Pearl crossover bracelet

This week, the weather has pretty much turned into Autumn, that colder feel in the evenings and the nights drawing in. So my intention today was to put away the beads for a bit and get out the knitting needles to start a nice warm, snuggly 'something' ;) I had got as far as thinking something with cables that would knit up quickly so I entered into the dangerous world of Pinterest and started looking at my boards for inspiration. Did I get distracted? Of course!

I've recently started following quite a few new people and all these interesting photos had suddenly appeared that seriously needed investigating. All of a sudden I hit the jackpot with an amazing beading tutorial site and that was my day GONE, lol!! I have soooo many exciting new patterns I want to try now - just amazing. They only have diagrams to follow but I'm finding that quite easy now so my list of projects to make has just got a lot longer - ok, off the page longer - but it's all very exciting!

So this is the pattern I wanted to try today. It's very similar visually to the last bracelet but it uses the Fuchsia bicones at the edges instead of round beads which needs a slightly different construction method. These are the real deal crystals and they sparkle so nicely. I also got some new silver lined gold seed beads to add the crossover detail around the pearls. Alas, the pearls aren't the genuine freshwater variety but until they are in my price range, these will do ;) This pattern had the different crossover method I was wanting to try out too so this was the perfect opportunity to see how well it worked. Pretty good, so that's a keeper.
 

So, all in all a very good beading day today:) I'm thinking of trying a necklace version and/or earrings using this technique as well. Maybe not in this colourway but that will depend if I have enough beads for a larger necklace project. I've spent a lot of time sorting out my beads this last weekend after trying to make a matching necklace for my magenta medieval bracelet.  I just didn't have enough of one colour to finish so that was disappointing. Still, the more I practice, the more new techniques I can bring to designing. The more original designs I make the sooner I can sell them and make some money to afford some more beads, lol!! So, onwards with the experimentation!!

Hmm, what technique shall I try next? So much to learn!!

See you all soon,
elaine x

Medieval Crossover bracelet

My first designed bracelet - what do you think? You may notice some similarities with the snakey bracelet I made last month but that only had one layer of overlaid beads on the top side. This one has the beading detail on both sides and going both directions to form a cross. So it has been fully decorated within an inch of its life!

I've loved testing out my design theories with this bracelet to see how patterns and structures could be explored and I have so many ideas to try next! I'd love to see this design as a necklace with some firepolish stones instead of rounds in the centre and it will give me a nice opportunity to work with basic shaping too. Of course, I bought a few more beads in the shop with this in mind :)

There are still a few modifications I'd like to try out to create a better finish where the 4 strands of beads meet but I have an idea for that too. Not that it's bad at all - I'm just a perfectionist! And if it takes just a little more thought at the design stage then that's all to the good.

One thing I have realised very quickly is that the good beads are really worth the money. The handle, weight and quality of finish is so very different with czech glass and pearls that you really don't want to go back to anything else afterwards. But the cheaper beads are good for experimentation and I'll have to save up quite a bit  first so I can build a proper 'stash' of shiny beads! Hopefully I'll have a good few designed patterns under my belt by then.

Hmm, so what beads will I use for that necklace version then? See you all soon!

elaine x

Creative challenge complete!

      Weeks 3-4

1. spiral green vessel, 2. bracelet band, 3. Felted Pod, 4. Not available, 5. snakey, 6. jubilee earrings 2, 7. Not available, 8. snakey bracelet, 9. Pod detail, 10. green shield 2, 11. camino bubbles, 12. button detail, 13. jubilee earrings 3

Now we've moved into September, I thought I'd collate all the projects from the last two weeks of August's creative challenge into a little mosaic. Seems I made less finished pieces in the last fortnight but quite a few were two day tasks or more, so that's cool. As much as I like the excitement of making something in a day, the more complex patterns and experimental vessels are just not that quick! But sometimes the best ideas take time to grow if they're given a little space.

It's been a very interesting creative month where I've learned new wire and beading skills, refreshed on some textile ones like felting and the crochet wrapping, and of course it's always fun exploring new challenging knitting patterns! There are a few experimental samples that I'd like to revisit from this group of projects - the camino bubbles is ongoing and I feel there will be a few more little pods to keep POD company:) And I do intend to get back into pattern writing so the crochet lace parasol will be a definite contender.

