A lovely end to a difficult year.

Looking back at it... it's been quite an 'annus horribilis'. Not very long after my MIL passed, my father left this earth too, short before his 92nd birthday. I didn't get a chance to see him irl one last time, although this was planned - but my husband ALSO ended up in hospital at the same moment, and nearly died - they nearly let him die and then saved him in extremis. He needed me here.

My dad with his partner An,
photographed by my MIL at her place.

My dad had a bad fall resulting in 2 broken ribs. The doctors decided against surgery because of his age, giving him no other option but going in a care facility, wearing a corset all the time, completely dependent. Although he didn't complain, I know that he would have hated that. He contracted a chest infection at the same time, probably Covid, and passed away. I could only see him one last time through Zoom......
I've decided to be grateful for these two things: that I could see him (he clearly recognized me despite his slowly progressing dementia), and that he didn't have to finish his life in a care facility, suffering every day, away from his friend(s) and family. I still have moments of pure frustration when I think about it. Life can be so mean. And then I think of what he always said "you've got to make something out of it somehow - and you do that so well, with your beads".

So I bead on. And thankfully, I cannot complain, beady wise. Rather the contrary. Beading is and will remain my life-line, my occupational therapy. It is also a way of creating bridges between me and you, so that it remains a source of joy. There is no fun in beading all alone. I'm grateful that there are still Zoom beading meetings.

Two projects that I love dearly were published this year in the Beadworkers Guild Journal, the Princess Check pouch & hounds tooth earrings and the Spindle Berries. The latter surprisingly ended up gracing the cover of the October Journal. Doesn't it look really nice?!

             

In May, my Polar Project got awarded the BWG Founder's Award in the Yearly Challenge which theme was Fur & Feathers. I learned recently that this kind of artwork is also called Craftivism. I like that!

I didn't include it in the challenge submission, because it would have been too long (we may only use a limited number of words to talk about our inspiration) but when I created my polar project for the Beadworkers Guild, I felt the urge to write this poem, which I didn't add to my already too long article about it:

~~~

Oh let me see
the frozen arctic sea,
where polar bears frolic in the snow,
and baby seals change as they grow
and watch Northern lights glow.

But not now.

Let me delight in the sight
of silent snowy owls in flight,
above a tundra covered with ice,
the frigid kind of paradise
for arctic hares to colonise.

But not now.

When I'm old,
may there still be this land of cold,
where each and every amazing creature
has a thick coat of feathers or fur,
to stay snug and warm
even in a bitter-cold winter storm.

~~~

In fact, Nanuq, Natsiq, Ukpiq and Ukaliq are a beaded poem. I am really proud of this project. I promised our lovely new Challenge admin, Elaine Wood, that I would send her a photo of me with this award. Instead of making another bad selfie, I decided to ask a professional photographer - Jo Simoes -, but the award took some time to arrive here and, believe it or not, my hairdresser succeeded to mess up my hairdo twice, so it had to grow a bit before taking an appointment. Then I caught covid and my hair nearly became too long. I nevertheless love the photo - styling and make-up myself, photography Jo Simoes:

Yours truly with the Guild's Founders Award

This year, again, I've done plenty of things that took a lot of time and which I cannot show. I wanted to publish more Muserie designs, and do Octavio, but I've got only one head and two hands... Last year was the same, so in 2024, I think that I will do things a little bit differently. Don't expect miracles though: I have an allotment in a communal veggie garden since short, and I love being there each time the sun is not around, which happened nearly too often this Fall. 

I could make the two necklaces below: a  spindle berries necklace & earrings, made for the jumper I'm wearing in the photo with the award, and a similar yet more Art Deco one, with olive branches, which is another piece I've been wanting to make since long. I hope to write a pattern for the olive branches soon, but the materials are hard to find, which might be really annoying for those who want to make the same piece. I am actively looking for substitutes.

             

I could also finish a "last minute" something that was waiting patiently for attention. Perhaps you  remember that I wrote an article about my new Puluz light box? (I still wonder how I could live without it.) Well, the first photo in that article shows a bead embroidered pendant with a lush fringe which I made within the framework of a Meet, Mingle & Make meeting of the Guild. I could not make it entirely to my muse's desire, so I promised to redo and show it if I could find more of the madder rose fire polished beads I needed more of. I could. And so here is the result.

Before

After 

 

Which one do you prefer?

