Sticks and Stones

Sticks and Stones necklace

You might remember that I made a piece using bits from my bead stash. Well the idea is now a fully
fledged workshop and it's proving to be great fun to teach. To make all the beading I really wish I could... there would have to be three of me at least! but each time I teach this workshop I find myself inspired to delve into the stash and make another piece.

In class students are invited to bring along focal stones and cabochons they've purchased, but find a bit tricky to incorporate into a finished piece. I've seen some amazing cabcohons, from the epic scale nugget of Amber which got encased with 24 carat gold beads, to dainty Victorian buttons rescued from obscurity.

The first half hour of class can be a bit nerve wracking, as I get presented with such a diverse selection of shapes and sizes. But you can see my shoulders drop bit by bit as students get started on their individual creations. The second part of the class is about how the newly bezelled pieces can be made into wearable art necklaces, this is the sticks bit. I share a pattern for beaded links that can be used in lots of different combinations. A starting point that soon morphs off in all kinds of directions and total fun to participate in.
I have a few more Sticks and Stones classes coming up (you can find links to them on the workshops page of this blog), and, time permitting, a few more pieces to show and share.
The latest is worked around a dichroic glass cabochon, it was gifted to me by a lovely student. Sadly no amount of trying can get the digital camera to capture the vivid oranges and reds, but I had the best fun beading the colours to go with it. The necklace part is beaded rings linked with antique copper chain. I also used the CzechMates two hole dagger beads; they are great for fringe ends and so much easier to get to lie well in the same direction!

O beads!

O beads are perfect for bead embroidery

I just love it when a new bead begins. Happily my friend, bead artist Sabine Lippert, invited me to join in the fun right at the start of this little bead's life. Sabine has thought up a great little bead, subtle, easy to use, and a very pretty addition to the bead stash.
The first bag of samples got my creative ideas going right from the offset. O beads are, simply put, miniature do-nuts of glass, perfectly formed to nestle between beads.

Various designers around the world have put them through their paces, to check they work up well in lots of different stitches.  I'm loving them in Albion stitch, and Netting, they bring a whole new dimension to Right Angle Weave, and they are the perfect bead for bead embroidery lovers... It's been an age since I did some bead embroidery and now I can't resist!

O beads weave in nicely too

Meanwhile, whilst we've been busy testing both the beads and our ingenuity, somewhere in  Czechoslovakia ... the bead master behind the new bead has been busy cooking up recipes for a truly delicious palette of colours. It takes many months to go from the charcoal grey test beads we have to play with, to a rainbow of colours and finishes, months where we ache to try the new colours and are tormented by preview pictures that simply make our fingers itch!

Below are some of the first O beads, worked into tassels, earrings, and bracelets. I think they are destined to be one of my favourites!


O beads will be available from December 1st and I'll be creating these (and more) patterns as downloads and kits just as soon as the bags of those lovely colours arrive. I'll post the info just as soon as everything is ready.

A little bit of seaside

Dreamy Dagger beads

Bead love alert!
dreamy dagger beads!
When these arrived in the post, I decided that deadlines could
go hang, time to follow my bliss for a few evenings and bead me a necklace!

The hanks of beads were silky and tactile and I soooo wanted to have them with me as fringy pendants to swish my fingers through.

The colours reminded me of a piece of Abalone shell, picked up during a last long walk on a beach at the end of a holiday. I kept it to remind me of the pure luxury of sand between the toes, salt in my hair and the warmth of the sun.

The necklace grew simply, from the colours and with no particular plan in mind. More importantly, no stopping. No stopping to get caught up with re-works, rip outs, or planning, no stopping to think too hard about bead choices... Instead I kind of worked with the same frame of mind as that walk on the beach. Oh, and no stopping to tidy up the bead board, random messy, definitely a new approach and the random juxtaposition of beads gave me ideas and choices I might not usually have made.

Random act of beadiness!