     Weeks 1-2

1. turquoise ring, 2. waves and ladders, 3. copper wrapped earrings, 4. Sparkly!, 5. swirl sample, 6. spiral pendant, 7. Hand dyed yarn, 8. firebird, 9. turquoise ring, 10. green shield 2, 11. turquoise monastic weave, 12. copper bracelet, 13. knitted bracelet

Looking at the whole month overall, I am surprised at how much jewellery has made it's way into my creative journey. The wire wrapping is especially important as I can intergrate that into my vessels and hopefully take them to the next level. The beaded jewellery has been a very happy surprise. I've found that I just love constructing with beads. I suppose all my projects have a strong emphasis on construction at the moment - wrapping, weaving, knitting, even felting.

So where to now? Well, I have a good creative flow going on right now so I'm going to see where the creative journey takes me this month. Maybe slowing down just a little though but I'll still be posting every day or two. I'd like to spend some time designing patterns and doing more sketchbook work on new directions for the vessels too. I have a few ideas percolating away :)

I've also got ideas to open a jewellery etsy shop soon as at the rate I'm making beaded bracelets I could seriously stock a shop, lol! And I'm going to re-open my dyed yarn Esty shop for a bit too. I remembered this month how much I love playing with colour and I couldn't use all the yarn I'd dye - even if I tried super hard!! So when I dye some up for my vessels or create more graduating colourways, I'll pop some in the shop as well. I'll let you know in advance if anyone is interested.

But for now, I'm going to take the rest of the weekend off and knit me some camino bubbles watching a film - or two!

See you next week and thank you all for following and supporting me this month!
elaine x

Beaded wrap bracelet

Ta-da!! We have a finished beaded bracelet to reveal today:) I've really enjoyed working on this one, very logical, simple to thread but has built up into a nice complex bracelet overall.  It has a rather medieval feel to it doesn't it with all that dense beading.

We left this partway through row 2 yesterday. That row was quickly finished and I was pleased I remembered the pattern without too much of a refresher. Row 3 was very simple to do as well. I was expecting some complex interweaving to hold those middle beads in place but it literally threaded straight down the middle!! I was happily surprised it was so easy, hehe :)

The pattern suggested finishing off with a clasp fastening like a bar and circle but I used my last one up on the snakey bracelet last week so I decided to improvise:) I used a decorative metal button from my stash instead and made a re-inforced loop from the dark purple seed beads for it to fit through. I strengthened that loop so many times it's not breaking, no way!

I spent quite a bit of time photographing this evening trying to see how best to show off the pattern and the button. One thing I've done a lot of this month is brush up on my photography skills with all these final shots!! It's fun when you have the time to spend, playing about with different coloured backgrounds and presentation styles. I need to work on it so when I open my Etsy shop it'll look professional - I hope!

I didn't manage to catch the daylight in time today so I might take some more photos tomorrow and compare the difference. No rain, please!

I am feeling a lot more confident with the beading patterns now so I'll be hunting for some more patterns to try next., the more complex the better! I might even try and design one of my own soon, lol!

Well, there are only a few more days of the August creative challenge left so just enough time to squeeze a few more projects in, don't you think? I think I know just the thing........ :)

See you all tomorrow,
elaine x

Beading in progress......

I decided to work on a smaller project today and chose a slightly harder looking beaded bracelet to try. This has been in my tutorial folder on Pinterest for a while but I wanted to get the hang of the basics of beading and pattern reading before I launched into this one. The tutorial for this is extremely detailed and has very clear visuals to follow but the instructions are in Hungarian. If you have done just a little beading like me, it is do-able, just follow the photos and have a laugh at google translate as you go!!

My favourite so far is:

8 persons in the forward strand, and three eyes visszaöltünk recorded on the back of seed beads, from which the fibers stand up and the four eye-circle forward binocularly the thread.

The mind boggles, lol! It does make sense when you are making it though - google translate has had me laughing most of the evening ;))) Out of curiosity, does anyone know what visszaöltünk means??

It really is a lovely pattern and isn't as difficult as I thought - despite google's 'help'. It is taking a bit longer than I planned so I thought I'd record what I've done so far and give you a feel for how the bracelet is shaping up. It's constructed in rows, wrapping a 6mm bead with size 11 seed beads, using the little picot on each unit as a joining method for the next row. Once you get the hang of the pattern, you just carry on till it's long enough for your wrist.

My wrist takes about a 7" wrap so I've beaded a little under and left a little space for the clasp. Hopefully a perfect fit. This is the end of row 1, ready to link row 2 with the little picot decorations.

