an open source architectural beadwork project from Kate McKinnon and a worldwide team of innovators
Good morning to all of you, from a warm, soft and rainy Spring morning in Savannah. The world outside my door is full of flowers and birds, but also war, pandemic and anguish. I hardly know what to say to greet you except that I hope that you are safe and well.
I think of you often, and with love.
As predicted, the workload has been nonstop since I last posted. There is much to do to ready these thousands of pages and photos for the press, from image conversion to current press standards to completing the many tasks of publication. Too much to list, to discuss. Unggh.
The amount of work to line it all up has put my free pattern releases on hold here but it won’t be much longer. I signed the press contracts in late February for the first two books, and expect to have at least one of them (The CGB Pattern Book) in our hands to ship to pre-orders this summer. Things are still impossibly difficult in publishing and shipping, and so we aren’t making any distributorship deals or taking wholesale orders until we actually have the books in house and know the final cost. Many thanks to all of you asking.
I’ll be releasing the first three of our new Foundation Patterns as soon as they clear edit, which should be very soon– the Foolproof Kaleidocycle and the Flat Star and Star Spiral. Each of these is transformative, incredible, a window into the workings of the Universe around us called out in beads.
It’s astonishing what we found when we dove into each of these to perfect them; it was as if the more we looked, the more secrets were revealed. As with most of this project, the discovery has felt like endless rushes of light.
Thank you for also thinking of me, when you do, and trust that I am well and working. I was strongly moved by a quote that I read yesterday:
As a writer, I don’t worry about being cancelled. I worry about publishing something ignorant, betraying my audience, and accidentally using my platform to perpetuate hurtful ideas and societal structures. I worry about failing to be a responsible and curious author and citizen.”
Ella Dawson
. . .
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I am ready to make a flat star spiral. When will the instructions be available?
Does it work off the “spine”?
Oooh, we are just finishing that entire chapter right now, including illustrations, word charts and photographs. And YES you can make a Star Spiral off of a Spine! Start with a single row of 15° round beads, the length of the spiral you want to end up with, and then start the Star pattern right on top of the small round beads.
Pattern in a week or two, with a big splashy release.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 🥰
Succes with the finale. We hope to see the books this year. Take care.
So glad to hear you are well. I cannot imagine how busy you are. Please take some time for yourself and smell some of those flowers and listen to those birds sing and close your ears for just a bit on all the rest.
Pennsylvania is dreary so I hope Savannah is bringing spring with all speed. Your endeavors are greatly appreciated. Joy in the new work being done and gratefulness for what has been accomplished. So good to hear from you. Best wishes in the publication work so important to contemporary geometric Beadwork.