The cord is a length of crochet, worked in fine cotton around a length of narrow jewellery tube, which gave a simple base to add a bail and beaded beads around.

The finished necklace

The pendant is simple bead embroidery, it's been an age since I did any, but it seemed the easiest way to bezel the irregular shell piece, and add the swishy fringing. Accent beads include semi precious stone beads, of South African Jade and pink Phosphosiderite.
I'm really happy with the outcome, it's not ground breaking, all the techniques are old favourites, but it's a fun piece to wear, and while I might not have time to go dig my toes into warm sand just now, instead I can run my fingers through those swishy fringes and take a moment to dream.

Lots of swishy fringes

Random embellishments

Colour and cream teas

I seem to spend a lot of my early mornings driving through the countryside to get to bead groups this autumn. Fileigh Beaders meet in the heart of Devonshire. We were meeting to spend a day playing with colour. It's one of my favourite classes to teach as we get to do colouring in all day! We also bead and dare to try new hues and it is always deeply rewarding to watch. It is also a class where I am sorely tempted to go buy beads as everyone brings yet more colours and combinations which I fall in love with instantly!

Autumn in Devon

Cream tea all for me

Devon has a unique landscape of rolling hills and rich farmland, Clotted cream country! At some points on my journey there is simply the ribbon of road laying across beautiful countryside, with not a house in sight. The Fileigh beaders are a lovely crowd and everyone seems to have been busy baking the night before, afternoon tea is awesome! and I am presented with a special plate of gluten free scones with, of course, clotted cream and the most delicious blackcurrant jam, and yes dear reader... I ate them all! yum!!
I took my camera for a little walk to show you the view, and as we were playing with colour, pictures of these Hydrangeas, planted around the village hall. So many great colour and shape ideas.

Almost the end of Autumn

Reaching for the beads...

October butterflies

Autumn inspiration for the
October butterfly

After a gloriously sunny summer, we are being treated to a beautiful autumn of crisp bright days.
Perfect gardening weather, and somehow, it doesn't seem so bad to be reaching for the jumpers and socks, as long as it isn't raining...yet. It is the time of year for clearing up and cutting back, for bonfires and the crackle of drying leaves and seed pods, for long walks through the woodlands in search of hazelnuts and blackberries. Everything still in abundance a little later than usual this autumn.
On the beading mat this week has been the October Butterfly, I had lots of requests for the raggedy butterfly that accompanied the Scorpion. Like usual, it took me a while to re-trace my steps and find both the thread paths and the story for this little design.

Original butterfly left, October butterfly right

October butterfly celebrates the turn of the season, misty mornings when cobwebs are turned into filigree lace, sparkling with droplets of dew. When the first hint of frost bites the air. Days that shorten into dusk too soon into evenings scented with woodsmoke.

October butterfly
sparkling on a party dress

While beading my thoughts create a history. This butterfly seemed to get steadily more vintage looking, a perfect candidate for the 'found in a trunk in the attic' idea that seems to run through my imagination... a little treasure that holds clues to a magical story...

One upon a time...




October Butterfly is now available as a downloadable pattern, as a kit or as a printed pattern.

Martha's Moth

Martha's moth is a design that began life as a question... 'Can you make me a moth?'

sketches for the Martha's Moth Brooch

Not one who finds 'No' the easiest word, however busy, I said yes.
So that question led to a heap more questions... how long do I have, who's it for, how big, what colours, how am I going to do this???
On a train journey back from a bead show, I doodled in the sketch pad. wobbly biro is my preferred way of thinking out loud on a page! I know, beautifully crafted sketch book pages would be lovely too,  but the notes are just so I don't forget what I thought.
I kind of knew about the structure from having made dragonflies, butterflies and beetles with wings in various beading techniques. I spent a summer evening watching the moths to check out body shapes and proportions. In our neighbourhood we have hawk moths and hummingbird moths and it's a bit of a tradition to go down with a glass of something nice and sit and watch them fluttering at dusk.

