30/06/2010 by Peter Sewell.

I have listed ‘Eva’, ‘Maryshka’, ‘Katya’, and ‘Anastasia’ as OOAKs on Etsy. I won’t be making commisions of these, once they are bought that’s it! You’ve got the only one!

Other designs will be getting removed from Etsy, Zibbet, and Artfire, because I’ve made the decision to concentrate on ‘one of a kind’ designs rather than take commission work.

I did an exercise online the other day by entering the terms ’seedbeading’ and ‘beadweaving’ - hardly anything for the UK! We are a million years behind the US, France, Eastern Europe, and even Australia at this discipline of the Arts, I recently had an e mail from a lady who runs a bead shop and had seen my work saying that if I was ever in the area would I get in touch to arrange some beadweaving workshops - the location?…………..Cape Town South Africa!!

I appreciate that good bead stringing and jewellery making is an art, but we all know that there are thousands of self proclaimed ‘jewellery designers’ out there who are, let’s be honest, rubbish. This in itself is no problem, the problem arises when they are told by all around them that they are really talented and must sell at the next craft fair stall that becomes available. Nobody has the nerve to tell them how bad this stuff is, and echoes of ‘why doesn’t my jewellery sell?’ resound on every forum in the land!

Which brings me back to beadweaving. It’s difficult - sometimes bloody difficult, sometimes impossible, but always challenging. It has to be learned, either through trial and error - see above re rubbish - or at the hands of a good tutor. It isn’t an overnight craft, and has no shortcuts, but the results to the author of the finished work are stunning, think running ten miles - awful at the time, but you feel good at the end!  I’m hoping to begin teaching again next year, the legs have had me out of action for a couple of years, and I would love to believe there are people out there who want to learn a craft to achieve personal satisfaction, rather than have something to sell on at the end of the class. I’ll know whether I’m right this time next year!

I need a picture of me climbing down from a high horse don’t I?

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28/06/2010 by Peter Sewell.

There are far too many people who quote this and don’t understand where it came from, or what it actually means. From the book…………

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to.

There. All cleared up now.

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24/06/2010 by Peter Sewell.

Well, where do I start? Father, it’s been a few weeks since my last confession…………………………? Nope - not going there. I have had mixed feelings about ‘culling’ my list of Facebook friends, on the one hand I hope I’ve eliminated the chance of me having another uncalled for attack by a so called ‘friend’, but on the other hand I have a feeling I’ve deleted a few people I shouldn’t have. I discovered I had deleted Betty Stephan - she’s in my blogroll - and if I have deleted her then who else has been kicked off by mistake? As I said previously, if you have been deleted and want back - tell me please!

The knee is still causing problems, main one is that the other one (which was replaced 6 years ago) is coming out in sympathy due to overwork. I think I’ll let them sort it out between themselves, I’ve had enough of it.

Not a lot of beading done lately, Nina managed to get me in ‘dressmaking mode’. I have done a bit of pattern design and cutting, so I know my way around a sewing machine, and the serger is totally my domain! Think we’ve managed to alter 6 or 7 skirts - lined - and a few pairs of trousers/ jeans…………………..and I still can’t be bothered to sew a button on my shorts.

Loving the weather, I have tanned cellulitis now - how cool is that? I also have a ‘chimp leg’ - the hairs have grown back exponentially on my right leg. I’m waiting a couple of months before I donate it to a wig maker, you never know.

Looking back on this I realise I have gone past the stage where you hit the ‘oh god I’m rambling’ button, although I know there’s something I meant to say and haven’t……………………oh well, time to go.

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15/06/2010 by Peter Sewell.

So, I’ve ‘inherited’ darling sister Lesley’s handbag camera. Panasonic FX37 if you’re interested. The thing is, when I used to regard taking photographs as a serious hobby, years ago, I always wanted a Nikon F5 SLR - this compact ‘handbag camera’ does as much as the Nikon used to! I am in great danger of becoming a photographic nerd again, and I only wanted a camera with which I could take close up shots for instruction sheets - here’s a few bits of playtime………………………

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13/06/2010 by Peter Sewell.

I’ve had a serious ’spring clean’ on Facebook - I have cut my friends list down to just over 100 from just over 600, deleted my ‘fan page’, closed the ‘group’, and generally streamlined the whole thing. If I have deleted you and it was a mistake, then please put a request in again, and if you are still there and wish I’d deleted you feel free to kick me off! Happy days…………..

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11/06/2010 by Peter Sewell.

The latest addition to Nina’s wardrobe! The original plan was to make something akin to the ‘Nina’ necklace with lots of russian leaves attached to a heart bail, but it looked so simple and functional after just adding one leaf that I left it where it was. Sometimes a design, or a painting, can be ruined by not knowing when to stop - I think this will do.

I can also officially announce that my ‘Sonya’ necklace will be featured in the Oct/Nov issue of ‘Beadwork’ magazine! Looking forward to seeing what she looks like in print!

Here’s ‘Kim’………………………

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