For the first time in a long time...

One of the more upsetting Graves disease symptoms has been my inability to imagine.

More specifically I guess what really happens is that the hyperthyroidism disrupts my ability to focus, thoughts coming rapid fire and jumbled rather than orderly and sequential. At times I have even found it difficult to speak because I just can't put a sentence together. (Case in point, this is the first blog post since July.) New ideas felt like things I could only see in my peripheral vision.

I'll be honest, anything new you've seen from me since March has come about very slowly. 

But then, during that half awake, half asleep time last Saturday morning I realized...I was imagining, thinking through a new earring shape, putting ideas together in my head. It was amazingly comforting. Imagining feels good to me, I guess its just part of who I am, and without it I felt disjointed and as an artist, handicapped in a way.

Recovery is a slow uphill march. I have good days and really not good days.  I might not reach remission and even if I do I very well may relapse. But I'm happy for every "normal" moment and I've made peace with the fact that after all the treatment I might have to have thyroid ablation anyway.

Thank you to everyone who has commented on posts and sent me emails - I'm sorry if I wasn't able to answer you directly! I really appreciate the kindness and encouragement!

And I'm happy to be posting new work this week. Four pairs of Convertible, mix and match earrings will be in the Etsy shop tomorrow by noon.

Summer holiday

My Etsy shop will be closed from June 17 through June 30 while my husband and the boys and I are in the UK. We're fortunate to have our daughter and my parents to man the fort, weed the garden, care for the dog, and each other, while we're away.

You can read about our multi-generation household in the most recent issue of Alphabet Family Journal as they've published a short, candid piece our daughter wrote about a year ago. Ema's writing is excellent, clean and pleasing and I can tell she genuinely appreciates how she's been raised.

I'll be blogging and posting to Facebook a bit while we're away, when internet allows. The rest of the time I'll be wading in tide pools and hiking Hadrian's wall, sketching castles and wandering the moors…or something like that.

Doubled shorter "cocoon bead" necklace…still working out a clasp. 

Another pair of convertible earrings - these are just two sided.  Waiting on my work table until I get home. 

On my work table today

Convertible earrings - finished.

Another pair of convertible earrings almost finished. 

South Atlantic ring - now in the shop

Give Away

This was the example pair of "convertible" earrings that I wore to the class I taught on Saturday (with new, never worn ear wires of course). And I'm giving them away today! They are three components that can be taken off, the back and middle can be flipped over for a different surface. So I think we counted over a dozen different ways you can wear them. The photos show a couple of the options. 

The ear wires are polished sterling but I'd be happy to oxidized them for you if you'd like. The polymer is brass and white.  As you can imagine they are super, super light weight. 

So to join in the give-away leave a comment below - by that I will know that you like FREE jewelry but also tell me what you think about the idea of convertible jewelry, parts and pieces that come apart, change around and give you different looks from the same components. Thats what I am working on right now and I'd really like to know what people think of the idea.

(Oh and send this around social media if you would, Facebook, Twitter and especially Pinterest.) 

A winner will be chosen on Thursday morning when the second pair of example earrings goes up for give-away.