September 30, 2010

Not very Interesting

I went to the Bay of Fundy to see this; a Tidal Bore. Not exactly what I had envisioned when I was about 12 years old. I guess my younger self thought it would be more of a wall of water rushing along. OK, I waited 54 years to see the ocean run upstream in the Bay of Fundy. I can cross it off of my life list of things to see and do!



The fossil beaches in the Joggins area of Nova Scotia were quite interesting and I could have spent many more hours combing the beaches for interesting tidbits.



We had to watch the tides as there is about a 30 ft difference between high tide and low tide. If not careful, you could find yourself all the way around the bank to the right with no way to get back without swimming.


Here's a record of what was growing many years ago in the dawn of time. Beautiful fossil patterns in the shale.






Like sea glass, these pieces of coal have been washed, smoothed and rounded by the water and tide action. I thought they might make a different and interesting pendant with a beaded bezel. I need to figure out if they would be hard enough to withstand the wear.






Not everyone is interested in the flotsam that washes up. I am and came home with rocks, rusted iron and pieces of driftwood. I guess if I ever find them in the way I can burn them for a bit of warmth.

I like what NanC Meinhardt does with sticks and beads. I may well try my hand at some freeform beading around one of these pieces of driftwood.



I could show you many more photos of water and scenery, but it
was my vacation and I hate to bore people with loads of vacation photos. I'll leave you with one beautiful touch of color on a very gray day. Nice wooden chairs, painted great colors.

September 29, 2010

Trip Finds

Just a quick post with a couple of things I found on my recent mini-vacation. We just got back and I really don't feel like moving much after driving to Canada and sight seeing for a week. I'm going to have to get going sometime today as the larder is bare; as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard.

I'm in LOVE, in love with the Lucite that Beadin' Path in Maine stocks. I see them at the shows, but it is so much more enjoyable to visit the store and walk the wall of Lucite arranged by color. I can pick, choose, fondle, put back and find things that take my fancy. And, I can do it in quiet, surrounded by other beading things.

Here is what came home with me. The Deco polygon drops (at the top) in orange, sage and pink are going into the next bead crocheted lariat I make for myself. However, in the light of day, in my studio . . . I'm wondering what possessed me to get 30 silver drop shapes that now remind me of the old soda pop tops? Must be something like comfort food, reminding me of my youth. What would you do with these silver thingies?

I met a knife sharpener at the Farmer's Market on Prince Edward Island. He had some vintage, sharp edged things for sale in his booth. I got an interesting historic perspective on North American knife makers from him as well as a beautiful pair of shears for the unheard of price of $20. I don't need any more shears, especially this large, but they were a thing of beauty. They fit my hand and cut cleanly all the way down the tip. You can see their size against my regular Gingher sewing shears. Ah well, maybe I can just hang them on my studio wall and just enjoy them for the fine tool they are.
All of the other trip photos are still on my travel camera which is still in the car. I'll share more later.

September 21, 2010

Oh Dear . . .Peaches, Bead Book & Vacation

I'm feeling pushed. Somehow too many things have come down to needing to be done TODAY!I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow morning to go see the Bay of Fundy - be gone a week.

Meanwhile Laundry needs to be done, fridge cleaned out, mail put on hold for a week, suitcases packed, and sundry other life things. So, along comes a gift of another bushel of local peaches . . . they are not perfect and dead ripe. They also won't hold in the house for a week.

I gave away 2/3rds of them and still had a lot left. I spent yesterday evening making another batch of peach salsa and peach hot pepper jelly.



This morning I'm wondering if this peach hot pepper jelly will set up. If it doesn't I'll have to find a use for hot pepper syrup. Don't think it would be good over ice cream.






Bead Crochet eBook
I've hit a milestone in getting my "Triangular Bead Crochet Ropes" book done. The copy is off to the Editor and my layout person is expecting all of it on her desk the first week in October.


This is the other part of feeling pushed . . . I'm only 1/3 of the way done with all of the photos for the book. When I was supposed to be doing photography, I was dealing with peaches.

I hate being hurried as that is when you make mistakes and compromises you later regret. So I guess we'll see how far I get today between life's other chores.

I have some really great bead faeries. They help out by testing patterns and making samples. This is one of their samples. This is one of the projects and ropes in the eBook. Isn't this Triangle Twist bracelet a simple, beautiful color combination. It would also be great with coral and turquoise for the fall.

Hopefully the November 15th publication date is still a good one. I'll have definitive information here on the blog when the time comes closer.
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Now back to work and hope I can cram it all into today's time frame. Then off to relax and look at the scenery driving north, up the coast of Maine, New Brunswick and into Nova Scotia.

September 6, 2010

3rd Book Teaser

I think I've twisted my brain with this one. It's taken me three tries to work one bead bug out of it so that it's a smooth transition from triangle to twist all the way around and back again.... 3 different colored sides.

It's the last pattern page in the book and I was sure that it would do what I graphed it to do. That is until I woke up in the middle of the night and just had to string it one more time to make sure I didn't have a brain flip and get something wrong. I'd much rather be sure myself than have a book owner frustrated with a pattern that doesn't work because of my mistake.

These primary colors look neat and show off what's happening with this bead crocheted rope. However I can see it done with metallic base beads and maybe freshwater pearl drops. It would be an eye catcher, "how ever did you do that?" type of bracelet.

I'm still on schedule for an early November eBook publication. I have a great Editor making sure that the i's are dotted. My Graphics Gal has saved me layout time in October unless they come in first in a Korean Design contest. You'd think I had more pull with my daughter, the Graphics Gal!