tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38069594467447017802024-02-06T18:41:09.877-08:00Leah SteelLeah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-4567622864249672102015-02-12T11:52:00.001-08:002015-02-12T11:52:15.964-08:00Back on (Am)Track<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First of all, a bit of catching up: After I put up my last post, the Gruffalo and I became very occupied with downsizing. From our own experience and from listening to friends in our age group, it appears that we spent the first half of our lives acquiring stuff and are now engaged in the process of getting rid of most of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After nine years in a large, isolated house in an urban/wildland interface (yes, that really is a thing) we moved into a two-bedroom house in a gated community in central Orange County. It is actually very nice having a home and a yard that we can deal with ourselves. I was raised in the <a href="http://www.cityoforange.org/" target="_blank">city</a> that gives Orange County its name, so it feels like coming home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One downside of our downsizing experience is that getting my studio set up was a low priority. There were so many other things to deal with, including unexpected plumbing issues in the new house, that my tools and supplies were the last thing to be unpacked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once the studio was in workable condition, however, I started on a new jewelry project at once. I started stringing this necklace at home and finished it while riding the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to Los Angeles Union Station earlier this week. I took the train to meet my sister KK and my friend EmmyK at <a href="http://fidm.edu/?cmpid=GPPCB" target="_blank">FIDM</a> for their Academy Award nominated <a href="http://blogs.fidm.com/my_weblog/2015/02/movie_costume_exhibition.html/" target="_blank">costume </a>exhibit. My first love was sewing, and this exhibit (and the Grammy exhibit later in the year) are total catnip for me. If you have a chance to visit this exhibit, prepare yourself to swoon over the costumes from Into the Woods. The level of artistry is amazing...I know who I will be rooting for on Oscar night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I call this necklace & earring set <a href="http://leahsteel.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-same-way-you-get-to-carnegie-hall.html" target="_blank">Back on (Am)Track</a>...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUtH9JA5ps3dNrvOgcQ30hyphenhyphenEPf7gnjwCISGBnZGugUA1cTZKfJbmf2ZpCboq-f91QmJ41V8u28p5ixOsaL1X3MC6CXzxba2XWlwQnYCDTaebAZl5Z1Qx_1ERPIAO7KwYu-W_wujWvY5Q/s1600/Back+on+(Am)Track%2BFull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUtH9JA5ps3dNrvOgcQ30hyphenhyphenEPf7gnjwCISGBnZGugUA1cTZKfJbmf2ZpCboq-f91QmJ41V8u28p5ixOsaL1X3MC6CXzxba2XWlwQnYCDTaebAZl5Z1Qx_1ERPIAO7KwYu-W_wujWvY5Q/s1600/Back+on+(Am)Track%2BFull.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Materials for this are seed beads and labradorite beads (longest strand), glass pearls and labradorite shards (center strand), lapis lazuli round beads (shortest strand), silk stringing thread in sizes 0 (light blue), 3 (grey) & 6 (navy blue) and a purchased clasp.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a close up of the lower portion of the longest & center strands:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvkE5rEVo0P3t8HjsbIWa8Kfl0R4Jv4yhOPi1BDncpAdQtp93QQoI-lgDSPUhAxYCwmrDHR3vONyfRFxUBjHLfbGkopfY-zDYWWUYUjsPMPdCYxNih4VL9yPlVkowWAs1HR2BmvTXrX8/s1600/Back+on+(Am)Track%2BCU%2Bloop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvkE5rEVo0P3t8HjsbIWa8Kfl0R4Jv4yhOPi1BDncpAdQtp93QQoI-lgDSPUhAxYCwmrDHR3vONyfRFxUBjHLfbGkopfY-zDYWWUYUjsPMPdCYxNih4VL9yPlVkowWAs1HR2BmvTXrX8/s1600/Back+on+(Am)Track%2BCU%2Bloop.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are the matching earrings,using teardrop shaped labradorite drops, seed beads and lapis round beads:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzimfPzkjylHb38gqMDIVXwti6uacoAWuC2iuZMyaOf8Lsg4AUOmVlcb6DCcHZNknWnEBojnyj-CNWBr_nU_lNaYT7qFziD8LCopV7I9eqYpmBPVyGZkJmpolSzARQrd388sp-LVog0EU/s1600/Back+on+(Am)Track%2BCU%2Bearrings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzimfPzkjylHb38gqMDIVXwti6uacoAWuC2iuZMyaOf8Lsg4AUOmVlcb6DCcHZNknWnEBojnyj-CNWBr_nU_lNaYT7qFziD8LCopV7I9eqYpmBPVyGZkJmpolSzARQrd388sp-LVog0EU/s1600/Back+on+(Am)Track%2BCU%2Bearrings.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here is a close-up of the clasp, which I have had in my stash for years. I chose it because the ring has been wired with glass pearls, which tie in with the center strand:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YQMiZvpMg6aEnFJgRBQeUQZK0E_MH0t3U-nGxe8s9JgY9qxnpNDk2tLIfguzHlDQIIlgThbBJTIWdkNjEO-68ntU1ZvMvLbe05h0zoux3eI8rnkAcUYnOdmokYKMVk65hUevk38PS1M/s1600/Back+on+(Am)Track%2Btoggle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YQMiZvpMg6aEnFJgRBQeUQZK0E_MH0t3U-nGxe8s9JgY9qxnpNDk2tLIfguzHlDQIIlgThbBJTIWdkNjEO-68ntU1ZvMvLbe05h0zoux3eI8rnkAcUYnOdmokYKMVk65hUevk38PS1M/s1600/Back+on+(Am)Track%2Btoggle.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The longest strand measures 36", which makes it a good necklace to wear with a high collar or a very deep v-neck.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I have not been active in jewelry-making for a while, I have been taking watercolor painting classes...but that is a topic for another entry.</span></div>
Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-79644408641413715982014-07-23T11:20:00.001-07:002014-07-23T11:20:10.165-07:00Peacock Colors, Celestial Shapes<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No beads today. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few months ago I attended a quilt show with childhood friend EmmyK. Seeing all of the beautiful fabrics and artistic patterns made me switch gears from beading needles to sewing machine needles--for a while, anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Currently I have a bedspread sized quilt top, a lap quilt sized top and four pillow fronts waiting to be layered, quilted and finished. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have completed two lap quilts. One of them was sort of a throat-clearing exercise and nothing terribly creative or special. The one shown below was just finished yesterday--I hand-stitched the binding while watching the last season of<a href="http://www.syfy.com/faceoff" target="_blank"> Face Off</a>. The rest of the work on this quilt was done on my trusty <a href="http://leahsteel.blogspot.com/2013/07/bernie-and-me.html" target="_blank">Bernina</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Yy5LV7ZO-9Av8gqN3RavX7NiDXmG9Iu5uLt3GK_17xf5iMs5aU9Vm4ZItEw6VSBZNzA_FeLr9ZnRg2ynkTPKaepaiTVTYku-SqEKQtZs8m5Vne3sL2eC09ICLVK4sBI85pCDHQBEMTs/s1600/CAM00131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Yy5LV7ZO-9Av8gqN3RavX7NiDXmG9Iu5uLt3GK_17xf5iMs5aU9Vm4ZItEw6VSBZNzA_FeLr9ZnRg2ynkTPKaepaiTVTYku-SqEKQtZs8m5Vne3sL2eC09ICLVK4sBI85pCDHQBEMTs/s1600/CAM00131.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fabrics are the<a href="http://www.robertkaufman.com/fabrics/lumina/" target="_blank"> Lumina line by Peggy Toole for Robert Kaufman Fabrics</a>. There are multiple colorways for this line. I chose the Peacock colorway, although the Dawn colorway is also calling to me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mean, just LOOK at these fabrics! How could you not love looking at these gorgeous images and colors every day?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoJVZW2vZdqhfjIDcx9uIS8s3GvXrN2u1XgkhhyphenhyphenzheXBvDJ_6QkXpnpWK-L1Nt15F8Of7itCf-aEZ7zWN-E_IX3E7jJ_8nXWL9oVKhCq2OaRr9usuO-ERJaSj6X5yRvKiK7HgMFKNo1A/s1600/CAM00132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoJVZW2vZdqhfjIDcx9uIS8s3GvXrN2u1XgkhhyphenhyphenzheXBvDJ_6QkXpnpWK-L1Nt15F8Of7itCf-aEZ7zWN-E_IX3E7jJ_8nXWL9oVKhCq2OaRr9usuO-ERJaSj6X5yRvKiK7HgMFKNo1A/s1600/CAM00132.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My machine quilting skills are rusty, to put it kindly. I practiced on a small quilt sandwich before I tackled the real thing. I need more practice, no doubt. Even with all of the right tools (special presser foot for the machine and <a href="http://www.quilterstouch.com/gloves/" target="_blank">Machingers</a> gloves), this simple curved freehand quilting stitch got away from me frequently. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the way, a quilt sandwich is not lunch, it is the three layers of quilt top, batting (the fluffy stuff inside) and backing fabric that have been pinned or basted together prior to putting in the quilting stitches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used one of the Lumina fabrics, a scalloped design, for the quilt back. This photo shows the back turned over against the front of the quilt.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5-OUP5AgEhqs7rQbT1dyIikIW3H1q9voEHYTy67dX8mRNNAmaahdgcmV0UtFrql7M_m-6Yh_jmQ08_0_D5NVDHHRh9R20qgNUf-0a6VJSF7AW0cQ35woMt0BxtxdNBtA8cfAzrvwC9w/s1600/CAM00133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5-OUP5AgEhqs7rQbT1dyIikIW3H1q9voEHYTy67dX8mRNNAmaahdgcmV0UtFrql7M_m-6Yh_jmQ08_0_D5NVDHHRh9R20qgNUf-0a6VJSF7AW0cQ35woMt0BxtxdNBtA8cfAzrvwC9w/s1600/CAM00133.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This same fabric, cut into strips, also appears in the quilt front along the upper edge.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhIMzDRtz9TKHYfDopB2C5GFYb4kQ4CYK3sqDnCFhBQmwGYpHqK10SRKfOnEQ7sLa5Z1uxXqvHMJCJOvRaIjBqbZ6lSOq8liIysimiyidig-CllzF-bxYqUnTDDCb6gf3k_If7YReIRs/s1600/CAM00135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhIMzDRtz9TKHYfDopB2C5GFYb4kQ4CYK3sqDnCFhBQmwGYpHqK10SRKfOnEQ7sLa5Z1uxXqvHMJCJOvRaIjBqbZ6lSOq8liIysimiyidig-CllzF-bxYqUnTDDCb6gf3k_If7YReIRs/s1600/CAM00135.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is always fun to see how a fabric changes its personality when it is cut into smaller pieces and combined with other patterns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since mixed media is very hot right now, and since it satisfies a deep-seated need to create mash-ups, I want to start making wall hangings that combine quilting, painting and beadwork techniques. The Gruffalo and I are planning a move within the next month or so. We are downsizing, and I am in the process of packing up my studio. I can't wait to get everything unpacked and arranged in the new space so that I can start on my mixed-media visions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the meantime I can enjoy the colors and swirls in this quilt. It has a prominent place at the end of the bed.</span></div>
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Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-41631866914762336292014-05-13T10:41:00.001-07:002014-05-14T09:47:00.438-07:00Working Mother<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past Mother's Day weekend, I sold my jewelry at the <a href="http://www.sunsetbeachartfestival.org/" target="_blank">Sunset Beach Arts Festival</a> near the shore in Huntington Beach, California.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Besides being my first outdoor show, this was the first time that I had to do more than submit a vendor fee. To be able to participate, I had to submit photos of my work, apply for a special seller's permit and affirm that my work was of my own design and creation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">With all of these hoops to jump through, I was thrilled to be accepted as a vendor. Major thanks to Gayle of <a href="http://lasdamas.org/" target="_blank">Las Damas</a> (the event sponsor) who gave me lots of telephone support during the application process. She also placed us in a very good spot, especially so considering that I was a newbie.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The event was a lot of fun. When things were slow, the Gruffalo and I visited with our neighboring vendors, including a fellow fan of Breaking Bad who has the same name as a <a href="http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Steven_Gomez" target="_blank">character</a> on the show. Note: Major SPOILER ALERT for this link.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Some of my most recent work received the most attention, like this cuff and necklace, both embroidered on silk shibori ribbon and backed with Ultrasuede:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppKR-8GgE0NHZVKR0o0HhFQtPA4JVv8cVbz_gK2rOqftNtp6zMWcNOW2eqQ2Y3ILhZ9YWUKBOUy6n2foR5TEHH2KpSWVSj9XP7fhVvHX6hoNdzJhoi0n6GIDIigLzKmsb5809IEd4E1I/s1600/250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppKR-8GgE0NHZVKR0o0HhFQtPA4JVv8cVbz_gK2rOqftNtp6zMWcNOW2eqQ2Y3ILhZ9YWUKBOUy6n2foR5TEHH2KpSWVSj9XP7fhVvHX6hoNdzJhoi0n6GIDIigLzKmsb5809IEd4E1I/s1600/250.