?

I had a similar reaction to working with fuchsia (still can't spell it) on my October BJP. Should I just admit my artistic preferences and forget about moving outside them for my BJP?

I've got to do a better job of organizing myself. Or perhaps of organizing my mind and exercising self-control.

And I've just got to stop spending so much time surfing around on the internet learning about Turkey and attempting to learn some Turkish. Oh, no I don't! Instead I'll spend even less time vacuuming.

My December BJP is well underway. I hope to finish it by the end of this year!

Not Pink Either! October BJP

2010-11-13T15:41:00.003-05:00

It's not pink either. My October 2008 BJP was Not Quite Pink, and this one is Not Pink Either. It's a different color than the earlier page, but it's not pink either.

October is the Relentlessly Pink Month. I'm a survivor, and I support the cause. But I don't necessarily want to think about it while I'm buying cauliflower. So I bead in a color that is not pink.

After September's character-building experience of using fuchsia (When will I ever learn how to spell the name of that color and what is the deep psychological meaning of the misspelling?), I resolved to use a color that was more comfortable, pleasant, and soothing. In fact, this month's color was so comfortable, pleasant, and soothing that I forgot to ask its name. Dusty rose? Dark roseline? Salmon? Whatever. It's not pink either.

Technical Details:

As always, Lacy's Stiff Stuff is the foundation. I painted it with a mixture of Dye-na-Flow and Sherrill's Sorbets in a combination so secret that not even I can remember what was used.

The beads are the usual round 15/0s, 11/0s, 8/0s, and a few 6/0s. In addition, there are bugles, triangles, hexes, Delicas, and some 1.4 mm cubes.

Stitches used are the backstitch, stop stitch, lazy stitch, and a twisted stitch with an unknown name.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used baby pink and light mauve Nymo thread.

What I Was Thinking:

Mostly I was glad to be done with the stressful, intense fuchsia. (Rats! Misspelled it again!) Whatever this not-pink-either color is, a person can breathe deeply and slowly and smile while using it. It's like yoga, only with beads.

Issues That Came Up:

Some day I'll learn not to crowd the beads so much. Until then, the more the merrier.

I actually finished this in October, but I am a little behind in posting. I had two newsletters to write, which used up about all of my enthusiasm for the computer. Plus I got quite distracted researching a trip to--Woo-Hoo!--Turkey.

Building Character By Trying This Color--September BJP

2010-10-08T16:13:00.004-04:00

I decided I should try this color--a fuchsia purple. I can't remember why. I love bluish purple, but I'm not particularly fond of fuchsia purple. But I decided I should make a month's BJP in fuchsia purple, to build character, I guess. So I spent September building character. And making this page.

As I worked on the page, I found it not quite fun. I did not find the color lovely. Now many of these beads are lovely in smaller amounts. But all together? Too much fuchsia for me. In fact, this color reminded me of fingernails on a chalkboard. (Shudder!!!) But I kept going. To build character. And I finished it.

Technical Details:

The page is beaded on Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with a blend of red and purple Dye-na-Flow.

The beads include some Swarovski crystals, 6/0s, 8/0s, 11/0s, Delicas, cubes, and triangles.

The backstitch is the only stitch used on this page.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used C-Lon Lilac thread in size AA.

What I Was Thinking:

Yeah, what was I thinking? I was determined to finish this page. Really determined. I hoped my character would improve. I wondered if there was always an icky side to character building activities. I wondered if it would be The Beginning of The End Of Civilization As We Know It if I tossed the whole thing and started with a new color. Or if it would be The Beginning Of The End Of Me As I Know Me...

Let me make clear that I did not find this a totally annoying project. It did not make me crabby. It was interesting. As I completed each row of beads, I was challenged to try to figure out how to make the page meet my idea of loveliness. I'm not sure I succeeded, but I think challenges like that can build character. Mine, I hope.

Issues That Came Up:

Working with a color I am not fond of is tiring. Can I choose only colors I like from now on? What challenges would I miss if I do that?

I move back and forth between C-lon thread and Nymo thread, depending on the color I have. The C-lon works ok, but I like Nymo better.

I spent a fair amount of time as I stitched thinking about the color I would use for October. Perhaps I should have embraced the fuchsia during that time.

I have not decided yet what my October color will be. But it will be a lovely color.

Another Little Girl to Play With!

2010-10-02T10:33:00.004-04:00

The dolls have another little girl to play with! She doesn't have a name yet, but she does have hair.

I worked on this doll over the summer and into September. My first plan was just to bead the front, so I did my stitching on the flat fabric. As I was get close to finishing, I realized that I wanted to spend more time working with these beads. So I made a beaded back. I tried to continue the beaded lines from the front to the back in a few places, but this was a little tricky. The lines don't always match up when the front and back are stitched together.

After the front and back were beaded, I stitched them together by hand and stuffed the doll. I then added extra beads along the edge to cover the seam.

The most interesting part of the doll was the hair. Some days were good hair days and some days were bad hair days. I learned a lot along the way, but there was no way I was going to rip out her hair to apply what I learned.

One interesting thing that I didn't realize was how heavy the hair would be. In fact, the hair weighed the doll down so that to balance when hanging, she sticks her "feet" out to the front. Now why didn't I know that? I took physics, but it was a long time ago.

I think the dolls are having fun together. In fact, last week they had quite the game of Hide and Seek. I told them to go to an out-of-the way safe place while we had the carpet cleaned. There was no need for them to get mixed up with loud machinery.

After the carpet dried, I called "Olly Olly Oxen Free" so they would come out of their hiding place. They didn't come out. Where were they? Wherever they were, they were having a good laugh at me, I'm sure. Finally I found them on the bottom shelf of the china cabinet, standing there like the good little girls they usually are.

If you want to see the other dolls I've made, you can look here.

The Risk In My Beading

2010-09-04T19:01:00.008-04:00

Did you figure out what risk I took in my August Bead Journal Page? Did you see what is different than the other pages I made? Take another look. It's below.

Someone thought it was the recognizable shape, but I think April 2009's "Choosing to Grow" is the closest to a picture of anything I've done.

Others thought about the hearts, but hearts were here in February 2009's page, "Why Are You Always So Happy?"

Still others mentioned straight lines, but they were here in May 2009 in "It's All About Control."

And in March 2010's "Meditations in Shades of Gray."

Now do you see what is new and different--and risky--in my August piece? More than one color. In fact, two colors! It's a shock to my monochromatic system!

Or maybe, just maybe, you see something in my work that I miss...

And for those who asked, the hearts have no symbolic meaning. I just loved the colors. And my personal risk has nothing to do with my heart, either physically or emotionally, except in the way that everything centers on the heart.

I put the hearts on first, but I realized as I was finishing the page that I could have just as easily have sewn them on last. Or could I have really done that? Probably not, because the design began with the line of hearts. This page was done with no planning, design lines, or sketches beforehand. It was completely improvisational.

Thanks, all, for looking at my work. I appreciate your thoughtful comments.

Taking A Risk

2010-08-29T16:10:00.005-04:00

I'm a risk-averse person. I don't skydive, climb rocks, bungee jump, or ride a motorcycle. I don't trade stocks on the internet or speculate in currency futures. I believe in bike helmets, seat belts, anti-lock brakes, vaccinations, and a balanced portfolio.

But I took a risk. Not one of those risks we teachers used to encourage our students to take--sitting with someone new at lunch or reading your sentence out loud. A real, grown-up risk, and I can't believe how quickly I decided to do it. It took me about ten minutes to make up my mind, and by the time I got home, I was fully committed.

It doesn't really matter (except to me) what exactly my risk was. What was interesting was the process of making the decision. Most of the decisions we make involve trade-offs. We give up something to gain something else. We give up chocolate cake to gain improved health. We give up beading time to take an exercise class. Taking a risk is different than making a decision involving trade-offs. With a risk, we understand that the outcome is uncertain. Maybe that new person you sit next to at lunch will be mean. Maybe the other students will laugh at your sentence. With a grown-up risk, we may move into an area of definite and sometimes serious uncertainty. If the outcome is not what we were hoping, we may not be able to undo it.

I decided to represent my decision to take a risk with my August BJP. To my way of thinking, this page is a definite departure from my previous bead journal pages. Instead of telling you exactly how it's different, I challenge you to discover it for yourself. You can look at my other pages here.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with a mixture of blue and green Dye-Na-Flow.

I started this page with the blue and green glass hearts. They jumped out at me at the bead store, and I shared the strand with a friend. The beads include 15/0s, 11/0s, 8/0s, triangles, cubes, niblets, and bugles. There are also some 13/0 green Czech charlottes.

I used the backstitch and the stopstitch in this page.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used blue Nymo thread for most of the beading, with some chartreuse C-lon for the green beads. I used 00 gray Nymo with a size 13 needle for the green Czech charlottes.

What I Was Thinking:

To be perfectly honest, I was marveling at myself for taking a risk. And I was hoping that my risk would turn out well. And I was thinking about how much I liked this color combination.

Issues That Came Up:

That size 13 needle is a bear to thread. It's not just seeing the hole; it's having the coordination to put the thread through it.

I'd like to make a doll with the some of the remaining beads. I think she'd be lovely.

Now It's Your Turn:

What's the risk I took with this page? How is it different than all my other Bead Journal Pages?

Or is it only different to me?

I Washed My Phone, And Other Household Catastrophes

2010-08-25T10:04:00.004-04:00

But more about the phone later...

The first incident occurred during All Together Week. Since most of the All who were Together were at cottages, I volunteered our washing machine. The offer was accepted, and a basket of laundry arrived at our house. I loaded it into the machine, added the detergent, and pressed the button. All went well until the spin cycle.

Then Ka-Blam! Ka-Blam! Ka-Blam! Ka-Blam! OOPS! I had washed Grandson #2's rock collection. Now Everyone thought that Someone Else had checked the pockets. As is usual in these circumstances, that meant that No One had checked the pockets. I retrieved four small, very interesting rocks, half an inch to an inch in diameter, and forty cents from the washing machine. I later retrieved a fifth rock and another dime from the dryer.

Fast forward a couple of days. More dirty laundry, none of which belonged to Grandson #2. All the pockets were checked. Washing went well, but then there was the spin cycle.

Ka-Blam! Ka-Blam! Ka-Blam! Ka-Blam! Double OOPS! Part of the rock collection had migrated around the rubber flange to the space between the tub and the housing. Fortunately, two aspiring MacGyvers were available, my associate homeowner and the visiting She Who Shall Not Be Named.

They went at the washing machine with a collection of interesting tools: a screwdriver, two flashlights, a wire coat hanger, duct tape, mesh from a bag of fruit, ribbon, and a darning needle. I went off to a meeting, leaving them to their project.

I returned an hour and a half later to find the washed but not rinsed laundry still in the basket and the name of the appliance repair service with the best ratings on the internet. I suggested that the aspiring MacGyvers rinse out the soapy laundry in the bathtub while I arranged for a repair.

So I called. That service did not repair my brand so they gave me two other names. So I called. Eventually arrangements were made for the repairman to come the next week. We were determined to live the clean life--no messes or spills--until the machine was fixed.

The repairman arrived and went at the washing machine with a tool that looked amazingly similar to the coat hanger device my own MacGyvers had used unsuccessfully. He was unsuccessful, too. He determined that it would be necessary to take the machine apart, a two-hour project. He would call me the next day with a scheduled time. I quickly determined that the fifty cents I had found would probably not cover the labor charges for a two-hour repair. However, the repair would be less expensive than replacing a three-year-old machine.

The next morning the repairman called to refer me to a second repairman who had more experience with my brand. This didn't sound good. I called the second repairman. He assured me that he had been to Whirlpool School and that he knew all the secret tricks. He stated that he had never had to take a machine apart to retrieve a foreign object. I was hopeful, but not fully convinced.

The second repairman arrived the next day. After a couple of tries with the coat hanger type device, he went to the secret tricks. This is the method, as nearly as I understand it: Prop rubber flange open. Put contact cement on rock. Cut piece of strapping so it will reach rock. Put contact cement on end of strapping. Wait until contact cement achieves appropriate degree of tackiness. Drop strapping down onto rock. Press strapping against rock so the two cemented parts are in contact. Hold in place with screwdriver. Wait until a complete bond is formed. Pull strap and attached rock out. Amazing!

And now for the phone.
I did not want to wash the phone. I wanted to wash my backpack. My backpack is an heirloom backpack. I inherited it from She Who Shall Not Be Named, who had used it in junior high school. It was, frankly, disgusting. It had made several trips to Europe, serving as an airplane footrest. It had numerous spots of unknown origin. I wanted to wash my hands after handling it. It needed to be washed.

Remembering the rock collection incident, I carefully checked all the pockets. Out came the pencils and pens, the index cards and the kleenex. Out came the Google Map to the family reunion. Out came the old boarding passes and luggage tags. The phone, unfortunately, did not come out. Now I had last used the backpack about ten days before, when we spent a week with relatives. I hadn't needed the phone during that week and I hadn't needed it since we returned. I don't use the phone much. I have a super cheap, pay-by-the-minute plan.

I put the backpack into the bathtub with Camp Suds and left it to soak for about ten minutes. When I returned to swish it around and rinse it out, I knew there was a problem. Something was still in the backpack. The phone. OOPS!

