I is an Icy White

 Remember my synesthete alphabet? I decided long ago I wanted to bead the letter I out of white beads, maybe crystals, but I wasn't sure what technique would be best. Enter Marcia DeCoster's "love letters," a perfect match for what I wanted. It uses cubic right angle weave which I had never done before, but it was easy to pick up (especially for such a small project); also easy was turning Marcia's L into an I:

As you can see, I made two Is; the first was with size 11 seed beads, but it was too small to fit the 2 x 3 inch size of my ATCs, so I made a second with size 8 beads. The background is peyote stitch using silver-lined beads from a long-ago Martha Stewart kit. I'm not sure how this will look after the beads tarnish with exposure to the air, but if it ends up looking terrible I can always reattach the I to a new backing.

What letter should I do next?

S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst

 Dorst's (the writer) and Abrams' (the idea man) novel is intended to be both a story and a physical object, and fittingly, it would fail utterly as an e-book. It consists of a fake novel titled The Ship of Theseus, allegedly published in 1949 and written by the mysterious (fictional) writer V.M. Straka, about whom little is known.  Footnotes by the translator provide textural information, secret codes, and hints at the relationship between author and translator. In the margins of the volume are the "manuscript" annotations of two readers, a college senior and a grad student, who communicate through these notes about the novel and their theories of the author's identity; over the course of three passes through the book they develop a personal relationship. Finally, the pages also contain various ephemeral items -- postcards, newspaper articles, even a napkin -- that shed light on the authorship question and the two readers.

It's exactly the kind of experimental book I live for, and for the most part I enjoyed it greatly. The fictional novel itself can be read as a stand-alone novel, and it's a weird one at that -- a man with no memory of his past becomes involved in a wide-ranging plot to undermine a criminal, fascistic captain of industry. It's an affecting story and Dorst nailed the style of the time, but it's also the kind of story whose themes give me low-grade anxiety, amplified by the fact that it reminded me so much of something else I've read but can't remember. 

The annotations provide a second story, as the two readers endearingly analyze the text, argue about the authorship question, discuss literature in general, and slowly fall in love. Their notes also hint at the nefarious actions of sinister, uh, literature professors who have a stake in the authorship question, and that aspect of the plot fell flat towards the end, as it did not amount to much. But even as I grew (mildly) frustrated with the would-be conspiracy, I could not help but admire how Dorst achieved it: two handwritings and six ink colors to illustrate three stages of their relationship overlapping each other throughout the book, but nonetheless progressing the story linearly.

As I wrote above, it's an ode to paper books, but it is also a paean to writing and reading, and the way both give meaning to one's life. It requires a bit more work than the typical novel, but it is absolutely worth it.

Donuts Good Enough to Eat

 Mary Josephine Gigax, a member of Cellini Peyote Freaks on Facebook, showed off a beaded donut she designed, and when we all freaked out about it she graciously made the instructions available.  My results:

Mary's original design was with two or four colors spiraling in, but I had exactly two colors in all four necessary sizes -- 15, 11, 8, and 6 -- so for the other two I played around with rings of color. The pastel one came out a little wonky, unfortunately; the size 11s were a little smaller than they should have been, and the size 8s were a little inconsistent in their sizing. 

They now live in a box with all the other beaded doohickeys that I don't yet know what to do with.

Experimenting with Freeform Peyote

 Back in October I picked up the Beadshop's Samson mix of seed beads; I'm a sucker for seed bead mixes, ever since college when I worked part time at a bead store that would create lots of fun, themed mixes. Most of the Beadshop's projects for the mixes are wrap bracelets, but I wanted to try something new so I went with their Mountain Mosaic bracelet, a freeform peyote bracelet stitched lengthwise. The results:

My version isn't as irregular as the designer's, because the Samson mix was all size 8 beads; a mix of different sizes would create a "wilder" look. But I'm pleased with it regardless; it's different from the bracelets I usually make.

I've been on a serious beading kick lately (that seems to happen every spring) (probably a reaction to all the cross stitching I do during the holidays). Next up is some cellini-ish donuts, and I'm almost finished with the letter I done in beads, part of my synesthete alphabet series.

Late for Christmas 2020, or Early for Christmas 2021?

 I've finally finished The Primitive Needle's "Penny Angel" from the 2009 Just Cross Stitch ornaments issue:

It's been on my to-do list since, well, 2009, so I'm quite pleased (even if I didn't actually stitch the last stitches until February). I had actually intended to omit the year to save on stitching, but once I found a frame for it I realized I should complete the design for a better fit. 

The colors aren't super Christmasy, so I'm tempted to keep it up all year. On the other hand, most of my decor consists of bright colors, so that wouldn't work, either. Maybe I'll put it in the front hallway, where I'm accumulating beige-y stitching projects.