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What beading projects will you be working on this winter?

Winter is a great time to cozy in and get out your beads and all those little tools, trays, and accessories to start on your Native American projects.

I am working on a pipe bag in lane stitch. The front of the bag is a lovely design that is a copy of an 1869 Sioux design. It has taken me a long time to get to a point where it is beginning to look like something, because this is the first time I have ever done lane stitch.

When I finish the front I may put a design on the back. Not sure yet what that will be. When I sew the bag up, I will put a zipper edge trim on the seam (right) side.

I would love to hear about your projects.

Here is a picture of the design on my pipe bag. I am not very experienced yet in doing this stitch and have never made a pipe bag before -- so it is not very good compared to the fine stitching I have seen on Native American pieces. It is a great learning experience for me though.

It's BEAUTIFUL! Did you have a picture of the inspiration piece to work from? I have a few books I turn to for pattern inspiration, but I've also used cross-stitch patterns for loomwork. There is special paper for plotting bead designs that's more accurate than using graph paper or cross-stitch patterns. But with loomwork and careful bead sizing, the graph paper has worked fine and it's what I have on hand.

Thank you, lcp. The picture I used for a model is in a book I wrote a review on:
David Dean's Beading in Native American Tradition page 111.

In the book, Dean provides special bead graph plans which can be copied and used to work out the design wanted. It is a very useful tool.

I drew the design on graph paper then did careful bead counting. The bottom step pattern is my own idea inspired by a walk I took in the desert where I received a vision.

It is beautiful Phyllis!

Thank you, Conniem.

I have so many unfinished items to address, but there are 2 very special ones with priority. A beaded belt for my husband and another for my Chief. I was looking for a photo last night and stumbled on the design I had done for the Tribe. It incorporates some aspects of our history. The river and the name of the school in our little swamp community, Four Pines.

Fairly certain, I have most, if not all the beads needed. I've never made anything using the "inset" method. The loomwork is attached to a leather base strip. The top strip of leather has a cut out to reveal the beads and is sewn to the base leather around the outer edges and the cut out.

Has anyone done something similar? I'm so slow with the loom, I want to protect the beads as best I can. I have a few smaller loom pieces suitable for bracelets and plenty of leather. I think I'll start with a smaller piece for my 1st attempt. Any and all tips appreciated!

I have never worked on a loom. Beetle has and seems quite knowledgeable about it.

Your project sounds very nice. I like the idea of incorporating your history into the design. That makes it so special.

Too bad we cannot all get together and have a bead swap. I finally found some dark blue seed beads for my next project. I really need to make those medicine bags! I have had a lot of requests for them. But, first - finish my pipe bag.

Has anyone done zipper edge trim? It looks fairly easy but I got confused when I practice the stitch.

Icp The only tip I can offer is to be sure to place all required holes into your leather before you start piecing it all together so that you do not have to rip out and start over repeatedly...aka plan that baby out carefully.

Thanks Wendy! Last year I finally broke down and bought one of those spring loaded leather punches. A vendor friend had recommended it, but only had 1, which he promptly sold to my daughter. I finally got one from another vendor and it has been a blessing for shawl work too. Using it was the only way I was able to complete my daughter's dance shawl in 4 days last year.

I have a half hide with a lovely mahogany finish. It's upholstery grade, but I think it will work, doubled. With a conical head on the spring loaded punch, the holes close up for a nice hand sewn look. So I'll have to punch, stitch, punch, stitch. I might cheat a bit with a little leather cement between the layers to keep the strips aligned. I have a traditional heart when it comes to NA crafting, so that feels a bit like cheating. Last week, as I held and stitched the ribbon on my husband's shirt, several people commented, "If our ancestors had Magic Bond, they WOULD have used it!"

That is funny - but, so true, I think. The ancestors used tools that made their work easier and I agree that if they had glue they would have used it. I know what you mean, though, about having a traditional heart for NA projects. When I make one of my doll dresses, I use very traditional techniques.

