I've been mostly lurking on my groups this past week. Not much work on the computer. This picture shows what I have been doing. I am absolutely fascinated by these little artworks. They take relatively little time to make and can be enjoyed by wearing them as a pin or as a pendant. The fun part is I get to teach how to make them for my Bead Society in January and then we will have a challenge. However, they tell me I can't be in it. Not fair I say! Actually, I don't mind. My goal this year is to show as many people as possible the joys of bead embroidery.
I actually have created a monster. I showed a friend how to do the stitches and she has just finished her second piece. Both her cuff and the necklace frontpiece are gorgeous! She definitely has an eye for color combinations and her beading is exquisite. Can't ask for a better student than that.
Guess I'd best get back to beading. Have lots of Christmas presents to make yet.
I hope everyone has a fun, joyful Thanksgiving.
As part of A Day of Sharing of Words, I offer this poem I wrote some years ago. It is called "A Soul at Rest".
I hear a soft whisper of sound
That repeats itself endlessly.
The wet sand is firm,
But my footprints soon disappear,
Fading into nothingness.
Down the shore, the sandpipers step quietly
Looking for food.
A wave comes in, frothy with white foam.
As it sneaks back into the ocean,
It leaves half buried bits of pearlized treasures.
A distant headland juts out into deep water, impossibly blue.
As a soft breeze drifts through the cypress trees,
My soul rests.
These are a few of the new goodies I brought back from my trip to Oakland and the BABE show. It was a great show; 30 more vendors than last year. What was nice is they opened up a larger area so it wasn't crowded. Of course, these stone cabs are marvelous and I can't wait to use them. I found a wonderful variety of stones this year. In the second picture are lampwork beads by Grace Ma. In addition to being exquisite, they are flat on the back and perfect for bead embroidery. Wish I could have bought more. Of course I bought the requisite seed beads by the tube-ful. I found wonderful mixes at Whim and Glass Garden and I surprised myself when I bought so many neutrals this time.
I also bought a ton of vintage at Empyrean Beads.
My classes were terrific. I took an all day class from Christi Friesen working on necklace components. I always learn so much from her and we laughed all day long. I also took a Jewelry Photography class that was so interesting that even though I promised myself I wouldn't buy a Cloud Dome, I did anyway. So much for will power.
Several of us got together for dinner on Thursday evening before the show. We had lots of giggles and fun catching up with each other's lives.
When I got home, I found several packages waiting for me, too. Things I had ordered before the show. Lots of nailheads and other new beads. I also received some great face molds from Sweetbriar. Can't wait to get the clay out and play. 
One of the nicest things to happen at BABE is that I was able to finally meet my friend Doris in person. We met online and have corresponded for the better part of a year now. We were able to have lunch and get to know each other better.
I finished Fire last night except for the edge and that is started already. This was a particularly satisfying page to work on. I love the outdoors and dread the coming of fire season every year. Too many trees are lost to carelessness and the loss of homes and lives is tremendous. Thousands of people's lives are changed within hours when one of these firestorms starts. This past year has been particularly bad in California with all the lightning fires. Our firefighters are overworked and exhausted, but they continue to forge ahead with each new fire that starts. Just when the summer fire season is over, the Santa Ana winds start in southern California and we are off again. This page is meant to represent the tragic losses suffered due to fire. 
Guess I'd best get back to beading. Have lots of Christmas presents to make yet.
