Bead Soup and other events in my rather hectic life ...........

I am now somewhat behind with orders due at the end of this month so the next few days will see me sitting stitching frantically.  The past few weeks has been exhausting and rather eventful hence the tardy work schedule.

My little granddaughter Victoria celebrated her third birthday yesterday and Sunday was party day. How time flies,  it seems just the other day that I had pictures of a tiny baby on my blog.

Another event about which I can now laugh is my husband's aptitude to injure himself.  I cannot understand why men insist in hopping around on one foot when putting on trousers!  As he is now rather frail tottering around resulted in a nasty fall.  Fortunately other than a gash on his hand, a sore head and some bruising,  he seems to have suffered little permanent damage.

I have also taken advantage of the slightly kinder weather and spent a little time in the garden re-potting my standard roses and just tidying up.   Gardening is definitely the best therapy I know.  There is still lots to do but the weather has remembered that it is still only March and turned cold and wet again.

Then there was the bead soup mix to organise.  After much deliberation on my part and knowing that my swap partner liked purple,  I went through my bead stash looking for a suitable focal.  I decided to make something different and this is the embroidered pendant I made using semi precious stones and purple braid around the edge.

This is the complete bead soup including the focal.  Thinking spring garden I included some crochet beads I had made, a couple of dragonflies and a flower clasp.

 

I must admit that I find it a little difficult to put a suitable bead soup together as I am inclined to like subtle pastel colours and flowers.   Of course that is what makes this a challenge,  taking me away from the familiar tried and trusted colours and ideas.

My swap arrived on Friday and I am still trying to decide what I will make.  The clasp is a little small for a necklace and so I will perhaps make a bracelet with the flowers and small beads.   The focal is rather 1960s and has me a little uncertain at the moment but I have some ideas swirling around in my head.   I am planning to experiment with dyeing white soutache braid as I have been wanting to make a bead embroidered piece of jewellery for a while so watch this space.

It is now rather a family joke that Megan (our star baker) makes birthday cakes for all the family including her own.  She has also recently celebrated a birthday and made an absolutely divine chocolate cake decorated with lots of tiny white chocolate stars.

We had a special day out shopping in Cambridge,  something we both love to do.  There are lots of great charity shops and this time we found a few 'treasures'.  Two beautiful hand made Victorian christening robes to use for teddy bear and doll's clothing,  a brand new Swiss cotton handkerchief,  a tiny bone china dish just perfect for a pincushion and two nice round boxes to cover with pretty fabric.  A most successful day.

Now until next time, I should get back to work .................

In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there. To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe. I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels. ~Dodinsky