Sharing

A fellow beader and blogger recently requested that we write a bit about ourselves in our next blog post.  This fits in nicely, as I do not have pictures yet of my Cynthia Rutledge pieces.  It's also nice to get to know one another and she shared a very personal story to get us started.   However, I didn't realize how difficult this would be until I finally acknowledge, beading is who I am.  Just like my daughter was at one time, my job another, and college at yet another phase.  It's not the only thing, of course, but I tend to be consumed by what has my focus at the moment.  I'm very much a gemini in the sense that there are two distinct aspects of my personality.  There's the side that's focused and relentless in pursuit of a goal, and there's my flakey side that lives in a sea of chaos and clutter.  What focuses me, also grounds me.  It's typically when I'm most relaxed and in tune with myself, nothing else intrudes.

It's why I love to cook when I'm entertaining.  It's a focused task that appeals to my creativity and has an ending with the cleanup.  My mind is totally engaged on the task at hand.  It's also why I fail so miserably at the day to day family cooking.  It doesn't seem to engage my mind the same way and I'm flitting around looking for something else to do when I should be focusing on the weekly menu.

As a financial analyst, I worked in a sea of clutter and I'd thrive after 5:00 p.m. when everyone else was leaving for the day.  I couldn't put down the puzzle I was pursuing and often it would be 10:00 p.m. and I'd still be at work.  Not because I had to, but because I was so engaged in what I was doing.  Beading has filled the gap that work once filled.  However, it is something I can put aside easily when I need to turn my focus back upon my daughter.  I'm not sure if I could have turned off work and not been left frustrated.  These days, the computer is slowly supplanting beading.  I find I can't keep away from it and I may have to rationed it the same way I ration my daughter's time on the computer.

The picture above is with my very handsome husband Scott who puts up with me.  If you look at my about me section, you'll see a picture of me with my daughter.  She's a beautiful combination of us both.

Laura McCabe Conclusion

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I'll close my Laura McCabe series with three projects.  The first two are embellished spiral ropes and the last is a sphere for which I'm particularly proud.  This first spiral rope has the basic embellishment.  The rope is created in the normal method, then you go back and add a picot between every core bead on the spiral.  The result is lush and elegant, particularly when done with fresh water pearls

I so pleased that Laura is coming out with a new book in May of 2010.  You can pre-order it from Amazon.  The front cover shows a version of this project of  Laura's.  This necklace was completed the same as the one above, but uses keshi pearls in the back and an elaborate frothy fringe in the front.  This is a substantial and stunning necklace.

I love the basic picot embellishment and have used it often to liven up an otherwise plain spiral, especially when I'm not using crystal.  You can use anything to create these picots (leaves, magatamas, drops, seed beads, etc.).

I'd like to close with another project I did for my friend Loretta.  She purchased the kit from Laura and sent it to me, and was one of the most difficult of Laura's projects.  Not so much the technique, but joining and reinforcing the sides of the cube without breaking needles and beads created a huge challenge.  I almost didn't make a second one for myself.  But  I'm so glad I stuck with it.  I found some fabulous lampwork beads at my guild's semi-annual sale and created a kumihimo rope that goes through the center of the sphere.  The result is stunning and is one of my favorite necklaces.

Use the Muse III Sneak Preview

I've entered my first beading contest and couldn't be more excited.  The contest is sponsored by Scarlett Lanson on her website The Beaders Muse .  We're not allowed to reveal the muse until the big reveal in a few weeks.  Many talented artists have submitted their designs and sneak peaks like this one are popping up everywhere.  I encourage you to check out the site when the muse is revealed, you'll be amazed at the variety of pieces created using the same basic kit.  Regardless of the outcome, I learned a great deal through the experience.  Foremost was to slow down and also to post my pictures as a screen saver on my computer.  You'd be amazed what you'll notice that eluded you before, alas too late now.   I've had fun looking at everyone's sneak peaks and hope you enjoy the final designs.

A few of my Etsy Favorites

I was able to create a treasury today.

The sun was my inspiration.  I love how these artists captured the sun in it's various cycles.  From the soft hues of the early morning, to the bright midday light, to the fiery splendor of sunset, finally finishing with nightfall.  We have a wonderful community of artists and I'm glad to share their works.

Laura McCabe Continued

Laura started my love affair with the spiral rope.  It is a very versatile stitch and can be embellished in a multitude of ways.  It is also a relatively fast stitch in comparison to other stitches like peyote in the round or herringbone in the round.   These two pictures show the basic rope.  You can vary the look in a multitude of ways, experimenting both with color and texture.

The main thing I learned from Laura was how to end a rope seamlessly.   Not only did I use this to create a professional finish, I used it to transition between sections of rope.  In other words, rather than create separate segments and then connect them, I do it as I go.  Although Laura doesn't explain this, her technique for ending was easily adapted to this.  This necklace shows a seqmented spiral and is one of my favorites.  With these necklaces I start in the middle and pull enough thread to do the entire necklaces (about 4 to 5 yards).  I spool half the thread and work to the end, attach a button, then work the rest of the necklace.  It's been a very effective technique.

