Flat Spiral

Having made four netted pearls sets for Nurse M, I was not looking forward to beginning the fifth. I needed to do something with a different stitch before starting the next netted pearl set.

Thanks to the generosity of Sistren Pearl, a tutorial on her blog, Beading Gem's Journal, helped me to learn the flat spiral stitch. I didn't have enough bicone beads to complete a bracelet, so I used 3mm and 6mm faux pearls with opaque black seed beads. The toggle is a peyote tube embellished with faux pearls.
We can now colour the Sav project done! We went back on Wednesday so I could complete the staff training. The owner flew in from America, but didn't participate in the training session. Since she brought a manager's cheque for the full balance due, I'm happy!

We did go back to MarBlue for our date last Sunday. He had the grilled snapper and I chose the grilled mahi mahi. We both had organic salads and steamed vegetables. Good thing there wasn't anything chocolate on the menu, or I would have succumbed to the temptation. Again, a delightful evening with my husband and a delicious meal in a beautiful setting. Thank you, Jah, for allowing us to full-joy the bounty of your magnificent creation.

Where Things Stand

The Sav project could be wrapped up in just one more visit. I'm waiting for authorization from the American-based owner, because I need to make sure I will get a cheque for the outstanding balance before I leave. I have another client in Sav who needs some minor customization work done and I'll be able to take care of both in one trip.

The physical therapist is on vacation for the month of April, so I am doing the exercises at home. When she left I was still relying heavily on the wheelchair and just learning to hobble about unsteadily with crutches. Now, I am getting pretty good at getting around on the crutches. Only something that takes a long time, like grocery shopping, still requires the wheelchair. I am working on rebuilding my stamina.

I still have one more set of netted faux pearls to complete for Nurse M. This will be the fifth set she has ordered. I probably won't post a picture, because the only difference in this last set will be the colour of the cross bead in the netting. The main colour will be an opaque black seed bead and the cross bead will be a silver-lined crystal seed bead. I am glad she is a repeat, satisfied customer, but I wish she was interested in something other than netted pearls.

On a happier note, I am glad to let you know I have driven to Mandeville twice this week. My husband went with me both times to ensure all went well. He has gotten even more protective since my fall. I thank Jah for a husband who looks out for my safety.

He looks out for my romantic needs as well. He has asked me on date for Sunday evening. I hope we go back to MarBlue! This time I am ordering the roasted snapper and steamed veggies. Dating my husband is good for my heart.

Famous Blogger

The Open Toed Shoe Pledge

A lovely young Jamaican sistren that lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA sent this to me via e-mail. I just wonder if I should take it as a compliment that she sees me as still eligible for membership in the Cute Girl Sisterhood or if she's telling me something in the kindest way she knows how.


As a member of the Cute Girl Sisterhood, I pledge to follow the Rules when wearing sandals and other open-toe shoes:

I promise to always wear sandals that fit. My toes will not hang over and touch the ground, nor will my heels spill over the backs. And the sides and tops of my feet will not pudge out between the straps.

I will go polish-free or vow to keep the polish fresh, intact and chip-free. I will not cheat and just touch up my big toe.

I will sand down any mounds of skin before they turn hard and yellow.

I will buff and moisturize my skin so my feet and soles are soft and silky.

I will shave the hairs off my big toe.

I won't wear pantyhose even if my misinformed girlfriend, coworker, mother, or sister tells me the toe seam really will stay under my toes if I tuck it there.

If a strap breaks, I won't duct-tape, pin, glue or tuck it back into place hoping it will stay put. I will get my shoe fixed or toss it.

I will not live in corn denial; rather I will lean on my good friend Dr. Scholl's if my feet need him.

I will resist the urge to buy jelly shoes. This is out of concern for my safety, and the safety of others. No one can walk properly when standing in a pool of sweat and I would hate to take someone down with me as I fall and break my ankle.

I will take my toe ring off toward the end of the day if my toes swell and begin to look like Vienna sausages.

I will be brutally honest with my girlfriend/sister/coworker when she asks me if her feet are too ugly to wear sandals. Someone has to tell her that her toes are as long as my fingers and no sandal makes creepy feet look good.

I will promise if I wear flip flops that I will ensure that they actually flip and flop, making the correct noise while walking and I will swear NOT to slide or drag my feet while wearing them.

I will promise to go to my local nail salon at least once per season and have a real pedicure (they are worth EVERY penny).

I will promise to throw away any white/off-white sandals that show signs of wear... nothing is tackier than dirty white sandals.

Don't keep this is to yourself - pass it on to other sisters.

If mi see unnu sport a look like dis yah fool-fool gal, mi gwine 'tep pon allah unno toes dem wit mi bruk-up foot! (If I see you looking like this, I will step on your toes with my broken foot!)

Treasure Chest Jewels

The name for this set came from the tubes of "bead soup" used to make it. The ingredients of the bead soup mix included size 6-15 seed beads, E beads and bugle beads. If you click on the image to open it in another window, you will be able to see the colours better.

