June 15 Craft Fair at Boocoo Evanston!

Some work that was gifted, sold or otherwise left my home over the holidays!

I have not been able to post very much lately, but beadwork has been coming and going!  Here are some photos of recent pieces that are hopefully out there in the world being worn...

The first two are Sabine Lippert designed components that I made into simple pieces.  She is so incredibly talented.  I love her designs and love to make about 1/8th of each one and get it on a rope so I can wear it!  Her pieces usually have dozens of these little components all hooked up to make something spectacular.  I am chicken, though, and tend to wear only one at a time...

This is a bead-embroidered cabochon, I have no idea what the stone is - some sort of agate?  It is pink - sort of dusty rose or cranberry I guess.  I got the matching semi-precious gems at Bead Show last year but of course forgot to write down what they heck they are either...

 

This one is a kumihimo braid using Delicas, which are very expensive but worth every penny for the effect.  Kind of looks like baby dragon scales, no?  The clasp is sterling and one of my favorite finds from Bead Show last year.

I did some of these really simple bead crochet strands before our trunk show, using fire polished and Czeck pressed glass, with antique buttons as closures (from Raven Beads).  These are wrap bracelets - the pink one wraps three times and the blue and green wrap twice.  Very hip, also an unusual style for me.

 My very first bead crochet tube with a magnetic clasp:

Twisted Cubic Right Angle Weave WHAAAAT???  Yes!  And SO FUN TO MAKE, thanks to Gwen Fisher for the tutorial:

Finally, a kumihimo rope using size 8 Picasso beads.  These beads are sooooo lovely - mottled and almost antique looking. 

Not-Yet-Invisible Join

Sigh.  These freshly bead-crocheted ropes look nice from a distance:

But I  really cannot get a knack for the invisible join.  Authors Bert and Dana Reed have perfectly clear instructions in their book Bead Crochet Jewelry but I end up with this:

YUCK!

My next stop for advice will be Marion Jewels in Fiber.  They seem to have lots of resources on tubular bead crochet.

In the mean time, if any of you out there have mastered the invisible join, feel free to share your tips!  Does my tension suck?  My first row too tight?  Ugh.

Spoke Bangle Finished!

Finished the Anna Elizabeth Draeger designed Tila spokes bracelet!  This photo is not the best - the Swarovski crystal pearls are deep purple and the crustals on the outide are smokey.

This was a GREAT project - cubic right angle weave (CRAW) with the two-hold Tila tile beads - very architectural!

More Sabine

Sheherazade.  This design is from Sabine's book, my colorway :).  Sold it at auction to benefit the Marjorie Kovler Center for Treatment of Survivors of Torture - I am thrilled to know that a Bosnian survivor is wearing it now, courtesy of her husband!

File under: Inspired by Sabine Lippert

So, I've been obsessed with Sabine since I took a class with her at the Bead Show two years ago - she is really a brilliant designer and.... architect, I guess.  And she is super nice.  And prolific, and generous with her designs.  Check her out on her blog or her web site.

I never have the patience to go all in with her designs, but I love making one little component then throwing it in a chain.  I am a huge fan of her method for bezeling rivolis and other items... elegant, quick(er) and clever clever clever.

A little "La Fleur" from Beaded Fantasies:

A medium "La Fleur":

In this case, I made a few adjustments and "downsized" her Amazon Jewel Pendant pattern also from Beaded Fantasies...

Hobo Glass Necklace a la Fi

For years, my friend Fiona and I have been big fans of glass artist Teresa Silbert at Hobo Glass.  I am an especially a big fan of her glass rings.  Fiona made a great necklace with them as well as her now much sought out "Fi Squared" bracelet.  I riffed off of her work with the below piece, using size 15 seed beads in a two-drop herringbone stitch as the chain, with random color bands to highlight the gorgeous colors Teresa brings out of the glass.

Here are some pictures that show Teresa's work better: