With a Name Like Haute Ice...

 It seems obvious that I would love bling and icy sparkle.  The fact that I grew up in Montana and live in Minnesota where winter lasts a long time and is filled with ice and snow probablly figures into the equation as well.   I think it's beautiful here all year 'round, but I am especially fond of winter.  (And fall!  Oh wait, spring and summer are really great too...)  I think most of my work is landscape or botanical in style and I am finishing a new piece for the December Etsy Beadweavers challenge that, once again, fits my norm.  Or at least I am trying to finish it!

I have complained about shipping from Fire Mountain Gems in this blog in the past, and yet, I continue to order from them (they were the only place I found the 3mm Jet Nut bicones I needed) and I fail to upgrade my shipping because their least expensive option always sounds like it will serve my purposes. I need to reconsider that.  Maybe I will write in big red letters on my FMG catalog SHIP VIA FASTEST METHOD!!! 

In any case, having all the beads from the project sitting on my beading bench, (with no way to proceed without the missing bicones) encouraged me to make some supporting items for the necklace.  I rarely make bracelets, but I had a fantastic time with this one, and I think I will maybe have to make some more of these kinds of "flat work" beadweavings.  I can see loads of room for precision and improvement, but the scale and invention was just plain fun!


The challenge for this month, chosen by Olga is "Simon and Garfunkel - Songs of Inspiration" and the task is to pick a favorite song and capture it in beads.  I chose A Hazy Shade of Winter.  Although I love the poetry, the title and the musical tone of the piece was the primary inspiration for my work here.

The necklace features the essence of what I see outside my window today.  Shimmering, pearly grey cloudy skies, through the lace of bare, dark branches.  So much subtle color in those branches!  Deep blues, browns, steely grays.  Patches of snow and icicles dangling everywhere, because it warms up and then freezes again so often this time of year.  A little wistful, and maybe a touch depressing, but beautiful.

The FedEx truck was at my house this afternoon, and I was thrilled!!!  I am so glad to have my day job back under control and to find time to bead and blog again!