Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Little bit of everything.

I've had a couple people ask if I'm still making beads, because I haven't posted any really on the blog in a while. The answer: DEFINITELY YES. I've been working on a ton of them behind the scenes. (Pictured above is the pile of beads made over the weekend that I had to string and ship out yesterday. Have another pile to make over the next few days too.) Having said that though, I'm not super happy about making them anymore so I don't really feel like blogging about it. My left hand hurts when I make beads, my left shoulder is starting to hurt now........things are breaking down and I'm taking more and more Advil as time goes on to get through a torching session. A repetitive hand motion hour after hour, day after day, for over a decade? It's inevitable, I guess, that your body won't put up with that at some point. (And NOTHING hurts the tendons/joints in my hand like the bead work does.) I'm in limbo at the moment over it What to do, right? I could cut the work back but with the amount of taxes I pay as a self-employed person - income, sales tax, business property taxes, also, accountant to handle taxes, etc. - at some point cutting back is just flat out stupid and a waste of time. I still LIKE the beads so there is that. Heh.

Anyhoo. Moving on. 
I finished my big piece for Halloween! :)

How great is this pumpkin? I should have posted a pic of him in my Cathey post too! I love the way the colors work together, it has great depth. 

And how about this crazy, toothy grin? The reason he is so crazy looking is..........


TOO MANY TREATS. 
I mean - look at all those candy corns in there! He's not crazy - he's high on sugar!

So happy to have this done. It's a Bird of a Feather design that I purchased in 2003, along with the linen that it called for (which isn't made anymore, but there are good substitutes). Any design I have put away WITH the linen it needs always make me sad when it sits and sits and sits, waiting to be finished. (I actually wrote shits and shits at first by accident..........WHAT COULD THAT MEAN? Whoops.) It's a crazy design and probably (definitely) not for everyone but I like the kookiness of it. I did the belly part first to get the worst part of the design over with and the rest of it was pretty simple from then on. 

How would you tackle that belly? I'm always interested in how people approach certain things. I did all the periwinkle FIRST, leaving 'holes' for the other things. So I had to count very very very carefully to make sure the 'holes' were all situated correctly, but it made for easy-peasy candy corn stitching after the fact because then I could just hop from one candy to another, anchoring the thread(s) to the already done periwinkle as I went.

I have to say though, the pattern was pure MISERY to work off of. It was teeny TINY. I had to scan and enlarge it, color a lot of it in with colored pencils and it was still hard to see. (THIS is the piece that had me scrambling for new eyeglasses!) Did not relish that part of it.

Next up is the Lizzie Kate Mystery Christmas sampler (and maybe some ornies!). I really like doing the Halloween one last year so I signed up for this one too. I like the colors as is but some of them seem a little too light as I'm doing the actual pattern. I think I"m going to have to go back and switch out the Parchment, at the very least. My snowflakes with it are totally disappearing into nothingness. :( 
I kinda miss that there are no beads or charms with it too. I've got a TON of Mill Hill beads though so that will be easy enough to add if I want at the end.

Annnnnndddd......I guess that's it for now. Except for a Fitz pic. 


The 'babies' turned 4 months on Sunday. Getting soooooooooooo big!!!

15 comments:

Beth said...

Oh how awful to have work related pain. Your beads are so cute - such a great creative outlet. What a great and crazy BOF piece. I think it would appeal to most Crazy Cat Lovers like me. So good to see a photo of one of your babies. Adorable! They grow up so fast.

Annie said...

I didn't realize how much pain your were having doing the beads. That's no fun. And too much Advil is not good thing either.

I love BOAF designs. That one is so colorful and gorgeous. I never know how to stitch designs with lots of color changes and breaks. Luckily, I don't worry much about how the back looks and I'm easy when it comes to mistakes too.

Your baby is such a cutie!

Bianca said...

