To my surprise, when I asked Linsey what she's beaded lately, she produced from her bead box one of my very own designs! This happened last Thursday evening at my class in Tivoli at Beadzo. I asked how she came to make it, knowing this was her first class with me. Turns out, her grandmother's friend taught her grandmother, and then her grandmother taught Linsey. Wondering how it started. Was it from a kit purchased from my website? Or, had Linsey's grandmother's friend taken one of my workshops where I share these beaded bezels: Ostara's Emerging Blossoms, A Bevy of Bezels, Rivoli and Pearl Charm Earrings, Raku and Rivoli Bracelet or the Stick Pearl Petal Slide Lariat? Interesting. Hey, if you would like to whip up one of these beauties, each kit is only $15. They can be purchased off the website using paypal or, since last month, I can now accept credit cards over the phone or in person.

Sure hope you can make this out. It is a most amazing knotted cedar that Jim Clark has made into a table. You may recall me raving about his incredible cedar furniture in an earlier post? After years of admiring his work at the Mohonk Mountain House barn museum, where he is curator, I finally bought a piece a couple years ago. It is the bench in the heart of my studio. It is where I sit every day to bead for hours at a clip. You might be able to see part of it in the video R.A.W. lesson on YouTube.

He designed a symmetrical glass top with an irregularly shaped and precise cutout that allow the cedar to protrude through the glass. It is a striking piece.

It was a slow afternoon in the Barn Museum last Tuesday when I was there. On the 24th I return to do my final craft demonstration of the season. I'll likely work on felt components for the collaborative piece I am doing with Carolyn Baum's wired glass components. In a perfect world, I'd have finished something for Carolyn to show at the International Society of Glass Beadmakers' Gathering in Rochester. Oh well.

Speaking of Rochester, NY, Marilynne from Studio 34 Creative Arts Center, herself freshly returned from the ISBG Gathering, has finally set our date for my workshops there for the 3rd weekend in November. We'll keep you posted on content as soon as it is decided.

Sorry I haven't been posting. Last week I shipped off 21 proposals for next June's Bead & Button Show. Yup, 21. It is always fascinating to see which projects they select for me to teach there.
Then, as soon as they were signed, sealed and en route for delivery, I began my project for Tulip Co. They'd asked me to advise on their English translation of their delightful booklet of recipes and accompanying kits. So, today I was able to put the finishing touch and send that off.

Next in the pipeline: to finish the samples for the new workshops I have designed especially for Germany in March and Jelly Beads of Mogo in Australia in April.

Yesterday, Kang (in green) and Kazue (in white) and I met in Manhattan for a visit while they are here on Tulip business. Our list of destinations for the day was headed by Kinokuniya bookstore across from Bryant Park. On the way I knew we'd pass Lily O'Brien's and we were fortunate to find them open! (Yes, you've read about Lily's in earlier posts. Fran, Elaine and I discovered this sweet spot when we made our first visit to Kinokuniya.)I didn't read about the summer's iced chocolate beverage until after I'd ordered my skim milk latte and chocolate croissant that would be brunch. Check out this vast selection of chocolate, fruit and flower flavored macaroons! The little sign on the display says that "these little cookies were first introduced to the Court of France in the XVIth Century by Catherine de Medicis, spouse of King Henry II." What an amazing coincidence that the shopping tote Kazue was carrying sported a photo of 3 of these delicacies from another bakery!
From Kinokuniya we headed for the bead district.
First bead stop was York beads. It is my fave. Perry has all those fabulous new Czech beads with peacock designs. One bead in particular called out to me, so to speak, and I bought all of 'em! Yipes. The good news is that the couple pounds of exotic colored seed beads I picked up will work up beautifully with them AND when the piece is desgined and beaded, I can make kits immediately. Much better than designing a piece and then having to track down the beads in an effort to kit it.
Kang and Kazue were having a great time amongst the beads. They confessed that last year when we were in Columbus (where I had joined them in exhibiting at TNNA) and I showed them how to beadweave a bracelet, they had turned into beaders! They were so enthralled that the next day, they went to 1Stop Bead Shop before flying out of Columbus, spending, much to their horror, over $100 on beads! (Bet you remember that first time you dropped a C-note on beads. Lots of beads under the bridge since then, right? Now I can't remember the last time I got away from the bead register for less than $100!) Speaking of...I bought beads by the pound at New York Beads! Just once when heading out on a bead mission, I will remember to bring my wheeled bag. It is just as well though. We hoofed and hauled ourselves and our beads around enough to burn off the goodies from Lily's plus make Kang faint with hunger by dinner time. Kazue produced an address in the Korean district and we headed there in pursuit of Korean cuisine on West 32nd off Herald Square (sounding like I know something about getting around in Manhattan?)

