Modern technology

My word it's been almost a year since I last blogged!  I guess Ive not had a lot to say, the beads and I didn't speak for about 3 months either which doesn't help plus I never use my laptop anymore which makes sitting down and writing a blog a difficult. Out of curiosity, I checked to see if there was an app so I could do it on my phone and then hopefully be a bit more active and there was. So this is a test post written from my bed :-)

So I wonder how to add pictures?  Hmmmmm there was a camera icon on the other screen, there may or may not be a picture here when I press post like I say it's a test post, if it all goes well I'll write a proper post soon.

slow progress

In my last post i was talking about tidying the beadroom and using it a bit more, well a bit of progress has been made. 6 hours of sorting and tidying resulted in this:

You can see the floor!!!

the desk is also a lot clearer now so is in use. I am currently working on 2 projects one of Julia S Pretls beaded boxes, progress pics of that can be seen over on my facebook page (i hope that works its been ages since i did clicky linky things in here)

The other project I'm working on is affectionately known as pam's poppy (that link will take you to the website, but there is also a facebook page).  I'm really proud to be part of this project and will be visiting the completed wreath.  I will blog a bit more in depth about this project when i have a bit more time, but here is the progress so far, this is my second poppy for the wreath.

that's all for now folks.

hello 2014 and all you may throw at me

Right then,
its been a heck of a long time since i wrote anything in my blog and I'm really not sure if i can remember how this works so if things look wonky and pictures are in weird places....I'm sorry, I'll figure it out eventually.

I guess i should have reread everything i had written in past posts, but what the heck its been that long its history. So whats new?

I'm hoping to make a bigger commitment to Pintail Jewellery this year, but that's easier said than done, lack of confidence and a full time job are a couple of hurdles i have to overcome, but hey this time last year i was facing redundancy so i should be grateful i still have that income coming in and i am as i really enjoy my job (even if i do like to whinge about it).

First thing i need to do is get a grip of the "beadroom", its a box room at home that i have all my bead storage in and a desk etc so i can work up there.

as you can see....EEEK.  it has become the proverbial dumping ground, as i no longer feel i can work up there when i want to. The reason being...

Lenny!  He's our old boy and he struggles with the stairs and unfortunately has toilet issues, that i would prefer to keep limited to the downstairs.  So I end up beading on the sofa, which is great until i need something, which is upstairs and then his lordship insists on trying to follow me up the stairs which makes me feel guilty.  Needless to say as a result of this not much beading has been done the past few months.

But the plan is to get the room back in action, and use it in the evenings, when Rich my boyfriend is home and can keep Lenny out of mischief.

Well i think I've wittered on enough for you to be going on with, plus i need to leave some stuff to write about for the next instalment.

Ruthie
xx

catch up

right then, as usual I've left quite a gap between posts, i wish i could do this at work as that's the only time i really spend at a big computer these days, its far much easier to sit on the sofa and do my browsing etc via the smartphone, but as a result the blog and folksy get neglected.  on the plus side it does mean i may have a fair bit of stuff to share with you :-)

first things first, i can't remember if i told you who won the last giveaway (and if i go back to check I'll probably lose what i have written even if i press save lol) well it was June of charters creations.  thanks to those of you who entered, keep your eyes peeled there may be another one soon.

so what has been going on in my world?  well i haven't been made redundant yet so that's a good thing, its still a possibility but working in the railways everything takes forever, its not nice having an axe an axe hanging over your head for over a year but I'll keep taking the pay checks.  talking about work we had a lovely steam train "Duchess of Sutherland" through the station today

urgh just had a major technical hiccup, since the last time i posted there have been huge changes in the world of blogger and it really didn't want to upload my pic, had to call the in house IT support, aka Rich my boyfriend to figure out how to fix it, turns out blogger and opera aren't speaking at the moment so i am reverting to Internet explorer.

so whats happened beady wise??? well not a lot and a lot at the same time. a group of us who know each other from various places on the Internet got together for a weekend of wine, cake (thanks to Donna for the gorgeous cupcakes nom nom nom) and beading, i had intended on taking loads of pictures and doing a big blog feature on the weekend but i was too busy beading, yeah OK and drinking wine. i confess i was a wee bit hungover on the Saturday, I'm such a lightweight these days.

