UFO Rescue

What is a UFO? - well its an Unfinished Object in beader's terminology. I have several drawers and working boxes full of UFOs. A UFO can be something I was not super happy with, or something that is taking hours and hours worth of beading, and I just have not had the fortitude to continue with the project. Today I rescued a UFO and I'm pretty happy with it. The UFO in question started life as a pendant, but when I beaded rows of peyote around the bead, the center bead twisted and turned. I've solved the problem since, but I kept my original. I liked the colors and the herringbone shape that extended around the bead.

The UFO has found new life as an applique on a bag. The bag came to my mom as a freebie from AARP. Of course it had AARP initials on the front of the bag. I used some tacky tape to hold my UFO in place and appliqued it onto a piece of ultrasuede. The ultrasuede was appliqued on to the bag. I now have a small bag that will fit around my waist and will hold essentials (keys, pen, etc) for my trip to Kripalu this coming Sunday!

Kripalu and Use the Muse

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day in Connecticut. For those of you who do not know, we have been having a rainy summer in New England. The country side is lush and verdant from all the rain, but the sky is often misty, grey and cloudy. We have had thunderstorms and lightning and heavy rain that has beaten a constant percussion of timpani against our rooftops. So we need to take advantage of the beautiful, warm sunny days.

I picked up Mom at 10:30 and we drove to the Bershires, to the Kripalu Yoga Institute. After a wrong turn and a trip through downtown Springfield we drove through Lenox Mass and up the winding driveway to Kripalu. The approach to Kripalu is beautiful, with huge trees lining the driveway and gardens full of lilies and other blooming summer perennials. People were walking, biking, and sitting and chatting as we approached. There is a tremendous atmosphere of peace and quiet and you enter the building. Mom and I had lunch in the cafeteria - tempeh chili burgers, which were delicious, salad full of herbs, and mint tea. We stopped at the bookstore and I bought the Kripalu cookbook an Eckhardt Tolle CD (Finding Your Life's Purpose) and two other CDs - Ultra Metabolism and Ultra-Prevention. And I hope to go back in the middle of August for a five day retreat. :-)

I wore my Use the Muse necklace and received many compliments on it. I was happy to have finished it. It is a variation of an old familiar design that I have done before. (I can't show the muse yet)

Creative Beading Volume IV

We actually had another sunny, beautiful day yesterday. My sister-in-law, Judi Dixon and I went to Hillcrest Museum on a butterfly walk, shopped a bit at Design Forum in Farmington (yes, another frog), ate lunch at the Copper Mill Bistro (outstanding).

I came home to a box with a book : "Creative Beading Volume IV" and a thank you note from their editor. My design for a three-tiered necklace was included! The necklace shown is in browns and plums and belongs to my sister Rachel

Hoopla 2

This is the second version of the hoops - a variation on a theme. They measure an inch in diameter.

I'm on to working up new samples of the third variation.

Hoopla

I've been making these earrings, and a few variations on them, for close to two years now, and am in the process of writing instructions. And...then I think I will finally dip my toes into Etsy and see what happens.

The trouble (or good thing) about these earrings is that they never seem to stay around for very long. If they are are my work table and a niece happens to come along they go home with a happy recipient, and I know that I have given my nieces something they like :-)

Hoops petite coming next.

A Beautiful Day

Every once in a while a day comes along where everything seems to turn out absolutely right. For me, Thursday was that type of day.

My Mom got a digital camera from my sister for her 90th birthday. We've been taking baby steps as she gets used to it: (a) turn it on (b) look at the mini screen to see what your picture is going to look like (c) push the button for a picture...and on. We took a picture of the pansies in the front of her apartment. Then went to Target, then lunch and back home. I am so greatful for the companiable times we share together.

Home to find the bathing suit I had ordered from Lands End. It fit, which at my size and age is all I ask for!!!!

I went to a meeting at six, full of friends and a wonderful discussion

Later my husband came home, full of happiness from a wonderful discussion at the meeting he had attended.

The weather was beautiful, the cats behaved, all in all a pretty nice day!!! The necklace at the top of this post has happy colors in it. Its made using just one strand of Fireline, and no clasp...so it goes on quickly and you are out the dooe!

What Inspires You?

I live in Granby Connecticut. Granby is a small town in Northern Connecticut, in the foothills of the Berkshires. The landscape is stitched with rock walls, put in place by early farmers, and gently rolling hills that are colored in muted greens as Spring makes its way for summer weather and brighter shades.

I am lucky enough to belong to Granby Artists Association, a group of about 35 artists in a variety of mediums. Last night we talked about what inspires us. We brought food and wine, and items that inspire. It was a wonderful discussion. Things brought: a beautiful bowl with warm glazes that moved in circles, pictures of glass sculptures that showed the amazing characteristics and tranformative abilities of glass, and a strange doohickey that no one knew the purpose of...

And of course we talked about what inspires us: color, gardening, light, the tactile experience of carving or potting. We talked about time wasters, the economy, blogging, whay people expect artists to work for free, inspirational quotes, who moved my cheese.....and more. A wonderful two hours.

I've included a picture of a bracelet I made last year as my entry in to what inspires me. Its a bracelet done in random right angle weave, inspired by Nanc Meinhardts Izzy and Lucy bracelet....and also inspired by those wonderful rock walls that stitch the landscape here.