You might be surprised at the number of internet sites that offer suggestions for dealing with a wet phone. I used the open the phone up, dry as much as possible with a paper towel, put the phone into a container of rice (or other absorbent material), seal it, leave it overnight, and hope for the best. We were fortunate to have the perfect rice in the cupboard: Arborio rice with a 1999 expiration date. (Note to self: Clean the cupboard more frequently and check the expiration dates on the contents.)

Despite this fabulous rice, the remedy was not effective. And the rice is on the way to the landfill. It's biodegradable. To continue with the food theme, the phone is toast.

A friend offered me her son's old phone, and here it is. Cool, eh? I think it will be a great replacement, as long as she can find the charging cord and the instruction manual in his room. He's off to grad school, so she's on her own.

Once I get connected again, I'll give you a call. In the meantime, my associate homeowner is doing the laundry.

How Much Is The Purple Hope Stone Worth?

2010-08-13T10:55:00.003-04:00

I made a purple Hope Stone for the American Cancer Society's Cattle Baron's Ball.

It's purple because the ACS color of survivorship is purple. Ok, it doesn't look purple. It looks blue, doesn't it? I assure you, however, that this Hope Stone is purple. I fiddled and fiddled with the color of the photo, but I couldn't get a good representation of the purple. So even if you can't see purple, think purple!

In our area, Hope Stones are given to survivors at the end of the Survivors' Victory Lap at the Relay for Life. Survivors are encouraged (whenever they are ready) to pass the stone and the hope along to someone else who needs an extra boost of hope in dealing with cancer.

The stone is about 1.75 inches high. It is mounted on a piece of Lacy's Stiff Stuff that I painted with violet Dye-na-Flow and backed with UltraSuede. The beaded fringe was added last.

If you want to see my other Hope Stones, you can look here.

The American Cancer Society representative asked me the value of the Hope Stone. How do I answer that question?

The cost of the materials? I already had a bunch of purple beads, the UltraSuede, the Stiff Stuff, the thread, and the Dye-na-Flow. I did buy some beads, but I have plenty of them left over.

The cost of my time? I'm retired. I beaded most of this piece while on vacation, sitting on a porch listening to the sounds of a lake.

The price at a retail shop? Oh, puh-leese! I don't sell hope! Hope is to be shared, to be given away, to be presented generously to anyone who needs it.

I understand that the ACS needs to keep track of the value of contributions, but it was very, very hard to determine how to set the value of the Purple Hope Stone.

How would you value this stone? I'd like some ideas so I can have a better answer next time.

I Am Not Meek!

2010-07-31T15:33:00.004-04:00

"Meekness? What's with meekness?"

That's what I wondered when I saw the July Character Trait of the Month on page 2 of our local newspaper. There was something about this that I just didn't get.

Part of what I didn't get was the rest of the advertisement. I mean I couldn't visually decipher it. The font was small, and the print was blurry and gray on gray. I knew there was a further explanation, but I needed more coffee and better light before I could find it.

The complete text read, "Meekness vs. Anger. Yielding my personal rights and expectations with a desire to serve." I still didn't get it. Next stop, the dictionary. This is what I learned: Meek means mild of temper, gentle, not easily provoked or irritated. Ok, that sounds fine. But meek also means submissive. That's where I draw the line.

I decided to take a survey of other people. My sample was the four people I was eating dinner with. All were thirty-somethings--an English professor, a college librarian, a stay-at-home mom who previously taught math, and a software developer. Only the English professor is a male. (Note to gender discrimination sensitive individuals: He's only listed first because I asked him first, starting at my left side.)

The English professor contributed a biblically-based, academic answer. The college librarian elaborated. The stay-at-home mom and the software developer focused on the submissive aspect. Battered women were mentioned. The occasional feminist, software developer objected to a person having to yield personal rights. The college librarian said that meekness was not always viewed positively.

Even though my survey participants are in a different age group than I am, I look at things the same way they do. It seems to me that meekness connotes submissiveness, which I do not usually view as a positively trait.

I don't have a hot temper, I don't often get angry or irritated, but I am not submissive. I am not meek!

My BJP for July focuses on my non-meekness.

I chose the least meek color I could find. Except for orange. I've played with orange before, and you can see the results here. This is an orange-red-bright coral combination.

Non-meekness is not flat. It shows its lack of submissiveness with texture.

Technical Details:

This page is beaded on Lacy's Stiff Stuff sprayed with some red Memories Mist.

There are more than 30 kinds of beads in this piece. There are a few 15/0s, some 11/0s, 8/0s. and 6/0s. There are some very cute 15/0 triangles, some cat's eyes, some daggers, a couple of little hearts, a few cubes, and one dangling Swarovski crystal. There are two kinds of beads that are slightly smaller that the 15/0s and have extremely tiny holes.

I used the back stitch, couching, the stop stitch, fringe, and a twisted stitch.

It is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used red AA C-lon thread. For the beads with the tiny holes, I used a size 13 needle and grey Nymo OO thread.

What I Was Thinking:

I was thinking about being not-meek. I was hoping that this was not a horrible character flaw, because I don't think I'm going to turn meek in my old age. I have to admit that it was fun reveling in my non-meekness and playing with these non-meek beads.

Issues That Came Up:

It's not all that easy to thread a size 13 needle. I do need some vision correction, which will happen in the near future.

I have a ton of non-meek beads left. I'll have to do something with them.

Want to know more about character traits? Check out the website of the West Michigan Character Council.

The Topaz Doll--Her Front, At Least

2010-07-28T10:57:00.004-04:00

I decided to make a doll with some topaz-colored beads that I had collected. Then I wondered if collecting is an appropriate way to describe how I acquire beads... But that's another discussion.

Originally I intended to use some of the amber I brought back from Lithuania in 2007. I knew the colors would look nice in my living room. But the pieces of amber are about 1 cm across, and they didn't seem to go with the rest of the doll. (If you want to see what I did with some of the amber, look here.)

My plan was to bead the front with the interfaced fabric flat, sew the back on by hand, stuff the doll, and finally add a picot beaded edge. As I got further and further along on the front, I realized that I had more ideas for using the topaz-colored beads on the doll than there was space on the front. The solution, of course, to this problem (if it is a problem) is to bead the back of the doll, too.

The next part of the process will be to bead the back. Then I'll stitch the front and back together, stuff the doll, and add the picot edge. This will be the first time I've sewn a front and back together after they've both been beaded. I've made several dolls with only the front beaded, and stitched the back on afterward. I've also beaded the front and back of a couple of dolls after they've been stuffed.

Beading an already stuffed doll with a curved needle is much harder on my wimpy, grandma hands than beading flat fabric with a straight needle. I'll see how sewing the beaded pieces together works.

If you want to see my other beaded dolls, look here.

The Red Hope Stone

2010-07-14T14:57:00.006-04:00

This is the red Hope Stone I made for the mother of a friend. Hope stones are given to survivors at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. The stones are plain, with the word "Hope" engraved on them. I add mount them and add fringe. The stone is backed with ultrasuede.

I also made a little storage bag for this stone. It's edged with gold seed beads in the picot stitch.

I'm sending lots of hope and good wishes to my friend's mom as she undergoes treatment.

You can see a couple of the other Hope Stones I made here. I've made two or three more that I did not photograph.

The Room Formerly Known As Pink

2010-07-14T14:55:00.002-04:00

is no longer pink. Sewing supplies are being reinstalled.

She Must Be Superwoman!

2010-07-07T17:14:00.005-04:00

We're painting the Room Soon To Be Known As The Room Formerly Known As Pink. Perhaps a more accurate statement is that my associate homeowner is painting the Room. My contributions so far have been limited to suggesting that we hire a painter (That didn't go far.), picking out the color, putting the screws from the fixtures in a place at least one of us (that would be me) would remember, cutting in around the ceiling, and washing the brushes. My associate homeowner has done the really ugly work of pulling off the wallpaper, cleaning off the old wallpaper paste (Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!) and washing the walls and woodwork.

The ceiling was painted Monday, and it looks nice. Extra credit goes to the painter for working in 90 degree weather.

Yesterday afternoon we decided to put the light fixtures back up. Yeah. Right. It seemed so simple. The first attempt took 45 minutes. It involved two people, a ladder, a step stool, two screwdrivers, masking tape, two drinking straws, and three flashlights. And some rude language, which, you will be relieved to know, I did not use. It was determined that a trip to one of the big box home improvement stores was needed.

Upon returning from the big box home improvement store, a second attempt was made. Doh! The purchased items did not help at all. So it was back to brute force. After about 25 minutes, the light fixture was finally reinstalled. And here it is:

Which made us wonder--After painting her bedroom, how did She Who Shall Not Be Named put her ceiling fan back up all by herself?

She must be Superwoman!

If I Knew What This Is About, I Would Have Posted It Last Week

2010-07-04T16:59:00.005-04:00

Actually, it's my June Bead Journal Project. I finished it during June, but I wasn't sure what it was about.

How can you journal and not know what you're journaling--unless it's some kind of automatic writing directed by an other-worldly spirit. No, this is definitely not spooky, spirit-directed, automatic beading. I did it myself, and I decided how to do it.

In the end, this page seems to be about repetition and how repetition--or maybe the familiar--can be comfortable and satisfying. I don't want to think that I'm in a rut, but there are many times when I enjoy the familiar. Music in the background is one example. I have fewer than 15 CDs, and I seem to play about five of them over and over. None of this iPod shuffle stuff for me, playing songs in random order, calling my attention to the music instead of what I'm doing. So it's repetition, with a few variations.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with dilute Emerald Dye-na-Flow.

The beads are 8/0s, 11/0s, 15/0s, charlottes, Delicas, cubes, hexes, and fringes. There are more than the usual number of larger, individually purchased glass beads.

The stitches used were backstitch, couching, and stop stitch. Most of the beads are in what Robin Atkins describes as the "wallpaper stitch."

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used C-lon thread in the color Seafoam.

What I Was Thinking:

Well, that's the whole issue. I was thinking a lot of stuff, but my thoughts changed as I stitched. Some of the thinking stuff resulted from an irritating incident at the beginning of June. (Notice how politely I put that.) But the irritation passed, and I moved on to a very busy month, which continues to make me wonder where June went. I kept stitching the wallpaper stitch, and I enjoyed it. By the time I was half finished with the page, I was quite intrigued by the ideas of repetition and variation. So I kept repeating and varying.

Issues That Came Up:

I began to see how challenging varied repetition could be. Interesting thought.

I enjoyed using these larger beads. They were part of a group purchased for a Hope Stone (see previous post) a couple of years ago.

The color of the beads signifies absolutely nothing, except that I hadn't used it before in the BJP.

It's interesting to see the limited range of values in this page and the May page.

So here I am at the beginning of July wondering what this month's bead journal will be about. And what color it will be. It's time to start digging in the bead stash.

Even More Hope!

2010-06-29T19:14:00.005-04:00

I made another Hope Stone. This one, the fourth or fifth I've made, was for the door prize drawing for survivors at our local Relay for Life.

Glass stones with "HOPE" inscribed are given at the end of the Survivors' Victory Lap at the Relay for Life. The idea is that one survivor can pass the stone on to another person who is in special need of hope. I think that most cancer survivors will agree that immediately after diagnosis and during active treatment, any extra hope is welcome.

You'll have to look hard to find the word "HOPE" on this stone, but it's there. The stone is mounted on Lacy's Stiff Stuff that I painted with Dye-na-Flow. Since the stone is translucent, I didn't want to use glue. I stitch back and forth across the stone to temporarily hold it to the backing. Then I attach the beads to the backing to bezel the stone on.

The method for bezelling (Is that a word?) the stone on has varied from item to item, mostly because I never remember how I did it before. It's pretty much reinventing the wheel. Our library has a couple of books that show how to attach the stones, but they never seem to be in when I'm ready to use them. One is Beading with Cabochons by Jamie Cloud Eakin and the other is Beading on Fabric by Larkin Van Horn. The two authors use different methods, so I figure that gives me the opportunity to invent my own.

One issue with these Hope Stones is that they are relatively thick with a somewhat straight edge. That needs to be taken into account when attaching them to the backing.

I then attach an ultrasuede backing with a picot stitch and add fringe at the bottom. I used to find keeping my fringe symmetrical a fussy task. Then I invented a way to keep the beads organized. I got a piece of cardboard--like a cereal box--and cut it about 5" by 8". Then I made elongated "donuts" of masking tape* and stuck them on the cardboard. Voila! A 5" by 8" piece of sticky stuff. I found that I could lay out rows of beads for each fringe, and they wouldn't move around. I could put the whole thing in a plastic bag and press the bag onto the tape, and the beads would stay in place if I had to stop before finishing.

I'm working on another Hope Stone now for the mother of a friend. If you want to see the second one I made, look here.

*If you don't know what masking tape donuts are, ask someone who taught school before there was poster putty.

Remembering Morocco--May BJP

2010-06-20T20:05:00.003-04:00

My May BJP Remembering Morocco is finally finished. It seemed to take forever. While I worked on it, I wondered why that was. I have several reasons:

1. I didn't start on it until mid-May. We got home from the trip to Spain and Morocco in early May, but I needed to get over jet lag before I operated dangerous machinery, such as needles and scissors.
2. I needed some time to process the experiences of the trip before I could begin to interpret them in beads.
3. Things got busy--Tulip Time, the grandsons, all the meetings left over from April, all the May meetings, and all the end of the year grand finale meetings and celebrations. Whew! It was a wild month!
4. I wasn't crazy about anything but the memories and the color of blue. Don't try to talk me out of it! I know what I like. And what I don't like. I'm a strong-minded woman. When I'm not crazy about it, it takes longer.
5. I had to order beads for the background and had to wait for them to arrive.
6. Beading the background to go around the swirls took much too long. And it wasn't that much fun.