I learned recently, and can't remember if I posted, our Ancestors did have a type of glue. I was talking with my Chief a while back about the trouble my husband had getting deer toes off. The sticky substance under the deer toe was a very effective glue, which explains why they were so hard to get off.

He ended up using a dremel and I have to figure out how to attach them to the leather fringe on my daughter's fan.

Every little bit used, nothing wasted!

That is really interesting. I never knew that about the dear toe sticky. The Ancestors were very ingenious, so it makes sense that they looked for a way to use every thing.

Hey, I learned something today. I didn't know about the deer's toes.

That "inlaid" method sounds like a very clean way to stash those end strings on loomwork. I've never done it myself. I'm preferring to do off-loom, or box stich, on my strips lately. It tends to have a bit more integrity in retaining the beads, should a thread break. But it is a lot harder to 'repair' if a bead or two becomes missing in the pattern.

On my pipe bag, if you take a look at the bottom pattern, I made a mistake on the last step pattern. The orange and yellow are in the wrong places which interrupts the steps. I have been able to take out a bead or two by breaking them with my needle nose pliers then replacing with the right bead -- but, there are so many beads in the pattern that need to be replaced. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Should I leave it alone or take out the beads and fix it so it ends with the right steps?

You might choose to leave it like it is. Every bandolier bag Mr. Acorn makes has at least 1 bead out of "whack." Everyone I know refers to them as the "Spirit Beads." They can be obvious, like the 4 sky blue beads in a field of dark blue on the beaded lighter sleeve I got last week. Or they can be subtlely placed, such as near the clasp on a turquoise necklace. Or they can be down-right elusive, as the one on my daughter's bag. It took my husband 2 days to find it, and we're still not quite sure the one he found is the spirit bead.

I did notice them in the photo you posted, and just assumed those were your spirit beads.

That's how I'll write off my mistakes - spirit beads, since I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist.

Truthfully, I've studied many beaded works looking for the spirit bead. Having what you'd consider a flaw of a different colored bead or missing bead makes the work reflective of your spirit. That is because many times you don't intentionally do it & it is the guidance of a spirit or your ancestors.

Let it remain and have it result in a discussion item. Never know what others will uncover.

This is wonderful! Spirit Beads, I love this concept. I will leave the beads as they are then. Thank you both so much, lcp and Beetle, you have made me feel much better about what had been a concern for me. Now I feel that most likely my spirit guided me when I was "out" and placed the beads where they belong. Thank you!

Some pictures/images aren't viewable from my daytime office computer (certain protocols & websites are blocked). I finally logged on just to see the work... NICE!!!

Luckily it's lane stitch & if you really want to correct the orange & yellow, it shouldn't be as hard as trying to work around threads that would fill a void in loom or square/box. Lane stitch repair/correction would only affect those lanes (humps) but would need to be carefully considered in order to have enough thread to tie off each side of the portion to be retained. Let your spirit guide you...

I'm assuming the zipper stitch is similar to the edging of rosettes (fret edging)? I've done this with rosettes & used it to edge as well as join the backing onto the piece with all the threads showing by going through both pieces before coming back up through the bead & adding on the next two. This would work great to edge a bag. Some excellent pictures & instructions can be found by any search engine on the internet.

Thank you, Beetle. I will follow your advice and let my spirit guide me.

Zipper edging sounds very much like your fret edging. First a single bead is anchored on the edge, two more beads picked up and pass the needle back through the edge about on space from the first thread. Pass the needle back through the last bead. This makes one bead lie on it side and forces one bead to stand up. It seems fairly easy. I have a beading book with a diagram of it (Beading in the Native American Tradition by David Dean). I am anxious to try it. It makes a very nice edging.

