Purse is DONE!!!!

I had a little bit of insomnia this morning...or maybe it was just that I wanted to finish this so bad. But it is completed. I can't wait to take this to the artist reception on Sunday afternoon at the Ohio Craft Museum. This started out as a vintage wool 1940 era clutch purse. I measured it and drew out a paper towel template so I could get the right size for the wool overlay. Then I beaded it to the max. These are some of my favorite color schemes and look at how they really enhanced this piece of jade. I bought the jade Scottie many years ago from my friends Keith & Bill who owned Scotty's Gifts and Accessories at the time. It is genuine Vietnamese jade custom cut into the shape of a Scottie. At the time, I bought 6 of them. I know I have the other 5 somewhere, but I can't find them in my disorganized studio. The sequins were bought two years ago when Cynthia & I went to NYC for her birthday. I'm pretty happy with how this purse turned out.
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break

I know no one that knows me will really believe what I'm posting today, but I spent a whole day yesterday without touching any beads! I didn't even go downstairs to my studio at all. I spent Sunday and Monday sleeping. I've been so tired from last week at work. And last night was about the same. The hospital is so busy with tons of ER admits. For me that means that I'm on my feet literally for the full 8 hours with only about a 10 minute break to wolf down some food. So my feet are killing me. I'm actually thinking of going back to the podiatrist for them, but he warned me that the next time...he's cutting! I broke my left foot three times when I was young. I know...clutz! Once in high school playing basketball while I was the left guard & got hit, fell, but my foot didn't. Then in college, I injured it again playing volleyball, then about 15 years ago, I fell down the stairs after coming back from vacation where we did some climbing in Utah. So it has so many breaks that have healed wrong. I have arthritis in my ankle joint and toes and probably standing on my feet night after night is not helping. So I take some pain pills and sleep! That really helps my feet, but then.....my hands! My Doctor told me it was good that I used my hands so much because...yep! arthritis in my fingers. So they are very stiff today from a couple of days with no beading. I'm hoping to get downstairs later to do a bit of beading on that Scottie purse. I does look nice after I glued it down. I'm pretty sure it will be in time for the Artist Reception Sunday afternoon.

Well, got to go do a little stretching all over so I can make it up & down those stairs. I'm praying people are little healthier tonight so I can at least sit down a little at work.
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Scottie purse...almost.....

DONE! I finished the beaded overlay this morning. I would have gotten it done yesterday, but I had a Guild meeting to go to in the morning and was afraid that if I took a nap before going, I'd never be able to wake up. So all in all, I was awake Friday from 2pm to Saturday 1pm...23 hours. OMG, I haven't done this since I was in college! I survived, but the dogs would not let me sleep when I got home yesterday as Chris was out of town at an auction in Medina. I did manage 3 hours with two dogs laying on top of me before finally I got up to let them out, and then I couldn't go back to sleep but my eyes were too itchy with allergies to bead more. So I watched old episodes of 6 Feet Under. When Chris got home (early for him) we watched a movie from NetFlix. I swear, but it I wasn't so brain tired, I would have clicked off the television. We were watching 2012. Idiotic movie that tried to be too many things all at once and not succeeding at any. Oh well...slept all night with my Arwen and as you can see my BFAC went well. Gertrude's New Hat got a winning bid of $325 dollars! I would love to know who bought her. Funny, but last year I was on the teeter totter about sending her off to be auctioned. I'm glad I did.



So here is the picture of the Scottie overlay for the vintage woolen purse. All I need to do is to glue in on and then sew it down and do a pretty edging. Now, this is not a tiny purse. It is a woolen clutch purse. I'll have to measure it all when I'm done. I hope to finish it up so I can take it with me to the Artist Reception next week. I want people to look at my bag in my hand & not the bags under my eyes as I have to work Saturday night.

Well, tornado siren only went off once...I think it was scheduled to go off. We have had some heavy rains (yeah for my new tree) and some pretty hefty thunder. The Worthington junior soccer team was having matches in the field behind our house. Two big thunder boomers sent everyone off screaming...and no, I was napping & didn't hear it at all.

Tomorrow I'm getting Hal out as I really have to do some sewing. I'm ready to start my 2011 BFAC, sew a doll for the Doll Gatherer's Gala next month up at Punderson Resort, and mend some pants that have been sitting on the chair for a month.

HOly COW!

