Learning new things...

Dh picked up a kit of beads and supplies for Youngest the other day. It was chosen for the beads, mostly, but the kit itself is for loomwork. Having never done it before, she and I learned how together, as I made a small bracelet for her.

Youngest chose the pattern and colours, and I was quite surprised by how quickly it worked up. The band itself is 6 inches long, plus the loop and toggle clasp. The finished bracelet is 7 1/2 inches.

The kit came with a few larger beads, and I used one of them to make the toggle bead, loosely covering it with rows of seed beads. I like this style of clasp.







I did make some changes from the instructions that came with the kit. They rely heavily on the use of glue on the knots to keep it together, while the excess threads are cut close. I really don't like to use glue, if I can avoid it, and definitely don't like to cut close to knots. Instead, I wove some of the excess back into the beads before trimming it. The exceptions were the two middle lengths of the band, which were used to make the loop and attach the toggle bead. I'd use one by itself first, then thread the second one through the same beads in the opposite direction, for extra strength.

Final say: I'm not a huge fan of loom or other square work - I prefer the look of peyote or brick, but there are definite advantages to square work. The square grid makes patterning easier, and the whole thing was quite easy and quick. Loomwork is also very strong, and a good way to make large pieces.

The only thing I would change is the order of the colours. I've got the two rainbow colours she'd chosen right next to each other, and I think I'd prefer to have kept them separated by the black and gold. Youngest likes it just the way it is, though, and that's all that matters.

Now it's time to help Youngest string the loom again for her turn. :-)

This weeks (and last) library list

With all the stuff we were going in preparation for Easter last week, I did manage a quick run to the library to return some movies (late *L*) and, having only 1/2 an hour before the bus came, I quickly grabbed a bunch of books.

What the Bleep do we Know; Discovering the Endless Possibilities for Altering your Everyday Reality: written by co-creators of the movie, I had this one put on hold for me, but still haven't had much chance to read it. Love the movie, though, so I figured I couldn't go too wrong with it.

The Wilderness Cookbooks; A Guide to Good Food on the Trail: not quite what I thought it was, I'm still finding it useful. The recipes are designed especially for camping, with lots of tips and suggestions for outdoor cooking.

Medieval Celebrations: this is the second time I've taken this one out. Medieval Days will be coming up fairly soon, and I'd like to have some authentic recipes and clothing patterns to work with. Also includes games, music, a mummers play, and everything you need to know to set up a Medieval feast.

The Art of Beadwork; Historic Inspiration, Contemporary Design: this is another repeated loan. Some very interesting patterns and methods here, including how to make beaded beads and beaded sculptures.

Beading for the Soul; Inspired designs from 23 contemporary artists: this one turned out to be a much better pick than I expected. I just quickly glanced through it and spotted design ideas that seems to be what Eldest is interested in. It turns out to be about spiritual beadwork. Some very interesting reading.

I also snagged a couple of Brother Cadfael movies, at the request of Youngest, including One Corpse Many, and The Holy Thief. Eldest now wants to read the books, too, but it looks like we'll have to put them on hold - I only found one copy on the shelf, and it was short the "prelude" book, telling how Cadfael ended up becoming a monk. A good book, but not what I'm after right now.

Now, on to today's list. Boy, did we over do it again today! LOL

The Myth & Magic of Embroidery: This is one of many books from Helen M. Stevens. She is a truly glorious artist, and I'm always stunned by the beauty and detail of her work. I own one of her books (in a box in storage, of course) and just love it. If I can only be half as good as she is, I would be happy! Her talent and skills are astounding!

Native Harvests; American Indian Wild Foods and Recipes and Gathering What the Great Nature Provided; Food Traditions of the Gitksan; I have long had an interest in "wild" food. The idea of being able to go into the bush and be able to find food is one I've long appreciated. Most books on the topic tend to be European, so finding ones specific to North America is always something exciting for me. Gathering isn't so much a recipe book as an instruction manual, including how to make and use an earth oven, drying and preserving, etc. Native Harvests is more like a typical recipe book, but also includes a great deal of information about various native foods as well.

The Healing Garden; A Natural Haven for Body, Senses and Spirit: while this book does include information on specific plants like so many other gardening books, this book is more about the different types of gardens, reasons for building them, as well as how to build different types of gardens. It includes formal gardens, romantic gardens, gardens for fragrance or colour - even a garden for the visually impaired. I'm looking forward to going through this and dreaming of when I'll actually have land to plant on.

Charlemagne's Tablecloth; A Piquant History of Feasting: an interesting look at feasts and banquets throughout history, as well as how and why people have held feasts.

If you've been reading my other blog, than you know my interests and some of my views about the environment and climate change (though I've fallen quite behind in posting on the subject). So when I happened upon a whole bunch of books on the subject, I snapped a few up.

Fact, Not Fear: Teaching Children About the Environment (Canadian Edition): This book deals with something that is starting to truly alarm me. With all the hype and hysteria about global warming and the environment, it's having a horrible effect on our children - increased stress, fears, nightmares, etc. Worse, our kids are being fed misinformation and outright lies (one example I'd read earlier included the re-writing of history) and being used by special interest groups to push an agenda. This book deals specifically with what's been happening in the school system and, even though the book is almost 10 years old, these issues are even more relevant today.

Eco-facts & Eco-fiction; Understanding the Environmental Debate: this one looks like it might be some dry reading, but from what I've seen so far, it takes a hard look at some of the many things we're being told to accept as truth, and points out how some of the "eco-friendly" things we are being sold on may actually be more damaging than what they are intended to replace. Having just read an article today about the unexpected problems with smart-cars (the batteries contain toxic heavy metals and hazardous material that can lead to problems when they need replacing), I though it timely.

