Blog Candy 2 Winner is.....

The winner of the second round of blog candy is Sara! I picked a set of grape-y purple beads along with some of the new purple velvet crystals. Just to prove that there is a draw, the second photo is of all the little slips of paper with everyone's name on them in a tin. I haven't decided on how to host future blog candy drawings - if you have suggestions or ideas, drop me a comment and let me know what you'd like to see.

I stitched a little bit on Alhambra over the weekend, and I'll try and put up another progress post later in the week.

I think I *almost* have closure on one of the other big items in my life. It's not the direction that I was originally hoping or thinking that things might go, but I'm pretty happy and comfortable in the way that things turned out. Once all of the dust has settled, I'll explain more here, but for now, I'm keeping things quiet.

Mystery Exchange for Angi

I made this little needlecase for Angi as part of the mystery exchange at the Robin's Nest board. Since it was a mystery exchange, I decided that I could stretch the needlework category to include seedbeads stitched in a peyote stitch pattern. This is a similar technique to the "Pyra" bag I have been working on. The Japanese Kanji on the front of the case means "forever", which I thought was appropriate, considering that most of us would like to think that our needlework will continue forever.

The pattern is from the "Beaded Favors" book by Jennie Might which I picked up a couple of years ago when I was at Shipwreck Beads in Washington State. I've been meaning to make something out of the patterns for a while, so I'm glad that this exchange came along and I could use one of the patterns.

The blog candy contest in the post below is still open until tomorrow night, so I'll draw names then...

Blog Candy - Part 2

I made it to the weekend (finally) and thought I'd offer up a blog candy draw. If you're not familiar with how blog candy works, I'll draw a name from all of the comments I receive in this post on Monday night, and send the winner a treat. I'm not sure what's on offer yet, but I have new Swarovski crystals, new findings and time to do some lampworking this weekend, so I'm sure it will be a good prize.

The "rules" are simple - the contest open to everyone - if this is your first visit or your seventy fifth, you're still eligible. You can enter if you've stumbled across the blog or if you're a regular reader - just leave a comment, and I'll include it in Monday's drawing.

Another exchange received!

I received this gorgeous pin-keep from Svenja as part of the Mystery Exchange at the Robin's nest. I love the design that she chose for it, and the sparkly extras were a big bonus too!

My Spring Exchange Parcel

This is my spring exchange parcel from the Rotation BB - from Marjean! I love all of the extras that she put in it - the tin even has sugar cookies inside. It was a great surprise at the mailbox.

Spring Exchange is Home....

I got word from Autumn that my spring exchange piece arrived! I really liked working on this one, and I hope she likes it as much as I do. The button in the centre is hand-made out of glass, and I realized it matched Vikki Clayton's Meadow thread when I made it. So.... a biscornu was made.

The comission I made for Belinda arrived and she's got a picture over on her blog. I forgot to take a picture before sending it off, but she's posted a picture on her blog. Belinda was also the recipient of my 3rd PIF, which I also forgot to take pictures of.

Our hockey team is out of the playoffs, and that's it for hockey here for another year. The series was only really remarkable for the slash that one of the goalies gave to another player in the closing minutes of game 5. He's their back-up goalie, and only plays when the other goalie isn't doing well or is hurt. I hear the team has some young talent coming up through the ranks, so I suspect that he'll be asked not to play nexr year.

I'm Back....

I was on vacation for the last week in New York - one of my favorite cities! I love the energy of the city and how fast it all moves. I managed to catch a Broadway show, a Yankees game and do some shopping!

I'm dead tired at the moment, but should have more updates tomorrow.

Ornament Finishing....

I finished this last night - complete with a couple of lampwork beads. It think I showed this in the planning stages, but here it is completed.

Progress Updates

The Blog Candy winner is in the post below - congrats Jules! I have a couple of stitching updates to share. My Spring Exchange piece at the Rotation Stitchers Board is in the mail, as is my "Mystery" exchange piece at the Robin's Nest.

I've also posted updates on Pyra, Alhambra and Watergarden. Pyra is entirely stitched out of seedbeads - one connects to the other with thread. It's not hard to do, but is time consuming. It's also a little tricky, as the pattern is in full colour without any symbols. In order to keep the lines straight, the pattern includes a template to isolate the current line of beads, but when you put the template over the pattern, it can be hard to distiguish between all of the different colours of beads. I think I've figured it out now, although there are a few fudges in the design.

And the winner is....

The original prize is on the right, but I decided to give both beads away. They were just a little too small to make into fobs, and I wasn't sure what else to do with them. For the contest, I cut up lots of little slips of paper, threw them all into the nearest container (which happened to be a measuring cup) and drew out Jules name! So congrats Jules - just send me your address (caycay at shaw dot ca) and I will put these in the mail to you.

Wow!!

I never though I'd get the kind of response I got to Wednesday's post. The contest is still open, so leave me a comment in the post below, and you'll go in the drawing.

Blog Candy...

I haven't run a contest in a while, and I have one bead I *love* but just can't figure out what to do with. So I thought I'd run a contest, and the bead is now officially the prize. To win it, leave me a comment in this post between now and Saturday (April 14). It's open to everyone - if this is your first visit or your seventy fifth, you're still eligible. You can enter if you've stumbled across the blog or if you're a regular reader - just leave a comment, and I'll include it in Sunday's drawing.

It's Hockey Night In Canada

It's that time of year - spring playoff season! The Flames made it into the playoffs this year, and it's a big deal in town. The first game of the series starts tomorrow, and you can already feel the excitement in the air. Of course, I live across the street from the stadium, so sleep is somewhat at a premium this time of year, but it's all for a good cause.

Happy Easter and Pyra Update

I've been working a bit on Pyra from Amuse Ink lately. She's made out of Delica seed beads and is a peyote stitched amulet bag, and is coming along well. The stitched work is a bit deceiving, as the back of the bag is worked at the same time as the front of the bag, so it sometimes looks like I've only got half as much done as I really have. I'm almost at the half way point in this project, but I really like the way it's turning out.

**Edited to clarify a couple of things**

Happy Good Friday

I honestly don't know where the week went - it wasn't especially busy, but it went fast! I haven't really stitched much this week, and haven't really got anything that I can show from the torch either. I did finish up one beaded commission completely, and need to get that mailed tomorrow.

There isn't much else new - most of the activities that I have on a regular basis are taking a spring/easter break, and it was nice to just chill for once. I haven't quite decided what I'm doing for spring - I was trying not to over commit myself, but it looks like I'll have two softball leagues, a couple of dance classes and who knows what else, so it looks like I'll be as busy as ever.

It might be the snow in Calgary that's put me in this kind of mood. I read a poll recently that most Canadians are actually not that upset with global warming, especially if it means less winter. It's been snowing on and off all week, and I'd love to see the backside of the snow.

Bathroom's painted - bedroom's almost done

I've completely finished the spare bathroom, which for a 4 foot by 4 foot room is *way* more trouble than it's worth. I have just about finished the spare bedroom, which is where the computer and modem normally is. The desktop is in pieces in the living room until all of the painting is done, so I'm currently writing on my laptop.