Native American Winter Medicine Bracelet: Earth Renewal Moon

This beautiful bracelet was handwoven using Herringbone stitch.

It was designed especially for those born during the winter moons of the Native American Medicine Wheel. If your birthday is between December 22 and January 19, you were born during the Earth Renewal Moon. If your birthday is between January 20 and February 20, you were born during the Rest and Cleansing Moon.

I have taken the traditional, modern and zodiac birthstones and metals for these moons and combined them in this bracelet. These would include garnet, amethyst, ruby, quartz and silver.

The bracelet shown is 7 3/4" long and 3/4" wide. It is beaded with a variety of bead sizes and colors. The clasp is a .925 sterling silver toggle.

If the size is not the proper length for you or you would like it in other Medicine Wheel moon periods, I would be happy to bead one to your specifications. Just let me know your need(s)!Mvto and Wado' (Thank you in Creek and Cherokee) for viewing!

Babe, We Will Miss You!

Clement "Babe" Whipple

Clement "Babe" Whipple, our "Pow Wow Trail" friend left us late Saturday night. Maggie, we are saddened and our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

My son, Patrick, and I met Babe and his wife, Maggie, while on the Pow Wow trail. They were fellow vendors and we had many friends in common. As well as vending at Pow Wows, Babe was a wonderful man, an accomplished dancer, and a talented Native American artist/craftsman.

To quote our mutual friend, Sheila Rocha, "Babe lived with wit, wisdom & humor. Babe was one of the great keepers of his Dakota people's story."

Even while valiantly battling his cancer, he joyfully performed in the cast of Sacred Sites directed by Sheila.

Cast of Sacred Sites

Maggie, please take comfort in the words of Chief Seattle in a speech he gave to the United States Congress, "There is no death, only a change of place". We know that this good man, Clement "Babe" Whipple, will remain with all of us in spirit until we meet again and we know that his journey to his "sacred site" will be a good and peaceful one.

Babe, we will miss you!

Treasuries: Do They Generate Sales?

Treasuries are a collection of favorite items selected by an Etsy member who is then known as the "curator". Treasuries are usually (but not always) centered around a theme. They are limited in number and one has to be stealthy to snag one. Once you "snag" one, you can only feature 12 items and 4 alternates.

When one is featured in a treasury, it feels real good! I think it is an honor to be selected. One always feels great when another likes one of their pieces well enough to select it for thier treasury! I was especially flattered by this one as two of my pieces were selected. They are the last item in row 1 and the last item in row 4.

Now, the question is: "Do they generate sales?"

I think that the answer is "yes" for the treasury above. Or, I suppose it could be coincidence. Shortly after this treasury done by my Etsy friend, Toni, of www.RCTees.etsy.com my Sky Is The Limit Serenity Bracelet (last item, first row above) sold.

You may remember Toni and her talented husband, Mark, from a previous blog I did bragging about the new Tee that they made for me. You can read that blog item here: http://jstinson-trailoftreasures.blogspot.com/2009/03/heres-to-new-friends.html They continue to add new items to their wonderful store. Please check them out!

Treasuries are fun, flattering, and promote Etsians. I have one ready to go with a really neat theme. Now, if only I can snag it soon.

I do believe that treasuries can lead to sales. Toni, thanks for the friendship, the treasury, and probably the sale!

Health Care Reform Proposal

As many of you readers already know, my husband, Dr. Warren Stinson, Professor Emeritus at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy fell a week ago today. He tripped over a laundry basket, broke several ribs and perforated his one good lung. He only has 1 1/2 lungs as a result of cancer surgery in 1984.

Thelma, our son Patrick's girl friend, took this shot of Warren reading his chest film while awaiting the arrival of his Dr. in the emergency room. I captioned it and put it on my Flickr page.

Subsequently, our friend, Dr. David Clough, wrote a new and better caption. I had to share it with you.



I had written that in my proposal all patients would be required to read their own chest films. If the patient could not identify their problem, then the hospital would be under no obligation to treat it!

Dave wrote: Watch for the press release when the Obama administration announces that all Radiologists are now obsolete. As part of the cost-cutting, new wave of patient-centric health care, all patients will now be responsible for interpreting their own x-rays. Patients who are ambulatory will be required to take their own x-ray films to a 24 hour photo shop for developing. To answer this new, pressing need, Nancy Pelosi's husband (a real estate baron in California) has been granted an exclusive license to install coin operated x-ray film processing machines on each hospital floor.

Those Radiology docs who read x-rays should drop their dictaphones and stroll over to the nearest unemployment office for their first check.

David A. Clough, M.D.
President
Lakeside Orthopedics, P.C.

Sorry Warren! We continue to have fun at your expense. Warren's response was "Stop it, it only hurts when I laugh!"

Treasures in Textiles and Beads

There is nothing more thrilling to a beadweaver than for someone to think you can bead their wishes!

This all started when Susan, one of my valued return customers, purchased one of these beautiful shawls for each of her two daughters-in-law. She then wished that she had coordinating earrings and necklaces for the two of them as well. Susan sent me the photo above and asked if I could do it.

Always up for a challenge, I agreed to try.

Susan wanted to be sure that the colors were just right so she insisted on purchasing the beads herself. She placed the bead order and had the beads shipped directly to me.

Trial and Error

Once I received the beads, I studied the shawl pattern and waded right in. The photo above was the first effort.

I was unhappy with the design and quickly determined that another try was needed to be satisfactory to both Susan and me. I wish things always worked out on the first pass, but such is not usually the case! "Trial and Error" are frequent companions on my Trail of Treasures!

Back To The Beading Board
With the photo at my beading station and all the beads laid out, I began my second effort. I shared it with Susan and after getting her approval, I started on the earrings and two pendants for the necklaces.


The tops of all six pieces are now completed!


The fringe has been added to all six.



Necklaces
Now for the necklaces. Delica beads were used in this project. For those of you who aren't familar with beads, Delicas are very small cylindrical beads as opposed to regular seed beads which are round. Simply stringing them did not provide enough substance to the design in my opinion so I did the necklaces in peyote stitch. This is more time consuming but the result was far better than just simple strings of beads.

Finale

The last step was to photograph the two pairs of earrings and two necklaces with the original inspirational piece.

Translating textile patterns into beads can be fun and challenging. I thank Susan for her confidence and trust in my ability to create these for her.

I hope I have made her wishes into a reality that pleases her.

But more importantly, I hope her Daughters-In-Law enjoy them and will be reminded how lucky they are to have a Mother-In-Law like Susan each time they wear their textile and bead ensembles!

Mvto and Wa-do (Thank you in Creek and Cherokee) Susan for choosing me to do this! I am deeply honored.