Beaded Ring

 I have been working on beading a ring. It is called a Toggle Ring. The artist is Sabine Lippert. This is the complete ring with a square on it.

 Then you can remove the square and place a circle on the ring.

Or a triangle. It makes a very interesting ring.

Another one Done

You can see that I haven't been sewing. This is my second completed project from the Bead Retreat that I attended this summer. It is a bracelet designed by Laura McCabe. This was definitely a challenge. I am enjoying doing something other then sewing. I guess I needed a vacation. I do have a bathing suit cut out for the future. This should be a challenge also as I have not ever made one before. I have one more project from the Bead Retreat to complete. So we will see which wins out.

I will be taking off tomorrow for San Jose, California to attend the PenWAG wearable art group. I will be attending a 2 1/2 day workshop with Kathryn Brenne making our own pants pattern. I am looking forward to seeing how to make pants fit.

The group always has a sale of donated stash fabric in December with a potluck. I have really cleaned out my stash this year and have 13 plastic bags to take up for the sale. I still have many more pieces left for my creative spirit to take on in the future.

Back from my trips

 First I went to Ireland and was able to stay with my friend Fiona's parents on their farm. This is one of the old buildings that was along the coast on a drive we took.

 We climbed up to a old burial site and you could see how green and beautiful Ireland is.

 We took a trip into Dublin and spent a day touring the city. These are sculptures that are done to remind people of the times that Ireland went through starvation.

 Then I went to Edinburgh, Scotland for four days. Of course, I was quite delighted that I could find the local fabric shop.

 I was home for four days and then I flew to Minnesota to spend sometime with my family. I was a little early for the autumn leave, but saw a few.

 Then I joined my friend Fiona and her family who were mostly from Ireland and watch her run in the Twin Cities Marathon as a Global Hero. She won along with 24 other Global Heroes around the world that Medtronics flew in for the race. They all have devices that help them control some health issue and so it is quite a feet to be able to run a race. Their stories were so inspirational. It told us that you can do anything against many odds if you don't give up.

 Then in a week I attended a beach retreat. It was the perfect time to have this come in my life. I needed a little rest and time to get my energy back. All of my trips were so wonderful and I feel blessed to have been able to go on them.

 After that heavy schedule I have needed some down time. Beading seemed like a good relaxing creative adventure for me. I am so happy I have now completed my first project that was introduced to me in the bead retreat that I attended in July.

 These are the squash that I picked from my garden. It is the first time I have tried squash and it looks like it is a success. This should hold us for the winter.

A New Collar

My second beaded collar. This one is special because the black stone was a cuff link of my Fathers. He doesn't wear his cuff links any more so I am going to put some into my jewelry that I make.

Beading

You can see that I have switched from my usual creations. I haven't beaded for awhile and have collected so many beautiful beads. It feels good to work in the detail it takes to bead. I have never beaded a collar before. It is labor intense. It took three weeks of about three to four hours most days. The design is free form. I created the earings to match. I am working on another one now and will be showing that when it is finished.