Last Post of 2007

It's been a beautiful day here at the beach...cold, but then it is winter...so we're all taking it nice and easy...

As you can see, the cats are sending off the old year with their usual enthusiasm....maybe I should have given them a catnip cocktail to liven them up a bit...or not.

Beginning the January BJP

The eighth month is coming up and I've got the fiber and one of the faces selected, but that's as far as I've gotten.
I like the looks of them all together but am still undecided as how to finish and display them.

Xmas Work

I made this RAW bracelet in lavender AB true cuts with freshwater pearls and a clasp I really like the looks of...unfortunately, the bracelet has to be snug or the clasping hands slip out...I hate it when a wonderful looking design works badly...sigh!

Back Home and BJP Finished

I finished december's bjp at my mom's house in washington....the two bluebirds were a gift from her that I thought the piece needed as the winter solstice is when we start moving toward summer, just as the summer solstice is when we begin to move toward winter...or maybe that's just me...

And Good Night...

Finished Xmas Presents

I finished my mom's presents and they are in their little gift bags ready to go with us up to Washington to her house...the brooch/pendant MOP cameo is surrounded by fw pearls and then some rose colored charlottes in size 11 and 13...the tibetan turquioise has a beaded bail...I've got a silver chain to hang it on...hope she likes them!
Now it's time to finish that december bjp!

Etsy Shop

I've added some earrings and two of the bracelets to my etsy shop using these gemstone beads I just purchased....the color was too wonderful to pass up. I made both a bracelet and earrings for me too and just love them, so thought someone else might like the colors as well....the little scarab beads are african jade and the heishi are indian jasper.

Blues

Yesterday was a beautiful blue day so I made a blue bracelet to go with it...it has a blue scarab bead and a silver hummingbird dangle.

More to Go

but I'm getting there!

I'm also starting some presents today...for my mom and a couple of friends...

Bit Further Along

I added "the wind" (little face at top) and some leaves/hearts blowing in the wind...now I need the wind path and it's done.
This month I'm not sure if I'm a woman dreaming of a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming she's a woman...

Who Knows Where the Time Goes

That's the title of my december bjp (and one of my favorite barbra streisand songs) which I started today...on the 6th, my husband and I celebrate our 36th wedding anniversary...sometimes it seems like it's been a lifetime and sometimes it feels like it's gone by so fast...I just know there have been days when the only thing that's got me through them is knowing he'd be there with me...my best friend, my dearest love and one of the most intelligent people I've ever been lucky enough to know.

Pay It Forward

Having been introduced to the Pay It Forward idea by Jackie of Beading Gram, I'm offering 3 face pins to the first three readers here who would like to join this wonderful movement! You just commit to sending 3 pieces of your handmade work to another 3 people...and it doesn't have to be done in the next week or month! Just make the commitment and let folks know what your timeframe is....I'll be sending out the pins just after the new year, as this month is already too full to make any new commitments, but January is still wide open, LOL!

Wind!

We were very lucky this time as the worst winds (125-130mph) hit the coast north of us...we got 81mph winds and our electricity is still on!
The only casuality in the near neighborhood was one of the small firs across the street. You can see the manager is already out with his chainsaw taking care of it.
Here's a view the other way so you can see all the huge firs we have in the park....they weathered the storm beautifully as they have for the past 150 years...
Sadly, we heard that one of the oldest Sitka spruces in the US was in the direct path of the winds and was snapped off...

Xmas Card Possibility

I'm not sure if these are the final versions or not...any opinions?

Today

We took a hike up one of our favorite hills above the bay this afternoon...we were too tired to go all the way up, but we went about 2/3 of the way...I love the views from up here.

T-Day

We had a lovely, lovely afternoon & evening with friends from the country...they have the dome I've always loved, so can enjoy it vicariously and occasionally in person..;)

Day Before Thanksgiving

and I'm giving thanks for so many things today...here's a few of them...

the beautiful pacific...our closest local beach & lighthouse....our memorial park walk...

my sun porch which is warm enough today to work at...

my little work table on the porch...

and my work table inside with 3 projects going at once...oh, my!

FAT pincushion trade

Here's four of the five pincushions I've gotten in my fiber art traders group...aren't they great...each unique and a tiny expression of their creator's spirit...I'm so delighted with each one!

Almost Half Way

Well, now I'm almost half way done with the Basho series of 44...and half way done with the 12 part BJP series, so I think today I'll work on my xmas card...
The abalone nuggets aren't as dark as they look in this photo...but I'm guessing by now, everyone who's done any bead photography knows that the photos you see online are just an approximation of how the piece looks for real!

Almost Done

This is part of the text that goes with this station, #21 Matsushima...

"Just as the River Sekko in China is made full at each swell of the tide, so is this bay filled with the brimming water of the ocean and the innumerable islands are scattered over it from one end to the other. Tall islands point to the sky and level ones prostrate themselves before the surges of water. Islands are piled above islands, and islands are joined to islands, so that they look exactly like parents caressing their children or walking with them arm in arm. "

And I just passed the 300th post...wow.

Side view of Basho piece

Dyed mother of pearl nuggets...they stand up like islands in a sea of seed beads...

