ENGLAND TRIP 2012: ON TO BARTON

The next two classes for the Bead Society of Great Britain were scheduled for Barton under Needwood, a charming village in Staffordshire, which is about 33 kilometers from Birmingham.  Stephaney Hornblow, our hostess, kindly drove down to London to pick us up after the class in Greenford while her husband Tim made dinner for the four of us. 

 

Here are Tim, Stephney, and I posing for Don.

Since we had 2 days before classes started, Tim and Stephney took us sightseeing.  The first day we visited neighboring Litchfield, the Cathedral, Dr. Johnson's house, and the National Memorial Arboretum.

Litchfield Cathedral

Part of the cathedral interior

Some of the lovely stonework in the cathedral

Part of the National Memorial Arboretum

 
                                                         Tuedsay, Steph and Tim kindly help Don fulfill a travel wish when they took us to the Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale; we have been trying to get there for the last 3 trips to England.  Opened in 1781, the bridge is the first arch bridge in the world to be made of cast iron.  Before the bridge, we stopped at the neighboring Jackfield Tile Museum, which houses many examples of magnificent tiles made for use in structures all over the world.  We were lucky enough to visit on a day when the tour of the Craven Dunnill Jackfield factory was being offered.  They would not allow photos of the factory but here are some photos from the museum: 

Then it was on to the Iron Bridge in the rain :

After that, we visited the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron, which showcases the manufacturing history and the versatility of cast iron for domestic and decorative use.  Here are a few cast iron items:  

Cast iron table

A green stove from the 1930s

After 2 days of exploring the area, it was back to the world of bead crochet with another 2-day class for the Bead Society at the St. James hall in Barton under Needwood.

Students had a lot of room in this airy hall. 

The other side of the class.  Notice the kitchen in back that allowed us to have tea and coffee accompanied by Tim's lovely scones and gluten-free cake throughout the day--as Liz Wilson  (2nd from the left) is doing in the photo below.



 

I mentioned Liz in particular because she mastered tubular bead crochet and finished her pendant in class.  Notice the lovely box where she kept her supplies.

That was the end of our stay in Barton and on Friday we took a train back to London for the Bead Fair organized by the Bead Society of Great Britain and held at Uxbridge College. 

 

 




ENGLAND 2012: LONDON

     Whew, things are a little slower and I finally have a few minutes to tell you about our trip to England and Rome in September and October. For those who missed it, Don and I spent 10 days in England while I taught 4 days of bead crochet classes for the Bead Society of Great Britain and demonstrated at their Bead Fair. We then went to Rome for 5 days as an anniversary present and thank you to Don for his help.

     We were fortunate to stay with our new friends Suzanne and Norman in London while we were there from September 28-30.  They spoiled us rotten and Suzanne made sure that I got to class on time.  The first two-day class was held at the Greeneford Community Center in Greeneford, Middlesex, a large suburb of London.  Beginning bead crocheters chose to work on a pendant while more advanced students made a modern version of a Turkish prisoner of war snake like those made in World War I using the stitch employed by those Ottoman soldiers.

Around the Bend pendant project

Goldilocks Snake

Sparklin' Jack

Here is part of the class at lunch.

        Since one of the class projects was the modern version of the Turkish POW snakes, Carole Morris and other members of the bead society brought examples of Turkish bead crochet for everyone to study.

A lovely example of a Turkish POW snake with a lizard in its mouth.

Purses, snakes, and another souvenir.

I was so busy that I didn't take any photos so I am grateful to Margaret Isaccs for sending me copies of her photos of the class and her snake for me to use. Margaret decided that while she could do the bead crochet stitch for the snake, she would rather make her snake with brick stitch so here is her finished project in brick stitch.




Margaret's Sparklin' Jack done in brick stitch

       I wish I had been less jetlagged so that I could show you Brenda, who made her first-ever, tubular bead crochet sample or the finished pendant from this class.
      While I was busy working, Don was off seeing the sights.  On Saturday, he visited Kew Gardens, Kew Bride Steam Museum, and Hammersmith Bridge.

Kew Gardens

Part of the machinery on display at the steam museum

Hammersmith Bridge

 On Sunday, Don took himself to the Cutty Sark, a 19th-century tea clipper that has been preserved as a museum.

Part of the deck of the Cutty Sark

Prow of the ship in front, human and wooden figures in back.

A close-up of some of the figureheads.

After class on Sunday, we were of to Barton under Needwood-but that's for another post.

STORMS GONE AND BEAD CLASSES COMING

No, the hurricane did not blow me away; I have either been traveling in Europe or too busy to post. We had a great time in England and Italy and I will be putting up some photos later.   I have just been so busy teaching classes in England, preparing for the storm, preparing for the nor'easter after that, and now preparing for my bead crochet classes at the Innovative Beads Expo in Edinson, NJ on Novemeber 17 and 18, 2012.  We survived the storms with some very minor damage, although it was touch and go whether we would lose our power Monday night.