That's exactly it! Makes the beads stand as such

_|_|_|_
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When I started beading many years ago, one of my teachers told me NOT to strive for perfection. There is none, other than the Creator. Every One and Every Thing is unique in some special way. Perhaps this is the basis of the "Spirit Bead."

I mentioned in another post about our give aways at the Pow-Wow and one involved a Spirit Bead. On Thursday, the Head Veteran gave all the others a small plastic frog, and explained this acronym.
F - Forever
R - Relying
O - On
G - God
When my husband showed me his FROG, I realized I had the perfect gift for the Head Veteran. A fetish necklace made many years ago and seldom worn, with red and black stones (Warrior colors) 2 small blackstone frogs and a larger red jasper one at the center. When I was making it, I wanted the frogs to be looking up, which presented an issue with the red one. Something was needed to secure the sinew and a feather dangling from a frog's rear didn't seem appropriate. I found a seed bead, the exact color of the red jasper, and it fit flush in the hole.

My husband gave the necklace with my firm instructions NOT to point out THAT particular bead. The Head Vet has a fabulous sense of humor and a prankster himself at times. He found me later that day and I told him there was something about the necklace I had to show him. I lifted up the red jasper frog and he started laughing. Yes, there is a frog turd on the necklace. When I added, "I had to put the Spirit Bead somewhere," he doubled over!

Right! It really is a pretty edging. I pulled out my pipe bag last night and started beading so I can finish up the lane stitching then get started on the zipper edging to close the bag.

My next task on the pipe bag will be the fringe on the bottom. I left 12" beneath the beading for self-fringe. I am not sure what that will look like. The fabric is a very good quality suede and I think the fringe will look okay. I will post another picture when it is completed.

That is so funny, lcp! What a place to put a spirit bead. Every time he wears the necklace he will have happy thoughts.

The fringe will look great - 12 inches worth - very nice.

I tried twisted fringe on a fob that I peyote'd. These have a pointed tip with an eye screw at the end to add onto a ring or lace (basically shaped like a bullet). After wrapping the dowel with suede, I left a good 5-6 inches beyond the end. I decided to try a twisted fringe look on it. Seemed that everyone wanted me to make them a key-ring fob with the twisted fringe.

My peyote work still finds me not satisfied when I attempt to decrease/increase. Just can't seem to get the beads to lay/space right. Here's where my spirt jumps in...

Love the FROG story.

Beetle, when you get that peyote work straightened out, I would love some tips on twisted fringe. One of the dancers had a yoke and the twisted fringe swayed exquisitely while she danced.

She allowed me a closer look, and the twists were SO tight and stable, I have no clue how to do that. With the large crowd on Saturday, there wasn't an opportunity for me to chat with the vendor who made it.

With the key fob, it was continually rolling it into the twist. Watch TV, twist - ride mass transit, twist. I would have to venture so far as to saying the quality of the leather has to be key.

I'm thinking of trying by using a new chamois (versus suede) to bead over and that should yield some very tight plyable twists.

For those that don't know: Wrapping the object to be peyote'd (gourded) with leather (I have seen felt) allows the beads to nestle in & present a smooth appearance. Supposedly, it adds to blending in the increases & decreases - Not in my case...

Do you twist the strips around anything - and how do the strips retain that shape?

I just twist the strip on itself. Grab the end & twist away. The fringe relaxes over time but a double tightening twists puts it back into shape.

Luckily there are only a dozen or so strands to work with on this keyfob project. The fringe on a shirt or dress would be a lot of work doing it this way. There has to be a trick.

The twisted fringe on the yoke I saw was not wrapped around anything. It was just too tight and stable. I've removed leather from a metal hoop and it does retain the twist, but looks more like an old phone cord.

I'm thinking the twist on this fringe may have been lightly glued, or perhaps steamed? If anyone knows the "trick" please share. I picked up a sueded deer skin coat and skirt from Goodwill a while back. It's too small for my waist, but would make a lovely yoke. I can use the skirt leather and sleeves for longer twisted fringe, and the few dark brown panels in the skirt to make appliques for the yoke.

