February 2011

February 2011 continues the theme of fun . I have made the choice, at least for this part of my life, to just enjoy and be happy. Maybe that spirit will catch on with the rest of my life. Not that I'm a pessimistic person, but I do have a tendency to be way too serious.

The fabric is from Spoonflower, and it just shouts look at me, let's play! I used craft wire to make the zigzags and added pressed glass and resin beads. I know this was done in February, but I NEED SPRING NOW!!!!

At least the sand hill cranes and red-winged blackbirds have returned. The snow is melting and daylight hours are longer. There is the promise of good times ahead.

January 2011

Hooray for BJP 2011. It has aken me some time to get started on BJP 2011, not for lack of ideas, but the lack of ability to edit and select ideas. I began by choosing several different fabric samples from Spoonflower.com, which was difficult because they have so many beautiful fabrics by wonderful designers. But I finally managed to narrow the choice down to 14 samples. One for every month with 2 left over.

I knew I wanted to do something different this year. 2008/09 was my first BJP year and I made a lampworked bead for each month as my inspiration. In 2010 I used 'found' objects donated by friends and family. This year the fabric is the inspiration, but I also have some other goals. The first is to just have fun and just try things, even if they might seem silly. Another is to revisit some of the bead embroidery stitches I learned the first year. Last year was all back and running stitch.

But the biggest challenge will be knowing when to stop. Last year was easy, I covered the whole piece. This year, I want to learn to look at my pieces and learn what 'finished' looks like.

Is January's piece finished? I'm not sure. It is balanced, not too crowded, has lots of movement. Let's just say it is a work in progress. I liked making the coiled wire coils, and planting them with 'feet'. The sun is an inspiration at this time of year, when we just don't get enough of it!

Thanks for looking...

2010 BJP finished in the nick of time!

I finally finished December's BJP piece, with almost 8 hours to spare! It was my goal to finish all 12 pieces in 2010, and I made it! Of course, I had to do 3 pieces in December alone, but it was still a lot of fun, and a nice break from the other pressures of the month.



This month's piece is obviously yellow, which I chose to beat back the gloom of winter. The little owl face is something I picked up somewhere, for some project once upon a time. It became my found object because I kept 'finding' it on my work table. The other little bit is a dried fruit pod from a sweet gum tree from my long time friend and exercise buddy, Barbara Shipman. The little spikes are very sharp--I got one in my foot, so I know they are! I imbedded this pod in hypo cement to tame the spikes.



I'm so lucky to have found this bead embroidery community. It has really enriched my life. I completed 12 pieces for 2008-009 and 12 for 2010. I'm looking forward to 2011, with a new approach and new challenges. Happy New Year everyone.

November BJP

I finished November's BJP piece yesterday, and started working on December's today. I'm determined to finish 2010 this month, because I'm looking forward to BJP 2011.

This piece features a purple crystal butterfly from my friend and fellow Friday beader Linda Carstens. The mauvey purple color scheme seems to let the butterfly shine even more. There are 6s, 8s, tiles, 11s, hexes, 15s and delicas, even some crystals. It is amazing what you can find in your bead stash! Do you see the little wire antennae?

Next year, I'm going to use some of my Czech beads, which hang on the side of my workspace shelf. I want to incorporate some wire and/or 3 dimensional techniques. I also have surprise idea for my background and inspiration! You'll be able to see it in January.

Only October oh my

Oh my, where has the time gone. I honestly don't know how the last two months passed without my noticing. I'm embarrassed to admit, but I didn't finish my October piece until today, with November and December still to go in the next 3 weeks or so. My only excuse is that I was chairing our beadmaker's guilld annual show and sale, which was two weeks ago.

I'm not worried about finishing the year, and our holiday preparations are pretty minimal these days, now that our son is an adult. So I'll have time to finish and plan for next year. I've got lots of new ideas, and am looking forward to another year.

This month's found oibjects were 2 little propellers my husband Charlie had bought for a model ship he planned to builld, and may still. I love the copper color and paired it with turquoise, and some great copper with verdigris finish. I really like that color combination. The design arose from the propellers, and imagining how the water might flow. Thanks for looking and enjoy!

September

I finished my September piece yesterday, just in the nick of time. The found object was a piece from an old bungee cord for a bicycle pack from fellow beadmaker and beader Sylvus Tarn. It had been well used and the cord is no longer stretchy. The rusted ring has a great patina and was a great inspiration for a brown/black palette. I had some 11's that shaded from black to brown and worked really well. Also some 8's that have a copper finish.

The image itself suggests different things to me, like when you look at the clouds. This tickles me, since seeing images in clouds was one of my favorite childhood pastime. Thanks for looking!

One more photo and I'll give everyone a break! This is a piece made for my friend Barbara's birthday, from a design in the June 2006 Bead & Button by Wendy Ellsworth. Since it uses 8's, it works up pretty quickly. The only problem is that my stash of 8's is not as complete as my 11's, so of course I'll probably buy more beads to make more!

Thanks for looking.