Hey, that tote bag decorated with macaroons, that I referenced at the top of the post is seen here between Kazue and Kang.

As we waited for our entree, we had all these beautiful side dishes to try. There were spicy julienne of zucchini and carrots, seaweed salad, a hybrid of potato and waldorf salad with peas! and spicy dried squid. Kazue had a spicy stew that was bright red with chili paste and as tasty as it was delish. Kang and I had bi bim bap. It consisted of a shallow bowl with meat in the bottom, a plate of many little portions of prepared and colorful fresh veggies with an egg on top, and a dish of short grain white rice. The plate and dish are emptied into the shallow bowl and stirred until blended and then seasoned with sauce and sesame oil.

The plate in the center is a special Korean sausage. When Kang ordered it she cautioned me that though it is an extremely ugly food, it is quite good. Then she told me that even in lean college years, when funds are low, this dirt cheap sausage is an affordable staple. When the black sausage arrived at the table I was pleased that it was not the disgusting sight I'd expected. It was rather attractive, as sausage goes. Despite our conversation about how there are some foods that you almost have to be born into to enjoy, I had psyched myself up enough to taste it, when Kang mentioned that it has what could be considered an off-putting odor. Oops, now I just couldn't overlook that all the comments were cautionary rather than cudos.,so it went unsampled by me. And you KNOW how I love opportunities to try the tasty bits, culinary delights and favorite foods of my friends. Food is love.

Last year at TNNA, in addition to turning Kazue and Kang into beaders, I taught several people to bead crochet using their new line of comfortable cushioned hooks from Tulip Co, designed by Kang (ETIMO crochet hooks). Two of those new bead crocheters are from South West Trading Co., Jonette and Jonelle Beck. Soon afterwards they sent me a skein of Tofutsie, their space-dyed soy silk sock yarn. So, a year later, I finally get around to crocheting with it. I strung it with clear AB beads and used a new beads crochet hook designed by Kazue, called Sucre. Let me report that the hook slid easily under each stitch AND never split the yarn, EVEN THOUGH I began crocheting from the wrong end of the yarn, which unplies it into separate strands as I work. Nice hook. Sweet.

Kumiko Mizuno Ito had shared the new bead crochet she was doing when I was in Japan last. Keiko Seki, a protege of hers, taught a project at the Bead and Button Show last month using this technique. Keiko had shared the spotlight with a Turkish beader in an article about this technique published in Bead and Button Magazine. And in March while teaching in Germany there so many beaders wearing all types of bead crochet. It sent me off to fooling around alot more adventureously with hooks and beads. You've seen the new bead crochet approaches I've been teaching, as I share them here. Expect to see some more, perhaps even in time to propose some for Bead and Button Show next year. Proposals are due August 6th.

Tulip Co has published a booklet of beginner bead crochet designs in Japan. They are even selling kits so the reader can make exactly the same item as seen in the booklet. They asked if I would advise them on the English translation. Yes. And I will love to work with them in their pursuit of sharing more bead crochet (and Tulip crochet hooks, books and kits) with more and more beaders and crocheters in Japan, Europe and the U.S.

