The Muse is calling

Our business, like the rest of the country has slowed down a bit and I find myself with some extra time on my hands. Not alot of time but just enough to get myself in trouble again. As some of you may already know I have written a new book with Krause publications on creating elegant jewelry and beads using fabrics and fibers. I was lucky enough to work with Nancy Zeiman Productions to also create a how-to CD to go along with the book. I finished the book in March and it is in the editing stage now. It is due to come out in January 2010.

I had to design and make twenty different piece of jewelry for this project. Though most people know me for my work in the quilting world, most of you may not realize making jewelry has slowly become a passion for me. Having written several other books, I have to say writing this one was such a joy. I loved every step and was sad when it ended. But once I was done I cleaned up my studio and put away my jewelry making supplies and got back to business. I would occasionally pull out some beads and think about what I would do with them only to have them end up back in the drawer. This has gone on since April. Now one of my dreams is to make and sell my finished pieces to people. This dream will not happen if I never create the ideas in my head. It is always easier to make excuses than to make progress.

Now if you have read my last Blog "Where did July go?" you can see how it is easy to say I am too busy to sit down and make jewelry. But a funny thing happened last month in the middle of all the craziness, my jewelry muse came a knocking. I tried to ignore the banging but finally I let her in. Since that day I have stolen a few minutes everyday and a few hours on some of those days to please my muse and play with my jewelry. I realized part of my problem was I had to keep cleaning everything up after each time and sometimes it was too much effort to pull everything out just to work for a few minutes. So to solve this problem I set up a table in my spare room and created a work area just for my jewelry making. I can now walk away and leave it out so when I have a few minutes, I can stop by the table and work immediately. The nice thing about jewelry making is it is so small it does not take up much space. Here is a photo of my new workbench and some pieces I have made in the last couple of weeks.

What happened to July????

July went by in a whirlwind. Starting with getting ready for the Denver sew and craft show. I spent the first week of the month getting ready to go and making sure I was caught up in the design department before leaving. We drove to Denver from Phoenix, a 15 hour drive through the lovely state of New Mexico. It was a very long trip. Once we arrived in Denver we spent a day setting up the booth and three days visiting with the very nice people of Denver. On the last day we torn down and packed up the booth and then drove to New Mexico for the night. On Sunday we made the long drive home. If it wasn't for Kathy I think I might have gone mad with boredom in the car. She is always great company on these long trips. I did fell sorry for my father-in-law, Jerry who had to drive the u-haul by himself in front of us.

We got home late Sunday and I had two days to get caught up from being gone for a week before my sister and niece came for a visit from Atlanta. On top of all this my tenet moved out of our rental home and I had to get the house ready to show. Needless to say it was a crazy couple on weeks.

I did have a wonderful visit with my family and got the chance to take my niece to see Santa Clause. Poor Santa was all dressed for winter and sitting in a little shop in Glendale AZ when it was 115º outside. Even he said he was ready to quit and go back to the North Pole. My sister and I also spent every night down in my studio working on little projects and had a blast making things and catching up after Miss Violet went off to dreamland.

Sooo now that July has come to an end, I can look back and say I got to visit two states I have never been to, New Mexico and Colorado. I got to see my sister and niece for a nice long visit. I also got to visit with our cousin Sarah who cam e to visit before going off to her freshman year at college. I have our rental home settled and rented again. Finally I spent the last week of the month catching my breath and looking forward to the full and adventurous Fall.

August has already started out with a bang celebrating Matthew (my Husband's birthday) this weekend and getting ready to go to Sedona this week for a short escape from reality. SO until next time.....