So right before Christmas 2007, I found Linda Richmond’s online beading site and posted a number of kits I would love to own and complete. My parents were cool enough to purchase two kits for Christmas (Autumn Lariat and Sweat Pea) and then because I completed them so quickly they purchased another 4 for my birthday in January. I finally completed the last kit and my sister was nice enough to model them for me. Check them out, they’re absolutely amazing, yeah?

The fist necklace I made was the autumn lariat. This is where Linda hooked me on her kits. The instructions were amazing. She actually details each type of stitch so completing the project is a snap. I finished this necklace in a day and a half.

Next I made the sweat pea necklace. I think this is the most creative necklace as the accent piece of this necklace is actually two sweat pea flowers complete with leaves and green tendrils dangling from the stem. Amazing! This was more difficult to make because of the small beads required to do the increases in the sweat peas but completely worth it.

Ah this was one of my favorite necklaces. At first I wasn’t completely sold on the colors of the beaded beads but as soon as I strung the glossy turquoise and purple beads I was in love. I had to cut and restring a number of the beads because I kept screwing up but I wanted this to be perfect and it was worth the extra effort. =)

I really liked this necklace too.  The toggles were a bit of a pain.  I kept popping beads and had to completely redo the toggles like 3 times but finally got through it.  This necklace is simple but stunning.  I love it!

Next up is a necklace that although very beautiful was a bit monotonous to make. This necklace consists of several bead ropes that are joined together to make a very a attractive chain. This is probably the most popular with the people I have shown these pieces to.

Last but not least was the aurora necklace. I ended up cutting out and re-doing one half of each of the 3D wheels so that I could get the right tension. The hardest part about this necklace were the toggles. I nearly popped a bead and broke two size 12 needles attempting to double back to sew through the completed toggle. In the future I think I will leave the toggle flat until the chain is sewn on so I have less tension when I have to retrace my steps.

So if these pieces have piqued your interest, check out http://www.lindarichmond.com for all of the kits. Believe me, these are the best beaded necklace kits you will ever find. I can’t wait to order my next kits. =)

From Beads East:

• Really cool copper bead crochet bag – $44
  
• Even cooler paisley pouch (bead crochet) – $36
  
• Smaller bag, cute and would be fun to make, pineapple motif - $38

From Linda Richmond:

• Art Deco Necklace (this one is awesome in the orange and blues…. very cool ARTDECO2) – $68
• Aurora necklace (this one in slate, blue, olive and rose…didn’t really care for this at first but it’s actually kind of neat…looks like fun to make) – $86
• Friendship beaded necklace (number II the orange and blue one…funky and cool) – $52
• Rope necklace (a kind of cool necklace in aqua and celery) – $87

• Received for Christmas and made them over the break. They’re amazing! Thank you Meemers and Dad!
  • Autumn lariat (spring comes in a close second) – $69
  • Sweet pea necklace (made in blue, the purple and rose are exquisite too) – $96

From Mill Hill Beads:

• Beaded daisy pin cushion (vintage rose also very nice) – $10

From Cynthia Rutledge:

• I found this in a Beads and Button magazine and thought it was absolutely amazing. Beaded flowers and the detail on the clasp is exquisite. I think I like Kit-3 the most. – $95
• This one is also very cool. It looks like a Cloverdale fuschia when made in salmon and white (Kit-3). – $95
• Finally, there is this cute flower bracelet. I think I like the white daisy on black (Kit-4) best and second Kit-3 which is rose and ecru. – $45

From Just Let Me Bead:

• Freakin expensive for the fact that it’s so small but really cool, a spherical beaded gem – $45

From Unique Beaded Jewelry:

• Some really neat 3D kits including a cockatiel and hummingbird – $28/each
• Beaded candle glass, pretty neat (black butterflies or shelton lily) – $19.95
• Beaded glass vase (stained glass) – $23.95
• Beaded bottle (black hummingbird)- $27.95

From Geometric Beading:

• Geometric beads – Cubactahedron ($24.95) and Octahedral ($29.95)

From Amazon.com:

• Little Bead Boxes: 12 Miniature Containers Built with Beads (really awesome 3D boxes made entirely of seed beads)
• Bead Knitted Bags: 10 Projects for Beaders and Knitters (similar to some of the bags I’ve made before but they look a little bigger)
  

Ok, well that was fun to look through things I can’t afford. At least I have everything cataloged now so if I ever do have some extra cash I don’t have to look back through my magazines to find the links again. =)

Time for bed. Goodnight…..

Well, I finally (took a week) finished Marshall’s double-knit hat and it came out pretty good. After finishing that I went ahead and made the VW hat for me. Amazingly enough that only took a couple of hours (man are my fingers tired)… Time flies when you’re watching a marathon of Family Guy.

So, now with both hats completed, it’s time for some serious modeling and by serious modeling I mean Marshall and me acting like goof balls and kickin’ it gangsta style.

And some other pictures which are kind of fun…

So, now that I’ve got those two projects out of the way, I guess it’s time to move onto something new. Hmm, I do have a plastic canvas project I have to finish but it’s sooo boring… Oh sorry, feel asleep just thinking about it. =P Maybe I’ll try something else. Ok, well I’ll post more when I’ve finished another project. Bye for now! =)

So today, rather than worry about work stuff that I currently have little control over, I decided to work on knitting a hat for Marshall.  Why you ask?  Well as it turns out, Marshall is really sensitive to cold and wind and since I really want him to continue to go on dog walks with me at night, I figured I’d make him a hat to keep his ears warm.  =)

Here is a link to the hat I’m making him.  It’s pretty cool.

Only bad thing about making this hat is that it will take twice as long to make because it is double-sided meaning that you knit up two hats at once.  It will be nice and warm though and already it looks pretty awesome.  I’m doing it in black and grey and will post a picture of it when I’m done.

After I make Marshall a hat, I’m planning on making a hat for myself that has the VW emblem on it.  How cool is that?  Here is a link to that pattern.

Well, if I want to finish the hat, I guess I better get back to it.  I’ll write more later.  Bye for now.  =)