The muse and myself prefer the new version because the fringe still has an arrow design pointing down, but also an arrow pointing upwards, like an elevator. And well, yes, it is sooo lush, and quite Art deco-ish and a bit of Art Deco is something that I like too.

 

 

Now could you please help me to choose an avatar for my future articles and blog posts, FB profile pic, etc? Jo Simoes's offer included two photos, so for the second one, I chose a to wear a dress, with my Thétis épaulette - my entry in the 2022 Guild Challenge. Here too, the jewellery was made for the dress.

I like both photos. Perhaps one for the winter season and one for the summer? Which one do you prefer?

             

 

The more I look at them, the more I prefer the one with the jumper. 

Note that I still had sparks in the eyes from the beautiful show of the Sokol Company who presented their absolutely wonderful adaptation of the book by Saint Exupéry, the Little Prince. 

When hubby and I caught Covid (our first time - we were really sick), it felt like this was a very bad ending to an already too hard year. I had to find something to change that to the title that you are reading above. So... still sick, I booked the seats to boost our spirits and beat the Covid. 

We beated it. We had a wonderful time. Husband was as happy as me. The video below gives a good impression of how lovely this show was:

We're still tired and taking it easy, but it's all good now!

2023, good bye!

And to you: thank you for reading me, for following me, for supporting me. 

I wish you all a wonderful Season, be it Christmassy or not.
Have a wonderful time and a wonderful start of the New Year. 

See you on the other side!

Cath

I love to be(ad) together

Except for the Fake website warning (annoying but necessary, and proof that interaction is vital), it's been quite a while since I wrote my last article, and I have lots of things to tell, and they are all happy things! (Note for those who might wonder: I leave the mean stuff out: you and I don't need negativity in our lives, and I refuse to waste my super precious time writing more than one sentence, and that is this one, about people I don't want to see, hear or deal with anymore).

First, let me share my happiness with you, for being a gold-gold-silver medalist in this year's Fire Mountain Gems beading contest! Yeehaw!

This is the dream trio:

Takato, Spirit of the Goldfish, got a beautiful second place in their purses category
Anthea's Tiara and earrings got a first place in the jewelry set category, and
Octavio the Octopus got a gold medal in the sculpture category.

If you follow the links above, you will learn more about each piece,
the making of and/or the inspiration behind each piece.

But there is more to all the above pieces than winning a medal: they are all representative of my 3 Facebook groups - 3 groups where I share what I love most about beading: beading itself, 3D peyote stitch with or without Cellini, lots of colors, a lot of interaction, mutual support and encouragement. "Bringing beadworkers together", which is the motto of the Beadworkers Guild, of which I am a proud member.

Takato was made using petals for his face and fantail. 3D Petals and pods are taught in  the "From Petal to Pod" group. You are welcome to join.

Some of the creations made by the members of the Petal to Pod group

I still have tons of ideas for the petals. I wish that I had more hands!

Octavio was made using my latest 3D Cellini peyote tulip design and has Cellini herringbone arms, and you can learn Cellini peyote and many of its applications in the "Cellini Peyote Freaks" group, including Bolas Canastas. It is a great design to play with and take further.

Some of my bolas. Somebody on FB said "Barbapapa".
Barbapapa Bolas would have been a super name too!

Katerina Bacikova from the Czech Republic wrote instructions in Czech for the readers of the magazine Koralki how to create her Bolas Canastas necklace. Can you spot it?

Basic instructions how to make Bolas Canastas should also soon be available on Preciosa Ornela's website.

Anthea's Tiara was created with the colorful Yukka Flowers created within the framework of last year's year-long-bead-along in the International Beading Week group. And the bezel at the top of the piece, the Cellini peyote Bezel, gave birth to the Bolas Canastas (as explained in my article about the tiara).

Official banner of International Beading Week

You can still participate in this year long bead along! Just ask to join and bead one component each month in the monthly color (you can catch up the 3 past months progressively) and at the end of the year, we all assemble our components to make a fabulous rainbow!

My IBW year long bead along Bolas Canastas.