Those are my excuses for tardiness.

But I finished it. At last.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with watered down blue Dye-na-Flow.

This page contains the usual combination of 15/0s and 11/0s plus some hexes, cubes, charlottes, one lentil, some long tubes, and some vintage spherical beads about size 6/0.

In addition to the backstitch, I used couching and the picot stitch.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

The thread is blue Nymo D.

What I Was Thinking:

I was thinking about Morocco. Our time in Morocco was a stimulating and challenging sensory, intellectual and emotional experience. There is no way I could represent all of that. The blue sky in Asilah was absolutely stunning (see photo in previous post), so that sky became my little beaded memory. It was very windy, and we had sand in our clothes and hair that evening. The beaded swirls represent the wind. The two upright columns are Moroccan doorways. I'd love to go back to Morocco. I'd even love to go back and do everything we did again.

Issues That Came Up:

Ok, this blue is my favorite color. My really, really favorite color.

The more representational the beading is, the less I like doing it. The same thing happened with the BJP from April 2009. And I made a similar comment then, although I didn't read it until I went back to put the link in this post.

And I don't like doing backgrounds, either.

But now that I'm finished, I like this page. Especially the color. And remembering Morocco.

Remembering Morocco

2010-05-30T12:21:00.004-04:00

When we arrived in Morocco on the ferry from Tarifa, Spain, to Tangier, we took a bus to Asilah, a smaller town on the northwest coast. It was a good way to ease into Morocco, without the busyness of Tangier.

This photo is the inspiration for my May BJP. It was taken across the rooftops because I loved the color of the sky. You can see that some of the building walls are also painted blue. Our guide told us that was because blue represents water and coolness.

My May BJP is about half done. I need more beads, and I won't have them for another ten days or so.

Anticipation!

2010-05-10T10:05:00.006-04:00

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.

Meditations In Shades Of Gray

2010-04-10T10:57:00.003-04:00

I finished my March BJP in March, but I am tardy in posting it.

When I started thinking about working with gray beads, I wondered what people would think this color--or non-color--symbolized. Much of my thinking took place on a long car trip. That's a good time to think about beads. It keeps a grandma anxious to see her grandsons from asking, "Are we there yet?"

I see the sparkly gray beads as understated sophistication. I'll wear a gray, bias-cut evening gown and carry a gray beaded purse when I go out dancing with Fred Astaire.

I did love working with these gray beads. Who knew there would be so much delightful variation in what many people regard as a non-color? I loved the way the beads took off in their own directions, seeming to weave in and out, over and under.

Technical Details:

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

The beads are the usual combination of 15/0, 11/0, 8/0, and 6/0 seed beads. There are some cubes, hexes, triangles, and niblets.

The only stitch used in this piece is the backstitch.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used Nymo D thread.

What I Was Thinking:

Gray, in all its variations, is beautiful. To smile when looking at so much gray is the triumph of an optimistic outlook and a cheerful demeanor. I smiled when I sewed these beads.

Issues That Came Up:

The beads wanted to do Art Deco instead of the swirls I imagined. I love Art Deco, so that was fun.

I felt so smart that I mixed black and white paint to make gray instead of using just watered down black. Maybe I'm learning something!

Part way through the project, the page looked like an aerial view of a rail yard. Yow! Interesting! It may mean that I'm going on a trip!

What in the world am I doing with about forty kinds of gray beads? I only used about thirty. Get a grip, Marty! Keep that bead budget under control!

After using C-Lon thread for February, I went back to Nymo (because that was what the gray thread was). I do like Nymo better than C-Lon. For some reason, it feels better in my hands.

In response to comments in my (long ago) previous post:
1. Carol gets the extra credit points for explaining grey as "tomahtoish." We midwesterners think of it as gray.

2. Carol and Barbara and Arline commented that this angular design was out of the norm for me. I did not think of that until they mentioned it. No kidding! I didn't even know I had a norm! They challenged me to look at all of my own work to see what kind of beading I usually do. What a treat to be encouraged to look at your work as others do!

3.In February, Bobbi asked if I were planning to work in a monochromatic color scheme for the rest of the pages. The answer is probably yes. I love working this way. I like to focus on the shapes, the sizes and the finishes of the beads. Plus I find combining colors very difficult. Of course, if I worked with a variety of colors more frequently... I have a friend who has a living room that is all in shades of beige and tan. I love going to her house. It's so relaxing to sit there, with limited stimulation.

I should also note that She Who Shall Not Be Named (See below to find out if you are She.) has been harassing me about the monochromatic color schemes for a year. Ok, maybe harassing is a strong work. She challenges me to move out of my comfort zone. See, dear, no bugle bead paths for February or March.

How to Tell if You Are She Who Shall Not Be Named:

Did you call me Shrimpmom when you were in seventh grade? If the answer is Yes, you are She.

Meditations in Shades of Gray--Or Is It Grey?

2010-03-20T16:02:00.003-04:00

Gray or Grey? I always thought it was gray. But then grey started showing up in art related writing. Or maybe British writing. Whoever can explain why there are two different spellings and when each should be used gets a lot of extra credit points. But since the points will be in a gray (or grey) area, we don't know whether they're worth anything.

I decided to use gray/grey (hearinafter known as gray) for my March BJP. This has been the most interesting color (if it is one) to work with. I know that many people associate gray with dull, dreary, blah. But I thought about gray beads as understated sophistication.

You may wonder what I know about sophistication, either understated or overstated. To be honest, absolutely nothing. Except for how to spell it. But I wanted to work with gray beads anyway. I visualized a glamorous 1930s woman, in a bias-cut satin evening gown carrying a gray beaded handbag.

My first thought was to use some sort of swirly design to counteract any perceived severity from the gray. The beads, however, didn't want to swirl. Instead they wanted to play Art Deco. So what I have are straight lines. I'll finish this next week and then share the final result.

If You Want to Be An Athlete,

2010-03-10T17:27:00.004-05:00

don't get glasses like mind. I really like these glasses. They're very lightweight. They're rimless so they don't block my face.

But they've broken three times in the past year. Last spring it was the left earpiece. That was replaced. During the summer, it was the bridge. That was replaced. This morning it was the right earpiece. That was replaced with an almost matching one the optician had in stock. A matching earpiece should come in tomorrow.

You may wonder how an ordinary grandma who closely resembles a little old lady would break her glasses so many times. I wondered that, too. And then I realized...

It's my athletic career. I play contact sports. Hockey. Soccer. Football. Hide and Seek. With my grandsons, ages 8 and 6.

The first incident occurred last May when we were playing soccer in the backyard. I was in goal and the only member of my team, playing against the two boys. My older grandson moved the ball down the field while my younger grandson distracted me. My older grandson gave a powerful kick. Blam! Right in my face! Who would believe that someone with my amazingly fast grandma reaction time could get hit in the face? It was an athletic anomaly.

When I went in to get my glasses adjusted a couple of weeks later, the earpiece broke. My excellent and extremely cheerful optician Mr. Steve replaced the earpiece while I wondered how in the world I could have broken it.

Fast forward two months. One Friday evening the bridge of my glasses broke. Just broke. I dug through the drawer to find my substitute glasses. There were two pairs of old glasses. I couldn't see very well with either of them. For sure I couldn't see any needles, thread or beads. It wasn't my favorite weekend. On Monday I trooped back down to see Mr. Steve.

"How could this have happened?" I asked him. He smiled and ordered another bridge. Within a couple of days, I was ready to start beading again.

Then one day last fall, I had a thought. Could the broken glasses have anything to do with getting hit in the face--in the glasses--with the soccer ball? Duh! Double duh!!

And then the right earpiece broke today. This time I knew why. It was hockey. Or maybe football. Or maybe hockey and football.

This past weekend my grandsons and I were playing hockey. We play in the basement (no ice and no skates) with a wiffle ball and plastic hockey sticks about two feet long. Our hockey games do get exciting. We were scrambling after the puck (wiffle ball) in front of the net when Blam! A hockey stick right in my face. Er, right in the glasses. No harm done; no goal scored. But I realized I'd need my glasses adjusted. Later we played football outside, with a football smaller than a grapefruit. But my amazingly fast grandma reaction time let me down again. Blam! A football right in the glasses. No harm done; no touchdown. But the glasses really needed to be adjusted.

So this morning I went back to see Mr. Steve. And after the glasses had been adjusted and cleaned and I was putting them on, Snap! The right earpiece. I am now nicely dressed in glasses that are silver on one side and bronze on the other. But I can see.

And I'm not going to give up my athletic career. I'm just going to speed up my grandma reaction time.

February BJP - Tranquility

2010-03-03T12:24:00.004-05:00

So maybe I've been so tranquil during the past month that I haven't felt the urge to blog... Just a thought...

I started my February BJP February 1 and finished it February 28. In the meantime, I did a few other things, in part to delay the completion of the BJP until the end of the month.

I had decided in late January to use light blue beads and to meditate on the concept of Hope for my February BJP. A few days into February, I made two discoveries. First, the beads were sending feelings of Tranquility instead of Hope. I paid attention to the beads. February would be Tranquility. Second, I was working so quickly that I decided to slow down my beading. I wanted to savor the feeling of Tranquility for the entire month.

Slowing down was easy. I cleaned the house (including vacuuming!) for my book group meeting. That was snowed out so I was left with a clean house, a dessert, and a free evening. I made a couple of small beaded cards. I made three pairs of slacks and a pair of yoga pants. I temporarily perfected my pants pattern. I studied Spanish. I watched Olympic curling. (Who knew it could be so exciting?) And on February 28 I finished Tranquility.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with a mixture of blue and white Dye-na-Flo.

The beads are 15/0s, 11/0s, 8/0s, and a few 6/0s. There are some lentils and some diagonally drilled cubes that are important parts of the design. There is one small blue heart.

As usual, it's done in the backstitch and the stop stitch. There are several rows of twisted beads.

The page is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

I used C-lon AA light blue thread. I'm getting used to the C-lon thread, but Nymo still feels more natural to me.

In a departure for me, I started with some segments of circles drawn on the foundation using a compass. You can see the resulting curved lines in the completed page.

What I Was Thinking:

It was very interesting to find that the beads changed this month's theme for me. I considered two types of journaling. My assumption at the beginning of February was that I would journal (bead) about my chosen topic. In the end, I found myself responding to the visual stimulation of the first beads stitched. Robin Atkins has written about some different ways of bead journaling here.

I enjoyed thinking about what tranquility means to me. Peace, calmness, serenity, harmony, peace of mind, composure. And not getting into a twit over unexpected occurrences. I like tranquility. I was glad to have tranquility last the entire month.

I'd like to do a page using grey beads. But what would that color tell me? Right now I'm thinking sophisticated but subtle. Maybe I'll start with a small pin.

Issues that Came Up:

Ok, so I ripped out parts again. That's ok with me. Because I create the page in parts, without an overall plan, there are occasionally sections that detract from the whole. I am very willing to "edit" these parts as I complete more of the page.

This size is working well.

I felt guilty about going so long without blogging. But I didn't do anything about it.

And I was rooting for the Canadian hockey team in the Olympics. Do I dare tell my grandsons?

A New Year--January 2010 Bead Journal Project

2010-01-30T14:36:00.003-05:00

My January Bead Journal page has been completed. And, yes, I did edit my improvisation. If you look two posts below, you can see what the page looked like before I edited it. I'm pleased with the changes.

I had decided to do a page about the new year. I started with the assumption that I would use white beads--clean, fresh and pure. A new start. But then I realized that none of us start a new year without bringing our pasts along. The new year is colored and shaded and toned by the previous years, even before it starts. While we may not be able to erase those previous years, we can use our crayons and markers and paints to change the appearance of the past years.

What I mean exactly is that by the way we think about and talk to ourselves about the past, we can change the way we see it. We can change the way the past affects us. In fact, we can actually change our brains--physically--by the way we talk to ourselves.

And so if we can change our brains, it was fitting that I change or edit my improvisation.

Since I would be entering the new year with both the richness and the detritus of the past, white would not do. Ecru was my color of choice. Included with the ecru is a tiny bit of grey and some not-quite-pink. Not-quite-pink has a great deal of meaning for me. If you want to know more about it, read this post and this post, which contains the entire rant.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with titian buff acrylic paint.

The beads are 6/0s, 8/0s, 11/0s and 15/0s. There are some drop beads, bugles, triangles, hexes, and three larger beads.

It's almost entirely sewn with the backstitch, but there some beads sewn on with the stop stitch. There are three rows of a twisty stitch, two tight and one taller. I don't know the name of this stitch, as I saw it in a Japanese beading book.

The beaded page is 2.5 inches high and 3.5 inches wide.

I'm not exactly sure what kind of thread I used. It looks and feels and sews like Nymo, but the tiny print on the bobbin says Belding Corticelli. I got several bobbins of it at The Dumpster Diving Place for 10 cents each. They were dirty, so I had to throw out the first layer of thread.

What I Was Thinking:

I found ecru to be a very pleasant color to work with. It's tranquil and relaxing, and there are a surprising number of variations. About halfway through the page, I found myself thinking, "This is pretty. 2010 will be a pretty year." I was a happy beader, and I could embrace and cherish the things that make my new year ecru instead of pure white.

