Okay so I love my new iPhone. Maybe (?) y'all will hear from me a bit more often. Although fat fingers suck.

Waiting, waiting, waiting

So, the people who know me best have already said it: I know when your work load at UT increases becuase you stop blogging. Well, YES, that is exactly the case. I can often sneak in an update at lunch, but I'm so busy right now that it's "what lunch?" Really sitting at my desk catching up on emails while I slurp down soup, usually.

But right now I'm waiting on the timer to ding telling me that once more I'll be able to face the world without gray roots. I do occasionally thinking about saying "oh to hell with it" and letting the gray come, but I always think the transition would be terrible. Kind of like on ongoing score: gray, 1/2 inch, blondish, 10 inches; gray 1.5 inches, blondish 8.5 inches - and so on. I just don't think I can do that. Maybe if I were a stay at home person and could just don a cap on the outside visits...anyway.

The bead show was terrific as always. I get to see everybody that I only see once or twice a year. I actually count them ALL as friends - I'm pretty sure I could call on any of my bead buds for anything and get it (exceptions, of course!). It's a wonderful, comfortable, loosely tight-knit community, if that makes sense. Sales were much better than I expected given this economy thing. So, if you bought or if you just stopped by to say "hi," thanks!

I'm taking a class with Holly Cooper next weekend at Blue Moon. Too lazy to do the link thing (how sad is that) but you can easily google her. I just LOVE her style of beads, maybe especially as I do a lot of scroll work myself.

Beep beep beep! There goes the timer - later!

Kim Fields

Got home late last night from a two-day Kim Fields class. Having Blue Moon Glassworks in Austin is a double-edged sword: I get to take from some of the very best bead artists, but I stay broke!

This class was on sculptural birds. We made a transparent beginning-of-the-class bird, an owl, a pudgie, and a bunting. Here's a photo of the owl steps - it's really nice when the beadmaker provides this kind of reference:



My owl came out pretty good, and my "gift" from the class was the owl that Kim demonstrated. I think I'll make it up for Tony because it's one of those few beads that can work as a "guy" bead. And, here's Kim working on it....



I'll try to get my ass in gear to get a couple of pictures of the ones I made, although the bunting is still at Blue Moon. Also, Jim is really good about posting pictures of the class beads, and you can see the ones everybody made, so if I don't get them up go check out Blue Moon for photos. Now, I need to get my butt up off this chair and go make beads!

The road to hell is paved with good intentions

but not with pictures of beads. At least not from my camera. The last few days have been completely nuts, so very few beads made Saturday, and absolutely no photos.

I'm off to Blue Moon in a bit to start a class with Kim Fields - my camera battery is charging right now, promise.

More later!

Bead pixs soon....

Good Saturday at the torch; pictures to follow.

Big honkin' beads

I’ve been reorganizing/rearranging the bead room a bit. It’s just so hard to find space for beads, books about beads, a table to use to photograph beads….and what’s really ironic is that beads – even the “honkers” – are really little ol’ things. Can you imagine if my hobby was cars?





Here are pictures of the two biggest (I think) beads I own. The purple one (a whopping 3.25 inches long) is by Jennifer Geldard (to the best of my memory…) and the red/purple one (over 2 inches long and more than an inch wide) is by Michelle Waldren, who STILL doesn’t have a website, but does have an Etsy shop.

What's funny is that 3" really doesn't seem that long - but when you see a 3" long bead...wow.

At last the weekend

The weekend again. I’ve really enjoyed working a modified flex time schedule over the summer. I was able to work 9-hour days, which “earned” me an afternoon off, and then work from home on Friday mornings. The upshot is that one blissful day a week I didn’t have to make the daily commute. I always get up early, so I could make coffee, feed the girls, and be on the computer by 6:30 or so. Which means that I could be through with work by 10:30 or 11 – and the rest of the day was mine. Alas, that’s not an option once the kids come back….It’s truly amazing how much longer three days feels than two….Anyway, gotta torch my butt off tomorrow. I have the Kim Fields class next week, and sometimes the first day on the torch isn’t particularly productive following a class….