Cleanup Distraction

 I almost got this written this afternoon except my Boyfriend yelled that he could see smoke and a possible fire across the wash from the house.  Right now it's so dry and brush fires in Arizona can quickly burn out of control.  Stay tuned for an update.....

As I was cleaning up the studio work table to host a couple of visiting bead people, I threw all larger loose beads onto a tray.


I kept thinking, "what a nice combination."

The idea bulb went on...... I'd clean a bit, string a few beads from the tray, put a few beads away and string a few more beads.   

A messy work surface does say creativity, doesn't it?  Grab the crochet hook and see what it looks like as a single crocheted chain.

Not bad....

I'll unravel this first attempt as I need to figure out how to even out the chain tension.  Some areas bunch up into over large picots and others have too much cord showing between beads.  

I think it's a quick, fun way to use up odds and ends of beads and add some fun to an outfit.  

It's about 10 days to leaving for New Hampshire for the summer.  Please tell me the snow and mud season has left the East Coast.

Given what needs to be done before packing the car, I've put the moth sculpture away for 6 months.  I did see an oriental running stitch quilting technique that might look great on these wings.

Well.... the moth project is  now packed away for after Thanksgiving when I get back to Arizona.  For the moment all of the pieces and odd other bits are in one box waiting.

I unearthed another project that needs more research.  I was playing with the possibility of paper jewelry and put it aside when I noticed that the edges of the paper were badly fraying. I need to find a sealant for the paper that leaves it still feeling like paper and not stiff wood.  This took me back to my summer camp days. Did you ever make lanyards as a child?

I'll have an idea, try it, reject it and put the project tray aside for another while. The potato starch was interesting, but what a mess it made.  I would have been better off making potato soup with it.  

You sure can find a lot of possibilities waiting to happen when you deep clean a studio.  Let's see... there are 2 sliced up billiard balls, a box of rusty flea market keys, Arizona Artifacts waiting to be made into a unique pendant, A bead crochet large cuff bracelet waiting for more pieces of rope,  and tubes of seed beads everywhere.

Waiting for Rain in Arizona

You can smell the rain in the dry desert air.  The wind is gusting, making things rattle, squeak and moan outside.   It isn't too often that the forecast says 100% chance of rain around here.  Yet, there is still a possibility that it won't rain at my house but will rain a quarter mile down the road.







Tombstone's historic courthouse waiting for rain as it looks from my back porch this morning.  The clouds are rolling by quite fast and the wind is pushing the winter bare tree branches around.  I can see some of the birds flapping like crazy against the wind but not going much of anywhere.

It's going to be a good afternoon to turn the space heater on and work on some beadwork.  I have some light ecru pearl 8/0's out for a background.  Now I need 5 spring flower colors.  I have a matte green for leaves and a good yellow.  I need to root around for 4 more colors that makes you think of specific flowers.

Sometimes I think the hardest part of any project  is deciding on what colors to use

I guess you could say that March is coming in like a lion here in Southern Arizona.

Gem Shows Shutting down

This is this year's Gem Show treat for myself.... and it's not beads.

The parking lots are almost empty -- posted Motel prices are about half of what they were last week -- Big shrink wrapped pallets of things are sitting waiting for a truck. -- trucks are being loaded up .... it's time for Tucson to return to a semi-sleepy, Southwestern existence.

I stopped by the Pueblo show today while I was out and found a bargain.  I'd been admiring the Crinoid fossils since I saw the first huge panel of them 3 years ago.  At that point they were too big (5' tall) and out of my price range ($900 - $1,000).  This vendor was packing up and offered me half price, I countered and got it for 1/4 the marked price.  It's beautiful and quite detailed. Now to find a place in my little adobe to put it.  The colors will go quite well on a wall here.

Kino Gem Show

I  need to do a Blog post,   but.....

Oh look, Beads..........I'm easily distracted by new bead shapes and colors.

This will probably be my last show visit this Feb.  I spent a couple of hours at The Best Bead Show visiting with a lot of my beading friends.  It's a shame that we have about half an hour only once a year to catch up in person.

The nice thing about the Kino Show is that it is a small slice of what all of the different shows are like. It's a table (or two), Medium sized tents plus small tents or a couple of display tables of just about everything you'd see at all the other shows.
Today in Tucson was chilly, but not winter coat cold.  It was overcast with a 30% chance of rain.  Everyone was ready with their tarps in case it did start to rain.

It was a good day to poke around this smallish show as it wasn't too crowded.  You see, the Holidome opened today and I bet there were lines of cars several miles long waiting to get in there.  The Holidome is probably the biggest of all of the shows with over 740 booth spaces.





Today I looked, touched and saw what was new.  Shibori ribbon - beautiful, but not for me - too fragile and fussy.  Two-holed triangles, "O" beads -- Oh yes...  they need to hurry up with more production.