Lost in the shuffle

Amy wanted to bead a band of peyote for her new pen by wood-turner Bob Rosenberg, so I reminded her of the easy double-needle method for odd-count peyote. Which in turn reminded me that the previous posts about the workshop at Beads Mosaic did not include everything I thought I'd shared. How I wish the developer would fix the bugs that have made my blog apps crash on my iPod and iPad. I've spent wayyyy tooooo much time happily sharing tales, photos and links only to find they disappear into thin ether. So, I'm "chewing my cabbage for the third time" as they say in the hills, on my computer this time, hoping this time is the charm.

Sarah, the beader we picked up at Innovative Beads Expo, finished her bangle in the morning session.

The tapered ends of the felt are joined inside the large-holed Unicorn bead. She embellished the felt with a simple few silver drop beads. Gorgeous.
One of the full-day felters, Sandy,

did it all. Here she is beading the undulating beaded bead for one bangle. Then she learned the double-needle odd count beaded bead for another.

She also selected one of the array of large-holed Unicorn beads on hand in the store, to finish a third bangle...seen in progress here.

In the back of my mind I keep imagining what Glenda and Liisa have in mind, when they say they want to create Cirque de Soleil inspired felt bracelets in our workshop at Crystal Creations a couple weeks from now (December 10 & 11). Speaking of...Marjolein Dallinga has a dream career as feltmaker for Cirque de Soleil. Cool.

Wondering if something like these will tickle their fancy.
Happy Thanksgiving. When giving thanks for the many blessings that make up my wonderful, creative, friendship and love-filled life, I am thankful to have you.

Beads Mosaic yesterday, Innovative Beads Expo Dec 3rd, Crystal Creations Dec 10&11

It was a gorgeous drive down the thruway to Nanuet yesterday. Not much traffic this weekend...probably everyone is saving their road trip for next weekend. Beads Mosaic offered a choice of Felted Bangles to Bead workshops...come for just 3 hours in the morning and expect to make one or, come for the full day and experience several techniques in felt making as well as beaded finishes, including the fastest method of beading undulating tubular peyote. This is even easier than the method I share in MASTERING BEADWORK. I came up with it when I was writing the directions for potential projects I'd offered to demonstrate at the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival last January. In preparing the recipe to give to Shoko to translate, I was so intent on using an economy of words that this economy of beading came to me. How cool. I could have dope-slapped my own forehead though. Why did it take so long to come up with this?

A couple inches look great on a chain or beaded chain, I use it to finish some felted bangles and, here is a picture, and I may have recently shared this but, you can't see it too much, of Amy wearing her freshly finished undulating peyote necklace. Sorry to say I hadn't shared this easier way before she'd started this.

But, I've shared it with her since and I shared it last weekend in the felt jewelry workshops at Urban Stitch Studio and again this weekend at Beads Mosaic AND
... in 2 weeks from Thanksgiving when I teach Hand Felted Components Jewelry at Crystal Creations in West Palm Beach Fl, this will be just one of several cool things I'll share. Crystal Creations owner Glenda Paunonen, and her daughter and head designer for the store, Liisa Turunen, want to make Cirque de Soleil inspired cuff bracelets. You betcha. When we're together I invite you to use me up!! Their request got me so excited! Let's just do it all, I say. So, just to sweeten the pot I shipped 4 fabulous felted fascinators down for display in the store with the expectation that whatever folks want to make, even headgear, I'll be ready. Next week I'll ship ahead a box of gorgeous colors of fine merino wool, tulle, feathers, sequins, ribbons, wire, blades, cutting boards, Turbo felting boards. This will be like a shorter version of the weeklong workshops I taught in Australia in April and a couple years ago. I am sooooo looking forward to this. Call Glenda to reserve your spot in this creative adventure. Bring your heart's desires and a spirit of adventure.

Hey, mention you read about it here and I'll have a gift bag of supplies for you so you'll have more moolah for beads!

