Cabin+Cub blog GIVEAWAY

Just spreading the news and the joy.  Valerie at Cabin+Cub is back in the swing of things and having  a lovely giveaway ... a set of her adorable mini note cards.  So cute and cheerful! What a lovely way to send a thoughtful greeting to a friend. 

 As a lot of us know Val is now a mommy and her little one,  cuter than a button and sweet as pie,  is now a frolicking one year old who keeps her pretty busy so it takes a lot of time management and juggling to find time to craft, do shows, run an etsy shop, blog and also have a wonderful giveaway ... uh, did I forget to put in "and also have a life?"  :D

So please head on over to Cabin+Cub and enter Valerie's giveaway ... drawing will be held Aug. 5th, hurry as we all know how time flies.

Beaded Sultan Bead Tutorial - Part 2

This is the continuation of the Sultan's Turban beaded bead as promised.
(Click Here for Part One of tutorial)

Row 4.) Pick up 1 seed bead, one 4 mm bead, 1 seed bead, one 4mm bead and 1 seed bead (this first group will be the only one that has 3 seed beads and two 4mm beads in it).  See photo # 21.

Go back through your 6 mm bead and then through the 6mm bead next to it.  See photo #22.

Pick up 1 seed bead, one 4 mm bead and 1 seed bead.  Pass needle down through the 4mm bead and the seed bead below it on the previous group made.  See photo #23

Now go back through the 6 mm bead  that you just exited and continue through the 6mm bead next to it.  Again pick up 1 seed bead, one 4 mm bead and 1 seed.  Pass needle down through the 4mm bead and the seed bead like you did in photo #23 and then back through the 6 mm bead and on through the next 6 mm bead. 

Repeat this pattern around row 4 until you reach the 8th and final 6mm bead, pass needle through this bead.  Photo #26 is bottom of bead so it appears that needle is going through bead from right to left but if the bead is flipped over, the needle would really be going from left to right.

At this point you will notice that you have a seed bead followed by a 4mm bead on each side of this last 6mm bead therefore you do not have to add these beads (see photo # 25).  

Pass needle through the seed bead and 4 mm bead that are a part of the 1st group made, now pick up 1 seed bead and go down through the 4mm bead and seed bead made in the last group ( this seed bead connects this row and completes this pattern).  Photo 27a shows the tip of the needle as gold colored and lets you know the direction of needle through these beads.

Photo # 27 b shows bead from bottom view, note again that needle direction is reversed when viewing from this perspective.

 Pass needle once again through the 6mm bead (Photo # 27 above )
Then up through the 4mm bead and the seed bead of that first group (photos # 28 & 29)  putting you into position to begin row 5. 

NOTE : as you make this round you will notice a web of thread is formed between the larger 6mm beads. Do not be concerned as this will be addressed later.

Row 5.)  This row will be work like row two, the only difference is that row 2 forms a flatter snowflake shape while this row will be pulled up into a cone-like shape. 

Pick up 3 seed beads, go back through the base seed bead and then through the next base seed bead.   (Photo # 31)

Pick up 2 seed beads pass needle down through the side seed bead of the picot just formed and return through your base seed bead and then over through the next base seed bead.   (Photo # 32)

Since you're not working this flat it may be hard to keep track of your base seed beads, be sure to keep track making sure that you've created a picot above 7 of the base seed beads.   (Photo # 33)

When there is only one seed bead remaining, the 8th one, pass needle through it and notice that this last bead is flanked on both sides by beads and only needs 1 bead to complete the picot. (see X in photo 34)

Bring needle up through the side seed bead of the 1st picot made (photo # 35)

Pick up 1 seed bead and pass needle through the side seed bead of the last picot made (photo # 36). Now go back through the base seed bead.

You have finished the last picot in row 6, to finish this row off bring your needle back up through the side seed bead of the first picot made and then through each of the 8 center seed beads of each picot. This will close up the final row.  (photo # 37)

Work your way down through the seed beads to reach the closest 4mm bead, go through the 4mm bead and the seed bead next to it, pick up 3 seed beads and go across and through the seed bead and 4 mm bead directly across from the beads you've just exited (this will cover up the thread webbing between the larger 6mm beads).  (photo #38)

Go through a seed bead next to the 4mm bead to cross over to the adjacent 4mm bead, pass needle down through this bead and the seed bead below it. Pick up 3 seed beads go through the seed bead and the 4 mm bead directly across from the bead you just exited and repeat this procedure until all spaces between the large 6mm beads have been filled in, covering the threads between them. Finish off your thread as you would in any work and cut.

NOTE:  Sometimes if the seed beads are too small you may need to either pick out larger ones or add one or two in order to fill in this space.

