Pearl and face knotting: a craft of concentration

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    Often people want to knot pearl or other bead necklaces to preserve the beads once a string breaks. Nita found dynamic Suzanne to teach the Beadsprouts, our group which meets every Thursday for lunch and chatting while we design bracelets and neckware.

     We arrived with tweezers (available at craft stores or drugstores for splinters), some silk beading cord with a needle attached (from craft or bead store), pearls or beads to practice on, a clamshell to hide the beginning knot, and some jeweler's glue. We made simple overhand knots, inserted the tweezers and pulled the knot next to the bead...all better seen on this video at YouTube. One can learn so many skills at YouTube.

      I was so amused by the deep concentration of my fellow beaders that I thought I must capture their knotted determination while out in the fields beyond, creatures munched with equal determination on spring that finally arrived! This facility in knotting will increase the variety of necklaces that we can make. Good idea, Nita; and thanks, Suzanne!

Unexpected Guests/Additions: A Journal Quilt

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   This past weekend we drove to Maine to visit friends and stopped off in Bath for lunch at the Kennebec Tavern and to visit the Maine Maritime Museum where US Navy ships are built. (They have a lovely website with photos and commentary.) Happily we came upon a fabulous quilt shop a block away that had fabrics, including moose, that I had never seen.

(Original draft :*)

   Last week, Nita*, a beader, was taking an early morning walk in our suburb and found on her aunt's grounds, a 10-point moose.They just stared at each other in admiration. Makes you wonder why some want to shoot. With a camera, yes! Later, I understand a bear was spotted in a tree nearby. We are talking about 1/4 mi from the center of town. Given Nita's excitement, this had to be a journal quilt. Long live the gifts of nature.

*Click on Nita's name in Labels below, to go to a special necklace she created in an earlier posting, June 10, 2010!

Correction: Nita phoned to say it was a DEER. Live and learn or listen better :*) Corrected journal quilt at top of page.

Making Music at Beading

Thursday is beading day. Nancy and Nita made necklaces, I put together five sets of earrings, and the other Linda worked on her charity quilt. Two of us were on the road. Nita's necklace looked good on me and my birthday is coming up! She found these beads in Belmont; strung them on a strong but flexible wire; put little stones between the big ones; added clasps, stringing the wire through crimpers, the clasp circle and back through the crimper to hide the end of the wire in the bead. After testing, she will crimp (squeeze the little crimper "beads" with the proper tool) and cut off the beading wire to a length to hide it in a bead at both ends of the necklace. I saw something similar but not so pretty or perfect for moi as this in Tiffany's window.

At each of our plates, Nita, placed her fifth grade granddaughter's new CD. How neat that Emma can write songs and sing so thoughtfully at her age. Emma rocks!

Of course, I may have to make a bird like this out of heavy clay. Just love robin redbreasts toting campanula! And there were baby birds in a house outside of Nita's front door, sweet mouths wide open.

Craftsy Concentration

It was a craftsy week, starting out Monday talking and stitching with friends over lunch and coffee until today when I dropped by the grandchildren's to pick up Beth's unfinished needlepoint (she and the grands were doing ribbon weaving projects), to have more than blind contour drawing to do at these sessions. I should get out the needlepoint bookmarks I made from scratch to give everyone a canvas so we can design our own. Susan was doing Matisse!

In the studio for two days, I filled two giant garbage cans with files of 40 years. Joe was so happy that I can walk through and almost paint there! Found some jewels to save. And at the other end of experience, the entrance to beading at Nita's today had these electric azalea bushes. Was it the rains as she claims or her devoted gardening.

After stopping at the grandchildren's, I went to Adrienne Robinson's to see her portrait quilts and her newly published book! It is beautiful. Her Creation Myth book is hot off the press and available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I am so proud of her. Coming up soon is a self-portrait quilt workshop with Clara Wainwright (with whom Adrienne created faith quilts after 9/ll and self-portraits) at the Cape Anne Museum, both the museum and artist a special treat.