Making up for Lost Time

It seems forever since I was able to just kick back and play with beads and see what came of it.

Bead and Button preparations seemed to be endless and though I took a couple of small breaks because I had ideas that felt as though they'd burn holes in my brain if I didn't, it still felt as though I was being deprived.

Before that, though not as intense, was the preparation for my trip up to Studio Beads in Chicago.

And I guess the day job has had a non-zero effect on my stress level.

Last week I was a bit zombie-like, getting myself and my house in order in the aftermath of Bead and Button, but this week - this week I'm on fire.

Not to say that I haven't generated the requisite amount of wiggly thread, but I think I've had a decent hit rate in terms of the happy end of the spectrum of design ideas, with not too much in the why bother category through vaguely successful but only this one time, and with a higher concentration in the hit me one more time arena.

Like the spiral above.

I made a one-inch sample in a single colour, just enough to verify that my idea worked, and for the past few months, every time that little nub of beadwork peeked out from under a pile of papers or a stack of baggies or a mess of bead tubes, I knew I'd have to get back to it to fulfil its potential.

I'm not unhappy.