Pretty in Pink

Yesterday I was at the Best Bead Show with "The Bead Spinner Lady", Judy Kintner. Every year I spend a couple of afternoons at her booth signing books and meeting other bead crocheters. Opening day of the show was under cool, but bright sunny skies and beaders were out in force. I got to meet and talk to a lot of neat people who have used my books or got introduced to them at the show. The picture that remains in my mind is the gal who showed up at the booth with about a dozen unfinished bead crocheted ropes around her neck. She announced, "I was told I needed a bead spinner!" Each of her ropes was a hank of beads, hand loaded onto the thread, and crocheted on the plane ride to Tucson. Yes, she sure did need a bead spinner and left the both with a happy smile on her face.

I have a set of 3 necklaces in 8/0's that are the staple of my wardrobe. However, they don't always match the greens and pinks I like to wear.

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I've been on a hunt for nice pink 8/0's for a couple of months now to make a set of necklaces. I knew that Orr's Trading Company would have them if anyone did.... and I was right. I found nice hanks of Czech pinks that were not garrish yet strong enough to show up well against the matte olive I wanted to use with them.

Oh yes, and I also picked up these other colors while I was at their booth. Japanese seed beads may be considered high quality, but packaged in plastic tubes and vials, they just don't flow and puddle like a whole bunch of hanks do.

Once again (or still!!) Blogger spell check isn't working... guess I'll have a lot of material to spell check when it is up and running again - sigh!

2008 Tucson Show Report

First impressions... GAUDY, oh so gaudy with dyed gemstones everywhere in colors Mother Nature never thought of. Dyed pinks in shades from neon to pale baby pink; bright oranges, neon greens, and eye-blinding purples! Well, I forgot the camera and since I wouldn't consider buying any of those colors, the visual will have to wait.

The strands that caught my eye were the matte onyx beads that you wanted to just fondle and run through your fingers. Next were the matte agates and some of which were added to my collection. Somehow, matte has had more of an appeal than the bright shiney, glitzy faceted beads.


Then there was copper, lots of copper findings at a reasonable wholesale price of 15 cents/gram. I finally found cones that will finish a crocheted turquoise and coral necklace that has been waiting for a year now.


One of my favorite vendors, Wild Things, is at the shows with 2 booths. I always end up spending more than I expected on their Czech pressed glass beads and buttons. Here are some of my finds at Wild Things:

On the back cover of my first book, "Bead Crochet Ropes" is a bracelet that Cathy Lee did with old vintage curled petals in the only color she had (orange). I was excited to see that Wild Things had new stock of the old shape in a selection of lucious colors. I got a great mossy green and sort of a purple iris color. Now to figure out once again how to string a caterpiller bracelet so the petals all curl up over one side.










While at their booth I picked up a bunch of daggers and quickly realized that they were 2-hole daggers! I asked if they had any in other colors and was told that they didn't have any 2-hole daggers. What a hoot.... I had something in my hand that the vendors didn't even know they had. The color really doesn't speak to me, but I bought them anyway because they were so different and had new design possibilities. Hopefully Wild Things will realize what a unique product they have and get some in other colors.


oh, oh.... Blogger's spell check isn't working and I'm one of the world's worst spellers.... guess I'll post anyway and go back and spell check later on... sorry!

Tucson Gem Shows

I'll be at The Best Bead Show

....at Judy Kintner's booth.

Just look for "The Bead Spinner Lady"

It's booth MH-59

on:

Wednesday, Feb 6th - afternoon

Saturday, Feb 9th - afternoon

COPPER

The other day I was at Lowe's looking for nails and screws when I came across rolls of copper flashing. What a beautiful craft medium. Lowe's carried "Top Cop" in 20' rolls, but in several different widths. The 10" wide roll I bought coat me $26.






It's a paper backed copper foil that is quite heavy but very flexible. It cuts beautifully with scissors.





It does have some sort of coating that keeps it shiny. You have to work at it with a scotch bright pad or sandpaper if you want to age it.



I found it easy to punch with a simple hole punch.




I also found that it embossed quite readily with a hard-tipped pen.






This solves my on-going problem of how to back and display my Bead Journal pages. I can now see all 12 pieces with a copper tab at the top with small copper rivets. I'd use handmade "S" hooks over a thin copper or brass rod. Simple, elegant and exactly what I wanted.


As an aside... I used most of the roll to cover the top of a bedside table and the scraps will undoubtedly show up in other projects in the future.