PINKALICIOUS

See this flower arrangement with the cute little frog? It's..................

my latest bracelet!

I have admired my friend Merele Berelowitz's lovely plastic flower creations for years and finally had a chance to try my hand at a plastic and lucite flower bracelet.

I started by following Merle's pattern as published
in the April 2009 issue of Bead and Button (example above).







If you don't have that issue of the magazine, the pattern is available at www.kalmbachstore.com/bbpdf090442.html


To see more of Merle's work, you can visit http://www.msmaddiesbeads.com/


I deviated from the published pattern by using a variety of flowers, stacking some flowers in twos and threes, and doing 4 flowers per fringe instead of 3. This is actually the second edition of my bracelet because I got carried away and added a whole other set of fringe between each Swarovski pearl on the first try. It looked great but I couldn't get the bracelet on my wrist and it felt like it would be uncomfortable anyway. So I ripped it out and started over.






After finishing the fringe on the second bracelet, I did a peyote loop and added some flower fringe to the loop to fill in some space. Then I added a carved bone frog button to complete the clasp. The frog reminded me of walking in the woods and finding frogs hidden among the plants.



Now to pack my new bracelet for my trip to Bead and Button 2011 next week.

CARNATIONS AND WIRE

I have been playing with another crocheted oya pattern from the book "Anatolian Bead Oyas," this one is aptly named Karanfil or Carnation. Although, the flowers are meant to be crocheted in a long chain, I wanted to play with individual carnations. Here are a few of the flowers:

I started making earrings out of the flowers but they needed something. I added a bit of twisted wire but it prevented any movement. I also thought that just clipping a jump ring through the end of the stems loked a bit unfinished and I could use a brighter-colored wire.

With some time between my classes at the Innovative Beads Show in Marlborough, MA, I went shopping and stumbled upon some helpful supplies. First I discovered some Rose Gold craft wire from BeadSmith at Marti Brown's booth The Odyssey & Bead Expressions (http://www.theodyssey-ojds.com)


Then Moggie Moyer at Bead my Love booth pointed out some new, permanent-finish, mint green, ceylon beads (at right). I bought them and later noticed that they went well with my little bead crocheted carnations.

If you like bead embroidery take alook at the jewelry made by Moggie's daughter Meg. You can see some of her work at http://www.beadmylove.com/.

So I took my new supplies and made another version of the carnation earrings. I think I am done, but maybe it would be fun to play around with addding some swirly decoration to the ear wires that I made.....

BEAD CROCHET CLASSES IN MARLBOROUGH, MA

I am busy making kits for my two bead crochet classes at the Innovative Beads Expo to be held in Marlborough, Massachusetts May 6-8, 2011.

On Saturday, May 7, 2011, I will be teaching the Side by Side Necklace from 10:30 am-1:30 pm. This was the original color combination.

I have also come up with a few other choices. It has been a challenge to come up with interesting yarns that will fit through the small holes of the beads but I have learned a few tricks for stringing.

I also got a shipment of ceramic clasps made by Saralee Rhoads of Mad About Beads. I discovered Saralee's clasps at Bead and Button last year and they were the perfect finish to my bead crochet necklace. Check out her work at: http://www.madaboutbeads.com/

I wil also be teaching the Turkish Delight bracelet class again on Sunday, May 8, 2011 from 1:15 pm-3:45pm. What a great way to spend Mother's Day!

For more information and class registration, visit http://www.innovativebeadsexpo.com/

SUNNY FLORIDA

Looking at our grey, rainy weather , it is hard to believe that we were in Boca Raton only 10 days ago. My two brothers, their wives, my husband, and I surprised my parents with a belated celebration for my mom's birthday. We flew from snowy, rainy New York to sunny weather with temperatures in the low 80s.

Not much was blooming in Boca, but my father's gardenias were putting on a show. Here is a bud just ready to open that we brought inside.

The buds open to become large, snowy-white flowers.

We brought a number of blossoms into the house to enjoy their beauty and perfume.

The magnolia tree was also in bloom. Casey, one my sisters-in-law, wanted photos of the flowers as inspiration for the sugar flowers she wanted to make for her cake business in Texas http://www.bridestable.com/.

Although we spent most of time with family activities, my parents took us to the Boca Raton Museum of Art.

Here is a photo of part of the courtyard at the museum's entrance.

This is a sculpture by Julio Larraz entitled Space Station which "suggests the irony of Latin American political realities," according to the accompanying plaque.

We went to the museum to see Cut! Costume and the Cinema, an exhibit of some of the period costumes made by Cosprop for film, television, and theater. My mom gets gold stars for noticing the museum's add in the paper because it was an interesting collection.

We weren't allowed to take any photos inside the museum but here are a few shots from the brochure.

This is one of the costumes worn by Kiera Knightley in The Duchess.