Kang told me about a tour of the factory in Hiroshima and the shocking amount of snow that fell upon the guests' arrival. While preparing the links for this post I stumbled onto this blog written about that very experience from one of their guests. Enjoy.

Even when you can't imagine it being any better...it is! So, there I was at the Bead & Button Show: reunited with other beaders from around the globe that I have scant few opportunities to be with; offering 8 classes that were mostly filled, many with beaders I have beaded with before (such an honor and joy); with access to all the newest and best bead stuff. AND...there were gifts.
In the upper left of the photo is a small, hand bound, artist sketch book from http://www.twinklebeads.de/. See the small photo of Twinkle Beads Stores owner Saori Abe-Schroder. She was also the first chief editor of Germany's first beading magazine, Perlen Poesie. She founded both the Perlen Akademie (where I taught in Dortmund Germany during the Creativa Expo in March and will again next March), and the first PerlenExpo! Plus she is an active designer and instructor.

Naomi Sato and Yuko Watanabe are beaders from Japan who have taken my classes at B&B shows and in Tokyo. Yuko gave me the exquisite card deck, each card a completely different illustration protraying 54 scenes based on the Tale of Genji (appreciated as the supreme masterpiece of Japanese prose literature written in the 11th century), in the Yamato-e style of Japanese painting. In the next photo see the Tenugui that Naomi gifted me. It is cleverly presented as a fabric book about Japanese garments. It can be easily "unbound" to reveal it as a cotton Tenugui, a hand printed cotton fabric that originated in the Edo period. Their multi-use includes as handkerchief, tapestry, towel, lunchmat, pillowcover, neckband of kimoni, bandanna, store sign, apron and dishcloth!

To the extreme right is a tiny hand crafted kaleidoscope made by and gifted from Keiko.Upper left in photo is the lovely leather purse made to contain one's personal stamp. There is an attached small red ink pad. Motoko Natsubori had my stamp made and presented it to me in this case. I am delighted that I can now stamp my documents in the traditional Japanese way. Bottom left are the new double drilled tile beads from Muyuki I first told you about in March while I was at Creativa Expo in Germany. To the right are the new Bead Crochet hooks designed by Kazue at Tulip Co. She sent me a set of 5 sizes and I am eager to put them to use on the new bead crochet yarns by Toho and Miyuko. More on those when I know more.

Freddie and Andrea Ott, photographer and publisher of Perlen Poesie gave me the newest issue, featuring Judy Walker, kumihimo braiding and right angle weave.

On page 96-97 is the call for entries to the IBA (International Bead Award). Within the next few weeks the contest will be described in English and French on their website: http://www.perlen-poesie.de/ I am one of the jurors along with Herman Hermsen, Toshi Myoda, Evelyn Ulzen and Silvia Winterstein.

http://www.tulip-japan.co.jp/kyoutsu(englis)/syugei/lace.html
In lieu of a photo, as I continue to figure out how to incorporate them into blog from the iPad I am traveling with, click on the link to see some crochet hooks by Tulip Co. in Japan. While here at the Bead & Button Show I received a parcel from Kazue at Tulip Co containing her newly designed crochet hook made especially for bead crochet. Now I am eager for the vendors to open so I can purchase the supplies to start using them. They are the comfort handle I admired in their new line of hooks last year. It pleases me that they have found a distributor in U.S. It is Caron company. Can this mean that we will soon be able to purchase fine quality Tulip brand hooks, needles and felting supplies in our local yarn and stitching stores? I am delighted.
Moments ago at lunch I met up with Martina, a German beader and Facebook friend. She is wearing a necklace that looks at first glance so similar to Fireflies at Midnight ( new black version of Fireflies at Sunset). It is bead crochet. She placed memory wire inside and wears a bead dangling from each end. Sweet.
More later, gotta run...

