Well, I feel I should apologise for not writing anything at all last week! The past couple of weeks have been a little crazy and it’s all been bead-related.
It really feels as though winter has set in here in the UK – we’ve had damp, dull weather and now it’s turning cold. It seems funny to think that this time last year we were enjoying a little heat-wave (temperatures in the 80s in October – not that I was complaining!). Every cloud has a silver lining as they say…the first weekend in October I was teaching Christmas decorations – candy canes and mistletoe to be precise – at a local craft shop. We had Christmas Cracker tree decorations on the menu as well, but got so carried away with the candy canes that the crackers are now waiting until another workshop on 8th December. Given the chilly, damp, grey weather, it was lovely to have the bright reds and greens with plenty of Christmas sparkle to work with for the beading workshops. I’ve been finding myself working with lots of bright coloured beads to try and make up for the dull view out of the window. Then again, I justify working with bright coloured beads all summer by saying that it complements the season! I just like sparkly beads and bright colour palettes.
So, that was the start of my very extended Christmas season. This past Saturday (20th) saw the announcement of the results in the annual British Bead Awards. This took place at the Big Bead Show at Sandown Park Racecourse. I’ve had to keep this very quiet, but I had two pieces in the finals of the bead awards this year. I was also teaching two hour-long taster workshops on 3-dimensional Peyote stitch, so it was a big day for me. Well, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer…for anyone who isn’t following me on Facebook, I’m really thrilled to share my very good news…my 3-dimensional gingerbread house won 3rd prize in the seed bead non-jewellery category and my Bakewell Tarts necklace was awarded 2nd prize in the seed bead jewellery category. I couldn’t be more pleased! Of course, this still leaves me the challenge of trying for an elusive 1st place next year! I just hope my beadwork will keep on growing. In case you’re wondering what happened to the Christmas theme, I returned from the Bead show with two lovely parcels of beads in the way of prizes, so two gifts to unwrap, thanks to Thread a Bead and Spellbound Bead Company. I spent the evening drooling over some lovely sparkly beads and beautiful bead kits in pretty colours.
Not only that, I found another parcel waiting on my doorstep that evening. How lucky am I? This delivery proved to be the proof copy of my new book, ‘Sweet Treats’. I’ve been busy proofing electronic copies, but this was my first opportunity to see the book at full A4 size with all the beautiful photos printed in their full glory. I have to confess some of the photos are actually bigger than the real beaded cakes! The photo shoots made me realise how important it is to finish off my work neatly and make sure that every thread end is out of sight – absolutely nothing escapes the camera lens. I’m happy to report that the full size book looks lovely. It is currently being printed and I’m hoping to receive a very large quantity of books next week…I need to clear some space ready to house them and then just hope that I can sell them all. This project has certainly been an adventure, but I’ve loved every minute of it and learnt a lot and can’t wait to do it all again…just need an idea…!
Speaking of projects and adventures, I’ve also spent the last few months working on another book, this time with the publisher Rainbow Disks. This project is an e-book and features my French beading – specifically, wedding bouquets. We’re now reaching the final stages and Tuesday saw the last section of the contents sorted out. Vivienne (the editor and also owner of Rainbow Disks) came up to my house with her husband to do a video shoot. This was a definite first for me and I have to confess to being very nervous. I needn’t have worried – Vivienne and Trevor made the day really good fun, put me at my ease and we managed to get through all the filming. I ended up rather enjoying myself and it’s definitely something I would do again. Not only am I working with Vivienne on the wedding bouquets, but she is also going to be publishing a second edition of my original book, ‘Let’s Celebrate’, complete with a new project and video of the techniques. So, I found myself demonstrating both French Beading and Peyote stitch in front of a camera. That was definitely a steep learning curve!
I almost forgot to mention, my Austen Powers inspired necklace design is in the current Winter Special edition of Bead magazine. That feels like plenty of excitement for me! I’m ending this week with a little quiet beading. I have some project instructions to write up for a new Christmas star pattern (see, I just can’t leave Christmas alone!) and some more beading ideas to explore…oh, and I have an idea for my Heatherwick buttons – just need to make time to bead it!