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The ribbon is pleated and then dyed, giving it a watercolor look. I use the pleats as part of the design. The cuff has a turquoise cab and the necklace is completed with a spiral peyote rope made of coordinating seed beads. The two piece toggle clasp is also stitched from seed beads using variations of peyote stitch. The necklace was one of the items that I sold at the Sunset Beach event. The buyer was so thrilled with her purchase that she emailed me to gush about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Another recent piece that was sold at this event was a St Petersburg stitch necklace with jade dagger drops:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46HGcMfkPmL4MDU4GRgEdOtT6hw7JYXNazoaYcbpMXBUjnEf9Ggybq4JQ1A4mlo0l3BrzJ-JBTmJ46ukN_23J-mIpwXb95PLwvZOP16YHjA0_bUz1_IszcPeMD57jjFGScEA71fLbJ9E/s1600/258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46HGcMfkPmL4MDU4GRgEdOtT6hw7JYXNazoaYcbpMXBUjnEf9Ggybq4JQ1A4mlo0l3BrzJ-JBTmJ46ukN_23J-mIpwXb95PLwvZOP16YHjA0_bUz1_IszcPeMD57jjFGScEA71fLbJ9E/s1600/258.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The woman who purchased this piece on Saturday liked it so much that she sent her friends to visit my booth on Sunday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This next necklace did not sell, but several people tried it on and asked about having one custom made in a different color. I am waiting for email confirmation that these people actually want to place an order before I go ahead with additional work. Here is the necklace in two different colorways. This is a netting stitch with long magatama drops:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Because I was working on Mother's Day, I did not get to attend the family get-together. However, all of the fam dropped by my booth at one time or another to visit and, in the case of Smallest of All, to help out. Smallest and her boyfriend arrived just in time to help us take down the canopy, thereby robbing our fellow festival attendees of the inevitable slapstick spectacle had the Gruffalo and I taken it down by ourselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks to my family for all the love and support, this past weekend and always. Special shout-out to the Gruffalo, whose admiration for my work makes him an excellent salesman. Dear Gruffalo also skipped his afternoon nap two days running, a huge sacrifice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy Belated Mother's Day to all! </span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-71355261044236838462013-07-30T12:15:00.000-07:002013-07-30T12:23:07.645-07:00Bernie and Me<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the signs of aging is that authority figures (police officers, teachers and the like) begin to look less like older, wiser people and more like impossibly young children.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I first noticed this during one of the Gruffalo's several lengthy hospital stays a few years ago. We were waiting in a pre-op area for The Gruffalo to be taken in for yet another <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/ultrasound/article.htm" target="_blank">procedure</a>. Suddenly the curtain parted and a youngster appeared at the bedside. He was freckle-faced and bow-tied and pink-cheeked; we both stared at him while he spoke incomprehensible doc-speak to the nurse and fiddled with paperwork. When he left, I said "Do you suppose his mommy knows that he's wandering around the hospital playing with people's charts?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Another sign of aging is that people you have known since they were children start to have babies. A young man, a playmate of son BeanBeanMoreBean when they were children, was married two years ago, and his first child is about to have her first birthday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am not versed in making jewelry for toddlers, so I returned to my first crafty skill to make a gift for this little one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My Mom taught my sisters and me to sew as soon as we were old enough to ask to be taught. I spent a childhood and an adolescence sewing my own clothes and making gifts for friends. My fellow nerds may appreciate that I hand-sewed <a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ac6e/" target="_blank">tribbles</a> out of faux fur one holiday season long ago. Non-Star-Trek (TOS) fans, feel free to mock.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The first major purchase that I made as an adult was a Bernina sewing machine--Bernie--that cost $800 nearly 40 years ago, a number that still stuns me when I remember how long I had to save to buy it. It is completely manual, not a computer chip to be found in it, and it is a tank. Despite its weight and bulk, I would wrestle it into the car if the house were on fire (after The Gruffalo and the critters, of course.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Daughter Smallest of All took a trip to <a href="http://www.moodfabrics.com/" target="_blank">Mood</a> in Los Angeles to chose fabrics for the birthday dress. She picked a pink fabric with stripes and a green fabric with scattered dots, both in sherbet tones. From these fabrics I made this dress:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBJqDZ9UsS_d-zTtyEKkKuGSZfZ107pSxevgCMToF6QYCQ2JVoTmCU9vl7wcJjumXm8PBqzPeF9gMLFDWuLI1arYuyDKIEwHgHHRmSB97n3Ve5QzP7p_wLSazhlJpAcBBdffy1chBNgM/s1600/IMG558-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBJqDZ9UsS_d-zTtyEKkKuGSZfZ107pSxevgCMToF6QYCQ2JVoTmCU9vl7wcJjumXm8PBqzPeF9gMLFDWuLI1arYuyDKIEwHgHHRmSB97n3Ve5QzP7p_wLSazhlJpAcBBdffy1chBNgM/s320/IMG558-1.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The heart on the bodice is an applique of the pink fabric with hand cross-stitching around the edges.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">There is a diaper cover to match:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ah, toddlerhood. The only time in life that a girl will wear ruffles on her butt and look cute doing it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I also made a headband with an applique flower out of the same fabrics:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7zTRyBSubX6X6eZP6-j3qifcPY5ciFb5T0EYFo0U4MpOCYiJJvIRpeFQAdux-oHdLWJ7b8SpjugMlmhXyEk7Bwp3xXNjZcHeRT0ke5saJTP2UIigN9szwqJnd-TG0MRptfhQSEvNrdQ/s1600/IMG560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7zTRyBSubX6X6eZP6-j3qifcPY5ciFb5T0EYFo0U4MpOCYiJJvIRpeFQAdux-oHdLWJ7b8SpjugMlmhXyEk7Bwp3xXNjZcHeRT0ke5saJTP2UIigN9szwqJnd-TG0MRptfhQSEvNrdQ/s320/IMG560.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, because I can't leave beads out of this completely, I made a necklace and wrap bracelet for the little one's Momma:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jeA9yM-oSCF26cb8-iUwEvjxsZn-jpXKjDAl-oHWQG7j7M6Lei28zcYkKdJxbKiGrlw4vGXoeeLLl9nzslXRUNyu3YRzdiTJOdy-PQ4qlK0ekSh5HwpAGYVlnZIHj_oEyo2YtY-rGOE/s1600/IMG561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jeA9yM-oSCF26cb8-iUwEvjxsZn-jpXKjDAl-oHWQG7j7M6Lei28zcYkKdJxbKiGrlw4vGXoeeLLl9nzslXRUNyu3YRzdiTJOdy-PQ4qlK0ekSh5HwpAGYVlnZIHj_oEyo2YtY-rGOE/s320/IMG561.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">These pieces use bead crochet in the same colors as the dress.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Happy Birthday to this young lady, and much love to the little (growing) family.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-18504719032749732952013-07-17T22:14:00.003-07:002013-07-17T22:14:39.555-07:00All in the Family<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All of our kids (6 of them between The Gruffalo and myself) are artists.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A word about that number: I did not give birth six times. From prior marriages we each have 3, making a total of 6 in our blended family. When The Gruffalo and I got serious about our relationship, I watched how our children handled the Brady Bunching initiated by their parents. One thing that I noticed right away was a nearly universal lack of using 'step' when introducing or talking about their new siblings. Following their lead, I refer to all six of these terrific people as 'the kids' without a modifier (except in situations where there is the possibility of creating confusion).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Two of our daughters, Kage and The Mogul, also make jewelry. All of the kids have some (or lots) of their stuff stored at our house, and The Mogul came over last week to sort through some of her boxes of belongings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Besides getting some free space in the garage, I had a bit of a bead swap with The Mogul. She browsed through my stash for things that she needed and, in turn, gave me some beads that I normally would not have chosen on my own.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This necklace is made up of some of the beads that The Mogul gave me, along with some copper barrel-shaped beads that I was trying to figure out how to use. All of the beads are knotted on beige colored silk cord, except for the large central bead which is wire wrapped on a decorative head pin:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And a close up of the focal piece of the necklace, which is really pretty and unusual:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am working on another necklace using The Mogul's beads, and I'll post photos when it is done. All of the beads that she gave me are heavy marble or quartz or glass...not quite sure what I'm working with here but I appreciate the chance to use something besides aquamarine seed beads (my default color and size mode).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And I appreciate the extra space in the garage.</span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-75974206894873255472013-07-05T20:14:00.001-07:002013-07-05T20:14:36.148-07:00The Most Important Meal of the Day<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am writing this in the aftermath of a migraine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It was my own silly fault. One of my triggers is low blood sugar, and I did not eat today until lunchtime. No good reason for that, I just got caught up in doing things and did not take in any calories until mid-day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">By the time I had food in front of me, I felt the first warnings of an attack<em> </em>brewing deep inside. Those unique sensations are not pain, they are more like an electric irritation in the blood. Once I felt those odd, unmistakable twitches I gave myself an injection of a medication that can stave off an attack. And I ate lunch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The medication did not work with that first dose. Within an hour of lunch I had a full blown migraine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It is not just a headache, although the pain and pressure inside the skull are so intense that<em> </em>I always feel it <em>must</em> leave scars. A migraine is a profound scrambling of all sensations. In the tiny, beset part of my brain that is not devoted to riding out the attack I imagine that every bit of my skin is coated with a thick, yellow-grey slime that poisons and distorts every bit of input that comes my way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Light slices. Sound is too heavy. A sip of water burns. Touch is too loud. Only a very narrow range of temperature is bearable, and the parameters of that range fluctuate constantly. Any instructions sent from my brain are spitefully ignored by my muscles and nerves making my hands and arms and legs useless. Rolling over in bed becomes a prolonged negotiation between my head and the rest of my body.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A second injection did stop the attack today. When it works, the medication intensifies the pain for about five minutes and then *poof*. Migraine gone. The medication is not an opiate so there is no grogginess or hangover after the attack goes away, and I am grateful for that. Meds that were available earlier in my life were at least as debilitating as the migraine attack. Thanks to the medication I will lose a few hours to an attack instead of an entire day or two.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So this attack has cut into my long weekend for a little bit, but it could have been worse. It <em>has</em> been worse. There is a genetic component to this condition--my mother's father had it, my Mom has it, at least two of my kids have had attacks. But, again, the migraine today was completely preventable. A granola bar in the morning would have made all the difference.