My Week In Stitches

Monday - another infinity scarf for my Etsy shop.  This is Lion Brand HomeSpun in Harvest, the second half of the skein used for a scarf for my aunt's Christmas present.  It's listed now and available!

Tuesday - I started beading again!  This is from the December/January issue of Beadwork Magazine - a square bezel for round beads.  It calls for 12 mm rivolis, which I couldn't find, so I used an 8mm, and tweaked the number of beads on the upper part of the bezel - and it works!  I've been throwing this thing all over the house, and the 8mm doesn't come out! (Mine's the purple component, the gold one is a photo from the mag.)

Wednesday - the start of my 15-sided biscornu.  I'm using scraps of black 28-count Monaco and DMC 841.  It will be monochromatic. :)

Tuesday and Friday - HAED Fairy Sisters progress.  I think I'm on row 52 or 53, with a goal of reaching row 60 this month, finally.  As I've said before, Page 2 starts the moon, and it will start to get more interesting.

Saturday Update - February 28

Dove Love from last week and this week. Pretty good progress, since I only spent about 2 days on it this week. My girls have both said, "Mama! The big heart is almost done!"

I spent most of the week working on the 3 Ladies round robin round 5, so I could be finished by this weekend. Only to discover that Pixie is not ready to receive, so I'll hold it until she says she's ready for it. I think this is Rebekah's:

My work is all above the crease.

Other work this week - sorting beads (I'm only doing about 15-30 minutes each day, or else I'll go blind and my shoulders will be tense beyond all hope), and an hour on Emma. Last Saturday I stitched another handbag for Etsy - start to finish in one day! Shock! But I still need cording for the handle. I'd like to incorporate beads, but I'm not sure how to make it durable and pretty. No picture because it's not technically finished. I'm planning to head out to the store today, so maybe I'll find some commercial cording that makes me happy, just to finish it.

Book of Ink Circles SAL starts tomorrow! Yay!

Otherwise, no new news on house-hunting - we still have 2 houses on our short list, no new listings to look at this weekend. DH will be home next week (yay!), so we'll take him to see the short list houses and get his input. Hallie has some virus, she started with a tummy ache and fever on Thursday, and it's been up and down since then. I think she's a bit better today, more energy, cheeks not quite as pink, but when she tries to eat crackers and drink apple juice she says her stomach hurts. And with the little one, it's hard to tell if she's really sick, because she listens carefully to her sister's symptoms and copies her. Oh! And my best friend will be visiting some time soon. She had a family emergency that took her from Montana to Seattle, and since the emergency is less emergent, she's making plans to return home by visiting me! It's been about 18 months since I've seen her and her kids. It would be nice to have Emma #2 finished so she can just take them both with her, but I don't think that will happen!

Remember my bracelet experiment from yesterday's post. I still have 3 unclaimed. I may create a widget for it soon. But if you want a bracelet, read the "beading" post, and leave a comment with your e-mail! Thanks! Have a great weekend, everyone!

This May Be Why I Stopped Beading For A While...

A little bit of disorganized stash is enough to sap anyone's creativity! (Yes, you see some baby food jars)

Here's a close-up of my "to be" bag:

That pic really doesn't do justice to the jumble in there. There are things "to be ripped apart" and things "to be sorted" and some things that just need "to be thrown away". Below all the big things you can see are my precious (well, just to me) seed beads, that need to be sorted by color and size.

I found 5 bracelets in this bag, all made by me. I guess I was going to rip them apart and reuse the beads. But now, instead, I'd like to give my readers a chance to give me honest feedback on these pieces. 3 are my original designs. Here's a "group" shot of these bracelets:

All listings have been claimed! Thank you so much!
***The top one is a double-row blue and gold bracelet, measuring 7.25" Jig-wrapped links make this fun and unique; clasps are hand-wrapped loops and hooks
***The middle 2 are called "Crystal Waves" (not my design) - seed beads and 4 mm faceted, woven together, measuring 7.5" The 4 mm beads in both bracelets are a steel-grey - the upper one is monochrome, with blue-gray seed beads. The lower one has emerald green seed beads. Both feature gold-colored (no one's talking karat here) toggle clasps.
***The 4th one is one of my designs - sterling plated 24g wire figure-eights with fire-polished 4 mm beads, measuring 7.75" Again, hand-wrapped loop and hook for closure
***The bottom one is very similar in design to #4 - stainless steel 22g wire figure-eights with lavender cube beads, measuring 7" Hand-wrapped loop and hook for closure.

So this is what I want to do. I'd like to give these 5 bracelets away. What do you have to do? Request one, then wear it, and tell me what you think. Can you close it one-handed, or does it take a small army? Does it snag your clothes at all (I hope not, but 3 of these are wire)? Do you get comments on it? How does it hold up to every day wear? I have individual pics available on request (I don't want to slow the page load any more than I have to). I thought the pictures would be clickable, but I guess they are not. Leave a comment here only, please, to request one of these bracelets, with your e-mail address. I will e-mail you for your snail mail address.

Thanks for your help, friends!