This necklace also showcases Swarovski bicone crystals.  It's my favorite material to use as it achieves a nice staggered rope.  Crystal rounds can also be used, but I found that they work better if they are placed every other segment of the spiral.

Laura's Crystal Heart project truly showcases both encasing a rivoli, creating a crystal spiral and creating a beaded toggle.  You can find it in her book.  I knew immediately my friend Loretta would love it and I made it for her for Christmas a few years ago.   These are the two colorways I currently own and I wear them often.  I made the copper one for a charity auction and the blue for Loretta (of course, then had to make them for myself).  It is a lovely piece and worth the effort to make.  I found I prefer a simple beaded loop rather than the toggle and loop Laura teaches.  I found it to be sturdier.  I love Czech glass buttons, but a chain and hook are more practical if you want to adjust the size for a variety of necklines.  Next post we'll talk about an embellished rope and complete this series on Laura.

Accepted On Craftgawker

Although this is outside my normal stream of blogs, one of my pictures was recently accepted on Craftgawker. It's a site that showcases handmade work but only based on the quality of the picture. For many of us, picture taking is a struggle. To have a picture accepted is both rewarding and a testament to my father-in-law, Earl's, patience in trying to teach me how to take good pictures. I don't think I'll ever have his eye for framing a shot or getting the best lighting, but what I've learned came through in this picture.

Thanks Earl!

Laura McCabe Part 2

In my previous post, I mentioned meeting Laura McCabe at the Bead and Button Show. She was wearing a version of this bracelet and my friend Loretta fell in love with it. At that time, I had not done much beadweaving. I don't know what possessed me to think I could make this for her. Long story short, Loretta bought the kit online after the show and shipped it to me to make for her. I bought some extra crystal and rivolis to make one for myself. I stepped myself through the instructions and was a believer from then on. Laura's instructions are very easy to follow and Carol Wilcox's books filled when I needed it. Other than a couple of tension issues in the beginning, I was able to complete both bracelets. However, this is not my original piece. Just a couple days of wearing mine and the foil on the back of the rivolis began to rub off. I was devastated. It sat in a box for months. I also never liked the way the bracelet fit. The beaded toggle always slid forward and all those lovely crystals slid to the back of my wrist where they couldn't be seen.

In the meantime, I took a class through the Greatlakes Beadworker's Guild with Melanie Potter and made this bracelet using a right angle weave rather than peyote. As you can see, the back of the rivoli is almost completely encased in seed beads providing extra protections. I also learned to create a snap closure that is hidden behind the rivoli creating a completely seamless result. This bracelet had it's issues as well. We were given a plastic snap in the kit and it never stays closed. I also added size fifteen beads around the front to tighten the bezel, it was too loose without them. I also didn't like how the riviolis separate on my wrist exposing the connecting strips.

I still didn't quite have what I needed to rework the bracelet until I purchased a pendant kit from one of our guild members, Wendy Zollars. In her directions, she complete encases the back of the rivoli and her pendant was reversible. I now had the two things I need to rework the design. I had to experiment with the linking between the rivolis to get the right spacing.


These two shots show the male and female connectors of the snap. You can also see the back of the bracelet. It turned out so nice, I almost wish it was reversible.

I made the connectors a bit longer that Laura's but also added the whipped stitch edging not included in Melanie's design.









These last two shots show the complete bracelet. The snap is behind the center rivoli in the first picture. I love the colorways. It's like having two different bracelets depending on where I spin it on my wrists. I'm very pleased with the result.

Merging the two artists' techniques resulted in a piece that is both beautiful and functional. In the next post, I'll show some of the pieces that started my spiral rope craze.

Homage to Laura McCabe

The two greatest influences on my beadwork have been Carol Wilcox Well's two books (Creative Beadweaving and The Art and Elegance of Beadweaving) and Laura McCabe. I keep Carol's books close and always try to have them with me when taking classes. If I have a problem understanding a technique used in a pattern, Carol's books usually help clarify them.

I began seeing Laura's works in Bead and Button. This necklace is one of the first of hers that I tried. What's awesome about Laura's patterns is they are deceptively easy to make, yet the results are stunning. The leaves in this piece are polymer from Klew.

Although easy to follow, this necklace was time consuming. Multiple strands of seed beads are strung and then the embellishments are added to one strand. The beaded flowers take time to make, but they turn this necklace into something truly special. I had a great deal of difficulty not piercing the thread and keeping proper tension. Since then, bead stoppers were introduced that greatly assist in keeping tension at the optimal level.

I've never had a class with Laura, but I've learned a great deal from her. I had the opportunity to attend the Bead and Button show several years ago. It was there I met Laura and purchased a couple of kits. My passion for beadweaving began that day. In the next post, I'll show those pieces and the ones I made for my friend Loretta.