Bonfire Pattern

I made a real life colored pencil and graph paper pattern that I used for my cuff, basically so I could change it as needed, but here is a jpg version for anyone interested. (If someone can tell me how to post a PDF on here, that would be swell...)



I only ask that you do not mass produce the pattern or the cuff. Also don't teach it for profit or pass it off as your own design.

Have fun!

Tackling it!

I am tackling my bead stash!

As a new follower of Tackle That Bead Stash, I decided to tackle their July moodboard theme.

In my last post, I wrote about those ohmygodsandoverlords gorgeous friendship bracelets? Remember? And I wrote that I had never finished one? Because they take too long? You remember all that? You're awesome :)

Anyway.

I drew heavy inspiration from those bracelets (which are a teenage mutant ninja mutant version of a fairly simple xoxo pattern) and then ran to my bead stash and picked colors.

I then sat down to bead, you know because that's so much quicker than tying a knot :)

And out popped this.




It didn't pop, more of a very slow oozing.



I have used Delicas in Black, matte transparent dark grey, matte transparent light grey, silverlined ruby red, silverlined orange-y red, silverlined orange that is slightly greasy-not quite glossy, not quite matte, and silverlined gold.



The clasp is a gold bar clasp, held on by Swarovski and Thunderpolish crystals in shades of orange, red, grey and black.

All beads, findings, thread, needles, etc were from my stash!

This one blazes up like fire when the light hits it.

I hearts it lots.

Resolution!

I think I may be on the way to keeping some resolutions

I studied and passed my PE exam!

I'm doing pretty well with the nose booping!

I'm not doing very well with the de-stashing, but since I've joined Operation Tackle That Bead Stash, I think I might see change on the horizon!

and two of my in-progress quilts are finished! My mom finished quilting the star quilt that I pieced-There are pics of the top here-I have photos of the quilt proper somewhere, but not here :(

Also, I pieced and quilted this one in quarters, but when it came to connecting the pieces, I gave up. I tried and tried and they just looked sloppy-so the obvious thing to do was...MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooom! Can you fix this? And she did. And it's perfect :)



I reckon after a washing, alot of the puckering will go away, but I'm so happy and I truly hope my bestest friend will like it. She likes Scooby Doo and the color pink, so she SHOULD.


Anyway, thats two finished out of five, so now I can start eleventy-three more? Right?

Also, I'm not getting any taller...

Knots and braids

While the in-laws were in town, I did very little in the ways of beading.

However, Monday rolled around and I couldn't stand it anymore. I didn't want to lug out the bead tray and do something fancy, I just needed to do something mindless.

I didn't have the disk set up for any Kumihimo, so I went to something else I can do, but pay very little attention to.

Macramé.

I inadvertantly cranked out 4 pieces on Monday. (Plus one on the ride to Chattanooga that I gave to my niece)

I made a choker with 4mm or 6mm hematite cubies


We have a lacy choker. I like the beads, but I'm not wild about the placement.


With the leftovers of the above, I made a bracelet. I used little porcelain(?) tubes with Asain motifs as accents.

I know I've had these forever because I remember making bracelets between classes with them in my second year of college (Circa 2002)

And finally, I wanted to do something with bright colors, and explore bead placement on the knotters. I think I accomplished that.



There is something very...off about my knotting here. I think a large part of that is this ball of hemp. The cord itself is very uneven and swallows the knotwork. Which is good if it breaks in more quickly, but bad if you have done fancy knotwork.

I'm also out of practice. You can tell that by the unevenness of my spacing.

I went looking for knotty blogs after this wave of macramé hit, and I stumbled across Neico's Knots via her etsy shop. Tell me that isn't some gorgeous macramé.

I also found this etsy shop belonging to KnottyVal Is this bracelet not gorgeous????