And now for the editing business: First, thanks to everyone who offered feedback, encouragement, and suggestions in response to my question about editing improvisational work. As the page neared completion, I felt the diagonal lines on the left side weighing the page down. Weighing my year down. I decided I could take action to prevent that. So I edited my page the same way I try to remember to edit my thoughts. I didn't erase it; I edited it.

Issues that Came Up:

I had a terrible time deciding what size to make my pages this year, so I decided to go with a 2.75 inch square, the same as last year. I cut the Stiff Stuff, painted it, and basted the outline on the Stuff. When it came time to stitch, I couldn't do it. I needed a new size for a new year. A rectangle 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches fit on the already cut piece of Stuff. So that was it.

Every time I use acrylic paint on fabric or Stiff Stuff, I am reminded that it makes the fabric or Stiff Stuff harder to needle. You'd think I could remember that.

Thread Update: According to this website, Belding Corticelli makes Nymo thread.

I'm excited about starting my February page next week. I've already picked out the colors, and this afternoon I'll paint the Stiff Stuff. But this time, I'll dilute the paint first.

How Old Is This Zipper?

2010-01-27T15:34:00.006-05:00

I have a lot of zippers. More than I need to last a lifetime. A fair number of those zippers are more than 30 years old.

From 1969 to 1978, we lived in Meadville, Pennsylvania. At that time the headquarters of Talon was in Meadville, and Meadville was known as "The Home of the Hookless Fastener." Talon was a (the?) major zipper producer in the US, and one of our neighbors was an engineer at Talon. At the factory, there apparently was a box of not-quite-perfect zippers, and employees were allowed to take what they needed. Our neighbors knew that I sewed, and the engineer would bring me reject zippers from time to time. These zippers were perfectly functional. There might be a misweave in the zipper tape or the zipper stop might be put on backwards. Occasionally the color of the teeth did not match the color of the tape. These zippers were not packaged. I have a pretty good group of unpackaged zippers.

I also have a nice collection of packaged zippers from the last millennium, and this zipper is one of them. Some of them were mine to start with, some came from my mother's stash, and some came from thrift stores. I don't know exactly how old this zipper is, but there are a few clues that a zipper detective could use to find out.

Look at the top picture. This zipper is priced at 50 cents. It's a bargain! Today a 12 inch zipper would cost more than three times as much. You wouldn't even need a zipper detective to determine when a 12 inch zipper cost 50 cents. All you would need would be an economist and/or a statistician and information about the rate of inflation. If you are one of those persons, go for it! When did this kind of zipper cost 50 cents?

Look at the next picture. The package says that the coils are two continuous nylon coils, and there is a warning printed on the zipper tape about using a hot iron. I don't remember ever seeing this warning on a zipper tape before, but I don't think that means the zipper is a new-fangled 21st century item. Today polyester is used instead of nylon in zippers. I know I shouldn't use a very hot iron on these zippers, but I don't pay much attention to my iron temperature. I've never melted a zipper.

The last picture explains that the zipper is "Magically Self-Healing." This was a new concept when the nylon coil zippers first came out. Anyone who has tried to repair a metal zipper and ended up using rude language understands the appeal of magical self-healing. Note also that the second numbered point says strong. This is also important. Some of the early nylon coil zippers were magically self-splitting.

So how old is this zipper? Late 60s or early 70s?

Want to know more about this history of the zipper (and who wouldn't)? Check out this American Heritage article by Robert Friedel. After you read it, you may qualify as a zipper detective.

This zipper, whatever its age, is going into a pair of khaki slacks.

Editing an Improvisation

2010-01-25T11:34:00.004-05:00

Can an improvisational work be edited? If it is edited, is it still improvisational?

The work in question is my January Bead Journal page, as pictured. Maybe it's done, and maybe it's not done.

It's improvisational bead embroidery--embroidery done without a plan. It develops as it is stitched, until the page is covered. The page is now covered, and the question is whether or not it can be edited and revised--ripped out and re-stitched--and still maintain the character of improvisation.

My considerations:
1. The page does not look balanced to me. I can visualize a couple of changes that would improve the page. After the eighth grade, anything I've learned about art has come from books. I don't have a natural feel for what would be balanced and what wouldn't. So when I improvise, sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't.

2. The unbalanced page conveys a different impression than what I was feeling and thinking as I stitched it. That leaves me mildly annoyed. It's not a true journal of this month. Or is it? (The meaning of this page will be revealed later.)

3. I am perfectly comfortable ripping stuff out. Lots of stuff. I personally believe that every needleworker should have a seam ripper in every room. I have six seam rippers. That leaves the bathrooms without seam rippers, which I think is probably ok. If I had all the thread I have ripped out rolled into a ball, it would squish quite a number of people when it rolled down a hill.

4. I already ripped out some beads. But that was before the page was covered. Can I rip out more now that it may be finished?

So here's the deal. Nothing is going to happen this morning. Later in the day, maybe. Stay tuned...

Everything I Know About Football I Learned from the Wall Street Journal

2010-01-22T19:04:00.004-05:00

In order to be a Highly Qualified Grandma, I need to know about football. My two grandsons are probably the biggest football fans in the entire world. Ok, so they're not that big (kindergarten and second grade), but their fan-ishness knows no limit. The older one has been trying to teach me to throw a spiral for a couple of years. So far he has not been successful. They both quiz me about team colors, mascots, and quarterbacks.

So I've had to take the Wall Street Journal's short course in Football for Grandmas. And this is what I've learned:

1. Quarterbacks are the handsomest players, if facial symmetry is equivalent to handsomeness. Check it out.
2. After a football team changes its logo to look fiercer, it wins more games. Note: The new logo has not helped the Detroit Lions in any way worth thinking about. (But Matt Stafford is handsome for a kid.)
3. Statistically, going for it on fourth down pays off in points.
4. Losing the last one or two games of the season does not bode well for a team during the playoffs. The Colts forgot to read this article.
5. Peyton Manning may be the best quarterback ever. Maybe even better than Johnny Unitas.
6. The blitz is the trendiest move in football. But it can be a bad idea when playing against the Colts.
7. The Vikings built their team by aggressively recruiting elite and free agent players with potential to meet specific needs. And paying big money. And going after old, frequently retired quarterbacks. (Brett Farve is handsome for an old guy.)
8. During a typical 174 minute broadcast of a football game, the football is in play for approximately 11 minutes.

You'd better have your knitting handy.

January Bead Journal--A Start

2010-01-18T16:07:00.006-05:00

I've got a good start on mu January Bead Journal Page, but it's not turning out like I expected. After making a public statement that it would be 2.75 inches by 2.75 inches, the same size as last year, I changed my mind. I'm going to make the pages 3.5 inches wide by 2.5 inches high.

There isn't any particular reason for this size, except that it fit on the pieces of Stiff Stuff I cut when I was going to do the pages in a 2.75 inch square. I just found that when I started to sew, I felt a strong need to do something different than last year.

And a new size fits with my January theme, which is a meditation on what a new start in a new year means. I'll post more about that when I finish the piece.

When I visualized an almost entirely ecru piece, this is not what I imagined. But so far, I like it very much. I found that working with these ecru beads is quite different than working with the white beads that are on the Snow Princess in the post below. Interesting...

Snow Princess Doll Complete!

2010-01-17T12:04:00.006-05:00

Meet the Snow Princess! She was completed yesterday. Next week she will be adopted by her new parents, who support children and families through a regional, private, not-for-profit social service agency.

The Snow Princess is five inches tall and nearly four inches from fingertip to fingertip. Her bead-encrusted front is fabric backed by lightweight fusible interfacing. It was beaded flat. The Snow Princess has between 30 and 35 different kinds of beads and a sterling silver heart.

Her back is the same fabric painted with a mixture of Pearl White Lumiere and some sparkly craft paint. After the beading was complete, the front and back were stitched together by hand. She was then stuffed, and a picot edging and some hair were added. She has a ribbon so she can be hung on a Christmas tree. She also has a little fabric bag to stay in when she is not on display.

I think the Snow Princess will love her new family!

Fitting Pants Is a Pain in the

2010-01-10T19:12:00.004-05:00

place where the pants are supposed to fit.

I've been working on the pants with the pickpocket-proof pocket. Although I had to reinvent the pocket, it went together well. The front zipper also went in smoothly. The front was done.

Then I made the pants backs. Darts. That's about it.

The moment of truth: Sewing the front and back legs together. Sewing the crotch seam.

The trouble always starts here. They didn't fit. AARGH!!!!

In 2006 I perfected the perfect pants pattern. Then as a result of my exercise program, I lost some hip fluff. So last year I readjusted the pattern. I was sure it would fit (I haven't changed size.) but I was confused by the notes on the pattern pieces. They listed slacks made in my less svelte period. Was this last year's pattern? Or an old one? If it was the old one, where in the world was the new pattern? Dumb questions. It was the old one. Time for the adjustments to begin.

Just last week my Co-Granny asked if I made all my slacks. I make nearly all of them. If I have a good pattern, I can make pants that fit faster than I can find pants that fit in a store. But I need my good pattern, which apparently is now located in Someplace Else.

Now I'm not a really weird size, but I am short. There's no sense in euphemisms. I'm shorter than petite, but my weight is in the right range for my height.

Honestly, I don't think that many women who are in my age group--older than Barbie--have an easy time finding pants that fit well. A couple of years ago, the Renegade Militant Seamstresses drafted pants patterns using the directions from a Nationally Known Sewing Instructor. The process involved stripping down to our skivvies, taking numerous measurements, doing complicated mathematics, drawing with yardsticks and T-squares on large sheets of paper taped together, and laughing a lot. I think one of the seamstresses came out with a usable pattern. Who knows where the rest of us went wrong? Measuring, calculating, drawing? The only thing to do was to laugh some more.

I wasn't laughing that much last night, but I've got the situation under control today. I adjusted all the darts, the side seams, the crotch seam, the leg width, and just about anything else that could be adjusted. More than once. Now I'm ready for the waistband and belt loops.

These pants are intended to have a relaxed fit, to leave room for the pickpocket-proof pocket to hold what a pickpocket might want to pick. I'll put elastic in the waistband so there is a little give and attach a loop to hold my pedometer on.

I've got to rework the pattern. Because fitting pants is a pain in the patootie!

Hanging Around With Friends!

2010-01-08T14:39:00.004-05:00

My four little dolls are hanging around with their friends.

Little Greeny is the oldest of the dolls, at nearly a year. You can find more information about her here.

The red one was the second one of these started but the last one finished. That would be finished yesterday. You can read more about her here and here. She doesn't have a name yet, so suggestions are welcome. And here's a close-up of her.

Blue Moonstone is a round robin birthstone doll. All that beautiful and complex beading? Three other people did it. I was stunned and amazed by the finished doll when it arrived home. You can see how I started to make her here and here.

If you read the first post link about the Blue Moonstone, you'll see why I had to make Miss Peachy. She was finished just before Christmas.

Now it's on to other projects--a pair of black slacks with a pickpocket-proof pocket. The pocket has a hidden zipper compartment. A nefarious individual would have to get his or her hand pretty far down into my pocket to get ahold of the zipper pull. There is another secret pocket hanging down on the inside for my passport. I made another pair of pants with a pickpocket-proof pocket a couple of years ago. I didn't write down how I did it, so I had to re-invent the process. I vowed that I would write down the steps this time. Oops! Forgot to do that. But I did write down how I changed the pattern (made smaller) when I cut out the slacks. Sure hope they fit...

*Note: I am not paranoid. We're taking a trip to Spain, and there are lots of warnings about pickpockets.

And then there's my January BJP page.

Peach Doll #2--Miss Peachy

2010-01-06T19:12:00.010-05:00

I finished Miss Peachy before Christmas, but in the midst of all the festivities, I did not have the time to post about her. So here she is:

And here's her back:

Faithful readers will remember that the poor little thing has had her problems, necessitating a heart transplant and a complete facial reconstruction, as described here.

She's doing well now, hanging around with some new friends.

A little over a year ago I made a doll in a similar color. Her name was Not Quite Pink. You can see her here. Not Quite Pink was beaded on only the front. I beaded the fabric, sewed the front and back together by hand, stuffed her, and put on a picot edging. She was sold so I needed to make a new doll.

Miss Peachy, as you can see, is beaded front and back. I fused some lightweight interfacing to the fabric, stitched the front and back together, stuffed her and beaded like crazy, using a curved needle. Except when she needed Major Surgery. (And for all of you who were wondering, I DID wash my hands before I performed the heart transplant and the facial reconstruction. You will not read about me in today's New England Journal of Medicine.)

I have two other little dolls nearly finished. One of them is Red, as shown here. She's been waiting for her back and stuffing for nearly a year. The other one is white, and it will be a gift.

If you want to see my other dolls, you can find them here.

Christmas Ornaments Revealed!

2009-12-30T19:18:00.009-05:00

Now that the celebration has been completed and the gifts distributed, the ornaments (aka the gifts) can be revealed. Most of the designs are from 202 Little Log Cabin Blocks by Linda Causee.

The ornaments are all foundation pieced. I used copy paper for the foundation, and I ripped it away, assisted by tweezers, before I made the ornaments.

The large ornaments are 2.5 inches square.

This small ornament is 2 inches square.

The penguin is 4 inches tall.

If you haven't tried foundation piecing, I recommend it.

Darth Vadar Shoes

2009-12-04T19:22:00.003-05:00

I am now the proud owner of two pairs of Darth Vadar shoes.

