A Beaded Shoulder Bag

I am not very good at just sitting still. I admire the fact that some people can do so and be very happy. I, on the other hand, am always a busy beaver.

I recently purchased a nice shoulder bag from IKEA to use as a carrying case for my little netbook, but the design was not at all me. SOMETHING had to be done! So after a short search I found the perfect fabric at a quilting store.Red is really not my color, and the red of the bag is very particular, like a little kid on a hot afternoon who has had too much sugar and not enough "real" food to have a reasonable response to anything.

But this fabric jumped right up, waved its hand frantically and said that she was the perfect candidate, and indeed, she was. I took her home, quiltered her a bit with bright green thread and then broke out the box of bead (well, a whole case of beads, actually).

Each week while Ellie danced, I carefully picked my way through my beads, carefully pouring the desired colors into tiny silicone bows. I used a tiny, short quilting needle to do the work. Ande even though I could see the finished project in my head, it was still like magic slowly appearing on my fabric.

It was interesting to see how much interest the red, the quilting and especially the beads commanded. People were often drawn in, hesitent to touch for fear that it was not the right thing to do, and very animated when I invited them to amble their fingers over the small, round seed beads, to follow the shaft of a bugle bead and to compare what each beaded design felt like. It was fun for me, too. Most people remark that they do not have the kind of patience it takes to do such a project. I suspect they just don't know the kind of joy it brings, either. Even the neighbor's cat, Gorham, was drawn in by the glimmer of the beads in the fading afternoon sun. She apologised for being being late to the photoshoot, smoothed out her ruffled fur and then jumped in, posing like a pro.

Do you think I might get a few extra pats on the super soft fur before you trot off, my dear?

Beads for School - Silent Auction Items I've made

I had a fun time making jewelry for the silent action at AVS. I hope people bid on them.

Two sizes of green, yellow, orange, red and opal seed beads on illusion filament. This is inspired by the colors on some of my favorite skirts from Coldwater Creek.


Purple, Lavender, and Dark Purple Swavorki Beads interspersed with silver chain. Purple is my favorite color and, like a raven, I am always drawn to the shiny beads when I visit a bead store. This style is fashioned after the most often sold necklaces that Bead Haven makes to sell. She tells me she can never keep them for more than a few days before they are sold.


Funky Silver metal beads with black Swavorski crystals. I love funky, unusual earrings. These remind me both of some very old, fun earrings I own as well as my young friend Ari who loves to do the whole Steam Punk scene. I think he would appreciate these.


Funky triangle swirls with silver hearts and lavender swirl beads (Matches the necklace below.) I love anything with swirls so these begged to go home with me.


Modern beaded necklace with lavender swirl beads and a silver medallion with fauna drawing. (Matches the earrings above.)This is fashioned after a friend's necklace. Kirsten wore it to Snow Mountain Ranch and I was distracted when I talked with her because I wanted to examine it. She graciously lent it to me so that I could fashion a likeness with what I had on hand.


Floating Magic Bead Necklace. This one is inspired by a necklace with fake pearls and rhinestones that I purchased for Ellie to wear with one of her cotillion dresses. Like the crystals, I seem to have to have some of these each time I go to the bead store. Once upon a time they were easy to find, now I am lucky to find even a few.


Which do you like best? I'm finding it hard to place a beginning bid price.