Beadweaving Classes at Off the Beading Path !

Recently, I decided to leave the Artists' Undertaking Gallery in Occoquan, VA, where I had been a member for the past four years. I plan to focus on putting more of my beadwork and other fiber artwork in the Potomac Craftsmen Fiber Gallery in the Torpedo Factory Art Center. Just as I was planning to leave Occoquan, a new bead store called Off the Beading Path opened and the owner contacted me about teaching there. I am happy to retain my Occoquan connections as it is a delightful little town with some wonderful people and stores to visit. So, here are my upcoming classes !


Saturday, August 23rd from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm: Spiral Rope Bracelet and Earrings Set

Sunday, September 7th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm: Glass Gem Ring

Saturday, September 20th from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm: Three Earring Designs with Delica Beads


All the materials are available in the store with a friendly 10% discount on purchases for class participants. My kits will also be available for $20 each.

Vacation Treats

Vacation is all about treating yourself, right ? Well, here's how I treated myself this past week on my trip to Boston and the NE corridor. In Boston, I went to the Museum of Fine Arts where I was too cheap to pay the $17 entrance fee (I'm used to the freebie museums here in Washington, DC), but spent about two hours in the amazing bookstore there. I found a copy of "Zulu Beadwork" which was on my "to-buy" list and snagged it. I'm interested in the triangular tube patterns. The next day, I chanced upon a delightful little bead shop called Beadworks where I spent about an hour picking up some fresh colors and findings. Next stop after Boston was Bar Harbor, Maine where I found some agate slabs and disks at Willi's Rock Shop.

New Local Bead Shop

Bead shop, originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

There's a new bead shop within 5 miles of my house ! It's unbelievable ! The shop just opened up at the end of June and is already doing brisk business. I have acquainted myself with the owner and she invited me to teach classes there. I will be teaching three classes in the coming weeks, including my gem ring, spiral rope bracelet and earring set, and three Czech bead earring designs. I sure hope Off the Beading Path is here to stay !

Occoquan Memories

Occoquan, originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

Today was my last day in the gallery, where I've been a member for the last four years. I've made some dear friends in Artists' Undertaking and in Occoquan, and fortunately, it's not a real goodbye. I will now be teaching some beadweaving classes at the new bead store in town, Off the Beading Path and I'll be coming in to see what's new in town, shop for gifts at the gallery and say hi to old friends. It's a great little place to get to know. Enjoy the photos !

Earring Tutorial on YouTube !

My husband put together a video tutorial of the still photos of my "Starflower" herringbone earrings. It features the music of our friend, Nana Frimpong, a master drummer and kalimba player from Ghana. Since there wasn't space for the text on each photo, I have a link to download the directions from my website. Try it and leave a comment on YouTube or here. Also, I have a Flickr set of all the photos here . Thanks for looking !

Join me on Facebook !

Join me on Facebook !, originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

My husband got me to set up a Facebook account, and now I'm hooked ! But I need more BEAD FRIENDS !!! I've already discovered Shirley and Regina but I know more EBWers are out there ! Add me (Carol Holmes) as your friend or send me your name and I'll add you. Or look for the Facebook icon on the left sidebar to go right to my page. See you on Facebook !

Viking Knit Circle Earrings

Viking Knit Circle Earrings, originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

My exhibit at Artists' Undertaking is finally finished. I kept working on more necklaces and earrings to display and now it looks complete. I worked out this circle technique in my new viking knit skills and I'm pretty happy with the way they've been turning out. A little bit hard on the fingers, but since the process goes pretty fast, I don't mind. I had some itty-bitty beaded beads that needed to be put to use, and they were the perfect size for the center of the wire circles.

Viking Knit Necklace

Viking Knit Necklace, originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

I'm a featured artist this month at the Artists' Undertaking Gallery in Occoquan, Virginia. Along with the other artist, painter, Barbara Henris, we entitled our show "New Directions" to highlight the recent changes to our styles of work. I have hit a low point in sales at the gallery and decided to add my newest technique learned; viking knit . There is a silver jeweler across the hall from our gallery, and I wanted to try and interest some of the customers who are more attracted to silver and metals. We shall see how that goes ! In any case, I am having fun with viking knit and experimenting with a variety of shapes beyond the basic, yet beautiful rope shape. More to come ;-)