</span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-4557931963917023642013-07-04T10:51:00.003-07:002013-07-17T22:21:02.511-07:00Cup Chain Bracelet<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Mom has a great talent: she can recreate anything in the kitchen after tasting it once. I wrote about her ability to deconstruct & reconstruct recipes in a <a href="http://leahsteel.blogspot.com/2013/05/happy-mothers-day-mom.html" target="_blank">prior post</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I do not share this culinary talent, however I have a similar ability with jewelry. I will see something beautiful at the accessory counter at Nordstrom and can (usually) figure out how to recreate it at home. Even when shiny things are on deep discount, I think to myself <em>I can make that for sooooo much less...</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Case in point: I have seen variations of cup chain bracelets all over the place. Here are some that I made in my studio after studying the ones at Bloomingdale's:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvwq6i8X6fWTpdgOtN9hvjDGsDDw_8QqSIy5nmMBWt_fPJQWgOvfVGFsAjybA8362dOULSDUy_N9X7seNhJ58jdjrsyLC7bKDWyXzw2-M80uWnIcUsI_Y-Q7Q-2W8YVULGGypSNOQd4s/s1600/cup+chain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisvwq6i8X6fWTpdgOtN9hvjDGsDDw_8QqSIy5nmMBWt_fPJQWgOvfVGFsAjybA8362dOULSDUy_N9X7seNhJ58jdjrsyLC7bKDWyXzw2-M80uWnIcUsI_Y-Q7Q-2W8YVULGGypSNOQd4s/s320/cup+chain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made six of these in various color combinations and wore several at once on our recent vacation. With the button closures staggered it creates an interesting look--stacked bracelets are <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196229/" target="_blank">so hot</a> right now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The purpose of this post is two-fold; to show you new finished work and to blow my own horn. In late July I will be teaching a workshop in which I teach this technique at Artside Studio in Fullerton. Carol & Steffi of Artside have created a wonderful gallery, studio and workshop space and I'm sure they would appreciate it if you like them on Facebook. I am terribly excited about the opportunity to teach at Artside, and I am grateful to Steffi for taking this gorgeous photo of my work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you are in the Orange County area and would like to take this class, you can get more information on the Artside <a href="http://www.artsidestudio.org/workshopdetail.php?workshop=83" target="_blank">website</a> page for the workshop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Art is fun!</span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-36936940244539912092013-06-13T12:31:00.000-07:002013-06-13T15:58:33.978-07:00Gatsby-esque<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Gruffalo and I are at the age when the adult children of friends are starting to get married. We recently attended a lovely wedding in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland,_Oregon" target="_blank">Portland, Oregon</a> for our friends' daughter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The dress that I wore to the ceremony and the reception was short and somewhat flapperish. I spent some time before we traveled out of state to make jewelry to go with the dress.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here are the two necklaces and earrings that I made:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFKjD3mlDOz3LmeJOfwH6Vcol3z_Vhg6R2enNMFyWXvTQiqacRjryyO6HN23HJzw36-Gewreved-pSIOPZ3RBV9aQfNiky5Jh2bPUpE7rQNc-rL6kKEpjH7fB9ar9louW7a9d94g4cRVY/s1600/IMG505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFKjD3mlDOz3LmeJOfwH6Vcol3z_Vhg6R2enNMFyWXvTQiqacRjryyO6HN23HJzw36-Gewreved-pSIOPZ3RBV9aQfNiky5Jh2bPUpE7rQNc-rL6kKEpjH7fB9ar9louW7a9d94g4cRVY/s320/IMG505.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 'pearls' are actually glass. They are knotted on a length of cord. On the jewelry form for this photograph I doubled the pearl strand. For the party, I wore it full length. The choker is a separate piece. I also made a bracelet that looks like the choker, but without the dangles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here is a closer shot:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The round elements are actually beaded beads. They are made up of several bead sizes & shapes stitched together to form an element that dimensional and identical on both sides. The components that make up the beaded beads are two-hole (twin) beads, 4 mm crystal bicones and seed beads.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I enjoy the whole roaring twenties, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Gatsby-Scott-Fitzgerald/dp/0684801523" target="_blank">Great Gatsby</a>-like look. It is fun to take elements of a period style and incorporate them into modern-day clothing. I would never dress head to toe in flapper style (unless I was going to a costume party), but this jewelry, worn with a short, drop-waist dress, made me feel very elegant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Despite my love of the art and style of this period, I have not (and will not) see the new film adaptation of Gatsby. Sometimes a favorite novel should be left in the realm of literature. (Major exception: the film version of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056592/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">To Kill a Mockingbird</a>.) And I do love Fitzgerald's best-known novel in spite of the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/20/books/books-of-the-times-that-other-fitzgerald-could-turn-a-word-too.html" target="_blank">controversy</a> over his writing methods.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Oh, and congratulations to the newly-weds. We had a lovely time and were so happy to share your big day with you. This wedding, I must say, was the first time that I have seen bridesmaid dresses that would actually work in a non-wedding setting.</span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-29585268648976512142013-06-07T10:41:00.000-07:002013-06-07T10:41:01.885-07:00Resin-ate<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I stopped working at my day job, I was <em>certain</em> that I would be able to write a new blog post at least once a week. As it turns out, I have been having way too much fun doing not much of anything to keep up with that sort of schedule.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But doing nothing gets old fast for me, so I started re-arranging one of the bedrooms (the one we call The Girls' Room) into a studio. I have a way to go yet, because there are remnants from previous occupants (The Girls) that need to be stored, but I do have a good work space carved out. The last couple of weeks have been filled with jewelry making and offline writing. Time to share some of the former...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Last year I took a class from guest instructor <a href="http://www.lisapavelka.com/" target="_blank">Lisa Pavelka</a> at my local <a href="http://www.breabeadworks.com/" target="_blank">bead shop</a>. Lisa is an amazing artist who works in many different media--the class that I took was all about using resin to make jewelry. Lisa has developed a one-step resin that cures in a few minutes under UV light. It is a wonderful <a href="http://kjplo.ntafj.servertrust.com/Magic_Glos_s/1869.htm" target="_blank">product</a>. It spreads out evenly over flat surfaces and domes naturally as it spreads. It has high surface tension so, unless you flood the surface with resin, it will not overflow the edge of the underlying substrate. Lisa showed us how to layer thin coats of resin, curing under UV light between each coat, to create dimensional pieces.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Because Lisa and her team are entirely awesome, they provided Magic Glos (TM) along with round acrylic blanks, tiny metal components, little flowers, glitter, rub-on foil, clear transfers and other items to make our pieces. Under her guidance, this is the very first resin piece that I ever made:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFRmAgDr8pbeE3EjjmW_KHYEqzlbCHuhHSKA7Au8XZm6c2vIWrI_J2Dt56zz8LjiVTofX3NnwxhwzxvzOc3gvZY1KnBQYa-S5B8tW2aRB7pYo8IQLOs8uoVop2BKW-HVuzTCp3e1diqM/s1600/IMG501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFRmAgDr8pbeE3EjjmW_KHYEqzlbCHuhHSKA7Au8XZm6c2vIWrI_J2Dt56zz8LjiVTofX3NnwxhwzxvzOc3gvZY1KnBQYa-S5B8tW2aRB7pYo8IQLOs8uoVop2BKW-HVuzTCp3e1diqM/s320/IMG501.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This piece contains several layers of resin on top of a round acrylic blank. There are small metal pieces (a key, a flower shape and clock cogs) as well as glitter, a dried flower and black transfers incorporated into the resin. The two silver wheels on the sides are partially embedded in resin to provide a way to attach a chain or other necklace. I am not sure what sort of jewelry piece I will make using this. Perhaps I will keep it as is to remind me of how I started out with this medium. Using resin is a fun process and, because each layer cures in 3 - 5 minutes, you can create a finished piece very quickly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">(Note: As further evidence of Lisa's awesomeness, all of the students received a package from her a week or so after the class. This package contained even more items from Lisa's line to encourage us to experiment with our newly acquired resin-working skills. I sent a thank you note at the time but wanted to give a public shout-out to Ms Pavelka for her ability to merge artistic talent with graceful, generous customer service.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Bead weaving with a single needle is still my first love when it comes to jewelry making, but I enjoy having lots of other techniques at my disposal. Resin has been my medium of choice for the past couple of weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My birthstone is ruby, so I decided to make myself a ruby necklace & earrings. I started with three pieces of silver filigree from my hoard. I mixed up a tiny bit of resin with red & silver glitter. This was the first layer on my homemade gems. After curing the glitter layer, I added a few layers of resin to create domed jewels. Once everything was cured I glued red crystals onto the necklace filigree and added the findings to make this necklace:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a side view which shows how the beautifully this resin domes across the top:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This doming acts as a lens so that items added in previous layers are magnified. It is really cool to watch a piece develop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">These are the earrings that go with the necklace:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYtRhbZGIgHYrUKCpkNXoEDYLedxrNhju3KWmM6-AZknZO_N8qaCxyd4wLsFwkcV1N4YexW8QToDWOjSZCPdb6bm-rlCdylFOOEqXCctHIWbT6GdLEDmLLbT9xXdPE1001-dW8ksBBFQ/s1600/IMG494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYtRhbZGIgHYrUKCpkNXoEDYLedxrNhju3KWmM6-AZknZO_N8qaCxyd4wLsFwkcV1N4YexW8QToDWOjSZCPdb6bm-rlCdylFOOEqXCctHIWbT6GdLEDmLLbT9xXdPE1001-dW8ksBBFQ/s320/IMG494.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a ring that I made out of clear and red crystals. No resin in this piece. The crystals are on wire-wrapped head pins and attached to a ring form with jump rings:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a lot of movement to the ring, which I like. It is also free-form as opposed to the necklace & earrings, which are more structured. When I design pieces to go together, I like to have some aspects that are not completely matchy-matchy across all of the pieces.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">When this process stops resin-ating (sorry!) with me, I will move on to another technique. For the foreseeable future, though, I'm having a blast dropping little tiny shiny things into Magic Glos (TM).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-41257625622095833032013-05-12T09:12:00.000-07:002013-05-13T07:32:12.080-07:00Happy Mother's Day, Mom!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It is the morning
of Mother’s Day 2013. We have a dozen people coming over for brunch, and that
tomato and cucumber salad is not going to chop itself, but I have to write this
post.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The Gruffalo and I have six adult children between us, yet no grandchildren.
This is a fact that I bring up now and then to Kage, BeanBeanMoreBean, Smallest
of All, The Mogul, Gandhi and Matisyahu, especially after I have spent time
around a baby or a toddler. I am terribly subtle about it—a quick text to all
six that reads only “GRANDCHILDREN!!!” is an example of my restraint in this
area. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Despite my gentle
teasing, though, I do not want <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anyone</i>
(my kids or anyone else’s kids) to have children before they are completely
ready to do so. Parenthood is unrelenting hard work, and it never, ever ends.