A frock coat with metallic embroidery worn by Heath Ledger in Casanova.

Ball gown of silk and lace worn by Emmy Rossum as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera.

Jophnny Depp's eccentric costume for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Detail of a dress worn by Kate Winslet in Finding Neverland.

This is a traveling exhibit so it will show up at a number of venues. Don't miss it if it comes to your city.

Although we were celebrating my mom's birthday, both of my brothers had presents for us as well.

Tom, our international traveler, brought me a necklace and matching earrings that he bought in Bangkok, Thailand. It was made by Iftikhar Asif, a jeweler from Afghanistan with a business in Bangkok.

My brother Bill, who is a talented woodworker, made us all wine bottle holders. Here is a shot of the holder laying flat. Doesn't look like much, does it? A piece of wood with a hole in one end and a bevelled edge at the other.

Well, here it is holding a bottle of wine. It's all in the weight and balance. How neat is that?

Bill had one more surprise for us. Before we sat down to a delicious barbeque dinner prepared by Bill and his wife Joan, my brother gave me a few berries from one of the miracle fruit plants in his yard. The Synsepalum dulcificum plant, otherwise known as the miracle plant, produces berries that, when eaten, make sour foods taste sweet. It was too dark to take a photo of my borther's plant so this is a photo from Wikipedia taken by Hamale Lyman.

We tried the berries at breakfast the next morning and were surprised to find that grapefruit sections and lime wedges did indeed taste sweet. It was strange because my tongue said "sweet" but my brain said "What? It's supposed to be sour."

We had a relaxing time in Florida (which I doubly appreciated because I was recovering from the flu) and loved seeing most of my family. Then it was time to put on our coats, hats, and gloves to return to cold and rainy New York City.

THE BEADED EDGE

Given my interest in bead crochet and Turkish oyalari, I was anxious to read The Beaded Edge: Ispired designs for crocheted edgings and trims by Midori Nishida/CRK Designs recently published by Interweave Press. This is an English version of the Japanese book Edgings with Beads by Crochet and Needle Vol. 1. I finally had a chance this weekend to read the copy that I bought.

Despite the general title, the book is being marketed as an effort to introduce Turkish bead crochet trim to a wider audience. Ms. Nishida explains that she discovered this form of Turkish trim at an exhibition of oya held in Japan and has been studying boncuk oyalari (or bead trim) ever since. A language note: the Turkish term for the trim is the plural oyalari but crafters in the U.S. and Europe tend to call it oya, the singular form.

As with just about every bead book today, the design is beautiful-- particulary the cover. Don't fall in love with any of the edgings on the cover, though, because the book does not include instructions for those particular trims. It does have instructions for simplified versions of 3 of the edgings shown on the cover, 11 other bead crochet edgings, and 4 beadwoven trims.

Instructions are given for the edgings only along with suggestions for how to use the trim. The sample projects are modern applications of Turkish trim and range in size from decoration on felt Christmas ornaments to edging for a shawl. There is information on materials needed and hints for adding trim to textiles. If you are familiar with Japanese diagrams, the crochet instructions are clear.

Despite all of the information, this is not a book for beginners or those who want to learn to crochet but is geared towards bead crocheters who are used to working with small beads and fine thread. Bead used range from size 7/0 -12/0 and threads range from lace-weight crochet thread to wool embroidery thread. That said, the book will appeal to crafters who want to play with making some fun beaded edgings.

If you are also interested in learning more about oya, however, this book will prove frustrating. Since Ms. Nishida states that her mission is to "share the charm of Turkish Boncuk oya and the pleasure of making it with as many people as I could," I was frustrated by the blurred line between actual Turkish techniques and creative interpretation.

Some of the edgings are authentic examples of Turkish oyalari but with new names, like this pattern for design #8. The Turkish name for this exact pattern is pigeon's eye or bird's eye. Some of the other edgings may actually be her own invention or a combination of Turkish and Japanese beadwork techniques--the clever beadwoven star comes to mind--but those are still lumped in with authentic Turkish patterns.

I sympathize with Ms. Nishida because the question of making traditional techniques our own is one we artists struggle with all the time. There is also the time-honored practice of looking at an object and making our own version of it with possibly different techniques. In a book that purports to teach Turkish techniques though, the line between academic information and creative interpretation could have been better delineated.

Not that information on Turkish oyalari is totally lacking. There is a one-page explanantion entitled "Beautiful Turkish Edgings" opposite a full-page version of the cover photo, which turns out to be examples of pieces from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Ishimoto. The book also includes a two-page essay entitled "Village hopping in search of Turkish hand-made crafts" about the Ishimoto's collecting efforts and Ms. Nishida's trip to Turkey in 2006. Unfortunately, the photos included in that section are disappointedly small.