The finished design

Next was the lovely time of choosing out beads, and my ongoing love of clear cabochons came into play. After a few sessions at the beading board, Martha's moth came out pretty near to the original doodle and is now a brooch winging her way to her new owner.
I had fun trying our some new ideas, so next I have a re-make and tweeking session ahead, to see if I can get the instructions written and workable for my tester to have a play with.

Beaded collection

a collection of beaded elements

I know, It's been a bit quiet on the 'look what I just made front'... work is occurring, but I'm not able to show and share most of it just yet.
I did take a couple of evenings out to make something for me to wear... So the story goes like this... a dear friend who is also a dress shop owner and is VERY good at selling clothes. She is kind and warmhearted and makes you feel beautiful, she is also a great sales girl and can convince you that you look fab in a hessian sack! and while you are in her shop, you do, you really really do!
The trick, I've learned, is to visualise yourself standing in front of the next beading class as a reality check.

A visit to her is always a treat and fortuitous in this instance as I'd just had a puritanical clear out of the wardrobe, having dropped a dress size (no excitement, I still several to go! sigh, pass the celery).
Thanks to her, I am now the proud owner of two smart casual dresses, a first for me and in need (of course), of some beady bling to go with.
Time is not something plentiful right now, I'm in that part of the year where deadlines roll up like waves crashing on the shore. But sometimes it is good to allow yourself a little bit of follow the bliss.

Love the charcoal and chalk colours

I tipped out my 'epic fail' box of beaded bits and pieces, and decided to simply stitch some of them together. It was fun to go through them and pick out likely combinations.
I settled for a little pile of bezelled rivoli from a bracelet that didn't work out, which set a colour theme going; a bezelled stone, that was kind of too small for a pendant and too big for a ring; the ring part of a toggle clasp, and a tiny odd beady 'thing'. I liked the charcoal and chalk theme with a hint of moss, so I added a peyote stitch bail, and lovely long fringes.
Not a masterpiece, but a couple of evenings of seeing where the idea would wander and Oooh! it was such fun to get a wee bit random, dare myself to do the asymmetrical thing and play. It was also lovely to not have to think about instruction writing or whether people will like it, to just sit and bead for fun for a couple of evenings. As to the necklace... I love it! it is really comfortable to wear, it had a first outing to the Brockehurst Bead fair last saturday. Plus, it goes with a lot of things too as it completely bypasses necklines, result!

Blissfully blue

I like integrity, it balances the soul beautifully and is an enjoyable quality to pursue. There are times though, when the lack of it in others makes me want to rant so bad I could smash plates! Life lesson learned, is to stay silent and await the gentle work of karma to rebalance injustices. Enough said.

blue pendant

The blue stones I bought from the lovely market stall holder, and the promise to follow my bliss, combined with sadness caused by the episode alluded to above, had me take a time out to contemplate and bead.
The little blue discs of sodalite and a big donut bead of cut and polished Dumortierite were waiting to be used, rather than consigned to the 'one day' box.
Blue has been a tricky one for me, it's only recently that it has crept into my wardrobe and it's proving a fun colour to explore it with my beading.
Dumortierite is a deep denim blue, with the mystical properties of enabling the wearer to see life as it really is, to release negativity and stand firm in resolve. Sodalite brings calm, trust, rational thought and is a soother of stress irritated tummies. So if you see me wearing this piece of armour you'll know exactly what frame of mind I'll be in... or in need of!
The design process was helped along by the round shapes of the cut stones. I wanted simplicity and balance. A lucky delve into the bead box came up with the blue glass spike beads and a way to continue the trickle of thought about designs on the theme of 'sticks and stones'. They also act as a little post -it note to self, to avoid the pitfalls of negativity and negative people in general!

