Augh! I took the camera to the bead meeting and then got so involved in showing everyone how to bead crochet that I forgot to take any photos. Maybe it is just as well as . . .
I had previously started several 'samples' so people could quickly learn and enjoy doing the basic stitch. For most folks that went well but the hard part came when starting a piece. For the seasoned crocheters, it was a struggle to learn that the working thread and new bead had to be laid UP and OVER the hook and the previous bead. They had the most trouble as this step is so against their learned routines. The person who learned the fastest was Lynn who is blind. Her nimble fingers 'saw' how the stitch worked (I had made a large sample with wooden beads of different shapes on rattail cord) and she zoomed ahead of everyone. Also from her I learned a way to do the beginning slip stitch with one's fingers instead of a hook.
I let everyone have one of my bracelets hoping that it would answer any of their questions when they got home and give them courage that they, too, could do this. Already this morning I had a kind note from Debbe!
On the 'show n tell' table Judy had several examples of the bracelet she had learned from Sudahlia at Legendary Beads. The one she had been working on in class really surprised me when it was finished. The colors, in the class, seemed almost too bold, but by using black around them she got them to really pop and to my mind, achieve a very impressive piece.
Marianne (thanks for reading the blog!) brought several of her finished necklaces. I was thinking how much her work as advanced since last spring. We all loved the big silver seastar with the ocean water-looking frosted glass 'coins' on huge silver links. She also had such marvelous colors in her dichroic glass pendents. One looked like a joyous city street scene and I loved the soft colors in the one with a wild copper bail. She is really going to town with these - in addition to working full-time.
Debbe had photos of her new granddaughter who is gorgeous. Congratulations to Mom and Pop for making such a sweetie!
