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.

Genevieve, owner of the Bead Gallery in Salem, NH, and I share this giggle: that some day when I am asked in an interview about what inspires me, what is my muse, I will reply "Genevieve". Seriously, each time we wrap up a weekend of my teaching at her amazing store, we book another weekend 6 months ahead and then discuss content. As it happens, often I design projects based on something I bought in her store or some topic she suggested. When we booked Columbus weekend for 4 days of workshops (3 and 6 hour offerings!) we said there will be earrings using these delightful little bud beads by Lea Zinke. Well, a few versions have been beaded up in either my imagination or my studio since then but, it is this sweet little pair that I will teach Friday evening Oct 9th.
Of course I have to like the visual outcome, not to mention the wearability. This pair is pleasing to behold and light and comfortable to wear. But, almost more importantly, my teacher-self seeks to infuse each project with as much information and technique as possible. Here we have packed alot into a small project: an original beadstitch, some polygon and a cool combination of ladder/square and fringeless-fringe. You're gonna love this.

A couple Thursday evenings a month, I teach at Beadzo in Tivoli, NY. This week a few beaders wanted to make Two Sides of the Story, a reversible bracelet using an original stitch inspired by my exploring polygon stitch. This is Tara's, half finished and beautiful.

I'll be teaching this bracelet at the Bead Gallery in October plus September 22nd evening at Beads By Blanche in Bergenfield, NJ. Until I found this magnetic tube finding at Beadfest, I'd used a button and loop closure for this bracelet design.
The beadwork corrugates as you bead...quite magical and exciting...producing a front-side that is different from the back-side, hence, reversible.