I don't have the patience for that kind of work. (and yet I'll spend 10-12 hours on a beaded thing and think nothing of it) I used to make friendship bracelets when I was young, and they always took FOREVER. Now I'm tempted to go buy a pack of floss to make a big one, so I can get 3 rows into it and eventually retire it to the GIANT BAG OF EMBROIDERY FLOSS...OF DOOOOOOOOM when I get home. I guess if I'm still interested when I get back to Pittsburgh(where the giant bag o embroidery floss...of doooom lives, I could try it then) Nah, I'll just drool over this one.

Finally, I put ends on a kumihimo rope I did. I had intended this to be the rope for a bead-embroidered MTG cab, but I don't like it. The color fade isn't right.

And the two sides don't mesh well.

Individually, they are pretty, but together...

I absolutely hate it as a necklace.


But as a bracelet, it's not that bad...This last photo is the most accurate in terms of color-the dark side is very blue-y and the light side is very minty.

Potter Wands

Hole Lee Crap.




DIY Harry Potter wands...

These are from dadcando

This has nothing to do with beading or quilting or anything else my blog involves, but seriously, its a friggin Harry Potter Wand.

Roller Coaster...of love (Say what?)

I just had the BEST weekend ever :)

My inlaws flew in from Metline Falls, WA and stayed from Wednesday through this morning. (Would that all weekends were 5 days eh?)

We did so much and had so much fun together, including a squirt gun fight, a trip to Dollywood, a trip to the Chattanooga Aquarium, a trip to the International Towing Museum (who knew that even existed??), fireworks, flea markets, movies, cake, ice cream, and a Hoarders marathon.

We went to Dollywood on Friday, fully expecting ridiculous lines, but it was like the park opened just for us(The Mystery Mine was AWESOME!). IN-SANE. No lines. Well, one line, but 15 minutes? Puh-lease-I've been to Cedar Point, I've been in my share of 3 hour lines, so that hardly even counts...(And love the Blue Streak! And the Millenium Force! And really love the Magnum!)

I guess everyone was going on Saturday though, because we tried going to check out some stuff in Gatlinburg on Saturday, and the traffic was backed up from there all the way onto I-40. (Thats like 16 miles-google it) Needless to say, we gave up after 45 minutes and went to a movie instead.

Apparently here in Tennessee, there aren't any restrictions on the types of fireworks average Joe Consumer can buy. This made the husbeast WAAAAAAAY too happy. He bought all sorts of explosives. And of all the things that could have taken off fingers, toes, etc, I suffered a second degree burn, lighting a sparkler. A sparkler. Sparkler.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Only hurt for one night though. It's ugly, but doesn't hurt now, that's a good thing. And there is no nerve damage, because I can still feel with it. And its on my right hard, so that's good.

Also, check out the little museums around you. They offer a glimpse into things you never knew should be immortalized. Example, the towing industry has a wall of fame for outstanding towing persons. They also have a display honoring their fallen. You never think of things like how dangerous ther work is until you see the list. Stop and honestly thank them sometime, and not just for unlocking your car. :)

Well that's all for now





What do you mean I forgot something?





Like an announcement of some sort?





Oh yeah...that...

First, on Moonrise closing-while I am a sad thay are closing, it was for a good reason. She didn't really go out of business because of the economy, she wanted to retire, and play with beads for her, without the stress of running a business. I am happy for her, and hope that she has a wonderful stress-free retirement. And if I wasn't putting myself on a bead diet, you can bet your eye-teeth I'd be out scouting new shops next weekend...I'm a hoarder. MY hoard is just made of tiny delightful blobs of glass...Sigh :) So shiny...

I counted up all the entries (1 for an "I'm in!", 1 for a repost, and one for a rollercoaster) Since I didn't set any limits on number of entries, they all count. I came up with 66 entries.

I popped over to random.org, and entered in all the info...

And out popped numbers 13 and 38, which, according to my calculations, are, Pine Ridge Treasures and Lisa Criswell/Indigo's Beads!

I will be sending out an email today. If you would kindly supply me, via return email, with your shipping address, I will get your packages in the mail this week!

Thanks so much to everybody for entering. Logging in this morning and seeing 55 comments really blew my mind and made me so happy. I truly, truly thank you :,)