Oh... Delica beads.

I've fallen hard for those itty bitty morsels of glass perfection. The delica. These are premium Japanese cylinder beads, in size 11/0. They are very consistent in size and shape and colour. There are so many gorgeous colours! 

I've started buying more thanks to some books and classes available at the store. 

First came Diane Fitzgerald. 

Contemporary Beadwork I is out of print, but available on CD at beadFX. 

Diane Fitzgerald is a bead collector and jewelry designer who works with a variety of beads large and small, old and new. Since 1989, Diane has taught classes at her shop, Beautiful Beads, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, across the U.S. and internationally. As a collector, she focuses on contemporary American art glass beads and European and Japanese vintage beads. Diane has traveled to South Africa to study Zulu and Xhosa beadwork and to Japan, Czech Republic, Germany, the UK and other areas to learn about the glass bead industry and meet beadworkers and beadmakers. 

Diane taught at the store when I still didn't like those "darn little beads". I didn't take any of her classes and could kick myself now. Luckily, we were both instructors on the recent Swarovski cruise, so I got to spend extended time with this amazing woman. We even beaded together waiting for our flights home at the airport. A real treat! Please visit her website at www.dianefitzgerald.com

Then came Jean Power and her book. 

Jean was a Designer of the Year for BeadWork Magazine in 2012 so every issue including a sweet taste of what would come with the launch of her book. Jean is coming to beadFX to teach this year and I will NOT miss out on this opportunity. 

Check the class calendar for her schedule. 

And then along came Kate. Kate McKinnon that is. And Contemporary Geometric Beadwork - by Kate McKinnon. Co-author and illustrator, Christina Vandervlist, taught at the store and also had a book signing. Seeing some of the magnificent pieces from the book in real life really inspired me. 

All of this stitched deliciousness inspired me to organize my delica collection. It's a sweet little collection. Pam laughed at me. Or rather at how few delica beads I have. Well, it's a start and golly gee, I love them. I have organized by colour family. My BBB (best beading buddy) Gail organizes her beads bottoms up so she can see what the colours are. I liked it so much, I did it too, but used elastics to hold them together. 

Well, back to the website I go to make of list of the delica's that I need and want. It's going to be a long list....