The Good News and The Not So Good News

Starting with the good news I got first and second place ribbons at the Southern Maryland Quilt and Needlework exhibit at Sotterley Plantation. My Dragonfly purse got first and my Iris purse got 2nd. I didn't have any competition in the bead work category. It still was great and I got good critiques from the judges and the people in charge said I got lots of good comments so it was a positive experience.

We leave in a couple of days for our trip to Bead International, Mid Ohio Track for Wayne, and time spent with Wayne's folks and his niece's graduation. I have gotten most of my stuff ready to go including the important stuff like jewelry and purses and projects to work on. The back of the car will also be full of track tires and tools for Wayne's 2 days on the track. I am sure we will have a good time. I still have some things to do before we leave but things are coming together pretty well.

The not so good news is that shortly after we get back Wayne will be heading back to Iraq. It is not really bad news since he won't be gone too long, actually he will be going twice in just a couple of months. I should be able to get a fair amount done while he is gone each time and since I have to get my journals and cards done for my BJP pages it won't be all bad.

I am looking forward to our trip, it should be a good time.

12 Pages Finished

As hard to believe as I find it I have finished all 12 of my BJP pages and have them hanging on the wall. It has been an amazing journey and I have learned an amazing amount in the last year. I have played with techniques and supplies that were new to me. I have found out how much I enjoy combining my bead work and photography. The pages have turned out to be far more of a journal of my personal growth in the last year than I ever expected them to be. If you want to read more about my journey in the last year visit my AKP Bead Journal Project Blog for more pictures visit my Artistic Kreations and Passions website, my web gallery, or the BJP section of my website all which have been updated. I have named all of the pieces individually and I still have work to do. I still need to put all of the information on the backs of the pieces, make the cards that go into the backs for November-May and make the journals for the November -May pieces.

I have other things I need to do in the week and a half or so before we leave to go to Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois. I have class supply lists and instructions to write up for the classes I will be teaching at Bead Boutique in June. I need to get photos to them as well to go with the list of classes for their website. I need to get photos of my BJP pages to a few different places as well.

It has been kind of strange weather around here and we had pretty stormy weather this weekend. We lost the top of a tree but Wayne got it all cut up and it didn't do any damage. We last power for a few hours Sunday night but it came back. Today the Sun finally came out again and I went for a walk which I am still not being very good about.

This weekend I will be going to the Sotterley Plantation to see the Quilt and Needlework exhibit that will have 2 of my purses in it. Wayne is probably going to go with me since we have never toured the plantation. I have only been there once and it was just to drop off my pieces. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of work is in the show.

I also need to think about what all I want to pack for the trip. I need to pick out what of my beaded jewelry I want to take along and then pick outfits to go with. I will also be taking my BJP pages so that Marti can see all of them finished. I also need to pack up some projects to take along to work on. I am also thinking my sketchbook to work on ideas for next years BJP. I need to take the time to flesh out the ideas some.

I would also like to send out congrats to my friend Susan who won a contest for one of her lamp work beads. You can see her website and some of her wonderful beads at her website Insanity Beads. You can also see some my necklaces using some of her beads here.

I am still in kind of a strange place mentally but I think part of that is the drawing in before a change. I know that the change is coming and part of me is resisting and another part is focusing inward. It means that I haven't gotten somethings worked on that I should have and I spent four days in a row spending most of my time reading and not getting much else done.

Wayne left last Sunday and will be back this Friday. He is currently in San Antonio doing some kind of exercise with the army. It means we will be apart for our anniversary (May 5th) but the week after he gets back we are going to go up to Baltimore for a couple of days and go to two Red Sox games and see a map exhibit. Maybe not to romantic but it should be a blast.

I have not been very good about watching what I eat or going for my walks. I don't think I am going to lose my 5 lbs for April and May but I am sure once Wayne gets home he will help give me a kick in the pants and help me get motivated again. I went for my first walk in over a week today. It looks like tomorrow is supposed to be slightly cooler and nice so I may try to be good and go again.

The photo is of the start of my Crystal Iris. I was considering using it in an entry for Swarovski's contest this year but couldn't decide exactly where I wanted to go with it. I decided not to do an entry this year. I have been undecided for a while and finally decided that I just wasn't in the right place at this time. It is kind of a relief to not have to worry about it any more. Maybe next year I will consider it but for this year no.

I went out to lunch with my friend Colleen on Tuesday, we hadn't seen each other for a while so it was good to see her. I also went to Bead Boutique and gave them some samples for some new classes so I should be back on the schedule for June. On Friday I made a couple of new pieces to send with my entry for Bead International. I was allowed to send up to 5 extra smaller pieces to offer for sell in their Gallery shop. They are now all on their way to Ohio. Besides mailing those off on Saturday I also went to the Sotterley Plantation, they have a yearly Quilt and Needlework exhibit and they accept bead work in the Needlework. I decided to enter two of my purses (my Iris purse and my Dragonfly purse) I considered trying to enter my BJP pages but wasn't sure how it would work. I have never been to the show yet. maybe if we are still here next year I will consider entering them.

Today I have been trying to do a bit of catch up writing in my blogs, updating my web gallery and if I have time make a few updates to my website as well. It all takes time. I also need to catch up on e-mails. I have been reading them but am overdue for replying to a number of people, eek!

My idea for my 2008 BJP is starting to gel and I am kind of excited about that. It will be different than this years but I am sure will provide many new challenges. I think that I am very glad that I have the summer between the two years. I need to finish all of my cards and journals for the 2007 BJP and will need to work on figuring out more about my 2008 project. Once I have the idea further along I will put a post up for it (probably in my BJP blog)

Thanks for all of the support and comments, it helps that you are all out there and so wonderfully supportive.