A Beading Party to Celebrate Kathy Cook Getting Published in Beadwork

Kathy Cook recently had her first projects published in Beadwork magazine. Her Groovy Trax Wrap bracelet was published in the Winter 2018 issue of Quick + Easy Beadwork, and her Diamonds in the Groove bracelet was published in Beadwork December 2017/January 2018.

Kathy’s local bead shop celebrated with a beading party on November 11. Kelli Rae Burns, owner of The Hole Bead Shoppe in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, tells us that 14 people reserved a spot to bead that day, which is “every comfortable seat in the store!” Seventeen people ended up attending, including Kelli Rae and her husband Michael.

The ladies worked on Kathy’s projects from both issues of Beadwork magazine (Quick + Easy Beadwork Winter 2018 and Beadwork December 2017/January 2018). They beaded from 11:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m., enjoying food and games while they worked. Kelli Rae and Michael also had a variety of prizes for the beading party attendees, including free books, free patterns, beads from the store’s free bead tub, and a wire snowflakes project to make after the party.

Kathy Cook: Local Bead Shop Supporter

According to Kelli Rae, Kathy has been a customer and friend since The Hole Bead Shoppe opened in 2005. Kathy travels extensively and always supports local bead shops. In fact, she rarely purchases any beading supplies from chain stores, preferring to support small businesses instead.

Kathy says that she started beading in the late 1960s with seed beads and bugle beads that she purchased from a local craft shop in Iowa. She learned to loom and taught herself the daisy chain technique. Her sister would find beaded jewelry in fashion magazines and challenge Kathy to recreate it.

When Kathy had her 3 children (including a set of twins!), she put beading on the back burner, switching to cross-stitch and knitting for a few years. In 2001, a friend showed Kathy some beaded pieces she had made, and Kathy was quickly hooked again. She joined her friend’s beading group at the Senior Advantage Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where she discovered Delica beads and peyote stitch.

Kathy says that it’s a treat to visit Kelli Rae at The Hole Bead Shoppe at least once a week to check out all the new beads for inspiration. She feels very fortunate to have a local bead store where she can go for supplies and design ideas. Kelli Rae has kitted and taught one of Kathy’s designs, and she encouraged Kathy to submit her recent designs to Beadwork.

Kathy says she felt like a real celebrity at her beading party: getting congratulated, autographing everyone’s magazines, and watching the ladies beading her projects. She encourages everyone to support their local bead shop. It’s a great place to meet new friends and learn a new hobby.

Party All Day, Party All Night

After Kathy’s beading party, the group continued the festivities by celebrating Joy Moss’s birthday at El Maguey Mexican Grill & Cantina. Kelli Rae says that Joy is a “friend, client, beading teacher, and past Oklahoma Bead Society president.” She also does Greyhound rescue for the Greyhound Adoption League in Oklahoma.

According to Kelli Rae, the beading party attendees couldn’t stop talking about all the great projects in Quick + Easy Beadwork. They loved all the designs and remarked several times about how much they appreciate our contributors sharing their ideas for others’ benefit. Kelli Rae says her store completely sold out of Quick + Easy Beadwork on the day of the party.

Share Your Beading Story!

We absolutely love sharing heart-warming stories like this one. Do you have a local bead shop that you adore? Are you a member of a beading group that you can’t live without? Send us an email at: beadworksubmissions@interweave.com; we’d love to share your story with our readers!

Happy beading!
Lavon Peters
Managing Editor, Beadwork magazine

Get the Quick + Easy and December/January 2018 issues of Beadwork, then subscribe so you don’t miss any upcoming projects!