I've been making quite a few peyote cuffs recently in the hope that i ca eventually start selling the patterns, once I've figured out how to make them look pretty (the pattern is the easy bit) i love doing straight forward flat peyote, just need to work on my use of colours and shapes so i can develop some more picture style ones as opposed to patterns, but i hope you like the ones I've done so far.

over on the OTTBS (operation tackle that bead stash) facebook page everyone went a bit freeform crazy for a few days, including me. and i confess freeform makes my head hurt, I'm not good at mixing my beads up let alone randomly putting them places, but this is what i came up with, which isn't too shabby for a first attempt

i also set myself the challenge of completing a pattern that had me cowering in the corner every time i saw it, its called the rams horn bead in the book the art of beaded beads.  those of you who have seen the pattern will know exactly what i mean. over on OTTBS i asked if anyone had attempted it in a group with over 300 members the answer was no, well a couple of people started it but gave up.  i made two of them, that weekend and somebody else took up the challenge and made one as well.  strangely we both went wrong but ended up with a pretty close replica of the actual bead

so whats next?  well i have a bead embroidery piece on the go which i am hoping will look pretty darn good once its finished (so far so good). and I'm also working on a necklace which is involving a lot of trial and error but is proving to be a lot of good fun.  hope you enjoyed this very long winded instalment and that you join me for the next one. 

PS happy birthday Dad, love you xx

erm i'm still here honest

Hello
I'm ever so sorry that I've been absent for such a long time. life just keeps on getting in the way as I'm sure many of you will understand. To make it up to you there will be a beady giveaway at the end of this blog.

So what has been going on? Well i still work for the railway, although redundancy is a possibilty (we were first told of this over a year ago, and trying to stay positive and hopeful for so long is starting to take its toll if truth be told). I am still with my wonderfull boyfriend Richard (although I don't call him wonderful when he is tickling me!) Lenny the labrador is still with us (yet another cause of stress but we still love him despite everything) and we now have a marine fish tank, but alas yesterday one of the fish jumped out of the tank and committed suicide.

I'm still trying to lose that blasted 2 stone in weight I want shifting, and its becoming a necessity as come summer not many of my clothes are going to fit. So i've changed gym to one closer to home which is a pay as you go basis and I'm trying to go 3 times a week, i actually should have been there today but I've been doing admin at home.

and what beady stuff have i been doing since i last posted? well the main bit was Lynn Davy's warrior rings necklace that was published in Beadwork Magazine last autumn. I knew Lynn was publishing this design through following her work on various bits of the interweb and i just had to make it when it came out. Richard bought me the materials to make it as a birthday pressie (i told you he was wonderful), and this is how it turned out

i've made a few other pieces as well but i can't be telling you everything all at once now can i?

over at pintail jewellery we are nearly at 100 "likers" and I would love to reach it (and more) so to help here is the giveaway prize:

As spring is finally trying to arrive (although I've not seen any lambs yet) i have made a tuppeny daisy in bright and vibrant sunflower colours which will go to one lucky person. All i ask you to do is leave a comment telling me your favourite flower. I shall draw the lucky persons name out of a hat on Wednesday March 28th at 6pm bst (apparently the clocks change this weekend, good job i checked or I'd be late for work on sunday).

hello there!!! its me again. first things first, congratulations to nic for winning the cow print cuff that was up for offer in the last blog, that will be winging its way to GERMANY (whoo hoo look at me going all international, yeah all right nics an ex pat, does make me wonder if i have any other international followers though). it was going to be a highlty technical draw, well ok bits of paper with numbers on them, but the desk was a mess i couldn't find any paper, so i resorted to shouting downstairs and getting the other half to pick a number lol.

