Creepy eye key

Before I get started, I'd like to recommend that if iTunes wants to update your computer, don't do it right now.  I tried, and it messed iTunes up completely.  I know I'm not the only one based on what I saw in a forum.  On their recommendations I've uninstalled everything iTunes and Apple from my computer, and I'm about to reinstall.  I wanted to blog first, though.  There's something amiss in the iTunes update process, and if I were you I'd wait a week or more before trying it.

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Onto the key!

Have you noticed there's a lot of eye jewelry around now?  I hate to say it, but I think they're creepy.  I feel like I'm being watched.  :)

My friend Tammy Rae Wolter is borosilicate glass artist.  I showed a picture of her studio in my Other folks' spaces, Part 3 blog post.  Among the many things that Tammy makes are glass eyes for jewelry (instead of for popping into an empty eye socket), and I always tease her that they creep me out.  Her pieces are beautiful, but they're watching me.  I just know they are.  If you'd like to see what she does, here's her website and Etsy shop.  If nothing else, click here to see just her eyes.

I must have made an impression, because when she did a presentation at a Loose Bead Society meeting in February, 2012, this was one of her slides:

Only a good friend would go out of her way to publicly creep me out.

Well, she must have made an impression on me, too, because when I was designing patterns for my large keys (the same batch as the rainbow key and iris key, which can be seen here) I decided to design a simple eye.  I stitched it up last night for the Gardens and Gears show I've been talking about:

In case you're wondering, there is a pupil in there.  It's just really small.  Steve says it looks fine, but if I make this again I'll either use a lighter color of blue or make the pupil bigger.  The iris could probably be a bit bigger, too.  In any case, it's sure to creep out anyone who I'm talking to, which was my goal.