Bead crochet

For a couple of years I have wanted to learn bead crochet.  It wasn't easy.  I tried learning from others' blogs.  I tried YouTube videos.  I tried books that came with DVDs.  Nothing helped.  

Last month I attended Bead Week at North Ranch Escapees park in Congress Arizona, an annual event that follows Woodcarving Week. It was five days of beading classes.  One of which was bead crochet.  I was excited!  Maybe with one on one tutoring I would learn.

It was frustrating.  It was confusing, but I did walk away with an understanding of how it works.  At the end of the class, I went back to the RV and practiced with beads smaller than the 6s we had in class.  I used 8s.  Finally success!  I have since made three crocheted bracelets and am currently working on the fourth.

 Few more bracelets I made recently:

I can't remember the name of the first one.

This one is called a Cellini spiral. It's a form of peyote stitch.

Can't remember the name of these.

I really look forward to Beadweek next year, though I understand the format will be much simpler.

Till next time....

A Change of Pace

My, but it has been a long time, hasn't it?  I have been around, but not writing blog posts.  Let me tell you: things have changed around here.  First, our family has endured the loss of four family members.  Each one of them held a special place in my heart.

Other things that have changed are my love has retired so we have more time to spend with each other.  I love that.  We have done some traveling which has been fun.  Last month I attended a week long beading seminar in Arizona, and hubby attended a week long woodcarving seminar.

I have been doing some beaded kumihimo, among other things.  This is one of my projects: 

Design by Linda McConnell. 

Another new thing is the addition of a new pet.  A Siamese kitty we have named Ziggy.  He is very sweet.   We just have to get the other cat used to him.

That is about all that is new around here.  See you soon.

A False Start

There is a group on Facebook that are holding a challenge called Every Day in May.  The goal is to sketch something each and every day.  A list of prompts is supplied so you have an idea for what to draw.  I joined this challenge.  I was good for the first week, then fell behind and have not yet caught up.  I still hope to, and that is my reason for this blog entry.  Here is what I have drawn so far: 

Day 1 draw something bubbly.

Day 2 draw your favorite sound.

Day 3 draw something that represents joy.

Day 4 draw your socks.

Day 5 draw a pine or fir tree or eucalyptus.

I missed this one.

Day 6 draw perfume or a scented product.

Day 7 draw something you got for free.

Day 8 draw a coffee pot.

I will be working on the remainder, though I am a week behind.  As I do so I will post another entry here.

See ya next time! 

Coneflower

Coneflower, originally uploaded by kquilts.

It seems I am really bad at blogging. Not that I think the content is bad really. I'm just not consistent. I have not done much in the way of art this year, and I am trying to get back to a regular practice.

In my last post I told of two of my paintings being accepted to a juried art show at Delicato Winery. This is an annual show. Neither painting sold, but I didn't really want them to. I will enter again next year, but submit paintings that I would like to sell.

This coneflower picture is one I have been wanting to paint for a while. They are such pretty flowers. I have had the reference photo for a while. It was painted with a (gasp) set of Prang watercolors. So not what I usually paint with, but for the sketchbook, it's okay. I will be painting this one again, either with Holbein, or Daniel Smith watercolors, to make a comparison. I will post the comparison as it gets done. Bye for now

Focus

We are one week into the new year today.  I meant to post earlier than this. I don't usually choose theme words for the year, but this year I have.  I chose the word earlier, but as of today, Jan 7 I have even more reason why this word is appropriate.  My word is FOCUS.  This year I am planning to focus more on art.  Specifically painting, oils, acrylics, and watercolor.  The reason I chose focus was because I tend to get a bit "scattered" with what I am doing.  Yesterday, though, I found out that two paintings I submitted in a local Fine Art show were accepted.  This is a juried show, and I had heard that the competition was quite tough.  I made it past the jury and am in.  I didn't win any awards, but that's okay.  I MADE IT IN!  I feel like I graduated!  The only downside is that these two paintings had to be available for sale, and I had really wanted to keep them.  They may not sell, and then again, they may.  We shall see.
 
 A little watercolor painting I painted in a sketchbook:

Here's two more for you, though not watercolor.

 
 The cell phone picture and the pear are both painted in AurynInk and Ipad drawing program

Such a fun way to draw. 

Bowie sleeping

Bowie sleeping, originally uploaded by kquilts.

This is my second attempt at drawing Bowie. He is a willing model most of the time. He likes to sleep, and that helps me, because he will be still for a fair bit of time. I am really liking this Auryn Ink drawing and painting app.

Merry Christmas!

Bowie cat sleeping.

I have just recently started playing with an Ipad app called Auryn Ink. It simulates painting with watercolor paints. I really was struggling with the process but then got a stylus to use. This made it much easier to draw. I didn't try filling in with solid color, just used thin strokes to show the texture of his fur.

Bowie cat, originally uploaded by kquilts.

 This was the first try at drawing the cat.