You may wonder why anyone (other than Darth Vadar) would want Darth Vadar shoes. Sometimes I wonder, too.

However, faithful readers will remember my difficulties finding footwear (described here). The humiliation of being laughed out of every shoe store in town... I can't go on. It's too horrible.

So I've tried to get used to being a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes. Except that they are running shoes not tennis shoes. And I'm not that old. I'm not!!!

Now a Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes is a vulnerable person. People ask her if she needs help lifting her turkey out of the frozen food bin. I don't, thank you very much. I'm just looking for one larger than 20 pounds. People tell her not to worry and reassure her that they won't knock her over as they push ahead at the yogurt display. You bet your sweet life you won't knock me over. And what exactly are you going to do with those eight one-quart containers of Dannon Low Fat Vanilla yogurt? (Ok, so I didn't say that, but I thought it.)

Now nobody messes with Darth Vadar. Except Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, and they are in a galaxy far, far away.

So if I have Darth Vadar shoes, nobody will mess with me. Brilliant! Because I do have two pairs of Darth Vadar shoes, as shown above.

And these shoes will be good travel shoes. Although they're not exactly glamorous (or at all lovely, except perhaps to Darth Vadar's inamorata), from a distance they look a little less like sneakers than the mostly white-colored shoes. And with another four months to perfect my Spanish, no one, not a single person, in Madrid will know I'm a tourist when I'm wearing these shoes.

Note to shoe shoppers: I ordered these from Endless Shoes since nothing in the right size was available locally. They had the best online prices and free shipping and free returns. I mean free overnight shipping. They arrived less than 24 hours after I ordered them.

More Major Surgery!

2009-12-01T14:36:00.005-05:00

First a heart transplant and then a complete facial reconstruction! Poor little doll! Thanks to all of you for your concern and good wishes. She's doing very well now and is making a quick recovery.

When we last spoke, I told you about the little doll I was making. You can refresh your memory of that conversation by looking the last part of my previous post.

As I continued to work on the doll, I realized that her heart was not in the right place. Her front looked like a back and her back looked like a front. I reluctantly came to the conclusion that a heart transplant was needed. So I removed the copper-colored heart from the back/front and placed it on the front/back. You can compare the photos in the previous post. Now I am confident she is anatomically correct.

This is the front:

And this is the back:

Last night there was a minor setback. Her face popped out! This required another trip to surgery for a complete facial reconstruction. Two more rows of 15/0 beads and she is good as new. Well, almost as good as new. She was left with a tiny scar on one eyebrow, but we all feel this gives her character. Now all she needs is a hair-do.

What I Have Been Doing When I Have Not Been Blogging

2009-11-14T13:04:00.005-05:00

1. We went to Florida to visit my sister. These sandhill cranes wander around her neighborhood.

2. I went trick or treating with my great-nieces. I didn't get any candy.

3. I fed the giraffe at the zoo.

4. I'm trying to learn to juggle. It's going very slowly. The book said I could learn in 10 minutes. Whoa! I must be in some sort of alternate universe where time is measured differently. Ten minutes passed a long, long time ago, and I'm still using only two beanbags. (Note: Do not put sand-filled beanbags deep in your suitcase. The TSA will need to search through your undies to determine what they are.)

5. I'm trying to learn Spanish. I'm using two free computer programs, one through our public library an one through the BBC. I took two years of Spanish in high school, long ago during the previous millennium. I'm surprised at how fast it's coming back after not quite 50 years. I do tend to occasionally revert to French, which I took in both high school and college. We're planning a trip to Spain and Morocco in the spring.

6. I'm working on another beaded doll. This is her front. If you recall, I thought about making my birthstone doll in these colors. I didn't. So here she is. I planned to put a molded paperclay face on her, but the ones I made seem too large. So she is temporarily faceless and nameless, blah, blah, blah...

This is the back.

Notice that in the description of the previous activities, there was no vacuuming. Pero las ventanas están limpias.

Very Cool, Very Warm Mittens!

2009-10-17T19:36:00.002-04:00

These are my new very cool, very warm mittens. They are made from a felted wool and angora sweater. The lining is fleece. And they are very, very warm.

These mittens were the latest project of the Renegade Militant Seamstresses. Wendy and Lorraine showed us how to make them. They were not really hard to make.

The former sweater was a soft and lovely cable-knit turtleneck. I wore it with a brown skirt. Then one summer there was an unfortunate incident with the skirt and I was unable to wear it to work any more. That incident involved my hips and a Tommy Turtle sundae. It's too horrible to think about.

So, inspired by my daughter, I machine washed and dried the sweater. It came out very small, about a foot in length and two feet in circumference, just barely big enough to make two mittens. Jan let me use some of her lightweight royal purple fleece for lining. The fleece I had was too thick.

I'm thinking about making some more mittens with this pattern. I have some windblock Polar Fleece in the basement, but not enough to make any sort of garment. That would make really warm mittens. I'd use the windblock fleece on the outside and some thinner fleece on the inside.

One of the Seamstresses mentioned that the mitten pattern would work for oven mitts. Hmmm... 100% wool would not conduct heat and is fire resistant. It sounds like another project. I guess I'll have to go thrift store shopping.

Paper Cloth, such as it is...

2009-10-13T14:12:00.003-04:00

Here are a few samples of the paper cloth I made for the Stitch Alchemy book study described in the previous post.

This first one shows how opaque the Speedball Acrylic Ink is. I should have known. The label says "super pigmented." The paper cloth was made with blue and white tissue paper and a few scraps of paper towel previously painted blue. I sprayed blue ink and then dripped red ink. That was so dark that I stamped some stars with an iridescent red-gold ink. It's still dark.

This second piece was made with plain white tissue on the muslin. It was sprayed with some blue paint while the glue was still wet. After it dried, I applied pink, medium blue and very dark blue ink, rubbing the stamp pads lightly on the surface. This made the folds in the tissue show up better.

For the third piece, I layered both tissue paper and cheesecloth on the muslin. After it was dry, I sprayed it with the blue acrylic ink. After that was dry, I applied a wash of yellow Dye-na-Flow. Then I sponged on some blue Dye-na-flow.

So far, this has been great fun, and I'm learning a lot.

Stitch Alchemy--An Extra Credit Book Report

2009-10-05T14:00:00.004-04:00

Stitch Alchemy by Kelli Perkins is one of my new books. I'm taking part in an online book study of Stitch Alchemy through Mixed Media Art Friends, a yahoo group. Belinda Spiwak is organizing the book study.

I've been waiting for Stitch Alchemy to come out since it was first advertised last spring. And it's not just because Kelli Perkins is My Own Personal Reference Librarian. Kelli has had many articles published in Cloth, Paper, Scissors, and she has appeared on Quilting Arts TV. Her work is accessible, colorful, and imaginative, and her writing is wonderful. So the book was bound to be good.

I've had the book for a couple of weeks now, and I have enjoyed it very much. It shows us how to combine paper and cloth into a textile that can be embellished and used like both paper and cloth. And anyone willing to get her fingers sticky can make paper-cloth!

First, the book is visually beautiful. The samples draw you in at first, but then you look at the rest of the page. This is not a black-text-on-white-page book. Everything is colorful and shows texture. Yet it isn't jarring or overwhelming, and you can easily settle on the text. The entire book is eye candy that won't give you a stomach ache.

Second, it is loaded with techniques to color and pattern paper-cloth. I mean really loaded. A quick count identified more than 80 different techniques, from dripping ink to thread sketching. These techniques may not all be new, and the descriptions are brief. But it's a treat to have them all in one place, making Stitch Alchemy a very useful reference. I found myself thinking about how I could combine a number of the techniques and how I could adapt them to just paper or just cloth. Kelli writes about serendipity, and I found myself anticipating serendipity.

Third, Stitch Alchemy is written for (and by) a lover of language. Kelli's librarian side shows in the way the book is written. And I don't mean the Shhh! kind of librarian. Think purple-streak-in-the-blond-hair kind of librarian. Meander, saturated glory, divine, montage, akin, rustaholic, hand-rendered. Different--simpler--words could have been used, but the book is much more fun to read with these words.

The last part of the book provides a number of projects to make with decorated paper-cloth. I'm not there yet. I'm still looking forward to the decorating. Now all I have to do is control my enthusiasm so I don't work way far ahead of the book study. Huh! I'm after the extra credit, so I'll start playing as fast as I want!

I'm Wearing a Tablecloth!

2009-09-25T12:38:00.003-04:00

I'm wearing a tablecloth! A garage sale tablecloth. And I love it!

This jacket is made from an originally white, rayon damask tablecloth I bought at a garage sale last summer. The tablecloth spent the winter in a drawer mulling over its options. Finally it decided to become a blue jacket.

First, I washed and bleached the tablecloth with chlorine bleach. It had plenty of coffee or other spots, and most of them came out. Second, I decided where on the tablecloth I would place my pattern pieces to best utilize the damask pattern. Third, I cut up the tablecloth into manageable pieces and zigzagged the edges. The reason for that was to make it easier to stir the fabric in the dyepot for more even dyeing.

I dyed it using Procion MX dye--Midnight Blue, I think. This was my first home alone dyeing adventure. I was pleased with the way the tablecloth turned out. The damask pattern shows up very well.

There was only one problem. I couldn't remember which pattern pieces went on which fabric pieces. So when the dyed fabric was rinsed, washed and dried, I had to work with the pattern pieces and the fabric again. Only this time, the smaller fabric pieces limited where I could put the pattern pieces. I really should make notes of these experiments with alchemy.

I used Chinese ball buttons and corded loops as a fastening, and I usually button all of them. It is unlined and very comfortable. The jacket drapes well and (I think) looks better on me than the pictures show. I am not listing to the side. The camera holder is.

This is the back.

Now I have two more tablecloths and several smaller linens dyed. It is fun to use these pieces as fabric.

Sheep Baa Loudly!

2009-09-13T10:01:00.003-04:00

I didn't remember that. But sheep baa loudly. Very loudly. And they have different vocal ranges--bass, baritone, tenor. I didn't hear any altos or sopranos.

Yesterday my daughter and I went to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. We first took a leisurely stroll through the vendors, looking at the lovely yarn and roving, tools and gadgets, and sample projects. It was especially interesting to see the hand dyed fibers. The colors are gorgeous, and incite drool.

Throughout the stroll, each of us muttered to ourselves and each other, "I don't need any more projects." And, "I already have some of that."

Our muttering was successful. I only bought a bottle of Synthrapol. Although I do have some of that, I don't have enough for more projects.

My daughter bought two root beer floats. She drank one and I drank the other. The root beer floats were sold by the Future Farmers of America Alumni. A discussion about the vendors commenced. Are they farmers? Or former future farmers? Or both? Or some of each? We didn't ask them.

We also took the grand tour of the sheep barns. That's where we reminded about the sheep voices. Loud. Very loud. And rude, on occasion. My sources describe the actual sheep voices as "parodies of themselves." My sources are right.

This knowledge of loud sheep voices causes one to think about the idea of counting sheep to fall asleep. It wouldn't work. The baaing would keep one awake. It would keep one's neighbors awake. The neighbors banging on one's ceiling would keep one awake. The law enforcement official ringing one's doorbell would keep one awake. The siren of the firetruck called as reinforcement would keep one awake. The splashing of the water from the fire hose squirting the sheep would keep one awake. The barking of the sheepdogs brought by the animal control officer herding the sheep would keep one awake. Counting sheep wouldn't work.

Better to count goldfish.

Fancy Feet!

2009-09-04T16:43:00.007-04:00

Aren't they fabulous?

And they're mine, all mine!

In June at the Relay for Life, I won a certificate for a pedicure in the door prize drawing for survivors. Not an ordinary pedicure, but a Spa Pedicure!

This week I ventured out for the Spa Pedicure. I have never had a pedicure before. Or even a manicure. It was my chance to become glamorous!

One of the many reasons I've never had a Spa Pedicure (or even a regular one) before has to do with my everyday footwear:

And my dress-up footwear:

And my football footwear:

And my... Oh, no, these aren't my footwear, but they are my feet.

The size of my feet makes it difficult to find footwear. I wear size 5AA. One of the first things I learned when we moved to West Michigan is that Dutch people are tall and have big feet. And they brought those feet to West Michigan. I've been laughed out of every shoe store in town. And it's getting harder to find shoes in my size online. Several manufacturers that used to make my size no longer do. New Balance, my previous favorite shoes, even changed their last to provide "a roomier toe box". I don't need that room, and the size I used to wear is now too wide.

This is what is available in my size. After you eliminate all the Birkenstocks, which are too wide, all the tap dance shoes, all the ballet shoes, and all the shoes over $150, there's not much left. (If you have a good source of shoes in my size, please let me know.)

The Spa Pedicure itself was wonderful. I should have taken notes, because I can't remember even half the steps. The massaging chair, the foot soak, the exfoliating cream, the lotion, the feet in plastic bags wrapped in a hot towel, the foot and leg massage. And after both feet were done, it seemed the same steps were repeated except with different creams and lotions. My toenails were filed, my calluses and rough spots were treated, my cuticles were pushed back, and several coats of polish were applied to my toenails. I read Elle, Glamour, and three issues of People.

I left the salon with my well-moisturized feel sliding all over my sandals. When I got home, I sat for an hour with my fancy feet on the footstool so the polish could dry completely. And then I put my socks and shoes back on. My feet were freezing.

And now I'm glamorous. I'll definitely win a Spa Pedicure again.

