Odds and Ends

I'm leaving home this week and won't be back for a while so there may be a lapse in posts. I may be able to get a post up somewhere along the way, but I can't be certain.

Anyway, here are two items I finished in the last few days. The bracelet is another Russian Spiral and is a gift for a friend. The earrings are additions to my inventory as I've been selling earrings lately and stock was dwindling.

Where's The Orca - Necklace

This one-of-a-kind piece was created for the Etsy BeadWeavers' October Challenge with the theme Animal Instinct. So "Where's The Orca" necklace was created with Orcas in mind. I live in the Broughton Archipelago off of the west coast of Canada and it's home to both Resident and Transient Orca. I've been out whale watching several times and never lose the thrill of seeing these magnificent animals in their natural habitat.

My colour choice for the necklace is meant to represent the Orca's colouring of black and white. My representation is black and silver because when you see them in the ocean with the sun dancing on the water as they frolic in a group, there always seem to be flashes of silver glancing off of their shining flesh.



Check out my Etsy shop to see more views of the necklace.

And if you're interested here are some photos I took on a whale watching trip.

More Russian Spirals

The first Russian spiral I made went very well. No hitches at all. Then I tried again about six times, each attempt ended with being unbeaded about five times until I gave up and ripped the whole thing out. Finally, I sat down with the book one more time and closely followed the directions. And...found where I'd been making the error. The stitch starts with loading on 2 size 11 beads and one size 8, three times and forming a circle. From that point, the beads are loaded the reverse, one size 8 followed by two size 11s. The mistake I'd been making was loading the order of the base round!

Anyway, having finally gotten it figured out, I made the following two pieces with beads in my stash. The gold one is actually 8's and 10's.



This one is made with size 11 triangles (the silver beads) and size 11 seed beads in three different shades of blue. The colour goes from dark to light and back to dark again. I love how it turned out.



Now if I could just decide on what the pendant will be for them. In the meantime, I think I'll start another spiral. I have to...I just received another new order of beads!!

Pendant For The Russian Spiral

A while ago I purchased some natural beads that are called mother of pearl blister pearls. They are absolutely beautiful and unique and I've been anxious to find ways to use them. It seemed to me that they'd make a stunning addition to the Russian Spiral necklace I made and I'm so pleased with the result. The piece sits high on the chest, more or less right between and just below the collarbone. And the pendant can be removed so that the neck piece can still be worn alone. It's so much fun to create something like this that's more versatile.

Russian Spiral

This necklace is my first foray into the new book I bought. I found the instructions very easy to follow and the stitch itself is fairly simple and straight forward once you get going on it. I did have to unbead it a couple of times but that's no big deal. I really like how it feels. It has a bit of stretch to it and it's very supple and soft. I'm working on a bead order to get myself a stash of different beads to work this stitch. And, there is a pendant in progress to go with it. But there's also a different version of the rope brewing in my head that I may have to work on next. Oh, and there is a freeform peyote bracelet in progress too.



Hockey starts tonight! So I'll be knitting during the game.

Summer On My Arm Bracelet

This pretty little bracelet was the result of wanting to experiment with the spiral rope stitch. I have a collection of glass beads that I haven't been using so I sorted through them and decided that some of the bell flowers and leaves could create a summer garden feeling. There were also some bright green seed beads that I've been trying to find a use for and I love the viney look they give to the bracelet. The other elements that I couldn't resist using are Swarovski crystals in a variety of colours just to give the piece a bit of sparkle. The bracelet is for sale in my Etsy store.





This bracelet has been sold.

Bead Shopping in the Big City

I'm away from home this week and today I went to a bead shop that I enjoy, hoping to find some interesting and/or exciting beads to inspire me. What I ended up doing was buying a couple of tubes of seed beads, a gorgeous oval jasper donut and a new beading book. I bought Seed Bead Stitching - Creative Variations on Traditional Techniques which is published by Bead & Button Magazine.



Though the book is pretty much beginner level, there are several variations on stitches that I haven't yet managed to teach myself. There are chapters on peyote stitch, brick stitch, right-angle weave, daisy chain, spiral rope stitch and Russian stitches which include three fabulous rope type stitches. I've been getting a little bored with only having the spiral rope to make necklaces out of, so this will provide a welcome change! I can hardly wait to get home (tomorrow) and get beading again!

Just Two More Days...

...left to vote on the Etsy BeadWeavers Challenge for September! If you haven't already voted, please do so now! I need all of the votes I can get on this bracelet of mine which is entered!

 Click HERE to vote!

For more views of the bracelet (or to buy it) CLICK HERE.

Blog Award...and...

I received a blog award from Linda at Hammelman Art. I really appreciate being given this award, but I'm not going to pick seven blogs to pass it on to. If you are interested in having the award, help yourself at Linda's blog. There are just too many wonderful blogs out there for me to single out seven! Again, thanks Linda.

Abrupt change of topic:

Looks like cruise season isn't over yet! This ship is on it's way to Alaska, past my front door!

Three Day Pendant Necklace

The three day pendant necklace is so named for obvious reasons.  It's taken me three days to complete it.  It's labour intensive, yes, but certainly not three days worth.  I needed to take it easy on my neck.  Anyway, I was absolutely driven to make it happen.  It was in my head and I had gotten some new beads in and knew I wanted to do something in navy and copper.  And I'd also been wanting to make a pendant size triangle.  

Though the photos are showing the colours pretty accurately, the sparkle is not revealed.  In the evening under lowered light, it catches and reflects the light.  In other words, it sparkles.

Not to be forgotten that today is 9/11 and I would be remiss to not mention that I too remember that day and the shocking events, for I have a son who is a volunteer fire fighter.  I gratefully remember the heroes of 9/11.