A First for Me and Others

Today a group of friends were on a bus to Bishopville SC and saw a sky phenomena that none of us had ever seen before. It was astonishing and lasted for hours. One friend Googled it and found that the phenomena is called variously "Sun Dogs" or "Sun Rainbow". there was a rainbow around the partially cloud shaded sun. The photos below give a bit of the impression they made.

I have seen the small chunks of rainbow in the clouds called "sun dogs" before, but never a large section of a rainbow. But this entirely circled the sun!! Wow!

Have you seen one of these? Have photos to share?

Nancy

Sneak Preview of SAQA Donation Quilt

I have been working on the 12 x 12 inch piece for my donation to the SAQA.com auction. Member artists donate quilts to the auction to raise money to support SAQA exhibitions and member services. Great place to find artwork from outstanding quilt artists. It is a reverse auction with pieces starting the first day at $750 and going down each day until they are $75. There is always a bit of nervousness when one puts one work out for the auction as to see what it will sell for.

There are collectors who regularly add to their collections during the auction, knowing that the money benefits many people through the organization.

Japanese Beadwork with Sonoko Nozue Book Review and Give Away

Lark Crafts has published a fascinating book on Japanese Beadwork by master bead artist Sonoko Nozue. They sent me a copy to review and give away.

The book starts with a Beginning Chapter that has good definitions and illustrations as guides to interpret instructions for the 25 projects in the book.

While some basics are given, unless the reader is a quick study, with good hand dexterity, this probably not a book for beginners. For the beader who is looking for a different group of challenges, this book will be a good addition to the library.

The projects are both challenging and very wearable. They vary from elegant simple ropes to very complex evening wear designs. 

Nozue's artistry is apparent in the colors chosen and the variations of designs in different colorways. The book has a nice gallery of the artist's work as well.

If you would like to enter a drawing for this book, leave a comment by May 25 and a way to contact you. Check back on May 26 to see who won the book.

Nancy