Many of our hand crafts are reliant upon the lowly hand sewing needle. This month’s guest speaker, Carol Perrenoud, will take you through the history in how needles were originally handmade, then will take you on a guided visual tour of the needle making factory in England and amaze you with many steps of production in making the lowly “I can’t live without it” needle. Why do they break? Why do they bend? What is a Glovers needle and why are they so expensive? What is the difference between needles made in England and needles made in India? How long have metal needles been around historically and culturally what is their significance? And for goodness sake, I just want to be able to thread the darn thing!

Carol will also show images of her work and will end the talk with the short, “Going to Bead Camp”

Carol Perrenoud is a bead artist teacher and entrepreneur her work has been exhibited nationally and featured in many beadwork books since 1989 she has penned articles for Bead and Button and Beadwork magazines has authored 4 instructional beadwork videos with Victorian Video Productions – Bead weaving Peyote Stitch, Bead Crochet, Bead Embroidery, and Bead Weaving Herringbone Stitch. She has received the Excellence in Bead Artistry Award along with Virginia Blakelock from Bead and Button in 2002.

Many of her pieces refer to the animals she studied while a zoology student but her interest in beads and fibers is lifelong. Carol spends her days working in the mail order, Beadcats, bead business and her evenings managing an upscale grocery store. She is a member of the Portland Bead Society.

Carol states, “I often have to remind customers, students and myself that beads are just static but tactile pretty pieces of glass. What I do with them to make myself feel elegant or visibly put a smile on my face, or impress the viewer that I could do that with beads – THAT is the art of beadwork.”