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.