Trivia question: What does my necklace have in common with astronomers, long-haul truckers, and steelworkers?

The Swarovski crystals in my necklace are made by the parent company of Swarovski Optik, makers of high-performance telescopes and binocular lenses. Swareflex produces those little reflectors on the freeway that mark the white lines at night. Tyrolit, a Swarovski subsidiary, makes precision grinding, cutting, and drilling tools used in heavy industry.

Hi folks,

I'm Toni from the editorial team at F+W Publications' KP Craft Books in Cincinnati, Ohio. Last spring, I relocated from Eugene, Oregon, to Iola, Wisconsin, to join the Krause Quilt/Sew team. I was just getting used to the Wisconsin winter, and actually enjoying it, when F+W decided to move the KP quilt/sew and craft books to their offices in Cincinnati.

Believe it or not, I miss the dramatic, cold Wisconsin  winter and the wonderland I drove through on my way to the office every day. What I don't miss on the drive to work is dodging the deer leaping across the road and into bumpers any time of day or night, any time of year.

Here's a shout out the women at Harlequin Beads in Eugene, Oregon and the bead group that meets at the store every week...Hey, ladies! You could say Harlequin is my birthplace as a beader. Their regular meeting is listed as "Bead Circle" on the store's calendar. But truth be told, it's better known Bead 'n Feed. You can probably guess why. Maybe it should called Bead, Feed, 'n Buy, because each meeting involves just about equal amounts of each.

I'm a dedicated bead-aholic. Loom weaving and stringing necklaces and earrings provide me with ample excuses for buying ever more beads. Next week, I'll tell you more about my passion for sparkly things.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear from you. I hope you'll introduce yourself and tell us about your favorite forms of beading and jewelry making, is it wire wrapping, polymer clay jewelry, metal working, bead stringing, loom weaving, hand weaving, chainmail, or ....? Do you have any photos of your favorite pieces? And as soon as I find some photos of my work, I'll post them here.

You've probably noticed that your MyCraftivity.com Beading and Jewelry admins, Candy, Ali, and I are spread out in the US and England. It's true, the Internet has no borders, so I hope you will come here to meet with us often, and start by telling us about yourself.

Cheers, Toni