Bead Show

Have you ever been to a bead show? When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things to do was to go through my mom's or grandma's jewelry box...what a privilege! With pearls, rhinestones, onyx, all sorts of great 50's costume jewelry (which BTW is hot stuff now!), it was like digging through a treasure chest, and I dreamed of being a princess and being able to wear such beautiful finery.

Well multiply that times a million, and that is like a bead show: rows of tables covered in strings and bags of gorgeous beads in every color, size and shape imaginable, what a feast for the eyes! The Bead, Gem and Craft Show I attended yesterday at the Cabarrus Arena was just incredible, I've never seen so much glittering eye-candy in one place! My eyes feasted there for about 3 hours as I found the perfect beads to go with my fibers for my wool beads kits, check out a sample in the picture at left. Some of you know that I've been invited to teach at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Chantilly, VA and also the Georgia Quilt Show this October, and they've requested I include beads in my wool bead kits, so I have the perfect excuse to engage in one of my favorite activities...shopping! I'll be gradually adding beads to some of my wool bead kits, and will even have a few at the Clemmons quilt show this weekend (see my Schedule page on my web-site for more info on the show.) Anyway, the vendors and folks at the bead show were so nice, they have invited me to teach the wool beads when they bring the show back at the end of September, so I'm going to try and squeeze that in...I'll definitely be going back either way! You should check it out...even if you don't make jewelry, beads are a great embellishment for your quilts, wall hangings, bags, and wearable art...and what better place to find exactly what you're looking for than at a bead show! For more info, you can visit their web-site at www.americangemexpo.com