Seasons Blog Hop!

Yay for Pine Ridge Treasures' Seasons Blog Hop.  It's arrived!

For this blog hop, Lisa Lodge from Pine Ridge Treasures sent me a beautiful ceramic pendant (in, I might add, frightening as heck colours) made by Melinda Orr Designs, and some lovely blue accent beads and copper findings to match.  Ok, so NOT colors I would normally work with together (like ever).  Turqouise blue and orange.  What am I going to do with that??!?

Bottom is what I added from my stash, top is what I received from Lisa Lodge.

 Of the few blog hops I have participated in, including BSBP7, this I think was the scariest for me.  These colors did it.  Wow, I contemplated for months!  And, then to have to match it to a season of the year, or a season in my life.  Uh oh.

So, here is what I came up with (and forgive me, this piece is not entirely finished - I'll explain later).  These colors only remind me of one thing.  Sailing.  Which brings me to the seasons, summer of course!  However, the sailing reminds me of two things:  my daughters, who are both sailors (sea cadets, go figure), and my parent's place on Manitoulin Island (many yachts and sailboats to watch!).  My youngest daughter is leaving today for Kingston, Ontario to go sailing for 3 weeks.  Wow, this is such an adjustment for me; she's only 13.  My oldest daughter (16) and I are leaving for my parent's house on Monday.  Twelve hour drive, but she is 16 and now has a driver's license so she can help drive :).  It will be a great trip, provided I can keep myself from worrying about my younger daughter the whole time.

This is what I started with...yuk

 I ripped this piece apart 3 times.  I started with bead embroidery, and tried to keep the stripey flow of the piece in the embroidery, but absolutely despised it.  Can honestly say that's never happened to me before.  So, I started again...and again...Finally I came up with an idea I liked.  I wanted it to be something a sailor might wear on her night ashore, but would also convey the trust, skills, and luck involved when on the water.

almost finished...lol

 I started out with the turqouise soutache, added the cream, and some beads, and then remembered I had this small scale fabric rope.  I wanted to add the element of luck to the piece, so I had my older daughter make a good luck sailor's knot to sew on the bottom.  Love this idea, but here is where we come to the unfinished part.  Younger daughter leaving today, had to pack her up for 3 weeks (including sailing gear), older daughter and I are leaving for two weeks on Monday, must have us packed and ready to leave for 6am Monday morning.  Finished work for the summer on Thursday at 2pm, van has been in the shop for a week, finally got that home yesterday, and hubby works out of town.  I really wanted to have the rope part of the necklace finished and the good luck knot sewn on, but alas...LIFE has caught up with me this week.  So much to do, so little time.

That being said, it can still be considered a finished piece as is...it's just a pendant instead of the full necklace.  Although, I would like to finish it and write another blog post to show it off as a finished piece, for my own satisfaction :)

Thank you for visiting my blog, and I hope you enjoy the whole list of blogs participating in the Seasons Blog Hop:

Your awesome Hostess: Lisa Lodge, Grateful Artist
 
Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Cassi Paslick, Beads: Rolling Downhill

Stephanie Sanner Haussler, PixyBug Designs

Leah Mifflin Tees, My Beady Little Eyes    ***you are here!***

Karin Slaton, BackStory Beads

Audrey Belanger, Dreams of an Absolution

Lori Jean Poppe, Lorillijean Creative Corner

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life

Alicia Marinache,  All the Pretty Things

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Toltec Jewels, Toltec Jewels for Jewel School Friends

Lennis Carrier, Windbent

Erin Kenny, Beadifultherapy

Tanya Goodwin, A Work in Progress

Cilla Watkins, Tell Your Girlfriends

Renetha Williams Stanziano, Lamplight Crafts

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Sierra Barrett, Giraffe Can Has

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Shirley Jones Moore, Beads and Bread

Dawn Horner, Northern Adornments

Charlene Bausinger Jacka, Clay Space

Tara Plote, The Newbie Beader's Blog

Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks

Miranda Ackerley, Daze and Days