Talitha comes of age

Talitha is a design with a sweet history. I made the silver and black version a few years ago, and wore it a lot. In class my students asked to learn the pattern. Trouble was, while they loved the idea, no one wanted to sit and french knit the cord which is an integral part of the design texture. It took me many many months of searching to find a cord I liked enough to offer in class, and one which I could get in a good range of colours. The cord I finally unearthed is a gorgeous waxed cotton, finely braided cord.
The next and gratifying part of the story is that I offered the class and it sold out, and filled up, and is set to become one of those lovely classes that people seek out time and again.

As designers, we create for all kinds of reasons.

original Talitha

When I stop to think about how my designs happen., the process is hard to pin down, but constants are; that the work I do is progressing me creatively and helping my students explore new beading ideas, that it's telling an interesting story. But first and always, because it is something I really want to wear or own myself. We have no idea which of the designs will grow ever more popular and which will be set aside quietly, that's just the creative lottery of putting it out there.
So, cord acquired, I had to sit down and fathom how I made the original piece, make sure that it was repeatable in easy to follow steps, and test it in different colours to make sure it held true as a design.

colour variations, class samples... current favourite
Astral pink and pewter, far right

As part of the symbols and trinkets series, Talitha is an 'Eye for Scrying', inspired by dowsing pendulums, stones with wishing holes through the centre and traditional circular motifs used for meditation and divination.

Treasure creating

Labradorite and Serpentine necklace

I think I'm like a lot of bead lovers, in that, there is a magpie hoard of lovely things to one day use with
my beadwork in the cupboard. Part of the fun is reviewing the pieces, then squirrelling them away again as treat in store. But finding a serious lack of space in my usual treasure chest, for those lovely pieces found in the market, for example; a new approach was needed.
In the spirit of 'Living my bliss' and doing the nice stuff first, out came a Labradorite cabochon to go with the newly acquired silver capped Serpentine wand.
As the bead stash is as plentiful as the 'lovely treasures hoard', there followed a happy hour of choosing a likely pile of seed beads (galvanised pewter, pale green, olive lustre), accent beads (Czech milk glass and adorably lopsided daggers), Swaovski chatons in sand opal, and even a length of silversilk in just the right shade of olive green.
There followed many hours of pure happiness... Bliss followed!
As I bezelled the cabochon and added (then unpicked) different beaded elements, the shoulders relaxing, my mind quietly unravelling irksome life niggles... I had the best time!

The creative thought processes have had a great jump start too, and already I'm imagining a whole series of 'Sticks and Stones' pieces with articulated joins and links.
But for now, I'm going to just love wearing the necklace. Serpentine has the healing qualities of protecting the wearer against sorcery and invisible forces (!), while Labradorite is the perfect stone to help ease aching joints, while balancing and harmonising the wearer.
I'd forgotten what a pleasure it is to just take time out and make something, like going for a walk in the sunshine with no particular destination in mind. While deadlines still have to be met, meetings attended, classes prepared for and journeys organised... I've already had another rummage for the beads and bits for my next bliss session.

Ambrosina

Unlike the serendipity of the perfect crystals materialising at just the right time, Ambrosina has turned a seat of the pants roller coaster ride! Ambrosina means 'immortal' in Greek and is the name of both a bulbous fleshy plant and some divine Christian Louboutin shoes.
I'll be teaching this class at Beader's Best in Hamburg and in the Uk in Dorset too.... but before that, I'm teaching it at the beginning of May for the Beadworker's Guild. Sourcing just the right supplies can be a tense and nerve wracking business! Mostly in this case, because the first Ambrosina necklace samples were made in the depth of winter. This lovely journal,  covered in vintage silks was my colour inspiration. But, and this will be oooh so familiar to some folk out there, I used some dark bronze colour findings from my stash that I felt sure were widely available, without checking to see if they were.
The design uses my favourite technique of netting with a few tweeks and lavish ribs of embellishments with crystals, so far so good, but it also uses over size end caps and a weeny bit of wire work.
I have spent many hours and visits to suppliers in search of a lovely alternative, and was about to despair! Until I finally found a source of gorgeously patterned, silver end caps... the order is due to arrive tomorrow...

