Beads/to go with a new outfit

I never thought bead selecting could be as tactile a sport as fondling fabrics, but this past weekend proved otherwise. A friend invited me to a bead show/sale in Williamsburg, so we drove north, into a beautiful, crisp fall morning. Got there, and drove in circles for a short time, before we found the motel where the sale was being held. Those maps you can print off of the net leave a _LOT_ to be desired. Give me an atlas any day. Good thing K has the instincts of a homing pigeon. They had four or five rooms full of vendors, and endless tables and displays: polished stones, shimmering faceted glass and crystal beads, tables full of gleaming silver. Silver from Bali, Thailand, and India, jade from Bali, stones dredged from rivers all over the world, coral culled from ocean beds, then shaped into ornaments of beauty. Everything felt delightful to the fingertips: the knobs on cast silver beads, the tiny imperfections of natural stone, the many edges on faceted chips of glass, the rounded perfection of desirable blood red coral beads. Did you know that they can--and do--dye stones? Pearls and coral come in man-made hues, too.The stones were refreshingly cold to the touch; I could imagine a necklace of cool smooth stones, worn on a hot summer day. The lighting in the rooms wasn't very good, and the tables were too low for the type of displays, so I did a lot of removing my glasses, and bending over the tables, practically lying down on them. Eyeglasses are such an irritant. Beaders seem to all wear glasses, so there were a lot of us almost prone on the tables. You don't want to wear low-cut shirts to these shows, and I don't want to think about the view from behind. After a bit, I went into an altered state of reality. You know, the kind where your eyes become slightly unfocused, and the world becomes a mystical, shimmery sort of place. It verged on an out-of-body thing. I don't do well when I am over-stimulated. I go from wanting one of everything, to feeling slightly nauseated by the sheer excess. I can go into a fabric store and buy yards of some delightful fabric, not 100% certain, but still able to visualize what the end use might be. I discovered that I don't want to do that with beads. There will be no bead stash. I did find strands of freshwater pearls for $3.00 a strand, so I bought six strands, and wish I had gotten more, as they will make terrific presents. I bought two silver dragonflies from a vendor who, although higher priced than another silver vendor, was helpful, cheerful, and a delight to deal with. Silver sells by the gram weight, and one can spend a lot very quickly. Three small articulated fish, their little scaly bodies as pliable as the real thing, hooked me into taking them home. These will all go on necklaces, for gifting. A long tunic and slim pants are in the sewing plan for me, and I found two large pendant-style pieces of carved jade in co-ordinating hues. I haven't decided if they will be attached to the tunics, or if I will put them on a heavy silk cord and wear them as necklaces. They would make a wonderful closure at a garment neckline. My friend burned through her cash, broke out the charge card, and was last seen, hissing through her teeth at all of the goodies she had to leave behind. She, I might add, is a dedicated beader. Cea < wishing I could go back for more strands of freshwater pearls>

Reply to
sewingbythecea
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Oh Cea, you write in such a loving way about those beads...

I have been a bead fetishist for a loooong time, and I do have a stash, though not a huge one. I got the bug back in college - ahem - a few years ago, at places like Ells and Farrar, and The Beadshop in Covent Garden. I wish I had some of those beads now. Mostly now I just use seed beads for sewing, rather than lampwork stuff.

To add to your sufferings, let me point you in these directions:

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Enjoy your new finds. They sound wonderful.

:) Trish

Reply to
Trishty

Slobber, slobber; drool, drool. Oh, pardon my palpitations, Cea!

Sounds like a natural high to me! Glad you shared it with us; one does love a good vicarious thrill. LOL

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

Reply to
SewStorm

Cea --

Are you by any chance a writer by profession? Your bead entry was evocative enough to be a valuable entry in any periodical. A magazine would be lucky to have a contributor with the ability to capture that level of description and mood. Nicely done!

Reply to
Judy

Judy: you too.

--Karen M. former editor

Reply to
Karen M.

Re: Beads/to go with a new outfit < From: snipped-for-privacy@dweephor.com (Judy)

Reply to
sewingbythecea

Cea,

How did your friend find out about this bead sale?

I live in Hampton, and regularly find myself driving in circles around Williamsburg, but I didn't spot this sale. Perhaps that's a good thing for the bank balance :-)

It sounds like you had a great time!

Mel

Reply to
Melanie O'Byrne

Re: Beads/to go with a new outfit (Melanie=A0O'Byrne)

Reply to
sewingbythecea

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