Treat time

What a treat, went to the International Festival of Glass at Stourbridge yesterday.

Wonderful exhibition. Have a look at some of the exhibits, adn things for sale.

Does my bum look big in this?

I had a hospital appointment today, and was asked to change into a gown.
Half way through the treatment, the practioner came in very apologetic, and said that they needed the room for something else, and I would need to be moved. So I had to grab my things and walk down the corridor. Those hospital gowns are open at the back, and I had to giggle, wondering "does my bum look big in this?" LOL.

Little furry visitors

At work late last night, turned the corner and there was a little furry creature running down the corridor. I am very poud of the fact that while I exclaimied very loudly, I did not in fact scream the place down. I did however, walk very fast in the opposite direction. And then went home!

Little green visitors

Late last night I only had time to make a couple of beads, before the heavens opened, and the rain came down in a solid sheet. It lasted quite a while. The doors to my work space have to be opened and closed from the outside, so after a while I had to take my courage into my hands, and hop out into the garden to shut the door. I did not take an umbrella, as it is only a few feet from the back door.

I know there were other things out in the rain with me, and I am sure I saw something moving and hopping on the floor in front of me. I am such a scaredy cat, that I screamed and kept screaming, but managed to move forward to shut the door. I thought something may have hopped into studio, but with the rain beating down on my head and wetting me through I ran back into the house. I was cold and wet, and went to bed.

Late this morning I got my husband to go in and check, and sure enough, there was a green frog sitting by the glass doors, waiting to be let out. The poor thing has gone off home now, and I can go back and torch without being nervous about anything "jumping" out at me.

Fire! Fire!

I decided to thin down the bead release. I dipped my mandrels and off I went.
I wanted to try and make a galaxy bead in miniature. Just after I shaped the bead into a barrel, the whole thing slid off and into my lap. After a moment of panic, when I remembered not to pick up the bead with my fingers, I used my long nosed pliers to get the bead into the kiln. When I looked down at my lap, I was on fire. Literally!
Good job I was wearing my work apron. It has ended up with a nice hole in it, surrounded by a dark charred outline, but it saved me from having a hole in me. Just a little bit of excitment to keep me going.

Seeing the light

Forgot to say that my light tent has arrived. Altough it is a small one, it is bigger than I anticipated. But damn it, its something else I have to practice. This was supposed to make it easier. I thought I would be able to put it up, and have perfect pictures. Things just aint that easy.

Fringe benefits

The Camden Fringe is on!
The event has got bigger with 8 or 9 venues this year. OK, compared to Edinburgh that might not seem a lot, but it is. This was the week for me to get to some of the performances. Comedy, puppetry, dancing, singing and nonsense. I have been intrigued, have laughed, and have been downright puzzled by some of it.

I saw two comedians who did a presentation on why Star Trek Voyager is good for you. It seemed serendipitous that I had some of galaxy beads with me. I asked them at the end of the performance if they would like one each, and they accepted. My hubby thinks I'm mad! I have to keep pointing out that its one of the things he knew about me from the start. All my very good friends share the same quality.

If I'm good maybe I'll be able to squeeze in a few more shows.

Lights! Camera! Action!

Ok, I have found a light tent which comes with little lights, and a mini tripod. It is small enough to fit on my table, so I have ordered one. Does this mean that I will be able to take better pictures? I really hope so. I look enviously at other people who have marvellous pictures on their sites.
Sigh.
And of course the advantage is that I can take pictures at any time of the day or night.
I can hear my beads. "I'm ready for my close up Mr. de Mille" :-)

Two weeks?

Blimey, its been two weeks since I last posted.
In that time I managed to go the the bead fair at Ardingly. I took my aunt with me. She loved it, and got quite carried away, insisting that she buy some beads to get started on something. But not size 11, we have size 8 beads in a lovely mix of pinks and violets, with a tube of light green thrown in. I'm seeing flowers. Peyote stitch here we come!

And this weekend I managed to make some galaxy beads on the torch. Each one took me an hour. As you may guess from that, each one is pretty substantial. I tried to take some photos last night, but when I put them into photoshop I realised that I am going to have to try again. The cropping and magnificiation made them look so fuzzy, they were hardly recognisable. The good thing is that I realised why I couldn't download the photos in the first place.

So I hope soon to have some pics. But don't hold you breath, just in case. :-)