Inspired by antique silks,
Winter coloured Ambrosina necklaces

So I have been consoling myself with creating some truly summery colour mixes to work as the final samples... which of course, meant ordering yet more beads to get it 'just right'... these will hopefully also arrive tomorrow, leaving me a weekend to bead up a frenzy and finally be satisfied with my samples for these particular classes.
It's such fun choosing colours, I'll be offering...
'Lime in-da coconut' ivory, silver and the zingiest lime.
'Earth Angel' soft cream, bronze, silver and sand opal crystals.
'Indigo Dream', navy blue, pewter and violet Ab crystals.
'Mint Julep', Turquoise and silver with mint alabaster crystals, this is going to be interesting as the opaque crystals are a new adventure for me, but not everyone wants to glitter and sparkle!
so like the sand opal crystals this is a softer option.
I'll post the pictures when I'm done beading!
If you feel tempted already... click on the links to find the booking pages for the classes.

bangle tower

Bangle tower

In my last post I was pondering out loud about how the zeitgeist of beading seeps in, invited or not, and you probably picked up on a slight confidence wobble. This week I've been wrestling a new design into shape, which I'll show and share soon...
but have to keep under wraps just a weeny bit longer... it's got six legs is all I can say.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd take a bit of time out and review and rummage in the beadwork box.
This  picture is of a stack of pieces from different moments in my beady life. From the top, three coral reef inspired bangles, which are layers of peyote and fringing on a loom woven base. They were made for an exhibition way back in 2004. Made using size 9 Czech seed beads, they are nicely big and chunky and go from pale at the edges to dark in the centre.

Hollow Netted beads

The biggest part of the stack is of bristling Sea Urchin bangles, the patterns for which appear in the Bead Net book on CD, which was originally written in 2007, and is still available.
I continue to wear these and it's fun to have complete strangers ask if they can stroke them! They are completely hollow, self supporting netted structures. I so loved trying all the different netting techniques from around the world when I was planning and writing. These hollow beaded beads are another project from the same book...

Between them is a ribbed bracelet, a mix of netting and right angle weave called Fandango bangle. This one has been worked in all sorts of amazing colour combinations by friends and students, much to my envy. At the very bottom is the good old Cellini Spiral, which I made not long after I'd started beading, it took an absolute age to complete, I had to go back for more beads, so it changes colour about two thirds round and weighs a ton to wear! It definitely taught me that densely textured beadwork was not going to ever be a quick fix hobby and to always buy more beads than you think you'll need!

So, did this trip down beading memory lane have any outcomes... Well in a funny way it did, it reminded me about how I still really love playing with the structure of beadwork, about how much fun it can be mixing techniques. Looking at more recent work I can see that these things are still true, and that I am happiest when 'drawing' with beads to make creatures and flowers, foliage and insects.
Mojo is back!

Pretty flowers

Prettyfleur

I've had a little spare time recently, just enough to play some more with Rizo beads and complete the Prettyfleur pattern for print or download. I've also noticed that I seem to blog as much about ceramics as I do about beads. There is a correlation between the two I guess, with gorgeous glazes and tactile qualities, but the truth of it is that I just love me old china!
Prettyfleur is no exception in that the inspiration came from the pattern on these Staffordshire plates. These have lived on my desk since forever, because the vintage bouquet in the centre is just lovely. I can't tell you anything about this china except that it appears in small yet very tempting lots on ebay occasionally and has no name, simply the number F14753.

