Sunflower Bracelet II

And here is the other color way.  This bracelet worked up a lot faster than the first one seeing as how I pretty much had the design memorized by this point.  The only issue I have with this design is that it was a pain getting the chatons centered in the beaded bezels.  I think it is because you start with a round of size 11 beads and use the size 15 beads on the other rows to create the shape to hold the chaton and that round of size 11 beads creates a bump that keeps the chaton from really nesting in the bezel.  Beading around stones is something of a challenge.

I tried Tulip beading needles with this project.  I've had them in my needle stash for a few years and everyone has been raving about them at Bead & Button (we always sell out of them at the show) and I'm happy to say that all of the praise is not hyperbole.  They are easy to thread, have a nice stiffness (I tend to bend beading needles), and come in cute little tubes with the needle size marked, so there is no mystery when you are looking for a beading needle, as long as you remember to return them to their tube when you are done with them.

Design:  Sunflower Bracelet by Yasmin Sarfati (December 2013/January 2014 Beadwork Magazine)
Materials:
2 g silver size 15 beads
5 g silver size 11 beads
8 g opaque blue luster 5x3 mm 2-hole sead beads
5 foil-back sapphire blue 8 mm crystal chatons
4 silver 6 mm jump rings
1 silver 14x15 mm filigree oval box clasp
silver size B nylon beading thread
Size 11 beading needle

Sunflower Bracelet

This is the Sunflower Bracelet by Yasmin Sarfati from the December 2013/January 2014 issue of Beadwork Magazine.  I bought this as a kit from Interweave mostly because I didn't have the beads (especially the crystals) to make it in my stash.  There were two color-ways available, this one and a blue one, and I bought them both.  In the original design there are five of the flowers, but my wrists are so slender I only made four.  I also modified the clasp attachment a little.  There were tiny little jump rings on the clasp that the larger jump rings were supposed to connect to, but if you do that the larger jump rings don't lay right.

Design:  Sunflower Bracelet by Yasmin Sarfati (December 2013/January 2014 Beadwork Magazine)
Materials:
2 g gold size 15 beads
5 g gold size 11 beads
8 g opaque rose/gold topaz luster 5x3 mm 2-hole sead beads
5 foil-back rose 8 mm crystal chatons
4 gold-filled 6 mm jump rings
1 gold 14x15 mm filigree oval box clasp
Gold size B nylon beading thread
Size 11 beading needle

The Holly and the Ivy

After finishing up the Chevron Chain I cranked out the St. Petersburg Chain in a day.  Then I started joining the two chains together, or zipping them together as I quickly came to think of it.

I started out with the Emerald beads but they got lost in all the green are gold.   Next I tried the Sapphire beads, but they lacked something.   Out of desperation I tried some pearls but they were too big.   That left the Garnet beads.   They were the right size and they definitely did not get lost against the green and gold, but it just seemed a little clichéd.   In the end, however, I went with the Garnet, and decided to embrace the Christmas theme as being seasonally appropriate.

Project:  Royal Chains Lariat by Kelly Wiese, Beadwork Magazine October/November 2009

Materials used:
Size 11 seed beads:  Beadcats stock # 2-11-480-01 topaz transparent irid
Size 11 seed beads:  Beadcats stock # 2-11-577-01 medium green transparent irid
Size 14 seed beads:  Beadcats stock # 2-14-577-01 medium green transparent irid
3 mm Emerald gemstone spherical beads
3 mm Garnet gemstone spherical beads
Faceted tube and rondelle Citrine gemstones
Bicone Citrine gemstones
Light green KO thread

I purchased the Emerald and Garnet gemstone beads at the Bead & Button Show and the Citrine gemstones from Soft Flex.

Emerald and Gold - Chevron Chain Done

I had done about 8 inches of the chevron chain before losing steam, but this afternoon I picked it back up and finished it up, all 28 inches of it.  It has been a while since I have done any beading but I am a bit fibered out at the moment, and perhaps handling all of my beadwork this past weekend to photograph it got me back in the mood to bead.

Project:  Royal Chains Lariat by Kelly Wiese, Beadwork Magazine October/November 2009

Materials used so far:
Size 11 seed beads:  Beadcats stock # 2-11-480-01 topaz transparent irid
Size 14 seed beads:  Beadcats stock # 2-14-577-01 medium green transparent irid
3 mm Emerald spherical beads
Faceted tube and rondelle Citrine
Light green KO thread

The project called for vertically drilled pressed glass drops, but I didn't have anything in my stash that would work, so I am using the Citrine tubes and rondelles

Emerald and Gold

The whole reason I started making the purple and gold chevron chain was because I wanted to make the Royal Chains Lariat by Kelly Wiese from the October/November 2009 issue of Beadwork Magazine.  The pattern calls for 3 mm crystal pearls, but I don't do crystals.  I do, however, happen to have some small gemstone beads.  Originally I was going to use my amethyst gemstone beads, but after working on the purple and gold chevron chain I realized that the amethyst gemstone beads were too large (they are about 5 mm in diameter), so I went back to my gemstone stash and came out with 3 possibilities: garnet, emerald or  sapphire gemstone beads.  I put some of each in my beading dish and went back to my seed bead stash to find matching seed beads.  It turned out that the emerald gemstone beads were the easiest to match.