The original pattern has two rows like this and a filler row between them as being the whole construction of the bracelet but I imagine you can make this wider by adding more rows. It would be lovely as a larger cuff too, don't you think? It's beginning to come together now the second row is on it's way and I'm looking forward to seeing it when the third row fills in those middle spaces and it becomes a more solid wrap.

Time for me to call it night now and finish off my three eyed visszaöltünk tomorrow :))  ( I really should find out what it means just in case!!)

See you all tomorrow!
elaine x

Sea glass ring

I've been looking forward to sharing the sea glass ring I made on my day workshop last month. I was so excited to get the chance to take this course as I've never had the opportunity to learn the basics in  silversmithing techniques before. The course I attended was the Sea glass Jewellery course which runs several times a year at my friend's Gallery/studio here in Cornwall, UK.

The course gave you the opportunity to create a piece of jewellery that incorporated a piece of sea glass. Some people had their own stash but there was plenty on hand for me to choose from. I loved this sea green colour and as I have small hands, it needed to be chunky and dinky at the same time :) Did you know how many different colours sea glass comes in? There were electric blue pieces, sunshine yellow and deep orange as well as pale turquoise and cloudy whites - it was hard to make up my mind. The yellows and turquoises were particularly nice.

We all went for making a ring - which is harder than a pendant apparently, lol, but the example rings were so lovely that I was drawn to them. Then onto the fun bit - the learning!!

 

The class had a mix of abilities - some had done a bit of working with silver before and others, like me, had none at all. But I felt that was a better mix for learning. Our teacher Rebecca was soooo good - you could easily tell she was an expert! - and I managed to grasp how to shape, solder, use that mini blow torch confidently:) and construct my ring from her demonstrations and individual guidance. As the group was a maximum of 6, we got lots of 1 to 1 time, for which I was very grateful. I was good at following each step but needed more time to learn how to correct the mistakes as I went. But it's all good - I like mistakes because I learned so much more than if it had gone swimmingly the first time!

The filing and polishing at the end was when it started to look like a proper ring. Suddenly it was clean from solder and heat - and SHINY :) And that's when it hits you - OMG, I've just made this ring!! From nothing - like wow! A total dizzy headrush moment, lol! and such a feeling of accomplishment I can tell you. I was on cloud nine all the way home!

This course certainly made me re-think my comfort zones in my own work. It was a huge confidence booster and helped me consider expanding my work to incorporate new materials and techniques. If I hadn't done this, I might not have got into researching jewellery techniques, beading or wrapping wire, or set myself the August challenge to push myself further in my work. A catalyst indeed.

If you are interested, you can find this course and other glass/jewellery courses over at the Jane Smith Glass website. Jane produces amazing glass work, I just love her wall panels - worth a visit:) So many courses I'd love to try - precious metal clay, making your own glass beads - yes please!!

So I'll be collecting coloured sea glass the next time I'm at the beach, lol - I fancy making a pendant :))
See you all soon!

Snake bracelet :)

Hooray! My parcel of beads arrived today :) which means that today's creative project is bound to include lots of beads. This wasn't on my to-do list but I found this when I was looking at another tutorial and that was it, all the rest were put on hold. Youtube is good for that isn't it? You start someplace and end up miles away with something completely new and unexpected!

Why this one caught my eye was it uses the right angle weave stitch that I learned for the monastic pendants last week. I wish I had found this sooner as working last time from just a schematic with two needles was a little more difficult than following this video. I also chose this as the video was produced by Kelly from Off the beaded Path, who designed the jubilee beaded earrings I posted a few days ago, and her videos are always very thorough.

So with my bead list to hand, I started sorting though my new beads - rummage, rummage:)

6mm round beads
4mm round beads
Size 15 seed beads
1 clasp
1 beading needle
2 metres of 6lb fireline

Video ready? Righty-ho, ready to go!

This right weave bead pattern uses only one beading needle and I found it a lot easier actually. I had a little trouble keeping the beads tensioned as I threaded at first but I got the hang of holding the thread pinched between my thumb and index finger to stop it slackening when I picked up new beads. That made a LOT of difference.

