The Fool(?) on the Hill

Remember, a while back, when I said that I had had a chance to play with clay again? And then I promised that those beads would find their way to the shop? Well, they have! Introducing the "House on a Hill" collection, by Pretty Knitty! Right now, there are two 20-row counters, one in copper. . .

. . .and one in silver! Oooohhh, SHINY!!!

I think I like working these millefiore-style beads about the best of any clay creating that I do. The process of figuring out which lump of clay to put where, so that the cut line of each bead will create the picture is demanding, but so fun! The first time I tried millefiore (here's a site that tells you more about it), I wanted each bead to be exactly the same as all the others. . .but my beads never seemed to reach that identical-ness that I was aiming for. Instead, I stressed out at the way each bead was an individual, and I felt like I was somewhat of a clay failure. Then I took a step back, and I ended up falling madly, passionately, foolishly in love with the imperfections. . .the character. . .of the beads emerging from the blade. I embraced it even. And look. . .

Look at my little houses on their hills. . .their tall, skinny hills, with their oddly shaped shrubbery, and imperfect corners. . .heck!, even though my "real" house (the one I live in everyday) is not set on a hill, it has imperfect shrubs, I can never seem to find a 90-degree angle when I want to put up a corner shelf, and none of the doors are perfectly squared into their frames. When we moved in, I called that "character," and I embraced it (mostly). Foolish or not, I love where I live, and now I love the House on a Hill collection at Pretty Knitty Jewelry. I hope that you like it, too!

Thanks for stopping in to see this "Fool" on her virtual hill,

and Knit in Good Health!