Jurassica to brighten a dull day

Like my ceramics, the Rizo collection grows, as more bead colours arrive; there are up to 93 to choose from so far! not that I have even a fraction of this amount, but have still managed to fall in love with more than I'll honestly have time to sit and bead with, but still lovely to gaze upon.
I did have time to make myself a Jurassica bracelet, in greenish mustard and turquoise, to go with an unseasonably cheery turquoise jumper which I'm wearing with a bright peachy orange scarf.... a colour combination recommended to keep the spirits up in these freezing and wintery february days.

textured tale

It is no secret that I love all things textile as well as beady, my little book on Loom Weaving is popular with beginners wanting to explore this traditional blend of textile and beading techniques.
I think if you love any craft it is inevitable that the tools to go with it somehow proliferate without you noticing. A quick check reveals that I have six different types of bead loom, plus another three that my lovely dad has made for me over the years. (are you picking up on my autumn cupboard clearing vibe?)
One had the beginnings of a Kerala Bangle on it. This is a loom workshop I have taught many times and continue to offer, I love it because it enables students to explore a loom with a whole mix of materials and really get to know the different processes. It is also a great way to develop a feel for thread tension in a way that won't mess up a carefully counted pattern if you don't hit perfection on day one! and a great way to teach the best ways to work a huge range of techniques in one piece.

last of the summer' Nasturtiums

First, gather together a pile of embroidery threads, flosses, yarns and fibres, some beading thread, seed and accent beads. This part can be a glorious adventure in colour, just heap together your faves and play with the pile until you have a mix you love... or pick out the colours from a picture for inspiration, like this snap of the very last of the Nasturtiums in the garden (I sense a garden tidying session coming on.. what is it about autumn and the need to sort things out and get them straight!).
Or, you can cheat and buy a ready mixed pack of dyed threads (of which I have too many, picked up as impulse buys at shows... oh such clever tempting packaging!)

Section showing woven  thread and
beading on the same warp threads

Next, warp up a loom with beading thread, then get weaving.

Here is a picture of the sample still in the loom which, incidentally, I must get round to finishing; which starts with finding the bag of threads to go with this UFO.
I like to start with a section of old fashioned over and under weaving with embroidery thread, this creates a firm  selvedge, and sets the colour mood.
Next add some bead loom weaving. Keep changing the weaving process, the bead types, weights and textures of fibres and threads. I also like to embellish some of the beady sections, or you can weave in some apertures.
It really is an open invite to have a small scale creative party!

Stack of Kerala Bangle

To finish, weave into a bangle by finishing both sets of the warp threads through the weaving at the opposite end. For a more snug bracelet, end with a second selvedge, then finish the warp ends at each end. Create a sewn fabric clasp (snap fasteners are perfect) or a metal bracelet end, of the kind designed for ribbons.

For a final flourish, add a beady edge, for me it tidies up the transitions between the techniques, and can be anything from a simple whip stitch with a bead on, to a netted edging.

current favourite

my new favourite bracelet

Sometimes things don't turn out the way you think they will. The introduction of twin hole/duo and then Super duo beads should have been a cause of excitement.
But, for me there was a real stumbling block about the thread showing between the holes if you wanted to 'step up'. By all means call my a fussy so and so... I am. This caused a real hold up for anything other than simple right angle weave designs. I found myself less and less drawn to them, could this possibly be bead fatigue?
Or is it that without the time to sit and really play beading with these little cuties, what I was actually suffering from was too many facebook 'TaDa!' moments from beaders around the globe...  there is only so many times you can mutter Doh! I should'a thought of that! before the ego wants to hide under the bed and not come out!
Anyhoo we all know how the bead envy story pans out, the more you try the bigger that pile of snipped up beady gobbledygook gets on the bead mat!
So as yet another arabesque of beady cleverness arrived in my inbox I'm thinking maybe I've missed the boat on this one and had to admit defeat.
As soon as I had... the pressure was off and I made this bracelet.
That was three weeks ago and I've worn it pretty much non stop, no less than twelve people have asked me for the pattern, plus there are a few more designs that are growing from the simple train of thought that triggered this one. So I guess my new motto is 'If at first you don't succeed, just quit trying.'