This design is worked in two layers: the woven green beads first and then the purple wrapped layer second. So only two simple techniques to learn. I went for a colour contrast but if I had more size 15 seed beads in my stash, I'd have liked to have used a rich gold colour with the greens - yum!! I'll have to save that for the next one. Oh yes, I'm sure this one will be made again, and again....... :)

In the next one, I'm going to try working around the woven beads twice as I go for more re-inforcement. It feels secure enough and probably doesn't need it but I'm curious to see if it will hold the beads in place better as I go. It does bug me that the thread is obvious at the sides even after the second layer. Maybe I need to use a less obvious colour of thread or play around with bead sizes to get a better 'fit' so the thread is less visible. Maybe two wraps of thread may make it even more noticeable - probably! I'll let you know how it works out.

Now I'm off to sort out my beads into compartments - a bit sad but so much fun, lol! See you soon for some more creative experiments :)

elaine x

Jubilee beaded earrings

So this was the project that started me making beaded jewellery. I was following a link from some jewellery pictures on Pinterest and ended up at Off the Beaded Path's how-to video of these lovely earrings. They looked super complex to do and a bit of a challenge - so obviously I was interested :) I followed the how-to video closely which was very, very good indeed. So that decided me. This I had to try.

I didn't want to commit to buying a huge amount of beads in case I found it frustrating or too fiddly so I opted to buy her kit version on her Etsy shop as a treat to myself - and it was really nice to have all the right beads and findings to hand for my first attempt! There are four colourways but I liked this version best. Much more subtle than the red, white and blue version!! (click the shop link if you fancy seeing that :)) I didn't have to wait long for delivery from the US to the UK either so within a week, I was able to get beading.

The kit was great - all the beads needed, thread, beading needle and a very detailed PDF instruction booklet on disk. The book was easy to follow as well but I preferred the video myself as it was literally in real time and I could see every stage as she went - and it was super easy to pause and fix anything as I followed.

This was maybe a little ambitious for a first project as the bead weaving is quite complex compared to a lot of other things I've tried this month - like the monastic weave - but if you have patience with yourself and follow the video or booklet then you end up with a huge sense of achievement as well as a lovely pair of earrings. It teaches you a lot about the construction of beaded designs too which was really helpful.

Because I got on well with the how-to video, I've subscribed to her Youtube channel where you can see all her new jewellery how-to's every week. There's a good back catalogue there if you're interested too. So many projects I'd like to try but I have to wait till my beads arrive - sigh. But I've earmarked a few bracelet designs there and on Pinterest so I'm all ready to go as soon as that parcel arrives at the door!!!

Still got a lot of painting and decorating to do this week but I have mananged to start the Camino bubbles pattern I mentioned yesterday. Knitting is always good to relax with so I'm looking forward to doing more of that tomorrow.

Hope you've all been having a good weekend, see you soon!
elaine x

Creative update - 2 weeks in!

1. turquoise ring, 2. waves and ladders, 3. copper wrapped earrings, 4. Sparkly!, 5. swirl sample, 6. spiral pendant, 7. Hand dyed yarn, 8. firebird, 9. turquoise ring, 10. green shield 2, 11. turquoise monastic weave, 12. copper bracelet, 13. knitted bracelet

It occurred to me today as I was looking through all the projects so far that we are two weeks into the creative challenge this month - already! So I thought I'd put together a little mosaic of everything so far. The rainbow bag and the colourwork didn't make it to the final cut but hopefully the bag will make a reappearance nearer the end of the month.

It's interesting to see when you give yourself an open ended project like this what you actually decide to spend your time doing. There's a lot more jewellery going on than textiles isn't there! But I'm glad that the vessels are making a comeback even in a small way. I'm thinking that the green swirly wrapped yarn sample (bottom left)  is big enough to be moulded into a vessel - excited to see what that looks like!

And I'm wanting to try out more experimental knitting - patterns with a bit of a challenge to them. One that caught my eye today was the lovely Camino bubbles pattern by Kieran Foley. I've already printed out the pattern and have the yarn ready for that. If I get a chance I'll start it tomorrow. There are a lot of charts so I'll give myself some time to work it out first, but hopefully it will be a quick fun knit :) Looks like a lot of Knit/Labs patterns are quite challenging so I think I'll be back to try some more after this one too. If you're on Ravelry, you can check out their pattern page here or go to their website instead. Definitely worth a look.

