I recently learned that the bead world lost Carol Cypher. Carol was a wonderful bead and fiber artist and a mentor to me. When I was first dipping my toes into the world of YouTube and wasn't yet writing my own patterns, I contacted Carol about possibly teaching some of her projects from her book Mastering Beadwork. At the time, this book was one of the absolute best for teaching new beaders basic stitches. She replied, "Absolutely!" She was so encouraging to me, and I will never forget that. Over the years, she would chat with me and cheer me on. She was one of the few in the business to do that, and for that I am eternally grateful. 

As a memorial to her, we will have Carol Cypher month in January 2026. We will focus on her book Mastering Beadwork, published in 2007 by Interweave Press. Although the book is no longer in print, you can still find it secondhand. I was also elated to find out that you can purchase an ebook edition from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DH40ZVA?tag=randohouseinc7986-20

We will be working on the following projects:

January 12th - Dewdrop Diagonal Bracelet

January 19th - Mardi Gras Beaded Netted Bead

January 26th - Fashion Magazine Earrings

February 2nd - Backless Brick Stitch Bezel

February 9th - African Polygon Stitch

February 16th - Crayola Beaded Rope Bracelet 

I'll also be hosting a free Zoom on Friday, February 27th, from 7:00-9:00pm Eastern, where we'll all work on a project from the book or work on finishing up projects started in January or February.

I hope this will be a great way to honor Carols memory as we start the new year.