Wednesday, August 11, 2010
My new kiln arrived today
It isn't set up yet, and the enameling collar is just sitting on top, but isn't it just a magnificent thing!
And a couple of magnificent kitties to add to the picture.
Saturday, August 07, 2010
My Kiln
For the last year I have been thinking about getting a kiln. At the Bead and Button Show in June of '09 I took an all-day class with Irina Miech, and completed a silver necklace and earrings from PMC silver clay. It was a wonderful class and she is a precise and patient teacher. Her books are wonderful too, so look them up on Amazon. This past June at Bead and Button I visited the Whole Lotta Whimsy and Paragon booths and learned that the kiln I thought I wanted was probably not the kiln for me. It was a shock to see how beautiful the kiln I should have really was. The shock was also for my checkbook. A kiln purchase for me is a big deal.
This week I took the plunge and ordered my beautiful new Paragon Caldera kiln from Whole Lotta Whimsy. There is a sale going on, and the kiln was $565. After adding the collar and shelves - (kiln furniture) - and the tools that I need the final cost was over $900 and I haven't starting buying the clay yet! I researched and read and emailed the experts. In the end, I added the brand new enameling collar. This is a "collar" extension of the kiln, which makes the inside larger, and also gives me a front door to load and brush enamel and re-fire.
The advice I read over and over was that when buying a kiln, buy one that you can grow into. I don't do enameling, but I want to learn. And adding beautiful color to silver pieces seems like something I just have to do. My excitement is building and it has been a wonderful week. The kiln has left Mesquite, Texas and is on the way to me.
Glory be. Amazing. Fun. Exciting. Inspiring. Hot!
Have a great day.
This week I took the plunge and ordered my beautiful new Paragon Caldera kiln from Whole Lotta Whimsy. There is a sale going on, and the kiln was $565. After adding the collar and shelves - (kiln furniture) - and the tools that I need the final cost was over $900 and I haven't starting buying the clay yet! I researched and read and emailed the experts. In the end, I added the brand new enameling collar. This is a "collar" extension of the kiln, which makes the inside larger, and also gives me a front door to load and brush enamel and re-fire.
The advice I read over and over was that when buying a kiln, buy one that you can grow into. I don't do enameling, but I want to learn. And adding beautiful color to silver pieces seems like something I just have to do. My excitement is building and it has been a wonderful week. The kiln has left Mesquite, Texas and is on the way to me.
Glory be. Amazing. Fun. Exciting. Inspiring. Hot!
Have a great day.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Vacation in the Great North Woods
We just returned from our week's vacation in the Great North Woods of New Hampshire. This year we were there for the 4th of July festivities. Unfortunately for us, all the July 4th festivities in Pittsburg, NH (closest town to the cabin and last town in NH before Canada) took place on Saturday, the 3rd of July! We arrived in town all dressed in our red white and blue for the pancake breakfast, only to discover that everything - the breakfast, the parade, the Lions Club chicken barbecue - had taken place the day before! Arg! Off to breakfast at the restaurant.
The week went by with no mishaps and a lot of fun. The weather was very unique for this part of the country. Most years we pray for a few days of blue sky and sun, and almost always get some rain and thunderstorms during each day. This year, it was Miami all the time, sun sun and more sun. It was so sunny that we didn't fish much. The lake was calm and bright and the fish had cooler, deeper places to be. The dock had gotten messed up by a fall storm, so our chairs didn't fit well on the rocks, and it was too darn hot to sit out there looking at an unmoving bobber. So we donated our $70 fishing license money to the state, and went swimming instead.
The swimming was wonderful. We played a lot of cribbage and cooked out every night on the barbecue over charcoal. We read, and I worked on learning how to read a crochet pattern and made several lovely dishcloths (?), and beaded a difficult project, and read some more. When it got too hot for man or beast in the afternoon, we retreated to our air conditioned car and took rides around the countryside. We drove 100 miles on a 90 degree day to Cabot, VT, and watched a demonstration about curds and whey and spend $50 on artisan cheeses. It was a lovely ride through the Vermont countryside.
I estimate that I used about half of the stuff I brought, including food. It was too hot to do many things, and I didn't need a nice hot pot of tea at the end of the day in my china tea pot. We didn't use our fishing gear, our sweatshirts and sweaters, half of the food we brought (too hot to have much of an appetite), and we stayed cheerful, packed it up and brought it all back home again.
