Holy Purple Crow

Bead and Learn

2011-02-07T21:03:00.000-05:00

It's important to learn from your mistakes. Some mistakes make you slap your forehead and say "Duh". This is one of them.
I had made this beaded carabiner as a gift for a friend. It is to be used as a key ring. I was proud of my peyote-stitched delicas. But think about it. (I didn't) Delicas=delicate, right? What is one thing you can say about the average key ring? It should not be delicate. Now look closely at the picture and tell me what happened in the week or so this was in use. The beads couldn't take the wear and tear of daily use. The thin walls of the beads broke easily. This was a lesson learned. Delicas are great for jewelry. I love working with them to make beads and things to wear. Not so good for daily tools that get a lot of abuse. Why didn't I think of this before? Because all I was thinking about was how good Delicas look in peyote stitch. Form over function. So here is another before picture showing all the holes. Link to original post.

And here is a picture showing the work redone in seed beads. Now we'll see how long this lasts.

Now here is a loom-beaded key chain I made just over a year ago for the same person. Link to past post.

The main loomed piece looks fine, but the fringe took a lot of abuse. With this piece I learned that I should have knotted the thread every few stitches to keep the fringe together better. I had to take the biggest hole back to the closest broken fringe bead to do this repair.

Leaving tails on both ends for tying the repair thread to, I started beading. Luckily, I still had some beads of both color. If you look closely at the repair, you can see the new beads have a different finish and look lighter. A year of handling has taken the finish off the beads. Since the green fringe is supposed to be the grass growing along a parkway it looks like someone patched a hole with a new piece of sod. I'm sure it will match in no time.

Lesson learned? Skip the fringe on wear-and-tear items. I'm happy with how well the loom work is lasting. If it had looked worse, I may have backed it with leather for extra support. As it is I'm not worried about that. Besides, nothing lasts forever.

National Museum of the American Indian in D.C.

2011-01-24T20:00:00.022-05:00

Another stop on our trip to Washington, D.C., was the National Museum of the American Indian. If you read this blog regularly, you have seen me mention it before. Luckily, there are branches of this Smithsonian in both New York and D.C. I have spent a lot of time at the NY branch, both studying the exhibitions and taking classes. When I first saw this high-top in early 2001 at the D.C. branch, my jaw just hung open. A pair of them sparkled in their own glass case in an area including other modern beaded pieces. None of the other pieces were as intricate or eye-catching. I marveled at the work and read the quick bio of the artist, Teri Greeves. These sneakers are done in a stitch known most often as lazy stitch, but there is nothing lazy about the work she does. Since that first visit, I took a class with Teri in New York. We made a pair of baby moccasins. This is the same way Teri learned from an aunt of hers when she was 8 years old.

As you can see, I have a lot to learn, but it has been a wonderful project so far. Once I finish the other half of the pair, I'm giving them to my sister so she can give them to her first grandchild.

Weather you visit NMAI in New York or Washington, you will find it worth the trip. Visit the website first to see if there are any special events scheduled. If you plan your trip, you'll get a lot more out of it.

Of course, my visits almost always focus on the beadwork. Even this flag is seed-bead beadwork.

A Visit With Kermit

2011-01-13T20:45:00.001-05:00

We had the week between Christmas and New Year's Day off, so we took a drive down to D.C. on a Jim Henson pilgrimage to see the original Kermit puppet. For the most part the Smithsonian American History Museum can be one of the most boring museums to visit. Really nothing adventurous about the place. From the outside it's one of those creepy, institutional buildings with windows that don't face the street. They face each other. The layout is not intuitive. I walked up to the visitors' info desk and asked, "Where's Kermit?" We followed the directions and went upstairs to find him. The room he is displayed in is very bland and follows the vague theme of Movies and TV. The room is ringed with glass display cases but the room itself has little character. Edith and Archie's chairs, the ruby slippers, and some other artifacts look very sterile in their displays. The display case getting the most attention is full of puppets.

A current version of Kermit has been on and off display for years. Last time we visited, Kermit was gone and a card in his case explained why. Now the case is much bigger and also holds the cast of Sam & Friends. I'm not going to lie. I was overjoyed to be standing there; I cried at the sight of them. It was amazing to see the bunch of them up close. If you looked closely, you could see the stitching holding Kermit's legs on. I'm sure he had lots of repairs over the years. The group around the case varied widely in age and nationality. It was interesting to see the faces of people a little younger than me as they tried to explain to their kids how important these puppets were. Most of the younger kids paid little attention and just kept wandering while their parents lingered a moment. One young girl, about 12, sat to read the text inside the case. She glanced over her shoulder a couple times to make sure her mother didn't go out of sight. I wandered away and back to the case a couple of times before we finally left.

Besides Kermit, the other puppet that stands out to me is Mushmellon, the short round one in the front of the picture. Doesn't he remind you a little of Oscar the Grouch? Sam & Friends was a live, five-minute show broadcast twice a day in Washington, D.C., starting in 1955. The original Kermit was not yet a frog, but the basic design was there. Jim sewed him from an old coat discarded by his mother using two halves of a ping-pong ball for eyes. Jim was 19 years old at the time. The Sam & Friends characters were donated to the Smithsonian in August 2010.

I cite three heroes of my growing up: Jim Henson, Chuck Jones, and Dr. Seuss. Creative, fun, caring, mostly calm, and almost childlike. The only one I ever got to meet was Chuck Jones. All I could think to say to him was "Thank, you Mr. Jones." He put a hand on my cheek and said, "You're welcome. Aren't you sweet?" I'm sorry that I never got a chance to thank the other two.

Back To Work

2011-01-09T21:12:00.000-05:00

Got back to work this weekend and tackled some unfinished projects from last year. That stack is still pretty big, not all of it beadwork. And this is not including the weaving project I need to start for my mom. The above pieces are gifts for a friend. I showed them to her right before Christmas and told her they would be done soon. Tonight they are ready for their new home. The carabiner was inspired by a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian in D.C. If you haven't been, you should try to go. The triangle is from a pattern I purchased online. The designer is Jean Power from London. I took a class with her in December 2009 and blogged about it. This is a fun pattern because you can make the beads as big as you want. I hid pieces of cocktail straw inside to keep it from going flat.

It's always hard to get creative after being away from it. I work retail, so the holiday frenzy sucks the creative juices out of me. Also, my carpal tunnel gets bad this time of year. I did one big project back in October that killed my hands. I made a pirate hat out of a pair of old leather pants. No, really. There is a great video tutorial for thrifting a cute pirate costume for Halloween. Well, I already had a gorgeous costume with the help of Beth and The Crow's Nest, but no hat. I sewed the whole thing with a tiny glover's needle, and by the time I was done I was in agony. But DAMN did the hat look great! It really topped the outfit well. I'm sorry, you'll have to take my word for it. The only picture I have is tiny and out of focus. The motivation for this pirate costume was a trip to the Mermaid Parade on Coney Island. It is a yearly event that pretty much anybody can participate in. There were some amazing costumes and lots of pretty mermaids. I'm not exactly the mermaid type, so I was inspired by all the pirates in the parade. I do plan on being in the parade this year. Who wants to do it with me? This year it will be on June 18.

It All Started With A Colored Pencil

2011-01-05T21:45:00.000-05:00

I get colored pencils in the mail, one at a time, all the way from California. They have great names like Wisconsin Sky and Drizzly Afternoon. They come from a social artwork project, "with a pencil in my pocket." Lea Redmond is an amazing woman who comes up with crazy projects I love. One hundred fifty people are sharing six subscriptions to "500 Colored Pencils" in a span of about 20 months. (That's a lot of numbers. Does it make sense?) I have gotten seven of them so far. The assignment is to do something pertaining to the name of the color. We then document what we did using the pencil on a piece of paper and send it back to Lea. She posts it all on a special blog, so we can see everything she gets.

This latest color was quite a challenge for me. My latest one is called Lacquer. I couldn't think of anything to do pertaining to lacquer. The holiday hubbub put my creativity on the back burner and I just got back to it last night. I thought, "Hey! I have a lacquered box. Now what?" Then I decided to get inspired by the other projects Lea does. I started to think about mail and letter writing. Digging out my rather large stationary stash, I assembled blank letters and affixed postage to each envelope. I set them in the box and typed a note saying how nice it is to get a real letter in the mail and shouldn't you send one today, and so on. This morning, I went to my great local coffee house, Coffee Labs. I checked with the owners and they gave the thumbs up for my project and I left the Lacquered Box Letter-Writing Project on the window bar. Fingers crossed, hoping at least a couple of people will participate. Having a USPS drop box right across the street makes it even more likely.

Time Ticking In My Head

2010-11-26T22:14:00.002-05:00

There are just not enough hours in the day — so many projects I want to do and nowhere to fit them in. When I was younger I feared boredom, loathed downtime without a purpose. I stockpiled things to do as insurance against it. Then the World Wide Web took hold. Books, movies, music, comics, video games and craft supplies still fill every flat surface. Now I find even more things to do online. I follow a few web pages on a regular basis. Those pages send me off on quests for even more projects at other pages. I want to do EVERYTHING! I need new skills all the time in order to keep up. I still need to learn knitting and crocheting because weaving isn't enough. Sewing? I can sew a little. Nothing fancy. I have file folders full of hopeful bead projects, knowing full well I'll never finish them all Why? Because there are always new ones to add to the stacks. People bitch about "too much information." Too much information isn't as much of a problem for me as not enough time. And now I have a stack of "unfinished symphonies," as we call them in the craft world. Late birthday presents, requested pieces, left-over class projects, stuff I could sell if I could just get my ass in gear and the like glare at me as I type this. I guess this is my cranky old-lady rant for the year. At least I took a moment to look across the Hudson River and take a picture to share with you. This is the view from the deck of our apartment, a place where I craft when the weather cooperates. At the end of the year I usually gather up all the half-done projects and get them done. This year, there is no way I can finish everything by the end of December.

We live in a hectic world and I want to remind people to take a look around once in a while. Downtime is not the enemy. Just breathe, and let your mind wander once in a while. Structure is good. Being organized is very helpful. Don't make yourself crazy.

I'm going to work on something new this coming year. I'm going to do what I can with what I've got. I say that phrase all the time but I'm going to try to put it into action a lot more. It will be hard but I'm going to work with what I have first. Stop looking online for new distractions. I'll still take classes and teach, but I'll be more methodical and realistic about my expectations. I'm not Wonder Woman! I can't do everything, no matter how much I would love to. I can do lots of different crafts and sometimes I feel like I disappoint people when I tell them I can't do mosaics, or spin my own yarn. Must stop feeling that way. Must focus.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Day of the Dead

2010-10-27T23:05:00.003-04:00

Happy Día de los Muertos, everybody! This is a little Day of the Dead doll I made using the pattern from Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead by Nicola Tedman & Sarah Skeate. This month in my craft group the Temple of Craft, we all made a zombie. The book has so many fun ideas for tiny felt mascots. Each of us picked out a different one to make, and we had a great time putting them together, no matter how tough some of the sewing was. Each pattern is graded on a scale of one to four skulls to show difficulty. Mine was only two skulls. I loved the beads and I love the Dead theme so she was an easy pick.

