CC7A November - hosted by Christine

We are coming to an end with the CC7A. I would like to thank all my wonderful partners 'in crime' for their support during this year. And to promise everyone I am, indeed, going to post the August and September pieces soon.

November was hosted by lovely Christine and her choice of picture was one very matching the weather outside:

Yup, all the leaves are gone by now. The sky might not be as brilliantly blue, or not today (it's raining), but the branches sure look like that.

I wanted to make something that matches the empty branches, but I felt it'll make me way to sad and right now that's the last thing I need. So I deviated just a tad :)

First it came the flower. As my enamel colours are very limited, I am truly happy I still have a bit of the aqua, we will pretend it's the colour of the sky. The flower was ready on Sunday, however I wasn't ready to finish it until today. I knew how I wanted to finish it, which in my mind was the same thing as being done... sorry... I run a lot like this lately.

I looked for a bit of fabric to match the flower, but all my fabrics were turquoise or deep blue. Too deep and dark for what I wanted. I recently received some silky scarfs from my mom, but those weren't in the colours I wanted either (although beautiful nonetheless!). As I was scratching my head, I remembered I bought some mohair / wool mix yarn, in some blue-grayish hues. That should do it, right?

Luckily for me, it continues beautifully from the end of the flower (where the blue of the enamel is not that bright). I wrapped a piece of wire in the yarn, then crocheted the neckpiece with the yarn and another, thinner wire. I also used the thin wire on the flower 'hanger' - for some empty branches.

Being completely exhausted already (not from this, from my crazy life in general), I couldn't bear the thought to make the clasp, so I used one of two clasps I won (long time ago) from Cindy Wimmer. I just love this clasp - I think I'll just have a session of clasp making soon, so I have them when I need them :)

This is the result - I'll give it a wear soon; I am a tad worried about those 'branches', I want to see if they can be worn or not. If not (if they catch the blouse material) I have an idea to replace them with a bit of embroidery thread; it won't have the same curly effect, but it'll be fine, I think.

And no, my little foldio still cannot 'host' an entire necklace. I'll give it a try in natural light tomorrow, hopefully you get the idea of what it looks like.

Thank you to all who visit, I know I've been mostly invisible the past few months, I promise I have good excuses for that. I'll update the blog soon.

And, again, thank you so much to my great CC7A partners and virtual friends. You have been so patient with me, and I hasn't been a great host.

Please visit all the wonderful ladies, I am sure they've made beautiful pieces - Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating it this weekend (we did so in October).

Christine (November)

Alicia (April host) ~ you are here
Therese (May host)

Sally (June host)

Monique (August)

Cynthia (September)

A Time To Stitch #8 - Blog Hop

In coming in to write this post I could not believe I haven't posted in 4 months. Wow. Yes, I am still alive, and I'll write something one day about this summer and fall. Write now I am just grateful we are healthy and alive.

A Time To Stitch is the baby of Christine and Therese - a bead weaving challenge, usually. This time ~ with a twist: we were supposed to make a beaded bag. Or amulet. Or medicine bag. Or... 

Procrastination runs high on my list of vice and this year just made me more adept at tasks slalom (it should be made an Olympic sport, I'd be champion); I might have dropped some posts here and there, though (I am still to write the CC7A posts for the past two meets, for example). However, when Therese's e-mail came three weeks ago as a reminder (thank you, Therese!) I made a promise to myself to not back off... I need to get back into a somewhat regular schedule of postings. I miss this part of my life, truly. 

However, I am in the final stages of writing my thesis and things are more hectic than I ever imagined. So I put it off for tomorrow. And tomorrow. And... yesterday arrived with me only knowing what I want to make, but not having anything to show for. I contemplated backing off and I said "no!". 

Up to the the studio I picked two of the boxes: one with leather, one with seed beads. My mom sent me a while back some deer skin. Soft, beautiful and the only thing I knew I could manage with such short time on my hands. 

I knew what I wanted: a turtle. Why? We live very close to Crawford Lake Conservation Area, a place where 40 years ago (in the 70s) archaeologists discovered an Iroquoian Village. The story of the discovery itself is amazing: the conservation area has a wonderful lake, a meromictic lake. What is a meromictic lake? A body of water with a very deep basin, so deep that it rarely gets disturbed and it receives no oxygen. Thus it is perfect for conserving organic samples, which otherwise would quickly decay. That's how, by studying the lake, scientists discovered corn. And they figured out a settlement must be close by. They were right. We visit the Village at least once a year; we never grow tired of the longhouses, the Native stories, the maple syrup, and the amazing natural environment (the park is part of the Niagara Escarpment). Back to my turtle: the Iroquois were structured in three clans: the Turtle Clan, the Wolf Clan, and the Bear Clan. I love all the symbols behind all three clans, however I am very, very fond of the Turtle Clan. I studied a bit what each clan's responsibility was and to my delight, the Turtle Clan is the Keepers of the Knowledge.

From the link above:

In the Iroquois Creation Story, the earth was created on the back of a turtle. It was there that life began to grow. The Turtle Clan represents the shifting of the earth and the cycles of the moon. The people of the Turtle Clan are considered the well of information and the keepers of the land. The responsibility of the Turtle Clan is everything that has to do with the environment.

How could one back out of beading a turtle with such deep meanings?

As usual, it wasn't the smoothest of the journey. I started it two times and didn't go very well. Third time was a charm in my case, though.

I took no pictures of the process, so without further ado I will share my Turtle Clan Bag.

It is small, 3.5" (it's an approximate square). As you can see, I ran out of my original Czech 6.0 mix, but at that time it was already dark outside and I knew I would not survive a repeat of the entire patterns. I simply moved onto another 6.0 type :) and hoped I'll be forgiven.

I intend to fill it with some lavender and keep it at my desk - a reminder that I chose my new academic life (I have days when I wish I could blame someone else!).

Thank you, Therese and Christine for hosting this challenge - it's always fun to try new things.

Thank you all for stopping by - please make sure you visit everyone else and enjoy their bags!

Our 2 hosts: Therese & Christine

Jenny

Bobbie

Ana

Amy

Cynthia

Karin S

Maryanne

Liz

Lori

Paula

Jasvanti

Dagi

Kepi

Samantha

Alicia <- you are here

Motidana

Becky