It was a lovely vacation. The whole country was suffering from heat, so why not us too? The days went by slowly, we got lots of rest, no stress, and BEST OF ALL, no bug bites for me thanks to a morning slather of Avon Skin So Soft gel lotion--miracle stuff! Whoohoo!
Here are the pictures.
The week went by with no mishaps and a lot of fun. The weather was very unique for this part of the country. Most years we pray for a few days of blue sky and sun, and almost always get some rain and thunderstorms during each day. This year, it was Miami all the time, sun sun and more sun. It was so sunny that we didn't fish much. The lake was calm and bright and the fish had cooler, deeper places to be. The dock had gotten messed up by a fall storm, so our chairs didn't fit well on the rocks, and it was too darn hot to sit out there looking at an unmoving bobber. So we donated our $70 fishing license money to the state, and went swimming instead.
The swimming was wonderful. We played a lot of cribbage and cooked out every night on the barbecue over charcoal. We read, and I worked on learning how to read a crochet pattern and made several lovely dishcloths (?), and beaded a difficult project, and read some more. When it got too hot for man or beast in the afternoon, we retreated to our air conditioned car and took rides around the countryside. We drove 100 miles on a 90 degree day to Cabot, VT, and watched a demonstration about curds and whey and spend $50 on artisan cheeses. It was a lovely ride through the Vermont countryside.
I estimate that I used about half of the stuff I brought, including food. It was too hot to do many things, and I didn't need a nice hot pot of tea at the end of the day in my china tea pot. We didn't use our fishing gear, our sweatshirts and sweaters, half of the food we brought (too hot to have much of an appetite), and we stayed cheerful, packed it up and brought it all back home again.
It was a lovely vacation. The whole country was suffering from heat, so why not us too? The days went by slowly, we got lots of rest, no stress, and BEST OF ALL, no bug bites for me thanks to a morning slather of Avon Skin So Soft gel lotion--miracle stuff! Whoohoo!
Here are the pictures.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Packing Light
Tonight we are packing up the house to take it to the cabin. We leave for Pittsburg, New Hampshire on Saturday morning. We want to leave in time to miss any 4th of July traffic. By the time the hoards get going, we will be way up past the White Mountains. I think that packing light is highly over-rated. When I go on vacation, I want to make sure I have most of the comforts of home. I take pillows and towels and nice sheets. I take table cloths for picnics and one for the kitchen table. We take our books and binoculars and my beading lamp and supplies. I have an afghan kit to take that should be easy to knit outside by the lake with my feet dangling in the water. I take a china tea pot and two nice mugs, so that I have tea in a china cup. My mother always said that tea and coffee tastes much better in china, and I believe her. We take clothes, but not too many. I probably take one pair of shoes too many, but, hey, it's my vacation and why should I leave my new flip flops at home? We take steaks and hamburger from a good butcher, and cold cuts and sausage from our favorite German sausage store. We buy fresh vegetables and fruits on the way, and I packed a pie plate and small rolling pin so I can make a fresh strawberry pie.
If all this sounds a little crazy, just think of all the things I'm leaving behind: TV, cell phones and computers! See you on the flip side!
Have a great day!
If all this sounds a little crazy, just think of all the things I'm leaving behind: TV, cell phones and computers! See you on the flip side!
Have a great day!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Milwaukee Bead and Button Show
My friend Connie and I went to Milwaukee for the Bead and Button Show. We were there for four days and had a great time. This year, we concentrated on taking classes. She loves silversmithing, and took 3 classes. I am working on learning new skills in seed beading, and I took four classes. Every morning, one or the other of us was up with the birdies, packing our rolling bags and heading out into the Milwaukee sunshine to find our class room. We really had to concentrate in order to have all the materials that we would need for each separate class. Connie had to bring a bench block and hammers. Traveling with a 50 pound limit while carrying heavy tools is a real challenge. I had a Marudai, which is a Japanese braiding stand made of wood. Between the two of us, we worried a lot over our 50 pounds.
We had challenges, and we met them head on and prevailed!
