why no more crochet?

the answer to this is because i've been working on an afghan from the 8-petal square motif i posted last month. it's about 20% done, but when it comes to crochet that's really the only project i have 'on the burners' right now. i started a shwal, i suppose, and i have plans for tons of yarn stashed in my cupboard, but i'll keep you updated on the progress.

meanwhile, i do have a crochet-related post coming up next, and this little ditty for today. my mother and i spent the day together, and it is always an adventure. lunch was good, the movie was good (Julie & Julia), and our trip to michael's craft store was productive. too productive. our original intention was to get beads to make matching earrings for a tiger's eye/turquoise/pearl necklace i got her for her birthday.

not finding anything that fit the bill, she picked out these beads instead:

ithe top is some kind of marbled stone, with silver flat diamond-shaped beads and mother-of-pearl dangles, and the bottom one (my favorite) is rose quartz with shells, small silver spacers and seafoam green seed beads. of course, the benefit of making these for her was i got to keep the extras and make some for myself.

i also made this necklace for myself as kind of a splurge. i don't think it's quite finished yet... i really adore the random look of some of the 'steampunk' necklaces i've seen on craftster but can't quite get it down yet. i think i need to add some chain in there somewhere... ceramic, metal, and possibly a kind of jade stone, and backing the dragonfly pendant is what looks like a leaf dipped in enamel so only the veins remain... it was worth the splurge. but still, not quite right yet....

it felt good to get back into making jewelry, if only temporarily. meanwhile, the laundry churns away at home, which is where the content of my next post is stashed...