Catching Up

I'm going to be playing catch-up this week. I was so busy that I didn't get my new peyote designs for weeks #18 or #19 beaded. I created the designs, though, so I'm working this week on getting them ready to show off.

So what was keeping me so busy? Well. House plans, for one thing. We're getting ready to build a house, and there's a lot to be done to prepare. My husband and I have been working on the plans for so long, but there are always things we want to change (and as much as I hate making changes to the plans, it's much less expensive for us to change drawings than it is to move wood and windows around later). The drawing here was last week's version of the front elevation (it's a one-story house with a walk-out basement). It's different now. We just decided today that we wanted to have a French door at the front, with windows flanking it, instead of the row of windows in this version. It'll be nice to be able to walk out the front of the house onto the deck (which wraps around two sides).

We also had to start getting bids on materials and labor, for the things we're not going to do ourselves. The windows and doors have been chosen, the siding, the woodburning stove, and the stone for the hearth and the posts outside the house. We'll have the foundation and framing done, as well as the plumbing, electrical, drywall, and HVAC; and we'll do the siding, the stonework, cabinets, trim, interior doors, and all the finishing touches. It's a LOT of work, but it's fun. And when we're finished we'll have the house we want.

In addition to working on the house plans, I was working on some custom orders for beadwoven pieces. I finished two ndebele ropes (one of which was a Mother's Day gift and the other wound up in my Etsy shop):

This is Neptune's Twist, created from transparent teal, transparent turquoise, and transparent amethyst colored beads with an accent row of transparent clear beads with an AB finish.

When I finished it, I thought it looked like ocean waves, with the colors and the flowing curves.

It was a Mother's Day present for one of my husband's aunts.











And this one is called (simply) Turquoise, Lemon and Lime Twist. It's made from opaque beads in bright sunny yellow, turquoise, and lime green, with an accent row of a mixture of yellows, blues, and greens. Very summery.

This one is in my Etsy shop. It started out to be a custom order, but I didn't have enough of the same beads to make it as long as was requested. That happens sometimes.













And the most recent custom order is this piece, called Salsa. I was asked to make a bead crochet rope, and the customer sent me pictures of a rope she had seen that she really liked. That rope, which was made by Claire Kahn, used gemstones in beautiful shades of deep coral red, turquoise, and sand.

So off I went on a hunt. Although gemstones are readily available, I wound up finding these gorgeous picasso seed beads in an Etsy shop called Beads and Babble, operated by Shannon Ferguson.

Shannon had several listings for picasso beads, and even before I heard back from the customer about whether she liked these, I had ordered them (as well as a bunch of others).

The beads arrived, and they are just as gorgeous in person as they were in the pictures.

For the rope, I used eight beads around and alternated sections of the Salsa mix with sections of the dark red and the turquoise beads (which I also ordered from Shannon). These beads are TINY, even smaller than some other size 11/0 beads I have, so it took me awhile to finish this piece. It was worth the wait, though. I love the way it turned out; and it will soon be in the customer's hands.

And I've already ordered more beads from Beads and Babble. I mean, come on! How can you resist beads that look this delicious?!?! :-)


** If you visit Shannon, tell her you found her through my blog. She's really really nice, her shipping is free, and her beads are wonderful. I'm sure I'll be shopping there again.