Beaded Square Project

     Isn't 2020 living up to that Chinese curse of living in interesting times!  Back in the Spring, the staff of the Museum of Beadwork in Portland, Maine announced that they were organizing a group project " which grows out of a desire to commune on a joint project while safely sheltering; marking this very particular time we are going through together, apart."  

     The parameters of a submission were that it had to be mounted on a rigid 6-inch by 6-inch square, needed to be at least 50% beads, and should employ jewel-tone colors.  Given everything else that was going on while avoiding COVID-19 in New York City, I passed on participating but then the project organizers extended the deadline to March 19th, 2020.  With more time, I had an idea.  I added a restriction of "make do," which is something we had to practice while it was dangerous to go outside and stores were closed or facing shortages.  In this case, it meant I couldn't order anything new, but who of us can't do a whole project from their stash?

     My contribution to the Beaded Square Project was based on my memory of life in the first major hotspot of the nation here in New York City.  I started with the 3 bead crochet hearts and then had to figure out the rest of the square.  My idea for the background was originally much darker but the square had other ideas as it told me what it needed to be to set off the bead crochet hearts.

     Here is my finished square entitled "Hearts in the Time of Coronavirus."  The required 2-sentence statement is " New York hearts: scared, faltering, stilled forever, broken, hopeful, battered but still beating, and eternally grateful to all those who stayed home, wore the damn mask, helped their neighbors, and went to work knowing the danger. We are all New York Tough, Smart, United, Disciplined, and Loving."

Side view of bead crochet hearts

     The project is open to beaders outside of the U.S.A., as well, so here is the link to the project information if you are interested in participating Beaded Square Project.  There is also a Facebook group to share ideas and ask questions: Facebook Group.  Perhaps I will see a square from you in the coming months.

     

     

2019 Christmas Windows Tour

     This year's tour was a bit sad because many stores are gone: Barney's is going out of business, Lord & Taylor is gone, Henri Bendel's is gone, as well as 4 other stores.  We keep hearing about how well the economy is doing but you couldn't prove it by 5th Avenue.  Many of the remaining stores didn't bother to decorate so the usual tour was much shorter.
     We started at Bergdorf's but their windows weren't as good as in past years.  This was the best of the lot.

The fur nutcracker amused the crowd.

     Tiffany's did a cute series of windows involving mice.

Gucci went tropical.

Dolce and Gabbana went foodie.

The windows of the former Henri Bendel's showed the work of the 5th Avenue Business Improvement District as they hired local artists to make street scenes to fill the empty windows.

The Peninsula Hotel had new decorations, although we aren't sure what they are; the figures look like stylized bellhops playing instruments.

Cartier did their usual wrapped building with panthers.

The Rockefeller Center tree.

Saks did a Frozen 2 theme.

One of the buildings rented window to 4 businesses who decorated 1 window each to publicize their companies; these windows were some of the best decorations.

Hazel Village made a fabric lanscape

Raw Honey

A chocolatier

Either Patience or Fortitude in from the New York Public Library.  It was actually so dark that I didn't have much hope of getting a photo but my new phone came through like a champ.

It was sad to see that this is what the street level of Lord & Taylor looks like as some company ripped out the bottom floor to redo it.  Since We Work is in such financial trouble, I am not sure who is doing the construction.

Macy's was doing a story about a girl who wants to be Santa Clause and so becomes Santa Girl.  Couldn't quite follow the story but the windows were kind of fun.

That was it, so we went home.  I hope you have enjoyed this years abbreviated tour; let's hope next year is more festive.

Holiday Light Festival

I am afraid that life interfered with blogging this year, but how could I not tell you about our annual Christmas window tour.  This year we added an event when we went to Snug Harbor on Staten Island to see the NYC Lantern Festival with 1,000 lanterns fashioned into luminous sculptures.  We picked the warmest night we could when the temperature at night was a balmy 34 degrees F (yes, that was the warmest night that we could visit Snug Harbor). It was cold but the sights were magical.

The Entrance

Vegetables.  That dark shape is Don taking a photo.

Mushrooms

Australia

A particularly nice tiger

These mushroom trees were my favorite lantern.

How could I leave out the snake?

Desert scene with camel.

Jelly fish and a large turtle

Side view of turtle.  You really couldn't see the supports in the dark.

The Arctic section.  This is more like what we actually saw that night.

Mastodons, deer, and dinosaurs

A tunnel based on Chinese opera headdresses

A phoenix

A nice school of fish

A walk-through crocodile

More mushrooms.  The circles change color when you stepped on them...

...like this

Then it was on to more dinosaurs

A little Jurassic Park

And the tunnel to the exit

Next post will be the traditional Christmas windows tour.