Full fab weekend: Demo at Innovative Bead Show & workshop at Beads Mosaic

Amy accompanied me to Edison NJ for the annual Embellishments edition of Innovative Beads Expo. Wish I could tell you more yummy details of this show but, I didn't get around much. Leslie Pope replenished her supply of Tulip beading needles for Twisted Sistah Beads first thing. I had a chance to say hello to exhibitor and fused glass jeweler Marcia Moore. (I have a collection of her cabochons that I intend to use in a new design soon.) It was lovely to be situated near Moggie Moyer's Bead My Love booth. There was great shopping at this show in addition to classes taught by my friend Pat Riesner, Marti Brown, Adele Recklies, Meg Fillmore (the daughter of well known mother-daughter bead embroiderers of Bead My Love.)
We had a booth in the corner of the main ballroom, allowing plenty of space for observers to gather around for my demonstrations.

Sarah, to the extreme right in the shot, not only gave me her rapt attention during the Felted Bangle to Bead demo, she also came to the workshop yesterday at Beads Mosaic in Nanuet NY to create her own felted beaded bangle. (in next post)
Innovative Beads Expo has 30 shows scheduled for 2012 in the northeast, including one in NYC in May. I will be at the last show of 2011, in Fishkill, NY at the Ramada Inn on December 3rd. Here, rather than doing demos, I'll be teaching 2 classes. One is a necklace I designed especially for this event that is new-beader friendly and also offers new technique to seasoned beaders!

I call it Painted Desert. I'll also be teaching Treasure Bracelet.

This was a very popular bracelet I taught at all 8 Sewing & Quilt Expos around the country, the year I taught for them. I love that over the past couple years, a few beaders have come up to me at the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee, to exclaim that they took Treasure Bracelet class at the quilt show and it was their gateway into beading.
Hope you can come bead with me in Fishkill in a couple weeks. Pat, Meg and Marti will be teaching there too! Innovative Beads Expos classes are always 8 or fewer students per class. What an amazing opportunity to enjoy individual attention from the instructors. At other shows classes max out at 16 to 24. Take advantage of this intimate learning venue.
After the show Saturday, a few of us met for a "nosh" at Harold's New York Deli at 3050 Woodbridge Ave, Edison NJ. What an experience! I'm recommending it. Pat had warned us that the sandwiches are intended to be shared by 3 or more people. Pat, Amy and I ordered a combo pastrami/turkey. They almost finished the pastrami half and I had my fill of delicious turkey on chewy perfect rye bread, plus 2 more meals from it Sunday!! Their concept of portion size is an interesting gimmick, and the place was packed with families. and parties. We passed the dessert showcase. The cakes were easily 14 inches tall and at least that wide. A slice occupies a platter rather than a plate, and again is meant to be shared. I was thrilled that the food was so very divine because I feared they were counting on quantity rather than quality to draw the crowds. Au contraire. Try not to be grossed out by the grotesque portions and go there with 3 or more folks that have similar palates. Enjoy the pickle bar. Yum. You WILL want a "doggy bag".
Sunday I taught Hand Felted Bangles to Bead at Beads Mosaic in Nanuet. Sarah found her way there after just a brief gps glitch that put her in Spring Valley first.
I'll start a fresh post about this after I dash to the post office...

Urban Stitch Studio post...revisited with pics this time

Several 3-4 hour workshops were offered in both beadwork and feltmaking. And because a couple of us were staying right there at the Urban Stitch Studio "B&B;)", boundaries were blurred about when class was actually over. Here is a picture of, I think Beth's, Fireflies necklace and Twilight in Savannah.

Can this really be Marlene's very first beadweaving? Herself a feltmaking teacher, beadwork was new to her and we teased her that after Friday evening's class, she'd qualify as an intermediate beader for Sunday's classes.
(This coming Sunday, the 20th, I'll be in Nanuet, NY teaching the felted bangles-to-bead at Beads Mosaic. Hope you can join me there.)

One of the felting projects was a felt rope and felt flower than can be worn in one piece as a lariat. Let's see, is this Christine's yellow beauty? Pat made an additional short rope that terminated in leaves and attached it to her flower. This gives her the option to tie the flower to the lariat, or not.

Kelley, the owner of Sparkle Spot Bead Shop is also the force behind dyed Fireline. She gifted me a sample pack. Several beaders this weekend were using the dyed fireline and it IS gorgeous.

Recall that in the earlier post about this weekend, I had to remove the images in order to post it. Here is a pic of Marlene in one of her amazing garments she made using the Shambolic(TM) method of felting pieced silk.

Check out the felted dazzling jewelry Pat is wearing in this pic. These are pieces she teaches at Tucson in February, as a Swarovski ambassador.