Tangerine and duck egg blue

Harmony by Shelley

I adore, I drink in, I cherish. I think my love of colour may have had a starting point here...These  Harmony Dripware ceramics from the Shelley Pottery belonged to my Grandmother and now my Ma.
What they are is really not at all important, how they feel, silky, how the colours glow in different lights, first warm, then cool. How from all the different blends of colour in the range some discerning ancestress was drawn to this delicate and perfectly balanced mix of dove grey, duck egg blue, tangerine and burnt orange. Utterly of their period and yet timeless... these are the completely important things.
I like the way the eye traces their shapes, and how they live together, the comfortingly fat bellied ginger jar, the narrow topped volcano vase and the open throated conical vase, easy colouring book shapes. It pleases me hugely that they can be re-arranged to create shapes and shadows. I probably stared at them, as a tired/bored little girl, in a yorkshire 'best china cabinet' in the parlour, I know my eye often wanders to them as a grown up daughter visiting my Ma.  I've yet to find the beads in these exact shades... maybe I could be invited on a colour mixing trip to Japan?... or maybe they don't exist except in these glazes for a reason. So just share with me the joyfulness of this little bit of eye candy.

detail from ginger jar

Detail from conical vase

inside the ginger jar

fear and beads

OK so the deadline countdown has begun for Battle of the Beadsmith and I am hanging in (or is that hanging on) to represent myself and my country, important as there are only three of us from the UK. I kid you not, the pressure is phenomenal! I'm loving what fellow contestant Nancy Dale has been posting in her blog... explaining so well that horrible sensation of creating and hating the results, the bleak days of non inspiration and the admissions to self of failure... how familiar is that just now!
I'm hating the endless stream of jaw droppingly gorgeous beadwork coming through via the organiser from contestants, the equivalent of boxers facing off before a big fight and guess what... it works!

So I pose this question, how can creativity ever really be a competition?

Moving on from that...Three cheers and a yeay! to the clever, confident, quick to finish souls who have already submitted, I'd love to know how they silenced the inner critics. In fact someone did comment that the dialogues of how we all got to the end game will be just as fascinating as the finished pieces.

How have I wrestled my inner critic to the ground?, by making deals in my head.
Deal one, I don't do huge... so I won't try to do huge just because I have seen some awesome huge.
Deal two, don't begin to compete! by which I mean, in my head the competition can't exist, I'm beading and creating to tell a story I'd want to tell anyway.
Deal three, accept the frivolity of it all.one piece of beadwork doesn't define me or contain my soul... it's just one piece of beadwork I really enjoyed making...
I hope...
Just a few more tweeks and I'll be done...

Aww who'm I kidding, knees are weak, feel queasy when in the presence of my half finished creation, have no idea how to finish it off and only 9 days to go...
... reaching for the chocolate again...

Some sparkly circles

I've just been reading back though a few of my blog posts trying to find and check a detail... and I notice I are mostly using some words a whole lot more than is interesting. So definitely no more lovely, a bit less of the delicious and divine and more moderation on the sparkly or sparkling. My English teacher would continue, no doubt, to be horrified, her default state when dealing with my written work... bless! In my defence, I long for more time to devote to social media and especially my blog... which I love... but the truth is I usually get the odd half hour here and there, which is not enough time to lovingly craft the lingo, but just enough to show and share the things that are inspiring me.

Simply simple circles

Which promise to work harder and do better, leaves me with the dictionary and thesaurus pestering task of talking to you about a very simple, pendant, which glitters gorgeously.
These are two Swarovski donuts, which have subtle chequerboard facets and a slim profile, similar to the stone cut ones. The bezel is worked in delicas and size 15 seed beads and peyote stitch, all a bit seriously simple. The colours were chosen to match those of the donuts (red Magma) and the silk wrapped cord (Lime green).
I added simple peyote rings to help balance the pendant with the cord. My decision to keep things simple was partly economy; those donuts were hair-raisingly expensive, so I wanted as much of them on show as possible. Partly, because simple is sometimes all you need. I have worn this one occasionally, but the silk wrapped cord is wrapped around some very unforgiving plastic, so this needs to go and be replaced with something more pliable... when I have time... because I know I would wear it a whole lot more.

