Now that The nights have started to cool down just a touch and Fall is just around the corner, I thought it would be nice to have a bit of Summer Green to help keep warm thoughts through the cold months to come. I love all of the seasons, but I admit I am a bit of a sissy when it comes to being cold.
I have always had a thing for cutesy.
I've also always loved bees.
So when you combine cutesy and bees: I'm tickled pink!
This pattern will work up very quickly and is a great beginner project.
An aside:
My husband, Steve, has started bee keeping since March and our busy bees have been working hard to get ready for the winter. We won't be able to harvest any honey until next year, but I have already been making plans for both the honey and bees wax! (I love to do batik!)
My youngest daughter, Virginia, has joined Steve in the hobby as well, and has the cutest little bee keeper suit ever. She is ten, but already helps Steve with checking the hive and working with the bees.
The most amazing thing to me: Bees are sold by the pound! and come in a buzzing box! It was a small box, made of wood and screen. The Queen came in her own little box about the size of a match box. There was a plug made of wax, that would let the worker bees "chew her out!" Since it would take a couple of days for the queen to get free, it would give the hive and queen time to settle down and get used to each other.
I just wanted to let everyone know I added a few more patterns to the 2010 bead quilt patterns album.
I have to tell everyone right now, that trying to get an image that looks anything like a turtle is hard! I got more amorphous junk every time I tried to do anything with detail. I finally sighed, and decided to "let go."
So most of the turtle images will be very simple. I usually can work in the small, 1.5 inch format, without too much agony. I have found that using the "colouring book method" works pretty well. But I will have to confess that this time I just couldn't get the image to cooperate.
I have decided to endeavor to persevere; I will not give up! So hopefully I will have more in the next week.
I finally added a bunch of turtle patterns for using in the bead quilt. The link for the entire album is below.
album of bead quilt patterns for 2010
Okay folks! - It's that time again! - Time for the new patterns for the Bead it Forward Bead Quilt project. This is a project to raise monies for breast cancer research.
The theme this year is Turtles!
I promise I will be posting many more in the next few days, but here's my first one.
If you'd like to learn more about this project you need to go to Jeanette Shanigan's site, or the Beady Shanigans yahoo group. (A great bunch of folks!)
Okay - I have to admit I am loving the chickens! -- They have been funny and entertaining WAY more than I ever expected. At one point, when they were still peeps, my youngest looked over and said, "You know mom, they're better than T.V.!"
So here is a portrait of Bossy Boy, our rooster. (He was supposed to be a girl! But who can tell when they are that young? I certainly can't!)
I also decided to make this in a 2.5 by 3.5, because those are the dimensions of Artist Trading Cards. I decided to try and get myself out of a designing rut to try and make one a day of something. And even though they are mostly fabric, pen and pencil, and other media - I had to do something beady. I hope I can get this worked up soon.
On a different note:
I have been really slack lately about posting, checking my mail and being on line in general. Mostly, the summer has been so nice and I have been outdoors a lot. While it is bad for my blogging habits, it is good for me to get fresh air. So hang in there -- I haven't given up or gone away. As soon as it starts to get cool again, I will be on the computer way too much and will be back to posting more.
I am also going to spend some much needed time at the beach, where my online access is very limited. So lots of beady hugs to everyone - I'm going to go fishing and play in the sand!
Final note:
I would love to hear from everyone what sort of things you would like to see here - It would be awesome to come back from the beach to find some suggestions waiting in the comments section. I also know I work better when I know there is someone waiting to see the final product. So give me any and all suggestions, requests, or ideas you want to see here.
I few entries ago, I posted a note about taking time out to enjoy doodling and what it can do for your pattern design. I also posted three faces I had doodled and played around with, after being inspired by the online program Scribbler.
Ronit Florence went into a whirlwind of inspiration with the pattern and came up with an awesome set. She sent the pictures posted here.
I love the way the little face beads pick up the same colours in the pattern. I also LOVE the stitch used for the necklace portion - it adds lots of texture, movement, and a sense of fun to balance out the serious expression on the face. And as with all of her work, Ronit is great about taking the basic pattern and turning it into something more. Kudos!
In a Whisper: When I grow up, I want to be a beader like Ronit! (grin!)
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