Show time already?

Who knew!... it is a beyond lovely experience to be invited to teach six different classes and to then have them all fill up too.
I'm heading out for four days at the Great British Beadshow, where I'll be teaching the masterclass and two more workshops. Then a little mid May lull to regroup and get my boxes shipped ahead, before setting off to Milwaukee for my first ever Bead and Button show.
It's no secret that I love teaching, and I'm getting the anticipatory tingles of having some designs I'm really looking forward to sharing with everyone.
The build up has been an epic of bead ordering, kit packing, colour deciding, do-overs and re-works. Lost packages and held up parcels, plus plenty of track stopping moments like that 'have my heart set on it' 2.5mm crystal? sorry, now out of production! Or, 'We have 900 in that colour pearl and you say you need 1500?, would a different colour for the rest do?'... Finally the compromises and colourways came together and it's been lovely to sit and work with each one in turn, just to triple check as I go.

'Acantha' left to right:
Rust/Scarlet; Lime/Teal: Silver/ Pink: Turquoise/ Violet

I have some truly lovely friends who, when I hit the wall, come along with pack lunches awesome chocolate brownies and rolled up sleeves, and just get stuck in, while I peel myself off the wall and back to having a sense of humour. Big hugs and a huge thank you to Dawn and Sally.

Acantha, showcases SilverSilk and Czech spike beads. As part of the Symbols and Trinkets series, Acantha is a 'Dowsing for Happiness' amulet. The colourways are listed beneath the photo so class attendees can have a good look and choose favourites ahead of time.

'Indiaman' left to right:
Silver/ Fern: Indigo/Teal:
Bronze/Violet: Plum/Astral Pink

'Indiaman' is a two day class for B&B. Named after the trading ships of the East India Companies, crossing oceans to bring so many jewelled treasures to our shores. This design is full of 'colour on colour' scrunchy texture, and features Albion stitch in lots of variations.

Ambrosina, is a medley of netting techniques and will be taught for the Guild and later this year at Beader's Best in Hamburg too. It has starting points in a design I made for a friend, and it's been a joyous journey to revise, explore and create a completely new design from that first idea.In this class, students will have many design options to play with.

'Ambrosina' left to right:
Lime/Coconut: Raspberry/Plum;
Mint/Turquoise: Earth/Ivory

Looking at the boxes all packed and ready to go, the samples up on the display boards and the crisp piles of class notes, it feels nice to have come out the other side of total mayhem.
Now I'm looking forward to days and days of beady fun.

Beadworkers Guild party time

May means the Beadworkers Guild get together... on alternate years a festival of beading over four days... then in between an event like this weekend, a saturday Bead-in a sunday of shopping and many many hours of chatting and inspiration. I decided to treat myself to a day of beading before setting up my stall for the sunday bazaar. This year the inspiration was the work of  Mr Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his lovely Margaret MacDonald.
Now I'm a weeny bit ambivalent about latching on to an artist or art movement and 'being inspired' specially if it's someone who's work I already admire or a genre that I enjoy. But spending a day in the company of beaders being inspired, has warmed me to the concept.

Carefully thought out display boards for inspiration

First, the Guild had organised some colourful inspiration board, then invited a speaker from a little known architectural gem by Macintosh called 78 Derngate in Northampton. The talk was a fascinating insight into this less well known Mackintosh interior design.

My nearly finished idea

Next, the committee members and volunteers had prepared pieces, some with charts to follow for the less experienced beaders, others to kick start our creative ideas. I was supposed to be among these volunteers... but time ran away with me and all I could present on the day was a nearly finished piece...

Maureen Lord gets clever with iconic motifs

I found the variety of ideas and techniques very inspiring, yes even the simple re-interpretation of roses and grids looked really lovely, like glass mosaics, and among the most worked design on the day by members who didn't feel quite ready to begin to design  in public.

Around the room there were lots of boxes of crayons and sketchbooks being put to good service.
I think my favourite submission was this clever crystal creation by my friend Tracy Clegg, I usually instantly love and covet her work, this piece was so watery and pale and utterly divine!

Tracy's divinely watery rose pendant

So, with all that inspiration to see, you want to know what I did, sigh! I spent a great part of the day not beading, but chatting.
I began a bezel with thoughts of a grid like thing, but the bead count would only divide into three, then I made a boo and what should have been a crisp triangle got rounded shoulders... but do you know what? it was a grand day out just the same!

My experiment which might
be a design one day!

The rest of the weekend wizzed by in a blur of catching up with so many friends, many of whom I only get to see at Guild events. Then a whole day of meeting beaders and selling my kits, books and designs on Sunday. It's always such a lovely experience, fascinating to find out what people want to be beading and yes, rummaging in their goody bags... I have no shame and will delve into any promising looking shopping bags as they go by. I did a little shop myself and will show and share my stash when it is unpacked. For now I'd just like to raise three cheers for the Beadworkers Guild, another brilliant event.

Oh! and did I mention the challenge? every year the Guild has a challenge, all members can enter. This year the beadwork on display was so good! I just wish more folk would enter... and as I didn't myself this year I can only promise to try and do better next year... I'm loving the title so it should be fun to enter... which looks like another watch this space moment.

Meanwhile, if you are in need of a lovely beady packed quarterly magazine, access to a website full of beady info and maybe in need of some beady chums in your neighbourhood... sign on and become a Guild member, they are a fab bunch of people.