Friday's Gem

I totally forgot to post this on Friday! Here goes :)

It feels like it has been way too long since I've done one of these. This week's gem is:

Amazonite

This beautiful stone has appeared and reappeared on my table for weeks now. Maybe it is the soothing aqua color, or perhaps it is my closer proximity to the ocean. Whatever the case may be, this little seafoamed colored wonder is in heavy rotation right now. Amazonite is a feldspar. It is found in many places around the world. It is light green or light blue green in color. It usually appears slightly mottled, and has some white striations. The stone is said to be a hope stone. It is also said to enhance the throat chakra's vibration and to encourage creativity.

Spirals

I absolutely love energy spirals. I was thrilled to get 10 spiral focal beads in my bead order last week. I have really enjoyed playing with colors and shapes as I've made spiral earrings.

I've got 4 more of these fantastic little spirals to work with. I can't wait to see what comes up.

I'm still waiting on Nauruan sandal beads. Unfortunately, my dear landlady's husband has a case of gout. I'm hoping that he will have a speedy recovery. Until then, I'll be longingly staring at my little beaded sandal.

What they do with beads in Nauru

My landlady is an absolute joy to be around. She is funny, thoughtful, and incredibly caring. Recently my friend L and I took her to get her ears pierced. I promised her that I would make a pair of fabulous earrings as soon as she graduated from her starter set. Last night I took her those earrings, and she oooed and aaahed and then handed them back to me.

She won't be able to take her starter set out until Saturday, and she was afraid that if she kept the earrings she would be tempted to try to wear them. What a compliment! As us ladies where doing jewelry talk, her husband came over and eyed a bracelet that I was wearing. He told me that his mother had beads. I thought this was an odd thing to say, but I asked him if his mom did bead work. He told me that she did, but that she was dead now, and he wanted to give all her beads to me. I was floored. I also immediately accepted his offer. It turns out that his dear mom was a fabulous beader. My landlady brought over a purse and a sandal (!) that she made. The beads that she used are round plastic beads from Nauru, which is a small island in Melanesia. I can't wait to get these little things on my beading table! And I'm going to be ambitious. Bead sandals, here I come!

A Flurry

These past few weeks have been a flurry of bead activity. In just a matter of days I have begun a color study, ordered new and fabulous beads, made loads of earrings, discovered how to bead a sandal Marshallese-Nauruan style, and taken on a bead apprentice. I will be sharing pictures and insights with you over the next coming days. I hope that in the meantime we will all get the chance to happily bead away :)