I thoroughly enjoyed today's post. Your beads are adorable and I can only imagine how much work goes into them. Sorry to hear about the pain that comes with it. The Halloween piece is fabulous. I love the colors and the linen. I probably would have tackled the stitching the same way you did. I'd rather to more counting at the start to leave for easier stitching at the end. I can't wait to see your progress on the mystery sampler. The ornament issue looks like it has a lot of good projects as well.

Jackie's Stitches said...

I'm so sorry the bead work makes you hurt so much. I hope there is some relief for you soon. Since cutting back isn't an option, it sounds like you're in an all or nothing situation.

Fitz is adorable!

Your BOAF project is bright and happy! I probably would stitch the circle first and then the larger interior elements like the fish and mouse. Who knows where I would have gone after that. I do like having background to fill in mindlessly!

Margaret said...

Awwww, such adorableness! OMG! Happy 4 months to them! Sorry about the repetitive stress on your wrists and stuff. Such a bummer. I suppose there's not much you can do about it. I love your Halloween finish -- sooooo cute! I'm not sure how I would have tackled that belly. So complicated. Too bad about the chart being hard to read too. Nice projects for the next to do too!

Anonymous said...

His problem is, he ate a SNAKE!!!!! LOL

Crazy pictures are what Halloween is all about.

Very cute finish! Congrats!

Maggee said...

Sorry for the pain you are having, making the beads we all love! Drat! You have to take care of yourself...hard decision. My way to stitch that would be border, small parts inside, then mindless fill in, I tend to save the best for last! Congrats for the finish! Cute kitty pose! Hugs!

Cath said...

Fantastic finish ,love it even if it is a bit crazy .
Hope you manage to sort something out with the pain . It would be a real shame if you had to stop beading .
ROFL about your typing woops,lol. Made me snigger .
Love your kitties , Hugs from me xxx

Vickie said...

Melanie I cringed when I read of your use of the Advil. I love Advil. It works so good on my flared up hip pain, BUT it really wrecked my stomach. Remember all my gastritis woes? Advil can no longer be used by this girl. Like ever!
That is such a funny stitch!
Fitz is totally adorbs, as my 15 yr old daughter would say.

Julie said...

Fabulous collection of beads, although I am sad to read it causes you so much pain to do it.
Awww Fitz is so beautiful.
A very funny design, I've not seen that before, it's great.

Paula said...

LOVE Too Many Treats!!!

Carol said...

Oh, Melanie, I'm so sorry the bead making is causing such problems for you... They are all so darn cute--I sure hope you don't have to give it up altogether. Please be very careful with the Advil use. When I had that attack of ischemic colitis in August, they said that is one of the possible causes of it (not in my case as I resist taking most anything if I possibly can).

Your Halloween finish is so cute--now that is A LOT stitching!! Just look at that fat stomach :) I wonder if it was the mouse, the fish, the snake, or the candy corn that caused that fellow to reach his breaking point? Ha ha!! I would stitch the belly the same way as you did...

Aww...such a sweet fact on Fitz--I wish I was there to give him a cuddle :) Happy 4 month birthday to your little fellows!

Kellie from Indiana said...

I feel for you. When my torch was hooked up and I was making beads, stitching, knitting, crocheting, and typing at a full time job it was hell on my wrists. Now I bounce around with everything and they feel so much better. I love that design, kinda funky and Ive enlarged patterns too and have still gotten discombobbled. Its so worth it in the end. When patterns are busy I do the most difficult parts first and count stitches too. Much easier methinks! And OMG your kitty is just a fluffers! Love love the fluffiness!

valerie said...

So sorry to hear about your pain when making your beautiful beads! :( Congrats on your BOAF finish! So fun and quirky! I am stitching the LK mystery too and am wondering about some of the lighter colors but am just going with it for now. Love your little fluffballs...so cute!!

Catherine said...

So sorry to read that you have been having pain...I hope that you have found some relief. I love that finish ~ so colorful and quirky!!!