Bird visitors

The problem with taking pictures of birds is that one picture will pretty much do for all of them! One individual seems to pretty much look like another individual to me. At this point at least. However, I did get pictures of 2 more visitors to a quiet backyard in Southern Indidan.


A woodpecker has found the suet. Actually two of them, this is - I think - a red bellied woodpecker. It doesn't ahve a red belly so I am not sure about that. I am still resisting a bird book, preferring to bug Patty. The other woodpecker is a black and white one, litle guy, maybe a downey woodpecker, have not yet been able to capture a picture of him/her.

While my Cardinal guy here is a gorgeous color, he is not quite in focus. He will have to do, though, since I have plenty of pictures of lady Cardinals but the guys don't seem to be frequent visitors yet. I am still trying for a sharply focused picture of a Cardinal guy! Difficult for me in the best of times but a challenge is always good.

Birds....now beads! For the Beady Eyed Bunch!

It has been quite some time since I have posted anything Beady-like. How many crocheted and Ndebele bracelets can you look at? I have to admit, the shield earrings are cool and there will be more of them but no need to post them here - just the colors changes.

Wait - one more Ndebele!

Quite different! A little spice added to the now familiar stitch!

So what is new? I am so happy to show you!

First - the problem: I often have 3 or 4 beady projects going at one time, all lined up on my table. I keep my thread/nymo/fireline very long because I don't like having to stop and add new thread/nymo/fireline. Some beaders use shorter lengths and don't have to stop and untangle as much. I like a good tangle and I am good at untangling!
Unfortunately, when I went back to a project it was very hard to find the needle at the end of that length of thread. Then several threads for several projects became tangled. Then Mini the nosy Chihuahua girl became entangled in a couple of them. Time to do something - thus, the Needle Finder (aka pincushion) was born!
Very small - about 1 1/2 inches - here is a quarter next to the first one I made:



Each project has it's own colurful needle finder - so I can find the needle! I could have used several regular pincushions and/or a brightly colored piece of cloth but where would be the fun in that? This is more congruent.


I found the patterns years ago on Suzanne Cooper's website. They are part of her Really Really Round Peyote Mandala necklace patterns.
http://www.bead-patterns-24-7.com/e-books-beads-round.html

There is a whole lot more to her website - this link takes you directly to her Really Really Round Peyote designs - and check out those little hats! In other pages she has small boxes, even a shoebox.
Here is another one I have made- Flames:


The pattern for these is similar to the very first pattern you learned - the round peyote Christmas earring! That was a beginning pattern, this is a fairly advanced pattern, needing pretty darned good pattern reading skills!


Happy Beading! I hope we can have a Vernal Equinox beady celebration - doesn't get much more exciting than beading and standing eggs on their ends!

I caught Bird Fever!

Patty and Rose gave me a bird feeder and pole for Christmas. Looking back, I can see their diabolical plot, although I was just an innocent at the time. I did hear them laugh and mutter 'the first one is free'.
Looking back to July, 2010, I can see where they set their plan to capture their next vitim by flashing shiny safflower seeds, making wild promises of Cardinals flocking to my back yard, lots of Cardinals! I have the proof, too. Innocent that I was, I took a picture of Pusher Patty and her 'wares'....


To show you how fast the addiction progresses.....I now have a taller pole, two suet cages, and a truck bed full of bird food. I have no need of sand in the back of my truck for winter driving, I have 2 big plastic boxes. One is filled with food for big birds and Cardinals, the other....devoted to the little birds and filled with thistle. Lots of thistle.
I sneak around, sitting very still with my finger on the shutter button....trying to shoot through a window and screen! How far and how quickly we fall.


Like heroin, I have to maintain a supply of my addictive substance. I have to fight other addicted beings ...here is a picture of my new competitor for Birdy Love! The rotten squirrel is sitting on a pole, waiting patiently......

I am watching you, Squirrel!!!
And I have greased the bird feeder pole with 1/8 inch of vaseline! That took care of the little buggers. They easily shinnied up the pole and ate my bird seed. Not any more....Fie on thee, Squirrel!


