Purple and pink and "bead chicken"

In my last post about the cube and bugle earrings I wrote that I also might try out the beaded triangle tutorial using Delicas and shorter bugles as intended.

I hadn't expected it to happen so quickly, but when I put the long bugles back in storage (that was fast this time!) I noticed a tube with short purple bugles.
My first plan was a pair of dark mysterious earrings, maybe in black and purple. I still like the idea, but when I went through my beads, a tube of magenta ones urgently demanded to be seen.
Okay, so not dark and mysterious, but bright and bold? As you wish.

Delicas "clicking into place" has something incredibly satisfying that I don't get from other beads. You can't really hear it, but feel it, no matter if it's between two other beads in peyote technique, between warp threads in bead looming or on top of each other in brick stitch.
Had you told me, by the way, that I would be saying something like that when I was stringing endless chains from very irregular seed beads at my schoolmate's house at the age of 11, I would have laughed at you.

For the third color, I chose galvanized berry from my really old stash, a kind of dusty rose.
While beading the first triangle, I already thought about the finished earrings, which leverbacks to use and where to attach them.
Yeah, didn't happen.
A little tip, if you're not sure whether you have enough beads, weigh or count them before you start a project unless you are a pro at yarn chicken like me (I used to be a knitter) - or "bead chicken" in this case? - and are ready for any outcome.
Just five more bugles and I could have made earrings. Gaaah!
Sometimes I wonder if I subconsciously do this on purpose to create a challenge for myself. Perhaps I'm just a little stupid, though.

Okay, new plan. A pendant after all. Not just the one triangle though, also because I had really wanted to use those bugles up now. In the smaller triangle the bead colors are reversed.
Talking about reversing - I hadn't even noticed at first that the pendant is reversible now. Funny how those things happen.

Triangles always remind me of Art Deco. Maybe I can take this design a little further eventually?
For now, however, I'll take a break from this shape.

The working box and what came out of it this time

Let me tell you about my working boxes. At the moment, I have more than one unfortunately.
There are times when I'm terrible about organizing my beads. Not in general. I have storage boxes and drawers for my bead and sort by type.
The problem is that beads that make it out of those for a project don't always make it back in there when I'm done. Instead they move to working boxes. For example, there's one box with a headless Barbie in it that I have started beading an outfit for in spring. I was struggling with one part, so I had to take a break from it. As outfits are beaded directly onto the dolls, I have to hold the whole doll - that's why the head has to come off to avoid neck splits from handling - and that can be very awkward. So far I haven't mustered the motivation for a new attempt.

Storage box turned into a working box for now.
Bead tubes tend to fall over one one another if you move
the box. And there's always thread in it and sometimes
little test pieces, but they are hidden under the lid here.

A working box can be around for a while. Maybe I pick beads for another project and afterwards they end up in the box. Eventually, I make it a challenge to make something just using what's in the box now which can be big fun. More often than not a piece starts out as a vague idea and then changes completely.
My current box is actually the storage tin for the cube beads. It also holds a few other bead types that came with the same surprise order and didn't get put away. Among them are large bugles.
I don't use bugles often. There are some in Christmas ornaments and I used up a big batch on my first bead embroidered sneakers, but those were shorter ones.

These twisted bugles are 12 mm, though, and I hadn't even intended to use them because I had no idea how.
What I wanted to make were some simple bead triangles and add a charm in the center. I have never beaded a triangle before, not a flat one, not a 3D one, so I went to YouTube to get an idea ... and once again walked off the path when I saw a tutorial using Delicas, but also 6 mm bugles that looked like fun.
It's one of those graphic 3D tutorials, and as I'm terrible with tuts in general, I had to get used to that format first and therefore went through a few mistakes and ripping.

These are some big triangles, over 2 1/2 inch on each side.
The way the twisted bugles catch the light is really beautiful and once again I like the contrast of matte and shiny in the cube beads. Nothing inconspicuous about these babies!

3D peyote triangles of two layers that are connected in the last row. What that second layer taught me was that I'm terrible at working clockwise. Note - don't do that next time.

