I would have gotten the tail done last night but I was so tired by 10:30 that I had to quit. I have no idea what I am going to do next. I did download some photos of face tattoos, but do not want a white cat face showing through the lines. I am eager to repeat the circle on the hip by making a beanie cap (a beanie on a beanie baby - pun-pun) so I may do that and leave the face for further inspiration. I do know I want to put stars in the ears. Maybe I can do that and dispel this weepy mood I am in.

Warrior Cat

I am slowed down, not by the intricacies of the patterning but from a general exhaustion after finishing Lynx. Beading is so relaxing for me that often I do not even let go of the needle before I drop off to sleep. I wake up refreshed and in a new part of the story on the audiobook with my hand angled for the next stitch. I am practicing dying. This is how I want to go. . . work in my hand and I just nod off am gone. However, I want to stick around long enough to see how I am going to resolve this one. The white fabric is thicker than usual so it feels like flannel. That makes the beads press down into slight grooves that holds them in place.Am trying to feature how the face shall be done. Think I need to study some tribes that do face tattoo. I think this is turning into a warrior cat.

I do not know from where the idea for this piece came. I was attempting to make a bracelet B had left for me. It was done all in Preciosa beads so before I could get around to attempting it I had to order the beads because their look was so much the part of the bracelet. I really love the beads and thought the idea of B's bracelet was so easy I could duplicate it without trying. Not so! my work looked nothing like hers. Still I liked how the beads and their colors eased together. Almost without decision I gravitated to this white cat and wanted to do designs on it. Finally I am able to think of one of these beanie babies as a surface instead of the animal. For me, this seems a huge break-through.

Sorry the scan looks so horrible. I am racing to finish Lynx and can't take the time to do a photo. Anyhow, meet "Goochie" the octopus. I am going to regret picking this one when I get to those legs. Last night I used some transparent pink AB 11s on the underside of the skirt and they block out too much of the color so I will soon have to quit on this to wait for the order to come.
I know now the bug is a Pine Sawyer beetle. He is only active at night so last evening I put him in a large glass vase with a sponge full of water and now he is sleeping off all his attempts to get out. At this point I am waiting on someone to tell me what to do with him. I read on the Internet that they make good pets. . . Anyone that lonely? I prefer beanie babies!

So not a beanie baby! Found this in my studio this morning lying on its back on the floor. It is about 2 1/2 inches long so I am very glad it is so tame /shocked/ resting. Finally found a good use for the too-small crystal boxes! have written to the local bug lady to find out its name and if anyone wants to give it a good home. Other wise I will release it. The many cobwebs on the antenna tell me it was deep under the shelves shopping for gourmet foods.
Did finish the coral fish just minutes before Barbara arrived yesterday afternoon. We got everything decided quickly without much debate. Our minds are good on one track. I was so tired afterward I started on the jellyfish (how I felt) and then discovered I am almost out of the beads I wanted to use. Am wondering if I need a new method of displaying the pound bags so I can see at a glance when I am low on a bead kind / color. Bending over to scrounge through basket is too much bending. I might get my waistline back!

My 'error' led me to make spots by sewing two 15s on top of every other one of the 11s. the beading was so tight it was hard to get the needle in. I broke three in one evening. You cannot see, from here, the little area on the tail that still needs its green spots, but I hope you can deduce how much better taming down the fin colors works. I am surprised how greenish the yellow and white pearl beads look among the pink ones on the gill fins. Worked a long time to get the right eye for this fish. Some were too bright and some not visible at all. My main purpose in beading this fish was to try out the colors for the dragon. Now I am less sure than ever. I am greatly tempted to try another color combination on another fish. However I must stop today to prepare jewelry items so Barbara Fast can decide what she wants, or doesn't want, to put in the Coast Highway Art Collective gallery in Point Arena.

As you can see, from this unfinished side, why I thought the color for the fins was a good one.

However when I got all the chips on, it seemed to me (late last night) that the difference in hues between body and fins was too great. The fins are just too light. In the photo they do not seem quite so terrible. I will finish the other side and then make a decision. I thought of adding a line of green beads on top of and between each of the lines on the fins. I have never done that so this 'error' may be leading me into bright new terror-tory. I do love these peridot chips. You can see, behind the fin, the size and color I had before - much bigger, not at all clear, and a much more of a yellow green. I am again amazed how many beads or chips it takes. Just to get to this point I have used over two 36 inch strands of chips. No more timid purchasing!
I was greatly relieved to find out that the front fins and pellets in the belly were able to support the fish upright. I had visions of having to suspend it with crystal 'bubbles'. . .