In the Cellini Peyote Freaks group, you can participate in the COLOR CHALLENGES. There will be 3 challenges, and the first, which has already started, will end on the 31st of December. A draw will designate 2 winners among those who challenge themselves to participate in these challenges and THIS is what the lucky ones will win:

5 Tidy Rings (only 3 shown)

A wonderful pack of beads and the amazing book "Story of Czech Seed beads" 

The book included in the prize lot offered by the wonderful folks of Preciosa Ornela is a very special and beautiful book. I made a short video to present it to you:

Now something very important and new for me, that took quite a bit of my time to organize, but how worthy it was! I gave my first introduction to beading workshop to a group of ladies who had never ever done it before. It was in the framework of the art-therapy class of my ergotherapist - we had two 2.5 hour sessions. The aim was to see if the participants would like this activity, and at the same time to see if I could teach to completely newbies, and if the lack of light in the room would be a problem for the students - it was not as long as they had their lamps and I wasn't exposed to said lamps. The ladies all loved it, I loved it, and the ergotherapist loved it. Even she wants to bead on! I have no photo of this event - because a therapist cannot disclose the identity of the patients. But it was lovely. I am very proud. We all had a very good time, all wish to continue beading, and we can't wait to meet again!

Now I need to find a place where we can all meet on a regular, not therapy-related basis and where the lights won't bother me. I welcome your wishes of good luck, fingers crossed and good vibes, for it is not easy to find a place in my region, and if you can, please visit my shop and buy a few patterns to support me. 

In French, a workshop is called an "Atelier", and so I will call it my "Cathelier". 

Use coupon code CATHELIER to get 25% off of all patterns - valid only on my website until 30.11.2018 (not on Etsy).

Thank you for your support and for beading with me! 

Cath

International Beading Week 2018: BIP!

The lovely editor of Bead and Jewellery Magazine, Vicky Roberts, asked me to answer a few questions for an interview. The next magazine will have lots and lots of great things to discover, many in relationship with International Beading Week. That made me realize that it is approaching fast. Really fast! If the weather wasn't so lovely, I wouldn't believe that it is nearly June!

It is still very calm in the Facebook group - but I hope that it will soon be lively like last year, if not more!

What about your plans? If you organize something, you can fill out this form to have your event added to the IBW official website (sponsored by the Beadworkers Guild) for others to know. This is valid for everyone - beaders, beadshops, teachers. Let the world know that you're having a special event! Perhaps a beader on holidays in your area will love to meet you!

No plans yet? There are many things you can do. Either attend a meeting, a workshop, or or organize one. Teach to children, do bead bombing, create beaded beads to enter the IBW contest and have them displayed by the organizers during Beading Week... Learn more about all this on the here .

Use the FB group tools to create and promote your own event and find & invite people. By creating an event, you also create a FB page specially dedicated to your event, where you can interact with people, ask and answer questions, etc.

In 2017, Irinel Maria Maranjic from Romania organized
a workshop with young children. They were
all very proud of what they made.

Add friends to the group, to help them and others find people who live nearby. Add photos of the beady creations made. You can create an album. Perhaps you will like to post a video, too.

It doesn't have to be a super fancy meeting. Just a get together with people in your area. Perhaps organize something nice for beginners, because Beading week is about celebrating our Art, but also bringing beading to new people.

Maybe you'll prefer a bead-tea party - perhaps with iced tea if it is too warm in August... Ask the nearby grocery, bakery or tea room to inform the public about your event.

Some peeps like to do a buffet, where everyone brings something to eat. There always is a mountain of remaining food and the extra is taken back home: no cooking after a beautiful day makes it even better. Tip: don't forget the empty lunch boxes ;)

IBW happens the first week of August for a reason: the weather is generally good enough for outdoor beading. Croquet or other outdoor games for the husbands and children who are not interested in beading seems to be a good idea. In France, "Jeu de Boule" is a hit!

IBW is about celebrating and showing our wonderful Art. To people who have never beaded and might want to learn it and incidentally to people who don't understand how much time goes in it. If you can, go out, sit at a table in a park and BIP (bead in public).
3 good reasons:
Beading deserves its stripes. Proudly wear and talk about what you make. 
Beading may not be right for everyone, but it might be for someone. Maybe put a sign: “Free demo” on the table, and have a tiny tin with beads, mat, needle and thread for those who want to try. Hand out a few cards of your preferred bead shop to give to the person who falls in love with it...
Beading helps many people relax, feel good by being creative, cope with chronic illnesses, depression, etc. You might well save someone's sanity or find a new best friend.

In this photo, you can see the malachite
green piece that I made for the
month of May. Only 2 left to make!

Because I am a stuck at home, I will do a bead along on the FB page for those of you who are too (and also for those who aren't - of course everybody can participate!). I will explain to you how to make the pentagon bezels I made over the past months. What it will be when assembled is still a secret, and the final result will be revealed during International Beading Week. I hope that you will like it. Look out for more bead alongs. And visit Kerrie Slade's blog to discover her contest within the framework of this big beading party.