Some of my new best friends. I don't really know what they are but I get even with Patty by sending her instant messages and texts about what I am seeing and asking her what kind of birds those are. She is getting desperate, suggesting that I get a bird book. Hah!!! Not likely. She must pay for this!
The little green ones kind of look like malformed parakeets, the other one has pretty rose colors on him/her.

The Cardinals do visit, lots of lady Cardinals visit. And sometimes the feeder is just one big pile of birds. Until Squirrel makes his appearance.
Now, of course, I have my camera on a tripod on my desk, next to the window....waiting for that next shot! I need a better webcam, I am sure of it. My video is too indistinct, to feed my addiction I am now cruising bird cam websites, trying to see what they are using!
Thank you, Patty and Rose!

Finished! Cellini spiral.

Finally! Finished the darned thing. And I don't think there will be another by my hand. Here are it's baby pictures from March 20, 2010.



One year and 9 months later...ta da! It's finished! Not quite as much fun as I thought it would be and it takes much more concentration than I thought it would. It is very easy to miss one bead and then discover it many beading hours later. Then you get to tear all the way back out to that spot, take the wrong bead out, put the one correct bead in and then continue to bead back in what you just tore out!


Maybe it will find a new home at the Christmas party at work!

Beads, rain, rain, rain, rain......

It was a cold and rainy Sunday!! I think most of the Beady-Eyed Bunch decided to snuggle back down under the covers! But those of us who made it there certainly enjoyed ourselves. Not many pictures - I got a couple but, of course, they were a little blurry!

This is the only picture Vicki would pose for! You know - I never noticed her hands before - she has the most beautiful hands! Unless she is reaching out to choke me as has been the case once or twice in the past.....unprovoked by me, of course....
Nevertheless....here is Vicki and her amazing hands!


Rikki decided to seek a little peace and quiet. I found her very nicely and comfortably curled up on her bed


She made it clear that I was to make myself like a mouse and get scarce!

So I did!

Meanwhile, Brent and Drew watched the Colts play....I didn't know Drew could watch it with his eyes closed! Here is our comfortable guy.....probably he has fainted from the excitement of the Colts actually getting a field goal!


Yep - that's it, Beady Eyed Bunch! I am expecting much more and betterer photo ops at our next meeting! Peggy, Susan (who traveled up from Atlanta) and Brent didn't make the picture show. I am sure I can sneak up on them next time......
See you at the Vernal Equinox!

For the Beady-Eyed Bunch! Good news/Bad news

We are getting closer to the undisclosed date and time of our post-equinox and pre-solstice gathering. At an undisclosed location, of course. I won't be teaching anything this time, we will all be able to work on whatever we want and enjoy peering over each other's shoulders.

The good news is.....the shield earrrings are a hit! The big ones! Who knew? Well, Bonani knew but still....

More good news - they are easy to make, work up fairly quickly. They can easily be made smaller just by eliminating rows. The big green and gold ones are made with size 11 cylinder beads as is the black and tan one. The blue and silver one is made with size 15 cylinder beads (get out your best magifying glasses!) and the little green one is made with size 15 cylinder beads but using only half of the rows.

The little red one below is made of size 15 round seed beads. Not so sure I like it with round seed beads but would like to make one with size 11 seed beads to see what it looks like. I think the use of matching nymo or fireline would be best if using round seeds.



The bad news? The big green pair and the black and tan pair have been chosen for their forever home already! Lori (of Doggie Styles - waves at Lori!) chose the green ones after making Rocky and Mini all clean and neat and smelling nice this afternoon. My mail lady, Dori, a wonderful wonderful mail lady, chose the black and tan ones as she cruised by to drop off the mail today.

So I think I will need to make some more so this is what I will be making at our equinox/solstice/silly gathering. If you want to bring some beads and the pattern you can make them along with me. It isn't hard once you know how to do it - but that applies to everything, huh?