Our first class was on Wednesday night, the same day we arrived. I took a class with Irina Miech in wire wrapping cabochons. I have done this technique before, but she uses half round wire, which makes a softer look, and she is always a great teacher.
The next morning was my class with Sheila Cleary called Seafoam Necklace. This class is Kumihimo with beads and called for a wooden Madurai stand and 12 bobbins of strung size 11 (small) beads. It was a challenge to do the prep work at home, and mine was not without fault, so I got off to a slower start than I wanted, but my skills in braiding were good, so I caught up fast. One whole day of class and I finished half my necklace. I wasn't interested in racing to the finish, I'm more interested in getting the technique perfect, and it was a super class. I have enough work to do in this technique to last me for years!
The next class was the following day - making a beautiful heavy chain maille bracelet called GSG "Great Southern Gathering". I love the name of this weave. The class was taught by Diane Miller, who sells on Etsy, and who supplies me with all my Argentium silver rings for chain maille. This was a fun and relaxing class and the bracelet I made is beautiful. I will list it for sale soon!
Saturday I took an inspirational day long class with Diane Fitzgerald. We worked on making ginkgo leaves out of tiny delica beads and she taught us how to choose bead colors and patterns to make them shimmer in the color change. Color technique in beading is an art and something I could never have figured out by myself. She has many books on beading and color, and is a very thorough teacher. I loved this class, as I knew I would.
Classes at Bead and Button are serious business. They are expensive, and the teachers are very good. Teachers are evaluated and carefully considered each year. Getting to class on time and well prepared is a prerequisite. This is beading at its best!!!
Between all these classes we shopped at the marketplace in the huge carpeted and well lit Frontier Airlines convention center. 370 vendors mean that you can't even visit all the booths in a week, and everything you need to supply your beading needs is there! Expertise abounds and it is really great to walk around and see demonstrations. I walked into one booth and they said, "You're Yvonne Shea? I read your Bead_Tips Twitter every day!" That made me very happy! (I'm famous!)
Connie and I managed to pack our bags for the home trip without exceeding our 50 pound limit, but my rolling backpack was filled with a couple thousand dollars worth of purchases that I couldn't trust to a checked bag. (The lady who pulled our bags aside at airport security said that she wanted to "shop right out of the bag!") Even with all those classes, we found the time to talk to old friends and to buy beautiful artist-made beads and purchase the elements we need at wholesale prices that can't be beat anywhere! This was my fifth year going to Bead and Button. It is a once in a lifetime experience, that you get to go to every year!
Have a great day!
We had challenges, and we met them head on and prevailed!
Our first class was on Wednesday night, the same day we arrived. I took a class with Irina Miech in wire wrapping cabochons. I have done this technique before, but she uses half round wire, which makes a softer look, and she is always a great teacher.
The next morning was my class with Sheila Cleary called Seafoam Necklace. This class is Kumihimo with beads and called for a wooden Madurai stand and 12 bobbins of strung size 11 (small) beads. It was a challenge to do the prep work at home, and mine was not without fault, so I got off to a slower start than I wanted, but my skills in braiding were good, so I caught up fast. One whole day of class and I finished half my necklace. I wasn't interested in racing to the finish, I'm more interested in getting the technique perfect, and it was a super class. I have enough work to do in this technique to last me for years!
The next class was the following day - making a beautiful heavy chain maille bracelet called GSG "Great Southern Gathering". I love the name of this weave. The class was taught by Diane Miller, who sells on Etsy, and who supplies me with all my Argentium silver rings for chain maille. This was a fun and relaxing class and the bracelet I made is beautiful. I will list it for sale soon!
Saturday I took an inspirational day long class with Diane Fitzgerald. We worked on making ginkgo leaves out of tiny delica beads and she taught us how to choose bead colors and patterns to make them shimmer in the color change. Color technique in beading is an art and something I could never have figured out by myself. She has many books on beading and color, and is a very thorough teacher. I loved this class, as I knew I would.
Classes at Bead and Button are serious business. They are expensive, and the teachers are very good. Teachers are evaluated and carefully considered each year. Getting to class on time and well prepared is a prerequisite. This is beading at its best!!!
