Stepping Stones ...

I am sure you are all tired of me telling you how much my life has changed since I discovered beads - but it's true, things have evolved both personally and professionally and there are even more changes afoot.  Although change is scary, I do like to keep moving forward and this is especially true where my beadwork is concerned, but sometimes I like to pause, take a breath and glance over my shoulder at the path behind me and an email I received this week reminded me to do just that.  It was actually an email from Interweave with news of a big sale they are having, but as I looked at my old patterns that they still sell, I saw that OK, I am working in different coloured beads nowadays, I am incorporating different materials, I am experimenting with different stitches and my photography has certainly improved - but I noticed that my style of beadwork hasn't really changed at all.  As you know, I am completely immersed in the Midnight Garden at the moment and I understand that some of you are disappointed that I simply have not had time to write the patterns for some of the garden's 'inhabitants', but I thought perhaps now might be a good time to remind you that there are already lots of my patterns available to purchase from various sources and many of these will provide the stepping stones to the kind of work I am currently creating, such as these Olive Earrings from Interweave.

So first of all, let me tell you about the Interweave sale - if you visit this page of my website and click on any of the project titles, it will take you to the Interweave store and if you purchase any of the patterns via that page, after you 'Add to cart' you will see a box with the words 'Coupon Code' - be sure to enter HOLIDAYTHANKS into that box and a further 20% will be deducted - but please note that this sale ends on Monday November the 26th.

Many of my patterns that were published in Bead magazine are still available to purchase too, so if you want to make your very own Maid Marian's Quiver for example (as shown above) just follow this link and it will take you to a selection of my patterns in their on-line store.

The patterns I have had published with Bead & Button magazine are also still available, so if you would like to make yourself a Double Dragon, follow this link to view my patterns that are available to purchase and download from them. 

And finally, don't forget that I also sell a selection of patterns from this page of my website so if you want to make your own Core Beaded Beads, Popper Flowers, Rivoli Daisies etc. - just follow the links and your new beading pattern/s will be with you within minutes.  There are new patterns in the pipeline but this is generally a slow process (especially where books and magazines are involved) and so I am hoping that you will find something in the links above that will interest you until I am able to share new work.

Yours evolvingly;

Kerrie ♥

Goodbye Mum!

Sadly, Mum left us on Monday the 24th of September, but thanks to the fantastic support of the hospice, district nurses and carers, she was able to spend her final days peacefully at home, just as she had wished.  I used to call Mum my 'Rose Fairy' because with her beautiful blonde hair, soft pink skin and sparkly blue eyes she reminded me so much of Cicely Mary Barker's 'Rose Fairy' and she was happiest spending time pottering about in her garden tending to her collection of gorgeous roses.  I will miss Mum enormously but I am comforted by the belief that she will be watching me and cheering me on as I continue on my beady travels through life. Mum was my number one fan when it came to my beadwork and although I used to cringe with embarrassment when she would whip a magazine out of her handbag to show anyone who would stop and look at my latest published design, or thrust her wrist at a passing stranger to show them her bracelet saying 'Look, my daughter made that!' - I was of course very glad to be able to give her something to be proud of.  In the early days, I was lucky enough to share a table at several local craft fairs with Mum, she with her wonderful knitted creations alongside me and my beadwork and later, as things grew and I attended bigger fairs, she would help me out by setting up my display, talking to customers and carefully packaging sold items and of course helping to calm my nerves and bolster my confidence.

Mum was always coming up with ideas for new beadwork designs for me too and she was a constant source of inspiration - had it not been for Mum and her battles with cancer, I would never have designed my Awareness Ribbon Pins or the Pilgrims Cross both of which helped to raise a substantial amount of money for various charities.

There is so much more I could say about My Mum, but I think that you get the picture and although I have many photographs of her, I think that the one below is my favourite because it shows her 'under my wing' and captures the obvious love that flowed between us.

Mum and I used to speak about what might happen after this life and we thought that perhaps we may become flower fairies with important jobs to do.  Mum decided that she was going to wear a gown of softest velvety purple petunia with a fluffy bumblebee hat and she was going to dance through the sky painting sunsets and THAT is the image I am going to keep in my head forever.

Goodbye Mum.

Kerrie ♥

Poppy Pin - version two!

A little while ago, a friend asked me if I could make her a special poppy to wear around the time of Remembrance Sunday. Obviously November is some time away yet, but I don't like to keep people waiting and so I have been working on it and just finished the new version of Poppy Pin.

This one is very similar to my poppy design that was published in issue 14 of Bead magazine but my friend wanted hers without the leaves, which presented me with an engineering issue regarding how to attach the pin. As you can see from the picture of the back of the poppy, I decided to use a similar method to the one I used for my Awareness Ribbons and attached a few size 8 beads to the back of the poppy to hold the sterling silver stick pin in place. I also made the actual poppy slightly smaller with a larger black centre and five fire-polished beads to give it extra visual impact. It will be winging its way to its new owner tomorrow - let's hope this poppy is just what my friend was looking for!