Well, THAT Was Unexpected!

You know how you can start out thinking you're going to accomplish one thing, and the end result is something COMPLETELY different?

Like when you tell yourself you're going to have the healthy kale salad for lunch, but end up getting swept away by the temptation of a juicy burger and fries, followed by a scoop of luscious ice cream? (Or is that just me?)

Or when you run into the store for one thing and walk out with six bags of stuff? (Remind me to tell you someday about the time I ran into Target for a bottle of glue for a child's school project and came out with $200 of stuff.  And forgot the glue.)

Above is part of a selection of beads I pulled out a couple of weeks ago, intending them to be the freeform portion of a bead bezeled cabochon necklace. But when I started on the freeform, it just wasn't working.  So the cabochon is sitting on the worktable, still awaiting its mate.

And here's what the beads ended up as:

It certainly isn't freeform peyote, and the cabochon is nowhere to be seen.  But it is slinky and colorful and great fun to wear.

So sometimes unexpected is good -- and the necklace is much better for my waistline than a scoop of ice cream!

Visiting One of My "Babies"

Yesterday I volunteered at an art show about two hours away.  It was a guild I'm a member of, and since I couldn't be there all weekend as an exhibitor, I agreed to help out on Sunday.

On the way back home, I stopped by the Kentucky Artisans Center in Berea, where one of my necklaces is in their current exhibition, to see how my "baby" looked in the show.

With apologies for the quality of the photo (I was trying to be stealthy with my phone camera so I wouldn't get yelled at by the show police for taking pictures), here's the necklace.

It's a combination of ndebele, stringing, and needle weaving in the style of Helen Banes and Diane Fitzgerald, with the ndebele section serving as the heart of the centerpiece.

The exhibition is titled The Threads That Bind: Textiles by Kentucky Artisans.  Now I certainly don't consider myself a fiber artist (as you may know, I'd rather smack myself in the face with a flounder than hem a pair of pants), but it was a treat to see my little necklace alongside the beautiful quilts and fiber wallpieces that were also part of the show.  It's kind of amazing how much fancier a piece looks when you slap it up under a glass cover!

Here's a better picture, one taken by a professional who wasn't worried about getting thrown out of the room for having a camera.  You can get a much better idea of the bead weaving from this: