Bead Archaeology

In the spirit of finishing things, I thought I'd do a little personal archaeology. I used to do a LOT of beadwork, and when I say a LOT, I mean it! I took classes, taught classes, and wrote articles. I was in a Master Class that went over a year. I'm trying not to be all braggy--I just want you to get where I'm coming from.

Now, you know I have plenty of unfinished projects if you've ever looked at the "Way Too Many Projects" sidebar. This has only included one bead project to date. That doesn't mean I don't have any others in the works. Hardly. If you look at the sidebar sometime after today's entry, you'll see it bloom with beadwork projects.

Inspired by my Goofy Bear Button Bracelet finish, I dug into the small portion of beads I keep in my studio (my bead stash is overwhelming, which is why I moved it offsite) and unearthed several UnFinished Objects (UFOs).Blue Skies This bracelet is made from 15/0 beads, bugles, and actual antique beads--probably Victorian era. It only needs a loop closure and to weave in the ends. I think I got hung up because the beads are so delicate that I was afraid none of the beads I used would hold up to closure duty. Fair enough. I'll use larger beads for the loop and a lot of thread. Better that it be, oh, what's that word? Done, yeah. That's the word.White Lotus Neckpouch I probably started this ten (eep!) years ago. It's inspired by ancient Egypt and made from Japanese cylinder beads. The color came out weird, but the background is actually snowy white.To continue the theme, I charted out the all-seeing eye of Ra for the back. Yeah, I know it's slightly creepy, but it's the back. And it hangs over the heart, so Ra is symbolically looking into your heart. Okay, that just made it creepier. Never mind. Just trust me, it's gonna be cool. If it ever gets done.Celebration of Spring Necklace These beaded beads are the start of a necklace designed by NanC Meinhart. The pattern is Deneen's Necklace. It, too, is made of Japanese cylinder beads. I've made several and sold 'em. It's a fun little guy. I could easily pick this one back up.

Autumn Incarnate Bottle And then we have this little guy. When it jumped out of the project box yesterday, it only had a few rows of beads around the neck. Yet somehow, when I went to take its picture this morning, it had grown a net of Japanese 15/0 beads across it's belly and bottom, Austrian crystal margaritas (those flower things), and Czech glass leaves. All it wants is a necklace to finish it up. The pattern is Itty Bitty Beaded Bottle, and I wrote it. (Yes, I can make it available.)

A Day of Finishes

So, I really got going on that Goofy Bear Button Bracelet and finished it up. I thought I'd put an edging on it, but I found that I really like the borderless modern look for this one. At one point, I had a pink picot edge. It looked like lace and seemed very little-girl-ish. Not that that's a bad thing, but I wanted a more adult, if silly, look for the thing. So just the button and loop closure and voila!After a very nice comment from Free Range Chick, I was inspired to finish Uphill Both Ways. I cut the final border in 2-1/2" strips from this fabric. I set aside the rest for use on the back. Then I framed the quilt with its final border--ta-dah!I was amazed to see how little fabric I had left from the strips I had cut:
Now, what'll I finish next? Hmm, maybe the laundry.

Up From the Murky Depths

Last night the knitting was bad. Bad sock! No biscuit! So I put it in time out.
But this caused a small conundrum. I was going to knitting group this morning. Well, they're an adventurous, non-judgmental group. I don't have to knit. I could bring my stitchery. Yeah! Oh, white fabric and coffee and lots of arms moving in all directions. Maybe not. So I opened the bead cabinet and look what fell out! Last time I worked on this sweetheart, there were only two bears on it. Today moved it into the total of five! Yay. It's not got far to go, so maybe it'll get finished. Some day.

How This Scrap Quilter Thinks

My final medal was awarded this morning:

And this is the new scrappy prayer quilt I've been working on. I'm calling it Uphill Both Ways--a nod to those ridiculous stories our parents told us about how hard it was for them. "I didn't have it easy like you young'uns. When I was a kid, we had to walk to school five miles in the snow. And it was uphill both ways." As a scrap quilter, I have to work with what I've got and not go out and buy more fabric. This can be a real pain in the b--ahem--challenge, it can be a real challenge sometimes. You see, I had a bunch of this fabric that had been seamed in strips together. I used the bulk of it for another quilt, just framing the strips like in this picture here--but I had leftovers. So I cut the leftovers into 35 5" squares--that was as big as would work--and cut them on the diagonal. I planned to frame half of them in turquoise and half in purple, kinda like this.