When I decided to work from this book with my group I had no idea what kind of trouble I was starting. I knew the group would enjoy a fun Halloween project, and we did. The frustration and heartache came when I started to shop for the supplies. Since we were doing this as a group project, I needed to have everything for each zombie in the book. That way everyone could choose their favorite and I wouldn't exclude any project. I have a huge stash of crafting supplies, so usually I spend almost no money for our monthly meetings. I figured this would be easy because I already had beads, felt, floss, needles, and glue. Well, I didn't have the right beads and I didn't have the right colors of felt and who knew that the sequins I needed (wanted) would be so hard to find. The blame can't be totally laid at the author’s feet.

You would think that living just outside New York City would make it easy to be a crafter. It doesn't. I'm a member of the local bead society, and I know where the bead stores are — but that doesn't guarantee that any of them will have what I'm looking for. Both retail and wholesale bead stores left me empty-handed. There is no craft superstore in NYC, not even a Hobby Lobby, and Michael's never has what I'm looking for. Maybe I was trying too hard. I like to call myself the "Queen of Make-Do," so I started to look for substitutes. I fudged some colors of felt and some sizes of beads but still came up short for sequins. Up and down the garment district I went and still no luck.

You gotta understand, there was no substitute for the pink brain sequins shown in the book. They had a very specific pattern to them that I couldn't fake. Finally, I emailed the publisher for help. While I waited for an answer I Googled my butt off still searching for a supplier. I found one! But all they sold was sequins, their bead selection of no use to me. $10 minimum. Oh, well. The publisher got back to me to tell me that the authors got theirs from a supplier in Canada. Sure, they had a lot of other stuff I could use, but paying for postage and import costs really raised the price of something I only needed $2 worth of in the first place. So I ordered from Cartwright's Sequins and padded it with snowflake sequins we could use for a winter project.

Holy Crow! I got everything together just in time. The one extra thing I brought was pin-backs so we could wear our creations. All was well in the end, and everyone was kind enough to pitch in on the final total. I felt bad asking for help after doing this for three years without asking.

My one complaint about the book? Measurements! It would have been easier to go shopping for the beads if they told us what size to get. I had to take the book with me along with a measuring tape so I could compare 4mm to 6mm to 8mm beads to figure out what we needed. Sure, I didn't have to be that precise, but why not? I wanted the finished project to look as cool as the picture in the book.

Copy Cat

2010-09-24T21:08:00.001-04:00

Many years ago, I was visiting my sister in Iowa. Near her place was an antique store. It was a great shop with lots of the junk I like. The thing I couldn't leave town without was an old beaded necklace from the late 1920s. The thing was seed beads — how could I resist? It was long and pretty and ready to fall apart at any minute. The thread was brittle and the repairs on it were obvious. I brought it home and put it in a plastic bag, and did nothing with it for a long time. Sure, I would pull it out once in a while and look at it, study it.

A couple of years ago I started a copy. The beads were a little smaller and bright yellow. It looked good but I sucked at knotting and burying the thread. I gave up and put it away again. Waiting for another reason to try.

Recently my friend Sarah told me she was getting into the Jazz Age scene in New York City. Making dresses and hats, dancing, and listening to music from the late 20s and into the 30s. Guess what? I had a reason to try again.

Sarah picked out a pale yellow from a few color suggestions she gave me. I started and didn't think it looked right. The beads seemed kind of square, and they weren't flowing. I had to put it down again. This project was going to drive me crazy!

Step back and take another look. I recommend this in many craft situations. If it doesn't seem to work, or look right? Give it some space and come back to it in a few days. After that, it looked fine. The beads actually matched the original more than I was giving it credit.

As I finished the new necklace, the old one finally fell apart. As I copied the tassels I packed the stray beads in another bag. The new necklace gets to be all fancy and go to parties. The old necklace gets to wait a while before I get around to re-doing the whole thing. It was a great exercise in copying and patience. It will also be nice to give the old beads another go-round.

Whenever I go to antique shops, I look for beadwork. The pieces are few and far between. Most of them are crazy expensive. But even if you can't afford them, they can inspire you.

3rd Monday Craft Project for September

2010-09-09T19:43:00.005-04:00

The September meeting of The 3rd Monday Craft Group is next Monday, the 20th. I found a great way to use up the last box of book pockets in Warner Library. Remember back in the day, when you checked out a book and they took the slip out of the pocket to keep track of who had it? Now that everything is computerized, these plain manila pockets are obsolete. We are going to make an accordion book using them, along with recycled cardboard, yarn from Flying Fingers, pretty paper and a fun assortment of decorative rubber stamps and colored pencils. This will make a nice place for little keepsake items like ticket stubs and important clippings.

The project will be easy, but a little messy. Glue and ink pads will be used, so please wear your crafting shirt if you don't want to worry. If you have any stickers, rubber stamps, or other items that you would like to use to decorate the pockets with, please bring them. If you haven't already signed up, please call the Warner Library reference desk in Tarrytown at 914-631-7734. If you have any questions about this or any other 3rd Monday Craft Group please comment on this post.

Coffee Cup Cozy

2010-08-08T19:12:00.003-04:00

It's time to show you what the next project is for the 3rd Monday Craft Group at Warner Library. This month, on August 16th at 7pm, we will be making coffee cozies using felt, fabric, yarn, and buttons. We can achieve many different styles with just a few materials, and you can see a sample pictured above. (You can see this sample in person if you visit Coffee Labs in Tarrytown before our meeting.) The library has another sample near the reference desk that you can check out on your way to signing up. Of course, it is very important that I know how many folks will be there so I can have enough supplies ready. You can also call the library at 914-631-7734 to sign up.

You can make them for your mug, too — not just for to-go cups. There is a little sewing involved, but I have made it as easy as possible by using pinking shears to dictate the spacing of each stitch. If you come to our meeting, please feel free to bring any fabric or buttons you would like to use. If not, don't worry, because all supplies are provided free of charge. I hope to see you there.

The New Thing

2010-07-11T14:31:00.004-04:00

For almost three years I have been the main instigator for a group called The Temple Of Craft. I got the idea from Church of Craft but twisted it. Instead of having everyone bring their own project, I wanted to encourage folks who don’t usually craft. It's a little more like Crafternoon by Maura Madden. For us, it is a small group of friends meeting once a month to do a craft project together. Usually I bring the supplies and provide the instruction on everything from book-binding and card-making to bead pouches and sock owls. We sew, cut, glue, stab and paint whatever I have stashed in my tiny craft space, or things we found here and there in the group. We spend as little as possible to make our projects and supplement it with snacks and wine.

The Internet is invaluable when it comes to finding projects to do. We use books, too. Our first meeting was the wish tree project from Keri Smith's The Guerilla Art Kit. We have lots of fun and I have learned even more. I really enjoy being a craft tutor, and it gives me an excuse to try new crafts.

Now I have another excuse: 3rd Monday Craft Group at Warner Library in Tarrytown, NY. This group is free and open to the public. We start this month with one of my favorite projects — beginners’ book-binding using three-hole pamphlet stitch. All supplies are provided. We'll be using recycled paper and cardboard for the cover and pages.

There are still a couple of spots left, but you have to sign up so I know how many people to prepare for. Please call the reference desk at 914-631-7734. You must be 18 years or older to attend. The library schedule is already full of kids’ programs, and we'll be using big, pointy needles. There might be snacks but (sorry) no wine. If you can't make it this month, there are two more already scheduled for August and September. If this group takes off like I hope, we can do this well into the future. Just because you’re too old for summer camp doesn’t mean you’re too old to craft!

#1 Table Loom Project

2010-07-06T17:15:00.001-04:00

Here is the first piece I did on my table loom ("The Orphan"). There was no real plan for it, just some experimenting with the loom and various yarns in my stash. The loom works great, and I'm very happy to weave on it. Most of the yarns used were either leftovers or gifts. All the different textures and thicknesses of the yarns were fun to work with. I have so much to learn about weaving that it should take a lifetime. I used every different fiber I had, including silk, acrylics, many forms of wool, alpaca, angora, soy, mohair, cotton and even plys with beads and sequins. Sister Bianca taught me to keep a notebook with all the project measurements and a little piece of each yarn with notes of what it is and where it came from. Since there are so many different fibers in this project, I'll leave it unwashed and just use it as a wall hanging. Hopefully I can look back at it in a couple of years and wag my head at how primitive this first piece is.

I already have my next project in the planning stages: a scarf for my mother using naturally dark gray alpaca spun with shredded sari silk material. The silk colors are amazing and really give the weft a lot of character. Now I just have to find the right warp to bring it together without distracting from the silk colors. Since it will be a scarf, I'll have to do a weave that looks good on both sides, which is something I didn't have to worry about on this first piece. With the temperature reaching 102 outside today, I'm not in a huge hurry to play with wool, but soon.

Stitch Markers for Knitters

2010-05-01T21:43:00.003-04:00

I dropped off a fresh batch of stitch markers at Flying Fingers in Tarrytown — just in time for Mother’s Day. You can buy just one or a set of eight for those A-H patterns out there. If your Mom isn’t a knitter, come on over to Whimsies Incognito and see the earrings and bracelets I just finished.

Now if I could just find the surface of my desk, I could get back to making things. My latest mini project is taking one earring and making two out of it. Two friends lost one earring out of a well loved pair. I’ll take what’s left and make a new pair of earrings. Both pair will be switched to lever-back ear hooks so they will stick around for a while. I’ll post before-and-after pictures here later.

Up & Running

2010-04-08T21:30:00.001-04:00

I'm so happy to own a working table loom. The repair came back from Schacht, and I put it all back together. It has been warped all this time and waiting. The spring behind the levers had to be replaced because the harnesses had been tied up for who knows how many years. There was just no spring left in it. Since Schacht doesn't put serial numbers on table looms, our best guess is that this loom is 30 to 35 years old. Now it's working great!

I haven't had much time to weave (as you can see). There is nothing special about the yarns I'm using — just leftovers and freebies. This is just my chance to play before I do a "real" project. My mother wants an alpaca scarf.

Now, I would like to tell you the story of why I gave my loom the nickname "The Orphan." It's sort of like a story from an old movie about an orphanage run by nuns. The poor thing was neglected and ignored for a long time only to be left at a convent. It sat and waited for a new home. After the new year, I went to Sister Bianca at The Weaving Center, hoping for a list of people selling old looms. To my delight, she took me to a corner where orphan looms in different states of disrepair were awaiting homes. Most had someplace to go, but this one — a four-shaft table loom suited for a nice scarf, kitchen towel, or table runner — still needed a home. I was very excited about fixing it up and giving it a try. Between me and the Schacht Spindle Company it took two months to get it up and running, but I look forward to spending years learning about weaving with The Orphan.

Craft Swap Books

2010-04-05T19:23:00.000-04:00

March was National Craft Month. To celebrate, I swapped with a couple of friends. On the left is a book cover for Ingrid to fill with her own paper. On the right is a book with pages for Dillon. Both of these are old books I ripped the pages out of. I then reinforced the spine with bookbinder's tape and paint the whole thing with gesso. The cover on the left had a cool ship on the front, so I left that exposed. I then did layers of acrylic paint and sealed it with gloss medium.

I learned this process from Kelly Kilmer in a class I took years ago. To bind the pages in the cover on the left, I used the Three-Hole Pamphlet stitch. It is a nice, easy stitch, and I stitch it so the loose threads are hanging off the spine of the book. That way you can hang beads and charms on them.

