Snazzy Chain Necklace

Around here they say that if you don't like the weather, "wait a bit and it will change!" Skies in New Hampshire are back to cloudy gray and it's been chilly and damp after the huge heat wave. All of the rain has made the plants grow like crazy.






I decided that I needed some real color in my life to combat the overwhelming greenness of all the jungle-like trees, underbrush and plants (weeds). My six year old Granddaughter is really impressed that I painted my park bench a bright purple. Now if I only had a lily pond I could almost believe I was sitting in Monet's garden.



I mentioned that I was working on a bead crochet project with DMC floss and beads. It's finally finished and the bugs worked out of instructions for publication. I did a pattern for all those people who want to bead crochet, but can't get their fingers around the slip-stitch tubular kind. I'm excited that "Snazzy Chains" will be in the September issue of "Bead-Patterns Magazine" . The necklace turned out to have a great feel to it - nice drape and weight without being overly heavy. The thread gives it a beautiful background sparkle that sets off the beads very nicely. In this necklace the thread color is really half of the overall design effect. The best part is that it works up very quickly. Don't we all like to do things that gives us almost instant gratification? The next one that
















I'm going to do will be with one of the pale DMC metallic variegated threads and larger, chunky crystal beads. The effect should be fantastic with the ghosting of color showing through the beads.




If you make one, I'd love to see what colors you used with all of that lovely thread to choose from.

Bead Hoard

Over on Bead Talk they have been talking about Charlottes and how many of us have a favorite bead that we seem to save for that special project that never seems to get done.

I have several hanks of size 24/0 beads that I bought when I didn't know that bead size mattered. I still take them out, look at them and am amazed that there can be beads that small.
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I'm no different than all the rest of the beaders and my stash of beads has many in it that I just like to look at and play with. Every year at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show there is something that has my name on it and I end up buying them and seldom using them.


In 2003, it was strands of Vintage red Czech glass and Green Bead Agate;
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In 2004 it was large red dyed Mother of Pearl beads; in 2005 it was huge green chalcedony beads. They are still unused and I was admiring them just yesterday.





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Oh yes, and then there was the year I could finally afford what they were calling Peruvian Blue Opal......
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A couple of years ago I came into a small inheritance. I did the right thing with it..... I bought a new car, my orange Honda Element..... and Delica beads.

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And then there are my vintage beads that I can't bear to part with and still haven't found a use for.

My daughter became a printmaker as she likes to think, collect and deal with multiples of things. I don't know what my excuse is, but be it beads or the luscious new 100% polyester DMC floss, I seem to also be into multiples..... Watch for the next issue of "Bead Patterns, The Magazine" and a "Snazzy Chains" project to see what I found to do with beads and the DMC Light Effects floss - yummy!

NH Heat Wave

No comment needed....

It's hard to be creative, let alone think about anything at all.

I move - I drip

Too hot for cats

My Son's tomcat escapes from the 3 dogs, 2 kids, and 2 other cats at home when I'm in NH for the summer. My apartment is over their garage and he can come and go as he pleases. He's my "Summer Cat". However, with the heat and humidity climb today when he insists on a lap, I tell him, "it's just too hot for cats". He just looks at me like this and doesn't listen, he just wants a lap!
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I had company today and took time to pick up and neaten my Studio East. I looked at it late today and thought that it was way too neat to bead in. My friend Bev over at No Easy Beads told me to drag out a bunch of beads and lay them around to get back into a beading mood. Nahhh, I think I'll just admire the orderliness of it all until tomorrow. Besides I do have a bead board in bed that has the start of a freeform pink peony bracelet on it. Sort of my emergency beading project. However, in the cleanup I put my latest bead crochet project somewhere and now I can't find it. I know it'll turn up, probably right under my nose.