Extra Extra Read All About It!

We are taking a big step here, trying something new. In the past I have sold my own designs and hand made jewelry, sold at art/craft shows and loved being in the thick of crowds, with the people who love to shop and talk of good jewelry. People who want to know so much more about wire crochet, and this excites me. I have been asked for several years if I would consider teaching or selling patterns or kits.

Didn't think I would, really. I had been writing for Lapidary Journal Magazine since 1997, when the editor of Jewelry Journal, the inset that featured 13 workshops of projects each month from start to finish in step by step methods. I felt very lucky to have been asked, and got that project out very quickly, sending in a second in the same package. And another and another...I was very spoiled. 13 projects in 10 years was wonderful.

(Golden roll up rose,very easy)

I already have projects thru the publications, Step by Step Beads and Wire, but most of the very old projects are on the very old computers, so I'm gonna be doing some high tec digging to get back directions. There will be just the patterns, on projects, that I will have on the website.and there will be kits. Lapidary journal is also selling online several of my projects on their own.

Kits will be complete with beads and wire, all decorations necessary to complete the project. Directions will be written out in the manner I did for Lap Journal, in my speak, not crochet speak. My shame, I can't follow a written pattern, can't understand the way they are written.

Guess I should also mention I am still making new items and still taking special bridal orders. The bridal line is new this spring, and is wonderful.

I have also started to give classes thru our local bead store in Pinole Ca. I hope to branch out to a couple other local stores, but haven't reached out too far.

The reason/ Well, some of you already know, health concerns have reached the level where doing shows are no longer possible. There are a couple this spring my daughter Amanda will be doing with me, last time I did one on my own i was found face down on my table, very embarrassed, a jade teardrop stuck to my forehead. I was told it was tasteful.

Cancer is not pretty. It is not kind or fair. However, it can be slow, and I have be very lucky in that regard, in that I spent most of 2005 in Hospice. I was kicked out of Hospice in December 2005 because I was not dying fast enough. A personal best! I'm not giving up nor giving in to this illness. so there.

The fact that I have not lost weight really ticks me off. even my dr told me I can't even get cancer right. Hey, he has been my dr for 20 years, he knows me. And he gives great hugs when you leave.

So, anyone who has wanted to make sometning they have seen on my site, contact me if you would like a special kit made up just for you. If there are enough people asking for the same one, that will be the first official project that will go out the door, and I already have a vendor who will sell it for me.

And of course, i will still be selling the hand made beauties I still make on a daily basis I have some new designs that will just be perfect for summer, and for the end of the year Holiday season. Ebay and maybe Esty look out!

Keep going, doing what you do best. i will try to find out why i can't do pictures
pat

wire crochet and St. Valentines Day Countndown

Time can get away from you, as it has me again. This blog was started back on the 15th of January. 2007. At least it is the same year.

When you make jewelry, that can be bad. When there are deadlines that can not be fudged. You may have heard of them, Christmas, that is a biggie. Mothers Day, another big gift holiday jewelry folk and Valentines Day. That indicates you should have brushed off your beads of pink and red hearts/silver and gold hearts/white and irridecent hearts, way before now.

Romantic jewelry is in now, and would be in wether it were around heart day or not, styles are showing amazing designs in Swarovski(tm) Lead Crystals, in lampwork by hot glass astists like Diane, Saternschild on Ebay.com. She has some beautiful work, both hearts and flowers! I also owe her a huge apology, she told me I oculd use her full name, and now I can't find her email. I'll correct it as soon as I can. But, please check her ebay store, she has no website. You will love her work. I will add the links as soon as I get them found.

Another lampworker I adore is Mavis Smith, her site is http://mavissmith.com
and her ebay ishttp://stores.ebay.com/Beads-by-Mavis.