I really enjoy doing this with old hardcovers because they are not as big as newer hardcovers. This little one I did last year is still my favorite. If you can ever take a class with Kelly Kilmer, I highly recommend it. Most of the classes are in California, but she also travels. There are also online classes available from time to time.

You can do it, too. Now that it's yard sale season you just might find some old hardcover books for cheap. Tearing the pages out is very easy, and if the spine is still in good shape you won't even need to reinforce it. Or you can have fun with crazy colored duct tape.

Beaded Card Holder

2010-03-29T11:28:00.003-04:00

I was very tardy with a birthday present — but now that it's done, I'm very happy.

This was actually a kit I bought from Second Story about eight years ago. The company no longer exists, as far as I can tell, so I couldn't give them a hard time when I ran out of beads before the project was finished. (No problem. I can always find more beads around here somewhere. All those pretty matte teal beads are from my stash.) The whole thing is done in herringbone stitch, and it took a while because it's a little tedious for me to work the same stitch on a bigger piece.

I did make one modification to the pattern. If you look at the flap you can see tiny silver beads around the edge. Since I was no longer working in the round, there would be visible thread as I stepped up to the next row. I covered the thread by adding a fringe bead. It's a little trick I learned in a Carole Horn's beading class. The button is a stone donut fastened by a rivet button. It makes a great business card holder.

Sorry this picture isn't clearer.

In The Meantime...

2010-03-03T20:11:00.008-05:00

So I had to send part of my loom off to Boulder for repair. In the meantime, I found a project to keep me busy. This was found in classic Internet black-hole fashion. I started by going to Facebook and following a link to CraftZine. At CraftZine, I found a link to Radical Cross Stitch. Happily scrolling through the pages of Cross Stitch Ninja posts, I found a mention of Banksy. I love Banksy! So from there I go to Fuldesign in Sweden, where someone has done a bunch of free cross-stitch patterns, including some Banksy art! The image above is very tempting but it's kinda big. Think I might go with Balloon Girl, a favorite of mine.

I am not a cross stitcher. I did one tiny project for my mom a few years back and she seemed to enjoy pointing out the mistakes. Screw it! I'll try.

The Orphan, my loom

2010-02-26T14:59:00.005-05:00

Back in September, I took a weaving class taught by Sister Bianca at The Weaving Center in Tarrytown. It was amazing! I loved every minute of it and couldn't wait to get my own loom. Here is my "new" loom. It is a Schacht four-shaft table loom with a 20-inch weaving width. I've had it since early January. It needed some work.

I'm not sure how old it is but I'm sure it was sitting in a dark, dusty place for a long time. It had a big crack in one of its feet, which I glued and clamped. All the strings were either missing or brittle. The apron bars were also missing. I called Schacht Spindle Company in Boulder, Colorado, for replacement parts. It took a couple of weeks for the strings and bars to come. In the meantime, I took the whole thing apart, cleaned it, and waxed the wood. (The wood they used to make it sure is pretty.) The take-ups for the apron bars only had two holes for the apron cords, so I had to drill new holes. Once I had it all put together, I was ready to warp.

Mind you, I had only done this once before. And that was with all equipment provided and under proper weaver supervision. Warping a rigid-heddle loom is so much easier. Thinking I was all slick, I counted out my ends per inch using a very thin yarn I was given. Of course, I skipped the part where you divide that number in half. So there I was doing twice the warp I needed without a warping board. (All I had was a warping peg and a chair back. What an amazing mess I made.) Once I figured out what I did wrong, it was too late to fix it. Surprisingly, I was able to wind the yarn back into a ball by hand. Lesson learned, I got online to find a proper warping board.

On eBay, I found a company in Illinois called The Knit Store that makes a very nice product at a good price. I bought a 4.5-yard warping board and it came in a week. Okay. I recalculated the warp length and did it again. Now I had the yarn in the right length and number of ends.

Getting the warp onto the loom by myself was daunting. I got a copy of Learning to Weave by Deborah Chandler, and her directions helped a lot. I did it! So far, so good.

I wove a little tabby to even out the warp and put it to bed for the night. Went back to it after a few days and a new problem started. Ugh! Back on the phone with Schacht to figure it out. The levers wouldn't stay down and keep the shed open. This poor loom was sitting for so long with the heddles tied on that the spring for the levers is worn out. Now I await a call back to figure out if I can fix it myself. I won't let it discourage me. Weaving is still very exciting. Here are some pictures of the loom before I did any work on it. And here are some of the work in progress. To be continued ...

Bead Society Garage Sale

2010-02-10T19:50:00.002-05:00

Come one come all! Here is a great opportunity to buy beads at low prices. This will be our 5th Annual Garage Sale and it's so big they moved it to the Great Hall at FIT. The entrance is on 28th Street west of 7th Avenue. Be there Wednesday, February 24th at 6pm. This event is free and open to the public. Big beads, little beads, findings, tools and so much more. Don't forget to bring cash, this is a garage sale after all. If your coming please let me know.

Last minute beading to finish the year

2009-12-31T20:38:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone! This is a roundup of the last things I finished this year. The doll above is from one of the many classes I took at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. The classes have been great, and the price is right, too. They have talented artists on staff and also visiting teachers from around the country. This doll was taught to me Cody Harjo, who is a staff member and award-winning beader. It is a simple design using scrap cotton material and small pieces of wool blanket. The hair is braided yarn. The beadwork is done in lazy stitch and edged in picot stitch. My niece Zoe was so impressed by the doll I made for her mother that she asked for one. This one isn't as fancy, but I think she'll like it just the same.

This is known as a Tulip Bag. This was the first class I took at the museum, and it took me all year to finish it. Not because I couldn't but because I didn't. Not sure why, but I just kept putting it off. The shape is interesting because when you cut out the four shapes it doesn't seem very big. Once you stitch it together, it's suprising how much space you end up with inside.

The sides are all sewn together using the picot stitch. The design on the front is lazy stitch. The fabric is nothing fancy, just black felt. I just might need to do another one sometime using ultra suede. It will make a nice wristlet or jewelry pouch for someone.

Now to decide what the first project of the new year will be. Lots of beadwork to do. Weaving is really calling to me, so I'm on the hunt for a four-shaft loom I can fit into my tiny apartment. And my fingers are itching for more paper so I signed up for the new Kelly Kilmer online class. Happy Crafting to all!

Big Beaded Bead

2009-12-26T16:29:00.002-05:00

Only took one beading class this year, and this was it. Jean Power came all the way from London and taught two classes to the Bead Society of Greater New York. It's not often that a one-day class allows you to finish a project in the time alloted, but seven hours was enough for this project. You needed a little background in peyote stitch and herringbone stitch, both of which I am very comfortable with by now. The only trouble I had was not reading the supply list more carefully. Lucky for me, there was a fellow student with extra crystals for me to mooch.

You make a bunch of small triangular parts and piece them together around a wooden bead in the center. Playing with the colors was the most fun. I'm going to be making lots more of these. One guy I showed it to said it looked like a fancy 20-sided die (geek). If you would like to make them too, you can buy the pattern from Ms. Power on her web page. It won't be as much fun as the class, but she is very easy to contact with any questions should you need help. Also, her patterns are very well written and illustrated so they make sense. She is an amazing artist and I plan on buying more patterns from her soon. I've already purchased and produced a few of her Rainbow Skulls earrings.

Little Beaded Boxes

2009-12-13T20:10:00.001-05:00

Presenting one of the hardest projects of my beading life: The Tomcat Box! Wow, that was a tough one. The book is Little Bead Boxes: 12 Miniature Containers Built with Beads by Julie S. Pretl. A friend gave me the book two years ago in the hope that it would be challenging enough. I was so intimidated by the patterns and how they were written that I put it on the shelf to come back to later. Two years on, I dove in.

After two years as a member of the Bead Society of Greater New York and all the classes I've taken, I was ready. I had to bug my bead supplier for the prescribed Delicas so it would look right. In the process, I got a crash course in how to avoid problem beads. Delicas that are dyed or galvanized lose their color when rubbed with your fingers or exposed to the sun. Many beaders have had their hearts broken by these beads. Imagine all the hours you can put into a project — and then the color starts to wear off some of the beads? NO! So I substituted two colors to avoid any problems. I think it looks fine.

The book is written for someone with a background in peyote-stitch beadwork. If you have done little or no peyote, don't even attempt. I'm not kidding. I've done this stitch for more than 20 years and still had to do trial and error with the pattern. The book presents the pattern in two ways. There is a grid and a written pattern. These work well together. For the bottom and lid, I found it easier to follow the written pattern. For the sides it was easier to follow the grid. BEWARE: there is a mistake in the Tomcat box grid! Look at his whiskers along the side edge — they are too high. The written pattern is correct. I figured out too late and left it. I was only willing to take out so many beads to fix mistakes.

This box was a gift for my mom for her birthday. I was only a little late; it took longer than I expected. She seems to think it was worth the wait. It is one of the most complicated things I've beaded. People often ask me how long it took. I never time myself, and I don't really want to know. Here's how you can figure it out. Count all the beads used in this box and multiply by five seconds. That's a good estimate that won't include studying the pattern, gathering supplies and taking out mistakes.

Big Fun Bead Weaving

2009-12-12T21:15:00.002-05:00

This is a keychain I made for Jac, the awesome lady who owns and operates Whimsies Incognito in Tarrytown, New York. Not the easiest thing to impress someone who owns the coolest store in Westchester. I wanted to make her something for her birthday and also wanted to do another bead weaving project. While flipping through Contemporary Loom Beading: A New Look at a Traditional Stitch by Sharon Bateman I found this great keychain with cars on it. Jac likes cars and driving so it seemed like a great match. I used very heavy thread for the warp because it needs to take a lot of wear and tear. Of course I changed the colors of the cars. The green fringe was stitched on after the loom work. Makes it look like a parkway! If you want to do some fun loom beading I recommend this book.

Herringbone beading

2009-10-25T20:17:00.002-04:00

I'm starting to feel like an expert at making herringbone tubes. After the big multi-link necklace I made, I wanted to see how it looked as one long single necklace. This is a choker I made for my friend Lisa for her birthday. It was made with size 15 seed beads. The color was easy to pick because she looks great in it. I struggled a little with the button, but this one is perfect. Hint: yarn stores are a great place to find pretty buttons. This is a glass reproduction of an antique button. I found it at Flying Fingers in Tarrytown, NY.

Herringbone stitch is also called Ndebele. The Ndebele people live in South Africa and are well-known for their elaborately painted houses. They also produce large pieces of beadwork including capes and aprons. Their work is amazing, and the patterns on the painted houses are often duplicated in their beadwork.

I found a pattern and tutorial for a herringbone tube, but it uses six beads around. My tubes are only four beads around. I had the pleasure of learning this stitch in a class with a great instructor. It should be easier to learn with six, so please give it a try. You will love the flexibility of the tube and the feel on your skin. After you master this stitch, you will find all sorts of ways to use it. Feel free to comment and ask any questions.

Another Big Project

2009-10-04T23:15:00.000-04:00

This took a while to do and boy, do I feel a sense of accomplishment. This is one of those beading projects I worked on everywhere — at my desk, at Coffee Labs, in Union Square Park, in Bryant Park, on the porch, and at work. The inspiration to do this necklace comes from one of my favorite people on the planet. She just accomplished a big goal and I wanted to join in for the celebration. I'm guesstimating it took me about 50 hours to do, including my trouble with the clasp. I had to do that loop four times to get it right. I'm just not good with physics sometimes.