Maybe I should try the same design with smaller bugles and Delicas? Say goodbye to the cubes for now and start a new working box? Spoiler alert - smaller design yes, new box no.

Weekend Traffic Jam - Week 174

Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot!

My posts for the link up will go live on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. EDT or, if you live in the future like I do, on Fridays at 3:30 a.m. CE(S)T.

A friend of mine visited the Zeppelin-Museum and sent me this picture as he knows I have made a bead loomed tapestry of a "Metropolis" film poster despite never having watched the movie (I have it, but it's so not my genre ... and how is it possible I never wrote a post about the tapestry??).
I love this poster. Isn't it wonderful?

Last week I started to link up to Anne's and Olivia's "Friday Book Snippets" where you share a quote - a sentence or short paragraph - from the beginning of a book you read at the moment (in my case at the moment I'm writing this post) and one from page 56 (or another).

Today, mine are from "The Astral Library" by Kate Quinn.
Beginning: "Have you ever wanted to live inside a book?"
Page 77: "The Astral Library. The words echoed around the inside of my head as I stood there, heart thudding like a cannon. Smart-ass Alix Watson for once utterly speechless as I looked at the woman in the cardigan."

I think that's a great start and it made me curious.
I'm not so sure about the second snippet, but that's because I absolutely hate the stereotype of a librarian wearing a cardigan although I know that others embrace it (I own one cardigan myself which I have never worn at the library, and honestly, there's something like the "librariancore" trend?). Well, we'll see if the Astral Library is a place I'd like to apply to.


Back to the Weekend Traffic Jam now.
As part of the reboot, we will be featuring a different blog every week.
How about stopping by and saying hello? Let them know we sent you.

This week our spotlight is on Innerdialects.

Rayla from Innerdialects says: "Thankyou for being here. We trust you will find some words or images you can resonate with. Years ago when someone first introduced me to blogging, I said it sounded like a cave with an open sesame password.
It sounded fun and dangerous and deep. It could be dark, it could be a light you carried in with you, or you walked with some. Blogging has proved to be all that and more. I started out with three other blogs that separately hosted verse, words, and one with a few letters to my kids. Noel (Jeff) and I have 3 insanely precious children now grown into their own dimensions.
When I began there was this urge to write; but living a life as mom and wife and freelance writing/art… phew, it was) is a fantastic thing to do: a Juggling act. There are tough days when someone is ill but even there, and perhaps specially through those times, there’s been this journey to the Light, which is what Innerdialects is all about."

Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!

Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household - The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat's Wire has what she calls a jumping spider brain. She has many interests and will blog about whatever catches her attention - crafts, books, old movies, collectibles or random things.

Rena from Fine Whatever Blog writes about style, midlife, and the "fine whatever" moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she's been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.


Here are some of my picks from last week's link up.

Ann's fairy house is hiding a secret ...

Barbara is talking about the small pleasures of her week.

Joanne shows us her favorite picture books from her childhood.

Olivia is talking about an emotion she can't name.



Let's link up!

Guidelines:
This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.
Please link only blog posts you created yourself. Please link directly to the URL of your blog post and not the main address of your blog.
Please do not link to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos/shorts, Instagram or Facebook reels, TikTok videos, or any other social media based content.
Please do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment. 

Notice:
By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that the content is your own property and give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.
We welcome unlimited, family friendly content. This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps, fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or discussions, photography, art, and so much more!
Thank you for linking up with us!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Silent movies - The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England

You don't know it, but you may have heard of another Maurice Tourneur film already. Or read about it - in my post about "The Blue Bird".
Let's talk about "The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England" from 1914 today.

As usual here's the plot (with spoilers).

Giles is the son of the Earl of Bateson and one of those students that take their studies extremely seriously. At least that's what he tells his father. Unfortunately, reality looks a little different and Giles gets kicked out of school - and then kicked out at home when his father is informed of the truth. Maybe he shouldn't have to tried to sell Dad the story of a vacation "as a recompense for exemplary conduct". You don't try to pull such a stunt on a grumpy old man suffering from gout.
The Earl refuses to let Giles come back until he has earned half a crown without anyone's help.

