What Happened to April?

The days, weeks, and months are just flying by.  At least that's how it seems around here.  The house is consuming lots and lots of our time, even though it feels like progress has stalled a bit while we wait for the wooden beams to be finished and installed.

So what happened to April?  Well, income taxes took up a lot of time in the first couple of weeks.   Of course I waited until almost the last minute to do everything.  Every year I tell myself I'm going to be more prepared and not have to sit there crunching numbers in a spreadsheet for hours on end; and every year I sit there crunching numbers in a spreadsheet for hours on end.

There were some beading projects that I finished during the month, including one very special project for a lovely Frenchman who wanted something for his girlfriend's birthday.  He had definite ideas about the design and the colors, so it was a real pleasure to create this set of ropes for him.  They won't be presented to the recipient for another few days, and he's promised to let me know how she likes her gift.  For my part, I was thrilled to meet someone who put so much thought into a gift -- and he did all this more than a month before her birthday!

That's not the only beading project I finished during the month.  Because I was so busy with working on the house, I found it easier to work on bead crochet projects than anything else.  Once the beads are strung, a task which can take anywhere from 30 minutes up to a couple of hours, I can start and stop multiple times during the making of a rope without having to worry about where I am in a pattern.

Here are a few of the pieces I finished during the month (I finished several more, but some are still waiting for their pictures to be taken).

Blue Jean Baby

 Yes, this one was named with the Elton John song running through my mind.  I designed this one with picasso finish Czech glass beads (size 8/0) in denim blue and caramel, with the caramel beads placed to resemble stitches.  It's crocheted on royal blue silk thread, so it has a wonderful drape and heft.

Braith

I really like finding interesting and/or descriptive names for some of my pieces, and the name Braith means "speckled" in Welsh.  Created from matte opaque white, shiny opaque orange, and white-lined gray seed beads (size 11/0), part of the rope is speckled -- just a blend of the three types of beads -- and part of the rope is a series of patterns.  I just love these colors together, don't you?

Petina

The name of this piece is kind of a play on words...  "patina" is a "fine coating of oxide on the surface of a metal," and I think it's illustrated here by the combination of turquoise/olive beads mixed in with the dark silky copper beads.  Rather than name this piece "patina," though, I opted to give it the name of one of my favorite high school teachers.

Let's Do the Twist

It's been awhile since I made one of these twisted bead crochet bracelets, but I decided to have some fun.  This one is made in my own favorite colors using matte finish black and white beads of varying sizes.  Looking a bit like a Cellini spiral, it's really fun to watch the spirals develop as I crochet -- the result of using beads in three different sizes.

I took a break from working on the house today, having spent eight hours spreading mulch yesterday.  Crocheting beads is soooooooo much easier than spreading mulch!  :-)