Come September!

Not only is September here already, but we're nearly halfway through it! Where did summer go, you might ask? Well, for me it went to recovery from surgery in May, followed by getting back into the swing of work, followed by my first ever trip to BEAD FEST in Philadelphia! This was a fabulous experience. Have you been? Then you know! If you haven't....you must!

First of all, as a long-time quilter and attendee at many quilting shows and conferences, I'm used to crowded class rooms. This is NOT the case at Bead Fest. The class I was fortunate enough to take was in a large room and there were less than a dozen enrolled. How do they make any money on those types of enrollments? Each student had all the elbow room and teacher attention they could possibly need. I checked out other classrooms as well and found the same held true throughout.

In my class I made a woven bracelet. I can see where my errors are, of course, but those who've seen the bracelet since my return have oohed and ahhed over it and I have at least 2 orders for one. I want to practice a little more before making them for sale, but I will be doing that in the not too distant future. Plus, it's a lovely design and you can make one in a few hours, once you get proficient.

Meeting fellow beaders was terrific...so nice to know that I'm not alone in my obsession. While quilters are creative, I truly believe beaders are one step beyond creative. I left inspired, to say the least.

And now, to think of the vendors....it was like a dream come true. Two entire floors of every vendor you could imagine. Of course all the big names were there...Beadalon, etc. But there were also terrific small booths. I had a shopping list I was trying to adhere to and for the most part I did well. My, my the damage I could have done! My best buy was on wire. There's a guy in PA who doesn't sell online but you can do phone orders. His booth was very busy. I bought rose gold, argentium, sterling silver, and gold filled wire. I bought half round. I bought square. I bought 18 g and I bought 26 gauge. And the more you buy the bigger a discount you get on your total order. FAB!!

The Whole Bead Show is coming up in Providence, RI in less than a month. Of course I'm going to go. Of course I'm going to spend $. Of course it will be exciting. But it won't compare to Bead Fest. Try to put it on your calendar for next year. There are a couple of shows a year in various locations. Don't miss it!

Happy beading,
TBH