Wow. Just did a google search for twisted fringe. Noc Bay has a detailed instruction sheet that involves twisting a long strip of leather & letting it relax upon itself creating a rope look. These are usually done to add individual laces onto fans. Twisted Fan Fringe

But it seems we are all looking toward fringe that is cut from the assembled material. Here there's some tricks...

Powwows.com has a thread that discribes getting the leather wet & a method using a clothespin & electric screwdriver Powwows.com Twisted Fringe

Another site suggested wetting the leather with 50-50 alcohol/water <rubbing alcohol - not fire water> that 'opens' the leather and allows it to stretch. Alcohol Suggestion

That is very helpful information, Beetle, thank you. I really like the instructions at the first link, Twisted Fan Fringe, because it is very detailed. This will come in handy for some of my winter projects.

Thanks so much for looking those up! With only 2 weeks until my daughter's wedding, I'm in full blown "headless chicken" mode.
I guess I'm adding another project to my Winter list.

It was a long/late drive home from SC Monday night. I was thinking about my Chief's belt and realized I need to personalize it in some way. Any ideas on how to represent "Dark Side of the Moon" in beads? He's a huge Pink Floyd fan, yeah, we're a weird bunch! That's the only Pink Floyd reference I could come up with to include in the bead pattern. I think it would fit well, but open to any other suggestions. The belt won't be big enough to include a flying pig:)

The prism with the white light split into the visible light spectrum (rainbow). Totally a classic & universal icon of Pink Floyd. << Nothing wrong or weird with Pink Floyd! In fact 35 years ago yesterday, my then girlfriend gifted me with the LP 'DSotM' and have watched 'The Wizard of Oz' synched to the album. >>

Would almost have to be appliqu�d to retain it from not looking pixelated; or use the very small micro seed beads (16/o - 20/o), but finding the colors needed could be the hindrance. I found this out searching for the 16/o greens I needed for the base color in the Meritorious Unit Citation ribbon.

I think it all depends on what the width you have to work on. Would having a larger black background to the segment detract from the other portions? The logo could easily be worked into a horizontal oval and could get by with the 6 primary/secondary colors, white & black.

Could be sneaky & silly by doing something in brick stitch & saying it is 'The Wall' In fact, brick (or any offset alignment pattern) could eliminate the grossly pixelated/stairstep effect that would occur with a straight loom or lane stitch.

Just my initial thoughts, having little to no idea what else is on the belt.

Hmmm...how to represent "Dark Side of the Moon" in beads?

Maybe an applique stitch so you can get more definitive shapes in that image. I tend to agree with what Beetle said:

"The logo could easily be worked into a horizontal oval and could get by with the 6 primary/secondary colors, white & black."

Maybe a very dark blue instead of black would work also. I kind of imagine an oval, background dark blue, a thin crescent of lighter blue, a thin crescent of yellow, then dark blue again and a smaller, very faint crescent in the opposite direction to give the illusion of a circle to complete the circle of the moon. CC )

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll be doing the beadwork on a loom and it will only be 2-3 inches in height. Some images in the design are trees, and a river. I was thinking of trying to use a crescent moon as Phyllis suggested. That fits well with the other images.

The overall background will be a light eggshell. If I make a black border around the "moon" and use a pearlized light gray for the crescent, I think it will stand out and be recognizable, but a discreet tribute to his favorite band.

I'll have to use the 11/0 I already have, so not too many rows on the loom

This sounds like it is going to be really pretty, lcp. The light eggshell background will make the image really stand out.

I am almost finished with my second bracelet. Flat peyote stitch is much easier than I thought it would be -- once I got the hang of it.

I want to get some Delica beads to make these bracelets with. Delica beads are made uniform in size and will make much nicer looking bracelets.

Here is a close up of my Peyote bracelet:



I like the three color combination.