I am looking forward to seeing your photos and videos! I just love to see beady peeps together, smiling and having fun, sharing the love of their Art.

 Until then, bead happy!

Cath

Time has wings - TOHO Beads Challenge 2017- I put my soul in every bead

I'm so happy that I could participate in the 2017 TOHO beads challenge! There is something really exciting about getting the same beads as fellow artists and to see what others will come up with. And to have my piece exposed in Milwaukee and then in Japan is truly an honor.

Today I heard that my piece was featured in an ad in the Bead & Button magazine, and got the ok from the organizers to show you my work. I wrote this blog post back in March, when I sent the beadwork to them, for wanted to tell everything when the beadmat was still hot from beading. It is a bit long, I hope that you don't mind. I had so much fun!!!

The Swiss customs blocked the package with the beads because "free samples" was not enough for them, they wanted to know the worth of the beads, etc. They're so punctilious. *Sigh.* But beginning of January I received the beads. yay!

My tendons had been bad during more than 3 months, but I rested them well, and I fortunately could bead again. It is the computer I had to stay away from, and so I enjoyed 2 months of wonderful creative time with this beautiful challenge assortment.

Time has Wings

I loved the colors and beads I received. The beautiful purple, gold and cream selection immediately invited me to create something steampunk, but the capri blue beads didn't charm me as much as the other beads, because it was ice-cold outside and I prefer to use this color in the summer. Nontheless, even if used scarcely (and mostly in size 15/0) they play an important role in the composition, without taking the lead.

We had the right to use all sorts of materials, like silk and other materials, but only one "focal" bead or cabochon. My focal is an explosed watch. I used chain as if it was fabric. I beaded the wheels/gears/fans  to avoid using more metallic findings or parts and am very, very happy with the result.

The whole piece is called Time has Wings. Below you will learn more about the 3 parts and their symbolism, the inspiration and the making of the piece.

The necklace is composed of 3 parts, which all have a meaning. There are several possibilities to wear the jewelry. On the left are the ways I recommend, on the right the other options:

1. A Colimaçon spiral

Colimaçon with clasp at the back

Colimaçon with clasp at the front

I called this new spiral a colimaçon, which means spiral in French, specifically to describe a spiral staircase. The bugle beads draw a railing typical of those staircases in castle towers and lighthouses, where the railing is in the centre. A beautiful example can be seen on this page. Spirals are representative of time in all cultures, etc. This spiral is made with a mix of tubular Diamond Weave variations.

2. Wings

Wings at the back

Wings at the front

The meandering lace-inspired bib-style collar should be worn in the back with an open-back dress. "Time has Wings" means that time flies, fast, but those who know how to meander - wandering with no particular aim - reduce the pace and enjoy the present moment more intensely. The wings are primarely made with Herringbone stitch with extension beads, split at some point, and brick stitch.

3. Paradox (Pendulum)

Paradox with watch clasp

Paradox without watch clasp

"A pendulum is a body suspended from a fixed point so as to swing freely to and fro under the action of gravity and commonly used to regulate movements (as of clockwork)."(Merriam Webster).

This pendulum is a folded All-wing made with dimensional peyote (CGB language), including a double Cellini spiral at its top. It makes me think of a miniature time machine... It hides a miniature hourglass.
Unfolded, it would be quite large. Time sometimes feels as if it was stretcheable, like an accordeon.

The DW flat rope is reversible

Pendulum

To connect the pendulum to the spiral I made a separate DW flat rope, which is reversible. It has no name yet. I had a track of a railway in mind when making it. But I am not sure that track rope or rail rope sounds good for a beaded rope. Suggestions for a name are welcome!

Inspiration: the colors of the 2017 Toho Beads challenge also made me think of films: Alice through the looking glass (2016), Hugo Cabret (2011), and a little bit of Wild wild west (1999)

The beautiful steampunk decors, the clocks, mechanics, trains and time machines and lacy corsets all inspired this piece.

Alice through the looking glass (Sacha Baron Cohen as Time in the heart of his realm)

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield as Hugo, rewinding a clock mechanism)

Wild Wild West (Salma Hayek as Rita Escobar, in lovely lace)

WIP of Time has Wings.