Basho...again

I'm finally moving ahead with my basho series, as well as painting a tin for my FAT group and working on my xmas card....I think I've decided to bead a word and then use the digital photo of the piece as our card this year...I've been rather restrained the last couple of years, so this year I'm hoping to be able to send out more cards and touch base with some friends I've neglected...

Home Again

We're back home again after the second trip to the hospital after my husband's vein replacement surgery in August. The first clot became apparent about 6 weeks after the surgery and now this one about 5 weeks after the first. Now he's on a blood thinner, so hopefully, we won't have to do this again. The staff is very kind, but no one seems to understand the needs of someone with chemical sensitivities, so I'm considering getting in touch with the administration and seeing if I can do some educational outreach for them. I don't think anyone realizes that my husband's filter mask is meant to be worn (at most) for 8 hours, not the 30+ hours he had to wear it this last visit.

OK...enough about that! On the plus side, I made a bracelet while staying with friends who house me while my husband is in the hospital and I also got to visit Teal, a holiday gallery that some local artists set up each holiday season in Corvallis. My favorite artist is Louie Gizyn, a fabulous doll maker...although doll seems too simple a word for her awesome creations!

Luckily, Joanne's Fabrics was having a sale, so I bought a little block of sculpey and sculpted a few heads, inspired by Louie's dolls.

Oh, and the bracelet is RAW and peyote with a rectangular shell and button closure that's the focal point of the bracelet.

November Finished

I can hardly believe we're half way through the bjp year already....it's been such an amazing experience and we have a whole 6 months more of fun & inspiration!

This one feels like it has everything but the kitchen sink in it, but then, it's been that kind of a month and it's only the first week of it!

I turned 58 this month, I have the three abalone chips to signify three threes in my life...my birth family was 3, my own family (married) is three and we now have 3 cats (up from our usual 2)...I love the double moon faces...one set awake and one asleep or one alert and one meditating or one happy and one serene....I see all of those moods, etc. in the moon faces.
The bugle and tracks record all the walking I've been doing lately and all the walking I hope to do in the future...
The pearls and shell beads signify my life by and love of the ocean...and the sea swirl in the left corner records one of the few patterns I've ever needed. The skull signifys the dead of the dead and the anniversary of our being in mexico for it, 30 plus years ago...and finally the little scorpion is my "sign"....yep....guess that's about it.

Closer

A few more hours and it will be done...and I'll be half way finished....

Still Life

I was going to go out and shoot some more seascape photos this afternoon, but didn't quite make it, so had to do a still life of some rocks & driftwood I've collected this summer. Haven't quite decided what to do with it but I'm beginning to seriously consider beading some of it...

Just another day in paradise

It was another gorgeous day today...unusually sunny and warm for this time of year, but I'm always hoping for a sunny birthday, so I've got my fingers crossed it stays for a couple more days!

Holiday Show

Here's my little case for the holiday show at the visual arts gallery here in newport. I was able to borrow a small, locking case for the show from our local bead shop, nye cottage beads, since the owner is a friend...thanks, linda!
There are 35 items in the case, ranging from $12 pin cushions to two $300 cuffs and represents over 150 hours of work...it's all been a labor of love, which is good, because, as most beaders know, it's a hard way to make a living!

But a great way to make a life...

Dias de los Muertos

Thirty six years ago my sweetie and I were in mexico watching the local dias de los muertos celebrations...we had just spent a month in mexico and knew we'd be leaving soon, so it was a very special time for us...each year on november 2, I remember our stay in that lovely country.
Four days later, on my 22nd birthday, we started back home in our dear little VW bus...and a month later we were married. This time of year is very evocative for me...and we'll soon be celebrating our 36th anniversary...my, how time flies when you're having fun!

Photo is of me and our siamese kitten, chisai, standing by brunnhilde, our 1958 VW bus...

More Bead Embroidery

Little further along with november and a start on 4 new face pin/pendants as my findings finally arrived.
Looks like I'll be doing a small holiday show at the gallery I work at...holiday gifts, so nothing too expensive, but some of the small faces and maybe some pincushions too....

November BJP

A long way from being finished and I still have to add a skull, scorpion and bear....but so far I'm pleased with it...

Sea whirls

So, I've been having more fun with phyllis' sea whirls...did one with just two colors, then did one with 5 different shades of green with black spine and now I'm working on one with 5 colors that I started differently than the originals...

Cat and Birdies

Our youngest, Oliver, has been stealing my little birdy pincushion every chance he gets, so I've had to make him his own birdy...so far he likes it, but it probably won't be as much fun if he doesn't have to sneak around with it...;)

Good Ideas and Not So Good

I've been working on a bracelet design all week and I think I've labored mightily and brought forth a mouse...LOL! Somehow it looked much better in my head, ya know? So, I think I'll keep the hours and hours of RAW and figure out something that works better for the spaces that are now threaded with a peyote strip...
On the good idea front....this is a great pattern from Phyllis Dintenfass (there's a kit on her website here) that I just had to have. I've been beading for so long, especially off-loom stitches that it's rare for me to see anything I haven't seen before or made myself. But I saw this in the article on Phyllis in this month's Step by Step Beads and just could not figure out how to make her exquisite little sea whirl pins. Well, now I know...and they're great fun to make! I'm on my second one already and will be adding it to my november bjp, I think.