That color combination is beautiful. How did you do the clasp?

Thanks, lcp. The beads are size 6.0, pearl iridescent. I have not finished the length yet. I will sew on a button that has the same iridescent colors then make a loop using size 11 seed beads to catch the button. I will take another picture to show here when I have the clasp on.

How are your projects coming along? And the wedding? When is the big day? I know you have been working hard on this and I am anxious to hear how it all turns out.

Thank you for asking. The wedding was this past Saturday and everything went very well. While we were unloading on Friday, we had 2 curious cows come over the watch. The hawks were out and calling to us. The staff at the farm were awesome! It drizzled rain Friday and Saturday morning, but cleared completely in time for the ceremony outside in front of the pond.

We received many compliments on the decorations and the food was outstanding. We decorated with silk fall leaves, pumpkins, pine cones and a few bronze colored mums, with tons of candles. The party barn at the farm had 6 wagon wheel chandeliers. We made Grapevine wreaths to attach underneath and had leaves on clear fishing line dangling down. That was a unique touch everyone commented on. Other than my breaking one of the toasting flutes, everything went quite well. Of course we had a back up, but I'm glad I was the one who broke it. My daughter forgave me and I've already ordered a replacement.

I didn't even take my camera out of the bag, but my cousin was the photographer. She and her husband took about 2000 pictures. I can't wait to see them.

As for beading projects, I have to get all the wedding stuff organized and put up. My work table is stacked about 2 ft tall right now, but I am itching to get started. As soon as I get back from Florida that is. We had planned to visit a few days with my MIL after the wedding, but much of it will be at the hospital visiting my Aunt who lives nearby. The day after my return, I'll be helping with the Native American Celebration, Nov 19 at Kings Bay Submarine Base. Looking forward to seeing all my Cherokee of GA friends!

My beads and leather will have to wait patiently for 2 more weeks, and yet another project has been added to my list - a ribbon shirt for my new Son in Law. He's an Eagle Scout and I need to find a pin or badge to include on it. They will be coming down for the April Pow-wow and I want to have it ready for him.

Hey Beetlemess - do you know where I can get one of those?

lcp, the wedding ceremony and reception must have been lovely. The way you describe the decorations paints a vivid picture in my mind. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I love the idea of the fishing line suspending the autumn leaves. That really created a wonderful mood I bet.

Yikes... An Eagle medal ain't easy to just come upon. Sure you might find one on ebay, but could pay a hefty price. Could always look into a patch or a lapel pin (available through the BSA Scout Shop or almost any second party dealer). Scout Shop Eagle stuff can be accessed at a local Scout HQ or on the website: Eagle Scout Stuff
Did see a key chain that could be used/modified. As well as a sterling silver pin, necklace, small lapel pin, Charm... (I just caution that tghe eagle should be silver unless/until he becomes a distinquished eagle & then it can be gold version). What's not to stop him from wearing a Eagle Kerchief in the circle? I don't see anything that would be detrimental to the honor.
As far as my military ribbon project... 4 of 12 complete & starting to work on #5 with the forest green micro's that Phyllis located - Thanks. Whereas I'm using 16/o seed beads, these are more closer to 18/o; but since I'm lane stitching & there is no variation across any horizonal lines, they should work out fine.
Did/Will have to restort to size 15/o's for a metallic gold border on #6 & those beads will go nicely into producing an applique version of Naval Aviator Wings. #2 of the Major product themes.
Did notice that as I progress on the lanes, the later efforts seem to look alot better & I could be inclined to redo the first one.
Using the antique-type micro beads really give the look of late-1800's lazy (lane) stitch with the irregular bead dimensions.

Thanks for the information. My daughter is finding out if I need silver or gold. I guess it's a bit like Navy dolphins, silver vs. gold, not something you want to goof up. I know his parents have his certificate and medal framed at their house. I'm thinking a lapel pins would work if big enough. If not, I can get a patch and try to figure out the placement on the shirt. Now I just need to find a pattern big enough for him. My new SIL is 6'4" The top of my head barely reaches his shoulder.

