…Doesn’t mean you should.

An ex of mine used to say this. In particular, he said it one early summer that we spent making brandies out of every single type of fruit we could get our hands on. He wanted to get them done in time for an SCA event. I’m sure they thought we were some sorts of alcoholics at the grocery store when we checked out with every jug of vodka that wasn’t glued down. Cherry makes a great brandy, but has a short shelf life. It tastes unfinished for about 6 weeks and then is good for about one week and then just tastes like cough syrup. Canteloup brandy sounds like it should be good idea, and is a lovely color, but I’m telling you, just don’t do it. And because I’m already digressing, ginger beer has a tendency to blow up when the Pennsic kitchen tent gets warm in the afternoons and shoots little pieces of glass 10 feet.

But, back to the beads, which is what I pretty much talk about all the time these days except for when I’m talking about puppies.

I had this great idea.

I thought to myself, “Well, self… You are living in Taos, and making a whole lot of beaded bracelet patterns. You should do something based off of Georgia O’Keeffe.” And since I like flowers and I like irises, I decided to make it so.
I picked her black iris painting, reprinted here in purples.

This picture has been taken off of this site, where they sell a very nice poster of her work: http://www.art.com.

Georgia O’Keeffe’s work is known for its sensuality and suggestive nature. She became a major figure in American Painting in the 1920s and her work revolutionized abstract painting and tonal design. In the late 1920s, she traveled to New Mexico, where she later settled. There is a fabulous museum in Santa Fe showcasing her work, which Barb and I visited in September.

I drafted out the design, purchased the beads in December, and started work. About halfway through the bracelet, I realized that this thing is completely unwearable. Its unsellable as a pattern, although if you really want to make it, email me and we’ll work something out. And I’d already put too much time into it to take it apart – as usual, I have a problem with cutting beadwork apart. So, here it is and I might just still put it on Etsy, a finished bracelet for your amusement and hours I’ll never get back. If you want either it, or the pattern for it, its super cheap for the time I put into it, but what my friend Jo calls “accidental body part” jewelry isn’t really my thing. Feel free to submit it to Regretsy; it’ll probably make it there anyhow if I put it up for sale. And don’t wear it to work, because its seriously “NSFW.” And no, I’m not going to go ahead and attach the photo directly to this blog. If you want to see it, then I’m warning you, so you can’t go getting offended… You’ll have clicked on it yourself.
http://www.goodrivergalleries.com//Add%20to%20Website/Jewelry/P1010005.jpg
Okay, still want the pattern?
You asked for it, you got it. Its $5.00, but doesn’t include anything besides the word chart and graph.

And next time I think I’ve had a great idea, remind me to think about this. For those of you who ask me about how I can possibly design my more complex pieces, here’s my disaster piece. Feel free to laugh at it – it won’t get a complex and neither will I.

Meanwhile, though, there are some peyote stitch bracelet patterns which are safe for work though not nearly as funny on my Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/HannahRachel?section_id=5354942