Bridal Jewelry

I joined Etsy recently, (you would think I would have done this ages ago!) and the Etsy Knitters Group is organizing a "knitted wedding" album. Both my "Chain, Chain, Chain" necklace and "Chips and Stones" bracelet in quartz crystal and pearls would be perfect. I just donated the finished items shown in these pictures to the fundraising auction at the school where I work, and they sold for an overbid price. I have kits available to make more, but I'll have to get busy making another set. Now that June is upon us, I think the finished items may sell better than the kits.

I have to admit, I prefer to sell my kits over the finished jewelry because I always want to create something new and different and don't want to make the same thing twice. However, this bracelet is so pretty, I don't mind doing it again and again.

Journey into the Past

I had a wonderful rendezvous the other day with my college roommates. The three of us haven't been together in at least 25 years. (Oops I guess I just gave a clue to how old I am.) Linda and I have kept in touch, but neither of us knew where Bonnie was after she moved, married, divorced, and moved again. Thanks to Facebook, we have found each other again. While Linda lives across the country, Bonnie is still here in the Midwest, just 20 miles from me. We had a loooooooooong lunch (from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.!) catching up with each other and just enjoying each other's company.
This is my second reconnection to the past within the last year (I saw my college beau in March last year) and it somehow makes me feel connected and affirmed. I keep singing the Brownie song in my head, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."

Camp Minikani Encore

It's Camp Minikani time again! This year I taught the gemstone flower pin craft that we did for Mother's Day last year. Since Moms or Dads are at camp with the students we couldn't exactly call it a Mother's day surprise, which took a bit of the excitement out of the project for some students. The girls loved the project because they wanted to claim the pins for themselves, but most of the boys weren't convinced to make a pin for Mom when she was right there helping them with the pin. Oh, well. They seemed to have fun, and no one found it too difficult. I wish I had some pictures of some of the finished products--some of them could have been sold on Etsy or Ebay. Here you can see me in the process of making a pin and leading the group through the steps. They worked hard and almost everyone finished in the short time we had to complete our projects. I'm proud.