 

  Right now, my heart goes out to all of you who are still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.  For those who are fortunate to be able to think about more cheerful activities, here are the two  bead crochet classes that I will be teaching very shortly:




Bead Crochet: the Beginning

When: November 17, 2012 from 2:00-4:45 pm
Where: Innovative Beads Expo, New Jersey Convention and Exposition    Center
Cost: $60 class instruction, $25 kit  Register before 5:00 pm  on Wednesday, November 14 and save $10.

Start from the very beginning of bead crochet and learn to crochet beads with a chain stitch to make this sparkly necklace that combines size 6 seed beads, 6mm beads, imitation pearls, vintage Czech farfalle beads, and nylon cord. Students will learn how to string beads in a pattern, the basic slip knot and chain stitch, crochet with beads, braid strands together, attach a clasp, and make dangles. . No crochet experience needed.

Class Fee: $60.00. Pre-register and save $10.00.
Kit fee: $25.00
Kit includes: nylon cord, size 6 seed beads, magatama drops, 6mm stardust beads, imitation pearls, vintage Czech farfalle beads, bead caps, clasp, jump rings, crochet hook, needles, and safety pin.

Students to bring bead mat, scissors, chain-nose pliers, and task lamp (optional).


Tubular Bead Crochet

Tubular Bead Crochet: the Basics

When:  November 18, from 11:30-  2:00 pm

Where: Innovative Beads Expo, New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center
Cost: $60 class instruction, $25 kit Register before 5:00 pm on Wednesday, November 14 and save $10.

Learn bead crochet with the slip stitch method, the one most commonly used to make the popular bead crochet ropes. Students will first make a practice tube with size 6 beads and size 10 thread.  They will then move on to a 3.5 inch tube of size 8 beads that can be strung as a straight tube or turned into a teardrop-shaped pendant.  Students will learn how to string beads in a pattern, bead crochet in the round, add a new thread, finish a piece with bead caps, and how to combine the bead crochet tube with wire and crystals to create a fun focal piece. Students must know how to make a slip knot and chain stitch before class.

Class Fee: $60.00. Pre-register before 5:00 pm November 14 and save $10.00.
Kit fee: $25.00
Kit includes: Size 8 Japanese seed beads, size 8 Japanese hex or triangle beads, nylon crochet thread, bead caps, Thunder Polish crystals, assorted accent beads and metal charms, 20 or 22 gauge wire, ribbon or cord, crochet hook, beading needles, and safety pin.

Students to bring: scissors, bead mat, task light (optional); also round-nose pliers, chain-nose pliers, diagonal wire cutters, and nylon-jaw pliers if you wish to make the tear-shaped pendant.

For registration, please visit Innovative Beads Expo.  Hope to see you there.

  

UPCOMING BSGB CLASS SUPPLY LIST: A FEW THOUGHTS

Goldilocks Snake

     I have received a few questions about the supplies for the upcoming BSGB classes in London and Barton under Needwood, so I decided to do a blog post in glorious color for everyone.
    
SNAKE CLASS
The supplies list for the snake project is pretty straightforward.  I specified DMC Cebelia size 30 cotton crochet thread because it is a nice thread but any size 30 crochet thread will work.  If you prefer to use a nylon thread like C-Lon micro cord or Tuff Cord nylon, that should be fine as well.  I chose size 8/0 beads because there are more color choices than with size 6/0 beads but you could use size 6/0 beads and size 20 or 30 cotton.  You will just have a bigger snake.
     Goldilocks is made of Japanese and Chinese seed beads.  Sparklin' Jack is made of Japanese, Chinese, and Czech seed beads.  I often mix the Czech and Japanese beads in the snakes so you are not limited to only one manufacturer.  Also, sometimes a 10/0 bead is the same size as a 12/0 bead from another manufacturer so you can mix sizes if they are close to one another.
     I will teach you the actual crochet stitch used by Turkish prisoners of war to make their souvenir snakes but will also show you the bead single crochet stitch used for the snake jewelry in my book, Bead Crochet Snakes.



Sparklin' Jack

     Goldilocks snake employs 5 colors of beads.  Sparklin' Jack (in honor of Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee and the Olympics) uses 4 colors of beads and is closer to the zigzag pattern of the original snakes.


CHAIN STITCH NECKLACE
I designed this project using Chinese knotting cord for people who had never crocheted before and needed to work with a larger thread.  This is a braided nylon cord that measures about .08mm.  Students don't have to limit themselves to the supplies list, thought.  I want everyone who is doing this project to explore and have fun.  To that end, I have done up some other samples to inspire you.

Two bead combinations with Chinese cord

The two samples above use the Chinese cord and a variety of seed beads, rondels, and 4-6 mm beads.  The next photo shows 3 strands twisted together.



3 strands twisted together


Another combination:



fire-polish beads, size 6/0 seed beads, 8/0 seed beads, and dagger beads on metallic thread


You can crochet a mix of Czech beads with thread chains between them or crochet groups of beads (the two leaves and 6mm bead) and single mushroom beads with size 8/0 beads between them.  Strands can be single or mulitple.