It's true, Giles is absolutely irresponsible and Entitlement is his middle name. He takes fruit from a woman and when she protests, he throws it back at her. He kicks a little dog (which is only implied, not seen) and laughs about it. We don't like Giles at that point.
The dog runs home and we learn he's the companion of Sally, the poor parson's daughter.

Luckily, Giles has a wealthy godfather, Squire Annesley. The Squire who has just been left by his gardener after scolding him because some of his roses have been stolen is about to go on a journey and decides to help by appointing Giles to take care of his roses while he's away.
Giles discovers the rose thief quickly enough, it's Sally.
Her argument that flowers are God's gift to humans, poor or rich, doesn't quite convince him. When she shows him, however, that the flowers are meant for decorating the humble church, he not only tells her to keep them, but also treats her to some bread and jam. Then Sally invites him home to meet her father.
There's clearly love in the air as Giles even smiles through Sally's off-key singing and drinking her dandelion brew! 

On their first walk together, they visit a gypsy camp and Sally buys a silver "wishing ring".
The Squire sends Giles a letter asking him to invite all the neighbors for a lawn party to celebrate his return. Of course he includes Sally and her father, but she has nothing to wear, so "The Wishing Ring" aka Giles sends her a new dress, a hat, and shoes.

At the lawn party, Sally and the parson find out Giles's true identity when he loses the Earl's letter, and Sally sets out on a mission to reconcile father and son bearing gifts, introducing her dog and challenging the Earl to a game of chess. He's enchanted, but refuses to talk about Giles.

Thinking that a remedy for the gout will help, Sally visits the gypsies again and gets told to pick a magic herb on Devil's Cliff at midnight by the light of the moon which she does right away.

I'm legally bound to mention movie scenes with cats.
This cat is even shown twice.

The next morning, the parson finds Sally gone and ask some young villagers to help him search. One of them thinks of taking the dog that leads them to Sally who has fallen from Devil's Cliff.
When the Earl hears about this, he forgets all about his gout, calls for a horse and gets on his way. Unfortunately, the horse founders and he asks for a new one at the inn. The innkeeper runs to the Squire where Giles tells him to take the horse from the stable - for whose use the Earl pays half a crown which the innkeeper takes back to Giles telling him about Sally's accident.

When Giles and his father meet at Sally's bed, the Earl gets angry and wants to leave, but Sally hands him the half crown and Giles tells him that he himself has unknowingly paid him with it.

Everyone is invited to the wedding feast, village girls and boys, school masters and soldiers, gypsies - and of course Sally's dog!

I love how the young girl is eating.
That's concentration.

From the title and after watching "The Blue Bird", I had the idea that this would be another fairy tale with a moral, but actually it's a romcom and such a sweet one!
The title is a bit misleading, the wishing ring really doesn't play such a big role except allowing Giles to give Sally the new party dress anonymously.

I loved to see how Sally's uncomplicated and enthusiastic behavior - maybe a bit too uncomplicated in regards to the roses, couldn't she have asked the Squire? - changed Giles, but I think you could already see that Giles isn't a bad egg when the Squire told him to take care of his roses. No complaining, on with the apron and off he went even if we don't know how well he did it.
It was also lovely to see how quickly Sally captured the Earl's heart. I got "Little Lord Fauntleroy" vibes from that, it was enough that Sally was being her uninhibited self, just like Cedric, no idea of class differences or shyness.

We have a charming romance, we have our funny bits, we have our drama, what's not to like?
Especially with pictures as beautiful as this one? Admit it, that looks like a good spot for a break.

The movie is based on Owen Davis's play from 1910 which explains the opening and ending with the proscenium and curtain and the silent chorus of four young girls whom we meet several times throughout the film.

Now let's get to the real hero, though, Gyp Williams as "The Orphan". Oh wait, I haven't mentioned an orphan yet? Well, not under that name ... yes, our little Gyp is billed fourth, and if you ask me, he deserves it for his splendid performance!

Oh, and by the way, this is another lucky find when film historian Kevin Brownlow came upon it in a defunct film library and didn't even think it was worth the asking price at first! 