One word about the patterns, if you have seen the sample pattern on the CrochetMe blog, http://www.crochetme.com/blogs/crochet_me/archive/2011/2/28/be-inspired-with-a-free-beaded-edging.aspx

be aware that all of the instructions are not on the same page like they are shown in the blog. The page with the first photo of the edging has 3 photos of the particular trim in progress but the actual instructions and diagram are in the back so you may need to flip back and forth as you work.

Also, the bead weaving stitch used in the grapes (shown at right) and peppers patterns is just called "bead stitch" or off-loom beading" but it looks like peyote stitch. If you have never tried that stitch and need to find instructions for it, there are peyote tutorials available elsewhere.

Despite my disappointment that the book doesn't have more information on actual oya edgings, I applaud Ms. Nishida's efforts to popularize this Turkish craft and am heartened to see the positive response to the book in Japan and the U.S. Renewed interest in oyalari will hopefully keep the craft alive in the countries where it still made.

CATCH ME--THE MUSICAL

After months of knitting white,blue, and champagne sweaters for a new Broadway musical entitled "Catch Me if You Can," I finally have a few minutes to tell you what I have been doing.
For those whose missed the movie, it is the story of Frank Abagnale, Jr. a teenager who posed as 8 different people including a Pam Am Pilot, Atlanta pediatrician, and assistant attorney general in order to pass bad checks in 26 countries over a period of 5 years in the 1960s. Before he was caught at age 21, Frank had stolen 2.5 million U.S. dollars. After serving time in prison, Frank became a security consultant for the FBI and founded his own financial security business.

Like the movie, the Broadway musical focuses on Frank Abagnale, Jr., played by Aaron Tveit, and the FBI agent Carl Hanratty who chased him for years, played by Norbert Leo Butz. Tom Wopat plays Frank Abagnale, Sr., a najor influence in Jr.'s life The show opens with the capture of Frank by Carl and unfolds as a 1960s variety show as Frank tells his story to the audience. As you can see from the playbill, the mood of the show is that of the glamorous, high-flying 60s.




Here is a shot of Frank meeting some Pan Am stewardesses, courtesy of the shows website http://catchmethemusical.com/

Another shot of the stews courtesy of the Daily News. Flying never looked so exciting. The link to the full story is below:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2011/03/20/2011-03-20_jet_propelled_theyve_got_legs_and_the_catch_me_if_you_can_showgirls_know_how_to_.html?r=entertainment

My part in the show was 10 men's, machine-knit, cardigan sweaters for the male dancers to wear during a number called "(Our) Family Tree," sung when Frank meets his fiance's family. William Ivey Long, the costume designer, was inspired by sweaters worn on the Perry Como for this number.

Here is the original research showing Andy Williams and his dancers.

Here is one of the finished sweaters. The body is knit with a white wool/rayon yarn and trimmed with stripes of navy blue and dark champagne. I did all of the knitting myself but was lucky enough to entice 4 friends to help me put the sweaters together in time for the first tech rehearsal.

The sweaters are worn with cream pants, a cream polo shirt, and a spiffy hat. The sweater looks a little dumpy because my dress form doesn't have the chest and shoulders of the chorus boys. On the right bodies, the sweaters look GAWGEOUS and the Catch Me dancers have the right bodies. Heck, you could put burlap sacks on these guys and the sacks would look good.

We were lucky enought to see the show and enjoyed it. The set is amazing, the costumes are fun and glamorous, the music is bouncy, and the dancing is great. Norbert Leo Butz breaks out of his staid, FBI character to do a dance number that amazed everyone with it's complexity and energy. The story also delves into why Frank became a con man and how the lark turned into a chase that turned into a treadmill he couldn't get off; it's not all glitz and gloss. The show even manages not to end on a down note with Frank's capture; the cast briefly relates that Frank served his time in jail and turned his life around. Quite a tale made into an entertaining musical.

After that it was more chain mail for the Metropolitan Opera's production of Die Walkure.

Here is one of the pieces drying after being steamed into shape.

Now, I am cleaning up and deciding which beadwork project I need to work on next.

BEAD SOCIETY GARAGE SALE JANUARY 25

Yikes! I have been so busy knitting sweaters for the new Broadway production of "Catch Me if You Can" that I forgot to tell everyone that tomorrow is the Bead Society of Greater New York's 6th annual Garage Sale. Over 35 of us will be selling or giving away our excess beads, supplies, bead magazines, books, and jewelry. Admission is free. Here are the details:

LOCATION
Fashion Institute of Technology
The John Reeves Great Hall
Enter on West 28th St. (between 7th and 8 Aves.)
New York City, NY

DATE & TIME
January 25, 2011
Doors open at 6 pm, runs until 8:30 or so

ADMISSION
Free!

Come join us. Add to your stash and help us make room for more beads in our stash.