Bring on the Beads!

So, what is on my mind of late? It is all about the beads, baby! I have so many new interests since January, but I have to say I have found beadmaking to be the most fascinating. It's like a cool science experiment watching the glass transform in the flame and I'm mesmorized by the lava-like movement. Many would say it is tedious and boring - but I suppose I'm all about waiting and patiently watching creation unfold. After all why would I get into animation if I didn't like repetition? Or knitting for that matter. Stitch after stitch and eventually it changes from a string of yarn into something useful. After 3 hours of practicing on Saturday, these are the best 2 beads of the day.






And what should I do with all these beads? Well, that is just another creative adventure for me to dive into. I'm becoming more and more drawn to textiles and I really don't have a lot, but I'm really enjoying the process of finding new ways to incorporate beads. For example, here is a little bus pass holder I designed for myself. It is pretty handy and very simple and my first attempt so don't look too hard at the stitching - I do have plans to improve that with embroidery.



Last but not least, yet another set of baby shoes. There are so many babies being born these days, I don't think there is any end to this knitting. All I have to say is - Don't drink the water people!

Quilting left-overs

Well, before we take off to spend Easter with the in-laws, I thought I'd share a little bit of crafy fun that has been hovering in my corner for quite some time now. I have tonnes of left over fabric from the few quilts that I have made, as well as old jeans and flannel shirts that Harry no longer wears because they were ripped from work. So, here is a little something I came up with by putting them together. It is a fabric notepad holder that holds the paper and pencil and it also features an extra pocket to hold loose papers. Yes, I know. It truly is irresistable - wink wink. But seriously, is there anyone out there who might find this useful? I just wanted to make something small and this is the idea I came up with, I don't know how useful it really will be. But it sure is cute - even if I do need to take some more sewing lessons to learn how to stitch a straight line!






It also gave me the opportunity to use one of my new glass beads as a button. Check it out!



Here is another one I started to work on.




Oh, and in case you are wondering - no, I am not dreading my Easter weekend with the in-laws. In fact I've been looking forward to it for quite awhile now. My in-laws are a hoot and many people will be jealous to hear that I honestly enjoy spending time with them. Yay for me! Ok, gotta go pack now. I have a full weekend of visiting and eating and even knitting ahead of me. Have a wonderful long weekend!

The Magic of Melted Glass

What a fantastic day! Just got back from a beadmaking class that I attended with my friend Kay. We had so much fun - and look at the cool stuff we made! Here are all the beads I made, strung together in all their glory :)



It was so exciting to make glass melt, and then manipulate it in the fire to become something totally new, and wonderful. I have a lot of practicing to do, especially on the dots but I'm really looking forward to that. I've posted a photo of Kay working on her stuff so that you can see what the workstations looked like and how you hold the glass to form the bead. Her and I are both hooked! Just don't put your hand in the flame again, Kay! Ouch!