He grew up in TX, so I want to make a western styled shirt with a collar. Thanks again for the information!

I Can't wait to see a photo of your beaded military ribbons.

Dayum. Snapped two needles last night. That really slowed down the progress. Those beading size 15's are so brittle & any slightest bit of extra tug results in breakage. Not like the larger sized sharps that I use with 11/o & 12/o & takes on a natural curvature (like an upholstery needle).

If the beads aren't laying right, it's easier to crush a bead than to try & backtrack (hoping not to damage the Nymo... yup, did that one already)

Oh! Hope you have lots more needles. I have had to crush beads to correct errors and that always concerns me. The first time I did that, I broke the thread and had to take out three rows, tie down the loose thread end and start again.

Yuppers. Those glass beads will do a nice slice & dice on the strings, when crushed. Have to always plan ahead just in case.

I learned early on to order extra beads for a project. On my pipe bag, I remember what you said (to let Spirit guide me) and have decided to leave the beads as they are.

Can't wait to see a photo when it's completed. I think you'll end up loving those spirit beads. What some would consider a flaw, most often makes it all the more beautiful for me.

I will have to finish it up as soon as I can. I have just found out that I need to make at least 12 dolls in traditional dress by July for an interested customer. I need to make more bracelets and dream catchers, and medicine bags, too. This will be a very busy winter for me. All these items will be beaded.

So - how are the winter projects coming along? I had to set mine aside for awhile in order to decorate my tree and do some shopping. Now I can get back to finishing my bracelets and dreamcatchers so I can have them done in time for gift giving.

Almost 3/4 done with my lazy/lane stitch ribbon project. I really am not concerned with having the proper lay of the beads and it's coming out looking similar to what the craftsmanship looked like from the late 1800's - might be because most of the beads are of antique vintage due to the size (including irregular & deformities) and availability. Get to it in the evenings when I don't have other commitments - mostly Scout related, but then I just volunteered to serve on the home owners' Architectural Review Committee. This way I can influence what they will permit as I make the final plans to add on the walkways to the recently built patio and construct a second patio with a fire pit centered in a 4-spoke medicine wheel of contrasting brick (properly oriented with the winds, of course)

As I finished/submitted the above, I noticed that Phyllis approaches the 10k post mark. Congrats, you're at 9,999

Thanks for the congrats, Beetle.

That fire pit sounds like it will be awesome. What a great idea -- you are very creative. I often wonder how you find the time to do so much for others - your name in the Order of the Arrow certainly defines you properly, for you are always a willing worker.

I just got another request for one of the bracelets I make. I will have to dedicate my evenings to beading them.

YIPEE! The lane stitch project of my military ribbons is complete with appropriate attachments. Now I have to remove from the embroidery hoop I used to hold the chamois material taut and mount onto a backing board. Actually a metal plate that will use magnets to hold onto the ribbon shirt.

Congrats! Spent this morning sharing beads with my friend. She's making a necklace for a Native American wedding at sunrise in April.

I had started on a woman's choker. The beaded medallion in the center is on leather and will be bordered with braided horsehair. Instead of hairpipes, I'll be using porcupine quills. This is the first time I've beaded directly to leather, other than a little fringing. It didn't take long before I found a larger piece of leather and grabbed an embroidery hoop.

I'm hoping to make matching earrings for a set to donate to the Pow-wow auction. However, all beading is on hold until I get the fingerwoven sash completed. I'm a little bummed about that, but excited to learn something new.

I did my lane stitch project onto chamois - yes, the car detailing leather. It's soft & pliable, yet very thin & easy to find. Normally brain-tanned leather is used & the needle does not go all the way through the material. Don't even want to count how many needles I broke doing my project. The #15 needles I used with the size 16/o seed beads were very thin & brittle. They had a tendency to break with little force & at incovenient times. This wasn't made any easier by going completely through the leather & pulling the beeswax laden threads.

