There but for the grace of God................go I.

I've come out of the other side of 'the cancer thing'. I have doctors telling me it's gone, which is not something they tend to do normally, but it seemed to have been caught early enough to whip it out, and mop up with a bit of chemo to make sure nothing was left.

So I feel good. Or at least I feel I should feel good. This is what is known in the forces as 'survivor syndrome', you know you were damn lucky to get out the other side, but you also met some people along the way who were in a much worse state, and probably wouldn't get out the other side. Now you feel good at surviving, but guilty as hell that you came through when you know others won't. Double edged sword. When they say 'life changing' they bloody mean it!

On a lighter note - the chemo cloud has lifted, I'm discovering music I'd forgotten I liked, Nina has her appointment for her scan to find the elusive gallstones that went missing in hospital, and I can fit into clothes I bought when we had money! Life goes on. Thankfully. 

'Anastasia' Tutorial now released!

I've listed the tutorial for Annie on Etsy - have fun! Here's the link

Now with German translation attached!!! Jetzt mit Deutsch-Übersetzung beigefügt!!!

My 'Maryshka' PDF Tutorial now comes with a complete German text translation! So you have 'Kandra' in French & English, and 'Maryshka' in German & English! Don't say I don't try to help!! :)) It's for sale here

The one that got away......................for now.

I designed - I use the term loosely - a very difficult necklace while I was in hospital. Not technically difficult, but engineeringly difficult - pendelums and fulcrums and stuff. I have made the pendant, I have even found the point of balance to attach the bail to, I still haven't found out how to keep the rivolis from going opposite ways, but I will. I have only to bead a tubular herringbone necklace rope and a clasp to finish it. All this time I am wondering what possessed me to start it in the first place. The problem with wondering whilst beading is that you will invariably stick a needle in yourself - this I did, and, while this is a normal occurrence, it is not normal to be taking blood thinning drugs at the same time. I bled like a stuck pig. The aforementioned design - Gaia - is now going to wait until I have finished chemo, and can afford to loose what blood I have left. Pity. I really want to see if it works!

To clarify.......................

Firstly, I must remind you that I am a man. As such I am allowed to be stupid and unthinking. OK, so we understand that now?

I said I wasn't going to do any workshops next year when I had this operation, this was because everything I had heard about recovery involved up to a year of hard work and convalescence. This is why I have nothing booked at Stitchncraft, and why the ladies at Portland and Saltash will have to hold on until the year after - 2013. 

So what do I do then? I book 3 days at the Hamburg bead Fair next August! I shall explain why now. Hamburg will be 3 days of workshops, but these will only be 3 hours long - the rest of the time I will be languishing in the hotel, or driving around sightseeing! The workshops in the UK are 6 hours long, and if I had 4 days at S&C, and 2 days at the others, I could be working 8 days of 6 hours a day - I know I physically couldn't do that, and because of the journey length from home to Dorset/Cornwall I couldn't just do one workshop.

I hope this explains why I'm going to Hamburg and not to the UK next year, it was only pointed out to me this morning how bad it looked, I am not letting you down - I'm taking the easier option! 

peter

Victorian Earrings tutorial

These were featured in the April 2011 Beadworker's Guild Journal (along with a profile of me!) and I can now release the tutorial for sale!
I've given bead details for three different colourways so you can make all the sets in the photograph! Here's the link to Etsy

I've gone all...........................insane.

I'll be glad when Nina gets home and stops me putting stuff up for sale! This is 'Katya' - I made her after I'd had a right shoulder operation to prove I could still bead! I've had a lot done since, and I'm still going, so she may as well go to a good home. Here's the link to my Etsy shop

I've gone all Designer...........y

'Chimera' is listed on Etsy! I'm not going to write all the sales blurb here, it's all on the listing. I forgot to put the bit about it coming in a quality presentation box, but then you knew that already didn't you?

I've gone all wedding.........y

I've listed 'Bridal' necklace on Etsy! I know I made it a year ago, but my reasoning is that Nina will never wear it, and it doesn't go with any of my wardrobe, so it's for sale! 

'Original' pieces of beadwork are quite difficult to market, it takes 20 hours or so to make a necklace (not including design time!) and to put a reasonable price on that would be over $200 before even trying to get a profit! This is why most beadworkers teach, and sell tutorials and kits. What I am probably trying to say is.................you get a bargain at $150!!! Just sayin'. :))

 Here's the link, or click on the post title, and here's what you get...............

'Maryshka' Necklace Tutorial

Finally! I have listed the tutorial for 'Maryshka' on Etsy! A little tip here - if you can make Maryshka you will have all the means to make 'Adele'..............I can say this because I can't see me listing any more tutorials until well into next year.
Hope you enjoy it!

Kandra Bracelet Tutorial

Tutorial for the Kandra bracelet is now listed on my Etsy shop - tested by the lovely Laulo in France, she also added a French translation to the text! 

A cautionary tale!

Firstly, I want to say that I am not an exhibitionist. Well, not really anyway. I have been known to expose myself to anyone who felt it would be artistically prudent to do so, but as a rule, I don't flash indiscriminately. Although Nina says I 'will strip at the sight of a washing bowl' because I've spent so long in hospital!

No. I put these photos on as a. a sign that I am healing really well, and will be back to normal as soon as I can, and b. a cautionary tale.

