My Week of Beading - First Installment

I took this week off work to meet a challenge - 21 beaded gifts in 4 days.  I wish I could say I made it, but I only got to 14.  Thankfully, I do not see all of the folks who some of the gifts will be for until after the actual holiday, so I still have some time to do the remaining 7!  I wish I could say I was burned out on beading, but alas, I am not.  This is such a great craft - it is a bottomless pit of awesome.  The first day was a tad frustrating, as I tried to make things up entirely in my head after a few beading-free weeks.  That was a mistake.  I find I need to bead by pattern first, then I when I am in a good groove, I can create something unique or create my own design without as much angst.

I can't show most of what I did until the gifts are given, but I have already given out teacher gifts (and they have been opened), so I can show those.  Here are Betty, Suzanne, Mary and Carrie's gifts, all based on Glorianne Ljubich's Star Power earrings in the June 2011 issue of Bead and Button.  I post them in progression so you can see where I started, on my own, then very close to the pattern, and where I finished, making my own changes and embellishments.  Fun!

First, Betty's. These were from day one experimentation, and the were the only product that I was happy with that day.

Next, Mary's.  These are the closest to the pattern, but I did not like the length of the 3-unit version in the magazine, so I just made a little link on top and that was it.

Third, Suzanne's.  I made a 5 unit circle to start rather than a 6 unit circle, and the result is more star-like and less flower-like.

Finally, Carrie's.  I love these - also very close to pattern but with picot's instead of rounded outlines.

This project is a great "stash buster" for 4mm fire polished crystals and those peanut beads you do not know what to do with!

These were all made with love for the Toddler Full Day staff at Chiaravalle Montessori.  They are loving, professional, fun and they make magic with toddlers.  Hat's off!

ASK BEFORE YOU BUY: GOLD

Dear Fellow Beaders/Crafters/Jewelry Makers:

Most of us occasionally buy and work with gold, even small amounts.  I am proud to work at Human Rights Watch (my day job) and one of my colleagues, Juliane Kippenberg, has recently completed a large research project on child labor in artisanal gold mines in Mali.

This complements the work HRW has done on the more corporate side of gold mining in Congo.

Please take some time to watch this report on Brian Williams' program about artisanal gold mining.

If you are interested and want to learn more about mining in Mali, please read more here.

The bottom line: what can we do?

WE CAN ASK BEFORE WE BUY!

This is the best way to get word down the supply chain that consumers care.  Think of it like you would Fair Trade Coffee or Fair Trade Chocolate.

As you hear on Brian Williams' program, the United Kingdom has a new standard that allows consumers to know if they are buying gold that was not mined using exploitative and dangerous practices.

How will you use this information going forward?  Are there other fora where you can share this with fellow crafters?  Let's all play a positive role in protecting children around the world.

Thanks!

Experimenting with Rachel Nelson Smith "Bumps"

Thanksgiving weekend, and I finished this funny little experiment with Rachel Nelson Smith's "bumps" - little Peyote hills atop Right Angle Weave units. This is from the Bead Riffs book by Lark.

The rope is an odd count Peyote rope, 5 beads round.  Very dark blue, and lots of misshapen beads so it is not terribly regular. 

The beaded bead is 5 units wide and 8 around.  That is a lot of bumps, and the last few were super hard to get in there!

Can't decide if I like this or is it too odd?

Of course, the author's bumps are a lot more regular, but I am starting to think this is pleasantly wonky.

Voices for Justice Necklace

Can you spot the result of 1:00 am stress-beading from two nights before my big work event?

Correct!  An incredibly fussy bezeled rivoli crystal!  The thread broke, I dunno, 1,000 times.  Probably because it was the middle of the night and my reflexes were completely gone.  But I was determined that it was exactly the necklace I wanted to wear that night.

This picture is from after the event, with the lovely Renee, my Voices for Justice partner in crime.

Tubular Netted Rope a la Jessica

My friend Jessica (the co-owner and bright light of the magnificent Studio Beads) showed me a lovely tubular netted rope with size 13 beads, just a 3-bead net, that she was working on earlier this fall.  I was so taken with it that I ignored my internal warnings about losing my vision early to those tiny beads over such a long rope, and I dove in.  Finished today.  The result:

My camera is not doing so well getting this, but it is about 17 inches and very shimmery, and nicely lacy and see through.    I may end up hanging something from it to spice it up a bit, something I could remove and then wear the rope solo.   There are two colors in my 3 bead net, I still can't keep track of net without color changes to mark the connector beads.  Jessica's was a pure taupe, and it was sooooooo lovely.  I am getting there, but not there yet.

Owly

I've been working in the rope for my Bead Show owly forever.  Just inching along.  I think I started it in June!

Here is the Cubic Right Angle Weave rope, embellished with the accent colors from the bead:


Once I made the rope, the next challenge was to do a beaded bail that looked nice and was also removable so I could wear the rope without the owly for more grown up occasions.  Here is the result:

The bottom of the bail is a circular peyote disc that is a little lumpy, and a little lopsided.  It is attached via the owly bead hole to a herringbone loop that is large enough to slide on and off.  I think it is very sturdy if not perfect in terms of symmetry, as this design (the peyote) allowed me to take multiple passes through the owly with every consecutive round of the disc.

I am really pleased with the way the colors worked out.  

First Project with New Beads from the Show!

The colors I loved best at bead show this year were the jonquil/mint green beads, paired with the cranberry/blue beads (all Toho I think), that I selected to go with the simple lampworked flower I got from one of the fabulous glassworkers at the show - from afar they look like raspberry and lime!  DE-licious.I could not figure out how to hang the flower since the hole goes front to back rather than up and down. 
 
I started thinking of a breezy net, something like a stem network.  It was pretty neat, but it did not go with the focal bead in the end, when I tried to hang it on there.

I also made a think odd-count peyote rope to that has a nice twist to see if that would look good, but I missed the lime.

In the end Fiona suggested I kill two birds with one stone and make the bail into a lime-colored leafy thingy, that would solve both the need for green contrast and the need for an interesting bail.  So here it is!


I was especially happy when I put the finished net right on top of the other - not bad for an accident!

For anyone who is interested in the mechanics, the bail is a loop with leaves stitched on like loose nets, and then the cup in the back is a 6-bead circular herringbone cup with increases every row and picots on the ends.