Beadweaving Calistenics

While I'm mostly a peyote stitch gal, it's nice to get into gear with other bead stitches. There's a whole encyclopedia of bead stitches, techniques, what have you, that one could spend a lifetime just exploring and learning them. Project #5 for my 2013 beading journey is this black herringbone necklace with onyx stones woven in at regular intervals.

The other stitch I exercised with is right angle weave (RAW). It's been years since I've done anything in RAW.  So I turned to RAW guru Shelley Pleines who does gorgeous pieces using metal beads. Her Baby, You're So Square bracelet pattern gave me the inspiration to create this cuff last December, as a gift for a friend of mine who celebrated her son's Barmitzvah. I had given her the bracelet but had forgotten to take some photos and she loaned me the bracelet so I could take this shot.

Hope you bead lovers out there are beading to your heart's content!

Beads and the Ladies of Downton Abbey

I've gotten into the habit of beading while I watch Instant Video on my iPad. You'll find an eclectic mix of movies and TV shows in my Amazon Watchlist. Among them is Downton Abbey.  Yes, I've caught the bug and have watched the Crawley family and their household staff going through the trials and tribulations of their very prim and not so proper English lives.

My 4th project of the year was done while re-visiting some of the past episodes in preparation for the start of the new season. It reminds me of the long thin necklaces that the Crawley sisters would wear to dinner - a beaded version, of course, but same long and thin design silhouette. I thought I might call it Lady Sybil since it's red and could represent her "radical" views. She's the youngest so I can clearly identify with that, being the youngest of 4 siblings myself.

So here's Project #4 for my 2013 projects journal. Hope you like it!