The above is a new stitch to me...it was taught to me by DeAnn from Texas who recently took a Freeform class with me. She calls this a "Faux Crochet" stitch. Thanks DeAnn!

Are you ready for some football? Iowa Hawkeye Football today!

It's almost Hedge Ball Season!!

Thursday nght...and no Luka. How long must I wait?

I'm writing my instructions for tomorrow's class. It's August Snowflake time! September will bring a new design. You could make lots of beaded snowflakes before the real thing comes!
Yes, you could.

It was a busy day at Bead Haven and 2 fun classes with a great bunch of ladies. Sidewinder Saturday afternoon at Bead Haven! Look at the above sparkling bracelets done by Martha, Jan, Laura and Joan! Click on the photos to zoom-in on the fantastic work done by both groups! The photo below is from the Wire Wrap Bead class. Each bead here was individually hand-wrapped by Gwen, Charity, Nancy, Gloria, and Lynn. Also blue beads were wrapped by Stefanie-(sorry I didn't get your beads photographed before you left). You all did a great job!

Joy started this beautiful Mosaic stitch bracelet today in class. The color combination is so nice and the Czech glass button is perfect for it! Great job! Click on the photo to see more detail.

The above are Wendy's and Mary's cuffs from Wednesday's Part II Embroidered Zipper Cuff! Wendy's finished embroidered piece is featured on an indented copper cuff. Mary's work is in progress and will be a full sized cuff, so stay tuned. Make sure you click on the photos to see their beautiful work. Way to go, ladies! Jan-thanks for taking the neat pictures!

Wow-look at these fantastic Sidewinder bracelets in various stages from tonight's class! Make sure you click on the above photo to get a closer look at: Dot's, Michelle's, Mary's, Pat's, Nikki's & Laura's stunning work! Beautiful job ladies!

Congratulations to Iowan Shawn Johnson who got her Olympic gold medal in the last event of the women's competition Tuesday night, the balance beam. She had earned 3 silver before winning the gold. Her grin, after winning, was a thousand times wider than the 4-inch-wide beam she conquered.

To the left is another Carol Wilcox Wells book that I really enjoy. Perhaps you remember me saying that her earlier book "Creative Bead Weaving" is my favorite bead weaving book.

One of each, please...

Swimming in Gold! Michael Phelps Wins Record-Breaking 8th Gold Medal at Beijing Games! Michael Phelps has eclipsed Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games. (Yes, I remember that.)

It's Saturday-and I am not teaching any classes, which is rare for me. It is a beautiful day-in the 70's. My son is on a camping and trout-fishing trip in Missouri with his friends. Hope it is fun and relaxing for them. I think the weather is good there also! Here are more beautiful bright flowers that my aunt has grown.

These are my aunt's beautiful flowers that I took a photo of yesterday. They're bright and cheery, just like my aunt & uncle!

The above is a new bracelet that I designed yesterday and worked on yesterday and today. I call it "Falling Leaves" and I will offer it as a class in September at Bead Haven. The delicas are size 8/0. I had done an earlier design out of delicas 11/0 that I did not like as well-so that one will turn into something else. The edging leaves on this bracelet are beautiful shades of Czech glass.

This is a bracelet that I started a while ago. It is composed of the Ndebele stitch and ranges in bead sizes 15/0 seed beads - 4mm Czech Firepolish. It's bright and cheery and perfect for a Monday.

What a beautiful day!!

It's.......

Friday!!

On This Day...

August 7, 1971...
The Bee Gees top the charts for the first time with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." They topped the charts eight more times with songs like "Jive Talkin'' and "You Should be Dancing." The group had more No. 1 hits than any other group in history except the Beatles and the Supremes.

What a great Spiral bracelet class tonight. From the top of the photo- see Paula's beautiful Spiral made with metallic burgundy Miyuki seed beads 8/0s, that spiral around a galvanized silver core. The middle bracelet is Mary Jo's beautiful Spiral made with shades of blue beads, Miyuki size 8/0s & Miyuki drops, that spiral around an AB silver core. Click the picture and you can zoom-in on their neat work! My photo does not do justice to the stunning color combinations that the gals came up with for their Spiral bracelets!
The bottom bracelet is mine, made with Czech beads that spiral around a Miyuki core.

If something "goes without saying," why do people still say it?

Gotta stay cool.

It's hot!

It was in the 90's today and is to be tomorrow also. Wheeee--

I just finished this "Sidewinder" bracelet. I call it Peggy's Gold! It is the color combination that my friend, Peggy from Texas, had on her wrist when I first saw the bracelet. The photo doesn't do it justice. It's hard to photograph this bracelet-it is super sparkly!! Click the picture for a closer look. Bead Haven just got this two-strand clasp in yesterday, so I just had to finish up the bracelet this early morning.

This was Marc Cohn's very first appearance on the Tonight Show. Some songs are just ageless, aren't they? Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn...one of my favorites!

Marc Cohn Walkin In Memphis Live Late Night @ Yahoo! Video