The necklace is called "What Goes Around" and the kit came from my favorite bead teacher Carole Horn. I loved the design and colors so I had to buy it. It waited until someone inspired me. I never make things for myself. I have this strange philosophy about my craft projects. I feel it is selfish of me keep anything for myself. If I keep it it's usually because I'm not excited about how it came out. Sometimes I'm not even sure where a project is going when I start but I figure it out along the way.

Big Dreams to Catch

2009-09-11T19:58:00.002-04:00

This dreamcatcher is for my newest little friend. She is a big four months old and I just met her face to face this week. For her I made my first "Big Dreams" catcher. Usually I make three-inch-wide dreamcatchers but this one was five inches. The purple skin is actually ultra-suede in my favorite color. The seashells dangling from the bottom are a call back to her island roots, and the spider is a juniper berry, believed by the Navajo (Diné) to ensure tranquility and keep evil spirits away from the owner.

For her mom's birthday (My Knitting Friend)I gave her my first coptic-stitched book.

The binding looks like a knit stitch so I thought it would be perfect for her. I was very proud when she told me she would use it for a baby-milestones notebook.

No wonder I never get enough crafting done to actually sell the stuff. I just love giving my work as gifts because people always seem so happy to receive it. Tomorrow I get to do it again with one of my biggest beading projects ever. Can't wait to see the look on her face! I'll keep you posted soon.

Death of Bunny Munro

2009-09-10T14:17:00.003-04:00

The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm a huge fan of Nick Cave's music and I loved his first book. This was very different from "And The Ass Saw The Angel" in many ways. Hell, I would hope so. The first one came out in 1989. I like my books dark and I don't always need likable characters, this book had both. No review from me, nope. All I can say is I really liked it but I can't think of a single person I could recommend it to. Can't wait for the movie. I hear they are talking to Daniel Craig. That would be a kick in the pants.

View all my reviews >>

Book-Making Again

2009-08-18T21:24:00.003-04:00

I have big plans to make books to sell for the upcoming holiday season. (No, really. If you work retail, it's right around the corner. The same goes for all you crafters out there. If you're serious about kickin it handmade this Christmas, you better get started soon.) The book pictured above was a gift for a special young woman on a very important day. The technique was taught to me by Kelly Kilmer and I love it. Instead of a board spine, it's layers of book-binding tape. This makes it nice and flexible, and it's easy to sew in the signatures. Most of the time I like to bead the stitching, but that makes some journals hard to write in. I'm going to experiment with different covers and pages. We'll see how arty I can get before people refuse to write in them. The progress will be posted here.

Beaded beads

2009-08-01T14:13:00.006-04:00

Here is my first adventure in beaded beads. I have been wanting to learn this for a while, so I picked up a kit from my favorite instructor, Carole Horn. It is called a Pinwheel Bead, but I appreciate its UFO-like qualities. No, I'm not going to tell you how to do it but you can get a kit from Carole. You will need to know herringbone stitch for this pattern. The ones you see here were made for my friend Sarah for her birthday. Without telling her what I was making, I asked her for a color and she said orange. I love oranges, too, so I was able to do this without going bead shopping. The first couple I did took almost three hours each but it got quicker as I worked. The only trouble I found was that if I did a bead all in matte seed beads, it was impossible to keep proper tension and I ended up with a mushy bead.

It was so much fun that I picked up a copy of The Art of Beaded Beads: Exploring Design, Color & Technique from Lark Books. Carole has another bead in this book. I like the books lay-out and designs. I would recommend it to any beader who wants to make beaded beads. Happy Beading!

Westchester wine berries

2009-08-01T13:52:00.002-04:00

I picked a few wine berries this week. They look like raspberries, don't they? They are an Asian relative of raspberries, and they taste great. You can use them in the same recipes as regular raspberries, and they grow wild in the northeastern part of the US. The forest service considers them an invasive species, so do your part and eat as many as you can. If we eat them the seeds won't get spread around.

If you know how to pick raspberries, then you're halfway there. The plant is very easy to identify. If you need some help, I would be happy to go picking with you. I'm thinking of making freezer jam out of them, but it's hard to pick enough in one trip along the trail.

When I get them home I wash them and spread them out on cookie sheets covered in wax paper or parchment. Then they go into the freezer for a couple of hours. When they are frozen solid, just dump them into a freezer bag so you don't end up with a frozen berry chunk. The loose frozen berries can be baked into muffins, sprinkled on ice cream, or anything else you do with berries. Right now is the peak season for picking them in the Westchester area, so don't wait — or the birds and runners will eat them all!

Window Dressing

2009-07-12T15:25:00.004-04:00

Here is a back-burner project I finally did. This used, plain-cotton roman shade was left behind when a neighbor moved out of another apartment in the house where we live. Very plain and boring. I have a copy of Stencil 101: Make Your Mark with 25 Reusable Stencils and Step-by-Step Instructions by Ed Roth, which includes tear-out stencils in the back of the book. I kept putting off the project because I wanted to buy more fabric paint colors. Finally, I told myself, "Do what you can with what you've got!"

I think the green and purple look really good together. It is hard to get out of this mindset of needing more supplies. I have enough stuff to work with, and it's a good way to push a little extra creativity.

Stencil 101 is a good introduction to stenciling on different surfaces. The book gives you ideas for stenciling on cloth, walls, birthday cakes, and much more. The stencil designs range from urban kitch to nature and wildlife. The pull-out stencils are easy to use but not washable. After using them with fabric paint I let them dry for a while. The paint stayed tacky so I gently rubbed it off the surface of the stencil.

Stenciling is lots of fun. I think I'll do some windows next. I just wish I was better with an X-Acto blade so I could make my own. This first project was a great way to spruce up the bathroom.

Beaded Brooch

2009-06-27T11:04:00.001-04:00

Here is my latest bead project. I'm almost ashamed to say that it took me forever to finish. It's just one of those things that needed a deadline. The deadline I created for myself was to get it done in time to wear it to the World Of Beads VIII Show put on last weekend by the Bead Society of Greater New York. I needed something nice to wear while I did beading demos — I was there to show folks how to do Brick Stitch on both Friday and Sunday. The brooch was taught as a class by my favorite instructor Carole Horn last year.

You'll recognize the leaves from that big necklace I did for Beth. This time I only had to make four instead of forty. The beaded flowers are a combination of herringbone and peyote stitch. My favorite part was the flower buds. They are all herringbone, and I have this grand idea that I'll do a necklace made of nothing but buds some day. Now that I'm done with it, it can go on to its new home with my friend Marie. She is my favorite FOZ (docent) at the Bronx Zoo and it will look much better on her than it does on me. I hope she likes purple too.

Beaded Doll

2009-06-26T13:55:00.003-04:00

This is the doll I made for my sister for her birthday. You can tell from the photo just how messy my desk usually is. I learned how to make her in a class offered at The National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. This class was tied into the Museum's current exhibit on beaded clothing, which is a must-see if you live close by. She is a cattail doll designed by Ramona Morrow, who was also the instructor. They are called cattail dolls because they are stuffed with cattail fluff. It was a fun class and the whole room ended up covered in fluff after we were done stuffing our doll forms.

The body of the doll was muslin, and the clothing could either be buckskin or cotton cloth. I opted for the buckskin because I wanted the beads to really stand out. During the class I got as far as sewing the dress on the doll and just starting the beadwork. All of the bead appliqué was done in lazy stitch and took quite a while. My sister helped by sending me tail hair from her horses to use as the doll's hair. It made her a little heavy but she looks cool.

When I finished the bead work and sent her to Iowa she was only a little late. I'm looking forward to the next doll class I signed up for in late July at the Museum. There is no telling from the description if beadwork is involved, but beads find a way to creep into most of my projects.

2009-05-17T18:12:00.005-04:00

Here is the latest thing I have been wanting to learn. A friend gave me a pair of earrings a couple of years ago that used a technique I couldn't quite figure out. I set the idea aside and forgot about it. While looking at a Japanese beading book recently, I figured it out. The book didn't show me the earrings but it did show me the necklace you see above, and I tweaked it to make the earrings. It may seem like a small accomplishment, but if you've ever had a nagging, back-burner problem that got solved you know the sense of relief that comes with it. The book is Beadweaving Brilliance: Make Beautiful Jewelry as You Learn Off-loom Techniques by Kumiko Mizuno Ito. I picked it up at Kinokuniya books. If you can find it, I recommend it. There are many different small projects in it that use different techniques without making you crazy trying to find the supplies.

The necklace and earrings I made were for my friend Hilary's birthday. I agonized over the colors for almost three days before I started. I am really happy with how they turned out. The beads are Delicas with small crystals on both ends of the earrings and on the necklace loop. The drop is pineapple quartz. The technique is flat peyote stitch. You connect the ends to make a loop so you can string it like a bead. The earrings are strung on a head pin to keep them stiff. Happily, Hilary liked them. She is one of my craft-project guinea pigs -- one of three friends who often get the first piece of a new project. I judge my accomplishment on their reactions. I'm always proud of what I give them.

I will definitely make more of these!

I beaded a crow

2009-03-17T21:47:00.002-04:00

I beaded a crow for my favorite author, Neil Gaiman. There was a signing last week at Books of Wonder in NYC with Neil Gaiman and illustrator Charles Vess. I had to stay up late to finish it, but I was done in time. My favorite book by Gaiman is The Graveyard Book, and I beaded the crow as a thank-you gift. The crow was sewn by the amazing Ronda Kivett. Seeing a picture of her crow doll form really helped me figure out what I was going to do. The stitch is pretty standard applique, and if you've done it you know how time-consuming and needle-bending it can get. The beads are mostly size 11; I used a couple of size 8 for the eyes with a few bugles for the belly. I ended up making a stand for her out of scrap wood from my sister's homemade horse barn. My only worry is that the crow is a little top heavy. She may lean forward over time, but I hope it's not too bad. The doll forms from Ronda that I have beaded before were smaller, so this was a challenge.

When I handed her to Gaiman, he seemed impressed. He said she would go on display in his writing room across from the garden. I'm pretty proud.

For Knitters

2009-01-18T19:42:00.003-05:00

I have been so focused on my art journal class that I forgot to show you these. I don't knit (yet) but I did make some stitch markers for knitters. Here is a picture of my latest batch. They are on display at Flying Fingers in Tarrytown right now if you would like to see them in person. It would be great if you would like to buy a few, too. I used a good mix of beads. Of course there are fun ones like owls and ladybugs. There are also hearts and flowers. Some patterns follow an A-H list of steps, so I did those in letter beads. I even had some millefiori beads in different shapes and colors. If you buy a set of eight you get the big safety pin with them. If you can't come by the store would be happy to ship.

If nothing else, just let me know what you think of them.

New Year, New Project

2009-01-01T21:25:00.011-05:00

I started an online class yesterday. A Prompt A Day is the name of it. My favorite art teacher, Kelly Kilmer, is doing this cool month-long art journal class. If you ever get a chance, do yourself a favor and take a class with her -- any class. Really! She is a patient, thoughtful, and thorough instructor. You could even sign up for this one.

