Pflora Beads!

By the way, I meant to say that the other day I stopped by a new bead store in the area south of Boston. Pflora Beads is located at 355 Turnpike in Canton, MA. It's a lovely shop...if you're in the area be sure to stop by. Phyllis Flora, the proprietor, has a wide array of wonderful stuff, ranging from funky to functional, and everything in between, a good selection of reference books, and everything is very artfully displayed (for example, lovely, large cabs are nestled in a shallow, rice-filled bowl). If you stop by, tell them you read about their shop on The Beaded Heart's blog!

"farfalle" beads

It's July. It's hot. And humid. But I now have central AC at home, so my two favorite hobbies, beading and quilting, are consuming me this summer season. Now that I feel my health is recovered, I can't wait to get my hands on beads and fabric...and sometimes spend so much time deciding which to play with, I don't get anything done! I'm sure you've never experienced anything like that!

In early May I went to a local bead show and one of the vendors had a type of seed bead I'd never seen before. At least, I think it would qualify in the seed bead category as it's small, comes in a container like seed beads do, and comes in lots of fabulous colors. The shape is similar to farfalle (or bowtie) pasta, except instead of being flared on the ends, they are rounded. Perhaps a description like a dog bone would be better. The hole is in the center and when you sew these together in a stitch like peyote, they nestle up to each other and form a lovely, dimensional, piece. I made a simple peyote cuff bracelet about an inch wide using sage green beads. It's simple, yet remarkable elegant. It could work dressed up or down. If you come across these funny little shaped beads, I highly recommend them. The look is definitely not run-of-the-mill.

TBH

The Long Road Back

Over the last six months I've had the poor luck of having a series of medical procedures. I'm hoping that now I'm actually OVER it and can resume my normal activities. To quote the notorious BP oil exec Tony Hayward, "I want my life back!"

Part of that process involves getting the Bead Society of the South Shore (Boston) rolling this fall. To that end, I'll be at Gemorama in Hanover, MA on August 9 from 6-8 p.m. hosting an information session. The owners of Gemorama have been very supportive of this idea and are offering their upstairs loft classroom free of charge for our meetings. Hooray!!

More info to come :=))

Viking Knit and Kumihimo

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the kumihimo class I signed up for last weekend. I had a little bit of a medical setback and as it was a stormy day, holed up at home.

I did, however, buy a kit to make a Viking knit bracelet while I was at a recent bead show. The instructions and pictures where OK, but not quite as helpful as they might have been. I found the following website, which had fabulous step-by-step photos, helping me to complete my bracelet: http://www.fineartbyrocio.com/vikingknitdirections

I'm thrilled with the result. The feature lampwork bead on the bracelet really cool...I'll post a picture as soon as I can remember where I put the digital camera! (I hate menopause!)

Here's hoping you find in time in your day to fondle a few beads!

TBH

Time Flies...if we're lucky

It seems incredible that my last entry was back in March. Here it is early May and so much has happened. I had not one but two surgical procedures in early April and spent most of the month at home. Relatively speaking, it was a fast recovery, but it didn't feel that way as I kept waiting and waiting to feel better and get back to my life! Across the room sat my little beading station, yet I seldom had the energy to and string anything together. I did do some chain mail, which I think is great fun, but not much was actually accomplished. So those weeks I was under the weather did not seem to go by quickly.

Now that I'm back at the office, I, of course, wish I were back at home. Nearly every day there is a new inspiration for a project, whether beading or sewing. Tomorrow I learn kumihimo! At least, I'll try to learn it. In the coming weeks I'm taking a class on making a wire necklace and learning a new chain mail weave.

But the most exciting thing of all is that I'm going to Bead Fest in Philadelphia in August! I'm taking one class, a wire wrapping class. It's a technique I don't know and the project is fabulous...and all of the materials are included in the cost of the class (which is not cheap, let me tell you!) At least I know I'll have quality supplies.

Will August come quickly?

TBH

For Mutual Support and Inspiration

As you know if you've ready any of my other posts, I'm a long-time quilter. Over the years I have belonged to several quilt guilds, which are groups of mostly women who share the passion for taking large pieces of fabric, cutting them into smaller pieces, and then sewing them together to make large designs. From utilitarian quilts, commemorative quilts, or quilts that are the true expression of a person's artistry, all the members of the group understand the impetus that drives each of them.

Since taking up beading, and lately wire work as well, I have missed the element of camaraderie I experienced in a guild. I've searched high and low for a group of beaders in my general area south of Boston, but the only groups I have found are quite a distance away and meet on weeknights, when getting together is difficult for me. Years ago when a group of friends of mine and I were dissatisfied with the guild to which we then belonged, we created our own. While I'm no longer a member of that guild due to my changing interests, it still survives and hosts a vibrant group of women, dedicated to the art of what they do. It seems only natural, then, that if I can't find a bead society to join, I create one!

So, I have reserved the Copeland meeting room at the Abington Public Library, 600 Glieniwicz Way, Abinton, MA for Saturday, May 29, 2010, at 10:30 a.m. I will be circulating information about this meeting to area bead shops and friends who might be interested. Under the temporary rubric "The Bead Society of the South Shore," I'm hoping we can come with a plan to start a regular society this coming fall. If you'd like to read about other bead societies around the country, here are some links:

http://www.torontobeadsociety.org/web/index.php
http://indianabeadsociety.org/
http://beadsocietyla.org/html/mainmenu.html
http://nebraskabeadsociety.com/
http://www.greatlakesbeadworkersguild.org/
http://sdbeadsociety.org/
http://www.beadsocietyoc.org/
http://www.kcbeadsociety.org/home
http://ccbeadsociety.blogspot.com/

With best regards,
TBH

What inspires you?

Do you find that you sometimes are searching for something to inspire you and you just can't figure out what "it" is?

I'm a long-time quilter. I love fabric...the colors, the designs, the textures. I love cutting up stuff (paper dolls were a favorite when I was a kid) and putting it back together again. I love the hum of the sewing machine, the peace and solitude when it's just me and my machine in the wee hours of the morning. I've taught quilting for many years (check out my website www.chickaboomquilts.com). I'm a good technician and can teach techniques and theory. But I'm not a quilt designer.

I'd like to be. I bought a software program so I could play around with creating my own quilt patterns, but I usually find myself falling back on old favorites.

I'm a candidate in a national program to become a certified quilt judge and I know about elements and principles of design. I just don't seem to be able to create something new and different.

And then I became reacquainted with beading. And working my way through piles of magazines and scores of websites, suddenly all that knowledge I've gained through the years through quilting is being put to use in beading. And the best part of all is that I look at a design and think, well, that's a fabulous idea but I'd change this, or make that part longer, or use a different style of bead, etc. Before long, I'm working on a piece that little resembles the inspiration piece...it's...my own concept! My own design! And usually I find while I'm working on that piece, I have two or three ideas of other ways to change it, or pieces I can make to compliment it. And I'm thinking about size and proportion, space, texture, all of those things quilters who care about how their work looks (as opposed to how warm it keeps someone) think about. Beading has unleashed a more creative side of me.

Recently I went on a quilting retreat weekend but took bead work with me instead. I still had a grand time. We still laughed and chatted into the wee hours. It was terrific.

And this past weekend I took time away from the beading and spent it going through some of my fabric stash. While my embroidery machine stitched away on a design on hubby's denim jacket, I pulled out not one but two UFOs (unfinished objects). I finished the top of one wall hanging and completed the top stitching on another. That only only needs a border now. I reconnected with fiber. I started thinking of projects for another quilt retreat coming up.

Beads are in my life permanently now. Luckily, they are small...there's room for both beading and quilting!