Time is getting short in Montana

This is my last week in Montana this summer. It's still warm but you can feel fall in the air. Last week we hiked to Tongue Mountain in the Jewel Basin. The Glacier Lillies were abundant so you know the snow there had just melted. It was incredible to see them this late in the season.

This is looking down on Blackfoot Lake.

Having too much fun in Montana!

I haven't blogged all summer until now because there is too much outdoor stuff to do in summer up here in Montana. I also have not been in a beading mood but I have been knitting. I am doing my first ever Knit-A-Long from knittingdaily.com. We are doing the Bella Blouse by Norah Gaughan. If I like the way it turns out, I will post a photo. I'm anxious to finish it for two reasons: one, I want to take it with me to Italy (leaving Sept. 11th) and two, I have more knitting projects I'm dying to start.

So it's been a summer with much hiking and kayaking. I'll include a couple of photos of those activties.

Cowgirl Necklace

Yes I have been beading. This is my Cowgirl necklace. The main pendant is one I bought at Bead It here in Prescott and is reversible. So I made the coral cabs revesible too (I beaded around two cabs). It also includes a cowgirl hat charm and a boot charm. But I haven't stopped knitting. I'll be taking my knitting with me to Lake Powell next week where I'll be spending a few days on Vern's sailboat. Knitting is much more portable than beading - I'm glad that I love to do both!

New Cuff

I finished this cuff today. It's hard to photograph it but it's wider on one end than the other. I'm very happy with how it's turned out. Maybe I'll get back to doing a little knitting now.

My garage looks like a kayak store. There are two more off camera. These four are going to Montana in June. The two on the right will stay there and the other two will go back and forth for us to use in both Arizona and Montana. Summer is finally here! Yeah!

Cowgirl Cuff

I just finished this Cowgirl Cuff. The cowgirl boot is a pin that I bought in Tucson a few years ago. On one side is a buffalo nickel and the othe side a cowgirl hat. Cabochons are gaspeite, coral and turquoise.

Lizard Ridge Afgan in Progress

These are the first four blocks of Lizard Ridge. I love to see how the colors play out while knitting each skein. I have three more skeins to use before starting to repeat. It won't be as much fun when starting to repeat but at least the skeins start in a different point in the sequence of color so that will make it a little more interesting.

New Work

I've gotten back to beading and have completed these two necklaces so far. The first one incorporates sugelite, gaspeite and turquoise while the second one uses green turquoise stones. The second one also has an extender (not shown) so it can be worn two different lengths. When I get tired of beading, I knit on my new afgan, Lizard Ridge which is a pattern by Laura Aylor that I downloaded from Ravelry.

Beading in California

Last week end was the Vista Point Artists meeting at Creative Castle in Newbury Park, Ca. This is a group of bead artists that was formed by several of the members of NanC Meinhardt's thirteenth Master's Class and has recently been expanded to include a few newer members. After the class culminated, we decided that we wanted to remain together to create art with our beadwork. We get together several times a year and work on our projects which we hope will some day result in a gallery show. Here are some photos of some members and their work in progress.

Off to California

This is the week end of Vista Point Artists quarterly meeting. I'm driving over to Los Angeles today and staying at my friend Liz's home tonight and heading to Newbury Park tomorrow. I'll try to remember to take a few photos of what other members are working on. I'm still working on my "Our Lady of Guadalupe" purse. Here are a few photos of the panels that are completed so far. I will finish the second side panel this week end and then the only part left to do is the strap.

Hiking in the Bulldog Mountains

No beading on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. A group of us went down Usery Park and the Bulldog Mountains to hike (east of Phoenix). We spent two nights at the Saguaro Lake Guest Ranch which is a collection of cabins built in 1930 to house the workers building the dam which creates Saguaro Lake. The second photo is taken at the ranch looking up at the Bulldog Mountains and the first photo shows some of us standing on top of the center mountain in the second photo. You can see the dam and Saguaro Lake in the background. The weather was nice and warm (some thought it too warm but not me!) When we returned to Prescott, spring had arrived here too and it's now beautiful. Spent much of the day planting geraniums and pansies.