The first step was to make the journal. I used an old book for the cover. I found this one in an antiques mall in Iowa. The cover is great, so I didn't want to cover it up. I colored in the graphics with Staedtler markers and sealed it with gloss medium. I pulled the pages out and sewed in new pages of card stock. Of course, I had to bead the thread on the spine. It was fun making a book again. I haven't done it in a couple of years and now I remember why I loved doing it in the past. It feels good in your hands, and it is always exciting to start a new journal. The first two pages are done. It's gonna be a good start to the year. Thank you, Kelly!

Here comes the new year

2008-12-26T16:32:00.006-05:00

Do you like the cool block sign Sue made for me? I got the quote from the National Museum of the American Indian in D.C. There is a great beadwork diorama of a beader's living room. Next to an armchair is a totebag with the above quote on it. I have always lived the quote and now I have it proudly displayed in my living room.

As a retail worker and a Christmas baby, I would just like to say that I'm glad that's over. As a crafter, I'm happy with my holiday output. I was able to do both beading and weaving for gifts this year. My big hit seemed to be beaded dreamcatchers.

If anyone would be interested in a tutorial for this project in the new year please let me know. I thought that would be a big project I could work on during what promises to be a cold winter.

Another fun project was a loopy tube scarf. I have an oversized Knitting Nancy that I can stick my head through. The scarf I made is a loose weave that you can stick your head into to make a cowl.

I'll post the pieces from my loom later. I made a scarf and a table runner. I got two great beginner loom weaving books from Bryant for Christmas. There will be many more loom pieces to come. But first I'll rest my hands for a couple of days. Happy crafting everyone!

Merry Christmas? WTF!

2008-11-29T07:06:00.004-05:00

"Happy Black Friday!"

We often say that to each other in the retail biz this time of year. But this was the worst Black Friday ever in my book. An employee was killed at a Wal-Mart on November 28 by negligence and a bunch of greedy customers.

I have worked retail almost my whole adult life. Lucky for me, it has never been at a "big box" retailer. I have seen the thronging hordes on TV but since I worked mostly at book stores and gift stores I was never a witness to it. Every year, we just shake our heads and wonder why. Now a man is dead. If you have never worked retail, you may not understand.

Here is one stupid point: we have a low job-mortality rate. This isn't supposed to happen. The National Retail Federation says it has never heard of an employee being killed on Black Friday. He was a temp worker hired through an agency. His paycheck probably came from the agency, not Wal-Mart. I suspect he didn't even have Wal-Mart benefits!

Another stupid point: there is nothing in that Wal-Mart anyone needed bad enough to cause a death. Nothing! What cheap piece of made-in-China crap did anyone need that bad? And where was store management? It doesn't sound like they were the ones trying to hold those doors. I want to hear the results of a full investigation. Not that it will help the family of Jdimytai "Jimmy" Damour cope with their loss. My heart goes out to them.

The origin of the term Black Friday used to be a good one. It meant that retail businesses were "In the black" for the first time all year. All the money from then on was profit. Not to me, not any more.

Weaving again

2008-11-25T20:38:00.005-05:00

I would have blogged, but I was busy?

Here is something I accomplished. My friend Dwayne in Colorado will probably get this scarf in the mail this week. It is my first real weaving project! Woo hoo! At the Sheep and Wool Festival last month I bought my own rigid heddle loom. It is 20 inches wide and folds up while warped for easy travel. I'm very excited about the whole thing. The wool I used for this one was wonderful to work with. Sorry to say I have misplaced the tag and can't tell you about it yet, but I'm sure I'll be working with it again soon. As you can see from the picture above, I played with using two colors to warp and to weft. It was a nice way to experiment with how the colors mixed. The yarn was a single ply, and it was thick part of the time and thin the rest. That made it tough to keep the weave consistent. It looks a little loose on the ends but I think it should hold together.

One of the great things about this loom is that I can use all those funky yarns I fondle at Flying Fingers. The reed it came with can handle the yarn I like because it has larger openings. In order to move beyond just plain weaving I'm gonna need some help. I picked up an issue of Handwoven and the language they use goes right over my head. Last Sunday I paid my first visit to the Marymount Convent Weaving Center in Tarrytown. They also had some beautiful yarns and a room full of floor looms. It was intimidating but I might take a beginners' class in the new year.

My next scarf is on the loom, and it will also be going to Colorado. This time I am trying a double yarn on the weft. I'll let you know how it goes. So far it has been pretty hard to work with. That's what I get for knowing almost nothing about fibers. I just see pretty colors.

There is still bead work in the loop too, don't worry. My hands are pretty good with the help of physical therapy. Fingers crossed — I won't need surgery!

Since Last Time

2008-10-04T22:01:00.011-04:00

Wow, I didn't post for the whole month of September. How lame is that? They say excuses are like assholes — everybody has one. Well I have two (excuses, that is). The easy "post with photo" thingy in Picasa stopped working for me, and I have carpal tunnel syndrome. Those are my excuses. OK, so here is what I did in the last month. I made stitch markers for my local yarn store, Flying Fingers. I had fun using up a little of my stash and making happy purchases on Etsy. It is nice to make stuff for people I don't even know. I get to hear back about customers’ reactions and everything.

There were three birthdays I wanted to make gifts for, so I made a dream catcher, earrings, a bracelet, an owl token and some bottlecap magnets. I didn't take a single picture, sorry. If anyone wants to know how I did any of these I would be happy to share. All you have to do is track me down.

The background on the picture above is the woven piece I did in August. After the shrink I was really happy with it. I went out and bought more yarn to try some more pieces. The big Sheep and Wool festival is in a couple of weeks, so I am looking forward to buying a lap loom of my own. Woohoo!

My First Fabric

2008-08-26T19:37:00.002-04:00

Wow, was that ever fun! I really enjoyed weaving. It was over too quick. Doing this gives me an amazing sense of accomplishment. Of course I finished this three weeks ago. (Sorry so slow.) As learning experiences go, this was huge. I screwed up in so many ways. Having no clue about waste on both ends of the warp, I ended up with a piece way too small for my planned project. This will be my felting trial piece to see how small it gets. I have more of both yarns and I'm ready to do it again. I used one ball of Optimum wool in 541 Rouge for the warp and one skein of Farmhouse Yarns Woodland Spun (single ply bulky) in Fuschia for the weft. Handwoven magazine May/June has an article about figuring out how much yarn you'll need for a project so I shouldn't make that mistake again. I'm going to the laundromat on Thursday to put it through the wash. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Totally Warped

2008-08-03T09:52:00.008-04:00

I always knew I was a little warped, but now I'm totally warped. After spending two weeks in a funk over the condition of my hands and getting almost no crafting done, I decided to learn how to weave. It seemed like a good idea since it's much bigger motions. It can still be repetitive, but there are more parts to the action and it's another one of those things I can stop and start. Lucky for me, I have a friend who weaves and offered to loan me a rigid heddle loom to try out. This isn't quite as portable as I'd like it to be, but I wouldn't be above carrying it to Temple of Craft meetings or a yarn in the park outing. Now I can hang with my yarn friends and not feel like an oddball.

So I brought the loom home and stared at it for a while. Danielle also loaned me a book to start with. I read through the set-up and got the basic idea. But the looms in the book didn't match the one I was staring at. I Googled and still couldn't find the same one. I was just gonna have to figure this out the hard way. The local yarn store was having a big sale so I went and bought some nice thick wool yarn. Of course I want to full (or felt) whatever I end up with. The plan is to make a couple of rectangles that I will sew together to make a tote for my beading supplies. Of course yesterday I sit down with the loom and yarn ready to warp and guess what? I bought yarn too thick to go through the tiny holes in the heddle. Back to Flying Fingers for thinner yarn. I picked a color that would go with the thick stuff because I'll still use it to weave the other way. Get back home, have supper and get started.

I use the backs of two chairs to loop the yarn the right length. Then I sit down with the loom and string (warp) the heddle using a small crochet hook since the holes are so small. Everything gets hooked on the back comb and I start tying the ends to the front comb. This is where I start to worry, since I didn't find instructions for a loom with combs. (Most seem to have a plain dowel.) So I'm tying each one around the bar and teeth, and about two-thirds of the way across I think maybe I'm doing it wrong. I move the knot from going around the warp threads to just going around the comb tooth. This way I can slip the finished piece off without cutting anything. Being the Queen of Make-Do, I don't go back to fix the earlier knots, thinking I'll just "make do." Then this morning I'm lying awake thinking I gotta fix 'em. So I get up early — with the help of a cat demanding attention — and get my ass in gear. Now it's all fixed and I'm ready to weave! But first I have to go to work and a birthday party. Oh, well, there is always tomorrow ...

I need my hands

2008-07-21T22:30:00.000-04:00

It's official, I have carpal tunnel. I have know it way down deep for a long time but never wanted to admit it. I didn't go to the doctor because I just wanted to avoid the diagnosis. (Ignorance is bliss and all that.) My current symptoms are a mild tingle to a painful burn in my fingers and wrists. It doesn't hurt all the time, but I can't do any one thing for more than a couple of minutes. Anything from holding the phone to pushing a cart to beading or gift-wrapping can get real uncomfortable. If I overdo it during the day I won't get much sleep that night. The burning pain runs under my arm from shoulder to finger tips and wakes me right up. I have to stand up to get circulation again.

For a beader and a retail worker, the feeling of dread is overwhelming. I have been depressed about it for a while and the last couple of weeks have been lousy. I finally went to a doctor that my podiatrist recommended. (Yeah, I have foot problems too) He asked some questions and checked my hands, elbows, and shoulders. I had to make a separate appointment for nerve and muscle testing. The doctor who did the testing said my carpal tunnel is moderate. I couldn't help it; I started crying. It all just came crashing down on my head. When I went back to my first doctor to discuss the test results and treatment I asked him to illustrate the test for me. He drew a line with a spot at the beginning. a peak next to the spot showed where my reaction should have been, my left hand produced a peak next to it, slightly smaller. My right hand was even slower and 50 percent the strength of the left. The weak, slow reaction time explains why I keep dropping things, too.

The current treatment is wrist braces and anti-inflammatory meds until a follow-up appointment in 6 weeks. He asked me if I wanted to consult with the surgeon. I said no. It looks like if the braces don't work they will try cortisone shots. I don't like that idea either. I'll let you know what happens. (Typing this with braces on is really tough.)

Orchestra Baobab

2008-07-02T22:45:00.000-04:00

We finally took advantage of one of the free summer concerts that takes place in New York City. River to River is a series of outdoor events in downtown parks. On June 25th in Rockefeller Park (off Chambers Street) overlooking the Hudson river, the African dance band Orchestra Baobab put on a free concert. The weather was perfect, and it was easy to get there and hang around.

Orchestra Baobab is a world-famous band from Senegal. Members of the band come from a range of different African countries, and their music is usually described as Afro-Cuban although it includes other Latin pop elements and Congolese Soukous and Griot. When the band formed in 1970, Latin music was much more prevalent in the clubs in the Senegalese capital of Dakar. The band was hugely successful until the mid eighties when the more energetic African style called Mbalax became popular, making Afro-Latin seem languid and dated. Orchestra Baobab broke up in 1985 but reformed in 2001 after their popularity grew in Europe. They are still making records and touring in support.

