Portland-bound

In a few hours I'll be headed toward the airport again, this time for Portland and Bead Fest. I'm teaching two classes there, and I'll have a booth in the expo hall too, so as usual it will be a jam-packed week. I've learned the importance of getting into town a day or so earlier than I think I should have to - it saves a lot of wear and tear on my mental and physical status. The downside is that I'm away from home another day.

So those instructions last week that weren't gonna write themselves? Well, they really were NOT in the mood to take it easy on me! I spent more time on those instructions than on any other set in the past. While the technique isn't difficult, to illustrate it took roughly a bazillion diagrams with eleventy billion beads per graphic. I'm proud to say that the class only found one boo-boo in all 12 pages, so I'm thinking I did good. :-)

Sunday became one of my infamous Sleep Coma days. My body sure does tell me in a very noticeable way when it's done with all my shenanigans. Complete and total shut down. I slept for roughly 24 hours out of 36 between Saturday night and Monday morning. Every time I'd wake up and get out of bed, I'd feel like there were lead weights on all my limbs, and soon after I'd go crawl in for more shut eye. It's the weirdest feeling. Even weirder is when I finally wake up and just like that, it's gone. I'm wide awake with plenty of energy and I'm ready to go.

I spent the day getting packed for my trip and working on emails and teaching logistics and buying airline tickets and supplies. I'm pretty sure I will finally beat the "over 50lb limit" curse this time around. Wish me luck!

These instructions aren't gonna write themselves!

I actually got to bead last night and today. Joy! It's actually been weeks since I've had the opportunity to sit down with my needle and thread - too much of the other pieces and parts of this job were more critical and time sensitive, so the beading had to wait. I designed a new piece that I'm going to wait a bit longer to unveil (I'm so mean!) but I can show you some of the color options for my new Evening Song necklace class that I'm teaching for the first time on Saturday.

The original sample was done in deep amethyst colors that are perfect with the purple trend that continues in fashion this fall.











Then I really like this one with teal and copper - Mom knows I never met a green and brown combo of any shade that I don't like. Please pardon the attached thread! I'm still working on it.




And lastly, a lady-like pink and brown combo. I had tried it with pink and cream, but it looked too much like a wedding necklace at that point.



So now that I have verified that I have the right colors of beads in stock to make kits for the class, I have to shift to working on the instructions. It won't be a hard piece, but the diagrams will be buggers to draw, so I'm sure I'll be spending quite a bit of time on them.

I can't stay up too terribly late tonight, though, because I'm going to lunch with a friend tomorrow at Mandola's Market, an Italian place I've never been to before. I was just looking online at their menu and you wouldn't even believe their pastry case. OMG!! The heck with the entree...just bring me one of everything in that pastry case. STAT. I think Lori picked this place on purpose just to make sure I wouldn't bail out on the lunch. She knew that pastry case AS BIG AS MY HOUSE would lure me in.

Who, me? Mr. Cutie?

Just when we think Winston has grown up, he proves he's got plenty of sass left. He's 2 years old now...we've become a bit complacent. We have even been leaving our shoes out in the living room for the last six months because he's learned to leave them alone.

Seems like we've been fooled by his insidious puppy plan to lull us into doing just that. Because this is what Mom found him dining on at 3am this morning.















Who, me?? Mr. Cutie?? Needless to say I'm keeping a close eye on him for signs of distress.

Ready, set, ship out!

Making slow but steady progress in the mission to get the boxes shipped out on Wednesday for Bead Fest Portland. I've made eleventy billion kits and organized them all in their little bubble zip lock baggies. Another billion or so patterns are boxed up as well, and I'm both packing and creating a packing check-list for shows that I fly to. I've found myself in more than one corner of the map missing a critical component over the last year. Yup, it's taken me a full year (that I'm willing to admit to) to actually create the checklist that will keep me from having to find an Office Depot, Post Office, or Bed, Bath and Beyond in ever major city in the US. I'm a little slow sometimes, but I get there.

And let's not ignore the fact that a single packing list won't do. Oh no. I must have the Flying packing list, and the Driving packing list, because they are obviously different. The Driving list includes things like tables and chairs and rolling carts and ... well, that's what the list is for.

I'm awfully proud of the fact that I'm getting these boxes mailed out in time to send them regular old UPS Ground...not 3-day, not 2-day. No last minute hysteria at the last moment (so far.) I won't even be packing 51 pounds of kits in my luggage on the plane, either. My suitcase is ALWAYS over the 50lb weight limit. This. Must. Stop!

On the other hand, I still have instructions to write for Saturday's class here at the Tapestry Beads Studio, the house to clean, and some samples to bead up as quickly as possible. Eh. Piece of cake! (mmmm....cake...)

Unintentional day off

When you're facing down a pile of work and list of deadlines as far as you can see, you're not thinking "day off" usually. And I wasn't thinking that today...honest. It just kinda happened. First I slept late because I went to bed early (stick with me here...it will make sense in a second) which make me get up in the middle of the night and mess around on the computer for several hours before finally returning to bed at 5am. And then it rained all day and you KNOW that I'm not complaining about that because you've had to hear me beg for rain on this blog or Facebook so many times over the last few months. But rain does mean naps on Saturday afternoons, right? Of course it does!

Previous plans had Mom and I heading over to my brother & sister-in-law's house to cook dinner for them and watch the two wee ones for a few hours while they attended a party next door. Alexis kept us entertained with her boundless energy, as usual. Five month old William charmed us with his smiles and giggles at his daddy's goofy faces. By the time we returned to the homestead, I had a severe case of the I don't wanna's. I hate it when they come to stay with us! I have no choice but to kick them out tomorrow, but I did indulge the visit tonight.