I've completed one of the three projects presented at Beading by the Bay. This is the bracelet called Carousel by Marcia DeCoster and the colors I chose are Purple Lime as I have both of those colors in my wardrobe. The centerpiece on this bracelet is made up of two parts and the top piece moves - hence the name Carousel.

The Beading by the Bay retreat in San Francisco was a delight! (March 10, 11 and 12th) Three great projects by three fabulous teachers and 49 eager students from all over the country. I had not taken a class from any of the three teachers prior to this retreat and had been really looking forward to meeting them and learning from them. Marcia DeCoster's project was a bracelet named Carousel - I made pretty good progess on that one in class but have not yet finished it. Jean Campbell who is a senior editor at Beadwork magazine had also designed a bracelet called Sakura. I haven't made a lot of progress on that one so far. The third project was a choker by Maggie Meister. I love this one and so it will probably by the first one that I finish. The Beading by the Bay retreat is so well organized. It is held at the Crowne Plaza in Burlingame which is just minutes from the airport. Even though the weather was very nice for the Bay area, we hardly left the hotel as the food there was very good and the comaraderie was wonderful.

In the meantime, I've completed a few of my own designs. The first necklace above is shown with the extension attached. Without it, the necklace can be worn as a choker. It has a Swarovski crystal pendant. The second one is a Russian spiral choker with a pendant that uses Amethyst Sage Agate. I love those stones! The third necklace includes Condor Agate, Opalite and Polka Dot Agate. I'm attracted to agate as there is such a variety of color and pattern.

Well the Rock-n-Roll purse is completed!. The purse can be used as a clutch or the strap can be attached and used as a shoulder purse. The strap has the name of the soon to be owner, the name of the school from which she will graduate in May and the year 2011. The entire creative process was enjoyable but I have to say that I'm anxious to get on with some other projects. I've started a crocheted neck warmer. I have my freeform scrumbling to work on and I am looking forward to beading some jewelry projects.

Both panels are done and I'm working on the strap which will have the recepient's name, name of her college and the year 2011 on it. It will attach to the sides of the purse if she wants to use it. There is also a chain that can be used as a strap or the purse can just be a clutch.

There is weather moving in this week end so I'll have time to work on it. Also I'm a juror for the Mountain Artists show in May and this is the week end that we jury the applications for entry. I am jurying the fiber and jewelry categories. It's done on line and uses a very user friendly efficient program.

Almost finished with the second panel. After this panel is finished, I'll need to do the sides which are not large and which I think I will do entirely in sequins. Even though the purse is a clutch, it does have hooks on the side to which a chain can be attached. I think I will also do a beaded strap that can be attached to the same hooks so it can be used with either the strap or the chain.

After a little time off beading on the purse, I've started again. This is the second panel.

Finished the first panel today. It represents half of the purse.

Today was another day of not beading a whole lot as I met my friend Ruthmary for lunch in Jerome. She is staying in Sedona for a couple of weeks, escaping the cold and snow in Montana. Here she is in front of one of the many interesting shops there; unfortunately my favorite shop Knit One Bead Two is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays so I couldn't spend any money there. Did buy a couple pairs of earrings though at the Connor Hotel Shop.

Sierra Madre Agate Cabs

Love the olive and orange colors. Will probably use them in bead embroidery - thinking about doing a neckpiece.

Back to beading

I took a couple of days off and didn't bead at all. Yesterday was spent at Quartzite where we looked at a lot of interesting stuff but I only bought a few cabochons. They're an agate from the Sierra Madre and are an interesting olive and orange color. Back to beading today.

I've been working daily on the Rock 'n Roll Purse. I'm nearly done with the beading on the first half and plan to fill in the remaining space with sequins. That part of the purse will be at the bottom so should not be a focal point.

Doesn't look like much yet but this represents over a week's worth of work.

New Year's Resolution

Since I've been more interested in fiber than beads lately, I made a New Year's Resolution to start a beading project that needs to be completed by May. So I allowed myself to knit until December 31st and on January 1st I started the Rock 'n Roll beaded purse that I've been commissioned to do and that will be a gift for a college graduation. These purses involve hours and hours of beading so I will need to keep at it diligently.