NYC TRIP

APRIL

                                                                                                                                                                  OH, to write of New York in the spring. It was cold when April and I took Go-bus from Alewife station to Pennsylvania station . Why? To go to a beads how. To go to NYC. To do something different and exciting.
How exciting was New York?. It was certainly fast. I, a fast walker in Cambridge, was a slow walker in NYC and it wasn't only that I spent time gawking. I had bad culture shock that first evening, the hustle! The people! So many of them!
   We went to Bunch for dinner. It was a Korean steamed bun place. Korean steamed buns are just weird. We started eating hungrily and as we ate we found ourself liking them less and less until we couldn't finish them and threw them away.
    Next morning we got coffee at the Blue Ele. Sat in our rooms until we got the courage to go out.We hit the bead stores. I got a listing from Yelp. The bead stores in New York are just too good. I spent way too much on seed beads. We went here and there and bought this and that as it struck our fancy. We had no coherent strategy. Oh, to live in New York and be able to buy things when you need them.
    Later we went to the bead show. We bought buttons at Pernilla's Beads, coral and pearls from Chinese venders, electrocuted leaves from one man and metal bead strands from quite a few others.
When we got back to our hotel we took our hoard and put everything on the bed and admired it and divided it up.
    We spent most of our money on beads. We ate street food and spent little on food, as much of that on coffees as food.
    Monday I went off by myself to have the ever exciting cosmetic procedures. I got botox on my forehead and  ultherapy on my chin. I had a great time by myself. April went back to the bead stores to get things she thought she wanted. When I returned I set out again to find a kosher restaurant so I could get my boyfriend a corned beef sandwich. April got cranky and said there were deli's in Brookline. Time to go home. We went to the mysterious location the bus company had provided us with, joined other confused people who had had enough of the city. Finally the bus appeared, we all got on and were whisked back to Cambridge. Luckily there was a cab stand at Alewife because it was a long day.

myself enjoying coffee on 5th Ave

Big Day

picture of coming bead soup

Today is my big day. I'm busy learning to do freeform beading, supposedly peyote, but I'm doing brick stitch right now. Everyone is posting pictures of the bead soup they received. Mine hasn't come yet. Sent Rose Thorn one last fling of raku lampworked beads AND I learned a new way to spend my money! Yes, I joined Artists Leftover Destash group and they have yummy things for reasonable prices. I can't wait till I get the Victorian morning beads, I've coveted them for years.

MY soup hasn't come yet but I've got a teaser photograph. One big cabochon with coordinated beads, Now to learn to bezel a  cabochon. I'm standing outside my comfort zone right now and it's cold out!

victorian jet

Here she comes, my Rose with her thorns

Neither Rose or myself are inspired bloggers nor are we the most experienced bearers. Rose tend toward simple classic designs. She has severe carpel tunnel and cannot use the size 11 beads that I love. I am also not so big on the creative end. While we both adore our cats we don’t allow them creative leeway in our beading life either. My cat SQEEK is always anxious to rearrange my crafting table to his liking and any bead that falls on the floor is suddenly a new cat toy. Rose’s cat also interferes with her beading activities.As for my work I say I am still learning, its only been been 7 months since I’ve started beading. I can do some of the simpler designs in Geometric Beading by Kate McKinnon and am working on learning bead embroidery by way of the Bead Journal Project. I have made a few necklaces and I’m hoping that this blog hop will  magically give me the ability to make inspired designs.  Actually, I’ll be happy to come up with any designs at all.

Partner, partner

For my Bead Soup Blog party i got a real challenge. My partner Rose Thorn has carpel tunnel and can't use little bead and here I am long those seed beads. So I went through my soups, yes, I cooked up a bunch, weeding out anything too small and fusty. I ended up giving her

                                                       BIGBEADS

DO YOUR WORST BEAD SOUP BLOG PARTY

Don’t have my bead soups finished and mailed yet. I’m still hoping some@&*$%? come. Is it cheating to buy new beads ? I don’t know. I just know I don’t want to disappoint my partner. I feel she has been disappointed before. But I don’t have this fantastic collection of eclectic beads either. I’ve been looking at everybodies soup and I am INTIMIDATED. Still, I’m going to try and my partner is going to get the best soup I can make and I’m going to post all I can so we don’t get lost in the mix. Do your worst, BEADSOUP BLOG PARTY!! I am ready for you

partner time

I've got my blog partner. I was apprehensive at first, but talking to her has reassured me.  Her name is Rose Thorn. I hope I'm not sending too many emails to her, I've sent six already. I also did a little fun thing, pixelated my soups and posted them on Facebook and hopefully here. I think my picture-taking will take a big step forward now that I'm aware of these on line picture editing sites like Picmonkey
Well I got one picture up.

pixelated bead soup #1
You can see my other bead soup on Facebook, I've made it public