Come see me! I will not be on the main street of this show - they are opening a new area on the field next to the Mt. Vernon Recreation Center which is where I will be. Hope you can make it!

To everyone to whom I owe an e-mail, below is why I have fallen off of the face of the earth for the past couple of weeks:


A pair of fine silver earrings textured with a ginko leaf. Dichroic glass embedded in the earrings.


A pair of fine silver dangly earrings with green garnet cabochons embedded in them.


A pair of dichroic glass and fine silver earrings with citrine.

My Aunt Janice contacted me a couple of weeks ago to say she was looking for a fun pair of summer earrings. I normally shy away from making earrings - they are so small that they are a little hard to design. BUT, the earring mojo is now with me...I am addicted!

One more pair is on the workbench...I should have pictures by next weekend.

This necklace was featured on Jewelry of the Day. Thanks Eric!



You can find this necklace at my Etsy store.

A whistle pendant complete with chain:



And here are two pendants waiting for final finishing:



Glass beads are both by Glenn. The pendant on the left has a bit of tinted concrete in the center of the silver - glazed over with clear enamel. I'm sorry the picture is so overexposed - the bead on the left is so dark that it is hard to bring out the colors in the picture. The pendant on the right (*sigh*) I put the hanging loop on it the wrong way so it will not hang properly as is...I'm unsure how I am going to handle it right now but...I'll figure out something.

For my knitting friends, many of you know I've been bitten (very hard and deeply) by the sock bug. I now present the series of socks I have been working on since last October:





Froot Loop on Knitty - this was my first pair of socks ever! Yarn is by Yarn Pirate.





Sweet Pea on Knitty - this was my second pair of socks. The yarn I used was a little heavy for the pattern - I would like to re-knit these someday in a lighter weight yarn.



Queen of Beads from Rockin' Sock Club 2009 - my third pair - these were quite challenging as they have BEADS on them. I love how they came out and the RSK yarn is a special kind of squooshy you have to feel to believe. (Sorry, no close up - it came out too blurry.)





Rogue Roses from Rockin' Sock Club 2009 - my latest pair - these were more challenging than the last pair. I love this club, however, because it is like a master's class in sock knitting - I learn so much with each new pattern. I am still working on the second sock for this pair.

I have big jewelry making plans for this weekend so stay tuned...

Here are some whistles I've made over the past month. The directions were by Donna Penoyer in the latest issue of Art Jewelry. For some reason, this has struck a cord with me. Maybe because they are functional? They are really LOUD whistles.




The one in the center is made of bronze and has not been polished. I sort of like the matte patina.

I am hoping that by the end of the weekend I will have some finished necklaces to share with you.

Also, completely not jewelry related...the new Rockin Sock Club yarn should arrive today! I can't wait to see the colorway - I'll be sure to post when it arrives!

My friends and I have long loved Leslie Hall's Gem Sweater video (thanks to my brother Jeff for turning me on to it). I see she has a new one out...about being CRAFT-TASTIC! Tune in and get yer groove on!

Over the weekend my friend Sandy and I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I had never gone to this before, so it was all new to me! After sitting through a twenty minute back up just to enter the fairgrounds, we braved the rainy weather and went yarn shopping!

I must say that the sheer number of people really threw me. I took this picture:



...the crowd was a little on the thin side because I could move my arms to take the picture. Sandy kept telling me to use my elbows...she wasn't kidding! It was almost a blood sport to get through some of the booths.

I scored the following:



Reflections at Roclans Out of the Dyepot yarn - the skein doesn't have a color name on it. It is 100% superwash merino and SO SOFT. It's like carrying a little kitten...seriously!



Zohar's Socks in Iris Swirl (from Ellyn Cooper's Yarn Sonnets). Incredibly soft (65% merino/35% bamboo), I fell in love with this color the second I saw it.



Zohar's Socks in Black Olive (from Ellyn Cooper's Yarn Sonnets). (Another 65% merino/35% bamboo blend) I am totally going to use this for one of Cookie A's patterns. It reminds me of an old OPI nailpolish color I used to love - Black Magic Mountain. A deep plum so dark it is almost black. Luscious!!

I fell in love with a cashmere beaded scarf kit but restrained myself. I sort of regretted it the next day...but, given the difficulty I am having finishing ONE Rogue Roses sock (including snapping a knitting needle in half....don't ask....), I think I have plenty on my plate for now.

After buying our yarn, we went through one of the barns of sheep...or goats...or...well, little furry animals.



I loved the horns on this guy - plus he looked sooooo tired. He was probably just wishing he could be back home in the field chewing grass.




These guys cracked us up - they were all fighting over who got to stand/sit in the chair. Look at the guy under the chair. These kids were for sale - I joked at how funny it would be to go home with one of these in tow - like, surprise! We have a new pet!



I love this sweet little face. So cute - he was watching Sandy who was trying to get them to pay attention to the camera and not the hay.

Overall it was a way fun day and I'm soooo glad I went. Of course, when I got home, I had my own little cuties waiting:




"Hey, I have a sweet little face too!"