Top: Czech bead mix with C-Lon cord
Bottom:  clusters of leaves and a bead, a mushroom bead, size 8 seed beads on C-lon cord

You could also try drops, cube beads, long magatamas, oval beads, and more.  Such necklaces could be finished with just a lobster claw clasp or could be made long enough to loop around your neck a few times with no clasp at all.




TUBULAR BEAD CROCHET PENDANT

You need only 1 of the threads listed for the project; there is an extra bullet point on the supplies list making it look like you need two kinds of thread. 

I am looking forward to seeing you all in September and October.  Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

BEYOND BEADERY

     I am sorry to tell everyone that Beyond Beadery, one of our favorite bead shops, had two days worth of cash receipts stolen from their booth at Bead Fest Philadelphia last weekend.  This is such distressing news about two of my favorite bead vendors.
      The cash was out of sight at the register and not easily accessible to the general public so it looks like the work of a professional thief. Apparently thieves have figured out that craft shows are good pickings and I am hearing more and more stories of thefts at bead shows.
    Luckily the credit card receipts were safe but a number of us paid in cash so that Betcey could avoid the 3% charge on a credit card. She has not mentioned a specific dollar figure but it was a LOT, given the popularity of her booth at the shows.
     So, if you need to buy beads online, please think about buying them from Beyond Beadery.  The store will be closed for the rest of August but I am sure that Betcey and Mark will get orders out as soon as possible in September.  After I left Bead Fest, I remembered some things I forgot to buy so I will have to place an order with them--I know...shopping for beads...such a chore.     

TIS THE SEASON FOR VEGETABLES

I took some time off from beading to knit this cute fruit cap for Seth, the latest addition to our extended family.  I combined patterns by Ann Norling and Michele Sabatier for my version.  Ann's pattern calls them fruit caps but the yarn I chose makes it look more like an eggplant cap. I actually chose the eggplant color because it was closest I could find to the maroon color of his dad's favorite college.

 I wrapped the hat in a conventional wrapping paper but it didn't look very special so I got creative.  First I crocheted some mini-vegeatbles.

crocheted vegetables from left: cherry tomatoes, eggplant, corn,  and mushrooms

I found a lot of crocheted food patterns at Crochetpatterncentral.com.  For my purposes, Sheepdogsfleece had some patterns for cherry tomatoes, corn, and mushrooms that provided a good starting point for my experiments.  I couldn't find an eggplant pattern the right size so I made up my own.  Here it is:

Crocheted Eggplant

Small amounts of worsted-weight yarn in purple and green

Fiberfill or cotton balls

Size F crochet hook

Eggplant Body

Round 1)  With purple yarn, make a magic adjustable ring and put 5 sc in the circle

Round 2)  2 sc in each sc (10 stitches)

Round 3)  *1 sc in next stitch, 2 sc in stitch after that* 5 times (15 stitches)

Round 4-10)  Work 15 sc around.  Stuff eggplant as you go along.

Round 11)  *1 sc, 1 decrease* 3 times (12 stitches) 

Round 12) Work 12 sc around

Round 13)  *1sc, 1 decrease* 3 times (9 stitches)

Round 14) *1 sc, 1 decrease* 3 times (6 stitches)   Fasten off and sew hole

                       together.

Stem

Round 1)  With green yarn, make a magic adjustable ring and put 3 sc in the

                       ring.

Round 2)  2 sc in each stitch (6 stitches)

Round 3)  2 sc in each stitch (12 stitches)

Round 4)  *1 sc, 1 increase* 6 times (18 stitches).  Slip stitch to 1 st stitch

                      and fasten off.

Sew wide end of stem to the eggplant body

After I finished crocheting the vegeatables, I put the hat in a brown paper bag, strung the corn, cherry tomatoes, and eggplant on twine and ribbon, and put 2 holes through the bag.  I then tied a knot in the twine and ribbon.

The front of the present

For the back of the present, I made a tag that said "Fresh Produce from the Recklies Farm, Brooklyn, NY".  I then strung the tag on the twine and put 1 mushroom on each end of the twine and ribbon and tied it shut.

The back of the wrapped present

I sent the package on its merry way and am now waiting to hear how Seth (and his undoubtedly overworked parents) likes his new hat.

MY BEAD CROCHET CLASSES, EDISON, NJ

Side by Side Necklace

Turkish Delight bracelet

I am busy making up kits for the two bead crochet  classes that I will be teaching at the Innovative Beads Expo at the New Hersey Convention Center, 97 Sunfield Ave. in Edison, New Jersey on July 14 and 15 (yes, this weekend).

Saturday, July 14 will be the Side by Side Necklace from 10:30am-1:30pm.  The price is $60 plus $35 for the kit.

Sunday, July 15 will be the Turkish Delight Bracelet from 11:30-2:00 am.  The price is $60 plus $35 for the kit.

If you register for any of the classes at the Innovative Beads Expo before 5:00 pm EST on Wednesday, July 11, you can save $10 on the registration price.

Even if you can't take any classes, it should be a fun shopping experience.