I'm no expert in African music but I have listened to Orchestra Baobab on CD for years. I wasn't looking to see them in particular, but I was itching for a show. Lucky for me, my favorite world music DJ keeps an insane list of concerts in NY and NJ. Rob Weisberg of Transpacific Sound Paradise over at WFMU (the best fucking radio station ever!) listed this show, and I was able to go.

The show was great! Easy to get to, nice place to hang out, good sound, and a great band. There was one problem with the set up. CHAIRS! I guess they were expecting a bunch of geezers to show up because the band had Orchastra in its name. I don't like sit-down shows. I like to move a little. When the show started, no one was standing. We were up against the barricade kneeling for two songs. One of the singers and the saxophonist kept trying to get people up. The singer even declared, "In Africa we play music for one reason — to dance." I had to stand up; my knees were killing me. Over the next few songs people started to stand. A group of West African immigrants was dancing way off to one side until the band invited them to come up front. Then it was a party. One woman in the group whom we talked to before the show had driven all the way from D.C. to see them. The show moved her to tears.

Once the real dancing started, the folks running the show freaked out because there were no barriers in front of the stage. In the middle of the show they started bringing out barriers. Completely tacky. Until this point the people who were really into the show were not touching the stage or threatening the band in any way. Lots of folks were going up to the edge of the stage and handing money to the band. (This is a common way to show to show your appreciation for the music and the band in other countries.) Now the barriers are up and we all have to move back. We all just kept dancing, not giving a damn about the bums in the chairs yelling at us to sit down. It was really a lot of fun.

I would really like to encourage everyone in the area to look at the free music programs in NYC and try to go to at least one concert. Try River to River, Central Park Summer Stage, and Celebrate Brooklyn. Most of the shows are free. Artists from all over the world will be in town. You should stop by and make them feel welcome.

Dance Monkeys Dance

2008-06-15T22:37:00.000-04:00

I love this slide show. The pictures are great and the narration is spot on. Ernest Cline did a great job. He makes great points about happiness and loneliness. Only humans hate. I keep trying to point this video out to folks and I'm sure enough of you have yet to watch it. Please take a look and let me know what you think.

Beaded Dream Catcher

2008-05-11T21:22:00.000-04:00

My sister's birthday snuck up on me this year. I'm not sure how, since it's always within a few days of Mother's Day. I usually need a lot of time picking something out for her because she is so damn hard to shop for. She is much more practical than me and she tends toward Native American art and anything horse related. With no time to go shopping, I had to think of something to make her. All the horse beading patterns were way too big and complicated to do in one day, so I settled on a Native American design. The Dream Catcher is a common design for many tribes and is traditionally made of willow, sinew and feathers. It's not meant to last forever. The one I made is on a brass ring wrapped in leather thong and strung with size 11 seed beads. Grandmother Spider in the center is a quartz cube. I have only made one other and it only had eight points. This one has 16, which made it much tougher. The center color had to be pulled out and redone because it came out too loose the first time. I did make one mistake at the beginning but chose not to correct it because it is a Cherokee belief that we are but human and cannot achieve perfection—to do so would bring bad luck. If you take a good look at any of my beadwork you will see that I live by this belief. My beadwork will never bring me bad luck. I sure hope my sister likes it. I'll try a horse design later, I guess.

Titania's Garland of Leaves

2008-05-06T21:59:00.000-04:00

I think she likes her necklace. This is the biggest bead project for me ever and I can't believe I got it done in time. Remember back in February when I posted nine leaves? Well, here they are with the other 31 on a herringbone base! When I saw the original necklace being worn by Carole Horn I knew I had to make it for Beth. The class was ages ago but of course I finished it the day before I needed to give it to her. I really wanted her to wear it with her garb at The Hudson Valley Mayfaire. She was the vendor coordinator and Hilary and I were her minions. Looks like we all got roped into doing it again next year so make plans to come see us and all the cool vendors.

I'm gonna miss working on this piece. I wish I could put it in your hands so you could feel it. The weight of it and the cool smoothness of the beads really makes me happy. Now that I'm finished my fingers are itching to do more beadwork. After 40 leaves I almost want to make more, for a different project. I can't decide what to do next but I have to figure it out before the end of the week. I promised I would have a new project started by the time Temple of Craft meets. Maybe I'll felt something to bead on? I'll keep you posted.

Look real close.

2008-04-22T00:02:00.000-04:00

I am a very happy and lucky girl. I got to go to Death Valley last week for the third time in five years. In 2005 they had the biggest bloom in park history and I got to see it! It is the lowest, driest and hottest place in the U.S., so you don't see too many critters during the day. So far I have seen a coyote, collared lizards, humming birds, burros, a pronghorn, and turkey vultures. This trip I really wanted to see wild burros again.

As we left the park proper I saw a burro-crossing sign and got very excited. Just a couple of miles outside Beatty, NV, we saw them from the highway! We pulled over and I hopped out of the van and ran across the road with the others in my tour. I took a picture of the first four I saw as I walked closer. A woman in the tour walked up the fence and found two others. One of the burros did a strange, aggressive hop toward the woman as she got closer. I walked over and saw a foal up next to the fence. Then my heart sank when I saw a burro's leg sticking up along the fence. You can see it in this photo in front of the foal. I assumed it was a dead animal until she moved. OH MY GOD, SHE'S ALIVE! I yelled something like that to our guide, who was still across the road. He came over and I asked who we should call — as if we could get a signal in Death Valley. There were no other options, so I decided we had to do something and our guide warned that I could get hurt. I said I would take my chances and went over and held the burro's head down to stop her from flailing.

She had been hitting her head against the ground, trying to use her strong neck to push herself up. I covered her eye to calm her. She still kicked a couple of times and I ended up getting pretty dirty. I told our guide to try to get the barbed wire off from around her ankle. It was too tight so I threw him my hat to wrap around the barbed wire for better leverage. It still held tight, so he loosened a wire on the fence post and was able to slacken one line of barbed wire and get her hoof loose. Luckily, our guide and I could get out of the way before she stood up! She trotted up the fence line without favoring her leg, which made me ecstatic. Members of her herd followed her since she was on the wrong side of the fence. Driving in the same direction she was headed, we saw that there was a break in the fence a few miles up, so I'm sure she got around without too much trouble.

Our guide called his boss as soon as we had a signal and she spoke to her contact at the B.L.M. (Bureau of Land Management) and let them know what happened. I was going to do a follow-up call the next day until I spoke to my sister and got the lowdown on the federal government and their policy on wild burros. I didn't want to remind them. Even though burros are not a native species, they deserve a chance. Life is tough enough in the desert. Had a B.L.M. employee come across her I assume they would have shot her instead of freeing her. It would give them one less one to round up later. Many of the wild burros and wild horses they round up do end up being adopted to loving homes, but too many of them do not. Wild burros have been living in the Mojave desert for about 400 years, since before the gold rush. At least that poor girl we found got a second chance. It was luck. The only reason we stopped was because her herd stayed with her. It was mid-day, when you usually don't see animals in the desert. I think it's a good example of having a circle of friends -- or am I anthropomorphizing?

Making Things For Others

2008-04-03T22:24:00.000-04:00

I love to make things for other people. That's were what I make usually goes — to other people. Once in a blue moon I'll make something for myself, but it's rare. Sometimes I'll make something with the intention of keeping it, and then I think of someone else who would like it. The T-shirt above was done for my friend Lisa. This is another example of the bleach stencils I wrote about before. She couldn't make it to the Temple of Craft when we did the shirts, so I took one of her T-shirts and did it for her. (That way she got stuck with the idea I had for her.) She is devoted to her three wonderful kitties, so this seemed appropriate. The necklace and bracelet below were done for my knitting friend. I turned her onto the wonders of tagua nuts and wanted to make her something. Tagua is a nut from South America that can be carved like ivory. The pieces used here are just slices, but they show the thin brown skin covering the seed. Since her favorite color is brown, I thought of her right away. The necklace is brown silk, and the bracelet is made with elastic and African trade beads. I did keep one big tagua for myself that is dyed red like coral, I put it on blue silk for a necklace. I was so happy that there was a tagua dealer at the latest Whole Bead Show. Some time I'll post pictures of the amazing carved pieces my friend Argentina has brought back for me from her hometown in Panama.

How much do you love coffee?

2008-03-19T21:10:00.000-04:00

As an ADD crafter I highly recommend Craft: magazine. It's been coming out quarterly for a year and a half and every issue has great ideas and here is the newest fun: "Bleach Shirt Stencil". There are some amazing stencils out there, but mine tend toward the simple. I've done three so far and can't wait to do more. So far I have learned that it works better on thinner material. Cotton or blend doesn't seem to matter. After I did the stencil, I used the T-Shirt Printing Kit to do the words in fabric paint. How far can I push it? Who knows? I like to see how far I can go before the nice suburban ladies frown in disapproval. You should pull out some old t-shirt and give it a try. Blank t-shirts are pretty cheep at the big craft stores too. Even if you don't splurge on the stamps, you can always paint words with fabric markers. Get out there and make something!

Freeform Ain't Free, People!

2008-02-27T19:29:00.000-05:00

How This Works...

Support Freeform Radio!

This may seem totally out of left field, but WFMU is near and dear to my heart. I thought about this for a few days and I couldn't not do my part. I love WFMU. It's freeform and limitless. The DJs are volunteers and they don't take underwriting or corporate money. The whole thing is run on donations. There are so any different types of music represented. I love many of the shows but there is stuff I can't stand on there too. It's great that even the crazy shit has a home. Along with everything being available online whenever you want to listen, there are also some radio-unfriendly web-only shows. Do yourself a favor and give WFMU a try. If you love it you could donate as little as $10. I'll be working the phone bank on Monday from noon to 3 pm. You could call! 1-800-989-9368. The marathon is only once a year and ends on March 9th.

Beaded Leaves

2008-02-01T15:48:00.000-05:00

The class I took was great! I'm really happy about joining The Bead Society Of Greater New York. It is good to have challenges after beading the same way for so long. All my prep work helped a little. Of course the herringbone stitch I taught myself was the opposite of the one used in class, and we did angular peyote stitch — which is the only peyote stitch I have never done. I'm still looking forward to finishing this project, and I'll use this leaf technique for lots of other things too. During the class I made three leaves and about a quarter of the necklace base. The pace and structure of the class worked really well for me. Carole Horn did a great job with her instructions. They were simple and precise. As long as I pay attention to the instructions I'll be alright. I'm up to ten leaves and the goal is forty! I'll end up making extras because there will be leaves I'm not thrilled with (there already are). Picking the colors was a little tough, first because I have a recipient in mind and the colors had to be right for her and second because when I showed up for class there was a feeding frenzy around the bead table and I could hardly get through. I ended up going back over after the class started only to have beeds I needed sold out. Luckily, I'll be able to use beads from my stash. I really want to finish this soon, so I have been hanging out at Coffee Labs, sitting in the window.

Herringbone Stitch

2008-01-19T20:55:00.000-05:00

It may not seem like a big deal to you, but I just taught myself a new stitch — the herringbone or Ndebele stitch from South Africa. There is a class this Sunday I am very excited about. The Bead Society Of Greater New York, of which I'm a card-carrying member, has a class named after Tatiana's Garland, which is an amazing necklace. The class requires you to know Peyote stitch and Herringbone stitch. I have done Peyote for years but have never done Herringbone. I'm really nervous about the class. I actually taught a beading class once but have never been to one. The results will be posted here so you can see how it goes.

