Winter?

I'm become accustomed to spending cold snowy weekend days trapped inside my house, a nice time to do bead work, but this year there has been almost no winter (and I'm not complaining!!). My sun room project filled up a lot of time and attention; the new patio doors let in lovely afternoon sunlight and it is cozy with the yellow walls and fuzzy blanket on the futon. Unfortunately my cats have taken over the space, leaving no room for me!
I have finally begun beading and discovered I'm out of practice. Decided to start small: a medicine wheel rosette which may get used for something...I don't keep much of my own work but have been wanting a checkbook cover so maybe I'll keep this (its really not good enough to give away as a gift) and incorporate it into the cover design. I'll try to rework the design using delicas to get a tighter fit. I should also finish the baby moccasins for Debbie as her son is growing fast! Have many other small projects to do, need to get all that cleared away before I plan something big. But its really nice to be working on something and I'm hoping this little project will turn out nicely in the end!!

Sunshine!

I generally do more bead work & craft projects in the winter months since I am stuck indoors (spring is spent in the flowers and summer finds me reading on the back deck). Moving from Oklahoma to the Chicago area for work has presented many challenges including the weather...it is cold most of the year (even summer fails to get hot enough for me), too humid, and precious little light during the winter months (when its not overcast it seems the sun sets around 4pm). But on weekend mornings my living room occasionally gets nice light from the east and south and I can bead for a few hours a day. But hopefully a new project will help expand these opportunities!!

My house has a small west-facing room between the kitchen and back deck, probably a back porch that was enclosed; strangely former owners had painted the room's walls & ceiling robin's egg blue. The heavy metal sliding patio door freezes stuck on cold nights and the space between the glass panels has been compromised, keeping the glass foggy. Generally the room sees little use and functions merely as a pass thru to the deck or basement but now it is getting a make-over! I purchased a new lightweight vinyl patio door and am painting the room to welcome all the sunshine that will now pour in...ceiling is white, walls are vivid yellow and wainscoting will be a soft grey. I will also move a futon from the guest bedroom so that I (and the cats) can sit in the warm early afternoon sun! I ordered a SW geometric fleece blanket from Noc Bay (a nice bead supplier in Michigan) and a SW style horse print from Allposters...the colors will fit with the yellow & grey walls and the new insulated curtains that should reduce the night cold. I'll add a white wire plant rack and some plants...hopefully the cats won't chew them up. I can use my wireless stereo system that normally goes on the deck (it catches a signal from my MP3) and if I buy a larger flat screen TV for the living room I can set up a dvd player for even more entertainment options while I work on new projects (although I suspect the combination of futon, soft blanket and warm sunshine will induce afternoon naps). This is really the first house project I have done in many years but I think it will really be worth the time & effort, especially on cold winter days. To add to the cat's pleasure I have a bird feeder that I'll set out on the deck which will finally be visible through the patio doors!!