The week ahead includes a dentist appointment, a hair appointment, getting my boxes of kits and supplies ready to ship to Portland by the end of the day Wednesday, and prepping to teach a new class here at the house next Saturday.

So anyone out there want me to send the I don't wanna's your way??

It's Amazing What You Can Find in the Bead Room

From June:
A while ago I was in our bead room and stumbled upon a freeform bracelet that I'd started a long time ago. I just love freeform because there are no mistakes! It's all a part of the design.

Anyway, I worked on the bracelet in between tending customers at the Austin Bead Society Show last weekend. I found a great antique button at Carol Willie's booth, and I'm pretty happy with the way the bracelet turned out.

Nothing

Nothing - that's exactly what I did on Labor Day, and it was blissful! I slept 18 out of 24 hours and feel mostly rested again. I caught up on reading the newspapers from the last week. I read magazines. Two!! And Mom and I made a trip to Best Buy so I could test out netbook computers, followed by a delicious dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. Nummm.

It was just what I needed. The Austin Bead Society Show was steady, but not packed, which was good for all. I got to see SO many of the ladies I've lost contact with since I left teaching at Nomadic Notions 6 months ago and that was a treat. I'll admit, though, that getting out of bed Sunday morning for that last day of the three week marathon of cities and shows was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. My body was screaming, "I quit!"

So now that I've had my miraculous day of rest and relaxation, I'm back to the salt mines on Tuesday with a full, but not scary list of tasks. As long as I am steady through the next few weeks and don't dilly dally, I'm gonna be just fine and hopefully avoid the time crunches that throw my world into silly chaos. Back to spending an hour a day on paperwork and an hour a day on cleaning the bead room to try to make headway.

I have some photos to share with you tomorrow...stay tuned!

No longer in Dallas!

I'm very ashamed. I just got this email from my dear friend:

I have read about your leaving for Dallas 4000 times........yes, we need an update on Jill. Hugs, Kath

And all of a sudden I realized it's been like a WEEK since I posted. And yet it really feels more like one very (VERY VERY) long day.

So after I got back from Philly on Monday night, I faced a daunting task: getting ready to leave on Friday to teach 3 classes of 20 students each for the Dallas Bead Society. Teaching wasn't the hard part. The hard parts were:

• Knowing I was sold out of many of my best-selling kits from Philly so what would the ladies in Dallas have to buy?
• Creating new kits with multiple color options for 2 classes that had never been kitted before - which meant coming up with 8 different brand new kits. In three days.
• Did I mention the three days part??
• And my boxes shipped from Philly didn't even arrive until Thursday night, at which time I was scrambling to unpack and repack
• In three days

So in those three days (3, only 3) I labeled and weighed and printed and stuffed and panicked a few times. I barely slept, and in the end, it was only my wonderful mother coming to the rescue by leaving work early to come home and help me on Friday that allowed me to leave Austin for the drive to Dallas at 10:30pm. I got to my hotel there around 1:30am, and collapsed.

Knowing I was going to be spending the day with such a colorful and fun group of ladies helped me wake up with pep and vigor, though, and by 8am I was setting up the classroom. I took a couple of fuzzy cell phone photos, and that's about it. There was a lot going on!




The second photo is of me wearing a purloined necklace. You've got to watch me every second! Carol Anne had a question which I came by to answer, and I noticed an organza bag in front of her with beading in it. I took it upon myself to investigate, and out came this gorgeous Marcia DeCoster design in colors that just happened to match what I was wearing like it was made for me!

The following day I managed to snag Denise's Sherri Serafini choker to wear all day. I really appreciate them bringing jewelry for me to wear! Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of me wearing that one.

The Dallas ladies were excellent hostesses, and we had a lovely couple of days. It was frantic getting to that point, but once we were all gathered, the joy of being surrounded by beady folks made all the effort worth while.

I did treat myself to the luxury of staying over in Dallas Sunday night instead of coming home after class was finished around 4. I needed sleep so badly it was kind of scary. And I knew that if I came home Sunday night, I'd jump right back into work work work because I still can't take the smallest of breaks yet.

Why? Because the Austin Bead Society Show is this coming weekend...and I have no kits left! And I have a low stock of seed beads to sell! And I have four (4, yes, 4) days to prepare! So after hitting home Monday night, I made a plan of action and on Tuesday I placed scary amounts of bead orders with overnight shipping charges out the wazoo because if I don't, I won't have kits on Saturday.

AND, because I also have a substantial wholesale order to prepare to ship out. (More on that later.) AND because I have the Portland Bead Fest two weeks later. AND then the Houston International Quilt Show a few weeks after that. AND I am thrilled to announce that I got into the BABE show in Oakland, CA in Nov, which is a whole new show added to my schedule. AND I've got teaching gigs in Fort Worth for the Wild West Bead Society and in Lake Jackson in there. AND I'm supposed to be finding time to go on vacation with Mom at some point too and now I'm just laughing because we haven't even been able to pause long enough to plan the vacation let alone go on one. I'm still walking around with a temporary filling post-root canal for goodness sake because I don't have time to go to the dentist to get the crown! Although I will be making time for that next week...there's a limit to my denial. Oh, and I need to make time for an afternoon spent with an Illustrator tutor also very soon.

So. Kinda crazy, eh? I honestly don't think it will be quite this insane all the time. If it is, I'm gonna drop dead from a heart attack before long. While Mom and I were anticipating a year of having to scramble to make a living due to the economy problems, what's actually happened is a huge growth explosion that's caught me unprepared and I'm working hard to catch up. Once I do, I know I'll still be busy, but in a good way, not a frantic way.

Back to prep work for me. I'm sorry I made you wait so long for an update, Kath (& friends!)