Bead on!

First snow! November 29, 2011!

Last year the first snow was December 4, 2010. How do I know? I have a picture of it! Of course.


Snow came 5 days earlier this year....so much for global warming. Mini is back to wondering how a little Chahuahua girl, only 8 inches tall at the withers (I think that is 2 hands in horse talk) is supposed to find a warm place to...well, you know.
This picture was taken about 30 minutes after the snow started falling.


Not quite as bad as a year ago - but still a pretty good layer of snow here in a Quiet Backyard in Southern Indiana accumulated after about 2 hours of snowing.


Last year!


This year! All in all, I am happy to have my new camera this year and happy to have learned how to manipulate the saturation, brightness, and contrast buttons!


Here we go again.....Old Man Winter has announced his arrival!

Thanksgiving and wonderful friends

Deb and George invited me for a stroll around the IU campus on Thanksgiving day. I had no idea how beautiful that campus is! I knew how beautiful Deb and G. are but - wow - the campus was quite a surprise. I knew pictures wouldn't do it justice but here are a few

The mission? Wearing out Tara. I've known Iditarod sled dogs that had less stamina than Tara! Our Tara isn't pulling a sled but she is has another passion - chasing squirrels. And she is strong. Luckily George volunteered to hang on to her rope.

The campus seems so wide-open, beautiful trees. Seriously beautiful trees, bushes, and flowers.

And statues - we made them into interactional statues. We walked by Hoagy Carmichael:

Hoagy and Deb jamming...

Deb and Tara taking a bow and blowing kisses!

The campus has an observatory, open to the public once a week! I have never been in an observatory. Of course, with my lousy sense of direction I won't be able to find this one again, either, but it's cool knowing it is there!

Aaaaand.....Tara takes off with G. right after the above picture of the observatory - there they go after another squirrel! Hang on, George!!!

And Adam and Eve make an appearance. Eve kicked Adam to the curb last year, supposedly it was a tornado going through campus but I'm not so sure. George isn't so sure, either.

When you come to a fork in the road, take it. Y.B.


And, finally, I get the chance to cozy up to Herman B...


A wonderful day on a beautiful campus! I am very thankful to call Deb and George my friends!
See ya!

For the Beady-Eyed Bunch!

The Beady-Eyed Bunch continues in the planning process of our next gathering. So far we have settled on an undisclosed location at an undisclosed date and time.
Meanwhile, acknowledging my poverty of earrings, I have been working on a couple of new designs. Here are the first two of the 'shield' earrings. I used 11 cylinder beads (Delicas) which makes these about 2 inches long before I put on the wire. I will make some in size 15 cylinder beads next. I think I can also make them smaller by eliminating some rows.
Meanwhile - first efforts!


I used Fireline (yes, the fishing line for those of you who are non-beaders) for the green ones and then switched to regular Nymo nylon for the black/tan ones. It made a huge difference! The tension is much tighter for the green ones and more of a cone shape happened.

The black and tan ones have a much softer shape, not quite as 'humpy' which also made them wider.

That's all for now - I will make one pair of smaller ones and then switch to another pattern. I think the shield earrings will also look good in regular seed beads so I will try one of those for comparison before our gathering.
What do you think, Beady-Eyed Bunch? Ndebele bracelet or earrings?! Your choice.

Cold dogs, first snow, Andrew Wyeth!

A cold dog, a first snow, and Andrew Wyeth - it all goes together.
We have had our first snow. It was on November 10, 2011.
Mini was horrified, Southern Belle that she is. Born and raised in Valdosta, Georgia! We were all a bit horrified.
I turned on the electric blanket to 'high' and Mini decided to camp out right in that spot
That lump is a little blonde Chihuahua with just her little paw sticking out.


Mini isn't inclined to come out....maybe she won't come out until Spring!
This is not her usual friendly look




Reminds me of my favorite painting - Andrew Wyeth, Master Bedroom.
I have heard it is going to be a cold and snowy winter.