Nov & December BJP finished

After a false start on my November BJP, I removed the beads and the fusible silk leaf I had created using a real leaf as a pattern.  It was not turning out the way I thought it would, and the silk edges were getting raggedy looking with the handling.  I was pleased that I could just pull off the fused silk leaf and return to the original fabric "canvas". 

 So I began another theme for November.  When I originally began this piece, things were going along normally for us, then Craig's mom suddenly was in the hospital and died within 6 days.  It was a shock.  Craig, of course, went back to say goodbye to her and be with his sister and brother for the memorial in Maine.   One of the things she told me was that a ring with an aquamarine stone in it should be mine after she died.  We shared a birth month and birth stone.  I loved the ring, and was glad that no one else really wanted it.  I am wearing it constantly, and am working on remembering good times with her. She was a difficult person.  So, my November block took a right turn and became kind of a family memorial.

  The turquoise beads are to remember the aquamarine stone in this ring. The divisions show that there were three children (with moonfaces for each child), one had no children (leaves) one had one child (one leaf) and one had three (three leaves).

The 5 large-ish discs in the upper left represents the original family... mom, pop, and three kids.  The bead towers in the upper middle right have four beads at the tops and they look like miniature crosses in an old cemetery.  There are eight of them.... for mom, pop, gram, mom-mom, pop-pop, Aunt Edna, Aunt Ella and Uncle Bub.  The four large dark flowers are the four granddaughters... Diana, Sarah, Shelley, and Jill.  And the four green leaves in a row represent the great-grandchildren (two of which are still to be born).

I am mostly happy with it as a "journal" piece, but it isn't the best workmanship I've done with beads.  

And then I began my December block.  I had chosen a really cool piece of hand-dyed fabric, and wanted to make use of the variations on it with the beads. I was spending the weekend caring for a couple of teenagers while their folks were away.  They need rides and someone to cook, be there "just in case" and sleep over.  So, I had lots of time to bead and just be available to the kids.  

It was a challenge for me to do something in basically a monochromatic color scheme.  I used some interesting square black matte beads for the first path snaking across.  I decided to try a "nine patch" (a quilt pattern)  in beads, and liked it so much that I continued and filled that whole space with a basket weave effect.  The square bead at the bottom is a wood bead that I got in Costa Rica.

I don't really have any journaling aspects on this one... just that Christmas is a festive time with red all around to decorate the dark places with vibrancy and life.  And one of the best parts for me is that December is only half way over and my BJP is finished!  On to 2009!

Too long!

Well, it's been way too long since I have written in this blog. I have been doing some beading, but mostly my "other" life has kept me occupied. I am getting back into the journal pieces now, though. I spent 6 weeks visiting my daughter in Costa Rica, so that slowed things down a bit! But I am back now, and feel like beading! It was great to get some sun and hugs!
I did finish my November journal piece.
I am pleased with the variation in it. It was fun to do, but not very creative. I would like to change my mode for the second half. For the first half I have used photos of flowers I've taken and printed on fabric as my base. That has been fun, but I'm feeling constrained by the literal-ness of these pieces. I would like to take a more improvisational look at beading. It will be more creative for me. I will still use the same size that I started with, but these next 6 will be more spontaneous and interesting for me to create.