Bead crochet

My first ever Crochet rope
with 4mm cube beads

One of my highlights for any trip to Germany is to hook up with bead artist and queen of crochet Brigitte Ilander
Her work is so utterly deliciously coloured it is tempting to buy her kits just to own those colour combinations. The detail in her patterned ropes worked in size 15 seed bead is breathtakingly intricate too.
A couple of years ago I was in despair of ever mastering bead crochet, despite some lovely lessons from a student, many tried and failed false starts. I so wanted to be able to stitch one of Brigitte's kits!

The Lime Zest rope
work in progress

My german friends challenged me to go learn before my next visit. Happily for me, bead artist and dear friend Gillian Lamb welcomed me into her class, Bead crochet for beginners, total numpties like me, welcome. Thanks to her 'can do' approach, and a devilishly clever way to get started... with nice big beads... I finally got the knack.
Next came a rope all by myself is size 8 seed beads. I love this technique for it's ease of transportation, and my rope grew steadily on long haul flights to and from the USA. It grew and grew into a lariat of slinkiness!

Beady tassels and cute ceramic beads
to decorate the ends of my rope

Whilst there, I shopped for accent beads and chose this cute ceramic bird and flower beads set from Melanie Brooks at Earthenwood Studios.
I'm a beader at heart, so I couldn't resist finessing my triumphant first piece with a couple of beaded tassels. It's fun to wear, as the crochet rope is strong, but flexible enough to tie into cute knots.
So, when I met with Brigitte in Hamburg last week, she was hugely encouraging and agreed that I am now ready to graduate to size 11 seed beads, to try a pattern and a smaller hook. Once my second size 8 rope is done, I will be stringing up my 'Simply Red' kit and hope to have it finished to show her on my next visit.
I love that my friends were so encouraging, I'd all but accepted that this technique was not ever going to be a happy one for me, so thank you Brigitte and Gillian for pushing me to try again!
Oh, and I've had lots of requests for the pattern for those tassels, so I'll write it up soon.

Do you also have a habit of arranging temporary still lives on window sills and shelves?
For me, these sometimes kick start new design ideas, always make me wish I had time to stop and draw or paint, often give rise to new colour combinations and definitely make me feel happy when I look at them. They are also a really handy way of making the place look cared for when there's no time for rigorous housework... when is there ever!

lasp gasp bouquet! The Scented
Broom smells amazing.

I was buying flowers from a street stall, because they stopped me in my tracks, because they filled me with desire to gaze at them more, and it made me think about how I really choose colours for my designs. In class I often get asked about colour, and try to explain how I soak it up all day long, and relish in colour with feeling. Yet somehow people see my work and say, 'Oh, those are so your colours!' The florist stall has a brilliant 'last gasp' offer on bunches of flowers that are past their best. So for pennies you can have glorious blooms, usually hugely expensive ones, if only for the briefest while. These are the ones I chose.

paper bag vase

I also picked out a bunch of paler pink ones, and have put them in a glass inside this beautiful paper bag, I love the cheerful mixture of pinks and greenish turquoise. The bag is just so pretty and inspiring it deserves an extended life as a vase. Recognise the little lustre pot next to the paper bag? 
The table cloth is a linen tea towel, I seem to collect these along with my china and they make cute backgrounds for photographs, far to nice to use for the washing up!
Anyway, you can see that I'm definitely getting back into softer colours and pink again!

bead stash for a new project idea

I had a morning off this week, to visit my friend Zoe's bead shop in Frome in Somerset. This is a shop you definitely have to go to and relish, with at least half an hour to spare and any significant other parked in a coffee shop until you are done. 

It is a real treat moment for me, a perfect antidote to pre-spring blues. The walls are covered with beautifully made beady jewellery from around the world, and there are many trays of 'other' beads. In no time you'll have a packet of scrummy goodies! Inspired by the flowers, and with a project in mind that needs to be done, I chose silky matt glass long beads, little flower round beads and some in betweeny beads.
Once home I put these with some gorgeous Lucite flower beads and seed beads from my friend Lynn's store. But somehow, despite thinking I'm picking out new colours for me to play with, there is a definite familiarity about the choices I've made. But for now I'm in love with this soft spring mixture and I'll post a picture of the finished project soon.