Between all these classes we shopped at the marketplace in the huge carpeted and well lit Frontier Airlines convention center. 370 vendors mean that you can't even visit all the booths in a week, and everything you need to supply your beading needs is there! Expertise abounds and it is really great to walk around and see demonstrations. I walked into one booth and they said, "You're Yvonne Shea? I read your Bead_Tips Twitter every day!" That made me very happy! (I'm famous!)
Connie and I managed to pack our bags for the home trip without exceeding our 50 pound limit, but my rolling backpack was filled with a couple thousand dollars worth of purchases that I couldn't trust to a checked bag. (The lady who pulled our bags aside at airport security said that she wanted to "shop right out of the bag!") Even with all those classes, we found the time to talk to old friends and to buy beautiful artist-made beads and purchase the elements we need at wholesale prices that can't be beat anywhere! This was my fifth year going to Bead and Button. It is a once in a lifetime experience, that you get to go to every year!
Have a great day!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Picture from the local paper
I am completely charmed by this picture of the baby Swans at Ells Pond near our house.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Off to Washington DC tomorrow
George and I are flying to Washington DC tomorrow to visit Michael and Michelle. We will be on a 7:30 plane, and will meet Mike at 9:11 and spend the day talking, laughing, eating, and having a world of fun. This trip is short, so I don't expect to do much touring around. They always take us to great restaruants and I'm looking forward to Korean food and maybe some Thai food too. I also look forward to one of Mike's grilled sausage dinners. Maybe we can find a birthday cake somewhere. Maybe mommo will bake one. I'm not bringing any crafts, or jewelry tools, or knitting (well...hum...)and I'm packing light. I have a book. We fly back on Monday morning (Happy Birthday, Michael!), and I go to work in the afternoon. Short and very very sweet.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Duck water
On Saturday the word went out that there was an emergency water main break west of Boston and 700,000 households in communities near Boston would have to boil their water. We didn't react very fast. Then I started to think that I didn't want to drink pond water, where ducks have pooped. We began to think about our options.
People who live near Boston always have big lobster pots, so we just boiled some water. But boiled water in a pot doesn't look as appetising as a nice cold bottle of Spring water from the fridge. Then we started getting thirsty. We made a very quick decision and ran out the door. We hopped in our car about 8 p.m. that evening and headed north. No stores near us has any water left, we knew that. People had done what they often do, and rushed to the store as soon as they heard. As we sat around and watched the Kentucky Derby, it didn't take long for the grocery and drug store shelves to empty.
George and I headed north toward Maine and turned off toward Newburyport, which is a touristy and beautiful oceanside area. We figured that people wouldn't bother to take that long slow road to the ocean. Trouble is, there are no grocerie stores. It got dark. We drove further. It got darker. At one point, it was pitch dark and we were out on a peninsula jutting out into the ocean. Water, water everywhere, but....
So, we meandered more and looked for some bright lights. We stopped at a lobster roll/hamburger shack. They had stopped serving dinner, so we had an ice cream cone and kept driving. Into the dark. Thirsty.
FINALLY we come upon a large town - Haverill - and a BIG well-lit Market Basket supermarket. They had no idea of the water ban. They had water stacked to the skies. We bought several gallons and two cases and gloated and stopped at Wendys for a celebratory burger and fries.
Our little late night venture to the oceanside in search of water will be a good memory long after the water ban is over.
People who live near Boston always have big lobster pots, so we just boiled some water. But boiled water in a pot doesn't look as appetising as a nice cold bottle of Spring water from the fridge. Then we started getting thirsty. We made a very quick decision and ran out the door. We hopped in our car about 8 p.m. that evening and headed north. No stores near us has any water left, we knew that. People had done what they often do, and rushed to the store as soon as they heard. As we sat around and watched the Kentucky Derby, it didn't take long for the grocery and drug store shelves to empty.
George and I headed north toward Maine and turned off toward Newburyport, which is a touristy and beautiful oceanside area. We figured that people wouldn't bother to take that long slow road to the ocean. Trouble is, there are no grocerie stores. It got dark. We drove further. It got darker. At one point, it was pitch dark and we were out on a peninsula jutting out into the ocean. Water, water everywhere, but....
So, we meandered more and looked for some bright lights. We stopped at a lobster roll/hamburger shack. They had stopped serving dinner, so we had an ice cream cone and kept driving. Into the dark. Thirsty.