Even when you are totally prepared, you are never, ever ready. To paraphrase
Debra Winger’s character in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086425/" target="_blank">'Terms of Endearment'</a>: As hard as you think it’s
going to be, you end up wishing it was that easy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">With that in
mind, I have to salute the Moms in my life before I start preparing brunch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">First of all,
here’s to women who become mothers without raising a child. Both of my sisters,
Barf and KK, have become mothers to adult children (and, thence, grandmothers--grrrrr!) through two completely
different sets of circumstances, and they have done so with admirable grace and
total commitment. Spending time with an infant is delicious, and women who step
into motherhood do not get to begin their demanding role with this joyful
interval. And, as I mentioned above, parenthood never, ever ends. Just because
a child has become an adult does not mean that the challenges of mothering that
person come to an end. With adulthood there are new and unthinkably complex issues
for grown children and their parents to navigate. I raise a mimosa to women who
willingly step into mothering adult children who they had no part in raising.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And here’s to
my Mom. She is, as anyone in the family will tell you, magical. When my father
was intermittently unemployed during my childhood, she somehow managed always to
have money set aside for the necessities <em>and</em> the silly little luxuries that are
vital to teenagers, like the perfect shade of light blue nail polish to match a
home-made middle-school graduation dress. Even more importantly, she always had
the time to make the dress and the time to drive around to find said blue nail
polish. (Note to anyone younger than 40: in the 1970’s, you could have any
color of polish you wanted as long as it was red or pink.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Besides her
money- and time-management skills, Mom has an uncanny ear for languages. When
my sisters and I learned Spanish, Mom was always able to completely understand
what we were saying. She could only answer in English, but our plans to speak
Spanish in order to keep secrets from her were for naught. The same phenomenon occurred
when my sisters and I resorted to <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Learn-Double-Dutch" target="_blank">Double-Dutch</a>, a made up language that
thwarted all of our middle school teachers but was no match for Mom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In the
kitchen, Mom is a wizard. If she tastes a dish she is able to deconstruct it
and re-create it with eerie precision. She reads cook books like I read novels
and she is always coming up with something new, while retaining all of the old
favorites in her repertoire. She is also able to improvise brilliantly. Two
words: Cheesy potatoes. Or, going back several years, a treat that prompted a
neighbor to call one Saturday morning to ask “How do you make that #@$%&
melted cheese on toast?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">My sisters
and I were the recipients of all of this love, attention and cheese, as were
all of our friends. Mom must have fed a regiment of kids when we were
growing up, again doing so on an impossibly tight budget. She baked non-stop for weeks prior to Christmas and Easter, then distributed
boxes of cookies to neighbors and friends and the priests at our parish. One of her
springtime specialties, butterfly cookies, always caused a small, decidedly
un-Christian scuffle in the rectory when she dropped them off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And, although
this is an incredibly long and complicated story that I will save for another
blog post, Mom is also one of those women who stepped into parenting an adult
child. The adult child is her own first-born. This puts her
in yet another category, women who give birth to a baby knowing that the child
will be raised by another woman. These are certainly mothers who deserve
recognition today, too; women who make motherhood possible for someone else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This entry
has gone on longer than I planned and the brunch prep must begin now, but not
before I raise a <a href="http://www.i4u.com/2013/05/mothers-day/oclock-cup-pimms-cocktail" target="_blank">Pimm’s cup</a> to Mom, a terrific mother and one of the bravest
women I know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Feliz Dia de
las Madres, Mamacita, Itheguy lutheguve yahthegoo!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-68400358087455355152013-05-07T10:25:00.003-07:002013-05-07T10:25:52.212-07:00Lunchtime wrap<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I ended my employment about a month ago, but I can't really say that I'm retired. More like <em>redirected</em>. The Gruffalo and I have plenty to keep us busy. The main difference now is that, once the laundry and dishes and shopping and cooking and general straightening up and pet tasks are all done, I have time for things that seemed like a luxury before, like writing and beading.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This post is a follow up to a <a href="http://leahsteel.blogspot.com/2013/04/its-wrap.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>. I wrote 'It's a Wrap' about disassembling a bracelet for my yoga teacher Tiny Dancer and remaking it into something that she could wear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Tiny Dancer and I met for <a href="http://www.veggiegrill.com/" target="_blank">lunch</a> a couple of weeks ago. It was a lovely day and we sat outside for two reasons: to enjoy the spring weather and to accommodate Tiny Dancer's dog, a soft-coated wheaten terrier who was recovering from a procedure at the vet. The pup was too pathetic to leave alone at home so Tiny Dancer brought her along to lunch. She wondered whether I minded this. Note to anyone who might be meeting me for lunch: bringing pets and/or babies is <em>never</em> a problem for me. In fact, I will mind it very much if the opportunity exists and you do not bring pets and/or babies to lunch with you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In addition to the turquoise and silver bead wrap bracelet that I made from taking apart her old bracelet, Tiny Dancer asked me to make a new wrap bracelet from silver beads on black leather cord. When we met for lunch both pieces were left unfinished so that I could wrap them on her wrist and make sure that the length was just right. After she tried on both bracelets I finished them up by clipping off the fuzzies and knotting the leather cord at the end to make a loop closure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here is the re imagined bracelet made from Tiny Dancer's old, clunky, too-big bracelet:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So considerate of her to wear turquoise to match the jewelry!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And this is the black and silver wrap bracelet that Tiny Dancer commissioned:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please note the doggie's noggin in the upper left of this shot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This bracelet uses small textured silvertone beads and slightly larger filigree-look silvertone beads stitched to black leather cord. The closure (which is not visible in this shot) is a rectangular silvertone button with a swirly pattern.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It is always satisfying to create something new, even more so when you have the pleasure of knowing that the person you made it for is really happy with it. Practicing yoga with Tiny Dancer has given me a great deal of enjoyment and it's nice to return the favor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Time for a few Sun Salutations, slightly modified due to one or more cats leaping onto my back when I'm doing cobra position...</span></div>
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Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-63876989962021029572013-04-27T12:07:00.000-07:002013-05-07T10:00:46.398-07:00Isla de las Mujeres<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the many bead supply websites that I haunt is <a href="http://www.agrainofsand.com/" target="_blank">A Grain of Sand.</a> If you sign up for their Bead Hoard Curiosities Club, you get a box full of beading components every month. Several of the items are vintage, all of them are unusually beautiful, and one item in each box is indicated as the design component for that month. Beaders are encouraged to use the designated component in a design and to submit a photo of their design to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/agosbeads" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> for AGOS.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In the April box, the design component was this item:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is about 2" X 2 1/2" and around 1/4" thick. It looks like someone took a skillet full of yellow plastic flowers and heated it up until the petals all melted together. It is quite light weight, so I decided to make it into a necklace focal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I glued the contest component to a piece of batik fabric. This is a stellar suggestion from my bead embroidery teacher, <a href="http://leahsteel.blogspot.com/2012/11/corona-del-mar.html" target="_blank">Melaine Doerman</a>; by using a printed piece of fabric for bead embroidery, you avoid potential blank canvas paralysis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here is the yellow component glued to a batik square backed with Lacey's Stiff Stuff, a flexible material that is often used for bead embroidery:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">You can also see the beginnings of the beaded bezel that goes all the way around the yellow contest component. In the past I have only bezeled round focals, so creating a beaded border around a square(ish) piece was the biggest challenge. To help with the design I used bugle beads around the perimeter of the yellow piece.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Once the yellow component was completely encased in bugle and seed beads, I cut it away from the square of fabric and started to embellish it. My go-to design inspiration is always sea life, so I imagined that the yellow contest component was a piece of jewelry lost in a shipwreck. I added branching coral fringe and irregular bead embroidery around the edges</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> of the piece to make it look like it had been underwater for a while.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Once all of the decorative touches had been added, I stitched the top of the focal piece to a copper-colored chain that was also included in the April box of beading goodies. I then stitched more embellishment on the chain itself, as if the lovely, invasive sea life had begun to twine around the edges of the yellow piece and on to the chain itself.</span></div>
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Here is a photo of the finished piece on a jewelry display form:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEias0cyOFtnkUXGKHYeVgiQnQE5z5SzuFE0bAWjqkAAvZM3PYet3uQ0RKJdmsoF4DTwKDmpUN4NpW-V6awWYaDobQOUqo1Jszum7iY6g1zxTnNXXseykuMmu3OlXFO-KkOJe_JjukPqMfk/s1600/IMG446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEias0cyOFtnkUXGKHYeVgiQnQE5z5SzuFE0bAWjqkAAvZM3PYet3uQ0RKJdmsoF4DTwKDmpUN4NpW-V6awWYaDobQOUqo1Jszum7iY6g1zxTnNXXseykuMmu3OlXFO-KkOJe_JjukPqMfk/s320/IMG446.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used turquoise and moss colored seed beads in addition to lemon yellow seed beads and copper bugle beads for this piece.</span></div>
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Here is a side view which shows some of the surrounding bezel detail:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMu6QrDH5QIDV9p7nLd0ucQJpWbzkdL6ACJYkOAI60NAZB4ccd4J8e7ZGJpeFOs3s4zKvQvyKESDPYa6YbJAojBluRVSHTwxAFtJFR67yzRimR0pYiKVt3jel9Anqtt6ymDWnUzfwt34/s1600/IMG448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMu6QrDH5QIDV9p7nLd0ucQJpWbzkdL6ACJYkOAI60NAZB4ccd4J8e7ZGJpeFOs3s4zKvQvyKESDPYa6YbJAojBluRVSHTwxAFtJFR67yzRimR0pYiKVt3jel9Anqtt6ymDWnUzfwt34/s320/IMG448.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first place that I ever snorkeled was off <a href="http://www.isla-mujeres.net/home.htm" target="_blank">Isla de las Mujeres</a> in the Yucatan peninsula, so this piece is named after that island. I am going to enter the online contest on A Grain of Sand's Facebook page this afternoon. Wish me luck.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May 7, 2013 ETA: I did not win. If you go to the Facebook page (linked above) you will see the entry that did win. On to the next challenge...I entered Isla de las Mujeres in a contest at my local bead shop. It is an in-person contest so my indifferent photography skills will not count against me. (Note to Smallest of All: lessons in lighting would be a nice Mother's Day gift!) Results for this new contest are not announced until July...I will update again and let you know if the judges liked my entry.</span></div>
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Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-71246995792934777732013-04-10T11:06:00.001-07:002013-04-10T11:06:11.876-07:00It's a wrap...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...in more ways than one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have been studying yoga on and off since my college years. For the past five years, I have been studying with Tiny Dancer, a teacher who leads an interesting and varied practice at our synagogue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Tiny Dancer knows that I make jewelry. After class one day she asked me to take a look at a bracelet that she had owned for several years but could not wear. The bracelet was made up of five strands of turquoise and silver beads with a clasp closure and it was far too big for Tiny Dancer's wrist. At first we talked about shortening the existing bracelet, which would have been possible but not much of a challenge. After looking at the lovely turquoise beads, I asked Tiny Dancer if I could take the bracelet apart and use the beads to make something entirely new. She gave me permission to cut apart the strands to make a wrap bracelet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">(Sorry to say that I did not think to take a photo of the 'before' stage. My only excuse is that I was just itching to unbuild that thing as soon as I got home.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have made wrap bracelets in the past using small round beads stitched to leather or cotton cord. Tiny Dancer's original bracelet had both small and very large beads. I wire-wrapped the larger beads and added them along the sides of the wrap bracelet. It almost gives a charm bracelet look to the piece:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I now need to measure the bracelet on Tiny Dancer's wrist to make sure that it fits perfectly, so the fuzzies and the needle are still visible in this work-in-progress view. The silvertone rectangle near the left is a button that acts as the closure. The beaded cord wraps several times around the wrist and there is a loop in the cord at the other end. The bead slips through the loop.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">After the bracelet was at the stage shown above, I used some of the remaining beads to make a pair of earrings:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I played around with including a length of the brown leather cord in the earring design but even small pieces were too dramatic to play nicely with the other elements.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And there were even enough remaining beads to make a necklace:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The center of the necklace is make of knotted leather cord that is woven through wire eye pins. It somewhat mimics the feel of the wrap bracelet without being matchy-matchy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to cut the chain and add a closure once I see how long Tiny Dancer wants to wear the necklace. I saved the clasp from the bracelet, which means that I was able to re-use everything from the original, unwearable item except the wire that strung it all together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We will meet for lunch next week Tiny Dancer and I, so that she can see what her old bracelet has become. Here's hoping she likes all three pieces. Since she is expecting only a wrap bracelet the additional earrings and necklace should be a nice surprise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The <em>other</em> thing that is a wrap: my day job. After seven years at the same job, I have resigned. Like most things in life this decision involved a complex web of inter-related issues that I won't delve into here. Suffice it to say that I will have a lot more free time for beading and blogging.</span></div>
