How Sad!!

was wondering whether I should take the vacuum to it. You just told me I should. You're the first one to tell me that too. Don't want to get all the neighbors scared (it'll be outside, as my torch is).

Thank you! Maren HiloBeads: Beads - Beading Supplies - Hand-made Jewelry

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In message , Kathy King writes

Thanks very much Kathy. Hugs Shirley

As you use your kiln, you will get some stuff accumulating in the bottom, like bead release that may fall off mandrels, etc. I keep a miniature dustpan and brush and sweep it out occasionally - you can vacuum too - I just never have the vacuum in that room. I'm leary of doing anything around my glass that kicks up dust, in case I pick up glass particulate and put it in the air to be breathed. I seldom use enamels, for instance, but I prefer gentle sweeping to vacuuming. If you are set up outside - then no worries.

Many kiln manufacturers recommend painting a layer of kiln wash in the bottom of the kiln, in case you have a meltdown one day - like the kiln controller fails and melts all your beads into a big blob on the floor of the kiln. I personally have never gotten around to it and it's not really high on my list of things to accomplish. Alternately - you can put a kiln shelf in the bottom. Again - I just don't bother.

It must be nice to be able to set up outside. Totally takes care of the ventilation! Here, for the 3 days of the year when we have nice weather - I'm not at the torch! I also need to work in a fairly darkish room so I can read the heat in the bead.

I probably will put some kiln wash.

I have a problem with too much light, not being able to see the flame is part of the problem - and then you get eaten alive by mosquitoes here. But, the ventilation is taken care of. I only have one solid wall, the other 3 are open.

Aloha, Maren HiloBeads: Beads - Beading Supplies - Hand-made Jewelry

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[...]

took a while, but finally clicked ...

I sure can elate to that!

I started to get at my beads last March or April. You know, time to use it or lose it.

Actually, I got a whole pile of necklaces done. About 60 or 70 done! Some are wonderful, but some are just done so that my supplies get used. Most don't have near as much silver as I've used in the past. Of course, I also figure that I can get more silver and restring them later too.

But when I say "done", I mean they are strung. Most of them don't have clasps, and only a few have descriptions and prices. And that doesn't include the next step of actually selling them either!

But since mid April I've been battling gov't and insurance agencies for Pete's disability. :-( Damn, if you're disabled it's impossible to jump through all the hoops to get benefits or medical care.

Tina

What a hard decision!

Those pain decisions often have no good solution. I wish the docs would give Pete stronger meds, but on the other hand getting rid of the pain leaves very little self-awareness sometimes. Whatever you decide, Shirley, my prayers are with you.

Tina

at time it is in England, but

Effort to stop? Then don't . Tell us more. Can you show us some of your lampwork?

Where is Beadfx, geographically? OK, I checked. Scarborough. We really do need LBSs (Local Bead Stores), even though we can get most of our needs met on line for cheaper. If we don't patronize them we won't have them when we need them.

What kind of dogs do you have? Ours is a 17 year old Queensland Heeler. What a crazy, bite-y dog!

Tina

I treasure my Shirley spoon.

Tina

I agree. I much prefer using a newsgroup of like-minded people insted of facebook, blogs and all he other places to go.

Tina

Hey Dwyn, I found some of your beads.

And what are these mood change beads? I've never heard of them before. I think they're cool but wouldn't want them to have such a wide range of changes. Tina

Aloha, Maren HiloBeads: Beads - Beading Supplies - Hand-made Jewelry

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These beads are current - and are nice quality - nice and shiny and the colour change is very dramatic. Because of the science involved - I don't believe there are any that have more controlled colour changes.

For just two-colour changes - there are the colour shift glasses - but they don't respond to body temperature - just different types of light

- usually sunlight vs indoor light.

I'm a big fan of the science behind the bead!

Yeah, I remember the mood rings. They never had very good colors. And these beads look nice, but I like having more control of the colours in a composition than a range from purple through to orange! What colour shift beads are there besides the "alexandrite"? I'd love something in the blue green range but have never seen that.

I didn't know about the propane tank level indicators. And you say they use that technology for wind-chill? Fairbanks, and especially my place, has very little wind, so I've never really paid much attention to that. But you get that nasty wind off Lake Superior in Scarborough, don't you.

Tina

Did I say wind-chill? Oops - WINE-temperature. What a difference one measly letter makes! LOL

In glass - Alexandrite - blue to mauve. Effetre calls it Lavendar, I think. Two shades - the darker one is really nice - beautiful for encasing - as it doesn't scum. Gorgeous glass.

There is also a pink / green shift in the bullseye glass - Called Rhubarb.

Swarovski beads have the Alexandrite blue pink shift. and they have a colour called Cantalope that is a green pink shift that also looks greyish in some lights.

CiM glass has Larkspur and Count Von Count is pink / blue. And Crocus is a pink green shift.

And I recently ran across some commercial beads shaped like coffee beans that are brown in some lights - like chocolate - and red in others - like cinnamon hearts. So if the glass is available for commercial beads - it should be available somewhere for flameworking. ;-)

Aha, You did say wine not wind. My bad.

I do have some beads made by Nicole Weltch of Black Cat Beads (moved from Sacramento, CA to somewhere near Pheonix, AZ a few years ago) in that glass that shifts from pink to green. The green is nice, but the pink is not very pink. Both are pastel. They're fun.

Tina

It does make designing jewelry with them a challenge. Trying to make sure the colours work in all lights! That's why I was so pleasantly surprised that the mood beads worked with one of the lampwork beads - it had just enough of the right colours to work with all the colours!!!