First I made the pendulum, then I made the colimaçon spiral, and then the crescent buttons and the herringbone lace. I had real lace in my stash awaiting inspiration and time to make a beautiful necklace à la Marsha Wiest Hines. Visit her blog to see her Persephone's Return, it is absolutely stunning. In addition, she also received her Toho challenge and got published in ?

Reading about Marsha's creative process made me realize that the lace would not be strong enough for my project. I decided to bead my own lace and started by making the little wheels and then the meandres.

If the colimaçon spiral ate up the thread, the lace needed the most time, in particular "thinking time", even for the chain.

Then I embellished the pendulum and created the flat rope and the watch clasp.

Second the spiral

First I made the pendulum

Third the lace

I cut out the central herringbone
v-shape and started it over

Decisions, decisions...

Study how to attach chain. The center part
of the collar is still not complete.

Once done, the piece looked much better without the pendulum.So the pendulum got its own rope.

The very last bead added to this piece was a tiny melon bead right above the watch face on the collar - I had lost it, and it was my last melon bead! I was happy when I found it back (yay!) It hink that it is crazy how one bead can alter the look of a piece. Then I made the watch clasp, and suddenly everything was perfect.

I hope that you think so too.

Thank you for reading me! Know that if you go to visit the exposition of all the Toho Challenge participants in Milwaukee at the Bead & Button Show, you can get your very own mini challenge kit from at the Toho booth.

Farfalle Stitch

I received an envelop with a selection of Farfalle beads from Preciosa Ornella, to participate in a contest. They offer to send samples of a particular shaped bead to beaders who, if they accept, have 14 days to come up with something to participate in the contest. That means that I had until the 7th of March.

Tests with hexagon and
octagon stitches

Generally I push my creative brain as far as possible for a contest, which takes a lot of feeling thinking and testing, in other words: a lot of time, so it's needless to say that 14 days sounded extremely short to come up with something new. But I liked the idea of a short deadline somehow. Deadlines have something energizing. I had a last bead to add to my Toho Challenge piece (which took 2 months to complete), photograph it and then could play with the Farfalle beads.

Mini Menat

My initial plan was to make something floral with one of the many Diamond Weave variations explained in my book, because the Farfalle beads behaved very well in the Mini Menat design.

I think that they bring great depth and texture to beadwork. They can be a strong structural bead in DW, but my attempts at little daisies, with either hexagon and octagon stitch didn't work as I hoped. Adding little white pearls to hold the center of the units to prevent the farfalle from dancing didn't work well, because with their peanut-shape (or butterfly or bowtie shape, as their name suggests), they interlock naturally.

To stand tall, they should have no room at all in the center of the beaded units, otherwise they flip, which means only 4 beads per unit in DW and I didn't want to use them like that. I could try to find another math or magic for the daisies, but the "texture"aspect of the beads took me on another path.

I had been willing to create a pentagon stitch in DW since quite a while... pentagon stitch would, perhaps, offer a less symetric, but still structured design aspect. I looked at the 5-bead units as if one half was a basic unit and the other half a hexagon unit, and added single and double bridges (thread cover beads), and suddenly something amazing appeared: the beads formed a gazillion of little butterflies!

"Constellation" - farfalle stitch

Some farfalle beads still misbehave, but that's ok. The cuff has a wonderful, uneven texture, as if it had been "glass-smithed", yet a strong, regular woven structure. It has a nice weight and a pleasant, thick feel. With the 14kt gold-plated seed beads, the cuff looks like a starry night.

Starry night (without constellation)

 And because I love pearls, I added little 2mm white rounds to emphasize the starry night look without taking away interest from the woven structure. Now it looks a little bit like the Hydra constellation in a dark, starry sky, hence the name "Constellation" for this cuff.

"Constellation"

Bats in the snow

And because I love Italy, and butterflies and because farfalle is the Italian translation for butterfly as well as for bowtie (which can also be "seen" in the structure), I can only call this stitch Farfalle stitch.

With Escher's drawings in mind, I started another cuff with black and white farfalle beads to better show the butterflies, but the texture of the beadwork looks like hail or snow - (I love it on its own) and the butterflies look more like little bats, and that, somehow, doesn't feel very compatible. So to show the little butterflies, I decided to make another cuff with Preciosa's beautiful Solgel seed beads, in a rainbow of colors, and alabaster white. 

I think that it is cute as a button:

"Butterfly rainbow" - farfalle stitch

 I love to see the two cuffs one beside the other, to show how two exactly the same pieces of work can have a different looks when different materials are used.

I started writing a tutorial for the butterfly bracelet.