This one is definitely going on my favorite silent movie list.


Sources and further reading:

1. Fritzi Kramer: The Wishing Ring (1914) - A Silent Film Review. On: Movies Silently, September 21, 2014
2. Kyle Westphal: The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England. On: Library of Congress. National Film Preservation Board. Documents

Fall feelings

Last week, Erin from "Still Live, With Cracker Crumbs" announced that she and Lisa from "Boondock Ramblings" will not have a "Comfy Cozy Cinema" event on their blogs this year. Instead they'll be doing "Sweater Weather Cinema" with fall movies ... and I found myself thinking that I didn't really know any except for Halloween movies and therefore probably wouldn't be able to participate.

Of course I know movies with fall scenes, but I never thought of them specifically as fall movies. To be honest, I had never thought about that topic at all until now.
Here Erin explains what a fall movie is for her. Check it out and if you have your own favorites, let her know and maybe tag along for the "Sweater Weather Cinema" with her and Lisa?

Now I let people know a lot - whether they want to hear it or not - that fall is my favorite season. I love the colors, the rain, the air, and of course saying goodbye to summer (and the fan).
However, I was surprised myself to find that many fall inspired items I made over the years, this is not even everything!

And of course I can't forget my Autumn Dawn and my Fairy Queen Jessica!

I guess I express my feelings in beads and wire?

Weekend Traffic Jam - Week 173

Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot!

My posts for the link up will go live on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. EDT or, if you live in the future like I do, on Fridays at 3:30 a.m. CE(S)T.

Do you ever wonder where your brain went without telling you?
The other day, I was in the kitchen and put some "emergency bread" into the oven (I don't bake and ran out of my bread from the bakery, but I usually have something in the fridge for cases like these). I set the timer and then boiled water for my favorite tea, topped up Gundel's plate - you know just stuff you do when you're waiting. Then I went back to my book, but there was a little voice telling me I forgot something.
Indeed I did. I had set the timer, but hadn't turned the oven on!
I'm truly the Queen of the Kitchen ...

I'm much better with books and decided to give Anne's and Olivia's "Friday Book Snippets" a try where you share a quote - a sentence or short paragraph - from the beginning of a book you read at the moment and one from page 56 (or another).

Today, mine are from "A Tiger's Wedding" by British actress Isla Blair.
Beginning: "I banged my sandals together to shake out any cockroaches or scorpions, the gesture an automatic reflex, like saying 'bless you' when someone sneezed."
Page 56: "The greatest change was in Fiona. At night there'd be choking sounds from her bed, which she'd try to muffle with her pillow and when I asked her if she was crying, she always said no. But she was - a gulping sort of crying."

Now let's get to the Weekend Traffic Jam!
As part of the reboot, we will be featuring a different blog every week.
How about stopping by and saying hello? Let them know we sent you.

This week our spotlight is on Di-alog.

Di from Di-alog says: ... well, actually I couldn't find anything, but I can tell you that Di is a fashion blogger sharing her outfits and sometimes those of her husband Roger. Maybe one of the other hosts know more!

Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!

Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household - The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat's Wire has what she calls a jumping spider brain. She has many interests and will blog about whatever catches her attention - crafts, books, old movies, collectibles or random things.

Rena from Fine Whatever Blog writes about style, midlife, and the "fine whatever" moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she's been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.


Here are some of my picks from last week's link up.

Pat's community has had a "bear filled summer".

You won't be surprised that I enjoyed seeing Mireille's beaded earrings and the outfits she wore with them.

Lisa presents the 1945 movie "Without Love" with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.

Deb takes stock now that spring starts in Australia.

Nicole talks about crazy clothes sizing.


Let's link up!

Guidelines:
This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.
Please link only blog posts you created yourself. Please link directly to the URL of your blog post and not the main address of your blog.
Please do not link to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos/shorts, Instagram or Facebook reels, TikTok videos, or any other social media based content.
Please do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment. 