FINALLY we come upon a large town - Haverill - and a BIG well-lit Market Basket supermarket. They had no idea of the water ban. They had water stacked to the skies. We bought several gallons and two cases and gloated and stopped at Wendys for a celebratory burger and fries.
Our little late night venture to the oceanside in search of water will be a good memory long after the water ban is over.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Marudai in the mail
I am taking at class in Kumihimo braiding at the Bead and Button Show on June 5 in Milwaukee. As part of this class, I needed to purchase a Marudai, which is a frame for making this Japanese braid. We will be using strands of beads to make the braid, and the foam Kumihimo form that I already own would not do. They are made out of wood, and have bobbins which hold the fiber and you move the bobbins around. There are an infinite number of braining patterns that can be used. All very Japaenese. I will try to learn one of two and make necklaces. This is a picture of a Marudai similar to the one that my teacher is sending to me and which is in the mail. I'm almost as excited about this ancient form of braiding on a wooden stand as Michael Shea was about his new Ipad: technology a thousand years or so apart.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Bare branches to little green leaves.
For the past three days we have had the big hard rainy blow in New England. The weather has really been bad, with lots of rain, street flooding and turned up umbrellas. Some people in Rhode Island had 6 feet of water in their basement since rivers overflowed their banks. Streets have buckled with sink holes and people have suffered with two floods in two weeks.
My suffering has been very minor. I had a new heavy duty black umbrella. I left the parking garage on Tuesday, opened my new umbrella, and had it immediately flip inside out. I turned and it went back into place, and back into its case, never to be seen again.
We have a beautiful view of a park and river from the windows at work. The trees are in green leaf. We went from cold brown winter branches to inch long little pale green buds and shoots of leaves. The weather will be sunny and in the 70s over Easter weekend.
Hope Springs.
My suffering has been very minor. I had a new heavy duty black umbrella. I left the parking garage on Tuesday, opened my new umbrella, and had it immediately flip inside out. I turned and it went back into place, and back into its case, never to be seen again.
We have a beautiful view of a park and river from the windows at work. The trees are in green leaf. We went from cold brown winter branches to inch long little pale green buds and shoots of leaves. The weather will be sunny and in the 70s over Easter weekend.
Hope Springs.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 07, 2010
A cabin in the north woods
We just learned that we have a cabin reserved again this year for a week starting the 3rd of July. We stayed in the same cabin last year; Otter Cabin on First Connecticut Lake in Pittsburg, New Hampshire. The cabin is just feet from the lake, with a view that is beautiful and serene and interesting. We love going to the cabin. The downside is that I am allergic to the antihistimine in bug bites, so I have to be careful to wear bug repellent, and sometimes I am forced to go inside with the bugs start biting. It is usually nothing other than mosquitos and the occasional black fly, but I am bothered more than I want to be. However, the solitude and complete rest are good for us, and I am willing to put up with a few bites to experience such bliss in the woods.
Cabin, here we come!
Cabin, here we come!
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Spending time outside
We New Englanders have been holed up waiting for the weather to change. Not only today, but all next week is supposed to be sunny. We will take the 50 degree weather because it isn't snowing, raining or sending icy pellets at us.
Now we have to remember what it is that you do outside!
Now we have to remember what it is that you do outside!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Beading fun
On Friday night I took a class to learn how to make this Ojo de Dios bracelet in Salem, NH. It was a wonderful class and only two of us there. The teacher was fantastic and fun to meet and I really had a great time. I couldn't wait until Saturday morning to get started on another piece of it, and get used to the pattern. Several beading hours later, on Sunday morning, I finished it. The beads I choose are nice, but I can improve on them. It is a really fun bracelet to make!
Have a great day doing what you love to do.
Have a great day doing what you love to do.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Twittering about beads
I'm busy Twittering about my jewelry; it's fun to be a twitterbeader, and I have lots of new friends and a place to display, talk about, and sell. Just say yes to Twittering!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
New stuff
I'm having a burst of creativity. Maybe the dark days of winter have inspired me to sit under my three Ott lights and work on jewelry. In the last four days I have made both of these bracelets: my first Chain Maille bracelet, and a crocheted bracelet using Hill Tribe Silver rose clasp.
I really like both techniques!
I really like both techniques!
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