Looming Ahead

My Amber Fringy

2007-01-30T11:16:00.000-08:00

This is a great pattern. I took it out of one of the Bead & Button magazine. I will have to look it up but can't find the magazine.
This was done with turquoise chips in the original pattern but I had just purchased some butter amber. Don't you love it? I used pearls, garnet, aquamarine, citrine, ametrine and several other 3mm and 4mm gem stones with the chips. Not difficult at all and I was able to use some beads that were left over from other projects.

My completed projects from ABC7

2007-01-30T09:45:00.000-08:00

Three drop peyote
Jean Perret's Class

This was a great project. I think this would be a bracelet that would lend itself to lots of different looks. Just imagine how you could embellish it.
I found the beaded loop from one of the magazine that Bead & Button donated to the group for ABC7. It works well and you don't have that big gap that I have not really thought was attractive.

Herringbone Bracelet
Nancy Seeger's Class

Nancy started the class with 8 colors but after looking at the triangle choices I had, I cut it down to 6. Color seems to be my weakest area when it come to crafting. I agonize over what colors to put together. Nancy helped me with this by taking out the seventh color I had chosen. Then it began!! Trying to keep track of what color comes next. It wouldn't have been so bad if I had more contrast between the colors. But I really liked this combination.
I still have to put a clasp on but I am also undecided about that. I bought a tube clasp but saw one of the crimp clasps on the net and now I'm trying to decide which one I want to use.

Beading a Bezel
Mabel Thompson's Class

Mabel did a great job teaching
Building a Matrix for Beaded Brooches by Dottie Wood
with Dottie's permission.
I really liked the process. I think it left a beautiful finished edge in the back and a nice smooth back with the pin back applied. When you finished the beading, the piece was finished.
I love the cab and this was gifted to me by my 4 daughters and 2 daughters-in-law as a souvenir from one of our "Girls Weekend" in Branson MO. That was the first time we found the rock shop there and we spent a couple of hours just looking at the pretty things.
I do have a question for you though..... Is it finished??
I keep thinking I need to embellish it, or make a pendant out of i,t or somthing, and then on the other hand I like it fine.. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Hats commissioned for Christmas

2007-01-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

My daughter Linda commissioned me to make these hats for her friends, Jean and Barb. This is a pattern that came to me while I was learning to use the
Knifty Knitter Loom.
These hats, that I choose to call "Mandarin" are such fun to make and you can use such wide and varied yarn.
I hope that Jean and Barb enjoy their very personalized hats while they are golfing and skiing this winter.

Grandson's flame hat

2006-12-13T22:09:00.000-08:00

Rueben's Flame Hat
I had fun doing this hat. the flame pattern came without much effort.
I used a standard watch cap pattern and then added the flames.
I wish we had gotten a better picture. They all turned out blurry for some reason.
Maybe I could get him to have a picture taken wearing the hat someday .

Mabel's bracelets and more of ABC7

2006-11-09T21:51:00.000-08:00

Atta Girl Mabel!!!!!

She has finished four of Nancy's Herringbone bracelets .
She took up my challenge to send in her finished work. I sure hope the rest of you will do the same.
Thanks Mabel

You have to understand something about Mabel. She and George go on a month vacation after they leave ABC and she still is our most prolific and fastest beader. Here are 6 bracelets she made from Jean Perret's pattern and they are all embellished differently .
That was the one thing about this bracelet. I thought it was very versatile. Notice how she offsets her slide clasps so that when they are fastened they will be exactly lined up. These details are what make her handpainted eggshell and porcelain cabs so beautiful.

Don't you love the flapper button that she bezelled on the black and white one.

Mabel and Linda
Linda found the Bead Society in the Lapidary Journal. She couldn't believe that we actually met in her home town. This was her first ABC . Linda is our resident jeweler.

Here are the gals that we grabbed out of Kathleen Wittmann's class of Netted Christmas Ornaments.
Katy, Slyvia, Libby, Jennifer

Aren't the ornaments beautiful. Kathleen is a perfectionist when it comes to her beading and it shows.

Jean looks like she's having fun. We sure hope so. Jean and Sandy was the second group of mother - daughter groups at ABC7

Here we have Jennifer and Slyvia in the background and Louann and Sandy. All busily shopping at the Argenta Bead Co Extension.
Louann and Sandy were some of our new local gals.

