Tuesday 29 June 2010

You always want what you can't have...


Today has not been a good day. It started early this morning with a doctor's appointment and has gone steadily down hill ever since. I can't wait to get home to my OH and to lose myself in my beading. I am on the home stretch now with the Textile Kaleidoscope exhibition in my sights. I have two projects on the go at the moment, a set of Art Deco style jewellery and a beaded collar. I am sad in a way that my course is coming to an end in a couple of weeks time. After 5 years of studying there will be no more courses to take. I have learnt so much not only about beading but also about myself in the process. I have definitely developed my own style and I think it is quite distinctive.

It is strange however that I always want to be able to bead like someone else. Last Thursday at my beading class I took the opportunity to walk around the class and see what other people have been making. My excuse was that my back was hurting me as usual and I needed to stretch my legs. In reality I am just plain nosey! Plus it is always a delight to take time to fully appreciate how talented my fellow beaders really are. I was particularly taken with a beautiful lariat, covered with flowers leaves and buds and I remember thinking 'I wish I could make something like that!'. Imagine my surprise a bit later in the day when I overheard the maker of that exquisite piece of beadwork telling our tutor how much she wished she could produce precise beaded pieces like mine. It seems that we are never satisfied. I admit it I am a total 'neat freak'. I hate living and working in mess, everything has to be in its place. Luckily my OH has accepted this personality trait with his usual tolerance and good humour.









Centrepiece of an Art Deco necklace

Although I will be sad when the exhibition is over I am looking forward to spending time on my other interests such as quilting and knitting. I already have a queue of potential knitting projects building up. After this morning's appointment it looks as though I will be spending more time waiting around in hospital clinics so they will come in very handy for passing the time.

Friday 11 June 2010

Beads, beads and more beads...



After many hours of work my Art Deco bag is almost finished. It hasn't turned out exactly as I would like but it is really good to finally have it done so that I can move onto other things. The only thing left to be done is to embellish the handle with a strip of beadwork and its complete.





Also on the subject of beads my beading class took part in the Christchurch Community Festival during the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May. It was a bit disappointing I have to say as of course it poured with rain and as a result we did not have many visitors. We did manage to sell one pair of earrings but otherwise it was very quiet. We had all made jewellery on the theme of spirals and there were some really lovely pieces on display. I had two items for sale - my 'Spring Bracelet' and my 'Purple Passion' necklace.








This weekend I will be doing more beading as I need to get everything finished for our Textile Kaleidoscope exhibition at the end of July.