Celebration! Finished On Time!

2009-08-31T20:03:00.004-04:00

I finished my August Bead Journal Page on time! Today! Twenty minutes ago! 7:40 p.m. EDT.

Early in the month, I decided that my theme for August would be celebration. The celebration of completing a year's challenges, reflection and work. Again, early on, I chose purple with gold accents as the color of celebration. A royal color, for a celebration. And gold for a celebratory sparkle.

Technical Details:

As with the other pages, I used Lacy's Stiff Stuff. I painted it purple with Dye-na-Flow.

Most of the beads on this page are 11/0s. There are some Delicas, some 15/0s, some 8/0s and a few 6/0s. There are two kinds of 11/0 Toho triangles, some 8/0 Miyuki triangles and three cubes. A few bugle beads complete the design.

As I did throughout the year, I used the backstitch almost entirely.

The page is 2.75 inches by 2.75 inches.

This page was stitched with C-lon lilac thread.

What I Was Thinking:

When I conceived this Celebration! piece, I assumed it would be all about celebrating my completion of the BJP. Then I saw on the BJP blog how few of the 260 or so of the initial participants actually expected to make 12 pages. I was surprised at the low number.

This month I took a workshop with Anita Luvera Mayer at the Michigan League of Handweavers. As we introduced ourselves, we were to tell something that we liked about ourselves. And there it was, right in the front of my brain ready to be blurted out, "I take my obligations seriously." Well, that statement was far off to the left of what everyone else said. But I do take my obligations seriously, and I like that about myself.

Last summer I thought quite a while about whether I should join the BJP. I needed to be sure I could meet the expectations. If I committed to it, I would complete it. That's just the way I am.

Now I know that life happens. In fact, life has happened to me. Other people may not have thought that joining the BJP meant that completing the pages was an obligation. Or even a commitment. That's ok for them, but it wouldn't work for me.

So this page celebrates the completion of the project and honors my attitude toward my obligations and commitments.

Issues That Came Up:

I was majorly distracted by other activities--even commitments and obligations--during August. (See earlier posts.) I was determined to finish the page by the end of the month. In fact, my original idea was to finish exactly on August 31. I actually did not get started stitching until last week.

It was starting to get dark by the time I took the photo, and the purple looked blue. I doctored it up a little with the photo editor, but I'll take a new picture tomorrow.

Next on my list is to post all my photos to the BJP website. And I'm ready to sign up for next year's BJP.

French Seams, Chinese Ball Buttons, Thread from Ikea and 16 Pounds of Money

2009-08-29T15:56:00.004-04:00

I've been working on my jacket from the rayon tablecloth I dyed. So far, so good. It will be unlined and the rayon frays like crazy so I considered several ways to finish the seams. At first I planned on doing a Hong Kong seam, but I didn't have any amazing fabric to use as the binding. I wondered, too, if the added weight of the binding would be too much for the rayon fabric. I decided that I would do French seams. That's what you see above, on the inside of the jacket. To make French seams, stitch the pieces wrong side together with a 3/8 inch seam. Trim that seam to 1/8 inch. Then fold right sides together and stitch a 1/4 inch seam, enclosing the raw edges. Since the sleeve seams won't be seen, I just overcast them. I turned the raw edges of the facing and the sleeve hems in and stitched them down with a machine feather stitch.

I was concerned that the jacket would lose its shape because the fabric is so drapey. I redrew the interfacing and facing so it would be similar to the interfacing that would be in a tailored jacket or coat. It goes all the way across the back and around the armseye in both front and back. This facing will enclose the sleeve to armseye seam.

I decided to make Chinese ball buttons for the closure. I think the jacket would look very cool with some kind of elaborate frog, but I think they would be too heavy. The ball buttons I made really are round. In the picture the shank pushes them off to the side. The next time I take a picture of something like this, I'm going to put the button on top of a spool of thread and push the shank down the hole in the spool. Then the button will stand up straight. Of course I didn't think of this idea until I started editing the photo of the thread below.

Who knew Ikea was the place to get thread? When my daughter and I were there a couple of years ago, this thread was on sale for fifty cents. So I bought some of this blue and some navy. Now I'm a thread connoisseur--or maybe just someone who has already done enough sewing with unsatisfactory thread. I thought it was pretty good when I bought it, but I was too chicken to try it out. Since the color matched and I didn't want to trek out the fabric store, I decided to use the Ikea thread. It's fabulous! Very smooth, no lint, no breakage, and I wish I had more.

In one of my periodic "There's no room for any more stuff" fits, I decided it was time to get rid of all the coins that have been collecting around here. I rolled 16 pounds of coins! I'm feeling rich!

More Experiments In the Dyepot

2009-08-25T17:17:00.004-04:00

It's a good thing I don't have particular expectations for these experiments. It's a good thing any result that includes color is fine with me. It's a good thing that I consider this a learning experience. Because I'm having fun seeing the usually unexpected results and learning from them. And I'm ready to play more with the dye.

I spent a good part of yesterday in the backyard playing with Procion MX dye again. Now a true scientist would follow precise directions, document procedures and analyze results. Me, I just plunged my rubber-gloved hands into the dyepot and let things happen. And I have learned a lot.

For instance, a really tall person like me (five feet and three-quarters inch tall) will find it easier to work with the dyepots on a table instead of on the ground. Two plastic sawhorses and a piece of plywood that had served as the base of a model of the Jamestown settlement twenty years ago can make a fabulous table. Oops! I neglected to cover the wood with plastic (step 1 in the dyeing directions) so the wood got quite wet.

The entire process went much faster this time. I had a better idea of how to arrange the equipment and materials for greater efficiency. And I had a brilliant idea of how to rinse out the large pieces of fabric. I hung them on the clothesline and sprayed them with the hose. Brilliant! Extremely brilliant!

I dyed a cotton damask tablecloth and a small linen napkin a golden yellow. I started with lemon yellow, but it was too greenish yellow for me. So I added some fuchsia. And a little more fuchsia. Hmmm... It looked somewhat orange, and I am not an orange person. I started to re-think the orange situation. Maybe I was an orange person after all. But after the fabric dried, it was more of a golden yellow edging toward appricot. I'll put that orange stuff aside for now. In my previous dyeing experiments, I cut the tablecloth into pieces so it would move more easily in the dyepot for more even color. This time I did not, and the tablecloth has more of a mottled, hand-dyed effect. I think it will make an interesting jacket. Note that the napkin is a slightly different color.

The other fabric I dyed was some cotton, mid-wale corduroy. I used lilac with a little midnight blue. I thought the lilac might be too light for me. Since there were two yards of this relatively thick fabric, I did cut this into four shorter lengths that would fit the pattern pieces of a jeans jacket. I think I should have used a larger container for a more even effect. One piece must of been stuck on the bottom of the pot. But the distressed look will be well suited to the pattern.

The piece that got stuck on the bottom of the dyepot has quite a few spots of undissolved dye. I don't know whether the magenta spots came from the lilac or the midnight blue. Next time I'll pour the dissolved dye through a coffee filter to reduce that effect. But, it is the distressed look.

Other important info gathered during the dyeing process:
1. If one wears jeans, one does not get varicose vein-like dye drips on one's legs.
2. Mosquito repellent does not keep the bees away.
3. A real ayrtiste would sacrifice a Rubbermaid tote to serve as a dyepot.

Hand Dyed Fabric

2009-08-16T15:54:00.007-04:00

I spent most of Saturday dyeing fabric in the backyard. I used Jacquard MX Teal and Midnight Blue dyes. I was delighted with the results, except that the next time I'm going to use a table to hold the dyepots. I'm way too tall to stir the dyepots on the ground for over an hour.

The adventure started with a trip to four local thrift shops. I was looking for buckets, pitchers, stirring implements, measuring cups and measuring spoons. I didn't find everything I was looking for, but I did find a few treasures. Who wouldn't want to dye fabric in a pumpkin? A perfect container.

I also found a white cotton damask tablecloth. Although it looked grungy in the store, all the spots came out in the washing machine. Now I'm not sure if I will use it as a tablecloth or dye it. The only drawback to using it as a tablecloth is that it would be ironing heck. I also found a set of four napkins and an interesting damask towel with a monogram.

The top photo shows the dyeing in progress. The four napkins, the towel and a piece of silk dupioni are on the left. They were dyed teal. On the right are a rayon damask tablecloth (garage sale) and a piece of cotton muslin in the midnight blue dye. The tablecloth has been cut into pieces so I could move them around in the dyepot. I hope to make a jacket out of it.

Here's the clothesline with the rinsed fabric.

One of the most interesting things was what happened in the teal dye. All three of these pieces were dyed in the same pot for the same amount of time. The green piece is the silk dupioni. Then on the right are two of the napkins. It turns out that they were a set, but not a matched set. The darker one in the middle is heavier fabric that the other three. I think that may be why it is darker.

This is a picture of the design on the rayon tablecloth. As far as I can tell, all the coffee stains were covered up by the dye.

And this is the towel. I'm not positive what the monogram is. Suggestions are welcome.

All went well. I do not have purple hands. They have a bluish tinge, as if I needed more oxygen in my system. And no, I did not have a sudden attack of varicose veins, although it might take a doctor to tell for sure. They're just dye drips down my legs. Maybe another shower will take care of them.

I Have Purple Hands

2009-08-12T19:48:00.006-04:00

again.

It's a good thing I hadn't planned to have tea with the Queen. Her Majesty hasn't invited me. Actually, none of the other Majesties have invited me either. That's a good thing, too, since I don't have a thing to wear.

Nothing that will go with purple.

Today's purple hands are compliments of Creative Synchronicity with Silks and Dye, a class at the Michigan Fiber Festival taught by Rita Petteys. A way fun class!

Last week's purple hands were compliments of Mudpies for Adults, a class taught by Anita Luvera Mayer at the Michigan League of Handweavers Conference. Another way fun class!

This is what I've been wondering... When I wash my hair tonight will it turn purple from my hands? Will I look like Kelli Perkins? Will I be able to do art like Kelli Perkins? I wish!

The Joy of Joy: July BJP

2009-08-03T19:46:00.005-04:00

July is warm summer, relaxation, vacation. It's marigolds and tomatoes, blueberries and corn. It's the All Together Week. It's a joyful time. My July BJP is The Joy of Joy.

Technical Details:

July is beaded on Lacy's Stiff Stuff (as are all the others) painted with a fabric paint, but I can't remember which one.

The beads are 6/0s, 8/0s, 11/0s, 15/0s, and some bugles and hexes. I stumbled on the teardrop shaped beads in a sale bin.

Most of the piece was done in the backstitch. There is one ruffle made with bugle beads and one made with 11/0 beads. There are some stacks of 11/0s that increase in height toward the middle of the square. There is a twisted chain, a stitch that must have another name in English, since the name in Japanese was not clear to me.

The page is 2.75 inches by 2.75 inches.

I used yellow C-lon thread.

What I Was Thinking:

I was thinking about what joy meant to me. It's not loud or raucous. It's not flashy or hilarious. To me, the best kind of joy is bright and serene. It is internal. That's the difference between fun and joy. Family and friends are the best kind of joy, although they are usually fun, too.

I choose yellow beads to be sunny and cheerful. But I choose a more subdued yellow with golden tones and several pale yellows. This is a serene, internal joy, and I wanted the piece to glow.

Issues that Came Up:

As I worked on this page, I was surprised to discover what joy meant to me. And it was the beads that showed me. I expected joy to be more of a very bright yellow. Like "Whoopee, yahoo, and yay!" But it wasn't. The Joy of Joy is warm and serene and comfortable inside me. A softer golden yellow. Calmer and longer lasting.

I like this page.

MX Dyeing Day

2009-07-30T19:57:00.011-04:00

Last Friday we had another dyeing day at Jennifer Gould's. This time it was with MX dye on cellulose fiber. It was a small group, just Jennifer, Margie and me. None of us had done much dyeing recently. My most recent dyeing experience was in a previous century. Think back (if you're old enough) to the period when Harvest Gold was in fashion. Think Rit. Think retro. Think not recent.

We worked from three books, Color By Accident and Color By Design by Ann Johnston and The Surface Designer's Handbook by Holly Brackmann. Each book, of course, had different directions. And as far as we could tell, the directions in each book were not always internally consistent.

In preparation for the event, I had checked out a couple of other books about dyeing from the library. Each of these had still different directions.

Soda ash, Synthrapol, urea, water softener, salt, dye powder. water. Other stuff with unpronounceable names. How much do you add and when? Or is it even needed? Soda ash, dye powder and water? Yes. Others? Maybe or maybe not.

I think that each dye artist (or ayrt alchemist) has come up with his or her favorite method, much as a baker comes up with a bread recipe. You can vary the ingredients and still have a pretty good bread. Even excellent bread, but it might not taste exactly the same.

Back to the process. We had to prepare for the event by scouring our fabric--washing it in Synthrapol and soda ash. This is my fabric the day before:

After we arrived at Jennifer's, we fortified ourselves for the event. Two coffeecakes and brownies are just what the dye artist needs. Then we read and discussed the directions. And read and discussed the directions again. And again. There was a certain amount of off-topic chatter. Then we looked at the directions and plunged ahead.

A dye artist must be careful not to inhale any of the MX dye powder. Apparently it is non-toxic, but one can become sensitized to it. So we had to call in special helpers to mix the dye powder with water. Darth Vadar and his other friend Darth Vader showed up, and we put them to work.

Here is Darth.

