My own personal Bead/Quilt shop run, July 2012

Redlands Sewing Center, State Street

First, a stop at an all time favorite shop in Redlands, my friend Tami just got her new Viking serger here! Showed the gals in the shop my newest pattern,'It's too Darn Hot' and talked about how great it would be for a quick sewing class!

A Rolling Stone on Citrus Avenue

And just around the corner, a fabulous bead and button store with tons of hidden gems everywhere you look!  They have a new way to buy an interesting collection of great stones too, multiples of beads on a single strand.

The Painted Lady Quilt Shop on Tennesse Ave.

A darling shop getting a well deserved facelift under creative new ownership. Lots of hard to find Civil War goods plus some of the newest and latest colorful textiles by the likes of Riley Blake and others. I found something here to add to my Halloween collection!

The Garden of Beadin' in Upland, CA

Just one of the most innovative Bead shops in the Inland Empire, whenever we are close, I want to stop. Since I had a specific project on the board I wanted to stay on target and just add components for that piece...ya, right! I did find more great items from Tierra Cast and some large holed beads to fit on the ndebele bracelet I am creating. More on that later...

Upland Sew & Vac, Second Street, Upland, CA

And literally right down the street, another really great sewing machine center, this one with lots and lots of cute fabric and a mini long arm quilting machine I've had my eyes on for a long time. They a very good clients and liked the new pattern I had shown them...Your store of choice for Bernina sewing machines!

Brea Bead Works, just west of 57 Fwy on Imperial Hwy.

And a trip down the freeway won't be complete without a stop at BBW...newly remodeled and chock full of fantastic beads. Here I found  pink dichroic rings from Paula Radke, they might find themselves hanging on a necklace...must be soon, I need something pink to wear!

Beadology, on Golden West in Huntington Beach

The main reason for this trip, a class with famed Judy Walker, for a multistrand Ndebele bracelet. It seems unlikely I know, but to take a class with a well known teacher at a fraction of the cost at a convention, such as Bead&Button, is hard to pass up! Plus, I know any class will enhance what one might know and will advance your skill level exponentially.

Many thanks to my Dear Hubby, John, the driving force (literally, ha!) behind my creativity and progression down this career path. This little road trip was his idea and I'm glad he was willing to go the distance. It was a great trip topped off with nice lunch in Old Downtown Fullerton, then a little stroll through some vintage stores and an art gallery or two. 

Transitions Bracelet

A fun collection of several types of black beads, including 3.4 drops, each stitched for about an inch and then changed into a different stitch. A good form of practice for tackling multi stitch projects. My first idea was to stitch a 7" swatch of each stitch and then wear it as a wrap bracelet. Well, of course, sanity got the better of me and in order to finish this up quickly, a revised shorter version was made. The influence for this bracelet is one of the newest Lark Master Beader Series, Maggie Meisters Classical Elegance. Several pieces in this book require more than just one stitch and often a knowledge of transitioning from one stitch into another is required. Thought this piece would make a great learning project. It includes; peyote, brick stitch, two drop peyote, ndebele, right angle weave and square stitch.

Transitions, a bracelet study of stitches

So, the wonderful new Master Series book by Maggie Meister has spurned an idea of sorts. A sampler of stitches and therefore the transitional flow needed to move from one stitch to another was created. I think this is a great way to prepare for what you need to learn in order to work from the book...of course, this is assuming that you already know how to use most of these stitches in several of their forms. The book utilizes movement from right angle weave to peyote to ndebele and then back again, so here is my study using those stitches. The first idea I had was to create a long wrapped beaded bracelet...each wrap a different bead and stitch...then I realized that would take too long and not be productive for a class setting...so you get the short version! I will still create the longer wrap as I think it's going to be a very cool looking bracelet!

I've created this in black, using beads with different surface finishes, even the little 3.4mm drops. It will also be great using multiples of color, or a study of other Monochromatic colorways or even dare I say it GOLD!!! Just be careful, always use a permanent or Duracoat finish when using a metal color. We at Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations in Palm Desert are lucky, almost all our colors are switched over to a "permanent" finish.