The Hyper Monkey

I really wanted to make another Double Spiral Necklace. Only this time in purple. Here’s what I ended up with.

Want a closer look?

The problem is it’s supposed to look like this:

Let’s look at them side by side.

This is what happens when you don’t take notes the first time around.

I’m not saying that I don’t like what I came up with. I’m actually undecided. Only if you’re expecting one thing and you end up with another, it might not always be a pleasant surprise.

If you’re wondering why I did a whole necklace the “wrong” way, it’s because I didn’t really notice the difference until I was a couple of inches in and I decided to just keep going.

This is actually my second try at the second rendition of the Double Spiral. The first isn’t finished and will have to wait another day for a public unveiling. :P

I’m not sure I’m going to keep this necklace. Every time I look at it I think, “it’s wrong! wrong, wrong wrong!”

I’m going to hide it for a bit then see how I feel about it later.

I could have actually said that I was purposefully trying for a different effect, but I’m just trying to keep it real here. ;-P

There was a bead show over the weekend. That was like a consolation prize for being such a dunce over this seemingly simple necklace.

Of course I ended up with more Green Girl beads. I even got a toggle and a button from her booth.  What I really wanted to share are these cool beads that were only $12 a strand. I’m already making a necklace with them. It might take a bit of time to finish it though since I’m using seed beads.

That’s it from me today. I woke up at 6:30am after going to bed at 1am. I’m pooped!

I hope you all had a great weekend!

No, today is not Friday. I wish it were and I’m willing to bet you are too.  The title of this post refers to a bracelet I started and was able to finish on Friday night.

That is the Arabesque Bracelet. The instructions were provided to me by The Bead Gallery via my gracious, twittery friend Maria.

My mother preferred the bracelet without the pictots, but I do so love them.

I foresee this bracelet becoming my quick go-to present for when I have short notice. Although I am going to need enough time to hit a bead shop for supplies.

Or maybe I should just buy some beads to keep on hand just in case. ;-)

I didn’t get a chance to spin or ply this weekend. My knee has gone wonky and I didn’t want to push my luck by aggravating it with the spinning wheel.

Stupid knee.

I did do a lot of drawing.

Instead of inundating you with all of my work here, I have revitalized my LiveJournal as my artsy fartsy space. I’ll probably still through up the odd tangle here now and again, but if you feel the need to follow my pen and ink pursuits then please come and see me on LiveJournal. :)

Speaking throwing up a piece, here’s one I did when I wasn’t able to sleep. Naturally it’s called “Insomniac.”

Finally, Hetty asked for some Sammy action or maybe some inaction?

Happy Monday, everyone! I’m waiting on the plumber to come due to a leak in the kitchen sink.  Oh yay. :P

Yesterday I decided to spin while chatting on the phone. To my surprise I found what I thought was a long lost bracelet project in my spinning basket. What’s even more surprising is that I was able to finish it!

You might remember this style of bracelet since I’ve already done this before. I had so much fun with it, I decided to do another.

Of course I used a Calvin Orr lampwork bead as the focal piece. I think this is another of his “rejects”.  He’s such a perfectionist! Of course I know nothing of that kind of thinking.  :P

Even though it’s tricky to start, I really love this seed bead stitch. For those wondering, it’s Peyote stitch with a bunch of crazy decreases and increases.

I basically made this bracelet for the sake of making the bracelet. I really don’t have anything in my wardrobe that would match it. Luckily, my mother does and since it came out a bit small for my wrist, it fits her perfectly.

So once again, my mother gets another piece of jewelry unintentionally. :P

I’m still tangling. Here’s one of my latest.

"Regret"

I’m completely addicted to this style of drawing. Some people call it doodling, but I don’t really think it is since there’s intent behind the method. Sometimes I will doodle, but that’s a whole different ballgame.

Clear as mud, eh?

It fits what I used to do as a teen. I was all about the geometric shapes.  See?

doodle from the late 80's/ early 90's

I’m glad I never threw out that sketchbook. It’s really great to see what I used to do all those years ago.

No kitty photos today. They seem to have evaporated into the humidity or something like that.

Happy Wednesday!

Lately I’ve been all about the spirals. I’ve been adding spirals to my drawings and I’ve been beading spirals.

That’s a double spiral rope. I used size 8/o beads for the core and then for the spirally bits I used size 15/o beads.

If you didn’t know, size 15/o beads are really tiny. My eyes went a little crazy working on this necklace. I think it was worth it in the end.  At least, I’m happy with the results.

I started the necklace at the Seed Bead Party over at The Bead Gallery on the 21st. I finally finished it on Sunday. This meant I didn’t have as much time to work on the Haruni, but I have made some progress.