Here is his other friend Darth Vadar mixing the dye in the hermetically sealed dye mixing chamber.

And here is our dye all ready to go.

After a brief intermission to eat lunch--more coffeecake and brownies--we started dyeing. As far as I was concerned, it was all experimental. I just wanted to see what happened. And here is my result.

How did I end up with four orange pieces? I am not an orange kind of person.

Ahh, blue. That's more like it.

I'm going to dye some more fabric. I bought a rayon damask tablecloth at a garage sale, and I want to dye it so I can make a jacket. And I'm not sure how I'm going to do it. I got five additional books about dyeing from the library, and there are five new sets of instructions. Whoopee!

The All Together Week Box

2009-07-25T19:56:00.005-04:00

Another Crackpot Project of the All Together Week was making fabric origami boxes. Nancy had a new book, Fun with Folded Fabric Boxes, and making some origami boxes seemed like a great project. The boxes are made with stiffened fabric, so our first stop was to Michael's to get some fabric stiffener with our 40% off coupons.

One by one, we painted the stiffener on the fabric and hung it outside to dry. We debated the chemical composition of the fabric stiffener. Watered-down Elmer's Glue was one thought. The two certainly look and smell the same. We considered whether to try some watered-down Elmer's on the fabric. Having none at any of the Cute Little Houses and with other items on the agenda (see below), that did not happen.

In the meantime, we practiced making the boxes with paper. Everyone else had done a fair amount of origami before. I am still at the mountain fold means up; valley fold means down stage. It's a little like having to mutter, "Hay foot, straw foot," as I march off to meet the Redcoats.

And this is my box. It's 6 inches by 6 inches by 3 inches. I chose this tie dye fabric for the top because I couldn't imagine what else I could do with it.

There were two agenda items that prevented us from conducting the Elmer's Glue experiment. First, magnificent structures needed to be constructed at the sandbox of the Cute Little Houses. Note that there are three people working on one tunnel through the sand mountain. It could get crowded in there.

And we had to visit the Captain. Yum! Yum! It's an annual event.

The All Together Week Quilt

2009-07-19T16:27:00.007-04:00

Last week was the All Together Week. It was a blast! One of the traditional activities is for the five Crackpot Quilters to gather and make a quilt for charity. We did it again this year. Based on the fact that last year's quilt has remained a quilt top still waiting for finishing (and that one of our members would be accompanied by her adorable 22-month-old assistant), we decided to aim for just a quilt top. It will go to Quiltmaker magazine's Project Linus efforts.

Although there was some discussion of using a puzzle piece pattern, we settled on Chinese Coins, a traditional quilt pattern. Our plan was to use scraps we already had for the coins. One member of the group had spent considerable time organizing her fabric scraps and cutting them into pieces 2 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches. We decided to use this size for our coins so we could incorporate some of her pieces. The quilt would have three strips of coins, separated and surrounded by black sashing.

Here is our collection of fabrics to choose from:

And here are our strips sewn together. There are six strips, enough for two quilt tops. The polka dot fabric on the right side and lower edge will be the border.

And here is the middle of one quilt top with the black sashing attached:

We were pleased with our progress on the quilt tops. It was a fun project.

The Painted Undergarment: A PG-13 Post

2009-07-09T15:27:00.004-04:00

WARNING. THIS IS A PG-13 POST. SOME MATERIAL MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER CYBER VIEWERS. PARENTAL GUIDANCE RECOMMENDED.

I'm starting on a new project for a fundraiser. It's an auction sponsored by a nearby women's club. In October, they will auction off decorated bras to raise money for mammograms for women with no insurance. This is a cause close to my heart. Literally. About two inches away from my heart. My contribution will be beaded, of course.

I started with a bra purchased on sale at TJ Maxx. I only mention the low price of $3.00 because that means I can spend more money on the beads.

After I got the bra home and washed it, I realized how pink it was. Really, really pink. So pink that if I wanted to use any beads other than pink ones, the color would show through. Not being willing to spend my bead money on another undergarment, I decided I would paint it. This is the result.

I used a white craft acrylic paint on the cups. You can see how pink they used to be by looking at the unpainted sides and back. The straps are clear plastic-type stuff and they will be replaced. Even with the foam lining, the cups will have to be reinforced to hold the weight of the beads. Otherwise they will sag and look like....Oh, no, let's not go there...

I have just a few engineering details to work out--like exactly how to prevent the previously mentioned sagging and how to deal with the stretchy sides and back. I have some ideas, but as happens frequently with this sort of technical process, it will be trial and error.

The Traveling Bead Studio

2009-07-05T19:36:00.003-04:00

Inspired by That Celticat Chick, I decided to make a Traveling Bead Studio, and here it is. It's a plastic pencil case, eight inches by five inches. The usual $1.00 item at the back to school sale. Note the interesting reflection on the top of the box. That would be me. And, no, I am not an alien from outer space.

The bottom half is lined with a scrap of velux blanket, aka beading mat. The beading mat is held in place by the ever useful masking tape donuts.

So far, my Traveling Bead Studio has taken a train trip to Chicago, a ferry ride to Wisconsin, and a plane flight to St. Louis. All right, all right, so I didn't bead on the airplane, but I did bead on the train and on the ferry. And I did bead in the airport and in the hotel.

The Traveling Bead Studio works quite well. It holds enough little bags of beads for a small project, kindergarten scissors, thread, a pencil, and the always essential seam ripper. As an added bonus, you can stick the needle in the beading mat for safekeeping. For a larger project, a person could bring along an auxiliary container of additional beads. The high edges of the Traveling Bead Studio prevent embarrassing spillage that could call one to the attention of TSA employees.

The Traveling Bead Studio is an Open Source device. Anyone may copy it.

Reflections on BJP 08-09

2009-07-04T17:19:00.002-04:00

I lurked around the edges of the BJP 07-08, admiring everyone's work and wishing I could participate.

When I read about BJP 08-09, I wanted to join. But I'm not a real artist; I'm just someone who plays with beads. Could I keep up? Would I be comfortable making my beading public? How much would I be willing to share in my blog? What kind of response would I get from the bead artists?

Somewhat aprehensively, I signed up. And then I started to get excited. I was so excited that I started my September piece in August and finished it the first week of September. It was fun!

My original idea was that my year-long journal would be trying new techniques. That focus didn't last too long. By October, I had begun using my beading to process, reflect on, explore things in my life. I became more and more willing to share myself with other BJP members.

I'm a pretty reserved person, and I did not expect to make BJP friends. But I have, and that has been the most rewarding part. It has been wonderful to share experiences--sometimes about beading, sometimes about other things--with these new friends. Everyone has been helpful, encouraging, and affirming.

I continue to be in awe of the beautiful art made by the BJP members. I am already planning to participate in BJP '10.

Thanks to you, Robin, and your team for giving me this opportunity.

Confessions of an Iron Snob

2009-07-03T20:06:00.003-04:00

My name is Marty, and I'm and Iron Snob.

I'll admit it. I'm picky about irons. I iron quite a bit, and I know what I like. Ordinary, run-of-the-mill irons are not for me. I want features, and I know what features I want. And I want them now!

Steam. Lots of it. Variable steam. Burst of steam. (Vertical steam not necessary.)

Spray. Reliable spray. A spray push button suitable for an arthritic thumb.

A control knob. An easy to use control knob. A control knob that doesn't fall off.

A skinny, pointed tip.

Automatic shut-off. Not that I would ever need it. What never? Well, hardly ever.

An extra long cord.

Light in weight. Even if I am Super Muscle Woman, I try to confine my weightlifting workouts to the fitness center.

A very stable heel rest. Very, very stable. Stable enough to be almost anti-gravity.

And this is what I've been using for the past few weeks. It's the garage sale iron.

It has no features except steam. None. But the price was right. $1.00. Take my word for it. You'll have to believe me because the price sticker on the handle is partly rubbed off.

This iron has been in the basement for more than ten years. I bought it for my daughter as she was getting ready for job interviews as a senior in college. For some reason I didn't remember I had given her a real iron earlier. It has had occasional use.

Below is the iron I wish I still had. The Steam & Reach. It burned out in a glorious blaze of... Well, not exactly. One afternoon I noticed that the handle had become quite hot. The next day, it made some clicking noises but wouldn't go on. Not to confuse anyone with references to multiple small appliances, but this iron was toast. The box is still here (available to store the garage sale iron) but the iron has moved on.

I bought this wonderful Steam & Reach one day in a snit. It was about 15 years ago. Imagine coming home from an exhausting (and not all that thrilling) work-related conference to have your associate homeowner confess right there in the airport terminal that your iron had been terminated. Violently thrown to the basement floor... Well, not exactly. Knocked off the ironing board onto the basement floor by an innocent (huh!) person looking for nails on the workbench. The old iron was toast. Little pieces of toast.

So I went iron shopping that week. The only other option was wrinkles, since the garage sale iron was still with its previous owner. I found the wonderful Proctor-Silex Steam & Reach. I didn't know how wonderful it was at first. And then I discovered the beauty of the Reach--the extra long cord. No longer was I forced to be adjacent to an electrical outlet. I could iron while I roamed! Of course, carrying the ironing board all over while ironing was a little awkward, but the possibility of roaming was so liberating!

The iron wasn't perfect. But that only made it more endearing. About halfway into its working life, the temperature control knob came off. That was a minor problem, only of importance if one wanted to control the temperature. I put it back on several times. Finally my associate homeowner glued it on with something powerful, no doubt to make up for the unfortunate incident with the previous iron. The Steam & Reach was just like new. And knowing that the knob might come off again just added some excitement to my ironing.

But I must come to terms with the fact that the Steam & Reach has moved on. So I say, "Good-by, sweet iron. I'll try to find a worthy successor."

The Indian Beaded Purse

2009-07-01T17:03:00.002-04:00

The history of this apparently Native American Indian made beaded purse is unknown. It was in a box of other textiles that came from my mother. The outer fabric appears to be velvet or velveteen and the lining fabric cotton. The front and the back are exactly the same. The purse is about 7 inches tall and 5 inches wide. I'd measure it, but it's carefully wrapped in acid-free tissue in a textile storage box on the top shelf of the closet. The purse shows some wear. Some beads are loose or missing, and the fabric is nearly frayed in places.

Here is a detail of the beading. Perhaps you can see that there is a three-dimensional effect to the beading of the flowers. The outer edges of the flowers are farther away from fabric than the middles of the flowers. Look for the brownish sequins sewn on with beads. I wonder what color the sequins were originally.

The purse is like a pocket, open at the top with no closure. The flaps on the front and back do not cover the opening. They are just flaps. There is no string or handle to hold on to.

I know my mother purchased some things from the Indian tribes in Central Michigan during the 1930s as she traveled for her work. Perhaps this is one of those things.

The Beads Sang!

2009-06-22T20:06:00.006-04:00

First they whispered. Then they hummed. And then they sang. I let them. And then I joined in the music!

After the determination to grow in April and the need for control in May, in June the beads were free. They were happy and they sang. This is their song:

This piece was completely unplanned. It was spontaneous visual music. I picked the colors and just started.

Technical Details:

The foundation is Lacy's Stiff Stuff painted with Dye-na-Flow.

The beads are 15/0s, 11/0s, 8/0s, a couple of 6/0s, some triangles, a few cubes, some crystals, and absolutely no bugles.

The page is done almost entirely in the backstitch.

I used blue Nymo B thread. Nymo is my all time favorite. I use B or D, depending on the best color match.

What I Was Thinking:

I wasn't. I just let the beads sing, and I joined in their music.

Issues that Came Up:

I wanted to learn to use a curved needle so I could use it to bead dolls. I decided to try the curved needle on some flat beading on part of this page. That was a good idea. Now I am finding it very easy to use the curved needle on my doll.

After April and May, this page was amazingly relaxing to do.

It energized me. I heard the music, and I felt like dancing.

A Tale of Four Busses: The Bus, The Replacement Bus, the Other Replacement Bus, and the Great Big Bus that Could!

2009-06-20T12:26:00.004-04:00

It was a trip!

Part I: The Trip

On Wednesday I joined a group from the Grand Rapids Chapter of the American Sewing Guild for a trip to Chicago. Our first stop was the Textile Discount Outlet. We would then go to the Chicago History Museum to have lunch and see the Chic Chicago Exhibit. On the way home, we would stop at Hannah's in New Buffalo for dinner. This is a fun group, and I looked forward to the trip.

The bus started in Grand Rapids, but there was a stop along the lakeshore to pick up about 8 of us. This lakeshore stop meant that instead of leaving the house at 5:45 am to get to the other side of Grand Rapids, I could sleep in till 5:45 am and meet the bus at the Saugatuck commuter lot at 7:15. The lakeshore stop also meant that I would get home earlier--8:30 pm instead of 10:30 pm.

All went well until I saw the signs for the Saugatuck exit. That was when my oil light went on. Well, what do you do? I got off at the exit, pulled into the commuter lot and called my husband. If ever there was a time to delegate responsibility, this was it. After a few choice comments, he accepted the responsibility.

The bus pulled into the lot, and as I approached it I saw my husband driving down the road. We had a brief conversation through the car window as I stood in the light rain. We'd trade cars. But I didn't have a key for his car. (I had removed all unnecessary weight from my purse in preparation for the festivities.) He couldn't park his car without moving mine because all the spaces were full. Everyone else was on the bus. They were waiting for me. More delegation... I'll call from the restaurant on the way home.

