when beads come out of hiding

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I used to make lampwork beads. You might already know that. I played with fire and molten glass for 16 years, until the economy and my super powers both seemed to fail me at the same time. Whatever the reasons, I lost that loving feeling, sold my torch, and moved on.

I do still have a bit of a bead stash though, and the other day I looked at my box of tiny spacers, and thought, Hey, you guys wanna be stitch markers? You should have heard them hollering yes.

I went digging for wire, pliers, cutters, a hammer, and my tiny torch that's better suited for making a creme brulee than jewelry. I made some headpins, added beads, shaped and hammered the loops, and before long, those long-ignored beads transformed into beautiful, functional knitting accessories. I love the segue, though long awaited, from beadmaking to knitting. Now there's a connection I hadn't seen before.


I sold all of these very quickly. Not surprisingly, they all went to people who used to buy my beads regularly. I'll make some more, and see if maybe there's a larger market for them. I only have a small stash of beads left, so this little project can only go so far.

No... I don't want to go back into the beadmaking biz. But I do enjoy bending wire and smacking it with a hammer now and then. So we'll see if there's a way for me to bring something I used to love into what I love now.

Does this appeal to you? Let me know. Leave a comment. I do so love comments.

xo Kim

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