Back tomorrow with another project for you but till then enjoy your weekend:)

Monastic bead weaving

After making the rings yesterday, I fancied trying out this bead weaving technique. I have more of those turquoise blue beads I used for the ring and I thought it would make a nice chunky necklace using this technique. First though I tried out a small one to get the hang of the threading. I've tried double needle beading before so I kind of knew how this was going to be constructed but I used a schematic for reference as I went though. (Edit: Sadly this link is no longer working but I have found another great site that shows a great step by step tutorial for this here )

This technique is called monastic bead weaving or right angled weave - if you go to Youtube there are many video how-to's. They were very helpful to get a basic understanding of construction although I wanted to add small seed beads so I had to adapt as I went. Took a few attempts to get what I wanted but I got there. After taking this pattern back a few times, you certainly get to know it well:)  The Amethyst weave uses 6mm AB glass round beads which have a lovely pearescent sheen to them, and size 11 metallic plum iris seed beads. In certain lights the gold comes out more than the plum so it gives lovely subtle contrast.

Then I moved on to the lovely turquoise chunky beads. These are about 8mm compared to the 6mm amethyst ones above, and I used some white pearl size 11 seed beads in between on a 6lb crystal fireline. I think the nylon thread could have done with being a bit thicker as these glass beads are heavy!! It was a bit more difficult to keep the weaving in place as I worked but once I re-inforced the structure by going around the beads again, it pulled everything more into shape and made a stronger finished pendant.

I added a seed bead loop for a chain or ribbon but I'd like to use a more secure method of hanging next time. A chain may eventually break the thread and then it would all unravel - not good! I'm sure I've seen some other methods on my travels, I'll have to find them and try them out. 

I am really enjoying the beading and learning all the new patterns and construction methods, although I need more practice on good finishing where the thread doesn't show quite so much - well, that or some clear nylon thread :)

There might not be so much creative time over this weekend as I've been postponing the painting and decorating in the living room. So the sooner I can get that done, the sooner I can get back to play! I do have a few projects I've done quite recently that I'd like to show you, especially the silver sea glass ring course I went on last month and my first beaded earrings which I love. It really is a shame I don't have pierced ears you know. The irony isn't lost on me :))

Till tomorrow, paint brush in hand, goodnight!

Wrapped rings

Today, I woke up very late but still tired and realised I've been pushing myself just a little much lately. My chronic fatigue has decided to kick in and slow me down, so today I decided to have a no stress, relaxing day off. Of course I only lasted a few hours before I started to tinker with some wire..... and then some beads.... then I was hunting for a tutorial in my pinterest folders..... and voila, some wrapped rings kind of just appeared :)

First the turquoise one with silver wire. The method is really simple but fiddly and I found that it makes a huge difference if you have the proper gauge of wire as it makes bending these forms so much easier. Of course as I'm just starting, I'm using what I've got on hand - which probably isn't the right weight at all! Apparently they recommend gauge 20-22, I think that's about 0.6mm? I'll have to get gemmed up on all this so I can achieve a more professional finish for the effort put in. No fun fighting the wire every time, is there?

As I felt I hadn't got a hang of the wrapping properly I decided to make another one and thought maybe twisting two strands could give an interesting finish to a simpler bead. Of course, my hand drill was in the shed and it was absolutely pouring down outside but I made a dash for it! And this is the result, a burnt orange bead with smoky coloured wire, twisted with two strands and wrapped.

I rather like the twisted effect on this one and with the darker coloured wire, gives it an older, antique feel. Just the right amount of texture to balance the slight grain on the wooden bead. This one wrapped easier as the wire was much lighter and more flexible. Good for the stone wrapping but possibly a bit flimsy for the band of the ring. I'm thinking three twisted strands might be about the right weight. I'll have to try that out.

The last one I made was this amethyst glass bead with silver coloured wire. This wire is nice and sturdy for the band but a bit tough to wrap but after two rings down, I thought I'd give it another go to see if it was just me needing more practice or the wire :) A bit of both I think!! So I wrapped, practiced and tried hard to get as even and precise wrapping as I could. Twice. The first one was way too big for my fingers as the circular dowelling I had instead of a mandrel was just a bit wide for my fingers - perfect for male size though. So I improvised and the second one now fits me nicely.

I still need a bit more practice but the right weight of wire is going to be the best way I can improve my skills I think. I'd like to make some more but I'll wait till my bead order arrives first so I can have more choice of stones - it's late though, so I hope it's not forgotten or lost somewhere in the land of freight and customs :(  Fingers crossed it arrives soon!

See you all tomorrow, as always, good to have you along;)
elaine x