Eight N'debele beaded beads and one right angle weave-covered wooden bead make up the necklace. The nine beaded beads are on a gold toned neckwire I bought at Michael's in Dadeland Station the last time I was in Florida. I am waiting for a client for this set before adding the earring wires. The bracelet is done in N'debele stitch with brick stitch end tabs.

The focal bead on the necklace is a match to the beaded bead used as a toggle on the bracelet. I took a wooden bead as the base, coloured it with a permanent marker, glazed it with a golden polish, and then with seed beads and bugle beads created a right angle weave cage around it.

I've had to resort to scanned images because the digital camera has stopped speaking to me once again! If we resume a dialogue, I'll try to post better pictures.

Only When

Netted Pearls in Bronze

This is the third set of netted pearls I have done for Nurse M, the wife of the surgeon who worked on my ankle. The original set was done in a netting of gold seed beads with bronze accent beads. The second set was netted in opaque black seed beeds.

The bangle bracelet, pendant and earrings in this faux pearl set were netted in silver-lined bronze seed beads with clear gold seed bead accents. The earwires are 14ktgp.

He Is Not Here!

Client Designed

This is the first time I have had a client completely design a set, then commission me to make it. She chose the AB noir seed beads and the glass pendant. Having seen many of the beading stitches I use, she selected right angle weave for the cross on the front of the pendant and the center of the band around it.

She chose the length of the peyote stitch chain. I did recommend the creation of the peyote tube bail, since it allows the pendant to move more freely on the chain. The toggle clasp is done in the peyote stitch, also.
The earrings are on 14ktgp earwires.

Mi Soon Come!

There probably won't be any new posts until I finish a project in Sav. (Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland) I start this week installing a point of sale/inventory management system for a retail electronics store. Once the installation and system setup is finished, staff training starts. Hopefully the project will be finished in two weeks.


It is about a two and a half hour drive from home to Sav. If you right click the image and open it in a new window you can see the route. We live about 15 minutes from Junction (in the lower right corner of the map). Follow the orange line from Junction, thru Top Hill, Southfield, Pedro Cross, Newell, Watchwell, Williamsfield, Pondside, Fullerswood, Black River, Hodges, Crawford, Scott's Cove, Whitehouse, Culloden, Auchindown, Belmont, Bluefields, Ferris Cross, Dunbar's Corner and finally into Sav.

Normally, I would go alone, do the work and return home. No problem! Now, my husband has to drive me there, wait while I do the work and then drive me home. Not fun for him! I will be so glad when I can drive again. I have been driving around in the back yard, but am not sure I can manage the challenging Jamaican road conditions alone just yet. Especially since I am still on crutches! Thank you, Jah, for a husband who will help me when I need his help.

Until I return, please pray for our safety as we travel back and forth between home and Sav over the next few weeks. Nuh vex tru mi nuh get unnu comments posted quik-quik. Mi soon come! (Don't be upset if I am tardy getting your comments posted. I will soon be back!)

Pearls Netted In Black

This is a set commissioned by Nurse M, the surgeon's wife. It is faux pearls netted in opaque black seed beads. The jump ring and earwires are 14ktgf.

Her original set was done in gold with bronze accent points. She liked it enough to order a set done in black and another to be done in bronze.

Earth Hour 2009 - March 28th

This is a light map that shows how much light is being beamed into space from earth. It is scary to see Jamaica burning so brightly. What a shame that we waste electricity. It hurts our environment and reduces the quality of life we are bequeathing to our children and grandchildren.

Tonight we have a chance to make a difference.Please, I am asking each of you to turn off your lights tonight between 8:30pm and 9:30pm in a show of unity with others who love and want to protect our Mother Earth.

Southwest Sparkle

The colour combination of turquoise and orange evokes images of the American Southwest. It makes me think of the turquoise and silver jewelry made by Native American Navajo tribal artisans.


This bracelet was stitched with the N'debele stitch using silver-lined clear, turquoise and orange seed beads. One side of the N'debele tube is an embellishment of the turquoise and orange seed beads. The toggle is ladder and netting stitches covering two clear acrylic buttons. The closure loop is peyote stitched with a row of orange beads blanket stitched along the edge for added stength.

Our First Date

Those of you who have been with me on the recovery road know that I have been celebrating a series of firsts.

Sunday we went on our first date. (No, the evening at Taino Cove was an outing for Mom, not a date!) After so many years together it is important to me that he still court me, woo me, date me, and romance me. OK, call it feminine ego if you must, but it is important to me!

We went to MarBlue in Calabash Bay, Treasure Beach for drinks and dinner.



Now to appreciate what a gift this was to me, you would have to understand my husband's reluctance to try new places to eat. You would think a man who owned a restaurant for so many years would be more adventurous in his dining, but he latches on to a place and we go there over and over and over again. To me, no matter how great the place, if you go too often, it looses it's appeal.

