Beading

Well, it finally happened even though I dug my heels in for a long time over it. I just had to start playing with beaded jewelry. I'll blame it on my car needing new brakes and the guys at the shop taking forever to do them. Near where I had them done, there was a cute little beading shop. I went in there while I was wasting time. From that time on, those beautiful beads kept circling through my mind. I finally gave in, but I have a few 'rules.'

Rule #1: I'm only allowed to use seed beads for the majority of my work. The larger beads are only allowed if they're accent pieces to a seed bead design.

Rule #2: I have to finish one project before beginning a new one. The last thing I needed was another hobby where I had a thousand and one unfinished projects.

Rule #3: I must keep my supplies within the limits of a shoebox-sized plastic box.

Not too many rules. I even get most of my patterns for free and I'm even starting to design some of my own patterns. I love the square stitch or loom weave style. I just love that solid band of beads, how they feel, and how the piece moves. They take awhile to create, but I still love them.

I will probably break rule #2 here before too long. I came across a free pattern that will create a bead tapestry. 101 x 100 beads. Finished, it will be approximately 5" x 6.5". That's going to take forever to make. So, I believe I will allow myself a break now and then to work with a net weave project. They finish up quickly and are very beautiful. However, I also can't wait to see what this tapestry will look like when finished. I'm already thinking of ways to get it hung so I can display it in a window. :-) I find that amusing as I just ordered the beads for it last night. I had to order them because it required some special beads called "Delicas."

They're beads that are made in Japan and are very strictly size controlled. Delicas come in about 1,000 colors, I think. Needless to say, no local bead shop can stock them all. I ordered mine from Fire Mountain Gems. Awesome place. If you're into jewelry making at all, I suggest you look at this place. They allow their discount to span the entire website. That means, if you buy 15 items of anything on their site, you get the discount. I was able to combine all the Delicas I needed with some more beading thread, Swarovski crystals, obsidian chunks, and some earring posts to get my discount. It really is a great thing they offer. Oh! And the shipping is only $5 Fed Ex for a single box. Surely you can imagine how many beads they can fit in a single box. A lot! So I think it's worth it. I'm hoping to have my new stuff by this weekend.

With that, I guess I'll go finish working on my Kokopelli. I'm not sure how it's turning out. The oval I put around him is a wee bit larger than I thought it would be. I might redo it in a different shape or attempt to create a smaller oval. I don't know. It's done in square stitch, so it's taking forever to do. I just passed the halfway mark last night. Oh, well. A few more hours of work and I'll see if it's going to work or not. That's the problem with designing my own stuff. I'm still not quite sure how beads work together to get the perfect look. I'll get there eventually. :-)

I guess I'll meander off now. I have pictures of everything I've completed so far. Maybe I'll even put them in this blog one day. For now, they're out on Facebook. Feel free to go look at them. Take care! I'm off to go work.