This week's Top Ten Free Bead Patterns continue to indicate interest in the winter holiday bead patterns. I guess that means that the holiday season will soon be upon us, whether we are ready for it or not!

Over the next week or two, many of us will begin traveling to visit family and friends in far away and some not-so-far-away places. Others of us will be hosting gatherings, ranging from a simple coffee-and-dessert get-together to several full dinners and after-dinner visiting with myriad relatives, friends, and others. If that circle includes children, and most do, consider offering the younger ones their own Beading Party as a way to burn off some energy by exercising their creativity. The projects may be as simple as a single-strand Stretch Cord Bracelet using larger seed beads (sizes 6/0 or 8/0), a few cat-face beads, some colorful glass firepolish beads, furnace glass, metal charms or, if you want to add cord, too, pendants for necklaces.

Unless the only gathering you'll be hosting happens to fall on the actual day of the Holiday, check with others in your beading groups for older teen beaders who might be interested in helping out. No real lesson is needed, just some help with the basics and supervising the activities. In this section about Beading with Children, you'll find a wealth of patterns and projects for young beaders. Beading with the kids can be great fun and give one a whole new perspective on creativity in general. And it sure is more relaxing than having a house full of bored kids, stuck inside with nothing to do, while an unexpected storm is raging away outside.

Imagine an entire social networking site (think MySpace.com or Facebook.com) dedicated to beaders, and to beaders only? A site where everything posted is somehow related to beading, beads, beadwork, making beads, buying beads, or designing bead patterns? A social network for beaders that is available all over the world, 24/7/365 (well, for the most part) with everything the other social networks offer, only without all the non-bead related stuff?

Dream no more, because that very social network has it has arrived at Bead-Space.com.

For the unfamiliar, social networking is an innovative method for people to gather in an online environment to meet and interact socially and professionally. Members may find new friends with similar interests, share ideas, or just hang out and socialize in a virtual beading group, bead store back room, or “bead cave” setting.

It’s almost too good to be true; a place to enjoy the real-time company of other beaders, catch up with friends, and share all the interesting posts you’ve seen in your visit to Beadwork Forum, before you return to Beadwork.About.com to find that tutorial someone wanted, or for the latest free bead pattern, then head back to Bead-Space.com to share with others. More beading friends means more beading fun!

Here's this week's Top Ten Free Bead Patterns and if the most popular bead patterns this week are any indication, then, in the eyes of beaders, if not to other people, it's beginning to look a lot like the winter Holiday season will soon be upon us!

Here's a few Last Minute Halloween Bead Patterns for you, along with the pattern for a sweet Tiny Beaded Witch Doll plus a few more Halloween Patterns and a selection of Beaded Strap ideas, in case you want to make beaded Amulet Bags to wear.

Since the above patterns, as well as these simple Peyote Stitch Halloween Amulet Bag Bead Patterns are quick to make, you might also want to create a tiny dimensional Beaded Pumpkin or two, for a pendant or a pair of earrings. And, if all you have time to do is a really quick stringing project, this fun, organic, and zero-calorie Candy Corn Beaded Bracelet in no time at all, giving you even more time to sort through that candy to make sure it all tastes OK before you hand it out to your local Trick-or-Treat crowd.