Actually I just spent way more time than planned peeking around, check out the http://listings.ebay.com/Lampwork-Crystal-Glass_Handmade-Lampwork_W0QQcatrefZC12QQfromZR40QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsacatZ34068QQsbrsrtZdQQsocmdZListingItemList

With the choices of hearts and flowers you will creat wonderful things, to be focal points for your wire crochet designs. Like mine!

wire crochet....not your granny's tablecloth

I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice
I will not post the same blog twice

counting 1234? part 2

Don't hold your breath on this one... well, there was more to follow on this.

However, I have no idea what happened to the rest of this entry, but there is one whole, actually several missing. I am going to have to research to find out what could have happened to have them dropped from the blog. We can tell that I have more to learn about blogs.

I would like to tell you about my favorite stitch in crochet, the afghan stitch. congers up long flowing soft panels of woven yarn that is then stitched with designs, and when joined completed to be as big or small as you need it to be, and with the promise of years of use to keep you and your loved ones snug.

Um, no. The afghan stitch, yes, same one, the hook, way different. the complete work, oh so way different. But it does translate well to wire crochet. In normal times, the afghan hook more resembles a knitting needle in length, but has the hook end. You carry the stitches on the hook, just one, not at all like knitting.

When you are making jewelry, you have the crochet hook to use, so you are limited to how wide your piece will be, as you can only carry about 15 stitches on the hook at a time. I have made some pieces, Amulet Bags come to mind, OutStanding in his Field, a Sharon Peters Blue Cow bead, published by Step by Step Beads, January,2005.

(This can be seen at http://imageevent.com/patmcaudel middle album. I am not sure why I couldn't get this to post here on the blog.)

I needed more room than the standard 15 max. I ended up adding on to each side with bringing the strap down to the bottom of the bag, so each side gained 5 stitches, so I had a total of 25 across. More than enough to build my field, crocheted fruit tree, which indeed grew every fruit you could imagine as it stood tall. There was also a smiling sun, that was placed mid way on left strap, offset the size of the cow and the tree.

So, we adapt!

Dec. 30th Saturday ducks in a row?

One thing I hope will be obvious will be my new years resolution, using capital letters when called for, and no longer using my now familiar to family and friends... . Those three little dots that I love so much, as they say so much. Brings in one dangling sentence to another, certainly brings two short thoughts into some kind of sentence. And can make the longest run on sentence in history.

Not that I would ever do that. Not me. Never. Look, 4 capitals, and only one . To be seen. Almost like I was respectable or something.

On the silver front, I have had several thoughts for new designs I am really excited about. One is most likely going to be a just for me, a variation on the sterling silver safety pins I love making. This one will have one loop for a dangle to hang, and yes, I know the dangle, the rest of the pin will be shaped like a pig. I collect pigs. It started in college, I was a criminology major and the teachers called us piglets. Hey, it was the 60"s (yes I'm old) and lived not too far from UC Berkeley where the screams of PIG were the norm at the cops. Inn fact, back then the term cops was a tad derogatory itself.

It happened that I married a cop. A Fed cop at that. Some grumbled it was to complete my pig collection, but they were wrong. I will NEVER complete my collection, donations are always accepted.

For the crocheted wire pieces, I am planning to do a series that starts out with a simple geometric shape and then show how versatile it can be adapted to become from one basic piece to a very different finish. I'm hopefully that some of you will want to play along and comment in with your designs.

You do know comments can be made, right? I mean, just a hello would be nice. Nothing fancy. Sigh. I know, no motherly guilt. But I'm told I'm very good at it. That is one resolution I am NEVER going to do. It was a goal! Just ask my daughter. Oh, but to do that, you will have to...write a comment... ... ... ... ...it's not new year yet...

Dec 26....We did it

I know, there was a day there, something like the 25th, I believe, that should have been in here, but it sorta got away from me. The posts, not the day. The day was here, and it was lovely, happy, frantic, and sad/sniffle/makes your heart sigh.

