Semper Gumby
Always Flexible.
At least I am learning to be. We’ve made it through the bulk of the move. We had planned to stay in a cabin, but it has a very musty smell that irritates my allergies so that isn’t going to work for us. Instead we are staying with family so we have a bit less space than expected.
For now that means the vast majority of my beading supplies are in storage. Thankfully, the boxes were well labeled and I was able to find the kits that I had purchased. That means I have some projects I can work on. Yay!
I brought down the Wave of Pearls necklace that I have been working on, a couple of bead kits that I snagged up in Hillsboro, and a project that I picked up prior to leaving Salt Lake. If that one turns out nice I will make a second one as a gift for my midwife.
My May-June copy of “Step by Step Beads” arrived and I decided that the cover piece looked interesting. I dragged the man down to Heart Beads Jewelry for one last look before we moved. After looking at beads for half an hour I decided that while the pattern was interesting, the overall design just looked really crafty to me. It would be fun to make, but I doubt that I would ever wear it. Then I turned the page and noticed the pattern on page 38 called “Spiceberry”. We switched gears and picked out some delica beads, a cool clasp, beading needles and some more FireLine. Fortunately I had the forethought to bag it up together and mark the box. What I didn’t do, was mark the box that the pattern went in to.
I decided it would be easier to just buy a new magazine than it would be rifle through all of the boxes looking for the one that I saved. So we went down to the local bead shop in Hillsboro. I figured that they would have the magazine for sure. It would have helped if I had remembered which magazine it was in, but the sales clerk had absolutely no clue what I was talking about. I described it to her and she told me that she would absolutely remember it if she had seen it, so we chalked it up to a n0-go and headed over to Barnes and Nobles. Of course I was able to find it there, along with the “Brilliant Crystal Jewelry 2” that I forgot to pre-order.
I’m such a sucker for bead books and magazines. Once I finish up the projects that I brought down to the farm I am going to dig my Japanese Bead books back out and work on some of those projects. So, I have lots to keep me busy.
I did start on the “Spiceberry” project last night, but none of my photos came out. I really need to think about bringing down the light box and or my tri-pod. I’ll try to take more photos tonight. It is a peyote stitch project and I think it is going to look great. I am so very happy to be beading again.
Other than that, I’ve been keeping busy. It seems like shopping is a never ending chore. We have seen some neat things though. After joking about buying me some wire and nice beads so that I can make my own jewelry, he decided to take me out to get a feel for what kind of commercial jewelry I like. I’m not sure what occasion we were looking for, but I’ve decided that I adore Le Vian jewelry. I am especially fond of the green quartz with chocolate diamonds. I’m also really in to Dana Kellin’s stuff. I love the intricate wire work. It is my goal to some day be able to make that type of jewelry. SO, while browsing a shop in Newport Oregon I was delighted to find some pieces by Kathy Barbisan. Unfortunately, she is a bit more difficult to find on the internet. Her pieces really remind me of Dana Kellin’s work.
Farm life has been good for me. The view out here is spectacular. I needed some mint to go in a bean salad; it was so nice to be able to walk down to the garden and pick some. The man has been busy working on a tractor and my kids have been learning how to build a fire. We’ve been fortunate enough to make it out to the coast at low tide and the tide pools are just amazing. We’ve also been berry picking. If I can ever get the internet working on my laptop, I’ll upload some photos to share.
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