I’m on the last repeat of Chart A. After that there’s only Chart B to do! Except the rows just get longer and longer and longer. You know how it is, if you knit lace.  But I’m gonna keep truckin’!

Lookie at how peaceful my sweet boy looks!

You wouldn’t know it, but earlier this morning we were trying the snatch and grab with this poor kitty.

The thing is, even though he’s only around 3 or 4 years old, he needs to have all his teeth out due to a very severe case of gingivitis.   Today was “Take Two” of getting him into the cat carrier for his oral surgery.

Scheyer may only have 3 legs, but he is fast and squirmy. We’ve tried everything. The only thing we haven’t tried is locking him in the bathroom the night before.

I’m very leery of resorting to this extreme measure because he’s skittish as it is and not only will his yowling probably keep the neighbors up, i’m not sure how much it will damage his relationship with us.  It took a couple of years for him to really settle down with us.

Any advice is welcome.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Remember my grand designs on finishing two necklaces before my mother’s birthday? Well, her birthday was on Tuesday.  I sort of finished the necklace.  I will explain in pictures.

I give you the necklace.

Looks finished right?

Except I hid a rather crucial element.

Yes.

There is no clasp. I could say “Well. Mom hasn’t picked a clasp yet.” as an excuse. But really? It’s me.

Oopsies.

The finishing touches are always the hardest for me. It’s just so fiddly and tedious.  Just like seaming when it comes to finishing a sweater. You feel me on this.

Gratuitous close-up shots.

I gotta say that these are not the colors I would choose to wear or to work with. They’re too bright. But it’s for Mom!

As for the focal bead? Of course it’s a Calvin Orr. She has a serious addiction to his product.

I did finish the beading part of the necklace on Sunday during the True Blood marathon session I mentioned in an earlier post.

When I say marathon? I mean marathon. I went over to Sandy’s hose at around 10am. I didn’t leave until around 11PM!  Phew! I’ve been recovering from that and a busy last Friday and Saturday.

I will say, it was worth it! Every minute was worth the pain!

Not to mention I got to hang out with one of the cutest males on the planet!

While I’ve been recuperating, I’ve mostly been art journaling. So I haven’t had much to share on the bloggity blog.  I’ve been beading too. I’m also hoping I’ll get some knitting time over the weekend.

We’ll see!

Happy Thursday folks!

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I last blogged. It’s been a hectic week. My mother was out of town and I was busy doing things I wouldn’t have done while she’s around.

Like making a mess in the kitchen while art journaling and watching all sorts of chick flicks. Like Twilight and New Moon.

Don’t judge me.

I also knit a baby shrug for a friend who I won’t name yet. I’m 90% sure she doesn’t read my blog, but you never know!

Pattern: Confections Baby Shrug (Ravelry)

Yarn: Berroco Comfort DK

Needles:  size 8US

Started:  August 17, 2010

Finished: Augsut 19, 2010

I’ve been knitting since I was 7 years old. Can you believe this is the first article of baby clothes I’ve ever knit?

I have to admit I was a little freaked out when I finished the back. I just couldn’t believe it would fit an actual person. I even called Megan to make sure I was doing it right.

Once I figured out I was on the right track, I had a lot of fun with it. So tiny! So cute! I’m tempted to make another.

Thanks to Megan for turning me on to this great pattern!

No thanks to Megan and Daniele that even though I have to finish the Lyra, once I was done with the shrug, I started something new. ;-)

That’s the Haruni Shawl (Ravelry). I promised to KAL with that troublesome duo, but I’m not regretting that vow. The yarn I’m using is absolutely fabulous to work with.

It was a gift from Cookie and it’s got a rather long name. Pagewood  Farm Hand Dyed Sock Yarn Yukon.

Phew!

It’s got Superwash Merino,  Bamboo, and Nylon. The colorway is Denim and I’m in love with it. So soft and the graduating colors are amazing!

I’m also still chugging away on my Mother’s second birthday present. Here’s a sneak peek.

Those aren’t the colors I’d normally work with, but once you see the whole necklace you’ll see why I chose them.

I’m really looking forward to the weekend. I have a Seed Bead Party to go to tomorrow and on Sunday? True Blood Marathon at Blogless Sandy’s!

I’m all excited. I’m not sure what Quincy is though.

Maybe a little mad a the lady with the camera?

Happy Friday everyone!

I was bound and determined to finish a necklace for Mom by the time her birthday rolls around. I finished a necklace last night and since her birthday is the 24th of this month, I got the job done with some room to spare.

