Home for the Winter

Day 13:
It seems like it takes forever to drive across West Texas.

This boat on the highway amused me as I followed it for awhile. No large body of water in sight!


Good driving weather for the 534 miles from Gilmer to Monahans; shower and fall into bed at a motel.



Day 14:
I kept seeing house sized things in the far fields and it finally dawned on me that they were huge bales of cotton. I guess you could call it a Southwestern snowfall as the sides of the roads had fluffy white cotton residue on the edges.

Once I get over these mountains and turn left I'll be in Tombstone, Arizona and home for the winter months. It was 541 miles in and out of the overcast and sunshine.

I'll take a week to unload, put the beads away, sort, re-stock pantry, catch up with friends and then celebrate the holidays with my siblings and friends.

As a curiosity..... Bev, Marcie and I all met over the internet and then found that we all had siblings in Arizona within 20 miles of where I settled. What are the odds of that happening? Also.... I went to a girls boarding school north of Chicago and now my High School roommate and I winter 2 houses away from each other. Small world and getting smaller every day.

Gilmer Getaway - ending

Day 11 & 12:
Things are winding down and people are starting to leave. Becky has gone, Jackie is packed, Bev is packing and I'll go Saturday morning. It was one of the most fruitful Getaway's as each of us finished more projects than we usually do. Some of the things we did are shown here.

"Sleve Art" Purses
Bev's on left, mine on right







Jackie's bright and bold purses









Marcie's "pretty in blue"







My "large ball" necklaces







More felted balls - they are fun to do!

Gilmer Getaway - Wool Felting

Day 8, 9, 10, 11:
We have been having way too much fun with wool felting. We've done balls, lariats, cell phone cases, market baskets, "Sleeve Art" purses, and necklaces. ....

Jackie did a primary colored bag on wool felted, thrift store, woven wool. Then she took the body of a felted wool sweater and needle felted a snowman scene on it. However that bag went home waiting for inspiration for handles. Jackie also quickly made red and black cell phone and glasses cases with red polka dot ribbons for straps.

Bev made a "Sleeve Art" purse with a flamingo needle felted on to a square. She couldn't leave well enough alone and continued to embellish & embellish with beads, including the strap. Bev moved on to making an art deco lariat in pink and black. For her it was coloring out of the lines as the ends are not symmetrical. I should mention that we discovered that garment sleeves, felted, and not cut apart make perfect purses shapes - no need to sew up the sides. We quickly dubbed these "Sleeve Art". As Bev did most of the instructing she has now moved on to making a macrame bracelet with my beautiful C-Lon cording and a vintage button.

Becky went home with an envelope purse folded and felted just like an envelope. She had plans to add a few beads to it at a later time. We have missed spending more time with Becky.... however I'm going to stay with her Friday night and we are going to do the Dallas thrift stores on Saturday.

Marcie took her flamboyant freeform style into felting. She did a fantastic felted purse with fuzzy needle felted edges and a wild 3-D square on the front. We laughed as the strap for the purse is a roll of felted wool that is so stiff that she had a hard time bending it. Marcie kept rolling and Bev kept saying, "a little bit more"! She started a beautiful melon lariat, but has "lost" her melon colored beads somewhere in her beadroom, so that one will have to wait for the beads to surface before it gets finished. Now Marcie is working on a "Sleeve Art" purse and we're waiting to see just how this one will come out.

I made a "Sleeve Art" purse from a felted cashmere sweater sleeve. It is embellished with a soft rose and green floral square on the body. When finished it turned out that it is the perfect size for a drink bottle. I got hooked on balls and so far have made 2 necklaces with large felted balls. They are just great as you can have the big 'n bold look with hardly any weight at all. One choker was done in melon and khaki; another longer one in different sized balls, in a range of colors, strung as an illusion on C-Lon cording. I'm working on a teal & fuschia choker at the moment. All that hand rolling of the felted balls has left my shoulders and the palms a bit sore. I may not want to make meatballs for a while after this.


It is so much fun to let the creative juices flow and be able to bounce ideas off of other creative people. I feel like I'm being recharged and will not have any trouble creating new work in the near future. The Gilmer Getaway always ends up being the best vacation with beads.

Trip Report - Gilmer Getaway

Day 7 - 12/4/05
Bev made us put up the beads and get out the wool! We've been felting today. First we made wet felted balls - sort of like making meatballs with wet wool. They are just great. Next she read us the "destructions" and we made needle felted squares with the wool felt that Jackie brought. Bev did a flamingo; Becky a rainbow heart; Marcie's was .... of course.... blue & green freeform; and I did a sort of floral square.

Next we had to decide what to do with these things. Jackie had brought some wool garments that we cut apart and threw into the washing machine. Marcie & I cut up the sweaters that I had collected and felted in NH. We had a sort of AHA moment! Bev and I started "Sleeve Art" purses.

The sleeves were already sewn up the sides so we are making purses with the sleeves. We really love the way they are coming out. Marcie started a flap purse and Becky is working on a true envelope purse.

Jackie is making a cute snowman at the moment after doing a purse applique in bright primary colors. We are having way too much fun......