But it turned out that I didn't have enough turquoise fabric. So I stepped back and thought a bit. Now we wander, willy-nilly into my thought process. Okay, I'll just make half a frame. But I still have more turquoise strips.... and here's a bit of dark turquoise. How much dark do I have? With half-frames, I have just enough for 12 blocks. And I've still got enough of the light to half-frame all the rest. Hmm, this'll probably work. I'll just scatter the dark in among the light. That usually works. (a minute later) Wait! Slanty blocks, slanty quilt. Just do the corners dark! Love it. Now all I need is borders. (steps back and looks) Huh, that's weird. Looks like there's half a border already. I gotta do something about that. (picks up framing scraps) Nope, not enough for even half a border. What about (snatches up quarter yard of swirly turquoise) this? Yes, there's enough!Now to regular borders. Purple! Ooh, not too much or it'll look like a purple quilt. So a skinny purple border. And I still have some leftovers from the strip quilt: I'd hate to waste 'em. Maybe I can use 'em for the border. Yay! I'm still gonna need a final border to stabilize all those diagonal scraps. But I'm out of time. I'll have to do it later.

Squeeked in...

... just under the wire!

Two of my medals have been awarded, so I'm sharing!

This athlete--the shrug pictured above--still has one more medal coming. The final medal will be awarded for Single Skein Speed Skate. The volunteers at Ravelry are typing their little fingers to the bone to get us lasties our medals. I'm so pleased!

Under Pressure

So I decided to try and make this little shrug for Tiny before the end of Ravelympics. It's about half done now. The pattern is here, the designer calls it a Ribbed Lace Bolero. It's in three events: Lace Luge, Short Track Shawl, and Single Skein Speed Skate. We'll see. It's Thursday now and the project needs to be completed by midnight PST Sunday. Just a little pressure. The good news is I feel like crap and probably will hardly leave the house. Yeah, that's the good news. It means I'll knit, right?

Blocking

Great news! I finished my Torture for Fun lace scarf and received my medal today. And here's the medal:

The dog is Bob, the Ravelry mascot. Here's a close-up of the scarf:

I blocked it last night. What is blocking? Glad you asked. This time last year, I was googling the word myself. What it comes down to is this: wetting a piece of fabric (whether knitted, crocheted, woven, or stitched), squaring it up, and letting it dry that way. Some items, like sweaters, you just kinda hand shape and lay out. Others you pin into place. And then there's lace: stretch it like crazy and pin in place. In this case, I used blocking wires to keep the lines reasonably straight and pinned the wires themselves. I'm told you can make your own, using wire from the hardware store, or buy 'em from an online store, like I did.

They're a little unwieldy*, but I think they're totally worth it.

*Unwieldy is today's word of the day.

Ravelympics Begin!

The proper date for this entry should be Tuesday February 16, because that's when I went to the beach at La Jolla Shores. It was a nice, warm day. In fact, I got myself a nice little sunburn! (Just on my shoulder where my blouse didn't cover.) But, as you can see, folks were playing in the sand and frolicking in the water. I took this little travel bug with me to enjoy the ocean air. She's called Blazena and she's from the Czech Republic. I found her in town and will probably place her near the airport so someone can take her travelling. Her mission was to travel the US and Japan before returning home. The Olympics have begun, as have the Ravelympics. That means the participants on their various teams are knitting for medals. My team is Battlestar Kickasstica. I am working on this scarf (again), chasing a WIPs Dancing medal. (WIP: Work In Progress) It's kinda like Ice Dancing, but you don't have a partner. If I finish my project by the time the torch is extinguished, I win! I'm also working on this blankie for another WIPs Dance. (Not sure if it'll make it to the finish line, though.)

McCartney Attacked by Giant Socks!

Yes, at long last, my Big Dippers are done. Look at the swoops and lines created by this crazy pattern. I really like how they came out.

Iron Knitter, round 2, has eaten my brain. It's a very complicated lacey pattern and I'm thinking that I won't finish by the deadline of 5 pm Friday. Nope. Lincoln's birthday will probably come and go without a new pair of socks. Fine.

I've been spending so much time knitting that I've hardly done any other craft. Sewing, stitching, quilting, beading... not to mention tidying up the house... Oh, wait, I wasn't going to mention that.

A Voice from Beyond

News from the Sock War front: Out of 203 original warriors, only 122 remain. And, horrors! My new assassin's assassin is dead. Killed by a beautiful pair of verdigris green socks. That means Mel is free and clear to kill me. And, I'm still waiting for the socks in progress to arrive. Oh, the fear of the mail...

Later that day: Gah! Look what came in the post. There was nothing coy about this attack--simply open and gotcha! (But there was chocolate to soften the blow.) So, you know what that means: this is being typed by a ghost.

Boo!