Monday, February 09, 2009

Taking Time For Me

I've been consumed with the act of keeping Pooch going for the past week and a half (actually for the past year). Somehow, I've gotten lost in the shuffle: I began defining the quality of my day by how well the dog did that day. Thankfully, Marble Man stepped up this weekend and I got to swipe the cobwebs out of the studio doorway and do some beading. (Oh, yeah... she makes jewelry, right?) It took a while to get my groove going, since I haven't made any jewelry projects since Thanksgiving. It really got away from me!

A couple of weekends ago, I treated myself to a triple-shot-skinny-latte at Barnes & Noble while perusing the latest issue of Bead and Button Magazine. There's something special about a new mag: the smell of the fresh pages, the promise of projects to come, and the thought of learning something new. Last Fall I made a stab at teaching myself the flat peyote stitch. I love the whole idea of bead weaving. You take piles of little tiny things and weave them together to make a greater whole. The bracelet I made was fun and cute, and used fairly large beads. It was a good first project but I wanted to step up the difficulty a notch or two. I set out my dishes of size 11 and 15 seed beads and polished up my reading glasses. Those 15's are very tiny!



I started with some beautiful 14mm crystal rivoli's. When they arrived in the mail, I thought, "well this is interesting - there's no hole for stringing! What do I do with this?" I sat down with my new mag, turned to the instructions for bezels and figured out how to make one using peyote stitch. Basically, it's a beaded cage that encases the rivoli. It came out pretty well. So, now I have this beautiful pendant, and what am I going to do with it?

The bracelet I made last time used even-count peyote stitch. To shake things up I thought I'd try odd-count peyote and make some beaded tubes to match my new pendant.



Turns out, odd-count peyote is a little trickier than even-count, but I got it figured out and see the result!



Now to make a tubular right-angle weave rope to hang these beauties on, and I'll have a real treasure.

18 comments:

Cecile/DreamCreateRepeat said...

Good Lord, that makes me head hurt just thinking about making those. They are GORGEOUS! It's not just the talent (and hand-eye dexterity) to make them....it's the color choices that make them so special.

Glad you are finding time to concentrate on things that enrich your day.

I hope a new level of understanding regarding Pooch is achieved soon....

3rdEyeMuse said...

how long did it take to bead each of those little beauties?!? that's not something that can be whipped up in fifteen minutes ... wow. beautiful colors - can't wait to see the whole thing all together.

please don't wait so long for your next studio visit. :)

Anonymous said...

Each one took about 3 hours! But that's 'cuz I was still figuring things out. I anticipate that time shortening quite a bit once I get comfortable with it.

lori vliegen said...

well, hello there, bead woman!! love the colors, love the design, love that you treated yourself to some escape time in your studio, love that photo of all of those tiny little gems in one triangular tray! SO great to have you back! hugs, :)

ostrich girl said...

Your bead work is amazing and your stories of your dog are hilarious! Thanks for the fun comments on my blog! Sheri DeBow A.K.A. ostrich girl

High Desert Diva said...

My eyes crossed just looking at all the tiny beads....but then I saw the beauties you made. Very impressive.

T.Allen said...

*Rubs temples* Beading is an artform-much like knitting and quilting that I simply must admire from afar...oh and did I say figure skating? Well, that too. I'm a planner but once the doing part comes...I can't bring myself to lengthy detail oriented projects. *Le sigh*

Thanks for stepping up Marble Man-I hope Pooch comes around soon.

Unknown said...

Wow! That is gorgeous! you are one talented gal! :)

Isabel said...

This is BEAUTIFUL! So much work into it, but so worth it. You are the BEADS MASTER!

Anonymous said...

Hello Kate,

Ohhhh!!! I love these!


~ Gabriela ~

Vera said...

They do look like a treasure, Kate! Amazing job! I always wanted to learn how to make something like this... never happened.

Fete et Fleur said...

They are gorgeous!! I can't wait to see it all put together!!

Hugs!
Nancy

Faded Plains said...

Your jewelry turned out stunning! I'm so glad for you...that you found some time to get back into your studio.

Unknown said...

Wow, my jaw has literally dropped about 4 inches looking at those... I don't know anything about beading but I do know that those are AMAZING!!!

Amber Dawn Inventive Soul said...

I will trade you stones for an encased one!
:o)
I really want to learn this technique.
I bought a book last April, but I cannot figure it out! Mine came out lopsided!
If you are willing to trade, please let me know!
:o)

Amber Dawn

Terri Pezzullo - Handmade said...

They are beautiful Kate!! But then again everything you do is beautiful! I can't wait to see the finished piece...

So, Barnes and Noble, a magazine and a latte all in one sitting...sounds great...

Terri

trisha too said...

well, these gorgeous, that's all. and now you're only going to bead up a rope to string them on . . .

these really amaze me. if i hadn't tried a little beading here and there, my appreciation level might not be so high, but these are definitely up to the "amaze" mark!!

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