If you are looking for part one of this tutorail please go to: http://abeadersblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/beaded-sultan-bead-tutorial-part-1.html  or
CLICK HERE

Beaded Sultan Bead Tutorial - Part 1

Recently I saw an amazing beaded bead on BeadsForBrains365.  Mandy gave the web link  http://manogyongyei.blogspot.com/2009/01/sultan-bogy.html where she had found the pattern, only the instructions were a little sketchy and also in Hungarian.  Did I mention that I don't speak Hungarian, let alone read it ? Searching the web, I took note that there were a number of people that wished to make this same bead but had no luck with the Hungarian instructions ...  soooo ... I sat down and tried to walk my way through the sketches.  After much trial and error  this is what I came up with. 
I hope it will help those who, like myself, could not understand the Hungarian instructions or had difficulty trying to decipher exactly where the path of the threads went in the sketches.  I've also discovered that drawing diagrams of beads and thread paths is exasperatingly challenging.  My hat's off to those intrepid souls who write tutorials.

Due to the length of my instructions I will post in 2 parts.

Materials List : 

Beading Needle and scissors
Beading thread (Fireline, Nymo etc.)
Seed Beads size # 11/0  (round seed beads work best)
16 Round Beads size 4 mm
8 Round Beads size 6mm

About thread ... I prefer Nymo but please feel free to use whichever thread you're most comfortable with.  Since this bead does require some rigidity I recommend that you use a fairly thick thread .  In my version I used Nymo #D and though I used it single strand I did wax  it.  I cut my thread at 2 yards length and it was more than sufficient.

Row 1.) Pick up 8 seed beads on needle and thread them to within 6 or 8 inches from end of thread. Go back through all 8 beads to form a ring coming back through the first bead strung.

Row 2.) Pick up 3 seed beads and pass needle back through the same bead in your foundation ring  This forms a little picot. Picture below.

Pass needle through the next bead in your ring (picture above) and now pick up 2 seed beads (the 2nd bead on your needle will be the center bead of the next picot made).  Go through the side bead of the 1st picot made (picture below)  and then back through the foundation bead (notice that you now have 2 picots formed).  This is basically a Right Angle Weave.

Pass needle through the 3rd bead in the foundation ring, pick up 2 seed beads and repeat the previous step of going down through the newly form picots side bead and back through your foundation bead, then through the 4th bead in your ring.  Continue in this fashion until there is only 1 foundation bead remaining. 
Now pass needle through this foundation bead and UP through the side bead of that very 1st picot made.  Pick up 1 seed bead and go across to the last picot made and pass needle down through the side seed bead and then back through the foundation bead forming the finale picot and joining the second row. 

 

Pass needle back up through the side bead in the 1st picot made in row 2 (See picture above), and then through the center picot bead. (See photo below).

Row 3.)  Row three will begin the sides of the beaded bead and will start curving the bead downward. Pick up one 4mm bead, 1 seed bead, one 6mm bead, 1 seed bead and one 4mm bead.  Pass back through the seed bead that your thread was exiting from.  See picture below.

Bring need through the center seed bead of the next picot and pick up one 4mm bead, 1 seed bead and one 6mm bead.  Go down through the seed bead and the 4mm bead in the previous group of side beads formed.   See picture below.

Repeat this pattern until you reach the last remaining picot, here you will pass through that picot which I will call La Ultima.

(Photo #17) Bring needle up through the 4mm bead and seed bead of the very first group made.Pick up one 6mm bead and (Photo #18) go down through the seed bead and the 4 mm bead of the last group made.

This newly added 6mm bead joins the row and completes the pattern of row 3.  

(Photo #18) Pass needle through La Ultima seed bead and up through the 4mm bead and the seed bead in the first group formed in this row.  (Photo # 19)

Now pass needle through each of the 6mm beads to bring them together. (photo oops two #19's, it's been a long day ! See photo below)

 AT THIS POINT WE'RE OVER HALF-WAY COMPLETE.  I will post the other half of the tutorial tomorrow as this one is getting rather long.  Hope you'll check back.

                                                                                                                                                 

A Special Drawer for Seed Beads

Photo above - empty seed bead vials and containers

I have a collection of Seed Beads, it may not be the biggest collection but it takes up space and has always proved a challenge not only in how to contain those tiny beads but where to store the containers themselves.

Photos above and Below - A box full of empty seed bead containers.

Fortunately I came up with an idea and, even more fortunately, my dearest hubby was the one that made my idea into reality by creating  the storage space that I needed.  He strongly believes in the saying; "A happy wife makes for a happy life".

This was just a standard drawer that he replaced the glides on making it a full extension drawer.  Then he crafted the wooden shelf insert, which is based upon those spice storage inserts that one can purchase for their kitchen drawers.