so what have i been up to since the last blog. erm beading!! last week i seemed to have an influx of energy and was rustling up peyote cuffs left right and centre, downside is though i burnt myself out by wednesday, but these three little beauties are what i created whilst the mojo was flowing

they were all designed by me but i hadn't got round to making them, but i finally did it and they turned out really well in the end.
i also had a play with some fimo, i haven't got the patience for it, those that make amazing beads and things out of it are pretty much gods in my eyes, i would show pics of my creations but i forgot to take any, i guess i shall save them for a slow news week.
yesterday i had the urge to make but didn't want to bead, so i got the pliers out and some jump rings and did a bit of chainmaille, considering i just used cheap rings from hobbycraft and the aspect ratio was wrong cos of the gauge of wire used for them the end results are quite cool i think

the ducky was made my helen over at lala lampwork and is a keeper i love my duckies i do.
i also bought some lovely lampies from joanne and teamed them up with some antique gold coloured findings, swarovski crystals and some random black beads that worked perfectly with what i had planned to create this

so what do you think guys? anything you'd like to see me attempt or want to know about me?

learning curves and technical difficulties

well i was supposed to write a blog last week about a learning curve i've just been on but tecnical difficulties prevented me from doing it how i wanted so i didn't blog. but i can't leave you guys feeling neglected so i'm cobbling this one together but there will be a giveaway so bare with me.
well what was i doing?
i was making up a peyote cuff from one of my chart patterns so i could list it on the fan page and then in the folsky/etsy/whatever shop when i get round to sorting that out. i'd got the beads and the clasp, but as usual i just picked a clasp that i thought would be the right size, a five ringed slide clasp (i do like slide clasps) but as i started to make up the peyote band i figured that it was a bit too wide for the clasp, so i had a think. whilst i was thinking i was browsing the forums i frequent and spotted some cuffs that donna over at delicate sparkles had done they were peyote but mounted onto a cuff blank. well i had a couple of cuff blanks upstairs ready for some bead embroidery cuffs i've not got round to doing yet (i will do them one day) so decided this was going to be the best course of action.
of course nothing is that straight forward the cuff blank was slightly wider than the peyote piece i was a fair way through making, but i figured a row of brick stitch at the end would make it wide enough. of course all the way through this i'm taking pictures of my work mat so you guys can see the progress being made.
well when i'd finished the peyote i added the row of brick stitch and i was pretty pleased with how it was looking. so i proceeded to cover the cuff blank with the ultasuede. what a palaver!!!! i'm not sure if its becuse i was using an offcut which wasn't square or it was just me trying to run before i could walk and having no patience but at the end of it all i was rather stressed out but i had a nicely covered blank apart from one tiny little crease which i couldn't get rid of for love nor money.
so then it was time to attach the peyote to the covered blank. DOH!!!!! i forgot that adding the ultrasuede would make the blank thicker so my nicely fitting peyote strip was still slightly narrow! but no worries i just had to make sure i sewed it on nice and square so it didn't look wonky. no problem that went fine. unfortunately one end is closer to the end of the blank than the other only by a rows width though.
needless to say i've learnt a lot making this and hopefully the next time i make a rigid cuff i will remember them. unfortunately the pictures i had taken are on my phone and for some reason flickr won't allow me to upload them and i can't find my cable so i'm afraid there is no work in progress pictures or of me tearing my hair out surrounded by ultrasuede offcuts but there is a picture of the finished item

which i think actually turned out really well all things considered.
so then who wants it? yes i am going to offer this cuff as a giveaway to anybody who posts a cow joke in the comments. the winner will be chosen at random at 5pm (roughly) 17th July 2011, so it doesn't matter if the joke is really cheesy its not the best joke that wins (in fact a cheesy one would win in that case cos they are my fave) and if nobody posts a comment i shall keep it for myself, but i hope people do play along
see you in the next post!!!