Button Love

simple bezel on a mother of pearl button

There are buttons and then there are little round works of art that simply should not hide in a button box. You can fairly confidently take it as a given that I have a stash of buttons. I will wax lyrical over them another day. Today I'm showing you just one really beautifully smoothed and carved mother of pearl coat button. I found it at a flea market, lurking among some frighteningly garish plastic buttons, with a broken shank. I rescued it for the princely sum of 50p and the promise of a new life. Because the back of the button was a bit uneven I attached it to a backing with a beaded bezel.This also gave me something to attach a brooch pin to without having to break out the ...whispers... g.l.u.e..., or as my chums in the Guild refer to it... 'the G word'.

In the spirit of recycling and the absence of a really good commercial equivalent, I use plastic from the side of a milk carton... it is just the right thickness to support a bit of bead embroidery, but thin enough to be fairly easy to stitch through... it also survives if your brooch accidentally ends up in the washing machine... which is why I don't use cereal box card any more.

Sew the brooch pin to one side of the plastic, the base rows of bead embroidery to the other, lining things up so the pin is a wee bit above centre so the brooch will lie nicely. Then apply a piece of Ultra Suede to cover up the stitching (I cut two weeny slots for the ends of the brooch pin to fit through, and yes a dab of the G word works a treat at this stage. trim it all flush to the embroidery and finish off the edges with a row or two of beading.

Button love in a different place

The bezel is a simple peyote ring, the edge of the backing has a row of stitching to hold it all together, which is hidden with a row of double Delica beads embroidered in place, then lots and lots of little beaded leaves which start and finish just under the Delica beads. I kept the colours really simple, and the bead types quite plain too, originally made for a quite sombre event, I find I wear it often because somehow the colours have a chameleon quality.
The first photo shows my Button love brooch nestling in a new Hebe I've just potted up, it's called 'Heartbreaker' and is a lovely vivid magenta with cream and soft sage green varegation. The second picture shows the pin hanging from a nail on a stone wall. I love the way that this paler setting brings out all the sand and creamy coloured beads I used, whereas the other one really brings out the dark maroon beads.

Old friend I hardly recognise

BWG 10th Anniversary celebration necklace

Sometimes my beadwork goes off on travels of its own. This necklace was created for the Beadworkers Guild in 2009, part of a supplement to their Journal magazine, showing different ways to use stone, glass and ceramic donuts, and created to celebrate their 10th anniversary year.
Each designer commissioned for the magazine was sent a selection of beads, crystals and a donut in a 'blind' package.
I got the green package... as editor of the magazine at the time you may stroke your chin, wiggle an eyebrow and ponder, oh yes? your favourite colour? randomness I think NOT! But to make things fair someone else packaged up the beads... so serendipity won out in my favour... no really!
The finished necklace remained with the Guild from then until now, doing the tour of shows and events. When it finally came home, I hardly recognised it as my own work.
Clearly a celebration of all things Peyote stitch and size 11 seed beads. The donut is a bloodstone cut with a slightly facetted surface.
I recall that I had huge fun creating it, longed for slightly different coloured beads and took an age to finish the rope which is worked over a squishy neoprene cord... Now I still like it, but it feels kind of dated, a bit too plain and simple compared to the work I like to create now, but it also has the beginnings of an idea I've gone on to use many times, the linking of elements with lovely cushion shape briolette beads. I found that rediscovering this 'old friend I barely recognised' moment really useful as a way to review my work over the past few years in a new way. I got out some pieces and was able to see developments, and home in on some ideas I'd never had time to explore yet too. On the whole I'm glad to have the piece back home, I have a dark velvety green chenille tunic that will help this piece look nicely medieval next winter when I wear them together.
I photographed the piece twisted round my garden gate so you can see the clasp as well as the pendant, also, I opened the gate so you can just see the lush blue of my ceanothus tree.