YES! Wire Wrapping Newbie and rebirth of Lapidary Bug

Margo and I took a wire wrapping class in Sac. It was awesome!! We did it! I know I really s**ked at working wire, figured that metal was ex's domain, but HA! This was fun. I brought a number of my cabs, and used this black metalic cab (cannot remember what it is, other than I got it from Oregon and it makes a black sloppy mess of my machine when working it.)

I'm so psyched. Of course, I want to make a gazillion more, and me being me, want to buy an 18" Lortone slab saw and a 10" trim saw, build a shop, go crazy buying rock, and bend silver all day long!

Way fun. I have over 30 cabs that I made when gas was cheap, weekends were free, and I could drive to Mather AFB and play rockhound with the awesome Sacramento Mineral Society folks before my skin rebelled.

Skin has recovered endless hours, day after day, in cold water. Now I miss it.

Of course I don't have time.




OT: It's getting cold enough I'm thinking of wood burning stoves, sweaters, and off the road, back to the gym. (The Thursday racing guys had a major crash. Pres. Dan Sh. has a skull fracture and bruised brain: I just heard that Michael J. has 7 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and fractures in his sternum and scapula!! A bolted down spinner sounds pretty good right now...)

Brightly it glows - sock yarn

yep, yep, I think this could glow in the dark. Took forever to rinse too.

But what awesome socks they'll be! Peaking over ankle boots, under a swirly winter calf length chocolate brown skirt in the Fall kind of awesome.

Next dye time, I'll dye some of this for myself to knit up! My feet won't have a chance to be cold. This color must have the super power to draw heat from the very Earth, it's so bright! So sez I.

my turtle and the 'Earth' Omiyage Co-production!

This was too cool. I got 'my' pouch from beckarahn! She did a fabulous job embellishing the pouch. If you look closely, you can see the bee charm and leaves on the strap! I love that detail. There are so many details, it's hard to take it all in! Lunarium did an amazing job with the beads for this pouch. The colors, the shapes, the beads for the cord that slide(!!) and the little round ones that look like berries. Such a unique piece of wearable art!
I know the original purpose of the copro was to offer it in all of our shops at the same time...but I very, very, very, very seriously considered just keeping it for myself to look at...

My newest addition to my family. My winter turtle from amysbabies. How cute is he? And she's just added some costumed ones. Her ladybug one is impossibly cute!

My turtle sits on my sewing machine to keep me company while I sew.


When I was a kid, I collected marbles. I loved my marbles.

I was wondering why I kept making more and more beads. And then it hit me. This is WAY BETTER than collecting marbles!! I keep them in a bag on my dresser; it's my grown-up version of a marble collection!

It's tempting to sell beads in a bunch like this, in a handsewn bag, and call them 'Better than a bag of marbles...' I can't seem to stop making them as it is.

And on a more personal note: A wonderful, wonderful woman, very close to me, recently passed away. She was adventurous, strong willed, funny, intelligent, clever, all those things that made her a 'best' friend in so many ways. Years could pass between visits, and we could just pick up where we left off. We hit it off from the start, and we even planned to travel together when I retired. Now she's taking a trip where I can't follow. I miss her terribly, and I will love her always. Rest in peace, Mom T.

Not bunnies again!

Not just any bunny, of course, but German angoras. (and/or Giant). I lost dear Bodhi not long ago: he was over 4, and the lifespan of these gentle giants aren't very long. I hesitated getting another, but Bodhi's keeper during the school year, as his job as a classroom bunny, really wanted a rabbit for her new room...so she asked me to help find one. This pic is from MFO Rabbitry in Sac, which may not be in existance anymore (at least their website isn't!) But I loved this pic. (I lost Bodhi's pics on a hard drive that crashed and never recovered...argh! But I have lots of kid's drawings of him I've saved!)

These babies are from Bungalow Farms where the wonderful Bodhi came from. She has wonderful, healthy, sweet bunnies in Sacramento, in her backyard, besides being the registrar for the IAGARB or Internation Association of German Angora Rabbit Breeders (thank gawd for the acronym). She has two that are possibilities for us. A chinchilla hybrid, 4 months, and an 18 month German doe.

Of course, me being me, I immediately think of ways to have an indoor bunny...I think after Woody lives out his life (my hyper terrier dog that thinks cats and bunnies are chew toys) I will clear out the downstairs enough to add a bunny. Litter train her, and then I'll have super stuff for my compost, and more wool to spin!

Whew. A plan.Without a plan, I would have come home with a rabbit for sure!