Skip to main content

Beading Friday

As promised I spent a chunk of time today creating two items using beads.

The first idea was co-opted from Jami, who has been wearing a lovely beaded wrap bracelet lately in metallic tones.  I thought I'd duplicate it as best as I could.  While in the States I purchased a blend of seed beads with metallic finishes in gold and polished hematite, as well as a few crystal and smoky quartz beads.  Left over from another project were brushed brass bugle beads in a quantity too small for most projects, but the perfect amount for this task.  Want to see what I made?

The brass closure can be seen in the third loop from the bottom of the photo
The bracelet was made to the perfect length for my wrist and wraps around it six times.  I know magnetic closures aren't the safest bracelet clasps, but I happen to like them, so one was added in a brass colour.  (It is visible in the photo above.)

Glad no one saw me taking this photo; it was a juggling act
Hopefully the close up allows you to see how the bracelet looks. My first scheduled beading project was fast, fun and the end result is something to be proud of as well.  I have a bit of new bling.

The second project of the day is for Miss A; another Xmas ornament needed to be made for her.  Miss M's was revealed here.  (Now that I look back at the post I didn't identify that first photo as the one I selected for Miss M.  I guess the cat is out of the bag about that gift now.)

Combining colours was never a strength for me, so when I laid out the pinkish gray bugle beads with the purple seed beads I hesitated.  Then I found the mauve accent beads and wondered if the whole thing would work, so I put together a couple of ladders to see.  I chanced it since an expert at putting colours together told me to avoid perfectly matching colours.  She says that type of combination can be boring.

Sometimes it all comes together the way you want it to

The combination, at least to me, worked so I pressed forward.  The ornament cover came together quickly; only four ladders needed to be made because the bugle beads were long and there has to be enough space for the tiers of beads to sit between the ladders.  Six tiers were added with another accent bead added on the fourth tier.  Here's a look at the finished ornament as it overlooks one of the views from my office.

Seems the ornament enjoys the view as much as I do
The teardrop shaped ornament is a personal favorite.  It's perfect for an infant during her first Xmas.  Now it just needs 2016 added to it.

 I am a happy beader.  It was a great day for beading.

Next up ~~ a fully completed Fiona Baby Sundress.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time.  One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock.  So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep.  Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot.  And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms...
2 comments
Read more

Ode to the Cat

It has been six months since Mike, the cat's, passing.  I think of him every day and miss him especially when Paul is away.  Mike was a being in the house with me and we were close.  Grieving his death has been muddled with my Dad's passing and sometimes I feel guilty about that happening.  As time passes the ache becomes less hurtful for both and I am starting to get mostly good memories in its place. Recently I helped celebrate Pablo Neruda's birthday with Jami, my poet and overall very creative friend.  Guests were asked to select one poem written by Neruda to read to the small group who gathered for the celebration.  I picked this one: Ode To The Cat -- Pablo Neruda There was something wrong with the animals: their tails were too long, and they had unfortunate heads. Then they started coming together, little by little fitting together to make a landscape, developing birthmarks, grace, flight. But the cat, only the cat turned ou...
1 comment
Read more

Knitting-Related Guinness World Records

I had to share some of the Guinness World Records connected with knitting.  It is amazing to me the type of skill, stamina and unique characteristics these record holders have in common. How about trying to knit with these SPNs?? Ingrid Wagner and her large needles and knitted swatch The largest knitting needles measured 3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in) long and had a diameter of 8 cm (3.15 in). Ingrid Wagner, a rug and art creation artist, from the UK used the needles to knit a tension square of ten stitches by ten rows at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, on March, 10 2008.  (And I complained about getting certain SPNs stuck in my clothes.)  See how this swatch was done with merely 5 people managing the needles.  And what about the yarn?  It is truly ex-bulky.  It looks like they're knitting in a warehouse, but with a wingspan of almost 24 feet or 7 m, you'd need all that space.  Or h...
1 comment
Read more