the Akamai Knitter

Last night I took a small one hour class at The Bead Gallery and we learned how to make these.

bead treat rings

Despite the acrobatics involved, it only took about an hour to make both rings. Talk about instant gratification!

I needed help from the person next to me to hold the ring mandrel as I wrapped the wire around it and I felt quite clumsy. I was all elbows and, being a lefty,  two right hands.

flower bead with bali spacer

Despite the contortions involved, I wanted to run home and make more! Unfortunately the shop was out of ring mandrels. I’ll just have to learn patience and bide my time.

large pearl

You’d think with all the crafts that I do I’d be a very patient person, but it’s really quite the opposite. I knit while I wait so I don’t explode. And while I do choose projects that require some patience, they hold my attention because the process is fascinating. Once the process ceases to intrigue me though, I leave it on the wayside.

How patient are you?

Finally, a gratuitous photo of two of my boys sleeping on my bed from last night. It’s a rare occassion to have them both on the bed with me. Rarer still for me to be able to grab the camera and not disturb them. Too bad I had to use the icky flash.

sammy and scheyer

Happy Thursday everyone! Thanks for reading!

Saturday was my little bead show and while I had a grand time hanging out with friends I hadn’t seen in about 10 years, sales weren’t all that spectacular. It was a very small and private show, so I didn’t go in it with high expectations. (I was a bad blogger and I forgot my camera.)

Despite the low expectations, I’m still a little disappointed by the lack of sales. Insecurity has always been a strong point with me. I really am trying not to let it bring me down though and as soon as my camera battery recharges, there will be a big update to the shop.

Even though I have a more then good enough inventory of jewelry, I can’t seem to stop with the jewelry making. Last night I decided to try a tutorial from the Beading Daily website.

nameless bracelet

I about killed my hands working with half hard wire instead of the dead soft wire that the project called for, but I have a ton of the stuff on hand and I’m determined to use it up. I think I’m going to come up with something else for it in the future though. The tool marks on this piece are terrible and it will probably need to spend a long while in the rock tumbler to make it pretty. And really? I need my hands.

Sammy continues to grow. There was a time when he was able to curl up on top of this cat condo and have room to spare. Not so much these days.

growing sammy

Happy Monday everyone! I hope all you Americans had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I hope the rest of you had a fantastic weekend!