Promising

The ice will melt and these seeds will do their spring thing - in about 100 days or so.

Sensitive Knitwear

I knit two of these for the holidays - a dark chocolate one for Miss Margaret and this one for myself.

It's called the "Cupcake Hat" and you can get the free pattern here from Chile con Yarne.
This is the 100 st cast on version, knit with 3" of ribbing and then almost 9" of length before beginning the decreases at the crown. I wanted mine to come down all the way over my ears, Miss Baby's is only about 7 1/2" long before the decreases and looks a bit more like a tasty cupcake.

I laughed out loud when I saw the snapshot below come out of my camera.
As someone who never camera whores in the mirror - this terribly wistful portrait of a matron in a hat is hysterical. One might even think I was one of those terribly sensitive bloggers with an overabundance of evolved feelings and deep insights.

I know - it's much more likely to find a photo of me with cheese doodles in my ears than a soft focus dream-scape.

So Much Comfort & Joy

Please note that we put up a pair of Christmas trees this year.
It was so late in the season that by the time we went to get ours that the vendors, at the Rochester Public Market, were selling them for $5 each. I almost bought three but my family started rolling their eyes and said "enough." They were wrong - three would have been great.

Don't you have a life size deer in your dining room?
It's a long story...

We had a wonderful, wonderful December the 25th!
And it all continues on with more merriment, and dashing through the snow, this week and on through New Year's Day. Hope you're still happily slogging through the nog.

Most Fortunate

Is there anything more perfect during the hustle of Christmas than Chinese take-out dinner?

Tightly Wrapped

Kentucky bourbon on the rocks - with a ribbon twist.
The wrapping is done.

Wooly Winter Blossoms

I sewed up a big barrette for Miss Margaret.

It's just stacks of circles cut from felted wool sweaters. A vintage rhinestone button and some leaves where added and viola a nice, big, overly decorative barrette.

Getting My Sugarplum On

We had a holiday party/craft showing at my house last night. A small gang of my gal pals threw it - and the night was so much fun. We each invited all our friends, plied them with sweets and wine, and then sold them trinkets. So much laughter and cheer. Some people said it was the most fun they'd ever had gift shopping.

Besides pimping my usual glass jewelry and paintings. I had made some wool flower corsages (above) and some catnip mice (below) for the party. I have one lone flower left - every single one of the mice scampered out the door to be given to various pampered kitties.

Also I whipped up a handful of hats for kids made out of upcycled cashmere sweaters. 

And a flock of bird ornaments.

This was our second year doing the event - and there is no doubt in my mind that we must do it again in 2011.
Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by!

Of course the life size deer in my dining room was tricked out for the evening in some felt candy cane
and the rubber rat spent the night under glass.

... and
to
all
a
good
night...

Earring Freak Out

No time for niceties - I am way too busy elfing my fingers to the bone getting ready for my last holiday show of the season. It's at my house on Wednesday if you're in the neighborhood...

Reverse Engineering

It's a bit sleazy but I found the frames before making the little ink and brush drawings to fit into them.

The ends can justify the means - sometimes.
I know it's a backwards way of doing it, not the aesthetic choice of purists.

Making a painting to fit a frame?
Snort.

All summer I picked up these beautiful little wooden frames at garage and estate sales. There's a whole box of them waiting for little paintings in my studio. Most of them were only a couple of dollars, some were even from free boxes. A lot cheaper than a frame shop, eh?

I also snagged an old book on how to frame your own art so they're very neat and professional. The backs are all tidily sealed with brown paper just like from the framers.

Here they are sitting on my work table waiting to be delivered to Java's a the public market. That's where they're hanging now all priced and ready to go.

Bare Branches

Why did I sell these?

Little beer glass brown leaves swirled with pearly green waves. Simply dangling on sterling silver, hand hammered wires.

What was I thinking when I let these go? I know, I know, I can make another pair, eventually.
The thing is, I made about ten pairs in this leafy style, in all sorts of different colors, and forgot to keep even a single pair for myself. Dope.

My newly twenty-one year old daughter is home from college for a month. We picked her up and brought her back this afternoon. Tonight she says she's at her boyfriend's apartment "watching cartoons." I imagine that's code for snogging.

A little snowy eye-candy for you.

Fire Opal Necklace

It's great to be back in the digital realm - but I got so much done while my laptop was dead.

This is my big "fire opal" necklace, a showy strand of hand shaped lentil beads with chunky 16g sterling silver wire holding it all together.

The beads have a core of black that was wrapped in silver foil, decorated with swirls of Double Helix Ekho and then encased in clear. I learned how to make them from a free tutorial by Naos. Aren't the the most beautiful beads? It's a great bead recipe. Interested? Click here to read her tutorial.

And, for good measure, I am throwing in a gratuitous snapshot of the wintry weather were having here in upstate New York. I don't know where you are but we have about two feet of pre-Christmas snow.

Double Dammit

After a week of computer deprivation - no email, no blog, no fancast... I have my laptop back on my desk.

Alas, it is not fixed. I have so much new stuff to share but I have no idea when I will be back up and running.

Gotta type fast before the screen dithers to a deathly hot pink and crashes again.

Hippie Chick

I have this big, happy necklace in a show - but it better not sell.



I want to have it for myself.

It's made up of lots and lots of small stray beads - graduated in size from about 9mm to 12mm.
All of them are different and I put them together on hand hammered, spiral links of brass.
It took hours and hours of banging with my little hammer.

'Hippie Chick' is a continuous loop about  45" long.
I wore it for a few minutes just to check it out - it was so fun.

Of course, I can make myself another one if it sells.
But, you know how that goes, I would probable never get around to making another 72 individual wee glass beads.

P/S - Sorry for my absence from the blog this past week - my silly old laptop was in the shop. Turns out it was probably just dust that was making it wheeze and pass out. Guess you can guess how much time I devote to dusting this old house?

Bird Songs

Glass bird pendants.

Love Songs

Who doesn't love heart shaped beads?
I cannot even begin to tell you how many of these I have made since I began lampworking.

I always make at least one each session at the torch - as an end of the day bead.
Picking up and using all the popped off ends, short bits and glassy detritus, and bits of fine silver on my bench.

I don't fuss with them much, this season's have just a hand hammered spiral bail and a simple leather cord.

This one (above) has a black base encased in Sapphire Blue from Cims's with at bit of fine silver foil floating on the surface. One of my girlfriends nick-named it the evil bitch bead.

These heart necklaces are part of my everyday clothing uniform and sometimes I'll sell them right off my neck.
It can be really weird.

All of these are headed to More Fire Glass Holiday Sale.

A variation on the theme - one of my little seed pod beads dangling on the end.

This heart (above) is a great glass combo to try.
It's Cim's Olive wrapped up in silver foil and then dotted haphazardly with Double Helix Gaia. Melt it all together and reduce heavily and you get a glittering, iridescent moss covered rock.

They are all around two inches long.

My hearts are gravity shaped - which gives you lovely drooping swirls when when you make stripes on the bead before shaping the lobes of the heart.

There are even a few more - if you want to see them you can click here.

Since this post is called "Love Songs" tomorrow's blog post has to be called "Bird Songs."
Please stop by and see this season's flock of bird pendants.