Isn't it fascinating to see how each beader organizes her stash? Kathy likes her "Cropper Hopper", an item appropriated from scrapbookers.
We had a new beader join us in our Bead Blast. She is Jessica, shown making Fireflies at Sunset from the kit. She is a quick study and left with a finished necklace. She even designed and beaded a rivoli and loop closure. When the first session of Fireflies sold out at the Bead & Button Show, they added another session at this, their 10th anniversary show, in June. Fran purchased a partially felted, or could have been needle felted, vest from etsy. After fulling it, she has begun to embellish it.

Amy (wearing THE original Fireflies at Sunset necklace) is checking out the amazing and ginormous "rivoli" that Kathy gave me. It came with a card she'd written, saying it is a pleasure to meet me. She revealed that she'd waited a day to give it to me, to be sure it was indeed, a pleasure. Ya gotta love her honesty. She is a fine beader, tells good stories and has a great sense of humor. Hope she is a keeper. And, you just KNOW I am going to bezel this rock and wear it. (I will take it off when weighing in though!) She said it is sold as a paperweight.

Check out the necklace of geometric shapes that Margot wore to my Diamonds of Fire Necklace workshop today at Perlen Akademie in Dortmund Germany. She could have joined the other 80,000 people shopping at the Creativa Expo next door but, instead, bless her heart, she spent the ENTIRE day beading with me. Honestly, she took the 9am-430pm (9 to 1630 as we call it here) workshop that focuses on cubic right angle, Diamonds of Fire. PLUS she beaded with me all evening in the workshop of Fireflies at Sunset Necklace. Diane Fitzgerald was teaching across the hall. When she dropped by and saw Margot's necklace she assumed that perhaps the book she wrote on beaded shapes might be behind it. Margot said she designed this piece a couple years ago. Just another example of simultaneous interest in geometrical beadwork that cropped up all over the place at around the same time. Especially rendered in peyote stitch. Just this week: Diane taught her Trillium design here today (based on triangles). Laura taught a design based on triangles yesterday and I taught the Beaded Pillows Necklace on Wednesday, also dependent on the basic beaded triangle. All such different manifestations of beaded triangles.Andrea (shown here) came to the Fireflies workshop with Felted Bangles with Beaded Beads she made, having seen them in the Bead and Button Show catalog.
Though the class concluded a long beadiful day, these beaders still look energized and even happy. One of them has just beaded for her first time. How exciting to usher yet another lucky person into this meditative, creative and joyous medium. She is eager to get around the expo tomorrow and set herself for the many years of happy beading ahead of her.
Tomorrow I will spend the entire day demonstrating feltmaking at the Perlen Expo (Hall 5 at Creativa Expo, dedicated to all things beads!). Kits will be on hand for those choosing to seize the opportunity to have a lesson and create some felted jewelry right on the spot.
In the evening I will continue with felting but, in a workshop at Perlen Akademie. We will make the Felted Bangle with Beaded Bead.

The Bead & Button Show began accepting registrations on Tuesday, and on Wednesday this lariat class featuring a fabulous Nancy Tobey focal bead filled up and sold out! Yippee. If they ask me to fit another session into the week, I will, and Nancy is willing to make us another batch of her beauties.

There are still some seats remaining in Diamonds of Fire necklace. It is a repeat of last year's popular class using 1139 Swarovski crystals! It is sponsored by Swarovski which means I do not need to lay in all those factory packs of cystals AND it is a real value for the student. As a bonus I will also offer the convertible design that can be worn as two (or more) bracelets or as a necklace. The idea of convertible or multi-purpose pieces really appeals to me. At the conclusion of this project you are completely proficient in cubic right angle weave. You begin to interpret everything around you as being composed of little c.r.a.w. units. It opens up an entire new world of creating with beads, plus you get this gorgeous sparkling jewelry.

There are just a couple seats left in Two Sides to Every Story, a bracelet that is woven using a stitch I made up based on my explorations of tubular African stitches. The beadwork magically corrugates as you work, strategically pushing some beads forward and others to the back...hence reversible. And very cool.

There is limited seating in the Felt Bangle with Beaded Bead, 2 last I checked. It is a short and sweet 3 hour class and you leave with a finished bangle (damp but wearable). It features a bit of undulating peyote stitch and a fascinating felt adventure for newbies that offers a couple interesting tips for experienced felters. We'll be using the Turbo Felting Board (optional purchase $30). Did I mention that the TFB is discounted on my website until Ground Hog Day Feb 2. $25 with free shipping?

Fireflies at Sunset is still popular. They offered 2 sessions again this year. There are only 2 seats left Tuesday evening (last I checked) but, a few seats remain for Sunday morning just before we all leave. It is a great project to wrap up the week of beading. It is composed of easy-to-see seed beads and is a meditative repetitive stitch that propels you through the work in a near-trance state. Joy. It is my original stitch based on tubular peyote with an extra bead placed where it will articulate the beadwork, making it supple like bead crochet. Amy's bead choices evoke the colors of sunset with the little lights of fireflies. Hence the name.

Ronna Sarvas Weltman's polymer clay ring (we swapped her clay ring for my felt bracelet at Beadfest) inspired an entire line of felt rings. In the top photo her polymer ring is flanked by my first two felt ones. She is author of ANCIENT MODERN: POLYMER CLAY + WIRE JEWELRY.

The next photo shows several of the styles I have been working on. My workshop: Felt Component Jewelry, will be enhanced by the addition of these new designs and techniques.

It makes my heart sing every time I see someone wearing felt jewelry. So, at the studio class

this week, with 4 of us wearing felt jewelry, my heart was singing an aria!

Amy, shown here, wore her felt pendant with beaded bail. If I recall correctly, this was to have been featured in the gallery section of HAND FELTED JEWELRY AND BEADS.

BTW, The blue beaded necklace Amy is holding, she bead-crocheted a few months agao when I shared this techqniue that Kumiko had shared with me when I was in Japan in January. Kumiko had learned it from her protege, Keiko Seki, one of the contributing authors of the recent article in Bead and Button Magazine on what they call Turkish Bead Crochet. I have beaded with Keiko on both of my visits to Japan. Her contribution to the article was translated into English by Motoko Natsubori. You've read about Motoko here in previous entries. She interpreted for me when I taught in Japan each time and translated MASTERING BEADWORK into Japanese. I hope to see her at the Bead and Button Show in June.
And on the same evening, Elaine wears her felted beads bracelet. Lovely.

Jill is wearing one of my new felt rings (can't see it so good here) while working on Fireflies at Sunset necklace. I will teach this project again at next years's Bead and Button Show. It is Amy's exciting palette of colors that makes this piece so popular and the versatility of the stitch that makes it such a valuble technique to learn.

Fran and I are in process of kitting Fireflies at Sunset Necklace(see left) for both Monday and Friday sessions, plus some extra for Meet the Teachers Event at Bead & Button Show, May 31 to June 7.

Upon close inspection of the beads, the sparkly nature of the piece is what sings out. The optical illusion provided by the color-lined drops, is that they are tiny illuminations in the background of shiny and matte beads.

Interesting though, that when I prepared the gigantic bead soup of the background beads, even though the shiny beads outnumber the matte, it is the matte beads that get all the attention. Nestled into the bead soup (at right) is the necklace, which, in that surround, also looks mostly matte. Just thought I would share that little adventure in matte/shiny/drop bead-land.