That’s the Multiple Choice Necklace from the magazine Bead & Button, Issue 96. I used fluorite, amethyst, freshwater pearls, and swarovski crystals for the focal area.

Because my Mom has short hair I picked pretty findings since they’ll be so visible.

I also finished the earth tone Braenock Bracelet I was working on the other day.

I just used an assortment of czech fire polish colors that I had on hand since I didn’t have enough of one color to do the whole bracelet.

I’m not sure how well it worked out, but I had a lot of fun making it.

Knitting has taken a backseat mostly because it’s been so hot here. Beading is so much nicer to do in the midst of the hottest months of the year. Plus, those little beads are very hypnotic.

I’ve been working on another necklace for Mom since I have a couple more weeks before her birthday hits. The question is, will I be able to finish that one in time too?

Kitty!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Saturday was my monthly “bead’n'bitch” meeting with my friends over at Bella Beads. I brought a seed bead project because it’s so much more portable then bringing a wire project.

With wire projects I’d need to bring all my tools, which includes hammers, bench block, and mandrels. I’d also need to bring all the required gauges of wire that I might need and all the findings.

I could buy everything at the shop negating my need to haul a suitcase full of supplies, but I have a serious stash that needs busting. In fact, I think my bead and wire stash now outweighs my yarn stash.

But I digress.

Once I got home from all the fun, I was once again fully obsessed with the tiny beads. Only instead of finishing off the numerous bead WIP’s I have going on, I started a new project and even managed to finish it on Sunday.

The pattern is the Braenock Bracelet by Nancy Peterson.  It called for 3mm Fire Polish beads, but I used 4mm beads instead.

The pattern was very easy to follow, which made the bracelet a joy to make. So much so, I started another bracelet.

Please note that this second bracelet is being made in earth tones. I don’t wear earth tones. It’s not that I don’t like them, I just don’t wear them. So Im not exactly sure what’s going to happen to this bracelet.

I can’t sell it. You can never really get a good price for seed bead work. I don’t have any friends that would wear it either. So it might be time to shop for an outfit in earth tones.  Poor me. ;-)

Remember how I told you I was going to give  Acornbud some spinning lessons? Check it out! She made yarn at my house! She’s a natural at the wheel.  Woohoo!

Sammy is making sure Quincy is still breathing. o.O

You alive?

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Phooey! Before I got to go all gung ho on the Lyra, I remembered that my Mom’s birthday is this month. It’s not that I don’t love making things for her, it’s just that I was so focused on that shawl!

As to what to make for Mom?

I have several necklaces in progress for her. Too many to count. The one I chose to complete is a repeat offender. I’ve already made one in green way back when.

This time I’m doing it in purple.

It looks like I don’t have much more to do. Maybe if I’m lucky I can get it done this week. If I have time.

This week promises to be a busy one. I’m going to take a jewelry class with Naomi tomorrow while she’s here visiting family. Then on Thursday I’m going to attempt to teach Acornbud how to spin on a wheel.

Wish me luck on the last bit. I’m not sure how great of a teacher I’ll be. I’m more of a spin by the seat of your pants rather then a thoughtful spinner. So I’m not sure I’ll be able to translate what I do into words.

I’m still metal stamping too.

You’ll find some of those pieces up on the shop and if you’re interested in a custom piece, please leave me a comment or send me an email at opal at opalescentjewels dot com.

Quincy is thinking about it.

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. :)

I have already mentioned that Jamie has been an inspiration to me. I’ve said that she’s the whole reason that I’ve gotten back into seed beading.  If not for her I would not have rediscovered my love for the tiny beads.

It all happened sometime last year when she asked me if I wanted to join in on one of the Needle and Thread classes at her shop. From there I took off as only the madly obsessed do.

One of the first projects I did when I started back up again, was a Spiral Peyote Bracelet. For some reason, I chose pink with pearls.

I was very happy with how it turned out, but I didn’t think it really belonged to me. Somehow I knew the bracelet was meant for Jamie as a thank you.

Right now, it resides in a counter on display at the shop. It feels pretty good knowing that Jamie and Jason think it’s good enough to have a place in such a prominent place.

Back in the here and now, despite my resolution to finish what’s on the needles, Megan has concocted a knit-along. She’s roped a few of us into knitting the Haruni, which is  a truly beautiful shawl.

I’ve already decided to use some yarn in my stash for it.

I love me my blues and I love me that yarn. I can’t wait to start! That means I have to do a bit of speed-knitting on the two shawls I have going on. I figure if I finish one of them, I can cast on for another.

What better way to speed knit then to have a totally blissed out cat by your side?

Happy Friday, everyone! Have a great weekend!