We arrived at the Textile Discount Outlet before it opened. (Guess I could have done the car switcheroo after all.) The bus pulled around the block to park, and several travelers made an emergency stop at the Dunkin' Donuts on the corner. I resisted.

The Textile Discount Outlet is something else. Clearly it is not for everyone. To start with, it is not organized in what I would describe as a left-brained, sequential manner. And for the most part, prices are not marked. But for those of us who are on an adventure, who have a high tolerance for chaos, who are looking for the unexpected, and who have a good sense of direction so they can find their way out in an emergency, it's a blast. It's a mishmash of fabric, trimmings, notions, and remnants. No wonder it's known as The Dumpster Diving Place.

True confessions: I picked up three pieces of not-quite-UltraSuede to make jackets. It's really an almost upholstery weight moleskin. I also got some zippers, ribbon, and lace. And I found a treasure trove of Nymo thread. Most of it was very heavy weight, but I did find some cream D weight. The outer layer is a little dirty, but the rest is good.

Our next stop was the Chicago History Museum for lunch and a tour of the Chic Chicago exhibition. The exhibition featured gowns worn by prominent Chicago women from 1861 to 2008. If you are interested in fashion design, clothing construction, or the history of fashion, you will enjoy it. My assessment: Fabulous! There is nothing in the museum from Michelle Obama yet, but all of us predicted there will be soon.

Another fascinating exhibition showed the clothing and accessories of Bertha Honore Palmer, the most prominent woman in Chicago society in the late 19th century. She was known as the "Princess of the Prairie." If you read The Devil in the White City, you will remember Bertha Honore Palmer as the president of the Board of Lady Managers of the Columbian Exposition of 1893. One of the fascinating smaller pieces in the exhibit was a list of her purchases from Tiffany's during a five-month period. Over $107,000! Ladies and gentlemen, that's in turn-of-the-century dollars! $107,000!!!

The Chicago History Museum is an interesting little museum, and I would recommend it.

Part II: The Real Trip

It was 4:30 pm Central time, and the museum closed. There we were, 29 tired but happy women waiting on the sidewalk in front of the museum. And waiting. And waiting. No bus. And no cell phone number for the bus driver.

"He's run away with all our fabric," someone commented.

Our leader did have an emergency phone number for the bus company. After several calls and a 45 minute wait, we learned that the bus had broken down about six blocks from the museum. We decided to walk to the bus so we could at least sit down. Another bus was on the way from Someplace Else to pick us up. More waiting. We took advantage of the opportunity to have Show and Tell so we could all see what was purchased. That was fun. More waiting. The windows on the bus were propped open with empty water bottles. More cell phone calls. From everyone to everyone else at home. Some people were looking stressed.

Finally the Replacement Bus arrived. Yay! We grabbed our purchases and climbed onto the Replacement Bus. Charlie, our good-humored driver, started her up. Something was wrong. I don't know what except the word "air" was used over and over. The Replacement Driver got back on. He and Charlie had conversation about levers. I heard, "Really step on it...once you get going..." and little else. After about 15 minutes we went around the block. Apparently the problem continued. More cell phone calls. Lots more calls. More people were looking stressed, but everyone remained pleasant.

After a while a man in a blue cap and some sort of uniform knocked on the bus door. More conversation. More cell phone calls. And then a proposal surfaced: The 29 of us could squeeze into the Other Replacement Bus, a 24 passenger airport shuttle-type vehicle the man in the hat had parked across the street. More discussions. And a decision was made. We would take the Other Replacement Bus to our restaurant in New Buffalo, about a 90-minute ride. Still another bus would meet us there.

And so we did. The Other Replacement Bus may have had a sign on the outside that said Executive Transportation, but we weren't feeling like executives unless we were executives on the way to the clink. It was a little crowded three to a two-person seat, and the temperature controls were not the best--either hot and humid or absolutely freezing. But off we went. We may have been frozen, squished, hungry, and tired, but good humor prevailed.

And then the next issue: The restaurant closed at 10:00 pm Eastern time, and our estimated arrival time was a few minutes before 10:00. More cell phone calls. Should we try to get out of our pre-paid dinner? Should the driver of the fourth bus pick up the dinners to go? Or should we eat really, really fast at the restaurant? The restaurant manager agreed to stay open late, and we decided to eat at the restaurant.

As we pulled off the expressway into New Buffalo, we could see the fourth bus already there. Whew! We had a nice dinner at the restaurant, and the hot fudge sundaes really hit the spot. Everyone tried to call everyone else at home again, but most of us couldn't get a cell phone signal. Remember that if you ever go to New Buffalo. While we ate, the bus drivers transferred our belongings from the Other Replacement Bus to the fourth bus.

When everyone finished, the leaders did a head count to make sure everyone was on the bus. Oh, no! Only 28! Who is missing? Where is C? Is she in the restroom? She had joked about using the men's room because of the long line in the women's room (all us, as everyone else had left). Is she ill? Did she fall in the dark? Did she call her husband to come and pick her up? Where could she go? The leaders went back to the restaurant and searched the place. No C. Then they started walking around the grounds. Everyone was getting quite worried. And then a voice from the back of the bus: "C's back here." How could we have missed her? Because of two things--she's relatively short and not easily seen over the bus seats and she's somewhat hard of hearing so she missed the commotion. Finally, we were on our way home.

The Great Big Bus That Could arrived at the Saugatuck stop just after midnight. After finding the car key my husband had hidden, I drove home. At the very last stoplight before I got home, I was behind a police car. I could imagine the officer looking in his rear view mirror at me and thinking, "That woman should not be driving at this hour." He would have been right.

As I pulled into our garage at 12:30 am, my husband opened the door. "I'm back," I said.

"I hope you're not planning to do that again," he replied.

"Oh, yes, I am," I responded. "It was a blast!"

Afterward:

The Bus was towed to the bus garage.
The Replacement Bus was driven to the garage--slowly.
The Other Replacement Bus went back to Indiana.
The Great Big Bus that Could got us home.

My car is sick, and it has an appointment at the auto hospital with Dr. Leo on Tuesday.

The leader of this event left Friday to spend 10 days in Hawaii. She may need it.

The Round Robin Birthstone Doll

2009-06-16T19:42:00.003-04:00

My Birthstone Round Robin Doll is on its way to Colorado to visit and be beaded by someone else. Before she comes home, she will have also visited Florida and Australia. Pretty cool, I'd say. I am wondering why she didn't invite me along. I've never been to Colorado or to Australia.

My birthstones are pearl, moonstone, and alexandrite. Since I couldn't find a definitive explanation of what alexandrite was like (other than very expensive and named after Russian Tsar Alexander II), I decided to use pearl and moonstone.

After a certain amount of dithering (described here), I decided to stick with the light blue color scheme. I'll use the peach, white, cream and gray beads for something else.

Here she is from the front:

And here she is from the back:

She is about one-quarter beaded.

Note: No bloging tomorrow. I'm going to Chicago to "The Dumpster Diving Place." More on that this weekend. Please, somebody hold the rope tied to my foot as I go in!

Attitude of Gratitude Award

2009-06-08T20:24:00.002-04:00

Pam T nominated me for the Attitude of Gratitude Award. I'm humbled, and I've taken a while to meditate on what that means. I was surprised to discover that all my pages in this year's Bead Journal Project represent things for which I am grateful.

I realized that my gratitude for the things in my life grew as I faced and reflected on a scary time. That scary time is shown in my October page, Not Quite Pink. It also shows the first thing I am grateful for--good health.

I could not do without family and friends, my pages for March and February. I am glad that I have enough so I can share with others (November).

I am grateful that I can find the sparkles in the dark night (December) and resilience (January) in facing problems. I am grateful that I can choose to grow (April) and that I enjoy new adventures (September). I am grateful that I can maintain order and I am grateful that I can let things just flow (coming in June).

I am grateful for music that makes me want to dance. And for time to learn and create. And for the opportunity to help others. And for chocolate. I am grateful to be happy.

And I am grateful to have met some wonderful people through the BJP. I nominate Sandy for the Attitude of Gratitude Award because she is so generous, thoughtful and kind, even when she had stressful times in her own life. She saw where help would be welcome, and she provided that help. I admire her. And she does some really great art!

Here are the rules of the Attitude of Gratitude Award. I hope you will accept it, Sandy.

Rules of Accepting and Sharing the Attitude of Gratitude Award
Put the logo on your blog or post.
Nominate a few bloggers that show an attitude of gratitude.
Link to your nominees within your post.
Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award.
Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award.
Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude.

Weekend in Wisconsin, Part One: Race for the Cure

2009-06-03T11:53:00.005-04:00

We spent a long weekend in Madison, Wisconsin, visiting our daughter. We timed the visit so we could participate in the Komen Race for the Cure. When I hit the 5-year mark, our daughter, who had never been a runner, revealed that she had been training for several months to run in the Race for the Cure. We have been participating ever since. She runs, we walk.

We left her house on time. Many other people left their houses on time, too. But we all got stuck on the exit ramp of the Beltline. There was nothing to do but to sit there waiting until it was our turn to exit. Well, except for the guy who was a very determined runner. We saw him get out of his car (apparently driven by someone else), run up the ramp, across the bridge, and on to the Alliant Energy Center.

Eventually we arrived, although later than anticipated. This meant that we had less time to spend out in the drizzle. We also missed the Survivor picture. Worst of all, the pink plastic superheroine capes were gone by the time we got to the sponsor area. Drat! I spent the rest of the morning with Cape Envy. It still stings. With a pink plastic superheroine cape, I could have walked very fast. Very, very fast. This is what a cape looks like. Very cool, isn't it? And very powerful, I'm sure.

The weather was cool and drizzly before the race began. By the time it started, the drizzle had stopped, and it was overcast with just a few minutes of sunshine. I borrowed a long sleeved shirt from my daughter to wear under my race shirt. This was our fastest walk ever. To start with, we were closer to the front of the masses of walkers. There were more than 11,000 runners and walkers and more than 900 Survivors. Once we got past the strollers and wagons (who were supposed to be in the short walk), we kept passing people all along the way. Our daughter, who had finished well before us, found us as we approached the finish line. She and I were able to run across the finish line together, as we did last year. (Photo cropped to protect the innocent.)

I was honored to walk in celebration of Pam T, a Wisconsin online beading buddy who will soon complete her treatment. She is an amazing and brave woman and she deserves to be celebrated. She must have her own superheroine cape. To Pam T., I say, "You go, Girl!"

But I still have Cape Envy.

Indigo Dyeing Day

2009-05-23T19:51:00.003-04:00

Today was Indigo Dyeing Day. Jennifer Gould hosted an indigo dyeing workshop at her home for our Fiber Arts Guild and some friends. Jennifer provided the dye and the instruction, a variety of goodies, and perfect weather.

While the dye was being prepared, we soaked our fabric and yarn. Then it was time for the dye pot. Here is Jennifer pulling the first product, her yarn, out of the dye pot. We left each piece in the dye for only a minute. When we pulled the fiber out, it was green. Once in the air, it quickly oxidized and turned a dark blue.

Here are two pictures of our fabrics and yarn drying. Notice the amazing pseudo-clothespole holding up the rope. It was created from two ladders and some concrete blocks by Jennifer's friendly neighbor. Many of us tried some shibori. We stitched and tied the fabric and the thread or string acted as a resist to keep the dye from that part of the fabric. You can see some of the fabric tied together in the first picture.

In this picture, you can see some of the fabric after the stitching or tying has been released.

And these are the fabrics I dyed. I hope to use them together to make a vest. For the piece on the far left, I pulled up little bunches of fabric and tied them off. For the second piece, I gathered the fabric in wavy lines. For the third piece, I gathered parallel lines. This was the first piece I did. I realized quickly that I would have to use a different method if I wanted to get all my fabric done. For the fourth piece, I tied little stones into the fabric. For the fifth piece, I pleated the fabric diagonally and tied it every couple of inches. For the sixth piece, I scrunched the fabric diagonally and tied it.

And here is a little something extra that I found after I got home. The dye went right through my shoe.

Thanks, Jennifer, for a great day!

What To Do? What To Do?

2009-05-22T20:20:00.004-04:00

Well, I'm in a quandary. What to do? What to do?

I decided that I would use moonstone as my birthstone, and I found some beautiful jewelry using blue moonstones. Extremely expensive. But blue moonstone--just the thing for my doll, I thought. I made and stuffed the doll. Then I made the face cab and painted it a lovely light blue. She has a minor scar on her cheek, so I put the project aside for a couple of days while I contemplated plastic surgery or a total face transplant. Hey, lots of time till June 15.

Then Thursday, I stumbled into, er, made a special trip to, our not-quite-local bead store. I was feeling flush, with a pocket full of crumpled dollar bills and quarters. I had been reimbursed for supplies by participants in I workshop I had just taught in that town.

Then I saw it: A tube of beads labeled "Moonstone Mix." They were cream, white, peach and grey. I was smitten. The perfect colors for my birthstone doll. And then there was a coordinating tube of satin Delicas also labeled "Moonstone." I was beyond smitten. I was in love!

I went into meditation mode, trying to keep myself under control. I spent half an hour looking at every single bead in the shop. Twice. And then I purchased. Woo-Hoo!

Now I have to decide if I will use the little blue doll or change my color choices and make a new one. Lucky for me, I don't have to decide right away. I'm going an indigo dyeing workshop all day tomorrow so there will be no beading.

Don't worry, Little Blue Doll. Mommy loves still you.