Sunday, after the last class, we headed back over to the Expo to collect our beadwork from the exhibit. When I turned to enter the Perlen Akademie space in hall 5 I saw this gorgeous dress that Amy would just love! It had concentric circles and stripes and all in great colors. Inside the dress is Petra, owner of Das PerLament, a bead store in Bonn. AND, with her is my FaceBook friend, Sabine Lippert. We enjoyed a fabulous visit over coffee at my hotel, before they headed back for Bonn. Sabine, a certain kindred spirit, also calls her beadwork patterns "recipes" and she talked about European FB friends that she actually knows, and I'd thought I'd meet while at Creativa. Laura Andrews is teaching at Petra's store for a couple days before heading back home. Petra said she will collect me when I finish teaching in Belgium and then I'll teach at Das PerLament. Now I'll have to get this on the calendar and stop just thinking about it.

Five beaders in my classes are bead store owners. Laurie Glynn (right) owns a store in Switzerland. After we met in class Wednesday, I saw her among the 80,000 people at the Creativa Expo and was excited to see someone I know! She said she'd booked a Hawaiian massage called Lomilomi. I'd never heard of this before and was fascinated. To her left is Anita, who teaches beadwork.

Nele owns Ne-co bead store in Belgium. She was in a couple of my classes and we had greater opportunity to visit at breakfast. It was interesting to hear about mangosteen juice and its health benefits to her.

From our email correspondences, I expected that I might see Kang at Creativa. It was perfectly lucky that she came on Saturday while I was demonstrating in the Bead Expo area of Hall 5. She had only the one day since she is on her way to Paris and then, was it Italy? You may recall her from June's entries. It was when Tulip Co had their first exhibition in the U.S. They invited me to join them at TNNA in Columbus OH. This is where I met Pearl from Knitty City (the first retailer to carry Tulip's crochet hooks!), enjoyed quick visits with the "crafty retailer" Pat Reisenburger (wholesaler of extraordinarily beautiful merino wool and Swarovski elements), filmed another feltmaking demonstration for Knitting Daily on public television and taught the Tulip staff to bead!

Today's good news is that there is a source (in the U.S.) for ETIMO cushion grip crochet hooks: Knitty City in New York City. The manufacturer, Tulip Co., came from Japan to exhibit at TNNA this past June, hoping to find a wholesaler for their line of crochet hooks, needles, knitting needles and felting supplies.

Remember, Tulip Co sponsored my feltmaking book that I wrote for the Japanese craft market and is published by Patchwork Tsushin Co. Would that I could have written it in Japanese. Instead, my manuscript is in English and Motoko Natsubori translated it into Japanese.

Anyway, I had joined Tulip Co owner and staff in their exhibit at TNNA. We met Pearl Chin of Knitty City. She is carrying the crochet hooks and is happy to do mail order as well as walk-in sales. Click on link and you're half way there!

Kinokuniya Bookstore in Manhattan carries all my books, this one plus the English language ones.

On October 25 I'll be teaching a needle felting workshop from 2-5. Expect to create an ornament, pendant or brooch while learning this fascinating technique, for only $25, includes materials. Limited to 20 so register now: 212-869-1700. I'll have a trunk show there and, of course, sign books!

Time to catch up on B&B Show and TNNA photos, now that I have returned home and located the camera-to-computer cable.
Tulip Co. president, Mr. Kotaro Harada, is flanked by staff members Mayumi and Naomi, on his left, and Kang and Kazue on his right, in their booth at TNNA. This was their first exhibit in the U.S. and I was delighted to accompany them. I taught bead crochet to dozens of shop owners that dropped by the booth, using the new cushioned crochet hooks that Tulip makes.
While writing the Japanese felting book last year (sponored by Tulip and published by Patchwork Tsushin) I used only Tulip felting products. Until then, all the felting needles I had been accustomed to, were brittle little numbers from an industrial source. They would even rust if left in a sponge during humid weather. Tulip, being a manufaturer of fine sewing and quilting needles, began making felting needles. These are more resilient plus they have a slick nickel coating. These shiny and lovely little tools glide smoothly in and out of the wool. My favorites were those in a blue or green ergonomic handle. The handle is a cushioned grip that is warm and satiny to the touch and quite pleasant to use.
When I visited with Kang in March, she told me she employed this same material to design a comfort grip on the crochet hooks. I just couldn't wait to get my hands onto their hooks! (HEY, do I hear a marketing slogan here? Tulip can't wait to get their hooks into your hands!)

