Category Archives: books

Reading, again? This is more fun than I remembered

I almost wrote here last night, then thought better of it. There is just a lot going on that is fairly personal, and at this stage in my life, I’m appreciating what privacy I have taken the effort to preserve. What I will say is that having applied to a Librarian job — where, youContinue reading “Reading, again? This is more fun than I remembered”

What do I really want to do? A way forward

Given permission to imagine what career I would want out of anything in the world, if I were guaranteed the possibility of capability and eventual success, I find myself gravitating toward languages and books — again.

Fun with Chevrons

I have actually gotten back to my beadwork, including design: I started playing (again) with a pattern I found a very, very long time ago. This was my introduction to Chevron Stitch, in The Art & Elegance of Beadweaving, (2002), by Carol Wilcox Wells. Well — actually, the pattern I was playing with a fewContinue reading “Fun with Chevrons”

Creative Desert

I haven’t done any work with my hands for the past few days — and I’m feeling it. I’ve been largely reading (big emphasis on reading), writing (to see if I could/did want to do that for a living — after a full day of writing, I got very deep into my own thoughts [notContinue reading “Creative Desert”

Moving on: macrame lessons and new stitches

It’s been a few days. In the interim, I’ve had a couple of tries at doing micro-macramé; once, without reviewing or following directions; the second time, paying close attention to my cord orientation and the instructions for double half-hitches given in Joan Babcock’s book, Micro-Macramé Jewelry: Tips and Techniques for Knotting with Beads (2nd Edition).Continue reading “Moving on: macrame lessons and new stitches”

Engagement, experimentation, and happy accidents

These three routes seem to be key to unlocking variation in design possibilities. Around the time I started this site (that is, very recently), there was a very big question in my mind: how do people come up with original designs? How do you graduate from being someone who follows patterns other people write, toContinue reading “Engagement, experimentation, and happy accidents”

I suppose pattern books may help?

EDIT: 2-28-21, 12:33 AM: By the way, yes, I do know not to use other peoples’ patterns for profit without permission. I just now realized that I hadn’t included this information. The line between technique and pattern is still somewhat blurry for me, but I’m sure I’ll understand it more, the more I work onContinue reading “I suppose pattern books may help?”

Getting back into micromacrame

I had forgotten that when I initially dreamed about starting this up, I had intended to work primarily in beaded micro-macramé. Last night I made my first bracelet since…well, since I made one for a new friend, over Christmas. There’s just something about building up the toughness and resilience in my hands that I like…inContinue reading “Getting back into micromacrame”