Well, it seems our favorite haunts are not wheelchair/walker accessable. So, this was my chance. I called MarBlue and spoke with Andrea, who with her husband, Axel own and operate the award-winning boutique resort.

After being assured that access would not be a problem, I made dinner reservations. I enjoy eating good food, but am by no means a foodie. All I can tell you is that I understand the many awards they have won! Delicious food, attentive service (without being smothering or cloying), romantic ambiance, soothing ocean view and gracious hosts make MarBlue a wonderful place for a first date with a man you have loved for 29 years!

Thanks, Andrea and Axel, for a lovely evening and a delicious meal. Nuff RAS-pect to Weston, also.

Thank you, Jah, for the gift of a husband who knows what is important to me!

Seven Stitches

Like many beaded pieces, I started this with one direction in mind and ended up following the beading muse to a totally different and unintended destination.

A one-, two- and three-drop peyote seed bead and bugle bead bracelet was what I started. Fifteen or so rows into it, I realized that since I was using bugle beads, which are notorious for cutting threads, I should have doubled the thread. Instead of undoing it, I rolled it into a tube and it became the bail around the one tortoise shell ring that was left after this piece was finished.

The tube alone lacked something, so I kept beading. One thing led to another and it became a pendant using ladder, brick, and flat N’debele stitches. I wanted the chain to be made of the same beads, but I didn’t want it to be boring. The center piece of the chain is tubular N’debele that transitions to a spiral rope stitch. The transition point is covered with tubes of one- and two-drop peyote.

A magnetic clasp is hidden in a tube of ladder-stitched bugle beads with N’debele spears on each side.

Are You Smarter Than Your Right Foot?

This was sent to me by a beloved uncle who lives in America.

It originated from the office of an orthopaedic surgeon.

This is a mind-boggler. You will keep trying again and again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but, you can't. It's hard-wired in your brain!


1. Without anyone watching you (they will think you are GOOFY......) and while sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand.



Your foot will change direction. There's nothing you can do about it!

You and I both know how useless it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you haven't already done so.

Small Victories

Since breaking my ankle in November, I have had to swallow my pride along with my independence and rely on others to do things for me that I used to do for myself. It has been humbling in the extreme.

I have grimaced, winced, sung and prayed my way thru my therapy sessions to regain my range of motion, endurance, strength and balance. I need to get back up on my feet again!

I am giving thanks for small victories.

This has been a week of “firsts” for me. First unassisted shower. First time I could make up the bed in the morning. First time I could wash my own clothes. First time I could brew a pot of coffee for our morning coffee time.

Granted, each endeavor left me weak, sweaty, and trembling. But I am doing what I couldn’t do last week.

Thank you, Jah, for the gift of healing you are giving me each day.

My First Beaded Piece

This is the first beaded piece I ever completed. It is a peyote stitch amulet bag done in silver-lined clear and gold size 6 beads with size 10 gold seed bead embellishments. The King Tut charm is a gold-toned metal. The pyramid is off-centered, because I hadn't yet learned the importance of using odd-count peyote to center a design.


In this piece I can see all the mistakes a self-taught, new beader would make. When I place it by a newly beaded piece, I can also see my growth as a beader, if only in mastering certain stitches.

When I first started beading, I didn't finish anything. I would begin a project, brimming with enthusiasm! Then reality, tangled threads, lack of experience, frustration, and life would intrude. I would cut the piece up, pull out fragments of Nymo or Silamide from the beads, rebag the beads, awaiting my next foray into beading frustration. Remember, back then we didn't have a loving, supportive internet beading community I could turn to for help.

I am so thankful that I didn't let the rough start turn me away from beading. It has been such a blessing to me over these past few years.

Bumpy Knobby

Opaque black and silver-lined clear seed beads in sizes 6-10 were used to make this bracelet. The toggle clasp is an embellished beaded bead with a seed bead loop.

Links of Loops

I bought these tortoise shell rings in a fabric store in Mandeville several years ago. When I bought them, I was attracted to the colour, but had no idea what I would do with them. I would take them out and look at them every so often waiting for inspiration to strike.
I used gold and silver-lined bronze seed beads to make right angle weave loops to link the rings together. One of the rings became the loop for the peyote toggle clasp.

The shot below lets you see the opening of the links a little better.

Inspired By Sistren Bev

I was inspired by Sistren Bev Carlson of Bev’s Jewelry to learn kumihimo, the art of braiding multiple cords to create a stronger, more decorative cording.

The kumihimo tutorials I googled were videos. Since I connect to the internet via a web-enabled cell phone that provides a blazing dial up connection speed of 28.8 kbps, it takes 6-7 hours to download a 4 minute video. Sistren Bev understood my plight and e-mailed a link to a kumihimo diagram tutorial.

I made a disk from cardboard for my trial attempts. I used new shoe laces for the cording material. The resulting cord is thick and I will use it as a luggage ID tie. For my next kumihimo project I bought embroidery thread, which will result in a narrower cord.

Thank you, Sistren Bev, for the link, for the inspiration and for the encouragement!