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A humble offering to Japan's refief

My humble offering to Japan:

I get immuned and numb when I see the same pictures over and over on the T.V screen.

On quiet moments if I zoom out, and try to think that it is just not two dimensional, what happened to those people is real, I shiver. So many people have lost their homes, lost their loved ones, so many children can't find their parents or food...

It could happen to us too. Can I fathom that?

Japan is such a beautiful place. I have been there several times on my way to India. Yet, all those sky scrappers, modern equipments and highways look like a child's toys, as if a child is playing with his lego set, in contrast to the vast ocean when you see it from high above - when you take a bird's eye view.

We human being are so small, so insignificant against nature's vast force!

I have high regards for that nation. They are so disciplined, hard working, spiritual people. They are resilient and will recover, but right now what are they going through.

As I watch out, I see our cherry tree in full bloom through the window. I think of Japan. I was first introduced to flowering cherry trees in Japan. Being a young girl from tropical India I had never seen a cherry tree before that. And I planted a wish that some day may we have a cherry tree in our home.

My wish was granted. The tree is full of rosy whisper soft bloom today.

My eyes well up as I work on my beading project. My knitted wire work gets blurry. I wipe off. I put the last crimp to secure and decide to offer this humble creation with my prayers to the Japan relief fund.

Agony of artist's life

I had been reading about Renoir and  how he painted.  It is interesting to note that even artists like him had to go through such misery concerning money..  The story opens , Renoir with a broken limb trying to manage painting. He broke his arm trying to paint part of a house and fell down from the ladder

In his dreams he visualizes known people, common people as his models.  He murmurs to himself never to waste time doing things that you do not love to do.

He wants to sketch normal life, happy stories of his time in history...but the agony is, he has to compromise to things that pays him more.  He hated to take  salon commissions and paint aristocrat families all  seated on velvet sofas but that is where the money was coming from.

Do you feel like that some times?   Do you hate the marketing and selling aspect?

I do when I have to make the same pieces over and over.  I try to stay away from that.  And since I am not that famous and no one is really bugging me to do the same pieces, I do have the luxury to not do what I hate.

Actually at this phase I kind of like when people asks me to do custom order.  A friend of mine asked me to make some thing for a girl born in October.  She bought a  turquoise in copper  book marker I made earlier.

So I made two book markers this time.  One with tiny  pink tourmaline beads and the other one with rose quartz chips both knitted in silver heart.

Rose Quartz in silver heart

 Now Pink Tourmaline tiny beads in knitted heart

Both are October birth stones depending on the Zodiac signs -  Libra or Scorpio
Which one do you think she'd like?  Which one do you like better?

Knitting with beads and wire

Knitting with beads and wire is my new passion now.  I used to knit a lot when my girls were little, then I picked up beading.  Now I find that I am inclined to knitting with beads and wire.

Knitting with wire is quite different from knitting with yarn.  Wire knitting can tense your fingers.  Now it is getting better each time.  The wire loops will not be the same as working with yarn.  Then again knitting with wire has its own good things.  It is much forgiving in terms of shape.

My very first book was Knitting with Beads  which I got as a Christmas gift in 2009 from my daughter .I did not see too many books in this area.  So this time from the library I brought some craft books ( March is National Craft Month, I came to learn) and one of them really caught my eye.  It is Element of Style by





I think I'll try quite a few designs from here.  I came to know that there is a yarn named Habu which is just what I was looking for.  I knew it exited but I was not sure what to ask when I go to the knitting store.

Now I am a person who cannot really follow a recipe or direction all the way.  If I am not really judged or tested, once I understand the basic I deviate.  So this is what I tried from her book

and this is what I came up with.

Did you see any books on bead knitting?  Will you please let me know?