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Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-81409215155066955182013-02-19T09:46:00.000-08:002013-04-10T19:28:12.283-07:00Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day to Mrs. K<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week The Gruffalo and I were out for a <a href="http://www.catandcustardcup.com/" target="_blank">romantic</a> Valentine's evening. Halfway through the meal, he received a call on his mobile.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />The call was from a dear friend who wanted to ask a favor: the friend's 90-something year old mother had just been put under the care of hospice, and the friend wanted The Gruffalo to drive out of state with him to be at his mother's bedside.<br />
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The man that I married is the one in our circle of friends who gets these sorts of calls. That's just how The Gruffalo is. After dinner we went back home so that The Gruffalo could pack a bag. He & his friend hit the road in a car fully stocked with granola bars, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Soul-The-Beatles/dp/B0025KVLT2" target="_blank">Beatles CDs</a> and lots of memories.<br />
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As a result of the above, I spent the weekend alone at home with the critters. The dogs got lots of extra walkies and the cats made several suicidal attempts to dash outdoors to enjoy the sunshine (we live in coyote country, and our cats are <a href="http://www.petfinder.com/cat-breeds/Sphynx" target="_blank">hairless</a>; I keep reminding the felines that our resident predators would not even have to peel them to eat them). As much as I missed the Gruffalo, I had a nice weekend.<br />
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During the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day, I had gathered several red, pink & clear beads with every intention of making something special to wear out to dinner. The time got away from me and I never got beyond gathering the supplies.<br />
<br />With some extra time on my hands this past weekend, I started to put together this necklace, which I am naming after our friend's mother. The Gruffalo, a very proper British gentleman, never refers to this woman by her first name, so this necklace is called A Valentine for Mrs. K:<br />
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I set myself a goal to use only supplies on hand and to use no tools except scissors to create this piece. Everything is strung on waxed paper cord and knotted. No metal findings at all were used. There are two simple strands on each side with a ten strand twisted center portion. The beads that I used were glass pearls, crystals (bicones and rondels), stone chips and metal tube beads. The closure is a button:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWT7SgYCb7ChYycX8vF0H7wgwvrpNSFtL_vELddyVblUhqkF0uT1Zaq_fGW8CHb_u2KRog63zF3uGhH_tTfJlcr8q3DG2ZDRJXdyMt8YWvLiXvNoXTukxZ0Zrn5vSzJbXUzdy1ABI5GDc/s1600/IMG402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWT7SgYCb7ChYycX8vF0H7wgwvrpNSFtL_vELddyVblUhqkF0uT1Zaq_fGW8CHb_u2KRog63zF3uGhH_tTfJlcr8q3DG2ZDRJXdyMt8YWvLiXvNoXTukxZ0Zrn5vSzJbXUzdy1ABI5GDc/s320/IMG402.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
I wanted to use a Czech glass button for the closure but all of the ones in my stash that were the right color were far too large, so I settled on a button from my sewing box.<br />
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There are some things that I like about the final result: I like the rock candy look of the stone chips. I like the length of the finished necklace (hence the first photograph on the jewelry form so you can see where it would lie across the neck). And I like the contrasts: rough (the waxed cord, the stone chips) & smooth (glass pearls), shiny (crystals) & matte (silver tube beads), rounded (knots, pearls again) & frayed (knotted part that attaches the twisted portion to one side).<br />
<br />
While this was coming together, I was thinking about Mrs. K and about what it means to be a mother. We take all of the strands of our family's life, try to make them hold together and somehow create harmony out of elements that might not naturally go together. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd_j-uETeN4oxySItUENgWEHVDDvR632BJTpblpHrQBs-T5Tt-HT69dXdrwdMWjeCn2NRKHkav6_ePdjOuGsrLKihSTXTJViOFslRmQVJAeyx9rY3eFQXn2RBkz8ZJjQ3Zt4HgjwUuKGM/s1600/IMG400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd_j-uETeN4oxySItUENgWEHVDDvR632BJTpblpHrQBs-T5Tt-HT69dXdrwdMWjeCn2NRKHkav6_ePdjOuGsrLKihSTXTJViOFslRmQVJAeyx9rY3eFQXn2RBkz8ZJjQ3Zt4HgjwUuKGM/s320/IMG400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Mrs. K is at the last stage, when all of the strands slowly slip out of your hands until the last one that holds you in this life is released. As of this writing, she is still alive, but her hold on that last thread is weaker every day. We wish her peace.<br />
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<br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Edited to add</strong>: A few days after I published this post, Mrs. K released the final strand of her life and passed into the next world. Her son, our friend who asked The Gruffalo to travel to Mrs. K's bedside with him, had a birthday in early April. We gave him this necklace as a birthday present, which might seem an odd gift for a man, but there is no one else that I can imagine has a greater claim on this piece than he does.</span><br />
<br />Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-63841105234534270092013-02-13T13:58:00.000-08:002013-02-13T13:58:08.774-08:00Change is good...sometimes<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The New Year has proven very busy with lots of changes and more on the horizon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was able to start a new beading project last week. Sometimes, when I am not feeling particularly moved to create something from scratch, I keep up my skills by following a set of published instructions in a magazine. Sometimes I follow the instructions exactly and sometimes I make changes. Usually the changes work well. This is an example of making a change that has created a challenge for the finished piece.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The design is called 'Machu Picchu Jewels' and is from a recent issue of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BeadworkMagazine" target="_blank">Beadwork Magazine</a>. The design calls for small drops at the bottom of the necklace. Because I had some larger drops that I was just dying to use, I substituted them for the suggested size of drops.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This is what the work in progress looks like:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cW4X9LxQcxIb9Kls0y0l8Phn7q4Tn4YhunGPtzGOIXPHDtgzgnAkIW607kX9mEd-zTcWqx2lH6Hxb1ygB5u9QNOyux443_VFGwaOUkcknjii-q35gLUxWjlbjhfydHEMsynK-3YKuBA/s1600/IMG396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1cW4X9LxQcxIb9Kls0y0l8Phn7q4Tn4YhunGPtzGOIXPHDtgzgnAkIW607kX9mEd-zTcWqx2lH6Hxb1ygB5u9QNOyux443_VFGwaOUkcknjii-q35gLUxWjlbjhfydHEMsynK-3YKuBA/s320/IMG396.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is such a pretty, delicate design. The drops that I swapped are the clear, iridescent ones along the lower edge of the piece. It looks fine in this configuration. But, remember, this is supposed to be a necklace. When I spread out the beadwork in the sort of arc that a necklace would assume when worn, it looks like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rL0UZaQ_ID-peF4EhNsbsRgDpJjPfC-hsXdwoEX8gxURbliS9niCWqKPhYdXaewklEo4F2Yy3YExIwGocGpWYzmNaaNPdAUiNy3RuUdIymwG9RqC4sknyEre0xESdQ7407piOcEyQKo/s1600/IMG397.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rL0UZaQ_ID-peF4EhNsbsRgDpJjPfC-hsXdwoEX8gxURbliS9niCWqKPhYdXaewklEo4F2Yy3YExIwGocGpWYzmNaaNPdAUiNy3RuUdIymwG9RqC4sknyEre0xESdQ7407piOcEyQKo/s320/IMG397.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Notice that the three large drops are all bunched up together and that the prettiest part of the design, the oval pear with a fan-shaped embellishment, is covered up. The tip of the scissors is pointing towards the worst of the bunching.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Rather than undo all of this work, I will finish this piece and make it into a bracelet rather than a necklace. In bracelet form it will be able to retain the curvature that works best. When I start again on a necklace with this pattern I will be sure to use the size of drops that are called for by the designer. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Experimenting is good and it is the only way that we grow as artists. But you also have to realize when a departure from the rules is working against you. When I finish both the necklace and the bracelet I'll post photos of them side by side so you this pattern as the designer intended.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-11831699305146891082013-01-23T15:55:00.001-08:002014-08-11T16:37:02.810-07:00Of Course You Know He Dies in the End<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Several things have happened over the last few weeks that
have caused me to spend a fair amount of time reminiscing about my childhood
friend, the late Proctor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We met when we were both in middle school in the early
1970s. I was in 7<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> grade, Proctor was in 8<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> grade.
Despite the single grade difference between us, he was actually 3 years older
than me; his parents, both educators, had held him back twice in grade school. We
did not have any classes together, but we were both members of the after school
Drama Club, which is where we met. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Proctor was tall, painfully thin, gangly and (despite his
precocious facial hair) very effeminate. While I have since learned that outward
traits and behavior are not certain indicators of sexual preference, Proctor
was, in fact, gay. He was not comfortable with this fact until after high
school graduation, so during our earliest friendship he was fighting his
orientation fiercely, a fact that caused me no end of confusion during my early
teens. Did he ‘like’ me? Did he ‘LIKE like’ me? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the record, he did ‘like’ me but did not ‘LIKE like’ me.
Our decades-long friendship was never subjected to the possibly corrosive dimension
of sexual acting-out, which is probably one of the reasons that it endured. In
fact, I firmly believe that all young women should cultivate gay male friends—or
at least one. It is like having an ambassador to a foreign country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Speaking of fighting…both individually and together, Proctor
and I proved to be irresistible to the bullies at our middle school. I was a deeply
square, brainy girl long before it was hip (Big Bang Theory, where were you
when I really needed you?) and Proctor endured constant harassment due to his dearth
of manliness. Comparing notes on the various verbal and (sad to say) physical
attacks that we had endured was one of the things that cemented our friendship
early on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My Mom was always welcoming to our friends when my sisters
and I were growing up, so Proctor became a frequent visitor to our home. When
the afternoon would grow late and Mom would ask, “Proctor, do you want to stay
for dinner?” his response was invariably “What are you having?” He would then
phone his mother to ask the same question and make his decision based on which
meal sounded more appealing. Believe it or not, he made this process seem
endearing rather than insulting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We both loved movies and went to the new multi-plex at our local
mall often with our group of fellow theater nerds. On one occasion I had a
piano recital and missed a weekend matinee. Proctor phoned me that evening to
tell me that I had, just HAD, to see the movie as soon as possible. It was great,
he enthused, telling me about the anti-hero plot line. “Of course you know,” he inserted
casually “he dies in the end”. Argh! Of course I didn’t know that! Proctor’s
tendency to be a walking spoiler was, somehow, another paradoxically charming
thing about him. Despite “of course you know he dies in the end” there was no
malice in this revelation. He was just so carried away by the story that he
couldn’t help himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My family and Proctor’s family belonged to the same church,
so I knew his parents slightly. Proctor’s dad was unshakably convinced that his
son would one day (as he put it) ‘wake up’ and decide to marry me. In the very first
years of our friendship, such a suggestion made me swoon. Later, it made us
both smile and shrug.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Proctor was the first of our circle of friends to get his
driver’s license, which meant many trips to Disneyland and to Los Angeles for
theater, museums and galleries. During one memorable summer, Proctor and I
attended improv comedy shows in several tiny theaters around Hollywood. One of
the comedy troupes featured a very young, pre-fame Robin Williams, who was an
absolute force of nature on the small stage. Proctor joined the actors during
the show at their urging to play an improv game called ‘freeze tag’ and he was
so good that he got an invitation to audition for the company. When Williams appeared
later that year on an episode of Happy Days, I phoned Proctor and instructed
him to turn on the TV and tune to channel 2. We watched the goofy guy with
suspenders with whom Proctor had very recently shared a stage and babbled
excitedly to each other through the entire episode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">During high school, just a few months shy of graduation,
Proctor became deeply depressed. He frequently spoke of his conflicts with his
father, who seemed to be realizing that Proctor was not going to ‘wake up’. Often
Proctor was his usual buoyant self, but every once in a while he would phone late
at night and talk about killing himself. I compared notes with other mutual
friends, and they reported similar telephone calls. I have no idea how this
might of ended had not my beloved composition teacher, Mrs. G, given the class
an assignment to write a persuasive paper. One of the suggestions on the list
provided for the assignment was ‘Write a letter to a friend and talk him or her
out of committing suicide’. A no-brainer—this was the prompt I followed for my
paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A week later, Mrs. G asked me to stay after class. She had
my paper on her desk, a passionate plea to Proctor that struck every note I could
think of to convince him to stay alive. Stabbing at the paper with her index
finger, Mrs. G said “This is beautifully written, and I can’t believe that it
is completely invented. Who needs help?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Proctor got help. Whether because of Mrs. G’s intervention
or some other influence, he went into therapy. His black moods receded. “My
therapist says that my suicidal impulses are no longer a problem,” he would say
over lunch in the cafeteria, “but he does insist that I pay in advance.” The
late night calls stopped being about suicide and once again started being about
the movie showing on television that night. He graduated from high school and
moved to San Francisco to get his college degree. I moved away to college, too,
and our in-person friendship was replaced by letters and postcards and occasional
telephone calls. This was, please recall, pre-Internet, pre-Skype, pre-social
media. Our lives diverged and we touched base now and then, but there was none
of the constant contact that is available today, and certainly none of the day-to-day
communication that we had enjoyed for the five years that we had known each
other through middle- and high-school.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fast forward several years. I was married and living in the
prototypical Southern California planned community with three young children,
Proctor was living in a nearby city with his partner of several years. In 1991
I got a Christmas card from him that chilled me to the bone: he was suffering
with repeated bouts of pneumonia and had resigned from his job because he
lacked the strength to work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I phoned him immediately. We never said ‘HIV’ or ‘AIDS’ to
each other because we both knew what he was trying to tell me in his Christmas
card. I wanted to visit him immediately, and he asked if everyone in my house
was healthy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, no, they weren’t, actually. I had three elementary
school aged children and they were entering a truly unprecedented stretch of illness.
