Back to Blogging!

Fell down on my blogging efforts while opening a new Etsy store to ply my hand dyed yarns and woven wonders 😄.   Btw, anyone interested can see my new store here:
Coyotedyeandweaving.etsy.com

What I want to talk about today is the way technology has impacted the way we use bead weaving patterns.  In 2009, when I started designing patterns using pattern software, I printed out the pattern in order to follow the rows for beading on or off loom.  Quite frankly that was messy.  The pages got out of order, went missing, fell to the prey of my cats or some other such event that made me spend time reorganizing, reprinting, etc.  It used up an enormous amount of printer ink and printer paper as well.

Three years ago, after witnessing one of my grouchy sessions about missing pattern pages, my husband, the ever talented software designer, suggested I find away to use my iPad to display my pattern.  The pattern was in PDF as are all my patterns, so it was not hard to find an app that allowed me to access my patterns on Dropbox and display them for use on my iPad.

I could have just used Adobe Reader, but I chose PDF Expert by Readdle, which is a free app.  Not only can I display patterns in manageable sections I can mark on the pattern, too.  I can mark off rows  I've done and make annotations on colors.  It takes a bit of time to learn, but once you get the basics down you can take your patterns anywhere without losing a page.  It is also saves $$ because not only is it free, but you won't deplete your ink cartridges or waste paper.

That is just one way technology has streamlined the use of bead weaving patterns, making our favorite craft accessible and very portable.

Progress in Monica's Orchid

I spent some of my Beading Monday working on a piece that is long over due: Monica's Orchid.
I added four rows which equals about 1/2 inch of beading.  I have 44 more rows to go. This will be my Beading Monday project until it's finished 

A Home At Last!

After 6 weeks of living in a hotel, we are finally closing on our new house in Placitas, NM!  The hotel is nice, but it is a hotel and hardly home.  I can't wait to be reunited with all my beads and looms so I can start creating again.

I will have a room to sew and bead and a garage to do my metal jewelry work, glass fusing and yarn dyeing.  It's like heaven on earth compared to the space I had in Hawaii and the mess I made from lack of space.  

I'm thinking about all the crafty trouble I can get up to and can't wait!

Traveling With Beads and Looms

I am in the process of moving from Hawaii to New Mexico.  I've actually been in the process since Nov. after I retired from my federal service job.  I've been long looking forward to retirement so I could pursue my passions and hobbies, one of the former is beading.  

I love beads! I string them, I use them in embroidery, as embellishments and I weave them both off and on looms. But as I said I am moving from Hawaii to New Mexico and I am traveling with beads.

It was hard to decide what projects to take.  I wanted to weave beads along the way and to embroider with beads along the way.  Finally, I settled on taking my 16" Mirrix Loom with my weaving of one of my photos of Caesar's Forum. 

I had all kinds of plans about how to transport my loom on the airplane with me.  We had decided to stop in Los Angeles and wait for my Mini Cooper Countryman to arrive and drive with our two cats from California to New Mexico.  Once I hit the ground in LA, transportation of my loom wouldn't be a problem.  But, how to safeguard the loom and my weaving during the airplane segment.  

I thought I'd wrap it in bubble wrap and carry it on the aircraft in a tote bag.  But wrapping a 16" loom in bubble wrap made the loom huge and heavy.  So, not that.  I thought I'd take it in a suitcase by itself.  But I had too much to take with me for what I believed would be a 4-6 wk stay in hotels in two states.  I had cat accoutrement to find a place for, too.  So, not that.  

To be honest, I ran out of time.  We were taking everything that wasn't shipped out in December, and it turned out to be a lot of stuff.  In the end, I shoved the loom with the weaving into a suitcase that had other odds and ends in it and took off.

I've just had time to unearth the loom and inspect the weaving.

There were a couple of problems, but they are easily fixed. In the very first row and the 6th row the beads shifted so some of the spaces between the warps are empty.  I will just run a thread through all the beads again to fix the problem.  Thankfully, the warp didn't come off or the beads break. 

The beads I am using were packaged like this:

I put one container stacked on top of the other and wrapped both together with packing tape.  A few of the beads from the top container escaped, but all in all, it was a good way to travel with beads.

Now, I am in a hotel in Los Angeles and this is what my set up looks like:

Further updates later on!