Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been playing around in the studio and catching up on "Lost" before the next season begins. But now I need to get to work and finishing Christmas gifts. There's not a lot to do, but I know if I don't start this weekend I'll never get it done in time.

Goodies

While I was on Bainbridge I got the chance to stop into Beads of Bainbridge, the local bead store.

Here is a picture of the sun shinning through the mist in the trees this morning.

A Day With Zelo and Jack

We had a guest this weekend, so we decided to get out of the house and go somewhere new. Somewhere ended up being Bainbridge Island and Fort Ward.

Clearing out my head

I guess I would call this a prototype for my bead journal that I start in January. Not sure if I will turn them all into small wall hangings or find some other way to display. But I feel pretty confident I can keep up as the months go by with this size.

I also used this as an opportunity to try out stuff that's been floating around in my head.

Solid color spaces are not really something I do a lot of.

I love these cup like pearls and wanted to try them in bead embroidery

I recently bought these tear drops from work and tried them out as edging and fringe.

We spent the day in Seattle yesterday, of course it wasn't until half way through that I remembered to take pictures. So I don't have any pictures of Fremont.

Jack loves a good walk through the city.

Here is a cool door handle.

It was a surprisingly nice weather day.
Always have fun at the market.
Jack had so much fun, he fell a sleep with a smile on his face.

Jumping in with both feet

After some not so gentle peer pressure I signed up for the 2010 Bead Journal Project. I have been interested in joining this since first hearing about this during the 2007 go-round, but didn't remember to sign up until after the deadline ended this last year.

This will be my first foray into any challenge/group project and I'm really not sure what I plan on getting out of this. I am excited to see what comes from trying to use beads as method of journaling. Hopefully I will also be able to experiment with different techniques and explore different color pallets. Mostly I just hope I can keep up every month. My ability to stay focused and on track will be a main hurdle.

I have already put some thought into what shape and size I want to work on for a year and have decided to go with a 3" circle. In an effort to challenge myself I wanted to try a shape I had only worked with on a small scale. Now what I'm going to do with them once the beading is done I have yet to decide.

Hear is a sample i started just to get an idea of how it would look. It is like making beaded buttons just on a larger scale. I'm actually further along with this just haven't gotten around to taking a picture.

So that's whats been going on here. Gathering supplies, brain storming, general preparation in order to be ready when January rolls around.

Goodbye Summer...

Well not officially, but around here you can feel fall coming on. The sun rises latter and goes down earlier every day, there is a crispness in the air and the leaves on the trees are starting to turn. The days of sleeping with the windows open are winding down for sure.

This summer has been particularly nice. I can't remember the last time we had such a long stretch of nice weather. This would explain my long absence from writing and beading. Being a native of the Pacific Northwest, I know to enjoy good weather while it lasts because there are at least 9 months of dreariness coming.

That being said, it has been all fun in the sun. I did find time to work in the studio. I finished the border on the hand quilt. I decided not to do to much just some out-lining on the border.

I also finished the block for my sister. Next will be the quilting. I just have to find some more pink fabric. This piece turned out a lot better than I thought it would. Hope Meg likes it.

I've spent this past weekend cleaning and reorganizing in the studio. This is always helped me to rediscover supplies and beads and in turn, lead to inspiration for new projects.