I called Proctor at least twice a week to report on the latest sniffles that
had seized my children. We chatted until he was too tired to continue talking on
the phone, and I promised to come and see him as soon as my household was not a
seething cauldron of germs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then, light at the end of the tunnel: No one had been sick
with a cold for several days. I phoned Proctor and made plans to go and see him
that coming weekend. That is, until one of the children returned home from
school and blossomed into chicken pox that same evening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One child with chicken pox turned into two, and then three.
I had a trio of spotty, cranky children to tend to, and there was no way I was
going to bring a new virus into Proctor’s home. We rode out the chicken pox
with lots of help from my Mom and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and at last, AT
LAST, everyone was well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I phoned Proctor’s home, I got the answering machine
several times in a row. Then, the Monday after Mother’s Day, my home phone
rang. I was close to an extension but did not pick up the receiver, because I
knew what the call was about. Proctor’s mother left a message on my answering
machine: he had died on Mother’s Day, the pneumonia finally drowning him in his
hospital bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Despite my despair at missing the chance to visit face to
face with Proctor during his last days, I took comfort in the strong bond we
had formed when we were barely out of childhood. The memorial service was full
of new friends who spoke of his generous nature and quirky sense of humor. I
listened to them and, though I was sorry that I had not spent more time with
the adult Proctor, he sounded an awful lot like the tall, gawky, awkward kid I
had met decades before in Drama Club. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I went to hug Proctor’s mother and offer her my
condolences after the memorial service, she thanked me for being Proctor’s
friend at a time in his life when friends were scarce. I told her that he had
been the same for me. She told me that her son had tried to comfort her as his
life slipped away by singing to her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What has reminded me so strongly of my old friend recently?
An intense conversation with one of my daughters about the singer/songwriter
Elliott Smith, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Proctor and who
also battled depression. An invitation from my Bunco buddy, Misty, to watch her
young daughter in a community theater production of Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat, which was the last play that I ever watched Proctor perform in. A
box of old photos that my Mom gave me that contains some snapshots of Proctor
and me at Disneyland, both of us wearing the absurd fashions of the 1970s and
grinning like loons. The news that one of the Gruffalo’s childhood friends died
yesterday on the other side of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course you know he dies in the end. But he doesn’t,
really. The friends that we make when we are young and vulnerable stay with us,
no matter what.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It isn’t always about beads, everyone. And I hope you don’t
mind.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">8/11/14: ETA RIP Robin Williams</span></div>
Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-60346491120831998872013-01-22T13:58:00.001-08:002013-01-22T13:58:44.811-08:00Green Goddess dressing<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a bracelet that I made for the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3806959446744701780#editor/target=post;postID=8437893778920441253" target="_blank">TACA</a> show last December. It did not sell at that show, however I did sell it afterwards as a Christmas gift for a friend's wife.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYb1hNMJqKBeBGsutWqETJNp04FlhOc0FweeNiLLrKOOl0ohYK-K8cpCgfrDDkbvmKmwVryhuQef59Eiwc5QAsmafmuRkwhkFrtSQcg2w_uwktxGJ8Gl-4xajdhedAwtdoMbdXUD_cpA/s1600/IMG317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYb1hNMJqKBeBGsutWqETJNp04FlhOc0FweeNiLLrKOOl0ohYK-K8cpCgfrDDkbvmKmwVryhuQef59Eiwc5QAsmafmuRkwhkFrtSQcg2w_uwktxGJ8Gl-4xajdhedAwtdoMbdXUD_cpA/s320/IMG317.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bracelet is made from tile beads in two colors of green, one opaque and one translucent. There are also bronze tile beads sprinkled in, small green seed beads in the border on upper side and bronze drop beads in the border on the opposite (lower) side. The width makes it a dramatic item, just perfect for the woman who received it as a holiday gift.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The purpose of this post (besides showing off a finished project that I really think is pretty) is to pass along a few bits of advice about making jewelry when you do not know who the final owner will be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">When I make a piece like this to sell (as opposed to a gift for a specific person), I always make it a little shorter than I think it needs to be. It is <em>always</em> easier to add rows to a needle woven piece that is too short than to unweave (is that even a word?) rows when something is too long.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Most bead weaving instructions will tell you to start a new length of thread when you are adding edging or a border, but they never say why. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">It is very tempting to keep using the working thread to add edging to a piece. To switch gears and add in new thread takes time and stops the creative work in its tracks, but it makes for better longevity for your jewelry. If something is going to catch on a button or a door handle or the edge of a desk, it is the border. While I use very strong fishing line for my bead weaving, it is not indestructible. If part of the border rips away and it was added with a new length of thread, repairs are much easier; you are only repairing the border. If the working thread is continued into the border edging and you need to make a repair, the architecture of the main body of the piece is threatened and the repair work will almost certainly take longer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">When adding a clasp or other closure, it is also advisable to work in a new length of thread for that step. The Green Goddess bracelet pictured above was just a tiny bit too tight for my friend's wife. I only needed to add two rows of tile beads, about 1/2 inch of extra length, to make it perfect for her. Since I had added the clasp with a separate piece of thread, I did not have to worry about the main body of the bracelet coming apart when I snipped the thread to remove one piece of the clasp. After I added two rows, this bracelet was just right for the woman who will certainly turn heads when she wears it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-46424157774070417372013-01-08T14:21:00.001-08:002013-01-08T14:24:44.853-08:00My Clay-m to Fame<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Most jewelry
makers start out with one technique. For me it was single needle bead weaving.
I learned as many stitches as I could; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peyote_stitch" target="_blank">peyote</a>, herringbone, the dreaded right
angle weave (RAW to beaders) and brick stitch were all added to my repertoire via
basic classes at my local bead <a href="http://www.breabeadworks.com/" target="_blank">store</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And most
jewelry makers will learn new techniques, often because what they see in their
imagination does not exist (yet) in the real world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For example,
I have heard the following from my fellow jewelry making students in one class
or another:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“I'm taking a
class in Art Clay silver because I couldn’t find clasps that I liked and I
decided to learn how to make my own.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“I studied
polymer clay because I couldn’t find marbled beads in the color combination I
wanted.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“I’m going to
take a class in knotting so I can update my Grandmother’s pearl necklace with
crystals.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The point of
departure from my beloved seed beads arrived over the long New Year’s weekend.
I searched the internet and local retail sources for a bead or a focal piece
with a primitive-looking roadrunner image to add to my Tila tile necklace
called, well, <a href="http://leahsteel.blogspot.com/2012/12/saturday-morning-cartoons.html" target="_blank">Roadrunner</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This necklace
has lots of shine: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaImb4lhGLeuJ94H9Pz12Gi1z-4hMyKtBg7eMclKGo5ngWmU_3nmZjbTW9qRZ3-irtXRtacZnC52o8yuh4UNd-K_CZ3SpEIFaxdwXk8B-f2xcDYtY8yD1qUxvDWfyDjJXA4A_MbGbhsGw/s1600/Roadrunner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaImb4lhGLeuJ94H9Pz12Gi1z-4hMyKtBg7eMclKGo5ngWmU_3nmZjbTW9qRZ3-irtXRtacZnC52o8yuh4UNd-K_CZ3SpEIFaxdwXk8B-f2xcDYtY8yD1qUxvDWfyDjJXA4A_MbGbhsGw/s320/Roadrunner.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So I wanted a
focal piece with a flat or matte finish. I could not find anything anywhere
that matched the idea I had for this embellishment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On New Year’s
Day I searched through my supply closet and uncovered a package of epoxy clay
that I had purchased a while ago and never opened. The product comes in two
parts (A & B) which are mixed together in equal parts to make moldable clay
that remains flexible for about 90 minutes. Finished items air-dry and cure in 12
-24 hours with no baking required, which is a plus because I do not own a kiln
(yet – heh!). I chose the copper color clay to work with for my experiment in
making my own focal for the Roadrunner piece.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Here are the
packages prior to mixing:</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvM3F8Q3iUzTk7jhBWcjKAIHC9Uh_d_Ocy5UmR6Rr5HT46q_fWKw1qVw5T17DPs2J5mGitCMGvhJ6FUx1mF5mz1Rmp0J8Pm7WjqvItyOrtby7qUXK1MUvE7GDXAcyHmbDv7QDd2kAbIQ/s1600/IMG356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvM3F8Q3iUzTk7jhBWcjKAIHC9Uh_d_Ocy5UmR6Rr5HT46q_fWKw1qVw5T17DPs2J5mGitCMGvhJ6FUx1mF5mz1Rmp0J8Pm7WjqvItyOrtby7qUXK1MUvE7GDXAcyHmbDv7QDd2kAbIQ/s320/IMG356.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span id="goog_820128804"></span><span id="goog_820128805"></span><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Once the two
parts were mixed I rolled out the clay and made a flat oval shape that would
fit in the center of the Roadrunner necklace. The smooth sides were roughed up
with the round side of an awl. I used this same tool to make two holes through
the top of the focal so that I could string it after it was cured. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Then came the
really challenging and time-consuming part. I have very little training in
drawing, so I made several sketches of a stylized roadrunner that were spectacularly
unsuccessful. At first I was making the sketches the same size as the oval bead.