Project:  Royal Chains Lariat by Kelly Wiese, October/November 2009 Beadwork Magazine
Materials:
Chevron chain:
size 12 seed beads (Beadcats stock # 2-11-480-01 topaz transparent irid)
size 14 seed beads (Beadcats stock # 2-14-577-01 medium green transparent irid)
Green KO Thread

Titania's Trifle

My choice of color for Maria's shawl may have been partly inspired by this bracelet that I finished up last weekend.  This is another project from the October/November 2011 issue of Beadwork Magazine.  The project in the magazine is called Around the Block and is by Barbara Falkowitz.  The construction is simple right angle weave with some embellishment.

Materials:  (Beadcats stock #)
2-11-510-02:  size 11 seed beads, green transparent with olive green luster
2-11-532-22:  size 11 seed beads, celadon green luster
1-03-510-02:  3 mm cubes, green transparent with olive green luster
KO Thread
Small pearls
Button

Once again you can see from the stock numbers how easy it was for me to match the color of the cubes with one of my size 11 beads, and to have the same glass finish (luster) for my beads.  The button is from my button stash.  I didn't have any green or gold buttons that would work, but this one had the right surface finish and design to complement the bracelet pattern and colors.  I thought about painting the button with nail polish to make it match, but then decided I didn't really need it to match.  I sized the bracelet so that it fits my slender wrist fairly closely (I hate floppy things on my wrists), the finished length is 6 inches.  It is wonderful to wear, beads feel great against the skin, very sensual.  The bracelet reminds me of something that a Faery Queen might wear, hence the name.

Isis Necklace

I decided that I needed a better name for this necklace than "Amethyst & Gold", do you think the Goddess Isis would be offended if I named it for her?  It is definitely regal, and seems to have an Egyptian feel to me, and Amethyst is one of the gemstones sacred to her.  The necklace isn't quite finished, I still need to add the clasp, but I don't have any suitable clasps in my stash, so I ordered some.

Project Name:  Sleek in Silver by Hatsumi Oshitani, October/November 2011 issue of Beadwork Magazine

Materials (Beadcats stock #):
KO Thread in purple
2-11-748-90 - size 11 seed beads clear-lined with cool purple
2-08-840-18 - size 8 seed beads gold opaque w/ colorful metallic irid
T-55-840-18 - TILA dark gold opaque w/ rose metallic irid
Faceted Amethyst drops

Amethyst & Gold

I have been wanting to make this necklace ever since I saw it on the cover of the October/November 2011 issue of Beadwork Magazine.  Shortly after the issue came out I spotted the faceted amethyst drops and I knew I had one of the key components of my necklace.  So after I finished up the Edelweiss Necklace I started on it.  Because of the nature of beadwork, I try not to have more than one beading project going at a time.  The construction is a modification of St. Petersburg stitch using the new two-holed beads know as TILA beads.  The project in the magazine is called Sleek in Silver and is by Hatsumi Oshitani.

Materials (Beadcats stock #):
KO Thread in purple
2-11-748-90 - size 11 seed beads clear-lined with cool purple
2-08-840-18 - size 8 seed beads gold opaque w/ colorful metallic irid
T-55-840-18 - TILA dark gold opaque w/ rose metallic irid

Edelweiss Necklace - Finished

I took a break from knitting today and finished up this necklace.  I had started it a couple of weeks ago, but then had to put it on hold while I awaited delivery of some finer Soft Flex.  This is the Edelweiss Necklace by Melinda Barta in the October/November 2009 issue of Beadwork Magazine.  You might recall that I used the flower element in my Dragon Scale Necklace.  To assemble the necklace I threaded a piece of Soft Flex (0.014 in 925 Sterling Silver) through the herringbone section and then threaded a flower at either end.  On the side with all of the flowers I attached the magnetic clasp.  On the other side I strung 18 pearls.  I then made the six flowers that form the central spine.  I found it easier to thread the pearl onto the Soft Flex before I beaded the flower.  The pattern calls for creating a ladder of delicas and then joining it to form a circle, beading the flower and then placing the finished flower onto the pearl.  Instead I did brick stitch around the pearl and then beaded the flower on the pearl.  Here is a picture of the strand before embellishing.

And here is a picture of the back-side so you can see how I spaced the flowers with delicas.

