September's page is finished

September Storm at Sea 5 xx 11 inches - made with a sleeve in the back for hanging. I am excited to see all twelve of them hung in a row!

playing catch up

I've had some health issues that allowed me time to do some serious beading. I finished (gasp) the May Bead Journal Page - yes, another heart - the last heart. This one commemorating the marriage of my son and his wonderful beloved. The colors of the wedding were purple and green and as I did some beadwork for the wedding - (a beaded shrug and headpiece for the bride, and bracelets for her attendants) I had a LOT of purple and green beads left so this is where I went with this page. On the far right lower side of the page you can see beads in a 5 - 3 - 1 - 8 pattern. The wedding was 5/31/08 - it will help me to remember how long they've been married.


I also got some more work done on the September page - It's fun to use some of my 'treasures' that I've been hoarding - I think that every page this year will have some of those treasured pieces that I'm always waiting for the 'right time' to use - I had some lovely cashmere fabric that I was once waiting for the 'right time' to use - it got ruined in a flooded basement. Pretty silly waiting I think.

September Progress

This is day four - I still don't know where this page is going - I generally at least have some sort of loose plan. This is an interesting experience.

My work space

Denise asked on her blog for folks to post pictures of their work spaces. Much to the disappointment of my boyfriend who built me an amazing studio with cabinets, counters and work tables, I work on a tv table. I also must put everything away whenever I leave the space for more than a minute or two because I have a puppy who loves to chew fabric and snatch my things to take to his bed and another dog who for some reason, loves to eat beads. But this is the set-up for today. There's a snap-locking file drawer next to the table where everything is stashed when I'm not working - it has more beads as well. I take out what I think I might use on a piece and keep everything in the box until the piece is done when I'll hopefully put everything back into it's color labeled drawer for the next project - I say hopefully because sometimes this just doesn't happen. When the Bead Journal Project ended for the past year, it took me a full day to find and sort and put away the beads that never got put away when the year was over.
Note the critical components - diet pepsi, remote control, magnifying glasses from the drug store that I wear on top of my bi-focals - it's quite an attractive look, I assure you.

Where is it going?

The theme this year for Artfest is 'sea monsters'. I received my confirmation on Tuesday and it must have influenced my beading because I see some sea monster tentacles sliding into the piece. I wonder where it will go next.

Amazing Bead Artist

I received an email this morning from a person with my same name. Now being named Diane Moore isn't that unusual - there are three Diane Moore's in the small town that I live in and we all go to the same vet. But to meet a Diane Moore who is an amazing bead artist? Now that is something pretty cool. So go check out her work - you won't regret it.

ps
her maiden name is Moore -

September Bead Journal Project

I was stuck. I couldn't decide really where I wanted to go with the new year of the Bead Journal Project. Luckily I was involved in setting up the blogs and answering questions and fixing little things on them so I had lots of time to think about my page. Or maybe that wasn't such a good idea - thinking about it too much. And so yesterday, after re-reading Robin Atkins' book Heart to Hands Bead Embroidery one more time, I went through some fabric until I found one that said "use me!", and I went through the drawer marked 'focal beads' until one said "use me!" and I sewed it to the fabric and began.
And as I began to sew on more beads and shells and stones, the page began to come together. I really wanted a contrast of textures and I piled the pearls and crystals up next to the slice of stone (yes, it's stone, not bone as many people asked me).

Someone asked me where this page was going and to be quite truthful, I don't really know. The page is about the end of summer which is what September is to me. It's about the problems I've been having with my health related to my arthritis (that's where that bone-like chunk of stone comes in) and all sorts of other things that I haven't really worked out yet. There's still a lot of page to cover - the pages this year are 5 x 11 - yes it's large - I have a lot to say and I have a lot of large beads that I want to use. We'll see where it all goes.

September

The new year of the Bead Journal Project is underway. It is really exciting to thing of all of the people in so many countries around the world working on the same project. I've been working on other projects but thinking of my bead journal size. I've decided to work in 5 x 11 inch rectangles situated vertically that will be sewn into a wall hanging at the end of the project.

I've just finished up a self imposed class on wool felting. I've wanted to learn for some time and finally just gathered up my books and supplies and had at it for the long holiday weekend. It really was fun and I plan to do much much more, perhaps even incorporating it into some of my bead journal pages.