Cool Subway Mosaics

2008-01-09T11:04:00.000-05:00

The subway station under the Museum of Natural History has some great mosaics. Since I had my camera with me, I thought I would share some with you. There are many subway art stops. Since we moved to New York, I have been impressed with a lot of the mosaics. I can remember when they were working on some of them. Art you can touch is a good thing. The best mosaics are in the tunnels leading to Grand Central and the Metro North tracks.

These animal mosaics are brightly colored. Some of them have a shadow behind them representing an extinct ancestor. I must have looked like a total tourist. Oh, well — it was fun.

2008-01-05T23:01:00.000-05:00

Got a chance to go to the American Museum of Natural History on Friday with my FOZ friends. The FOZ are the Bronx Zoo docents I volunteer with on a normal Friday. We met Hal there because he also volunteers at the museum and could give us a tour. It was nice to walk around and not get lost. I love the museum and have been there many times. The Hall of Human Origin is Hal's area of expertise and, as we enjoyed it, some of us joked about the Republican candidates who don't believe in evolution and what they could learn from a tour. The African Wildlife Hall always makes me sad because I'm always reminded of the current plight of elephants. There is a pair of elephant tusks that arch over one doorway. I don't know the exact measurement, but the tusks are seven or more feet long. Because elephants' tusks grow throughout their lives, this must have been a very old bull; you just don't see tusks like these in the wild any more. Poaching has wiped out all the older elephants in Africa. For good news about some elephants in the U.S. visit The Elephant Sanctuary. At least some captive elephants get a happy ending.

One of the happy things at the museum is the origami tree. I try to get to the museum to see it every year. Hal knows how much I like it, so he always tells me when it goes up. Every Christmas Origami USA decorates a tree in theme. This year it's Fantastic Creatures, to go along with the Mythical Creatures exibit at the museum. The tree was amazing. It may be hard to tell from the top photo, but there was a giant three-headed dragon wrapped around the tree. Out of the hundreds of other creatures hanging around, my favorite was Medusa (pictured below). Some of the other critters included dragons (in different world styles), mermaids, centaurs, different sizes of pegasus, unicorns, gargoyles, and a cerberus. Many of the other animals were fashoned after real animals but are weird in their own way — like narwhal, angler fish, scorpion fish, beetles, and squid. If you get a chance to see the tree be sure to get a scavenger-hunt list so you can play along.

Happy New Year

2008-01-03T22:04:00.000-05:00

So you haven't heard from me in a while, sorry about that. November was a rough month with our Krzysztof trouble. All of us are back to normal, even Krzysztof. Fingers crossed it stays that way. I'm so glad the holidays are over. I really don't enjoy them much.

There was very little crafting through the end of the year. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Lucky for me it is a long road. The one thing I was determined to do was this wall hanging. It started with an antler. My sister lives in Iowa. In the spring she found deer antlers in the corn fields. I asked her to send me some little ones. I had seen some cool felted wall hangings and thought I'd try a simple one. My sister and brother-in-law were recently married. Trees have figured into their relationship from the beginning. They even cut down cedars, planked them, and built a horse barn.

I wanted to make it as a wedding/Christmas gift. I bought an old army blanket to needle-felt onto. That way I could focus on the design of the tree and not the way it would hang. The colors of roving I bought at the Sheep and Wool Festival worked great for the sky and leaves. The photo doesn't show it well but the striped brown roving I got from my knitting friend worked great for the tree trunk. The moon face I picked up at the Whole Bead Show is attached by peyote stitch. It hangs low in the sky so you can see its face better. The silver-lined seed beads give it a little shine. The way you see it in the photo isn't the way it hangs. I just set the antler on top of the wall. The green felt across the antler is how it hangs. It was a hasty picture in the sunshine before I stuffed it in the box and hauled it to the post office.

I have big crafting plans for the new year. I want to do some real beading and felting this year. Wet felting next, and some new beading techniques. Crafter Boxing Day for the next Temple of Craft meeting. Must purge!

Sleep Deprived

2007-11-06T22:45:00.000-05:00

Here is Krzysztof again. He dragged us through a whole new adventure last Thursday morning.

On Wednesday night he showed signs of another urinary infection, his third in about two months' time. I thought, "Oh well, another call to Dr. McKenzie." Before the alarm could go off on Thursday morning, Krzysztof was already up on the bed screaming at us. He seemed to be in a lot of pain. We got up and took him in as soon as they unlocked the door at Bond Animal Hospital in White Plains.

Dr. McKenzie gave him one squeeze and pronounced, "He's blocked," meaning a urinary blockage. This can be fatal in cats and has to be treated right away. He was taken in back to be anesthetized and catheterized. X-rays were taken as well as urine tests. Dr. M called us later with an update and a recommendation for an overnight stay at the nearby Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG). He had twisted up his catheter and had to have it redone — which meant getting anesthetized again — so he was so bad off that he couldn't spend a night alone. I freaked out for two reasons: 1) he was in such bad shape he couldn't spend the night alone 2) where the hell were we gonna get the money for VEG? When we took him to VEG the estimate was outrageous! Needing to pay half that up front, we used our rent money. The vet on duty was great, and was able to replace the hard catheter with a soft red tube that was more comfortable.

Krzysztof still looked like hell in the morning. The e-collar he wore made him look really miserable and the catheter bag and IV just made me want to cry. We felt so guilty picking him up at VEG only to take him back to Bond. After another day with Dr. M, he still had to keep his catheter in. The blockage was caused by a fine grit from his blatter. If he didn't unblock soon, he would end up in emergency surgery over the weekend. On Friday night it was another trip from one hospital to the other since he still had the catheter in. The Doctor on duty that night came across as very doom-and-gloom, and we had to argue with her about the timetable for removing the catheter — as far as we (and Dr. M) were concerned it was to be pulled at midnight. Then, he needed to be watched so we knew when he urinated on his own.

I called at 3am, no pee. I called again at 7am, still no pee. Krzysztof is a very picky boy about a lot of things, especially his toilet. We drove over with one of his litter boxes in hopes that it would help. (A bag of my Mom's home-grown catnip never hurts either.) Dr. Doom made us feel like the situation was hopeless. We went home under the impression that he would be re-cathetered soon and got depressed about the prospect of his impending surgery.

Saturday afternoon I went to a friend's house for tea and sympathy and I got a call from home: the hospital had called to say we could pick up Krzysztof. We were really surprised about this and we weren't sure what to expect when we got there. But Krzysztof had survived the shift change without receiving a new catheter, and once he peed a couple of times he was ready could go home.

The poor boy was in rough shape. He was drugged and leaky. We followed him around with paper towels wherever he went and stuck them under him wherever he lay. He ate and drank right away and got some sleep after an hour or so. He seemed happy about being home and even purred for us. It was a long weekend, and he spent about as much time in the litter box as he did sleeping.

Monday morning Krzysztof had an appointment with another Doctor at Bond. Dr. Wagner was happy with his progress but changed his pain killer to Buprenorphine liquid and included Phenoxybenzamine as a muscle relaxant. The antibiotic he had been given at VEG was so thick and gloppy he refused to swallow it. He is on Enrofloxacin, just as he was before for other infections. He can't take Clavamox because it upsets his stomach. I'm lucky Krzysztof is easy to medicate. The tough part has been giving him subcutaneous fluids. He isn't dehydrated but we want to make sure he flushes out his bladder as much as possible. (We only have to do this every other day because he has a heart murmur and we don't want to overhydrate him.)

Today Krzysztof got to see Dr. M for the first time in a week. Everything went well. Krzysztof's behavior is almost normal — except that he still lingers in the litter box. Dr. M said we can expect that to go on for about 10 more days because of the catheter irritation. To try to manage his urinary PH we are starting a new food, Royal Canin urinary SO 30 veterinary diet. All the cats will be stuck eating it, so I hope they like it. This week has been as expensive as his surgery last year. We have now changed his name to Krzy$ztof. When we don't want him to know we are talking about him we just call him Special K. Fingers crossed that he stays unblocked.

2007-10-31T18:07:00.000-04:00

I went bead shopping at The Whole Bead Show in New York on October 12. It was a really busy place and, because of the warm weather we’ve been having, it was stiflingly hot inside. My great friend Felicia had never seen the show before and with godlike self-control she spent no money at all!

I was shopping for seed beads but I only found two tables with any selection. Most of the show seems to be semi-preicous stone beads. The colors are amazing. There are so many beautiful beads that it’s hard to focus. Just to be on the safe side, I brought a limited amout of money and no plastic. Even if you just buy a small amount of supplies, you can gather information on bead companies you would like to order from later. Warning: not all the vendors I liked have a retail front. Some vendors only do shows. One vendor by the name of Carol Horn only does shows and was wearing the most amazing leaf necklace made of seed beads. She will be teaching the necklace as a class in January at the Bead Society of Greater New York. I would have to teach myself herringbone stitch before then, but I think I have to go to this class.

My favorite find was the ojime boxwood bats in the center of the picture. The two bats with their wings around eachother will stay with me. The other bat may go to another home once I make something of him. The bone cats will be for my mom. The moon face is part of a bigger project. The rest of the beads are for whatever I dream up later. I also bought silver findings for an earring project. The next show is in the spring — start saving now!

Wooly Wonderland

2007-10-21T23:10:00.000-04:00

Here is my booty from the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. I have some cool colors already but I needed locks. The orange, blue, bright blue, white and gray are all going to come in handy for critter hair when I make finger puppets and monsters. The green and purple are for a grand needle-felting project I have planned for the holidays for my sister and brother-in-law as a wedding/Christmas present. I always buy white because I can always dye it with Kool-Aid when I need a fruity color.

It was a great day for wandering around in the autumn sunshine, eating BBQ lamb and fiber shopping. My knitting friend has gone to the festival for six years, so I had a great guide. Lots of vendors had amazing colors and types of wools to gape at. I don't knit (yet) so I wasn't always sure what I was looking at, but I had fun doing it. It was hard to decide on the roving and locks as I looked around. One barn was almost all roving so I started buying. As soon as I finished at one booth I would walk to the next and find an even better color. Buying fiber is like buying beads, it's always better done in person. My picture doesn't do the colors justice.

The festival has a state-fair vibe, with everything from 4H to fry bread. One booth was baking apple pies, so we had a slice a la mode before we left. These were also cheese makers, so I just couldn't resist. The actual sheep and alpacas and rabbits were great to see. I didn't see any llamas or goats but they had to be there somewhere. I look forward to going back next year!

Needle-Felting Is Cool

2007-10-16T20:11:00.000-04:00

This is what I came up with when my nephew asked for a Chewbacca finger puppet. I agonized over it for days before I started. The basics for making a finger puppet can be found as posted by Moxie. Moxie is my needle-felting goddess. I got hooked because of her. I had such a great time making my first finger puppet that I just kept going. As an ADD crafter I have to have things that I can carry with me and put down and pick up whenever. Needle-felting is perfect. I have also made spiders and bugs. For my knitting friend I made a frog. I have some really odd ideas in my head right now for projects. Thankfully I get to go shopping for wool this weekend because I just don't have a big enough stash!

