Marcia, Marcia, Marcia

Do you remember that Steve Martin movie where he was jumping up and down with excitement and yelling, "The new phone book's here, the new phone book's here!!!"? (I never actually saw the movie but I believe he was excited to see his name in print.) I felt a little bit like that today, only in my case, I was excited that "Marcia's new book is here! Marcia's new book is here!"

That's right, I picked up my copy of Marcia DeCoster's Beaded Opulence today (and I got my exercise in by walking to the post office to pick it up, a distance of 40 minutes or about 2.5 km.)

I had ordered the book when I took one of Marcia's classes at the Bead and Button show in Milwaukee this past June. She had an advance copy of the book with her at the class, as well as several samples of the actual pieces with her, which were just delightful to touch and hold. The photographs in the book are fabulous but it is just that much better to see the items in person. The designs are so rich, so beautiful and yes, so opulent.

Naturally, I couldn't resist, I just had to order a copy of the book for myself right then and there. The book I received is also signed by the author, personalized to me, now that we are close, personal friends (see photo on the left, taken in Milwaukee), which is also quite lovely to have.

The focus of the book is patterns made with the right angle weave stitch, which I don't have much experience with as yet. I tried it a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't really coming together, so I'm looking forward to reading this book and getting the lowdown on the technique from someone who is a master at it!

If you'd like to see some of Marcia's designs, you'll want to cruise your mouse over this link and check out her blog posting from August 24th: http://maddesignsbeads.blogspot.com/, which showcased 3 of her beautiful pieces.