Photos above and below - Every inch is utilized and I can see at a glance just what I have.

All those empty containers in that box at the top of my blog are from the beads in these photos.  I've discovered a lovely plastic jar that has a screw on lid, so the past few days I've been emptying old vials, boxes and other containers (even little baggies) of seed beads and putting them into these wonderful jars.  No more spilled beads caused from trying to pull off those annoying snap-on vial tops.  Must admit creating all those labels is what took FOREVER !

Now there's only problem,  I need another drawer just like this one! 

ON RED PINE MOUNTAIN

On a mountain in the state of Vermont rests the farm lands of the blog "Red Pine Mountain". Containing far more acreage than most of us could ever imagine and making my almost 3 acre parcel of land look minuscule in comparison, this bucolic paradise is surrounded by lush forests and dotted with pristine meadows. Red Pine Mountain is home and sanctuary to blogger Sara and her loving mate in life, whom she affectionately calls "Mountain Man". It is also home to Sara’s treasure, a collection of gentle, adorable animals. Sara is an unrequited dreamer and a lover of animals large and small, her menagerie includes horses, dogs and a barnyard of assorted fowl. Each of her gentle creatures displays a unique personality, in much the same way that we humans do, they will both surprise you and make you smile if not laugh.

In this mountain home Sara’s the dreamer but it’s Mountain Man who is her rock, the solidity that allows her to keep her head in the clouds and her feet firmly on the ground, it’s truly a match made in heaven. Together they attempt to salvage an old farm, restore it to its’ past glory and to preserve a way of life that is quickly disappearing.

If you visit Red Pine Mountain, you may witness the miniature horses as they graze in their pasture, leisurely nibbling on the sweet succulent grasses.  Perhaps you’ll spy the antics of Sara’s clever turkeys, guinea hens and assorted chickens, or discover the farm’s latest acquisition such as their new fluffy yellow goslings.

Red Pine Mountain is a blog I love to visit because, for a moment in time, I’m transported to a tranquil oasis, a beautifully verdant retreat where the sky is too blue to believe and the air fresh and fragrant with the perfume of trees, fresh hay and green meadows.

You’re graciously invited to visit as their gate is always open wide and they welcome all who enter there.

If you care to visit there and have not noticed all my highlighted links in my post that would take you to this blog ... or if you would prefer to check it out on your own terms the URL is :  http://redpinemountain.com/ 

I'm confident that you'll enjoy the trip.



Where Have The Lilies Gone ???

I have returned and you will find that lilies have nothing what-so-ever to do with this post other than they are pretty and cheerful and at the moment there are none to be found in my flowerbeds or my life. 
Were I to say that my blog absence was due to some exotic trip or bold new adventure would be, well it would be an outright lie!  What I've truly been doing for the past several weeks is wallowing in a pit of depression.   Depression self-inflicted in part by self-pity, of bemoaning my lackluster etsy shop and beating myself up over things that I've little or no control over. 

My daughter called me a few weeks ago.  She was in tears and bawling as though her heart would break.  Reason ?  She just found out her oldest son's girlfriend is pregnant.  Bad news? Yes.  Heartbreaking news? Yes. End of the World news?   Not quite. 

My oldest grandson is 21, his girlfriend is slightly younger.  Both have minimal educations and minimal paying jobs.  Yes the pregnancy was an accident, unplanned.  She was taking birth control pills and then was put on antibiotics for a sinus infection.  Guess she didn't read the precautions that came with her meds.  When on a course of antibiotics and taking birth control pills, one should take extra precautions and use an alternative method of birth control.  A fact that obviously slipped under their radar.

It took my daughter a couple of days to get over the disappointment and of course she now understands just how I felt when I found out she, my then 19 year old daughter, was going to be a Mommy.  She was too young to be a mother ... I wanted her to go to college, get a degree ... she had such promise, such potential.  Hell I was too young to be a grandmother !!!!  And now it's come around full circle.  Such is life.  Funny life !  Uncontrollable life ! 

Now what am I going to do ?   What's my daughter,who insists she's going to be a nana and not a granny, going to do ? Well first of all, if she's going to be a nana then I'm going to be a grana.  Next  we'll go shopping for baby items  together and then we'll sit down and start planning a baby shower for our future grandchild and great-grandchild.

We all sit at life's poker table and try to make the most with the cards we're dealt. Sometimes the cards contain a few queens or kings, other times we're lucky to just get a pair of deuces.
Life's too short to fret over things beyond one's power and I've heard it said that if you concentrate on the big things the important matters in life, then all the small things, all that not so important stuff takes care of itself.  True perhaps, but even truer is the fact that no amount of worry is going to make things better.   And so THAT'S MY 2 CENTS FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH.