Tulips, lack of beady progress

I haven't done much beading lately. Friday we went to Tulip Town with friends. If you're not from around here, the valley is a large tulip bulb growing place - they have a month-long festival. I was

trying something different - taking pictures of the tulips from the ground looking up. My BJP fabric for April has tulips on it, and my colors are red, purple and sky blue - I was thinking of doing something like my Under the Fairy Ring piece from last year. That's the first time I used felt to raise my embroidery off the background, something I totally love doing now. I obviously won't get April done in time, haven't even stitched a bead yet. The hummingbirds have come back in force this month, sounding like large bumble bees as they fly between our feeder and the neighbors'. The goldfinches are also here, and I have a few feathers gratis our cat. I'm not sure how much of that will make it into the piece!

I've been trying to clean up my act (literally)around the house the past couple days - I don't focus well on June Cleaver tasks. I am grateful that my DH has a job that enables me to not work outside the home, so I try to keep things tolerable for him. Left to myself, I would probably end up with a house that looked like my room as a kid - a pathway with sometimes minor hurdles from the door to the bed - and that's with tons of storage! Organization is a skill I'm still learning!

I've also been sewing lots lately to get summer clothes ready. There's 5 things ready to put together, and a stack of fabric still waiting to be cut. At least I know the girls like what I'm making, they're wearing them already! Jenna's wearing a dress that doesn't have buttons yet!

I'm still trying to crochet bracelets when I have time. I just need to put the clasp on 3 of them now - the latest one is oil-slick colors. I'm faltering on the doll again - the whole put-it-together part is slowing me down. I need to get some curved needles, maybe that will help my dilemma. Sigh. Maybe if I can keep up with the housework stuff, I'll have more time to sew and bead!

Bracelets

I haven't had a lot of time for beading lately, but I have been working on some bracelets. I finished the pink/purple version of the purple/pink one I did for a friend, with a nice silver toggle. I don't know why it put the picture sideways! I finished the first of many orange and purple (hometown colors) bracelets that will be gifts. The copper toggle really plays up the orange. The current in-progress one is green and black with man-made malachite - the greens are silver-lined, and sparkle nicely!

Now that the sun actually shines once in a while, the molding is getting stained and poly-ed to finish the bedroom - also where my "studio" is. Part of my craft storage is in the closet, part in the living room (backwards, so I can't access it of course!) and DH doesn't want any of it properly placed until the molding is down so he doesn't have to move it again. At least the molding is getting closer to being done! Of course, with the sun shining, I need to get the gardens in order - which eats into my beading time! It also means the girls can play outside, so they aren't under my feet so when I do bead, it's more peaceful.

March BJP

This is the finished piece for March. March is when my favorite daffodils bloom. They have a great family history - either my paternal grandmother or maternal great grandmother (both Marion's, living on either side of the creek where I grew up) planted daffodils before a big flood, which swept some of them downstream. Now every March you can see huge patches of yellow daffodils along the creek - they have spread in many places! My mom dug some up, and has them planted in a few places around the house - she sent me some after I moved to WA, and I've taken them with me! The trumpet of the daffodil is all fringy. Back home, everyone who knows calls them Marion flowers.

The beads picked were gold bugles, yellow silver-lined and green AB 11's. I added 2 blue butterflies and a heart for the history. I used all the bugles and yellow beads, and needed more, so I also used up the gold beads that matched the bugles and another yellow. I used up 4 kinds of beads in this piece! Which is great, as it gives me a reason to buy more! If you look closely, you'll see the side edging is copper - it's a remnant of Ver's hair, that I wrapped around a bugle to make kinda beads, since I spent a lot of time that month finishing her! The middle of the flowers is Robin's wildflower stitch, with the outside a bugle ruffle.

I've also been working on some crocheted bracelets. The first one needed a clasp adjustment, since the magnetic clasps I got weren't strong enough. I've been preparing to make some for Christmas presents. They are a good thing to work on while I watch TV, since the beads are pre-strung and I don't have to count anything that late at night!