the Akamai Knitter

They Hyper Monkey and I cordially invite you to come on over to our new site appropriately called, The Hyper Monkey.

monkey made by Susan Yeoh-Muranaka

We’re holding a huge moving contest. Don’t miss it!

See you there!

I actually finished this bracelet last night, but it turned out to be over an inch too big with the clasp I chose. So with the moral support of my trusty friend Shelly, I did some surgery on it and now it fits perfectly.

No modeled shot as holding the camera in one hand to take pictures is just too challenging for me today. ;-P

I made one like this before, but I really wanted a purple version. I chose different finishes of basically the same color Swarovski Crystal and silver Charlotte seed beads.

Charlotte seed beads have a “single facet” that really add that extra shazzam I always look for.

Another ingredient that adds extra shazzam is the clasp.

I’ve had that clasp for awhile now and it’s just been waiting for the right moment to be able to fit into the final piece of the puzzle.  The photo doesn’t really portray how well it looks in person though.

Although I love this piece, once again, I’ve failed to impress my furry friend. Maybe it was the suggestion that I make him one as a collar that did it?

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

It is Wednesday right?

Yeah. It’s been one of those weeks.

I promised more FO’s and I try to keep my promises. I probably should have renamed this necklace since this one makes no sense, but I kinda suck at naming things. :P

Anyway, here’s the finished necklace that I worked on for over a week. I got the project out of Bead & Button, Issue No. 96.

I know a lot of you said that I should have left the rope alone. Yes, the rope is very pretty alone.

But I just couldn’t leave it alone.

That area is really only a little over an inch wide, but it took me a couple of days to do.  You just can’t rush that kind of stuff. At least, I can’t.

I love it though and I think it was worth the time because it gives the necklace some shazzam!

I also really love the toggle I got from Auntie’s Beads.

I don’t wear a lot of gold, but for this piece gold just fits.

I want to mention that I got all my seed beads from Clint over at Auntie’s Beads too. He was really helpful and in this day and age great customer service is hard to come by.

So thank you, Clint! I really appreciate your service!

Finally, I thought I’d share crazy Quincy’s fetish with packing paper. He adores the stuff. He attacks it. He sleeps on it.  And apparently he likes to hide out under it.

Cats.

They be crazy.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

I’ve been a bit off kilter lately. I even had to make sure ‘undecided’ was a word.  :P

To remain grounded, I’ve been obsessively seed beading. To that end, I’ve finished some things. I don’t have the energy to pack it all in one post, so I’ll trickle them out in several posts.

The first is the Sky Blue Opalite Necklace.

I finished this over the weekend while waiting for a toggle from Auntie’s Beads. I would have posted this earlier but it’s been a crazy week.  More on that later.

Here’s a detail shot of the Magatama beads and round Swarovski crystals I used to give the rope some zing.

I was originally going to use a lampwork bead as the focal piece of the necklace, but then I found this toggle and I changed my mind.

I’m enamored with the toggle! I adore the toggle! I can’t remember where I got the toggle!

And who knows how long I’ve had it…

The beads are simple Opalite beads I got from an Etsy seller awhile ago. I bought them with  no purpose in mind.

I’m just not sure whether or not the toggle and the beads fit with this particular rope. Thus, I am unsure and undecided

As for the madness that is this week? On Monday the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game was on and my beloved Duke Blue Devils WON. They WON!

Woohoo!

I have many thoughts on the matter, but this isn’t really the place for it. So I’ll just hush up. ;)

On Tuesday I had the extreme pleasure of dining and meeting Megan’s daughter Maddie! Here’s a picture of the two of us.

She is the sweetest thing ever. I had a great time and I feel so blessed to have gotten a chance to meet this special person. I’m just disappointed that I didn’t get to meet her AND Megan at the same time.

You see I also got to meet Megan’s ex-husband because that’s who Maddie is here with, but we won’t go there.

O.o

That’s it for me for today. Happy Wednesday, folks.

Yesterday The Bead Gallery held a Seed Bead Party at their shop which is basically an all day event.

I decided to work on my “Odd Peyote Tube” project. It’s a very simple stitch and beautiful in its own right.

But being me, I decided to add something more to it.

Those are Magatama drop beads. They’re a little tricky to keep in place, but I think they add a nice texture to the necklace without being too distracting.

I’m just about finished with that section and I think I’m also going to add some Swarovski crystals and wear the clasp in the front. I’ll probably chose a nice toggle. I also have a lampwork bead to hang from the toggle, but I think I’ll save that for the final unveiling.

This project will probably be put on the back burner as I’m trying to finish the Multiple Choice necklace, but I think this is good incentive for me to finish what I have in front of me.

Scheyer finds seed beads absolutely scintillating.

Sorry for the crappy night shot, but he looked so cute cuddled against my cardigan.

I hope you all had a great weekend! I sure did! GO DUKE!

/ahem