Lament

I started this year out with the goal of adding one new bead pattern a week and one new item to my Etsy shop every week. I have plenty of jewelry to put up on Etsy, it's just hard for me to get good pictures.

I was taking inventory today. I've only added eight new patterns and 9 items to my Etsy shop. Some of the Etsy items are some that expired and I relisted.

Yep! I'm feeling sorry for myself, or guilty. I'm not sure which. the year is swiftly passing and I'm accomplishing so little.

Now that I've had both cataracts removed and eyes are pretty well healed I hope I can get a lot more done the rest of the year than I've done so far.

I've been watching Amazon for quite some time for "The Best Little Beading Book" to come available.
Wendy Simpson Conner learned beadwork from her grandmother. This book covers various beads and their sizes in mm, fundamentals of beading, beadwork, stringing, and so much much more. There's a lot of history of beadwork and pictures of old beadwork on fabric and bead weaving.
There are many patterns in this book and also a section on setting up a jewelry business and some fun puzzles. It just looks like a wonderful reference book complete with eye candy. That's something we all love isn't it?
The regular price I've found on this books from other sites is $28 or so.  This one's a steal at under $10.

New Things in the Works

Well, somebody's finally done it!  I found the book "Jewelry Making and Beading For Dummies" by Heather Dismore and Tammy Powley.  I don't know about you, but I'm such a dinosaur that when I first got a computer I had lots of "For Dummies" books because they were written so simply but had such detail that I could learn computer and many software programs much more easily than I could in a class room.


I haven't purchased this book yet, but you can see some sample pages at Amazon.com by clicking on the link above.  It looks like it covers every type of jewelry making available, plus descriptions and explanations of supplies. 


The weather has finally warmed up here on the high plains of Texas, but the wind is blowing at least 20 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.  Definitely spring in Texas.  I have a few dandelion blooms dotting the property, but I don't know if I'm going to have enough to make dande syrup this year or not.  The thyme and rosemary are ready for the first harvest, so I need to get busy in the yard.  Don't worry, I'm not abandoning beading.

I have two new patterns coming up soon.   Summer Rain Storm is shown above. I've been trying to make a pattern for the toggle ring I made but even though I have the number of beads on paper that I have in the ring, it isn't working, so I've got to sit down and make another one and draw it row by row as I work it. The other is bracelet and earrings called Swirling Eddy.  I have the bracelet finished, but I have to wait for the sun to get in just the right spot to shine just the right light through my living room curtains to capture the iridescence and the contrasts in it with a camera.  I'm working on the second earring.  Hopefully I'll have those patterns both ready by the end of the week.