i have news

well its not very exciting in the grand scheme of things but i now have a page on facebook i spent yesterday getting it all sorted. its still very much a work in progress buts its a step in the right direction.

well what else has been going on? erm not a lot. although i got the coins out again recently and started making my coin flower brooches, which i always enjoy making, so much so i am in the middle of writing up the tutorial on how to make them so watch this space.

all systems.... stop

well its been a funny old time since i last posted, now that the blog ring has finished (until i join another one, because it was good fun) i guess i should blog about what i've been up to. well the week before last i had a right little production line going (i like working late shifts, gives me a bit of extra time to bead between customers, but don't tell the boss) and created several bracelets

i also made a ring

which was fun, mainly because the instructions are in japanese

and since then i've not really done anything (well there are a couple of pieces but i need to photograph them, plus it gives me something to show you in the next blog)

i have decided though that i will start listing stuff for sale over on folksy i am just in the process of working out all the ins and outs and getting better pics etc, and along with that there will be a facebook page as well. so its a case of watch this space.

introducing.... blue fairy designs

well this is the last in the current series spotlighting fellow creative types i hope you enjoyed it, if you want to see more please let me know. but who have we got this time?

we have helen of blue fairy designs yet another talented lady, who does more than dabble with glass! visit her website to see some amazing glassy creations, including jewellery, coasters, bowls and wall art, for all you facebook people you can also find her here. here are a few of my favourite pieces

i could spend hours posting pics of her work as i've not seen a bit i don't like. i hope you visit her website and the other artisits i've featured.

well i best go an do some beading so i have something to write about myself next time lol

introducing.... kitzbitz art glass

well this blog is a few days late, due to various reasons but here it is better late than never.

so who have we got today??? well its the boss lady, Jolene. Jolene organised this blog ring (so i better be nice, not that i could say a bad thing about her, she's lovely) over on the craft pimp forum which she also runs; how she finds the time is beyond me but i'm glad she does.

so what does Jolene do? well predominantly she's a lampworker and sells her work on etsy as kitzbitz where you can find a selection of her beads, and not just her amazing glassy creations but also her polymer clay beads which are equally stunning.

these beads are polymer clay inspired by a babies blanket. and the design is clay as well not painted!!!

these beads are "lampies", i love the colour in them, very warming, very me

Jolene doesn't just sell the finished products either, she has a lampwork supply business over on etsy fritnchips selling various, frits, shards, twitsies and mojo boxes used to create the various effects you see on lampwork beads.

here are a few of my other favourites of hers:

and last but not least...

and for those with good eyesight, yes that is what they are

introducing...... hazel of hazelbhandweaver!!!

and she's not a beader, lampworker or nothing like that!!! its even more exciting, hazel is a weaver! i don't know anybody else that weaves so its been really interesting seeing her stuff on the craftpimp forum and boy oh boy is it amazing!!!

hazel started out as a spinner, but the weaving bug bit hard and she rarely does this now, although when you see the pics of the weaving she does, i'm sure you will agree it was worth sacrificing the spinning for. i'm just in awe of this womans work, and Richard (the boyfriend) if you are reading this, yes i would like one :-)

Hazel does her weaving in her home and studio in Wales on amazing looms, the big one: this beauty takes about 10 hours to set up!! talk about dedication, and is used for weaving damask

this one is for making more complex designs

and this is the baby loom used for making samples and scarves,

the mind boggles at how intricate the looms themselves are. i guess i should actually show you some of the items hazel makes but its so difficult trying to pick out some favourite pieces as they truely are all stunning but i'll give it my best shot

i love the colours in this one, so vibrant.

a fine example of the different designs that can be achieved (don't ask me how, but its impressive isn't it)

and last but not least this beauty, its hand dyed silk with merino fibre laid over it, and they are then felted together. WOW

hazel will be at the beaumauris festival from 27/05/11-30/05/11 if you want to see her work in person if you cant get there here is the link to her website so you can see (and hopefully buy, yes richard i'm talking to you again) more amazing wraps and scarves hazelbhandweaver

introducing.... silvergems designs

well folks its time yet again to point a spotlight at another talented member of the craftpimp forum, and this week i am pleased to introduce Gemma, of silvergems designs.

now i confess to only discovering Gemma's work since joining craft pimp, but by heck she has done some nice stuff! Gemma is a lampworker who also makes jewellery pieces and sells items over on etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/SilverGems89

here are a few of my favourite piece that i've spotted on her flickr account:

i love this bracelet its just screams touch me!!!

