Week of Beading - Installment 3

Today is my last of vacation... it has been more than 3 weeks since I have worked, the longest break I have had outside of a maternity leave since, probably, 1992.   I have more finished beaded work to show.  This stuff will not likely be gifted so I am going to go ahead and put it out there. 

The first one is from a pattern in Diane Fitzgerald's Zulu Beadwork book.  I love this design but am terrified that it is not structurally sound since it relies on thread looped on thread rather than thread sewn through beads.  So I am going to keep it and wear it and if it holds up, make more for friends, 'cause it is awesome.

The copper and dusky blue beads are both from Ding's in Winston-Salem, NC where I was for a week of my uber-vacation.  I highly recommend Ding's for bead-weavers in or visiting NC.  It carries the full line of Miyuki at good prices; excellent findings; friendly and enthusiastic owners; and, you can get your clothes altered while you shop!

This next bracelet I made up myself (not very hard, as it is just Peyote with fringe and a button from the Bead Show for a clasp, with a simple loop).  Not thrilled about how the loop/button combo spaced out.  Any advice?

The beads are twisted hexes, very irregular length but I would guess generally size 8.  The button is pressed glass, bought at the Raven's stand at Bead Show 2011.

Finally, a Kumihimo braid I finally capped and finished after doing the actual braid on the flight to Colombia in October.

These are size 8 Picasso beads in one stripe, and a size 8 matte in the other, in a similar shade.  This type of stripe is achieved by laying out your strands in a 2 Picasso - 2 matte - 2 Picasso - 2 matte configuration.  Kumihimo is ideal for airplanes as there are no needles and no loose beads, no fuss no muss, and the flight attendants are always very intrigued.  It is easy!  Get a kit and get started!
 

Week of Beading - Installment 2

For those who subscribe to Beadwork and Bead and Button, the components in this post may look very familiar!

Krissy's first pair of earrings to the left are from Teresa Meister's Floral Chandalier necklace in the November 2010 issue of Beadwork.

The necklace  pendant below - now with my lovely niece Shayna -  is the crown of Aasia Hamid's cocktail ring in the December 2011 issue of Bead and Button.

The final pink earrings are just one unit of Cubic Right Angle Weave with loops of seed beads to make them dangle! 

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.