Hoodwinking the Nation: a direct challenge by the author to the doom and gloom set, and the current belief that things are basically going to hell in a handbasket, even though our life expectancies are higher, health has steadily improved, as well as survival rates increasing for things that would've killed us even just a generation ago, and the environment is actually improving (cleaner water, less pollution).

Now for the kids' choices...

Lace Fans: designing and making lace fans, with a lovely inspirational gallery of photos.

Findings & Finishings; A Beadwork How-to Book: some beautiful ideas in here!

Wonderful Wire & Bead Crafts: oooohhh.... I'm going to have to go through this one myself! Some wonderful projects in here!

The Art of Parchment Craft: I've never worked with parchment paper before. Looks interesting. A new hobby in the making? (like we need another one...)

The Bead Maker; Projects for creating hand crafted beads: Youngest has discovered the joys of making beads from polymer clay. Now she's all excited about trying some of the ideas in here, too.

Beaded Ornaments; Creating New Looks for Clothes & Accessories: some very nice ideas to turn ordinary clothing into works of art!

Beading for the First Time: Eldest grabbed this one for her sister. Youngest has been watching me and her sister making things and wants to try her hand at it, too.

We're going to have to buy more beads again.

A Guide to Quilling Flowers: quilling is something Eldest spotted in a general paper crafts book I'd borrowed some time ago. She tried a few of the techniques and now wants to learn more.

Wow. Done. Finally!

Oh, wait - I forgot these were still in the bag...

Beading: from The Portable Crafter series, this tiny book has a lot of great ideas.

Brother Cadfael; Pilgrim of Hate (vhs): we just have to have at least one Brother Cadfael movie!

On cd

Cafe Fuego; Music to Set Your Soul on Fire (South/Central American music)
Franz Liszt (piano - played on Liszt's own piano by Dag Achatz)
Australian Rhythms; an Album Evolved over Thousands of Years (blend of traditional and contemporary music)

Ok. Now I'm done.

Trying something new

With all the beading and crafting books we've been getting from the library, I tried a new twist of my favorite style of beading - the peyote stitch. The result is this bracelet which, unfortunately, I can't wear. One of the reasons I started making my own jewelry was that purchased jewelry for women have pretty much never fit me. Having unusually thick bones comes in handy sometimes - I've *not* broken them when they probably should have, more than a few times ;-) - but it sucks when it comes to finding jewelry that fits. With this pattern though, it was either this size, or it would've been too loose, so my daughters get to wear it instead.

This is actually a tube done in peyote stitch, giving an effect similar to beaded crochet. Normally, when using peyote stitch to make a bracelet, I start at one end and stitch to the length I need for a flat "fabric" result. With this, I worked it by the length. To work this pattern, I started the string with 4 black beads, then two each of the white and gold, making each section of the pattern 8 beads long. In peyote stitch, this string of beads makes the first two rows. I then peyote stitched it to 8 beads wide (rows 3 and 4 are the hardest!). I then "zipped" the long ends together to make a tube, which was then worked end to end to make the ring.

Final say: I love the effect of beaded crochet, and liked working a version of it in simple peyote stitch. Because it was mostly an experiment, I used colours and types of beads I had a lot of. To work it again, there's a couple of things I'd change.

First, I'd either go with larger beads (these were size 10 seed beads), or go with a longer and wider pattern. Using this size of bead, and 8x8 pattern made it a bit too narrow to comfortably zip into a tube. A side effect is that the bracelet is actually quite stiff and inflexible because of how tight the tube is. Part of the reason I love bead woven jewelry is its pleasant softness and flexibility, which is missing here. With the same size bead, I'd probably go with a 10x10 pattern next, or go to a slightly larger size of bead.

The other thing I'd change is the type of gold beads. These are plated beads, and for something as high-wearing as a bracelet, the plating wears off rather quickly, revealing the colourless, transparent bead beneath. It's the sort of thing you'd really have to look to notice, but of course, *I* see it, and the perfectionist in me starts to cringe. LOL

The bracelet is a hit with the girls, and now they're both asking me to show them how to do peyote stitch. :-)

Extra Sweets

Easter is over, Dh is back at work, and things are going back to normal. Well, as normal as they ever are in this household!

Before I go on to our late hs'ing activities (and Eldest is now able to post on here too, so she'll be adding her own perspective every now and then), I wanted to post pictures of a couple more Easter treats we got.

Every Easter, my in-laws have been giving special baskets for their grandchildren. Since we have moved, they've started sending them (and us!) treats that are a bit easier to mail. What you are seeing here is a lovely tray of mixed chocolates, and the box beneath is one of 4 chocolate pizzas. Yes, chocolate pizzas!

The treat was extra special this year for another reason, though. In the past, these were purchased from a good friend who started

making chocolate as an at-home business, eventually opening up a very popular shop. She hand made all the chocolates - most her own special concoctions. They were fabulous! She is also a fantastic woman, and the kids just loved her.

Unfortunately, carpal tunnel syndrome forced her into retirement, and she sold her shop. The new owner is also quite good, but when the in-laws sent us some of these last year, they were quite different. I am guessing she either switched suppliers for her bulk tempered chocolate, or downgraded the quality she was getting. They tasted very waxy.

So the surprise this year is that they went directly to their friend, who especially made these treats herself, in her home! We were so touched that she'd be willing to do that, and that my in-laws went through the extra effort. How thoughful of them!

I've been nominated!

I've been nominated for best educational blog!



Thanks to The Travelers Journal for the nomination.

Click on the graphic and vote for your favorite. :-)