I'm using very thin leather scraps from cheap coats picked up over the years at thrift stores as the base of the medallion. The suede side won't show through the beadwork and the back of the medallion will be covered with a nicer leather. Sewing the beads and braid border on the scrap, I'll then attach the backing by sewing through the horsehair braid. Picked up a good bit of brain tanned leather thong in October and will using some for the ties. It is so soft and durable.

Using the 11/0 beads, I haven't had needle problems yet. My weaving/lunch break is over. It's coming along.

Oh, to work with 11/0's again will be a godsend. I swear that it seems some of the 16/0's would pass through the hole of an 11/0.

Now I will have to come up with a lot of projects us use up the leftover beads from this endeavor, but the varied colors give endless options.

Awesome! Such dedication to your project. Working with such tiny beads must not be very easy - I admire your determination, Beetle. It must be difficult to hold on to such fine needles, not to mention being able to SEE the beads.

How about some earrings for your wife to coordinate with your ribbon shirt? I bet she would like that.

Good idea but she don't do Pow Wows very well. She has never captured the emotional flows that come with the drum & circle. Now the grandaughter is a different story. Anything to do with Native Americans & grandpa has her unduivided interest.

How old is granddaughter? Bet she would love something made by grandpa with those beads. A bracelet and anklet set?

13; & she's already dug into my pony beads to make necklaces, bracelets & cat collars for Indy (on elastic thread). Her & mom have lived off & on with us over the years and currently have their apartment a mere 5 miles away - close enough for us to be able to support them, while enough distance for privacy. As a single parent doing full time government position & finished college, the added support is welcomed.

They spent some of her early years with my in-laws in CA & NV. Hearing my step-daughter (shoot - daughter is enough; was in her life the past 24 years. Met her mom when she was 9) - back to hearing daughter use the term 'grandpa' made it hard at the aerly age to differentiate between between me & father-in-law, so I was annoited at Grandpa Longhair, since I wear a post-military ponytail (occ. side braids)

I beaded very small rosettes (diameter was 15 11/0 beads across) 4-color Lakota medicine wheels with vertical fringing on the bottom to use as earrings. WINNER! (BTW: The backing leather was from the same chamois I used for the recently completed lane stitch project. In fact, another medicine wheel has already been started & had to be worked around when mounting on the embroidery hoop.)

She really wants to do bead-wrapped arrows after napping her own arrowheads to hang on her wall in a beaded quiver.

She's not any direct 'blood' of mine, but she sure has taken to my footsteps for craftwork & outdoor activities.

"Grandpa Longhair" - that is so precious. Seems like she is for sure picking up some of your talents and interests. Isn't it wonderful to help raise grandchildren?

Bead wrapped arrows would be so nice and very impressive.

I have helped to raise my grandson and he loves to watch me bead. The buffalo I beaded for him is his favorite piece. I gave it to him for his 12th birthday and he shed a tear when he opened the package. He keeps it in his bedroom and says "Buffalo follows me everywhere."

Size 11 beads are the smallest I have ever used and I love them for lane work and applique work. I am going to bead another buffalo for my brother this year. I have till August to get that done. Need to finish my bracelets first and start on a medicine bag for a friend.

Beading is one of my favorite crafts. It is very therapeutic and that is when I experience deep spiritual connections to the peoples of the past -- especially sitting here with the little mountain to gaze at when resting the eyes.

I had an appointment today with my doctor. We were chatting and he asked me if I have any hobbies. I told him about my beadwork and he asked me to bring some pieces in next time I come. He loves beadwork and is very interested in beading. Hmmm...maybe he will purchase some pieces from me. Or - maybe as in the old days I can pay him with beadwork instead of money. Hmmm?

Wouldn't that be nice???