Then it was just a matter of making more flowers and figuring out the layout.  Threading the Soft Flex through the herringbone section was a little tricky, and it would have been easier if I had done the herringbone around the Soft Flex to begin with, but obviously I was successful, with a little patience and finesse.  I like the fact that the necklace is not suspended on the herringbone section, it seems to lay better.

Materials:
Pearls, about 8mm in diameter

Size 11 Delicas (Beadcats Stock #s):
4-11-463-91 clear-lined w/ rich yellow, irid
4-11-583-14 cool dk green opaque metallic
4-11-127-02 flesh pink transparent luster
Size 14 seed beads:
2-14-127-02 medium pink transparent luster
2-14-463-92 clear-lined w/ rich yellow, luster

And here you can see the power of the Beadcats stock numbering system.  The first digit represents the bead type, so 4 is Delicas, and 2 is seed bead, the next two digits are the size, the next three numbers are the color, and you can see how easy it is to match colors across bead types, and the last two numbers are the glass type and the surface finish.  You can read all about their stock numbering system on their web site.  At this point I have quite a stash, so I often don't buy beads for a project, I just make do with what I have on hand.  It does mean that I sometimes have to be a little more creative in my bead selection, and I often hit on color combinations I might not have otherwise.

Project Updates

I finished the herringbone stitch section of my Edelweiss Necklace last weekend and started making the flowers.  The plan is to have several different colors of flower petals.  Right now I am waiting for a delivery of some finer gauge Soft Flex so I can start assembling.

Last night I pulled this project out.  I bought this focal bead a couple of years ago.  I like the colors, but I'm not sure if the design does justice to the focal bead.

Project Updates

I spent most of last week working on this shawl, which I am calling Tart Berries & Honey.  It uses up the rest of the Tart Berries gradiance colorway that I had left over from my Through the Looking Glass shawl.  For the border I grabbed the leftovers from my Golden Phoenix.  I am almost halfway through the border.  The yarn is Luxe, by The Unique Sheep.

I also finally cast on the latest offering from the Light and Dark Lace Club, the Forever shawl by Ruth Greenwald.  It is knit in Pelusa Lace from Zen Yarn Garden in the Scarlet Letter colorway.  I can only work on this one when I have really good natural light, even my Ott light by my knitting spot doesn't quite cut it by itself.  I am not sure why, but on this one I have trouble reading my lace.  I am thinking it is a combination of the dark color and the texture of the yarn, which is kind of curly.  I am about halfway through the first clue.  The knitting is pretty easy, and I like the wider edging and central spine.  The second clue has already come out, but this group is pretty easy going, so I don't feel any pressure to finish this clue quickly.  I am thinking about adding some beads to the second clue.

I have also been working on my Lorna Suzanne cardigan.  I have about 6 inches of the body done.  The yarn is Superwash Worsted by Zen Yarn Garden in Midnight Plum.  It looks very purple in this picture, but it can look very much like dark red plums.  It really shows the berries in the lace motif, and I love the slight variegation of the color.  I am using my new Addi Lace clicks with the longer needles and I love them.  I have a set of the original Addi Lace Clicks, but the fact that the needles were shorter than the standard length that I am used to bothered me, and they feel a bit awkward when I use them.  I am planning on using the shorter needles when I join the sleeves to the body, though.  I think they will make it easier to knit those first couple of rows where it is a bit tight getting around the sleeves.

Yesterday afternoon and evening I pulled out my beads and worked on this project, which I started a long, long time ago (last year sometime?).  The project is the Edelweiss Necklace by Melinda Barta, in the October/November 2009 edition of Beadwork Magazine.  When I picked this back up again yesterday I had about 2 inches of the herringbone, now I have about 8 inches.

Pearl Embrace Collar - Part II

Well, I just couldn't leave it alone. That's what tends to happen when I start beading. I've been known to stay up half the night. I tried the lavender beads and they just didn't pop, so I went back to my bead stash and looked at colors and settled on a rose-gold bead, and a gold-lined clear bead, and found some gold flowers that would work for embellishing. I also picked out some rose and gold drops. I'm not quite half-way done with the initial embellishment.

Pearl Embrace Collar

Playing around with the beads and pearls got me itching to do more, so I pulled out some recent bead magazines and flipped through them until I found this pattern in the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Beadwork. The designer is Lisa Kan. I've finished the square stitch chain of size 11 beads and pearls and now need to do the embellishment. I'm thinking of using the pale lavender beads, along with the autumn spice beads, but I don't have the flowers I need, so I can't finish it this weekend. Maybe I should go find another bead project to start, or I could work on one of the two that I have in progress...


It is also the first snow-fall of the season. I love it, as long as I can enjoy it from indoors. This is the view from the deck looking into our woods.