It's Been a While

It's hard for me to believe that almost two months have passed since I last posted to my blog!

I have been busy and I have NOT been beading. I have quite a stock built up and as it has not been selling, I've not been making more. That is part of the reason I'm not beading. The other reason is that I've been weaving and I've fallen in love with fiber. Several scarves have come off of the loom and at the moment I'm working on a shawl that will be 26" x 72" plus the finge. Here is a peek at it:

These are the yarns before putting them on the loom. (The purple mohair is missing from this photos)



This is how it looks on the loom before it's woven. The fibers include mohair as well as alpaca and wool.



And this is the weaving in progress.



Can't really say when I'll put beading on the blog again, but I'm planning to post my progress at weaving.

Another NOT Beading Post

Lately, I've been learning to weave. I did not warp the loom for this project. Another weaver generously gave me the warp that was left on the loom when she finished her place mats and table runner which I had been admiring as she wove them.



I have a rather long dining room table. This table runner is 75 inches long.



The white threads in this piece are the weft - the part I did. The coloured threads are the warp. The reason I mention this is to show you that a large part of the work on this piece was done by the other weaver. I did the easy part. My next project begins with me warping the loom myself. (Actually, planning the project was the first step.)



And finally, this is Sophie, my 5 pound shih tzu/poodle cross dog. Sophie will be having puppies around February 28th.

Life, the Universe and Everything...

This is the title in the "trilogy" by Douglas Adams known as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe. It's also a good way to describe what's going on with me. I'm moving. From a two bedroom townhouse to a three bedroom house on 1/4 acre lot. Sounds pretty simple but my move entails a 150 mile drive down a two lane highway from the town of 2500 that I'm in (on the ocean - see photos here), to a ferry landing. When I get there, I'll sail across the ocean from Vancouver Island to a somewhat larger community (15,000) on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. The ferry trip takes 1 hour, 35 minutes. Anyway, I'll be scarce online for a few days while I wait for my phone and internet connection to be hooked up.

So these are the last pieces of beadwork I'll be showing for a while. The neck piece on both is Russian Spiral and I made them a while ago. I recently pulled them out of the store they were in, to bring them home and add pendants.

The blue triangle piece below is a version of another two necklaces I'd made previously. Unfortunately I wasn't able to photograph the sparkle of the Swarovski crystal roundells. The piece above is a first try at one way to add a bevel to a stone. I'm pleased with how it turned out and I have more ideas for ways to expand on the design.

Book Review - Exquisite Beaded Jewelry

This book has been in my library for a while; about six months. I read it cover to cover when I first got it to help to teach myself freeform peyote. I hadn't picked it up in at least a couple of months, but there is a whole lot more than freeform in it as I rediscovered today.




In the Introduction, the author, Lynda Musante says: "I hope to help you build and expand your skills; find your own voice in your beadwork -- to discover your "look" and, perhaps, challenge you to look at your beadwork differently." The book will certainly challenge you on more than one level.

For the beginner, it covers basics on beads, tools, materials and findings. There is a fairly comprehensive section on the basics of wire work. It also explains stringing with six projects and then moves on to beadweaving.

Chapter six, Stitched Bead Basics, includes detailed instructions with excellent photos for peyote stitch, tubular peyote and brick stitch. The instructions are very thorough and the accompanying gallery provides wonderful inspiration.

The final chapter is titled Sculptural Beading and explains and teaches the techniques of freeform. There are five projects and a gorgeous gallery. Throughout the book there are plenty of detailed close-up photos on almost every page, so there is plenty of eye candy.

Rainbow Time...

Though I don't have anything finished to share, I'm beading. Working on a necklace right now that features a couple of pretty glass beads.

What I do have to share is a photo taken this afternoon. I live on the ocean and the weather here often changes very quickly. That means we see a lot of rainbows. This is the first one that I'm seeing in about 6 weeks.

EBW Challenge Winner

Etsy BeadWeavers August Challenge has a winner! Search Light Art Deco Bracelet - GemsbyJules received the most votes and took first place.

My necklace entry which was my first time in the challenge, came in 6th. That's a pretty respectable position, I think! A big thank you to everyone who voted for me! Now if I could just find a happy home for it!



I realized today that I haven't done any beading for four days. I was away from home and came home completely exhausted. Hopefully, I'll be better rested and ready to pick up the beads again tomorrow.

It's Time To Vote

This month I'm participating in the Etsy BeadWeavers' August Challenge with the theme "Art Deco". The piece that I've entered is here and is number 17 in the mosaic below.

I'd love it if you voted for me, but no matter who you choose to vote for, please visit the Etsy BeadWeavers' Blog and VOTE!!

More Spiral Rope Bracelets

Another technique that I'm enjoying is the spiral rope stitch. It's very relaxing to do as it's repetitive and feels almost like medatation. I think I like it best done with a single bead colour rather than a variety. I've worn these bracelets with as many as three on the arm at a time and I like the look both singly and multiples. If you haven't yet tried this stitch, check it out. It's so simple but looks so elegant.







This last bracelet was made as a gift for my daughter. It uses beads left over from a bracelet she commissioned me to make as a gift for her friend. I thought she'd enjoy having a similar bracelet. What you can't really see...the Swarovski crystals in every third spiral. It sparkles so beautifully!

Marnie's Bracelet...Finally!

I've been trying to make a bracelet for my good friend Marnie for weeks now. I think this is the fourth attempt. The problem was that the bracelets were fine but they just weren't what I had in mind for her. She told me that yellow is her favourite colour so I wanted something that included yellow. Guess I just needed to wait for the right beads to arrive! I hope she loves it and is as happy with it as I am! Because there is both silver and gold in it, it should look great with just about anything!

Road to Morocco

The colours of this bracelet remind me of the colours of Morocco. In the center portion are 12 tiny plum flowers on stems, though they are a bit difficult to see in the photo. Inserting them between peyote stitches was an experiment. Picot edge finishes the piece.

Latitude 50n35 Bracelet

This bracelet is so named in recognition of the night sky where I live. We are able to see more stars as our sky is darker than in big cities. So, the bracelet contains stars in a midnight sky. And it sparkles and twinkles like that too.

Woven Bag

I've been wanting to try out this technique for a while and finally got to it yesterday. It's a little woven bag...3.5" X 6" and I'm happy with how the experiment turned out. I still need to add a beaded neck piece to it. Next one will be bigger I think. So simple and a great way to use up odds and ends of yarn.