I see that Gertrude's new hat is up to $242 this morning with 4 hours to go before the eBay auction is up. I'm so tickled that she is going to a new home where someone really wants her bad. And I'm delighted that my charity is going to be that much more enriched with all the money coming in from the Beading for a Cure auctions.

please check out Gertrude's new hat & bid !
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National Laboratory Week

I know some of you have no idea what I do for a living or in other words...to buy the kibble! I am a Medical Technologist. I know. Many people have no idea what in the word this is. Or people in the medical field have no idea what this is, so it has been given a new name. We are now called Clinical Laboratory Scientist. That doesn't make sense either, does it? Basically what I do is work in a hospital laboratory performing all testing including things like checking potassium levels,doing CBC count to see if a person is anemic, has an infection, or has cancer. We check cholesterol, liver enzymes, monitor cardiac testing, do urinalysis testing, check for Strep throat, clotting problems, influenza, iron studies, thyroid studies, and never forget a very active Blood Bank. I do gram stains to help the Doctor know what type of infection a person has. I also check blood for Malaria. I do about everything you can imagine except Microbiology. If you think a laboratory is something like NCIS...WRONG! Also, we have different levels of staff working. I'm a Technologist (excuse me a Scientist, hard to change after 27 years) which is a Bachelor's degree. We also have Technicians which is an Associate Degree. We also have lab assistants, and don't forget the Pathologist who are MD specializing in laboratory medicine. So, I do many things along checking results, troubleshooting instruments and maintaining them, answer the phones for about every question you can imagine. I also train new staff. It is a very demanding job but since we are all in the laboratory, we are never seen by the public and most of the time are the forgotten professional. But we are vital. Without our service being performed the Doctor's couldn't diagnose problems. We are the invisible team of every person's experience in the hospital, the Emergency Room, the clinic, and the Doctor's office. This is OUR week.




Oh and like every place else, we like to laugh. And, this is my personal exposure. This is me after I dumped a container of stain all over the wall, the floor, and myself. I was waving my hands saying "I didn't do it!" but I was caught in the act, and my coworker was pointing at me to prove that yes, it was me that was the klutz. I still have the shoes with the stain, but the walls are painted.

Oh time to go to work. Enjoy the week & remember all laboratory workers this week.
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Beading for a Cure 2010

It is that time of the year again. My group over on Delphi Forums have done this for 6 years. It is called Beading for a Cure: Layne's Legacy. One of our online friends died from colon cancer , and in her memory we started this charily. We each purchase a kit which has been made up by bead store owners. We can make anything with the only rule that you Must use at least one of each bead in the kit and can add only one bead type. For this year's auctions, I made "Gertrude's New Hat". She is a fully beaded hippo that started out as a Dreampets stuffed toy and on her way to the trash heap. I "rescued" her and encrusted her with tons of beads. There also are some other lovely items for auction this week.

Please think about adding a treasure to your home and helping a great charity.

Beading for a Cure

Tree!

We finally bought a tree today for the front yard. It was hard to decide what kinds, how much to spend, and how big. We got a Autumn Sunset Maple which is three years old. We could not put it in the Element, so it is going to be delivered. Now, to dig the hole. Luckily, they ground up the trunk/roots of the Ash, so the digging so far is pretty easy, but WHERE do we put all that dirt??? We decided to put it around the lilac bushes which are in bloom and smell delicious. This is absolutely one of the most beautiful Spring days ever. The lilacs are blooming, the magnolia tree still has some left over blooms, the crab apple tree is a riot of pinks, and the apple tree is starting to explode with white blossoms. The birds have been visiting the yard & "doing the dance". I sat out back & watched the Starlings flirt, and dance with each other on the big Maple tree. It was lovely.



I want to share what I've been working on recently. I bought a vintage wool bag (1940s era) and decided to make a beaded overlay using a piece of jade I bought years ago. LOL! They jade is in the shape of a Scottie! I've been working with some of my favorite colors and I do love the combination. Now, I need to finish the other side, then do tons of surface embellishment before I can actually sew in on the bag. I want to get it all done before I head off to Kentucky in June for the Tambour Beading class. I'll be taking this with me tomorrow to the hospital. My sister needs to have her ankle worked on again. Last year she broke her ankle and had to have two pins put in it. After a year of physical therapy, she learned she needs to get the heel broke & reset. So, tomorrow I'll be the one sitting in the waiting room. Keep your fingers crossed for her that they don't keep her.