Organize the Studio

Why do we collect??

Today an antique dealer came and took away a very small amount of things that I'd held onto (collected) for way too many years. When I downsized from the large house to the 750 sq. ft. apartment I got rid of a lot of things, but evidently kept way too many things as it was. My Mother-in-law's 12' X 25' hand tied rug was one overly large item that I had, my son stored for a couple of years, then my daughter had, and ultimately gave back to me. I guess I dreamed of a large rural, open loft that would have enough floor space for this rug. Reality set in when I moved into a 24'x 50' ranch house. It was time to part with the danged rug and the dreams of a loft. The reality was that any rural loft-type space would boil down to being a rough drafty old barn and most of those barns are attached to houses around here in the outback of New Hampshire.

Glassware, vintage glassware - oh it's pretty, it sparkles and is so clean looking . . . . I guess it's just like over sized glass beads. I filled this table 4 times and now it's gone to another home. It was hard to choose, but I kept a hutch full of my favorite pieces and things I thought I just might still put to use. I've always used my vintage glassware and still enjoy a glass of wine in my 1930's etched green and pink wine glasses. I can close my eyes and imagine myself as a svelte, swinging flapper with long swinging beads when I use those glasses.


Studio Reality . . .

Here's the why of getting rid of stuff.
The studio furniture just managed to fit on one wall today. Well, 1/8" of wiggle room was left. Whew, it did fit though. I learned an important lesson though - don't wait 30 years to clean out your huge Southern Pacific oak desk...... Talk about antiquated office supplies and other strange stuff in there. I now have 3 completely empty drawers and my kids can worry about the next clean out - I won't be here for that one. Now I need to find room for the stuff on top of the desk



and all of this stuff on the opposite wall. No closets here to hide things away as it's in the house's dining room.

Oh, and the beads & supplies are still in the trailer and need to come in!





...and this stuff that's currently on a table in the living room.

Maybe I'll have a functional studio soon - I sure hope so as I've got ideas and can't put my hands on a danged thing. And the kitchen is worse as I've already moved things around several times.


Almost a month back in New Hampshire and the place still looks like a hoarder's abode with paths between stacks of stuff. I don't mind a totally messy studio, but the rest of the house is another story.

Gotta Organize Studio

Now that the new kitchen floor is all done I've got to get the mess that is my Summer studio sorted out, organized and working. I've got several ideas for CraftEdu workshops that need to be done. Top of the list is a complete How-To on bead crochet and next is one on making bead crochet toggles.

My desk really is under there - all the way back in the corner.

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I finished the last sample of the expanded flat Caterpillar while having the oil changed in my car this week. The piece on the far left will be a bracelet project. I've got enough samples in two sizes of beads as well as a couple of design variations. Now I'm antsy and want to get it all pulled together for Part 1 of an eBook on the technique. This is the odd# pattern and Part 2 will be the even# pattern that will allow diamonds to work.

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So, now I've really got to get my rear in gear and get things moved around so I can get back to beading.

Heading East

It's time to pack up the beads and head East to New Hampshire for the Summer Season. Tombstone has had it's first 90 degree temp and my Son tells me things are blooming back East. The To-Do list is getting whittled down; some things crossed off and others tabled to this winter's project list.


I finally got the last workshop done and up on CraftEdu, "Exploring the Flat Caterpillar" Now maybe the people who have voiced an interest in my classes, but couldn't get to one can have the opportunity to attend virtually.

Whew, still a steep learning curve, but so far I'm quite pleased with the results. I had to laugh as I've been feeling like a real fool - talking to myself and the computer screen. My Companion made a paper plate face, labeled it "Student" and stuck it to the wall so I could feel like I was not talking to myself! I'm not sure that helped all that much as I want to giggle at the silly paper face.

There are many other crafts being taught at CraftEdu, you might want to check it out. Visit and preview some classes and maybe take a free one or two. It's still building, only a week old, so more content is being added every day.

So, I'm packing the beads tomorrow and organizing for the trek across country. Monday the IBM Tech comes back for his third house call and will attempt to finally fix my main computer. It's his last chance to get it right before I pack it. Thank heavens for the laptop!

I'll be in New Hampshire by mid May and back blogging sometime in late May with a few photos and stories from the trip. This time it's to Las Cruces NM then an angle up to St. Louis, Illinois and across just under the Great Lakes.

Arizona Time Warp

Gleeson AZ is a ghost town now, but in it's heyday it was a thriving mining town. My sister, Tina had an opportunity to buy the old jail and has since restored it and turned it into a historical & educational facility.





(Tina on the right)


This Jail was the third one built and was officially put into service on April 30, 1910. Saturday, May 1, 2010 she held a 100th birthday party for it. If it hadn't been for the cars in the background I could have believed I was back in 1910.





The AZ Rangers raised the flag - note that it's a 1910 flag! A time capsule will be buried (encased in cement) on May 10th. This allows anyone with connections to Gleeson to add material to it.

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What year did you say this was?

Can you imagine wearing this many clothes today?

Characters showed up and "played" their parts effortlessly.



And oh, the food . . . . it was pot-luck and all of it home made from traditional burritos, green chile chile, pisole, berry pies and on down 5 very loaded tables. I sat there, ate too much, complained about the wind and listened to the live western guitar music. Close my eyes and it wasn't 2010 anymore.

It was a delightful Saturday outing and the best was getting to spend time with my Niece, Nephew and grand-nephews, whom I don't get to see often enough.

My Niece's comment was, "OK, so my Mom got to dress me one more time!"