Gemma reckons this isn't perfect as its a first attempt, wonder if she'll send it to me for a closer inspection cos i think it looks perfect and could certainly use it in some bead embroidery

and if you are a fan of big hole beads check out these beauties, don't the colours just scream summer at you

well after looking at those i have an urge for a cocktail with an umbrella in it, wonder what i can find in the kitchen to make it happen.

for more info on Gemma's work why not pop over to her facebook page and keep track of whats happening over there http://www.facebook.com/SilverGemsDesigns?sk=wall#!/SilverGemsDesigns?sk=wall

speak soon!

introducing smittenkitten

I've not been around much lately, but I've not been sitting around twiddling my thumbs. Instead I've been networking and learning about other crafters. having recently discovered www.craftpimp.co.uk a new online forum showcasing the work of many UK crafters, i signed up for a blog ring to help promote the work of a few of these very talented people. so here is my first entry:

Nicola of smittenkitten is one of the worlds true crafters, who can turn her hand to anything and do a fantastic job of it. Her work is currently available for sale on dewanda http://de.dawanda.com/shop/missbond and she has her own website here http://www.smittenkitten.de/. Although Nicola is English she is currently based in Stuttgart, Germany, where she is living with her fiance and currently planning her wedding (personally i can't wait to see the pics).

Nicola has a very clean and classic style to her products that would suit any occasion

and she's also nifty with a needle and thread, check out the kindle cover she made

I could spend hours telling you about this talented ladies work but all this creativity has sparked my mojo so i best go and put it to good use.

for all you face book junkies here's a link to Nicola's fan page
http://www.facebook.com/smittenkittende

what am i going to do now

i'm at a loss. i've finished my big project i was working on and cant think of anything exciting to do, i've got a little project on the go but its hardly exciting, i need something new to get my teeth into!
some of you may be wondering what i've just finished, actually most of you wont be as most of you are friends on facebook and have seen the in progress photos oh well. but for those of you who don't do facebook, a few months ago (actually its approaching 9) i had the idea of converting a piece of ancient egyptian enamelled jewellery into a piece of beadwork, so that is what i have done. it hasn't taken 9 months to make (about 3 weeks) but it was the scarab i initially had problems with as i am not good at polymer clay, i then managed to get one made for me the very talented caroline (carrie) harvey, but i was too chicken to make a start on it, but in the lull between christmas and new year i took the plunge an this is the result

it is hanging on a twisted tubular herringbone rope which took just as long to make as the pendant, if not longer. i have made the bails on the pendant long enough to slip over the ends of the rope allowing the rope to be worn seperately, as its not everyday you want to wear a pendant thats over 8cm wide.
so thats what i've been doing since the start of the year, i've entered it into the bead buddies quarterly challenge so we'll see how it does in a couple of months, but even if it doesn't do very well (there are some seriously good beaders out there) i'm really proud of my piece.
so come on guys what should i do next????

happy new year!!!

well sorry its been awhile since the last post but we've been having a bit of a stressful time with the dog. poor chap has been diagnosed with diabetes, which is manageable but its meant a lot of trips to the vets each week leaving not a lot of free time for things like this. But i'm back!

well the year ended on a high, i had entered a couple of small competitions and i came first in one and second in the other which i was obviously very chuffed with.

here is the winner:

and here is the runner up

obviously they weren't first and second in the same competition (how cool would that be if they were lol).

well this was just a quick post to show i was still alive, got to go get ready for the day job now. hope you all have a prosperous 2011!