Notice:
By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that the content is your own property and give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.
We welcome unlimited, family friendly content. This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps, fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or discussions, photography, art, and so much more!
Thank you for linking up with us!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Silent Movies - Mighty Like a Moose

Last week I talked about an affair that had a tragic ending for some, today's affair is very different.
If I tell you that Charley Chase is part of this one, you may remember that he was known for comedy. I think we deserve one after last week's drama.
I give you "Mighty Like a Moose" from 1926 (seems I'm stuck in this year at the moment, but that's mere coincidence!).

Let's start with the plot (spoiler alert!).

Mr. Moose has buck teeth and Mrs. Moose has a big nose.

The neighbor kids - no respect. I had to add this picture because it reminds me of the scene in "A Christmas Story" when the kids pranked their teacher by wearing fake buck teeth (from wax as you can read in the book that inspired the movie ... I'm digressing, sorry).

Both Mr. and Mrs. Moose have saved for months to surprise their spouse with a face lift - et voilà.

Mr. Moose's dentist has a before and after picture taken and also presents his patient with a set of false teeth so his family will still be able to recognize him. He also invites him to a party this evening, but Mr. Moose declines saying he's married.
Then he meets Mrs. Moose in the hallway, but they don't recognize each other and start flirting, so he invites her to the party. They both don't feel very good about betraying their spouse, but on the other hand they can't resist after seeing the effect of their respective surgeries.

They arrive at home separately and don't notice each other at first doing kind of a "dance" around each other - one comes into a room when the other one is just leaving it.
Once at the party, Mr. Moose tries to get a dance with his date, but instead she gets whisked away while he is asked to dance with a lady who only knows the polka (unfortunately I didn't manage to get a screenshot that really conveys how hilarious that dance is).
What no one knows is that the police is already waiting to raid the party as they suspect the doctor of alcohol possession (prohibition time!) and "arrest everybody for practice".
Mr. Moose has spotted the policemen and warns Mrs. Moose. They both turn around only to have their picture taken by the police. Remember, they don't know they're a married couple.

At home, Mr. Moose is surprised to find his date entering his house shortly after him. He overhears her telling the maid about the surgery and is shocked that his wife betrayed him. So he tells Mrs. Moose as her date that he can't live without her, then comes back with his false teeth, and finally stages a fight between "the date" and "the husband" (with the help of a swinging boot).

Unfortunately for him, Mrs. Moose has found the newspaper which also shows the before and after picture of her husband. When she slaps him for trying to trick her with the fake fight, he loses the false teeth.
Where are they? Oh, found them!

Mistaken identities have been the base for comedies for a long time. So when one reviewer writes that he doesn't understand how they didn't recognize each other, it made me laugh.
My favorite example - Clark Kent/Superman. For some weird reason, people still know who I am even without my glasses.
At least, we learn that Mrs. Moose has also bought new clothes her husband doesn't know yet.

I was also delighted at the immediate success of the surgeries. No bandages, no traces, no pain, the patient hops out of the chair and everyone is happy.
Don't we wish it really were that easy?
If you wonder, by the way, nose jobs have been around for quite some time - first in India around 600 B.C. In the West, they really caught on in the late 19th century and were not just used for mere aesthetics later, but also to help men wounded in the war. 

The fight Mr. Moose had with himself obviously wasn't realistic, either, especially at the end when he changed identities in seconds and always came from the same side.
All of that was cleverly edited, only Superman could have been this fast.

Does all of that matter, though? Of course it doesn't!
The whole movie used the wonderful choreography to make the audience laugh, and it sure worked for me.
I also enjoyed the funny title cards. My favorite was the one when Mr. Moose enters the house and gets attacked by his dog who doesn't recognize him with the new teeth so he has to put the fake set in.

This is of course a hint at RCA's Nipper listening to "His Master's Voice" (check out my post about Nipper if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Conclusion - is the movie realistic? No. Is it funny? Heck, yeah!
Even "laughing out loud" funny to me.
So far I enjoyed every Charley Chase film I have watched and I'm looking forward to exploring more of them.


Further reading:

Fritzi Kramer: Mighty Like a Moose (1926) - A Silent Film Review. On: Movies Silently, April 27, 2014