the Akamai Knitter

A couple of weeks ago I started a Twisted Ndebele/Herringbone piece just for practice. I thought I’d make a bracelet out of it, but then I thought I might as well make a necklace since that might make a dent in my stash. It didn’t, but that’s another story.

Once I was done, I felt the piece needed something more. So I made a little enhancer.

What’s nice about the enhancer is that you can slide it right off!

That little piece took me about 3 hours to make. What I did was make a peyote ring, then I embellished it by adding each bead/crystal/pearl/whatever one at a time.

Once it was done you better believe I did a big happy dance in my living room.

Finally,  here’s the second in a series of three photographs starring Quincy. You can see he’s heard the camera on him!

Happy Friday, everyone! Have a great weekend!

I’ve been positively lazy the past few days. There’s been attempts at knitting, crocheting, and some wireworking.  All of which have resulted in the realization that my thumb still needs more rest.  So I continue with activities that are less taxing on my injured digit, like spinning and seed beading.

I don’t have much handspun to show yet, but I finally finished a leaf component in black and sewed one of the Trillium Flowers to it.

I like this much more then I do the white. I’ve always been more partial to black then white though.

I can finally show off some knitting I did before the thumb injury. Here are my first pair of Fetchings that I made for my friend Lisa.

I used Malabrigo Merino Worsted and boy was it a pleasure to work with such a nice yarn.  More details are on my Ravelry project page if you’re interestesd.

Another gift I can now share is a pair of earrings I whipped up for my friend Blogless Barbara. The project idea came from the magazine Easy Wire and it’s one of those things that made me want to slap my forehead and say “why didn’t I think of that?!”

Quincy is just ecstatic over all the jewelry fun.

Happy Tuesday, everyone.  Thanks for all the well wishes. They’re truly appreciated. :)

I was a little hesitant about blogging today as I’m in a funky mood. My thumb is still not happy and I’m still not able to knit. I’m also not able to crochet which I really need to do as I still have gifts to make.

I really thought I could do it too. So I worked hard to switch gears to crochet mode, but after just one row I knew that it was a bust.

Hopefully a week of doubling my anti-inflammatory will beat that thumb back into submission. Fingers crossed, mmmkay?

The thing of it is, I’m having a hard time switching gears back to beading. I think I’ve lost the bead love.

First, let me reassure you the beading doesn’t hurt my thumb. I don’t move my thumb when I bead. Thus it doesn’t hurt my thumb.

Moving on. Or backward. Or whatever.

I met up with a bunch of friends at The Whole Bead Show on Saturday. I was a good girl too! I was under budget by the time we went to lunch.

Here’s the majority of the beads I bought. (The rest of what I got will have to be revealed at a later date for a special unveiling. I like to be all mysterious and stuff.)

I have plans for maybe half the beads there, but the icy blue beads? They were just too pretty to pass up. :)

As for losing the bead love? I think it’s because of this.

In my mind, the white is just all wrong. It makes the piece look anemic. I think I’m going to go to the other extreme and use black.

The problem is that flower is already sewn securely onto the “petal” piece. So I’m going to have to make another flower. That has me a little frustrated.

Also, what am I going to do with that? Maybe I’ll make a pin and do a give away. Maybe someone will like it.

Now I’m just rambling.

Here’s Sammy looking none too happy himself.

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope your holiday celebrations were wonderful and that you’re all recovering nicely. :)

For those who can remember, that’s the theme song to Three’s Company. I’ve had that stuck in my head all morning and it’s making me a bit cranky. I’m trying to chase it away with some 30 Seconds To Mars, but so far it’s a no go.

Maybe I just need to turn the music up louder.

Moving on.

I hurt my thumb while i was  speed knitting over the weekend so all knitting activity has been put on hold until it’s healed properly. I’m not sure what I did, but I see a doctor on Friday. It’s feeling a LOT better today then it did yesterday though.

Still, I’ve now become hyper-focused on the tiny beads.

I’m making open shaped components from the book “Shaped Beadwork” by Diane Fitzgerald. That woman is just the awesome when it comes to beadwork.  I’ve always admired her work and this book just blows my mind away.

I’m starting small with these open shapes and working up to the shapes with bezels in them. The bezels. They scare me.  (The front cover shapes have bezels.)

I’ve actually had this book for awhile now, but the whole thing kind of intimidated me. It wasn’t until I went to lunch with a bunch of my girls this past Saturday that I decided to just go for it.

My friend Helen is the one who inspired me in particular. She’s not afraid of learning new things, doing new things, meeting new people. Anything.  She’s always has the sweetest disposition and a smile for everyone. So not only does she inspire me in my beadwork, she inspires me in life.

Here’s a picure of the two of us this past Saturday. It’s a little grainy because it was taken with a cell phone, but I think Helen looks beautiful!

Elaine made us hold up our hands to show off our jewelry. Heehee.

So who inspires you?

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I almost wrote Tuesday…..  o.O

Also.. if you’ve been earwormed, remember there’s a huge ocean between most of you and me.

I’m still recovering from the weekend. Forgive my scattered thoughts.  But do you remember that tangle of yarn vomit? Look at it now!

It arrived yesterday in a box and it wasn’t alone. Look what else the Yarn Angel sent me!

I have all sorts of ideas in my noggin for these beauties.

Meanwhile, I started a bracelet for me over the weekend while I was at a jewelry workshop. The colors I chose are rather surprising for those who know me.

Shocking isn’t it? All that pink!I even bought a pink shirt. I even wore it out.

Yes. I’ve decided to just embrace my inner girly girl.

Also, I’ve listed new earrings in the Etsy  Shop!

and the Artfire Shop!

So far I’ve had zero sales in the Artfire shop.  I’ve decided to give it six months. If nothing comes of it, then I’m moving everything to Etsy.  I figure that I’ll have at least tried something new.

I’ve changed up the blog a bit. I got tired of seeing all the gray. I’m not sure how much I like the red, but I’m going to keep this up for at least a week to see how I like it.

Finally, Quincy has found a new place to nap.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!