Originally posted Nov. 30, 2015 on my old blog. Many thanks to my brother, Mike, for setting up this new blog site so photos will stop disappearing.
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I have been working on making beads for the Known World Kingdoms over the past few weeks. This is a project that was taken on by the An Tir Lampworkers Guild several years ago. Twice a year, the lampworkers make 21 beads for each Kingdom in their Kingdom’s colors. 20 of those beads go to that Kingdom’s Queen, and the last one goes to the Queen of An Tir, who will have a string of 21 different beads. The Royals of An Tir then present these necklaces at the two big events in North America–Pennsic War in August and Estrella, the big one in Arizona in February.
Several years ago, I started by making one strand of beads for one kingdom. Then I did two kingdoms for a couple years as I gained confidence in my skill. This summer’s presentation in July had four strands made by me due to a shortfall in volunteers. This time around, the organizer who has historically done quite a lot of work, is ill, so I’ve been doing more to help pick up the slack.
I’m now working on the seventh kingdom (out of 20). I’m not as happy with this 6th Kingdom, only because good purple glass is difficult to find and make pretty. The Thai Orchid tends to look a little muddy. The Grape Ape looks a little too pastel. Pastel Purple looks pink. I’m thinking that the purple clear glass might be the way to go.
Here are the finished Calontir beads. I make a couple more than I needed, so I can pull out the ugly one…you can decide which one is the ugly one. There are several unsatisfactory ones in the bunch. I may make a few more just to have more options and give away the rest. I’ll give it a day or two to see if anyone else volunteers for another Kingdom before I start on more. The deadline is quickly approaching!
In the meantime, I’m also making and selling beads for the Bead Mama’s cancer bills. It’s not the medical stuff that needs covering, but all the other stuff–food, rent, utilities…you know, the luxuries. With a group of volunteers, we were able to cover some of these expenses and have promised to send her a small monthly stipend to help her out. It’s good to know that when things get tough, you’ve got friends to lend a hand.
Bead count is now at 8 Kingdoms:
I would like to stop now…I have other crafts and activities that need to take precedence.