After lots of tiny squiggles that looked nothing like any bird known to man, I
hit upon the idea of using technology. I made some full-page sketches and used
a printer/copier to reduce the size of the best image so it would fit on my
clay blank.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I placed the
small printed image over the clay blank and used a sewing pin to pierce through
the paper into the clay all around the outline of the roadrunner image. After I
peeled off the paper I made sure that the holes were all of uniform depth. I
added some cross-hatching in the background with the side of the same sewing
pin and embedded a small crystal in the clay for the roadrunner’s eye.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This is the
focal before it dried completely:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtQnN-gwrp6kfv9fHuaCp7W8XvIaeIUeGFyT2Af4boyqrEFzDLAYfB1ePaNkCrI3GL1IN-0-GE2V_UyGlBMvi0Cn3LC2Z7tcpXZ6xdNRVgiBwsVfazY7PyRcdiTClV2trlAKTNLINFO0/s1600/IMG357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtQnN-gwrp6kfv9fHuaCp7W8XvIaeIUeGFyT2Af4boyqrEFzDLAYfB1ePaNkCrI3GL1IN-0-GE2V_UyGlBMvi0Cn3LC2Z7tcpXZ6xdNRVgiBwsVfazY7PyRcdiTClV2trlAKTNLINFO0/s320/IMG357.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Once the clay was
completely dry and cured, I mixed up a wash of light orange acrylic paint and brushed it over the
focal. I wiped off most of the wash so that there was more paint in the
depressions than on the surface. This is the final result:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLprzWE8mj1uB87fhr-os4BgVuS2L43yA5kGVix6rMIlV6e5kseBnKeojmdwFd9Jx_d6KdxDk7nfkS7E_TthavY10IUw2MVHKqU9Ubbw1P62lCtkWvmfl1CXnAj9xV0SWBSYX8KLyElu4/s1600/IMG363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLprzWE8mj1uB87fhr-os4BgVuS2L43yA5kGVix6rMIlV6e5kseBnKeojmdwFd9Jx_d6KdxDk7nfkS7E_TthavY10IUw2MVHKqU9Ubbw1P62lCtkWvmfl1CXnAj9xV0SWBSYX8KLyElu4/s320/IMG363.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For a
first-time effort with clay, I am happy. I imagine this would have been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">much</i> easier if I had actual clay tools
but it was also fun to improvise with the items I had available. After I have
stitched this oval focal piece to the Roadrunner necklace, I will show you how
it looks when it is all put together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-31999930910994523572012-12-26T12:41:00.001-08:002012-12-26T12:41:24.848-08:00Ear! Ear!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The family agreed several years ago to give mostly hand-made or home-made gifts at the holiday season.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This year, the offerings were wonderful and varied:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Oldest daughter Kage made coffee/sugar facial scrub for the women of the family and peppermint bark for the men, both presented in mason jars. Here's hoping that none of the couples mix up their jars...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Son BeanBeanMoreBean created dozens of tiny (business-card sized) paintings and asked us each to chose our favorite. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Youngest daughter Smallest of All took a photograph of a table that my grandmother (G-Nan to the kids) had given her. She then altered the photo to add one of G-Nan's most familiar sayings in a font that looks like cross-stitch and gave us each a large print of the final product.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I worked for several weeks making holiday-themed earrings, which I hung on a jewelry organizer from Home Goods. (Slight diversion: If you do not have a Home Goods nearby, I weep for you.) Everyone was invited to chose a pair for herself or for his significant other. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is what the selection looked like before the family arrived on Christmas Day:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1wr0S8p_abHgDOkFivouemWGaiO8lc4z-GwpYEo1HgUNgkLSs8Tyh9xIKbjlDlMHbeYlhX_d8TWjao3tloi46tXkAlRaKbO-hwNEZHrkGUZHr2iE98J8qTV6-hXgpMULOXy6cLLimC4/s1600/Earring+Gifts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1wr0S8p_abHgDOkFivouemWGaiO8lc4z-GwpYEo1HgUNgkLSs8Tyh9xIKbjlDlMHbeYlhX_d8TWjao3tloi46tXkAlRaKbO-hwNEZHrkGUZHr2iE98J8qTV6-hXgpMULOXy6cLLimC4/s320/Earring+Gifts.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The jewelry organizer was perched on the music rail of our 1910 Milton upright piano. My Mom disassembled the piano and refinished it in the garage of my childhood home back in 1969. I come from crafty stock.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here are a few close-ups of the earrings:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEesb9LsCE-12cBeYtTXwczaxd8BtgOmD_2aY-OCt2vD4ks1-02DMmCn9UjtM0z8A4NkOdTVhwAl9DlRPNLstgvGR3htMVwDRYON5p0BgaYusKvmKrdUTFXugMKZ_US55tivhWHY4W80/s1600/Angels+and+trees+and+gifts+and+snowflakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEesb9LsCE-12cBeYtTXwczaxd8BtgOmD_2aY-OCt2vD4ks1-02DMmCn9UjtM0z8A4NkOdTVhwAl9DlRPNLstgvGR3htMVwDRYON5p0BgaYusKvmKrdUTFXugMKZ_US55tivhWHY4W80/s320/Angels+and+trees+and+gifts+and+snowflakes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the left, the designs are: Christmas tree, angel, Christmas tree again, gold snowflake with lots of dangles and holiday gift with bow on top.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Another close-up:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkH4Fn6TnzOagcDVwkxFrzTqmuu3bhj7H1VBxTEGssmRz1kW-8Mt1d8dSotT4EEDTEA3KkPsTUZwgnyGndkpZmk0WCLq7Wt7S2gHfaH-UmtWR_F2T34YLKbKG2Io4lD2GLlCdGSEMhG8/s1600/Snowmen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkH4Fn6TnzOagcDVwkxFrzTqmuu3bhj7H1VBxTEGssmRz1kW-8Mt1d8dSotT4EEDTEA3KkPsTUZwgnyGndkpZmk0WCLq7Wt7S2gHfaH-UmtWR_F2T34YLKbKG2Io4lD2GLlCdGSEMhG8/s320/Snowmen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besides another view of the Christmas tree and holiday gift design, this view shows the snowman design.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It was fun to see which design each family member and friend selected. Making the earrings was great fun, too, because they were finished so quickly that I didn't experience my usual foot-dragging dislike of finishing a piece. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Which design do you think was most popular? Which one do you like best?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Happy Holidays to all! I am looking forward to a creative New Year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-12968482029659973622012-12-19T13:21:00.000-08:002012-12-19T13:21:16.951-08:00Saturday Morning Cartoons<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This may be hard for younger folk to believe, but there was
a time before DVRs or TV-on-demand internet services. There was an even more
distant time before VCRs. It was an era when, if you wanted to watch a
particular television show, you had to be sitting in front of the set when it
aired.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">During this primitive time, the most important TV viewing
time for kids was Saturday morning. This was the only time that all of the
major networks showed cartoons for hours on end. There were prime-time cartoons
during the week, like The Flintstones and The Jetsons, but for a dizzying glut
of animated slapstick and mayhem, it was all about Saturday morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have a visceral memory of flopping on a bean bag chair in
the den of my childhood home just as Saturday morning cartoons were about to
begin. That sense of anticipation is something that I did not experience again
regarding a television show until <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">many</i>
years later when my daughters Kage and Smallest of All got me hooked on (bwah!)
<a href="http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/project-runway" target="_blank">Project Runway</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A consistent favorite during the Saturday morning cartoon
era was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i> <a href="http://looneytunes.kidswb.com/" target="_blank">Looney Tunes</a> cartoon:
Bugs & Daffy (Wabbit Season! Duck Season!), Marvin the Martian (I am sooooo
angry!), Michigan J. Frog (Hello my honey, hello my baby!). But for
dialog-free, surreal cartoon bliss, there was nothing like The Roadrunner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The great <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Jones" target="_blank">Chuck Jones</a> directed many (if not most) of the
Roadrunner cartoons. He crafted the complex and doomed methods that Wile E.
Coyote devised (with help from The Acme Corporation, of course) to capture (or
obliterate) the Roadrunner. He gave us a stylized, gorgeous view of the
American southwest desert landscape that served as the backdrop for the Coyote’s
never-ending pursuit of his prey. Chuck Jones taught us that, in the cartoon
world, you could run across thin air for exactly as long as you didn’t look
down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">An actual roadrunner looks very little like the purple, soft-edged
Warner Brothers version. They look like this:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnp6jXKUEY7rnBGO-cFMgB-ZyIjrPbAFyfVf06ki7wptcLVoeKnil_WLqDw0KV1bp_hX2rtfeAjU2Zo-jYB_Yp5eUsL-EjihfKBt1SmyMxhsLESubfKnPNXL4ufK7kHrWxqZKHHHV8uc8/s1600/250px-Geococcyx_californianus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnp6jXKUEY7rnBGO-cFMgB-ZyIjrPbAFyfVf06ki7wptcLVoeKnil_WLqDw0KV1bp_hX2rtfeAjU2Zo-jYB_Yp5eUsL-EjihfKBt1SmyMxhsLESubfKnPNXL4ufK7kHrWxqZKHHHV8uc8/s1600/250px-Geococcyx_californianus.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Gruffalo and I enjoy spending leisure time in the
desert, and roadrunners are a frequent sight. With their Mohawk-like crest, long
legs, skinny frame and nervously peeved demeanor they resemble nothing so much
as punk-rock chickens. They have a distinctive call which does <em>not</em> sound anything like ‘meep
meep’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This piece, a project-in-process, is called Roadrunner. I
started it after a weekend walk with the
dogs that included several roadrunner sightings. The shape is elongated and spiky, the colors are desert-like and the
saturated orange tile beads are reminiscent of cartoon hues without being too
extreme. I plan on adding long feather-shaped orange drops along the bottom of
the necklace.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaImb4lhGLeuJ94H9Pz12Gi1z-4hMyKtBg7eMclKGo5ngWmU_3nmZjbTW9qRZ3-irtXRtacZnC52o8yuh4UNd-K_CZ3SpEIFaxdwXk8B-f2xcDYtY8yD1qUxvDWfyDjJXA4A_MbGbhsGw/s1600/Roadrunner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaImb4lhGLeuJ94H9Pz12Gi1z-4hMyKtBg7eMclKGo5ngWmU_3nmZjbTW9qRZ3-irtXRtacZnC52o8yuh4UNd-K_CZ3SpEIFaxdwXk8B-f2xcDYtY8yD1qUxvDWfyDjJXA4A_MbGbhsGw/s320/Roadrunner.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The colors and angles of this piece are a departure from my
usual preferred hues and shapes. It is also woven in a set pattern of alternate opaque and translucent beads. This type of pattern is much easier to stitch than a random placement of colors. Whenever I am doing a random placement I have to think much harder than when I am following a pattern. Making a combination of colors look random is not as easy as it sounds; you have to pay attention to the way that the various rows & columns combine to avoid large blocks of a single color. Following a simple pattern like this allows my mind to wander while I bead. In fact, my mind wandered a bit too much and one side is longer than the other by two rows, so I have to unbead a little before I go on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The translucent bead color in Roadrunner is called 'root beer' by Tila. Every time I read the side of the bead container I want a<a href="http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/root_beer_float/" target="_blank"> root beer float</a>. Perhaps I will drive through A&W on the way home tonight--or maybe I'll use 'root beer float' as my next inspiration. </span></div>
Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-4853612527905756452012-12-18T11:07:00.001-08:002012-12-19T08:07:33.843-08:00Czech It Out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCL59C8mw_POzbraJMkBO7I5Bl3ASUSuHiqlaYtBHP74-GuprbEpeyY3s1-2LRqOnlQr5q9qe7T5UTzHUya-7z-SGlxSuuRyt_87EpJqrkpNEbcnTe-wkF1I9vP99nFg8_qj1nXO47MCs/s1600/Czech+Me+Out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCL59C8mw_POzbraJMkBO7I5Bl3ASUSuHiqlaYtBHP74-GuprbEpeyY3s1-2LRqOnlQr5q9qe7T5UTzHUya-7z-SGlxSuuRyt_87EpJqrkpNEbcnTe-wkF1I9vP99nFg8_qj1nXO47MCs/s400/Czech+Me+Out.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This is Czech It Out, a necklace made of tile beads in light purple tones with a <a href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=czech+glass+buttons&_sacat=0&_from=R40" target="_blank">czech glass button</a> as a focal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have a small box full of czech glass buttons in my workroom. Some of them were given to me by my Mom, others were purchased throughout the years on eBay. I have used them in sewing projects in the past but have never been fully satisfied that the button was getting all the attention that it deserves on a jacket or a dress. In Czech It Out, the button is front & center, as it should be. For my next piece of this size, I am thinking of using several glass buttons of various sizes on a single color bib necklace. The tile beads in this piece are the lighter weight Tila tiles so the large bib is not too heavy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Like <a href="http://leahsteel.blogspot.com/2012/12/la-liz.html" target="_blank">La Liz</a>, the tile beads are a mix of 2/3 opaque and 1/3 translucent. This gives the surface of the necklace shine & movement. There are 7 gold drop beads at the bottom center of the piece and bronze seed beads at the top & bottom of each column. The necklace closure is made of gold tone chain with a little extra at the back so that the length can be customized.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This item was on display at the <a href="http://www.tacanow.org/" target="_blank">TACA</a> show in early December 2012. There were several interested parties however it did not sell and so remains available. Contact me via email if you are interested in this necklace.It is not too late to have something delivered in time for Christmas...mention the blog and I will ship for free.</span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-53367681192073504192012-12-12T07:54:00.003-08:002012-12-12T07:55:30.156-08:00Good Luck Bunco Bracelet<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunco" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Bunco</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> is one of those things that was
unknown one minute and was EVERYWHERE the next minute, sort of like salted
caramel or the Kardashians.</span><o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">During the six years that
bracketed the new millennium I worked for an extremely wealthy couple as a
personal assistant. Whenever they entertained, Mrs. Riche would spend weeks
shopping for decorations, linens & party favors. She was the first person
to mention a Bunco party to me, and I thought she was confessing to some sort
of</span><a href="http://www.jargondatabase.com/Category/Law-Enforcement/Cop-Related-Jargon/Bunko-Squad" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> illegal activity</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">.
