Robbinsville Bead Retreat

Every few months I load my car with beads, wire, and food and head to a house where I will meet friends. We spend the next four days sharing, laughing, and beading. The June retreat was located in North Carolina at vacation rental house near Robbinsville.



It was a beautiful home with breath taking views.




The meals are always wonderful at our retreats even though we do try to focus on the beads and keep food preparation to a minimum. Everyone helps with the meals so no one person is burdened. Mornings were always greeted with homemade biscuits among other wonderful treats.



We teach each other and have an easy schedule of two classes a day.

The first class of the retreat was taught by BeBee. We learned to bead around mini gourds. The selection of the perfect mini gourd was the first step. They were all perfect.



Netting was the stitch used to encase the gourd.





Peyote stitch was used to work up the neck of the gourd.




Next we added fringe on the bottom of the gourd.




Lunch was salads and deviled eggs.



Genny taught a class on wire work making a very pretty bracelet.





You get the idea. We bead and we eat.
We also had a visitor from a resident of the farm.



More beading.


Annette taught her Friendship Circle.




More food.



Mmmmm, blueberry crumble.


I taught a class on tubular netting also known as Russian Netting. This was my first time to teach a class and everyone was so nice. It is an easy stitch to do with the beginning being the hardest part.





After that, I am hungry. What's for lunch.




The afternoon's class was cold connections with Harleen. I had enough trouble with wire work, so I took the opportunity to check out a not too distant bead store. Those that took the class created some beautiful pieces, but this is the only one I got a picture of.



We had mini classes including sculptural RAW with Harry.



Carol's Peacock bracelet.



These are the goodie bags.



Each person has a bag and you can put a little something in each bag or not. It doesn't matter what or if you contribute. It is fun to go through them at the end of the retreat.

We had a special guest with us this retreat. Her name is Sasha.



Normally dogs and spouses are not encouraged to attend, but Sasha was special. She was the sweetest dog who took her role of hostess very seriously. She seemed to know who would appreciate her attentions and enjoy a snuggle. If dogs can have old souls, then this one does.

It was a wonderful four days that past all too quickly. I'm already looking forward to the next one.

ball and rope

Sky's favorite toy is the ball. Chasing the ball is pure joy to Sky and something she can do for hours.


Cody thinks it is funny to run by and grab her ball when she is not looking, but when it comes to playing, he prefers a good game of tug. He doesn't like to tug hard. He also likes to prance around the yard with his tug-rope in his mouth.

More flowers

More pictures from my garden and a couple from my sweet Mother in Law's garden.
I gave my blueberry bushes an over due trimming last year and the berry production for this year is suffering. I do have a few that are just beginning to get a bit of color. Now the real trick is going to be to get the ripe blueberries before the wonder dog Cody does. Cody loves blueberries and will pick only the sweet, dark blue ones. He even stands on his hind legs to get the berries.


I love dahlias and have a few that are already blooming.


They come in so many different varieties and colors.


This is a gladiolus blossom that is just beginning to open.


A rose.


A lily.


A day lily.


This one is from the garden of my Sweet Mother in Law. She has hydrangeas all along the back of her house that are in full bloom. Some are the pretty blue. Some have a pink tint as she added lime to the soil.

This is from her butterfly bush. I love the deep, vibrant color.

More from the garden

Yesterday I showed you pictures of the balloon flower before it completely opened. Below is the fully opened flower.
This is a day lily. The blossom is huge this year.

I have tomatoes on my big tomato plant

and the grape tomatoes are growing.


The bell peppers have set small peppers.

From my garden

Just a few flowers that are blooming right now.

Beading for a Cure

It has been a long time since I posted any of my beadwork. I am currently working on my entry for the 2010 Beading for a Cure The 2009 entries are currently being offered for auction a few at each week at Ebay Here is my 2009 entry:


It was offered the first week the auctions began. I am happy to say it earned a few bids. I had nightmares of my item not getting any bids and having to beg someone to bid on it.

I like this year's color pallet much better than last year. Included in the kit this year is a beautiful lampwork bead by Laurie B. Smith. I think she had to make over 80 of the same bead. It was generous of her to offer her time, talent and glass for the cause. All other beads in the kit came from Stormcloud Trading Co. Below are some pictures of the beading tray containing all the kit beads.


I'm using geometric shaped pieces for my entry. I have had a ton of help from two wonderful artists. Glenda Payseno and her book Geometric Beading and Diane Fitzgerald with her book Shaped Beadwork. Both books are about using the Peyote stitch to created dimensional shapes. It is fun and challenging.

The offical deadline for the project is July 15, 2009. I am almost finished and hope to have it in the mail by the end of June. The auctions will begin in March 2010.

Swimming Lesson Part 2

Sky had another swimming lesson on a recent warm weekend. She is doing lots better in that she is swimming. Here she going for the ball and no feet are touching mud.


At this point the turn is looking pretty good.


But those pesky back legs are sinking to the bottom looking for mud.


Extra effort with the front legs combine with some splashing.....


and she is smoothly swimming once more.


We need to work on keeping those hind legs moving while swimming.
Oh, a click on a picture will open it up in a larger format so you can really see the determination on her face.

Colors of spring

Deep red is not one of the colors that comes to mind when I think of spring colors. The light green of new leaves, bright yellow of Forsythia, yellow and peach of Daffodils, pinks and whites of Azaleas, soft pink of the Cherry Tree are some of the spring colors that I expect to find. While wandering the woods of Western North Carolina I find the deep red of the Paw Paw tree.




Then there is the Sweet Shrub, also known as Carolina Allspice.



And the Toadshade.



I really like the leaves on the Toadshade.


There are some pastel and white spring flowers in the woods, but spring in the woods is not nearly as colorful as fall.