Lovely, as I looked around as Jon drove us over to the apartment where Mandy, Nana Debby,(other grandma) and Paige-Noelle, age 3.5yrs. The street we live on was p shape, with us the start of the figure. 3rd house in, and looking out our front window, there is the street that ends the curve. We have no cross the street neighbors. The small farm that was at the end of the circle, was broken apart years go, and new houses built, they are so beautiful...And their Christmas lights and displays are very pretty. I got to see all the lights.

ah, the gifts, everything was happy and frantic as paige ran from person to person, dressed in a Barbie Princess gown, note to mandy, yeah, tutu would be good under it, or lacy slip.It was a beautiful gause layers in pinks lite and dark shades..she was thrilled with the crown i found and the magic wand. She loved that wand, a star fashioned in silver wire with tiny stars off the big star and ribbons that cascaded down. We were turned into frogs, toads, chocolate chip cookies and well.

the well? Ok, this was the end part. Paige had been pretending she was a Doctor who made house calls, and had built a kit for my husband, puppa Jon, while he watched TV. He found a Dr kit and we got it for her for one of the gifts she loved. She had lots of patients, and was telling us how over worked she w as, but she had to finish with one more special patient.

I was sitting in a leather chair and was trying to figure out how to sneak it out of apartment, on the 2nd floor no less. that chair is so lovely, deep cranberry red leather.....and making jewelry. Of course. With Swarovski butterflies in crystal ab 10mm with topaz and pink bicone top and bottom. When she got to me. I moved gift making jewelry supplies, and she climbed up in my lap. She did the exam, and pronounced me well, then put her hands on each side of my face, and said. "Nana pat,, you are all better, you uured." i must have looked confused, she said it again, louded and slower. Jon caught it and said "Cured?" she nodded and said "yeah, that's it.u not sick anymore"

it was then, after i kissed her face off, i noticed there were sniffles, and looked around, not a dry eye in the room...Ok, small room, only about 5 of us...

seems she diagnosed everyone else, with being sick. She fixed me. It was like she got the cancer out of me and shared it with everyone else...and that is what she told me she did. Gave parts of it to everybody.so i didn't have it all.

cool. Body, listen up. But, I don't want to share it with anyone, so when it is gone from me, make it go fffffssszzzzzzz oooop all gone.



Early start on New Years people who know me, and my writing style, my resolution this year, is to use Capital Letters, when and where they should be, and i'm trying really hard to lose the ... and end sentences correctly. Hey, I'm old, this could take time. But I'm trying....... will try to slap spelling check on too

Christmas Eve all day!

December 24, 2006 has begun. Course ca time of 4:05 am when i began this, not alot of activity going on right now. Jon is out cold, sleeping, the mighty ridgeback hound armonti is sacked out on love seat, and border terrier brutus the short, is under covers with me.

The 2 kittens are bigger than kittens, their entering their teen age years, long tall gangly legs, and still sleeping all in a puddle of cats. Can't really tell where one starts and the other begins. One is always washing the other one. And if you are eating, hold a plate with food on it, or any food or actually anything on it, they will find out.

So, today I wanted to work on a design i did a couple years ago, a heart with flowers that spill down the side. My granddaughter Paige loves a necklace pendant i made for Mandy,a 4 leaf clover, each leaf is done with woven 4mm and 6 crystal bicones. it is made with swarovski crystals, in this cool color cantaloupe, that changes from a soft green in house lighting to a peach color in outside lighting.

I thought the heart could have a spray of the 3mm coming down, with couple contrast beads, maybe white ab now all i have to figure out how to keep her from twisting her neck funny, to see the color change. i know, putting on a longer chain would be the easy solution.

But who ever wants to do easy when you can see a 3.5yr old twist and giggle trying to see it! Bad Nana Pat. Bad!


pat
blog: wire crochet....not your granny's tablecloth

http://imageevent.com/patmcaudel http://members.aol.com/patmcaudel/2index.html

my other passion:
http://members.aol.com/somebdychd/index.html
missing child education and prevention material on parental/stranger abduction/runaway issues in child friendly manner, in 10 books of fiction/interactive book and 2 plays and a parent guide which you will really never need but info you should know..... but you will never need it