a blue stone

A blue stone as repayment to a friend for kindness rendered.

Deep, strong, beautiful blue for someone who shares those attributes.

Day 7 stone

Day 7 draws to a close. A drop of golden sun at the end of a glorious day.

I spent much of my day working on a project but couldn't resist making dandelion stem bracelets and playing in the grass with my youngest on this cool but sunny day.

I feel a sense of accomplishment and it's a good thing.

sanity is learning something new

I needed a little sanity break so I met some friends in town for some gab, apple crisp, and new-skill-learnin'.  Rhonda showed us a pattern (we kind of freestyled it), we picked out our colors, and got to work.

I haven't done any beading before so I didn't quite know what to expect.  The repetition of stringing the beads was nice, it required enough focus that I felt "in the zone", but could still carry on a good conversation (at least until the string knotted and Molly the knot-untyer extraordinaire had to come to the rescue).

I was pretty slow.  I think it took me an hour to get these first few rows done. (maybe not, but close)

My teacher reminded me that it wasn't a race, but you can clearly see who was bringing up the rear.

Happily, we all finished and were able to proudly sport our new bracelets.  I'll tell ya, I have a whole new appreciation for you bead-stringers out there, this was time-consuming work.  I think I can also see how it could be kind of addictive too.

Sanity restored and I have a cool bracelet to boot.  That's a pretty good way to spend a Wednesday afternoon.

Have you done any bead stitching?  Have you taken a class to learn a new skill lately?  What do you do to coax your sanity back from the brink?

Happy Thursday, all.

beads and meaning

I'm fiddling with beads this morning, working them into necklaces.  I just pulled a batch of clay beads from the woodstove that fired last night and I love their earthiness.  So it was interesting timing that there was a lovely email in my inbox this morning from a dear reader in which she said "..to work with clay from the earth is to be in tune with this beautiful planet that is going through such drastic changes." 

Those words have been running through my head all morning.

I do feel a sense of connection with these simple beads.  I dug the clay myself, tempered it with shells that I crushed, and fired these in my woodstove.  No strip mines, no machined perfection.  These little gems are imperfect and rough and utterly one of a kind.  Just like nature... just like you and I.

I value the process as much as the outcome.

I think a lot of you feel this way too and it startles me when I go out into the "real" world and see the racks and racks of cheaply made (read: disposable) costume jewelry.  And see the people buying up all those trinkets without a thought as to how it was made and at what cost - and I don't mean monetarily.

Me, I'll be wearing the beautiful agate my friend Lynn cut for me, the hand-dyed silk sewn into a feather by Eva, the tiny acorn from Sonia, the dried lichen garden from Margie, the macaroni necklace my boys made me (yes, I wear it), and even these beads of mine.  And while I realize that even handmade goods are not made without impact, each of these pieces is gentler and carry much more meaning than anything I could find in the mall.  And that matters to me.

I'm curious, what kind of trends have you noticed in your community?  Have you seen a shift towards more sustainable "stuff"?  How do you feel about it?  Do you think it matters?  Am I being a soapboxing hippie? (you don't have to answer that one)

Happy Tuesday everyone.