I used to brag that I had my first cigarette at the age of 8 or 9, and I was regularly smoking at 12. I also used to think it was cool to say I could down a bottle of scotch and still walk home. This is what happens when you do that. I stopped smoking 8 years ago, I stopped drinking 20 years ago, and still it caught up with me. If you are happy to take your past on your shoulders and bear the scars, fine, but never blame anyone else for looking like this after a life of cigareets and whisky...............and the odd wild wild women!

A couple of revelations.....................

Probably the worst kept secrets in the beading world, but I suppose I'd better come out!

a. I will be one of the judges again for the Fashion Colorworks 2012 competition - there are six of us this time..............but I'm sure I'll say something controversial again! Details and link on previous post.

b. This is confirmation that I will be at Hamburg for the Beaders Best Bead Fair in August next year!!!!! Not only will I be there, but I will be teaching three classes - one a day. The class details will be in the January issue of Perlen Poesie magazine, so you'll have to wait until then to find out! I now have to try and get some kits together for the fair!

Fashion Colorworks 2012

It's that time again! Hosted by MyLovelyBeads.com and now in it's third year, this promises to be one of the best jurored competitions in the international beadwork scene!

Your colours are already specified - to the latest in Pantone styles - so all you have to do is decide what category you want to enter, think up a good design, and go for it!

We have six judges this year, so with any luck I won't be as controversially strict as I was last year.................but then again............:))

Look forward to seeing your entries! Don't forget to check out last years winners, it will give you an idea of the things to look for!

Facebook

Just a quick note to say that, as I feel I may have got out of the other side of this crap reasonably unscathed, I'm beginning to open up my 'friends list' on Facebook again. I know this may sound as if I'm being a bit 'precious', but I'm not - if you genuinely want to 'friend' me then please do! I will say though, I will not take any requests from people I've never heard of, or people who are just collecting names for their list. I hope those of you who got deleted before I went into hospital understand now why I did it.

The 'Kandra' Bracelet

You may remember that a while ago I made a bracelet with some stunning dichroic cabs that Kandra sent me - click here

Well. I always wanted to see if I could get the same effect with Swarovski - here's the result! I like it, I like it a lot, but I don't think it's ever going to be a kit or a workshop due to the cost of making it!

 

 

Turquoise

Well, I said I'd do a post about something beady, so here it is! I got sent a beautiful cab from Kandra of Kandra's Beads - the tricky bit was finding a colour to go with it. I trawled through the bead cabinet until I found the perfect match................which, if I remember rightly, Kandra sent me a while ago! I should call this the Karma necklace. So, here it is, remembering all the 'one of a kind' cabochon necklaces are pre claimed by Nina, and could only be sold if the proceeds were to go to my estate..................which would be Nina.

It's late - enjoy.

Peter 1 - Damocles 0

So. I'm getting two sessions of chemo, and that's it. It's based on the premise that there 'could be something left but probably isn't'. Works for me, and it looks like I'll keep the hair - I know it shouldn't be a big thing to a man, but it doesn't grow this long overnight you know! 

Busy making some fabulous new designs up at the moment, good physio for the cracked rib. The one I'm looking at on my desk now looks more like an X Wing fighter out of Star Wars than a bracelet, but I have faith it will improve!

That's it then, just a short update, a bit of chemo, a bit of tiredness, get better, and look forward to next years big event................I'll tell you about that one soon!

Here's a free stitch for you - Chevron Netting Stitch - enjoy.

Damocles and me.

Now, I know I said I wasn't going to keep going on about this cancer thing, the theory was that once it's gone it's gone. Pointless writing blogs when I could be getting on with serious things............like beading.

I have discovered that the appearance of this little bit left in one of the lymph nodes has hit me a bit harder than I expected. Back on July 15th when the endoscopist told me he'd found a tumour, my blood ran cold - that hadn't happened for many years, when Sam Mehta, my surgeon, told me about this bloody lymph node it did it again. My mouth and the rest of my body were doing a good impression of being nonchalant, but the cold blood thing was telling me something else.

I know the chemo and radiotherapy will get rid of anything left in my body, I know it isn't a terminal thing yet, I also know that what I thought would be the end of this wasn't. I chose the surgery over chemo because I didn't want the Sword of Damocles hanging over me for 5 years, it looks as if it may be there after all. The bottom line is, I am probably not as together as I thought I was - I really don't like the chemo idea after going through all the surgery, and however composed and positive I think I am, a lot of it is just acting.

The next blog post will be about beading, or kittens, or sunshine, or wind and waves, or anything but bloody cancer.

...........and so the wheel turns..............

Here we go again. I had my follow up appointment today, and discovered that one of the lymph nodes my surgeon had taken whilst removing the tumour had a tiny little cancer seed in it. The position of the node was the most important thing, and it was quite close to where it shouldn't have been quite close to. So the theory goes that if one has a bit of cancer, there may be more. Enter Chemotherapy & Radiotherapy - a road I really didn't want to go down, but what's the option? There isn't one.
Sometime very soon I'll have an appointment date with the doctor who's going to fry my little bastard cancer cells to death, and then I will know how intensive, and how often, the treatment will be - I'll let you know. Here's a recipe to make your mouth water!