Oh , Yeah....(features at Modish and HeySusy)

Modish. I'm in it today.



What can I say, I read it religiously, I do.

Also in the press clippings:

Clean, modern and totally full of great picks there's Hey Susy . The business end, Susyjack is verra verra nice too, chock full of the cute, fresh look that I love so much for paper. When I clean up properly I'm treating myself to the studio clips.

Featured

I'm so thrilled. Pravina Studio (who makes lovely bags, BTW) has picked me for a feature on her lovely, sophisticated, dream of a blog Heartland.

It's always nice to be featured, but it's *especially* nice to be featured on one of the few blogs you were following the feed of pretty religiously. If you haven't checked her out, do - not simply because I'm there, it's got tons of its own merit.

It's basically a serious answer to anyone who thinks that flyover land is, well, flyover.

Since it's inspiring to try and stay on top of culture instead of just being a beading shut-in, I've got to get to the Richard Prince show at the Walker before it's over. I'd hate to miss this one.

I've been doing a lot of non-wovens lately, they're kind of freeing and spontaneous. But I've got a great woven piece in the works today, glass and pearl, too!

Silver Pinch

Live Spot Silver

Ouch. I just wanted to say that. Just got some wire and 1000 new little seamless sterling rounds.

I also wanted to complain, in public, about the difficulty in finding seamless 2mm 14/20 gf. I won't bother with 12/20, and all the 14/20 I find, just about, other than one place in Canada (argh!) has "nearly undetectable seams"

well that's great, except the wirework I do tends to bear down on them enough to squish them into little donuts that slide off the beadwork. One can imagine how pleased I am if this happens not at the start of a row of weaving, but as I'm wrapping one up.

Also 30ga DS wire in 14/20 gf. Nonexistant. The Yeti of wire. And I'm a pretty savvy shopper.

That said, it's almost Music Friday again. Comments or no comments I'm pressing on!

Sweeney Bracelet

It's so hard to "get" garnets in a photo - I'm not sure this does, really.

Fully woven, plus size (8.5in) bracelet in sterling and amazing smooth garnet drops.

I have the most amazing strand of pearls to play with - they're "druzy" pearls, very round with a blistered, druzy-like texture - they look kind of like sugar beads, but they're pearls. I have no idea what will become of them - frankly I bought them with the intent of making very demure simple earrings on blackened sterling with these little 8 mm dangles. They're SO pretty.

Ohm charm and chalcedony

ohm cu
Originally uploaded by ensojewelry

Looks like I made the etsy FP again today! (thanks for your vigilance, Carol Dean!) Orders have been coming in fairly consistently on top of the madness in my other shop. I think I'm going to shift focus to this line - I'm just enjoying making it more lately. I love old things and kitsch, but I feel like I'm just getting saturated on that.

I'm really excited for the next etsy beadweavers' challenge, which is basically just to show off as much as we're capable of doing. :) I have a whole mess of smooth garnet drops coming in, which weren't specifically for that, but I think they're going to be used in that capacity.

David Yurman, Eat This

It's beyond hectic here. I am gearing up for the No Coast Craft O Rama with my other line, and I've been selling heavily on that side of things, so I haven't had as much weaving time as I'd like with that going on.

However, I did finish up this major piece today. Ondine is just kyanite and sterling. The beads are wireworked. This is my new thing, as I've been struggling with the idea of cleaning/maintaining sterling jewelry on thread or fiber in the long term. It's not the the thread doesn't work at all, I just wanted the integrity of a piece which is just metal and stone. Yes they take forever and yes, they are priced as high quality bridge jewelry.

David Yurman eat this. Ha.

a new ring

Just a quick peek at my latest ring - green gold quartz and sterling.



Have you voted on the--- Etsy Beadweavers October Challenge

Winners Garnets and Ginger

The September challenge was fun - I wound up with a pretty good showing, but didn't end up voting for myself - there was some work which really blew me away including this, the winner, from Manek Lady.

Isn't it just amazing?

In local news, I've found the best scone in Minneapolis. It's at Cafe Maude which I just can't say enough great things about. Whether you opt for the buttermilk, or the blueberry ginger, you will find it has a palatable texture, something most scones totally fail, amazing flavor that only actual butter and good ingredients will give, and best of all, an appropriate size, so you can feel momentarily naughty and not like you are indulging in the dietary setback from hell. No overinflated Starbucks sawdust packet - this is a thing of beauty. Get the blueberry ginger (yes ginger, just the right amount, too) and pair it with the chai teabag and go stroll in the southwest metro rain by the creek.

I did.


Now that I'm warm and dry, I've been playing more with those garnet marquise beads:




Rhodolite garnet, 24K plated delicas, a little goldfilled clasp. Something elegant and quasi-ancient looking.

Revival

It's been a shameful interval since I started this up. Hopefully that will change.

Beadweaving is not fast. That can't be overstated.

I needed a break from metal and stone, I suppose, and wanted to go back to glass. A simple afternoon spent learning dimensional right angle weave from my beading mate Lisa had me excited all over again with the potential of this stitch. I think a lot of people shy away from it because it is a little harder to master than other stitches, and you can have many more thread-tugging accidents than with other stitches, but it's so -- plastic. Geometric, logical.

"Modern Thought" is inspired by listening to lots and lots of Shins, and denim, and Iolite chunks, and ancient Rome and Greece. I'm going to do another iteration, as well, because I have enough iolite and blue beads to do so.