Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Bead and Button Show registrations, Japan next week

Although registration JUST opened for the Bead & Button Show, I took a peek so see what registrations for my classes have come in.


I am delighted...heck, thrilled!!! to see that Complex Cane Hand Felted Beads Necklace is sold out! and other classes are filling too. Although I am blessed with a full dance card, having 9 classes on the schedule there already, it happens I have Saturday free. Wouldn't it be great if they decide to offer a repeat session? For the past several years I have been proposing cane felt beads workshops to them. It must be that the samples, description and appeal have finally been right this time.
It was fun to just share this news in a quick Facebook post. And it was sweet to see that fb friends are also sharing about their B&B registrations: the joy of getting into classes they wanted, the disappointment at being shut out of others by just being a moment too late, and the happiness of fellow teachers who are tracking their registrations also. I love our community.
Just yesterday my B&B catalog arrived. I apologize to Nancy Tobey and all beaders for the inadequate photo I must have supplied for Glass Bead Inspired Lariat, a popular class that filled up first day last year, and was offered again in a repeat session. Shame on me if I chose to send a different photo than last year.




Shoko, Mayumi and I are wrapping up the final details to my demonstrating beadwork at the Tulip Co booth at the International Great Quilt Show in Tokyo. I will be featuring their brand new beading needles in a couple quick and easy projects...a necklace and a bracelet. They are making kits of the projects so that guests can make one for themselves. The bead chain necklace is a firepolish version of the chain published in my last Master Class for Beadwork magazine. And the bracelet is a simple version of double needle right angle weave with the new durable finish gold seed beads. I am able to make these in under an hour so they should be well received as lovely, easy and quick projects with general appeal. I will teach them at Kiwaseisakusyo on the 25th.


This reminds me to share with you the examples of the impact that thread choice has on outcome. In making several samples of this bracelet, I found that the One-G (stretchy nylon thread that is popular among the Japanese beaders I know) version was a bit "wonky", with the beads settling at less than right angles. Perhaps if I had beaded under the tension that I witness the Japanese beaders use with One G, perhaps this would not be so. The Fireline versions (dark gray) looked "crisp" and metallic. The PowerPro one was plumb and square and firmer than the others. The yellow Nymo was too supple and "soft", though using wax might have mitigated this.


At the studio class last week, Amy began a Toho platinum gold necklace with a ginormous crystal, like the one I brought for show & tell. When we examined them side by side the beads looked to be different. You can see what I am talking about even in this photo of just the beaded focal element. Mine is on left, Amy's is on right.We thought maybe one of us used Toho PF and one used Miyuki Durable Finish. No. We both used Toho. We decided that the thread was responsible for the optical illusion that my beads are paler, plumper, perhaps a tad yellow and very obviously galvanized glass seed beads; while Amy's beads look more like actual silver beads (metal) rather than the galvanized glass seed beads they are. Her thread was Fireline in a dark gray. Mine had been light moss green PowerPro. Interesting. I will favor using Fireline with metallic seed beads from now on.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

No comments:

Post a Comment