Lacis in Berkeley CA has been carrying some Tulip products, already. I promise to keep you posted on where you can find these as they become available here. Pictured are the two sets I received as gifts. Lucky me! The sets include precision Italian scissors, a ruler and 2 yarn needles.

The TNNA Show is wonderful. Would that I could post the photos I have taken but, I cannot locate the wire that connects the camera to the computer tonight.
When I locate it, expect to see photo of The Great Wall of Yarn, showcasing all the yummiest new yarns and pictures of Tulip staff and me.
Working with Tulip Co. is the delight I expected. I admire and respect Harada-san for hiring bright young women and instilling within them, power and authority within his company. Their products are superior and their attention to customer service is beyond compare.
Tomorrow afternoon in the Interweave Press booth, Shay Pendray will interview me plus host me teaching a technique segment about nuno feltmaking for Knitting Daily on PBS TV, to air in January.
So, forgive me that I am off to bed and will catch you up on these TNNA and Columbus OH adventures soon.
Until then....

Last week started an interesting adventure regarding beading needles. You may be interested. While teaching the workshop "Advanced Elements of Beadwork" at the Bead Society of Greater New York some beaders purchased the project kit from me rather than bring the lengthy list of supplies. It included both size 10 and size 12 beading needles. When we started using the 12s I offered to thread needles, since, even though I am of an age, I can still get the thread to jump through the eye. Well, I had a duzy of a time. And twice I pulled the eyes right off the needle. Yikes. Then we started beading and you could hear the needles snap like little threads of glass. It was amazing. I went to my "emergency bead kit" where I had a stash of supplies to retreive more needles. It was then that Nina or Amy mentioned that John James beading needles are now being made in China. I checked the packages and indeed, one was labeled "Manufactured by John James & Sons Limited, Studley, Warwickshire England" AND one labeled "Packed in the EU using needles made in China to Entaco's quality and specifications". They were visibly different.
Sorry I do not know relationship between Entaco and John James & Sons. But, when I reported my dissatisfaction I was told that Entaco, manufacturer of John James needles, were losing their craftsmen to ageing and younger replacements not entering the craft. They thought they should have them manufactured in China to their specs. They have changed their minds and manufacturing has returned to England. I will use the new batch of needles made in England and let you know.
In MASTERING BEADWORK when I addressed beading needles, I said that the economy needles such as Pony brand manufactured in India are flexible and able to curve. John James were annealed and more brittle and while less likely to become S curved, they could break. This gave beaders a choice. Sometimes I am happy to tolerate a couple broken needles to avoid an S curvy needle. Sometimes I seek flexibility.
http://johnjamesneedles.com/ and http://www.entaco.com/

Kazue and Harada-san have both confirmed that I will accompany them , Tulip Co Ltd. http://tulip-japan.co.jp, in their booth/exhibit at TNNA (The National NeedleArts Association) http://tnna.org/ at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio June 13-15. It is their first venture in U.S. This is such a delight for me. I truly enjoyed working with Kazue in the booth at the International Great Quilt Show in Tokyo in January. I demonstrated feltmaking and signed copies of my felting book (sponsored by Tulip, writtten by me in English and translated beautifully into Japanese by Motoko Natsubori and published by Patchwork). It will be a pleasure to promote their comfortable and fine felting needles and new ergonomic crochet hooks. Kang too will join us in Ohio. Kang relocated to Florida and I enjoyed a wonderful visit with her when I was in Tampa to teach at the Sewing and Quilt Expo in March. http://sewingexpo.com/