Monday Update

I have decided to start the week off with an update of what I've completed (or not) & what I have in progress, it will help me keep track of whether or not I'm achieving anything.

Beading - I made a really quick & cute necklace with a peyote & brick stitch leaf pendant & a plated neckwire. No pics yet, will post in the week. I have also started a larger project which is an embellished peyote collar with flowers & fringe etc. The design is by Lynn Davy (Nemeton) & is called the rose garden from Bead magazine issue 8. I am using a mix of lilac/purple beads and I am happy with the work so far. I hope to get pics soon for that too.

Knitting - Ah yes knitting , apart from buying yarn I haven't really done much except rip out a perfectly pretty half knitted dublin bay sock in a snit fit last week and cast on for a pair of jaywalkers, better get a move on.

Ahem....

So I might not be able to go to Wonderwool but I can still shop online. Hellooo, Loopy Ewe. I ordered some Lime n Violet, Chameleon Colourworks, Shubui Knits, Fleece Artist, Jay Knits & Hand Maiden. Woohoo, can't wait for it to get here!

Don't Forget - Pay it Forward

I've loved the whole concept of Pay it Forward ever since I first saw it appearing in blogland, & now I can join in. I have signed up to Freebirds PIF and here is mine. The 1st 3 people to comment to this post and pledge to Pay it Forward to 3 readers on their own blogs will receive a handmade gift from me within 365 days of signing up. It might be beaded, it might be knitted or it might be something completely different, who knows?As my blog is very new and as far as I know I have only had one visitor, I will periodically copy this post until I have reached my goal of three sign ups.

Waaah!

Can't go to Wonderwool after all. NOT HAPPY!

Only 5 days to go!

to Wonderwool Wales!

I can't wait. I am trying to decide what I want to buy. My budget had severely decreased as I went shopping for an outfit to wear to a wedding yesterday. I can almost hear my bank manager weeping! In order to make the most of my money I thought I should make a list of patterns I want to make and just buy what I need for those. Bit depressing though since the Natural Dye Studio, Posh Yarns and Fybrespates will all be there with yummy sock yarns!

Here Goes Bold means I need to buy at ww)
Corazon Mitts (Knitty) - Yarn in stash , red & cream rowan pure wool
Foliage Hat - Malabrigo Worsted, First4 Yarns will have some
Hedera - Natural Dye Studio Merino Tencel, Orange or Yellow

Gotta go bath the squidlet now, will edit and add more later.

Socks Mad

3 years ago I had a serious bout of beaders block, I didn't bead for about 6 months and started to knit instead. Thankfully I got back to beading but still kept knitting on the back burner. Last November I decided to have a go at knitting socks, BAD IDEA! I am now just as obsessed with sock-knitting as I am beading which makes it difficult to balance the 2 time-wise. So far I have knitted 2 pairs of Monkey socks, 1 pair of simple rib socks, 1 pair of Hedera (for my Aunt), 1 pair of Primavera socks and I currently have a pair of Embossed Leaves and RPM's on the needles. So when I have finished the 2 pairs on the needles I will have knitted 7 pairs of socks. I would really like to make 20 pairs by November, that's 6 months to go, so I'll need to double my sock output to reach that goal. Yikes, that's quite a challenge, oh well nothing ventured nothing gained, I see quite a few pairs of child's socks in my future!

Pay It Forward

I've loved the whole concept of Pay it Forward ever since I first saw it appearing in blogland, & now I can join in. I have signed up to Freebirds PIF and here is mine. The 1st 3 people to comment to this post and pledge to Pay it Forward to 3 readers on their own blogs will receive a handmade gift from me within 365 days of signing up. It might be beaded, it might be knitted or it might be something completely different, who knows?

As my blog is very new and as far as I know I have only had one visitor, I will periodically copy this post until I have reached my goal of three sign ups.

Back to Basics - Black & White & Red All Over

This week I decided to go back to basics with my beadwork . When I first started beading, peyote was the bane of my existence & I absolutely dreaded learning tubular peyote, but it turned out not to be too scary after all! I haven't used the stitch for a while so I decided to make some beaded beads using black 11's & red & white size 8 Toho's, I made 5 and then threaded them onto some knotted suedette cord. So simple but pretty effective!

My next back to basic tubular peyote is using silver lined crystal 11's & blue delica's, the size difference is not so obvious and therefore the tube doesn't have the nice sculptural quality of this piece, might just have to be a test piece destined for the scrap box!

My Reason for Being (well blogging at least)

Since September 2007, it seems that my life has been out of control. Some serious family illness and the death of my father have obviously had a huge impact on me. I have been seriously stressed out and struggling with my creativity.

I have recently returned to my meditation practice as a way of seeking calm and clarity and learning to live in the moment. Even when I am crafting, I often focus on negative issues in my mind instead of simply focusing on what I am creating.

I am hoping to blog about the progress I make in developing my creativity and I will also discuss my meditation practice or lack there of.

Wish me luck!