KT, our French Beader
She had the most comprehensive demonstration on Fri. night and we sure enjoyed listening to her history of her style of beading.
Notice the brooch she is wearing on her sweater. She had a great way of finishing her work too.

Dawn Drilingas and Nancy Seegers.
Notice the necklace that Nancy is wearing.

ABC7 - Dawn's finished projects

2006-11-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the pictures I promised that were taken during our ABC7. I have some others that I will post, plus anyone that sends me completed pics. I will put them up here also. Come on guys, lets see what you finished. We all love show and tell.

So far Dawn is the only one to send pictures of her completed projects.

Yeah Dawn!!

Dottie Wood's Matrix for Beaded Brooches
Mabel Thompson's class

Dawn used a blue lace agate cab
A lot of glare so you can't see the striations on the cab

Nancy's Lesson on Herringbone
Nancy Seegers

Jean Perret Lesson
Jean lives in the New Orleans area and was not able to attend but she was kind enough to send her instructions for her Three Drop Peyote Bracelet.

Carolyn's lesson
Beading on wearables using waste canvas.
Carolyn Weatherford

Mabel teaching Dottie Wood's
Building a Matrix for Beaded Brooches
Mabel Thompson

Some of our locals
Flora & Joan

Part of our group from N. Little Rock
Katy & Jennifer

Here are our two Lindas
Linda Landrum & Linda Hirschberg

ABC7

2006-10-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Just spent last weekend with some fanatical beaders like myself at the
Arkansas Bead Society's ABC7
(Arkansas Bead Cave #7).
We had such a good time. It was held at the Community Center which is located on the
Turkey Mountain Golf Course in Horseshoe Bend, AR

The first floor of the building is occupied by Michelle's Restaurant. Michelle caters the 5 meals that are needed for the time spent at the bead cave. She serves very good food.
The beady fellowship plus the great food and the best view in the area
really makes it time well spent.
I will share some pics of the ladies that were there and the projects that were taught when I get them together.
We really make lasting friends at the annual ABCs.

Another picture of our brugmansia

2006-09-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a better picture of one of the brugmansia blooms. I just love it. It is the color of fall pumpkins.

Layne's camo hat

2006-09-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

Layne's camo hat
I know this is not loomed but needled and I wanted to show my son's camo hat.
It is being modeled by Ted.
This was made with Paton's Classic Wool color: Forest. The only thing is it won't puddle (pool) for me. Now that they have yarns that are self striping, of course, I want it to puddle.

Neighbors

2006-09-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

Our Brugmansia
This is a new plant for us to grow. My daughter gave us about 3" of a stem for Christmas last year and this was what we got this summer. It is called Brugsmansia. They are cultivars of many colors, pink, yellow but mine was pumpkin orange. I love it. It is not hardy in my area so we will have to protect it over the winter. It is a relative to the Datura or Jimson Weed.

Have you checked your neighbors lately?

Ted took this picture a couple of miles away from home.
I started to laugh so hard that we had to backtrack about a mile for him to shoot this photo.
What a greeting committee this would be!!

Abby's Hat

2006-09-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

My newest loomed hat on my newest granddaughter.
She has got 'tude.
Isn't she lovely!!!!!

Made on the yellow KK with worsted weight Red Heart

My very first attempts with the Knifty Knitter Looms

2006-08-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

These are some of my very first looming projects: very basic
Thanks to the Loom Class Yahoogroups email list

Hand Bag

Can be used for a book bag
Double strands of acrylic worsted weight yarn

Mesh Bag
Can be used as an eco shopping bag
I choose to use it as a laundry bag
The Mock Crochet stitch is used with Peaches 'n Creme cotton yarn

Eyeglass Case
I think I will use this for a water bottle cover
Double strands of acrylic worsted weight yarn

Looming Ahead

2006-08-26T05:57:00.000-07:00

I have recently acquired the two Knifty Knitter sets and I have designed a hat that is reversible. One way looks like a Mandarin and the other looks like a ski cap. It has been fun making these hats. I am usually a technique collector and not a designer at all, but this hat just kind of happened in my head. Mainly, because I don't like the real bunchy finish at the top when you take the piece off the loom with the needle and yarn and the curling up of the brim. Consequently, I found a way to eliminate these two unwanted conditions. I haven't taken a picture of the hat inside out yet but it is coming soon.