Back from - was it a holiday?

Hard to believe.  We've been back almost 3 weeks and this is the first chance I've had to sit down and write.  We've been working like crazy; even through our vacation.  The trunk show in High River went very well and I'm very grateful to my in-laws for giving me that opportunity.  My children were great assistants in the show as well.

It also never fails that while we were away, the garden ran amok.  I had to cut the cucumber vine off the cable wire and garden hose wheel.

Needless to say, I haven't had time for knitting, jewelry making, or much of anything else.  I hope it won't be too long a hiatus before I post again.

Mitered Square Purse

During the past week and a half, I was inundated with engineering work, which was great! Unfortunately, my art had to fall to the sidelines and I didn't make anything new. I got back today to posting past knitting projects on Ravelry, some of which I will be taking to the trunk show next week.  I made this purse many years ago from my stash. Using the same yarns, I created a twisted cord to use as a drawstring for the purse and another one to be used as a shoulder strap.  One month, the knitting guild I was part of at the time had a night on beading embellishments for your knitting, so I added a beaded fringe to the purse that night.  I was very pleased with the results.

I will be posting more of these older projects in the near future.

This Week's Jewelry

Here are a few things I've been working on this past week for the trunk show in High River at Chinook Fabrics.

New Trunk Show Designs

Here are some pictures of my latest trunk show designs.  More coming in the near future.

In the Garden

We were having dinner in the backyard when one of these beautiful butterflies landed on my lilac bush. In the 14 years we've been in this house, I've never seen these here. Yet today, 2 were in my front yard when I was bringing my daughter home and now one on this bush. It was very cooperative and let me get nice and close to get many pictures, a few of which are posted here. I think it's a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail from the markings, even though they are not really seen in Ontario. The hubby thinks it's a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail, but I think the markings are too different. We can both agree it's a beautiful butterfly. In other news, our clematis plants have started blooming!

Latest Jewelry Creations

I just finished a 3 hour Open House at Michaels to promote my jewelry making classes.  It went pretty well.  I brought some of my latest creations to show off.  I will also be bringing these items to display at Chinook Fabrics in High River, Alberta on July 16th as well as giving a knitting session (topic to be determined).

Knitted wire and bead bracelets:  top - tiger eye, middle - fluorite, bottom - amethyst

Pharaoh Watch Pendant and Necklace

Here is my latest creation.  My husband gave me this gorgeous Pharaoh watch pendant on a necklace many years before the kids were born.  As years went on, the plating on the chain came off and I reacted to the nickel content in the chain.  For a couple of years now, I kept meaning to make a new necklace for it.  I gradually gathered beads I liked and decided to go 3 tiers on this one.  I’m very pleased with the results.