I also need to get cracking because I will be teaching a drop-in class at Flying Fingers on Sunday, November 4th. It will be a class where you just buy the materials and I'll get you started. To make it look as cool as possible there will need to be lots of sample pieces. Since needle-felting is very sculptural, you can make almost anything you can think of. Most popular are animals, toys and dolls. I have seen some amazing pieces at Etsy and just surfing around the net. I would really love to show people what I know.

At the beginning of the year I resolved to start a craft group. It took until September, but it happened. Luckily I'm surrounded by crafty people so it was kind of easy. It's a small circle so far, which is fine because I'm having a hard time securing a public space. Living in the burbs means that the coffeehouses close too early. Right now P'tunia's mom and her roommate let us borrow their awesome apartment. In the new year I'll get back to work searching for a good meeting place. We meet once a month so I'll get to craft with them two more times before Christmas.

P'tunia and Talullah

2007-10-02T22:44:00.000-04:00

This is P'tunia and Talullah. P'tunia is my niece dog and Talullah is my cat. That makes them cousins. Yeah I know their names are spelled wrong, but it's on purpose. Ms. P (as I like to call her) comes over when her mom is out of town. This is how I get my dog fix. We have a three-cat household plus some non-furries.

Talullah came to us a year ago from the wilds of rural Iowa. She had been abandoned in my mother's neighborhood by a nasty neighbor. The lady regularly brought cats and dogs home but never took care of them. The dogs were always chained up in the back yard, no matter how young they were. The cats were kicked out of the house when they went into heat no matter the weather. My family has spent a lot of time and money spaying and neutering the strays in their little town for for some ten years now. My mother told me about this cat who was too dumb to get in out of the rain. She would sit on a lawn chair and get soaked. Then mom would have to put her in the garage so she wouldn't get sick when the temperature dropped. There was no room for one more cat in the house, so she had to go back out in the morning. Even though she was fed, Talullah was a great bird hunter. She would disappear for days at a time and mom would worry.

Bad things happen to kitties in a small town in Iowa. A neighbor puts out bowls of antifreeze for strays to drink. My family has seen drivers swerve in order to hit animals crossing the street. Another neighbor has a trap he has used to make animals disappear. Lots of folks think it's strange that my family lets the dogs in the house. I could go on and on about the adventures of trying to help animals in rural America, but this is about Talullah. Besides, this kind of shit happens everywhere.

After we lost our old boy, Gregory, I told mom to hold on to this cat for me and I would come get her in October. To keep her safe mom moved her into the garage with another cat they found that had such a bad ear infection she could only walk in a circle. Talullah and Tilly waited a few weeks for my visit. (Tilly got better but she will always have a head tilt.)

Luckily Talullah weighs only seven pounds. We flew back together with her in a Sherpa bag and even with delays we made it home in one piece. She was really mellow and she got a lot of attention from people. She is a very people-oriented cat, even after belonging to a lady who threw her animals around the house.

As a matter of fact, this post is taking forever to type because she won't leave me alone. I just wish she didn't feel this need to lick people all the time. All our visitors get the full drool treatment if they sit still long enough. Then she gets overstimulated and starts chewing on them. She also vocalizes all the time. If you stand still and she wants some personal time, she will jump up your body to get to your shoulder. We would prefer that she make eye contact first so we know she's coming, but hey.

Talullah is big pals with Krzysztof, but she plays too rough for him sometimes. She's about half the size of both of our other cats, which brings out a Napoleon complex in her. Cheeky (our other female) is annoyed by her most of the time and Talullah knows to stay out of her way, usually.

Talullah is only about three years old so she will be around for a good long while. She is a blue-eyed monster. When she is a total pain in the ass I tell her she is the worst kitty we ever had. It would cost too much to ship her back so I think we'll keep her.

If you ever find a friendly kitty outside who doesn't have an owner please help her out by contacting a local animal rescue outfit or no-kill shelter. If the cat has an owner, remind them that the life expectancy of an outdoor cat is only five years. Please keep your cat indoors, happy and healthy. If she is feral, she could still use some help.

Beaded Scrabble Tile

2007-10-02T01:00:00.000-04:00

A birthday is the usual way for me to get motivated about making something. This necklace I made is for Jac's birthday this week. The pattern is from Ronda Kivett. You can get lots of cool ideas from Ronda both from her web page and her zine, Bead E Art Zine. This was my first try and I'm pretty happy with it. I am bad at following directions when it is something I know well enough to slop my way through it. The pattern called for a two-bead pick-up on the peyote stitch, but I did single. When I got to the last rows I did a fake decrease by using smaller beads. There are no frills or dangles since I'm not really a frilly girl and neither is Jac. The tile is from a Scrabble game found in an old lady's house I'm helping to clean out. (I have brought home many strange and wonderful things I hope to bead on later.) My bead stash is getting low, so I'm looking forward to the Whole Bead Show this month. That's where I got the dragonfly wing beads. It's not a big show but the quality is high. I can get some new stuff and get cracking on more new projects.

Wish Tree in Tarrytown NY

2007-09-26T22:58:00.000-04:00

We made a wish tree in Tarrytown, right on Main Street. It seemed like a good idea. This all started with a book called The Guerilla Art Kit by Keri Smith. I really like the idea of guerilla art and graffiti. I'm a big fan of folks like Banksy. Art for the masses baby!

A little audience participation can be a good thing, so guerilla art was the theme for the first meeting of my craft group, Temple of Craft. Our main project was to make little wine-cork people to leave around town. One of my Main Street co-workers and I thought the wish tree looked like a cool idea so we made lots of slips to hang on a tree. Any random person can write a wish on a slip and hang it on the tree. The tree I picked was kind of small with lots of low branches. It is also in front of a shop that is closed because the owner is sick. Some of us have left wishes for her. I set it up on the weekend because I didn't want to get caught doing it. It has been up for a week and a half now — and it has been popular. The last two weekends have been busy, and it survived 3rd Friday.

A small group of us has been busy making sure there are slips to write on. It has been fun to read some of the wishes people make. Some of the wishes make me just roll my eyes. I have talked to a lot of people about it and tried to send them over to make a wish. People have actually asked me, "What should I wish for?" Who are these people who have no wishes of their own? These are the same people that ask me why I did it. I guess that even as a misanthrope I still have this need for a warm fuzzy once in a while.

It will rain soon, so I don't know how much longer it will all last. Think of it like Tibetan prayer flags; as they come apart, the prayers go up to heaven.

My Latest Beaded Doll

2007-09-25T22:34:00.000-04:00

This is the latest beaded doll I did. She was done using a doll form I bought from Ronda Kivett. They come in handy since I can't do regular sewing. She does a great job with the different shapes. The polymer faces are hand sculpted and painted. They are cute all by themselves. I used seed beads and little flower beads on this one. The wings are from Artgirlz. I'm really sorry I forgot to take a picture of her back. I also did a little needle felting to change her color.

She is at her new home now. I made her as a bribe. A friend of mine has knitted an amazing shawl that I would love to have. This and another thing were my way of begging for it. I think it may have worked. I'll let you know.

I have gotten some great doll forms from Ronda over the years, as well as artwork. I also did an on-line class for this great tree. I love this piece. Almost everything I make ends up in someone else's hands. Not this one; I kept her. I had a lot of fun doing this along with other people. We shared pictures and comments about our progress. Ronda is a great teacher. You wanna bead? Go check out her kits and the class. If not, buy an original piece of hers. She also does cool Day of the Dead stuff.

Krzysztof and Dr. McKenzie

2007-09-19T20:25:00.000-04:00

Krzysztof went to Bond Animal Hospital for his recheck visit. He had bladder surgery July of 2006. He was having trouble urinating and when we took him in they tested him and found out there was a blockage due to calcium oxalate crystals. The surgery kept him in the hospital overnight and he came home with a big shaved belly and nine staples, not to mention a bill of $2650. As a memento I have a tiny glass tube with a few of the crystals in it.

He was really not happy with the Science Diet X/D he had to eat, and neither was I. We spend a lot on high-quality pet food and didn't feel that the ingredients list was up to par with our other cats' food. Krzysztof now eats indoor Wellness with the girls and is much happier about it, even if I have to give him 1 ml of Polycitra-K every day. Since Polycitra-K is meant for human children, it only comes cherry-flavored. Have you ever met a cat who likes cherries? Too bad Big Pharm doesn't see fit to cash in on the cat ladies.

Now that Krzysztof is almost done with the first bottle of cherry goo we have to make sure the stuff is working. Off we go to see Dr Geoffrey I. McKenzie, the best vet I've ever met. If he was a people doctor I just might go in for a check-up once in a while. I have been taking the kitties to Dr. M since 2001 when I worked at Bond for a year. He helped us with our two older cats, Jones and Gregory, when they were in early renal failure. I'll have to tell you about them another time. Poor Krzysztof; to do the urine test he has to have a syringe stuck into his bladder so it's a sterile sample. The two tests are a Urinalysis and a Urine Culture and Sensitivity.

His test results came back clean. His Ph was good and the culture was negative. There were no calcium oxalate crystals but his urine specific gravity was a little high. We are going to keep things about the same for now. The only change is that we are putting water in his canned food to up his water intake. His annual check-up is in November so we will check his pee again then.

Day Of The Dead

2007-09-04T00:50:00.000-04:00

I love Day of the Dead stuff. There is a small collection of skeletons and retablos in our living room year round. We grew up in southern Colorado eating Mexican food and hearing Spanish all the time. I miss the awesome low-riders.

I have made skull beads in the past. I started needle-felting this year and thought I would try to felt a skeleton. Here is the first one, hanging out with a few friends on the porch. Doing the thin black lines was tough so I'm gonna swing by the local yarn shop tomorrow to buy black yarn to work with. A bunch of us are having a DotD party at a friends house. There will of course be an art project: candy tin shrines. I'll have to make a bunch of flat-backed skulls to decorate with.

Beaded Flame Cuffs

2007-09-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of my friend Hilary wearing the beaded cuffs I made for her birthday. She is dressed as Tonks for the Harry Potter release party we helped with. The cuff inspiration was an amazing find when I picked up one of those page-a-day calendars last winter. The Bead-a-Day Calendar 2007 has a lot of basic stitches in it, along with a bunch of projects I wouldn't waste two minutes on. I was sure I had tossed my money until I came across a picture of these amazing cuffs by Portland artist Teresa Sullivan. I knew I had to make them for Hilary. The only problem was the page is meant for inspiration — no instructions! Luckily there was an email address for Teresa on the same page. She was very helpful and gave me the information I needed to make a valiant attempt. It took 22-gauge wire for the flame tips and lots of size-11 beads. There were a few hours of hair-pulling involved too. The first one I made was so wonky and oversized I had to cut it apart and start all over again. One of these days I'll have to make myself some. Teresa is a true bead artist and I'm so glad she helped me. She was an assistant teacher for the master Joyce J. Scott. If you ever get a chance to take a class with Teresa please do. I know I will. I think the cuffs came out pretty good for my first try. (Hilary seems to like them.)

Tree Kangaroo and Joey

2007-07-27T21:36:00.002-04:00

I really enjoy taking pictures of animals. These Tree Kangaroos are at the Bronx Zoo. The Joey was born in October and now hardly fits into the pouch. As my first picture post I'm just trying to see if this will work.