Her Bunco group must have been the happiest group of women in the history of
the game; her idea of a party favor was most people's idea of a <em><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">very</span></em> nice holiday gift.</span><o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I have remained friends with
Misty, a co-worker from my tenure with the Riches. Misty recently invited me to
join her Bunco group. The game is very easy to learn and completely based on
luck. Only the person keeping score needs to pay close attention to game play so it is perfect for socializing. My group meets once a month. Dinner is served first, we play two
rounds, have dessert, play two more rounds and then distribute prizes so the
evening is full of opportunities to chat and get to know each other.</span><o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The group of women that I
play with is so wonderful and welcoming that I wanted to make each of them a quilted
Bunco-related fabric clutch bag. I searched online for Bunco fabric and came up
with zilch. Then I searched for fabric printed with dice. Again, no luck--the
results were all Vegas-themed with roulette wheels and decks of cards as well
as dice.</span><o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">My search did turn up small
dice beads, though, which lead to this design:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBHFEaYLdsR68q1xtuPb_-NGX1zfcRv0YGFoV4GpRJDTWIegKEKru7mZWVPZEQ7kfQh6i_yPaEZ6XEWWZGg-P7pcDt56hT6pzzRv8gwGsCU7nthwRJSTZTXou8bSnP4w8afZ2UAPM6rpM/s1600/Bunco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBHFEaYLdsR68q1xtuPb_-NGX1zfcRv0YGFoV4GpRJDTWIegKEKru7mZWVPZEQ7kfQh6i_yPaEZ6XEWWZGg-P7pcDt56hT6pzzRv8gwGsCU7nthwRJSTZTXou8bSnP4w8afZ2UAPM6rpM/s320/Bunco.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Bunco is played with three
dice so the Good Luck Bunco Bracelet has three dice in the center portion of
the design. The dice beads are three-dimensional with the stringing direction
through the diagonal dimension of the bead. The bead mix that I purchased
included black, white & red dice beads. I used all three colors in this design.
The border is stitched with seed beads and bicone crystals to add some shine. </span><o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This design is called the
Good Luck Bunco Bracelet. The first time that I wore it, I ‘won’ the consolation
prize for the most lost games in the evening. So, is that good luck?<o:p></o:p></span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-81835812988705344242012-12-06T10:17:00.001-08:002012-12-06T10:19:17.470-08:00La Liz<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another piece that is made from the mosaic tile beads that I love sooooo much.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The combination of bronze and green seems both natural and dramatic. The green beads are a mix of 2/3rds opaque and 1/3 transparent which gives the surface of the piece some shimmer and movement:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileJeogmixi5ecYUXf4WZzWLnpbuWaL1Eg1CsUzC0wnInYG2Lq9ufshscyRlWkIsJmY4cDQoPD04lPL8r8REULVEPQVcvujZU15h1T1ZZ5wqTV_s5706Df48Coo0iPILZDI4w8np9vA_g/s1600/Mosaic+Collar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileJeogmixi5ecYUXf4WZzWLnpbuWaL1Eg1CsUzC0wnInYG2Lq9ufshscyRlWkIsJmY4cDQoPD04lPL8r8REULVEPQVcvujZU15h1T1ZZ5wqTV_s5706Df48Coo0iPILZDI4w8np9vA_g/s1600/Mosaic+Collar.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">At the <a href="http://leahsteel.blogspot.com/2012/12/puzzling-pieces.html" target="_blank">TACA</a> benefit last weekend, this piece was one of the items for sale at my table. I originally had another name for it, but one of the women who tried it on said "This reminds me of Elizabeth Taylor!" so I changed the name to La Liz.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">When I was younger I was obsessed with movie magazines, the trashier the better. Ms Taylor made frequent appearances in the pages of those magazines. The woman's life was nothing if not dramatic. Of course, now there are websites that cover celebrity news in much seamier detail than anything I read as a teenager. While I do confess to reading online gossip sites now & then, I do miss being able to cut out photos of my favorite actors (RIP, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Everett" target="_blank">Chad Everett</a>) to tape on my school notebook covers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">When I make something that I offer to sale to the general public, whenever feasible I leave some extra chain, which you can see at the top of the photo. I also carry a small set of tools with me. This way I can adjust the length of the necklace easily to suit the customer. For a bold collar-shaped piece like this it really needs to lay correctly to be shown off to its best advantage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I will continue to post photos of other pieces that I were for sale at the show. If it did not sell I will make a note that the item is still available. If anyone is interested in the price of an unsold piece, send an email to <a href="mailto:pincessleah4@yahoo.com">pincessleah4@yahoo.com</a> (please do not use the comment section!) and I will respond as soon as possible with details. La Liz is still available to purchase. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Mention my blog in the email and you will get free shipping on any items that you purchase.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It isn't diamonds, Liz, but I still think you would have rocked this necklace.</span>Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-84378937789204412532012-12-03T10:12:00.001-08:002012-12-03T10:28:37.428-08:00Puzzling Pieces<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Gruffalo and I attended a charity luncheon and fashion
show in Del Mar this past weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The event was for the benefit of <a href="http://www.tacanow.org/" target="_blank">TACA</a>, which stands for
“Talk About Curing Autism”. The speakers included one of the founders of the
organization as well as a mother who talked about her family’s journey so far.
I can’t begin to understand what people go through when they are living with a
family member on the spectrum, but I deeply empathize with any parent who
is struggling to provide his or her child with the type of life that every
child deserves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before & after the luncheon various vendors had tables
set up outside the ballroom. The Gruffalo was a huge help in setting up my table and adjusting the props so that everything was displayed beautifully. He also helped me chat up the shoppers who came by my table, which represents one of the many ways that our relationship is filled with wonderful synergy. I can produce jewelry designs all day long but I am pretty shy about promoting myself and not very much of a salesperson. The Gruffalo, on the other hand, is amazingly good at sales and very, very charming. He is not shy at all about telling a woman that she should buy the necklace that she has draped around her neck or helping someone try on a bracelet that they are admiring. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We met some wonderful, hard-working women who
have started their own companies and are using this sort of event to grow their
business. Many of the women who were selling their products are raising
children who are on the autism spectrum. Traditional 9-to-5 office jobs are
mostly out of the question for caregivers in this situation so these
women have built other ways to provide family income.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The fashion show was staged by representatives of <a href="http://www.jockeypersontoperson.com/Home/Main" target="_blank">Jockey Person to Person</a>. Yes, it is the underwear company and, no, it was not a lingerie show. This line includes all types of clothing and the models included Jockey reps, mothers of kids with autism and a young woman who is herself on the spectrum. Everyone on the runway looked gorgeous and worked that catwalk like the sassy, amazing women they are . Plus I really, REALLY want the <a href="http://www.jockeypersontoperson.com/DesignerCorner/Sassy6" target="_blank">leather-look pencil skirt</a> in the fall/winter line. (This last line is brought to you by blatant holiday gift hint-dropping directed at any family members who may be reading.)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I will post photos of other finshed pieces from this event in later blog posts,
however I wanted to acknowledge TACA and salute the good work that they do
in this post.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once I confirmed my vendor registration for this show I made three necklaces with a puzzle piece
focal. The puzzle piece represents autism awareness (in the same way that
various colored ribbons symbolize various causes). The way that this condition
manifests is often a vast, confusing, shifting and interrelated array of symptoms with various degrees of associated
impairment. Individuals on the spectrum can make great improvements in their
cognitive and motor abilities, but there can also be mysterious and sudden
declines. The medical community (and, for that matter, the public at large) has
an ever-shifting understanding of the spectrum. Families often become
frustrated in their efforts to seek answers and help. The purpose of TACA is
for families with autism to support other families with autism.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The necklace <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">is</span> a single charm on a silver-tone chain that
has been embroidered with seed beads and crystals.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOsWhtS7AErzvJpm0pptITXv79Sc3JgSONogSIGIDmylJZJbBk73eVg7-CIF_iS32w9HSGmxIenRZzF0pDR57vFSpGgNz6EJvA4OzHvzBNM6y4F2Jfiyt4-2QMJCmrGmXVcddg9kt5lY/s1600/TACA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOsWhtS7AErzvJpm0pptITXv79Sc3JgSONogSIGIDmylJZJbBk73eVg7-CIF_iS32w9HSGmxIenRZzF0pDR57vFSpGgNz6EJvA4OzHvzBNM6y4F2Jfiyt4-2QMJCmrGmXVcddg9kt5lY/s320/TACA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Special thanks are due here to my daughter, Smallest of All, who designed my logo and helped me prepare signs and price tags before the show, samples of which you can see in this photo.</strong></span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I donated one of the three necklaces to the raffle and sold
the other two. If I had make 10 necklaces I could have sold all of them. A
woman came to my table before the luncheon and told me “I put all of my tickets
in your bag and I am going to win your necklace”. She was indeed the winner. Congratulations!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I now owe TACA a check for a portion of the money that I
made from the charm necklaces that I sold, which I will gladly write and mail
off to the event organizer later today.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the banners in the ballroom demonstrated to me the combination of hope and feisty determination that I witnessed again and again at the benefit:</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <em>All of the professionals tell us to send our son to an
institution. We’re hoping for Harvard.</em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To the organizers, vendors, family members and other attendees of the TACA event, my wish for you is recovery and that, one day, the final piece will slip into the puzzle.</span></div>
Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3806959446744701780.post-60950391374783349152012-11-29T11:35:00.000-08:002012-11-29T11:36:28.775-08:00Guy With Windbreaker on Bridge<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I leave the house for the train station a little later
than usual, it never fails: I hit every red light along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This happened today, and it was raining to boot. My usual
commute to the station is under 15 minutes and today it took almost twice that
long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The parking is (mostly) on the north-bound track side of the
station. To reach the south-bound track I have a good 5 minute walk to the
pedestrian bridge that spans the tracks, then up & over the bridge itself.
Since I was running late this morning, I stood a good chance of missing the early
train even if I pulled into the parking structure before the train arrived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have come to recognize several of the people who ride the
trains with me every day. One of my fellow morning commuters always wears a
nylon windbreaker, usually neon green but sometimes purple. His habit is to
stand on the pedestrian bridge until he sees the lights of the approaching
south-bound train. He has a very distinctive hip-shot way of leaning against
the inside rail of the bridge so I recognize him even from far away. As long as
that guy with the windbreaker is standing on the bridge I know that I have a
few minutes before the train pulls in. He is my signal—if I don’t see him, or
if I see him start to walk to the end of the bridge, I know it is time to run.
Well, walk very quickly; running is not something that I do well. Or without
falling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He is usually wearing earbuds so I have never attempted to
speak with him. This is my thank-you to Guy With Windbreaker on Bridge. Please keep
standing on the bridge, waiting for our train. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Leah Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00187566124354413153noreply@blogger.com0