A Case of Vacation Brain

I'm still here, even though it might look like I've abandoned my blog.  The month of June pretty much meant minimal crafting of any kind.  Our normal vacation schedule in any given year is usually just one, but not this year.  Oh no, this year we (mainly me) crammed in three vacations, and all were in June.  First to Boston to see our son, Matt.  Included in our trip was a tour of the Samuel Adams brewery.  And a necessary feature of that tour was a tasting.

Then I was lucky enough to go with Mark to Amelia Island, FL, where he had to attend a conference and I got to loll around all day. 

A sunset cruise was an added bonus to this trip.

Finally, my sister, Sheila, her daughters, and I did a girls' vacation to Daytona Beach, FL.  Lots of fun and we didn't get lost!

Those two little dots in the ocean are my nieces, Emily and Grace. 

So, all and all, a wonderful June, but I didn't get much time to stitch, sew, or bead.  Now I'm finding myself itching to pick up needle and thread and search the beading videos on Youtube for new projects!

I did have a finish that I haven't blogged about yet.  I found a store on Etsy that sells patterns for beaded pen covers.  Having seen some of these on Facebook, I knew that I wanted to give one a try.

Basically, I followed a very easy to read pattern to make this rectangle.  It's done in the even Peyote stitch.

Then I zipped it up by sewing through the interlocking ends forming a tube.

The finished tube fits perfectly on a Pilot G2 pen. 

The finished product (above).  I enjoyed this beading project so much that I made one for my niece, Emily.

You can find these patterns and more like them on Etsy at Fun Pattern Designs. You might find it difficult to choose just one!