Portland Bead Fest

I love facebook. I’ve recently added another local beader to my friend list.  I’m so glad that I did as she is much more on top of the bead scene than I am. It was through her that  I discovered that the Bead Fest is this weekend. Yay! As an added bonus I took a peek at the workshops that are available and I saw the “Antique Connections Cuff” I saw this in an add in a magazine a couple of months ago and I have been drooling over it ever since. This is a class that I would actually pay for even though the cost of the materials is only a fraction of what the class costs. I can’t take the class though. It is a 7 hour class and I have a baby that is permanently attached to the boob. We’ve tried the bottle and it is an absolute no-go. Also, I think it would be incredibly rude of me to drag along my sweet baby to such a class no matter how cute I think she is. So, I’ve emailed Melinda (the instructor) to ask if I can buy a kit or the instructions. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I’m hoping to make it to the bead fest this weekend so that I can at least look around.  I’ve been having a hard time getting motivated to bead and I think it would be the inspiration I am in need of.  If you are interested in going I’ve listed the hours below. It is being held at the  at Oregon Convention Center.

We are in the house.

Now all I need to do is unpack all of my beading stuff.   It was pretty funny. We  had a friend help us unload the truck.  I don’t know him as well as the man does and he was gearing up for his wedding at the time. (It is today Yay!)   I wanted to learn more about them so I asked him if his soon to be wife had any hobbies. As it turns out, she sews.  I offered up some of my cloth if she is ever interested and the conversation took a turn.   It is always fun to talk about how crafters like to build a stash. It’s true and it doesn’t really matter what the craft is.   If you like to sew, chances are good that you are working on a fabric stash.  Like to knit? I bet there is a big old pile of yarn somewhere. That is just the way that it is. Personally I have one big tub of fabric, loads of scrapbooking supplies and a pretty extensive collection of beads.  I would say that I probably have more beads than any one woman needs.  At any rate,  I made the comment that *crafter’s have a tendency to collect things*. Our friend smiled and said *like beads?* as he slightly gestured and raised the box that he was carrying in.  It was labeled with the word *Beads* in big letters across the side of the box.  It was probably the fourth or fifth such box that he had hauled in.

Now I’ve known that I have a lot of beads for quite some time now. It was a real pain to pack them all up.  As I packed up each box they were slowly hauled out to the garage to await the moving truck. I figured if we did them a little bit at a time then we didn’t have to haul everything quite so far once we brought the truck in.  It worked out nicely for us.  Interestingly enough though, you don’t really see how much stuff you have that way. Now, once you have all those boxes stacked up in the corner asking for a place to go…. then it becomes a bit easier to see.

I think I am going to let them sit for a bit longer.  I have everything I need to finish up that braided bracelet I am working on.  Also, I think it will go very nicely with the new clothes that I bought.  That gives me a bit of extra incentive to finish it up! I need to start finishing up projects.

Almost there!

We were hoping to move in to our new place this weekend. Unfortunately the previous owners of the house have not yet vacated. We are hoping to be able to move in on Monday so keep your fingers crossed for us.

I’m looking forward to unpacking my bead stash, setting up a work space and getting back to work. Well, as best I can with a new baby. We’re surviving colic at the moment….

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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